Chapter Three: The Second Corpse Grandma Left Me

Lin bit his tongue until blood recalled him to himself. At seven, three mechanical alarms rang. Three billboards went black, then displayed white words: SHEN ZHIWEI IS ALIVE. Tianheng deleted the image, but millions of shares had already escaped. More important, three offline mechanisms had synchronized within one ten-thousandth of a second—an event its causal model could not explain. The city became a river of light in Lin's eyes. He saw traffic lights changing encounters, feeds cultivating anger, one hospital bed determining a child's future. [MISSION COMPLETE. PROBABILITY SIGHT: 0.1%.] [TIANHENG PREDICTION ACCURACY PERMANENTLY REDUCED BY 0.1%.] [COORDINATES: CENTRAL HOSPITAL, SUBLEVEL SEVEN, COLD STORAGE 009.] An unplugged landline rang.