Chapter Four: Detached HEAD

Transparent drawers held everything reality had abandoned: forgotten street signs, report cards for children who never existed, family portraits missing half a face. They found Zhou Jiming—not as one person, but 4,312 objects. His birth certificate, school records, messages, medical data, and other people's memories had been broken apart. In the central drawer sat an iced Americano that was still melting. As condensation slipped down the cup, Shen Zhou remembered Jiming's last words before leaving the office. “Stop using overtime as an excuse. People don't have to fix every bug before they deserve to go home.” Shen Zhou reached for the drawer. A warning appeared.