Chapter Four: The Name in the Empty Pod

Dark red lines ran from every pod and disappeared through the second door. The next number from Zhixia's memory was one. Before Zhiwei touched the keypad, something struck the door overhead. Lu Yao was breaking in. “Send him away,” Gu said. “Wen Qi can make police see an ordinary cold room.” “Then I need a witness willing not to believe me.” Zhiwei raised her phone. Through its camera, the pods became empty racks, and the sisters' photograph became blank paper. She bit her fingertip and smeared her clock-stopped blood across the lens. The image flickered. All twelve pods returned. Gu's expression changed. “Your blood can anchor the overlap.” “Is that what Wen Qi wants?” “She wants to carry things that exist only at midnight into daylight.”