Chapter Two: In This Room, the Dead Are Still Alive

The foreman offered triple pay for another shift. I thought... I could cover next term's tuition.” “Did you know about the flood?” “I received the evacuation alert.” Chen lowered his head. “I called my wife and told them to leave first. They waited for me. They always waited.” Many Xiaomans appeared in the water—seven years old, in a school uniform, grown into a woman. From different floors, they asked together, “Daddy, why didn't you come home?” Chen covered his ears and nearly collapsed. Zhou finally understood. The room was not a rescue scene. It was an interrogation chamber. It offered the guest what he wanted most, then forced him to admit that it had never existed. “Miguang!” he shouted at the sky. “What counts as checkout?”