Chapter Five: A Murder That Never Happened

Before ending the transmission, Zhou Jibai left an address: Qichen Group's abandoned optical plant. “A trap,” Li Wu said. “At least we can both see this bait.” An anonymous call sent the nineteen victims to a hospital. None remembered the umbrella child. Xu Ning alone clutched a ferry ticket dated seven years earlier. When Shen Yan brought the silver disc close, its countdown lost twelve hours, but the first anchor remained closed. A gate required a remembered place, a spoken name, and recorded starlight. The landing's name had vanished from every map. The optical plant was being demolished. Deep inside, a Qichen engineer lay with glass through his chest and no blood beneath him.