Chapter Four: The Reality Where He Died

“It was Shen Mo's question. I left it blank.” In the rain stood an old driver whose chest had been crushed by a steering wheel. He touched two fingers to Lu Xiao's brow. The muscle memory of the pendulum drift entered Lu Xiao's bones—and took payment. He could no longer remember Su Wan's favorite song. At the end of the service road lay a burned slate. It read EDGE OF SPEED 1 and bore a date from ten years ago. The scene number was not one, but zero. On the back someone had carved: AFTER SHEN XING DIED, THE MASTER REEL REWOUND ITSELF FOR THE FIRST TIME. Lu Xiao picked it up. Fire climbed his arm without heat. The anchor held. Su Wan touched the charred edge. “This isn't a prop. I cut this original record out of Shen Mo's vault three years ago.”