Chapter Five: Nine Loves

Someone knocked. “Ye Lan, open up,” Cheng Ye called. Through the window, she saw him holding the schedule server. He had no shadow. “Which row did you love as a child?” the false Cheng asked. “He would never ask that.” Bai fired through the door. Ash-fire exposed a faceless body wearing Cheng's features. It dropped the server, and dozens more Chengs appeared, each shouting a different plea. Su said Zero was using the deleted as extras. Anyone answering a familiar face would lose their identity. Ye Lan killed the lights. Lu's glow exposed true shadows; Bai's fire marked borrowed identities. For the first time, their opposing powers swept the crowd side by side.