Chapter Five: A Date Destined to Succeed

He laughed softly. Without Xiaoman waiting to be rescued, without twenty-six hours left on his watch, the moment might have been good. The screen remained blank. Translucent figures filled three hundred seats—probability echoes of people who had met, parted, or died there. A nurse in a red cap sat in the back row beside unconscious Xiaoman. “Open the ownership page,” she said. “Name us joint custodians.” Jibai traced two words on Wanxing's hand: LIGHT. LEFT. Explosives hid inside the left safety lamp. Copper wire beneath the aisle would make every echo solid if they attacked. “Will Xiaoman be safe when she wakes?” Wanxing asked. “She's already fallen for you twice,” the nurse said. “Dying for you should come naturally.”