Chapter Two: Twelve Hours at the Apex

At one, the owner of the convenience store downstairs came pounding on the door. Auntie Zhou's eight-year-old daughter, Duoduo, had congenital cardiomyopathy. After two years without a donor, she had suddenly deteriorated. Zhou had heard only that Shen Yan had taken a picture that made someone well. “Twelve hours is enough,” she pleaded on her knees. “Let her wake up and eat ice cream once.” In the kitchen, Lin Wan said, “Save her and someone else's time disappears. Seven minutes last time. What next?” “Maybe we can control the degree.” Shen Yan did not believe himself. They went because a mother would not rise from the floor. Duoduo looked too small beneath the oxygen mask. Shen Yan turned the dial backward, aiming for its slightest division.