Chapter Two: The Dead Man Knows the Way

After they left, Zhou's body had faded enough to reveal the wall behind him. An unseen force tugged him toward the portrait, and each step away made him less distinct. “Three hundred meters,” Lin estimated. “You can't go farther from the painting.” “We still have time.” Zhou checked the phone. “Come with me. My last delivery was nearby.” They carried the Night Screen through the rain. Zhou chose an absurd route: over an abandoned kindergarten wall, through the rear door of an all-night laundry, and down two levels in a shopping center's freight elevator. Seventeen minutes later, they stopped before a brick wall layered with loan advertisements. The map said Changning Road ended here at the riverbank.