Chapter 11 · Undercity Broker - Chapter 11: The Memory Price

The mark on Lin's arm burned like someone had pressed a cigarette into his skin.

He stumbled back from the sealed door, teeth gritted, and tried to shake the heat off. Didn't work. The black lines were glowing now, crawling up past his elbow, and the voice in his head wasn't whispering anymore. It was loud. Clear.

*Payment method updated. Lifespan insufficient. Memory extraction authorized.*

"What the hell does that mean?" Lin said, but he already knew. He'd burned through two months opening that seal. The curse had tasted his life and decided it wanted more. Something deeper.

The station around him was too quiet. The patients who'd been crowding the platform were gone, melted back into the dark like they'd never been there. Only the kid's voice lingered, that small sound that had called his name from behind the door.

Lin Mo.

How did a kid trapped in Platform Zero know his name?

He pressed his palm against the cool metal of a support beam and tried to think. His head felt wrong.