Chapter Three: The Shared Dream

Zhou Jiming's first words upon waking were, "I don't recognize this face." He meant his own reflection. He retained language and expertise. He could explain how bone conduction bypassed the eardrum and list the reverberation profile of every subway tunnel in Linchuan. He remembered his wife's number, but called the crying woman on the phone "the person who claims to be my wife." The hunter had removed the word mine from his life. Outside intensive care, Lu Zhi gave Shen Yao cold coffee. "Twelve coma patients. Six woke briefly. The symptoms match." "Where did you learn that I must not say my name inside?" He crushed a crease into his cup. "My sister told me."