Chapter Four: A Portrait of Someone Who Does Not Exist

Lin did not argue. Beneath Su's present makeup, he painted the woman from seven years ago: worn canvas shoes, pockets filled with recorders, an INTERN REPORTER card on her chest. Su gradually stopped smiling. At 11:40 she ended the call. Brakes sounded outside the printworks. Six white government vehicles sealed the road, drones rose to the windows, and a loudspeaker announced a fire-code violation. “Fastest route is below us.” Half of Zhou Yuan emerged from his portrait and pointed down. A paper rail beneath the presses had been sealed in concrete. Qi Xia touched the floor and saw that it once ran to an abandoned television station. Lin did not move. “They want to cut the stream.” He steadied the camera. “Let everyone watch them do it.”