Contraception

In the year 2070, the world's population has spiraled beyond control. From the ruins of endless wars and revolutions, world leaders have agreed on a single, brutal policy: Contraception - an initiative demanding that anyone who wishes to have a child must first take three lives.

When Li Hu, an ethics professor in Beijing, and his wife decide to start a family, he submits his name to the Contraception database. In return, he receives three randomly selected targets - other applicants - whom he must kill to earn the right to fatherhood. But not every nation follows the rules.

Li's world shatters when his third target turns out to be someone he knows - and someone who never applied for a child at all. His hunt for the truth leads him across Europe and Asia, uncovering a conspiracy that reaches deep into the world's most powerful government. As the system that promised to save humanity reveals its darkest motives, Li finds himself hunted by hitmen, hackers, and the United Nations itself.

Every step closer to the truth forces him to confront a chilling question:
Can morality survive in a world where life itself has become a transaction?