Chapter Two: Ten Seconds Ahead

Three soft knocks sounded at his door. A woman spoke from the corridor. “My name is Lin Wu. I'm an independent data journalist. The deleted guard was Xu Shanming, fifty-seven. If you remember a red thermos, open the door.” Through the peephole he saw a short-haired woman in a black coat, perhaps thirty, with empty hands. She held her phone to the glass. A white lighthouse rotated on its screen. Echo warned him: “She's a candidate too.” At that instant, the fire door opened behind her. The gray-coated figure emerged with the black phone raised. “Down!” Cheng Ye opened the door. There was no gunshot. The white square flashed. The number 1907 vanished from the door behind Lin Wu, and her body turned translucent for a heartbeat.