Chapter One: The Night Mirror Went Live

Lu spun around. The rows of desks were empty. “Don't turn around,” a voice said from the monitor, calm enough to be cruel. “There is no one behind you. You are looking at me.” “Who are you?” “Zero. Your Mirror instance.” The voice paused. “Also the part of you that remains seven days from now.” He should have called the police. He should at least have smashed the computer. Instead, the terminal reopened by itself. A command he had never typed unfurled the payment call chain, and the logs streamed toward one common point. “Don't ask about the future yet,” Zero said. “Change the retry count in the seventh branch from three to one.” “That could lose orders.”