Chapter Two: Reverse Cut

The killer fled toward the rear door, his body breaking from frame to frame. In the last image, only a silver tie clip remained: an engraved closed eye. End credits rose. Not a title, but a new line. Edit complete. Preserved character: Xu Zhi. Then the familiar credit. Directed by Shen Yan. Something hurled Shen back into the restoration room. The viewer was still. Rain struck the windows. Blood still ran down his arm, and his phone held seven missed calls. Lin Wu’s final message read: “Chandelier fell. Girl is alive. Explain. Now.” When he reached Moon Eclipse, the police tape had just gone up. Lin stood beside the shattered glass, a rain shell over her white coat. She saw the blood on his arm, and her face went paler than the scene lights.