In 2137, the spirit of the Global Compact has been digitized. A supernatural reality called the "Protocol Field" covers the old world, and all social relationships, business transactions, and even emotional commitments require the signing of a quantum contract endorsed by the "Parliament of Scales." Defaulters will suffer physical costs - from organ failure to spatial exile, known as "payment reckoning."
Lu Jinyan, a contract optimizer who makes a living by optimizing contract terms for others, received a strange commission on a rainy night: a contract from his "future self" asking him to prevent an imminent "causal-level breach of contract." At first he thought it was a new type of scam, but until the countdown to "price reckoning" began, the target was actually himself.
