Chapter Two: Blank Takes the Job

The cache retained original frames. Ma himself opened the locker and handed the safe to a woman beneath a red umbrella. She faced away, but the glass reflection held no face at all. “Found you,” Lu whispered. In the lobby, Ma was still forcing the cleaner to apologize. Lu connected the cache to the switcher, and Tang hijacked the stream. Hundreds of thousands watched Ma steal the safe, frame the cleaner, then pay a Mingjing Technology account for fabricated evidence. “Fake!” Ma yanked cables. “Someone hacked us!” “Don't you trust cameras?” Lu called from the crowd. Ma charged toward the voice, but his phone showed only a children's rocking ride. As viewers watched him chase it, Lu slipped past and stole the warehouse key.