Chapter Four: Death Certificate

Zhou cut the main power. The screens remained bright. For the first time, something appeared above his head—not words, but fine silver fractures identical to the veins in the black metal. Inside them, Jianwei saw herself in the tunnel, blood covering her face, one hand pressed to a younger Zhou's chest. “I want him to live,” the woman in the vision said. Jianwei went cold. “You said speaking a wish makes the person responsible for the choice.” “That only applies to other people's wishes. When you speak your own, the cost is greatest.” The screens changed: YOUR SECOND CHANCE HAS BEGUN. WILL YOU SAVE ONE PERSON, OR THE ENTIRE CITY?