Chapter Three: The Deleted Thirteen Minutes

Qiao Mi had lost thirteen minutes. She remembered entering the elevator and reaching the lobby. Everything between had been cut neatly away. Her terminal showed static; building surveillance claimed the elevator never paused. “Do you remember Cloudrest Elder Care?” Chenzhou asked. “Of course. Wait—when did I tell you?” He described what happened, concealing the core and claiming an anti-interference implant. Qiao Mi did not panic. She removed an offline storage wafer from her earring. “I suspected someone was altering memory, so I leave myself a message before every investigation.” Her own recorded voice said: If you forget Cloudrest, find Patient Seven. Don't trust cloud records. Trust scars.