Prologue: An Accident in 2026
Lin Nan yawned in the underground document archive of the Shanghai Municipal Archives. As a PhD in criminal psychology, she had no business being in this dusty place. But the digitization project for the Shanghai International Settlement police records from 1938 was a “cross-disciplinary study in historical psychology” strongly recommended by her supervisor.
“Dr. Lin, this batch contains interrogation records from the Special Investigation Section of the Shanghai Municipal Council Police Department.” The archivist wheeled over a cart piled with more than a dozen faded kraft-paper boxes. “Most of them are in Japanese and English. Some are encrypted in German...”
She put on white gloves and opened the topmost file. The paper had grown brittle, its edges curled like dry autumn leaves. The record was dated November 3, 1938. The person under interrogation was identified by the codename “Echo,” accused of “engaging in intelligence activities for an enemy nation.” A yellowed photograph was tucked inside: a woman in a qipao stood with her back to the camera at the edge of Waibaidu Bridge, rain blurring the glow of the streetlamps.
The moment Lin Nan's fingertips touched the edge of the photograph, a sharp ringing suddenly pierced her ears. The fluorescent lights in the archive began to flicker, buzzing with electricity. She felt warm liquid trickle from her nose. Blood dripped onto the 1938 interrogation record.
The ink on the page suddenly began to flow and swirl as if it were alive. English, Japanese, and German characters lifted off the paper and wove themselves into a glowing net in the air. Lin Nan tried to cry for help, but the sound caught in her throat. The last thing she saw was the woman in the photograph slowly turning around. It was her own face.
Darkness swallowed everything.
