Chapter Five: The Shadow Victory Leaves

Shen Yan played the recording seven times. The voiceprint, breathing, and clipped endings were all his. Yet the word body carried an unfamiliar pause, as if the speaker were referring to borrowed equipment. Twelve seconds of static followed. Amplified, it revealed a pen scratching paper and a woman's whisper: “Tell him not to win game three.” Lin Qi arrived before morning practice and reviewed the security footage. From midnight until 1:13, Shen Yan sat before his computer with closed eyes. At 12:41, he opened them, recorded the message, and wrote coordinates on paper. The episode lasted less than twenty seconds. The handwriting was identical to Shen Yan's. The coordinates pointed to a hospital in North Fifth District. “Yanhui?” Lin Qi asked.