Chapter Three: The Mansion That Ate His Home

” They tapped along the study wall until they found a panel without a handle. Lin inserted the notched key. The wall slid open. The hidden room contained no furniture, only a glowing monitor. Tomorrow Layers was open on the screen. Its canvas held a photograph of Lin standing in the doorway at that very moment, taken from the ceiling—though there was no camera above him. Hundreds of hidden layers filled the panel: DEBT, STUDIO, CLIENTS, MOTHER, SU WANQING. The last was named REPLACEABLE FACE. Lin touched the mouse. The version of him on-screen raised its hand first. It was half a second ahead of reality. NULL’s faceless profile appeared.