Chapter Two: The Living

Digital records updated with reality; ink lagged by minutes, like a cache slow to expire. “Why do you remember?” he asked. “Maybe because I was reading the commit when reality changed.” She hesitated. “Maybe because I was already a conflict.” The `main` page flickered. A new commit appeared from `root-0`. `chore: remove invalid relationship.` Lin Wan caught Shen Zhou's wrist. “Don't open it.” “It's already on main.” The page refreshed. In `relationships/shen-zhou.yml`, every line concerning Zhou Jiming disappeared. The chip bag crackled softly. The handwriting on it began to fade. Shen Zhou seized the marker and wrote “ZHOU JIMING” on his arm. At the last stroke, he forgot why.