Chapter Two: The Seven Seconds Every Camera Forgot

“The shutter and counter. Not the phone.” “You haven't forgotten everything.” Most people would study the print. Xu enlarged reflections in the corner. Three transparent umbrella sleeves mirrored the stall. Two showed concrete; the third showed white tiles. “What about surveillance?” Lin asked. “For seven seconds, nine cameras repeated their previous frames. It looked normal, except every raindrop hung motionless.” “Seven seconds is enough to go how far?” “On our map?” Xu looked at him. “Not far.” The cleaning robot bumped their table and apologized. Xu stood. “Where is Zhao Bo?” Lin blinked. “You believe me?” “I believe Chen did not leave through a known exit. Your ghost program is an instrument of the crime until evidence says otherwise.