Chapter Three: The Deleted Thirteen Minutes

A man in white appeared soundlessly. He was handsome, wore the numeral seven over his heart, and cast no shadow. “Shen Yanbai,” he said. “Administrator Code Seven of the Bureau of Revised History. What you witnessed tonight would produce unnecessary unrest. Under the Linlan Consensus Preservation Ordinance, it must be reclaimed.” He snapped his fingers. Qiao Mi's eyes emptied. Chenzhou's memories of Cloudrest began to fade as though files were being deleted. The capacity counter flickered violently, then stabilized. [EXTERNAL OVERWRITE BLOCKED. BASIS: CORE HOLDER AUTHORITY EXCEEDS CITY NODE.] For the first time, Shen looked surprised. “So she gave you root authority.” “Who?” “Lu Xingyao.”