"What the hell is going on, Loa?" Seeing the smile on Loa's face, Brother Li seemed to grasp at a lifeline and asked urgently.
"Brother Li, someone else told you all this, didn't they?" Loa lit a cigarette and let out a long breath.
"Of course. How else would I know?" the bearded man said with a miserable look. "These decisions come from the higher-ups. Where are we supposed to get news except from the rumors going around?"
"Fair enough. If you knew about this, the bug would be way too obvious." Loa turned the computer monitor to face the sofa.
Pointing at the webpage, Loa exhaled a puff of smoke. "Don't you ever check the stock market? It's a bloodbath right now. Red everywhere. Those companies' shares are down too. It's not because development stopped."
"Hold on. What did you say?" Brother Li stared at Loa in confusion. "The stock market's crashing? When did that happen?"
"Back in June, of course!"
Loa watched the man before him in Stillness, then smiled.
And then—
Crack!
A sharp shattering sound rang through the room. Brother Li froze in place, even his breathing coming to a halt. Their surroundings seemed to freeze as cracks slowly spread through the air.
Loa watched it happen, then rose and crossed the fractured floor to the bearded man's side.
He exhaled.
"I know. The May Day holiday just ended, so it should be May."
As he spoke, Loa picked up the ashtray from the sofa and tapped his cigarette ash into it.
"But that happened two years ago..."
"I really thought I'd come back. I did."
Loa pushed open the office door and walked down the corridor. With every step he took, another meter of time and space froze. Familiar faces came into view: the customer-service