Chapter Five: Locker B17

Yongyao Theater had not vanished in the fire. Studio One of *Burn the Night* had merely been built over it. During an overnight set change, Lin Wu and Tang Li took the freight elevator belowground. Building plans called the lowest level a disused reservoir. Instead, they found an old red-carpeted corridor. On a charred poster, the White Lady stood unburned beneath her human name: BAI SHUANG, PRINCIPAL DANCER, *THE ENDLESS BALL*. Opening night was the night of the fire. “She had a name,” Tang Li whispered. Remembering that a monster had once been human felt dangerous—and necessary. Locker B17 waited in a ruined dressing room. Mirror dust clogged its lock. When Lin Wu's contract mark approached, the door opened.