Chapter Four: The Nameless Man

His coworkers vanished. Mother's number became UNKNOWN. In family photographs, his sister faded to white. Nameless Lane had no visible entrance. Shen Jing said only someone who abandoned his own name could see it. Cheng tore off his employee badge and dropped it down the drain. A wall opened onto an alley hung with lost-property tags bearing names the city had deleted. An old dumpling vendor guarded Number Seven. “And your name, customer?” Cheng stayed silent. Every dumpling in her pot surfaced with his face. Xu Man held up his marked palm. “He is Chuan. I'm a doctor. I vouch for him.” The woman let them pass. Xu Man no longer remembered him, yet she protected the temporary name.