Inside the Bronze Cocoon beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet, sparks suddenly burst from the ambergris in the gilded incense burner.
The Old Eunuch stared at the fluctuating three-trillion-dollar market value displayed on the quantum monitoring screen, his withered fingers suddenly crushing the suet jade snuff bottle in his hand. The emerald lid rolled to the floor, revealing the Big Dipper Pattern carved on the inside—a token specially made four hundred years ago by the Imperial Observatory for the founding master of The Foundation.
"Guan Yao... what a fine Guan Yao..." He wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, fragments of the Gilded Collar still lingering under his fingernails.
Chapter 293