Chapter Four: Midnight Station

He inserted the ticket behind the station clock. The clock became its holder—but a clock forever stopped at midnight could never reach tomorrow. 【VALIDITY FAILURE.】 Every door opened. The inspector lunged, shears cutting Lin's neck. Lin deferred the wound and seized the microphone. “The train is inside the station, so arrival occurred. But it is still midnight, so the stated arrival time has not ended. Rule One cannot complete.” He ordered the passengers through the cars and out the opposite doors. The platform's relevant side changed with each opening; its living count flickered between zero and hundreds. At the seventh second, Lin wrote PASSENGER on the ticket and slipped it into the inspector's badge.