Chapter Three: The Hidden Eighth Rule

There was no mistaking the photograph. Zhou Jin had a pale scar through his left eyebrow, earned when he shielded Zhou Ran from broken glass at age ten. The same scar appeared on the burned badge. Only the final character of his name remained, while the employment date read August 9, 2003. Today was August 9, exactly twenty-three years later. Zhou Ran reached for the badge. The girl withdrew her hand into the wall. “After the birthday,” she said. Colored cables dropped from the ceiling and coiled around Table Eight like nooses. Faceless Meng sat upright. Tape rewound inside his stomach, and an unfamiliar man spoke through his body. “All guests are present. The birthday guest must blow out the candle.”