"San Shui, something urgent came up at home today, so I took the day off. Could you keep an eye on the cold storage equipment for me?"
San Shui was Chen Miao's nickname. His Elder Uncle often called him that, so everyone at the funeral home did too.
"Normally, I wouldn't need to ask, but a guest arrived in cold storage today. I'm worried the equipment might suddenly malfunction. If the guest deteriorates, we'll be in trouble."
"You know our refrigerated cabinets have been in use for nine years. No matter how well we maintain them, they're bound to have a few problems. Having someone watch them will keep anything serious from happening."
"So I'll have to trouble you for tonight. Check on them every two or three hours."
As he listened to Brother Wang's voice on the phone, Chen Miao's gaze shifted to the book.
"San Shui? San Shui? Are you listening?"
Chen Miao came back to his senses and reflexively replied, "Oh, sure."
"All right, I'll leave it to you tonight. If you run into anything you can't handle, remember to call me."
With that, Brother Wang hung up.
Chen Miao put down his phone, his brow tightly furrowed.
After two years working at the funeral home, Chen Miao had seen plenty of dead people. He had far stronger nerves than most.
He picked up the book again and reread the first chapter.
"A coincidence?"
The funeral home, Old Wang, taking leave, the phone call—everything matched. How could there be such a coincidence?
But if it wasn't a coincidence, what was it?
Suddenly, Chen Miao's heart, hardened by everything he had experienced, began beating a little faster.
Could this be another event beyond all reason?
Like the fever I had when Grandpa died?
Chen Miao set the book down properly and began examining it carefully.
Aside from the first chapter and the cover, there was no other writing anywhere in the book.
He focused on the few paragraphs in the first chapter.
The first two paragraphs had already come true. Only the last two remained unverified.
If what the book said was true, did that mean he would die if he went to cold storage tonight?
Why would I die?
How would I die?
After thinking for a moment, Chen Miao picked up his phone and called his Elder Uncle.
Better to believe it than dismiss it.
Unlike the others at the funeral home, Chen Miao had experienced something similar before, so he took it more seriously.
The call connected.
"San Shui, what's the matter?"
"Elder Uncle, I have something to do tonight. I promised Brother Wang I'd watch cold storage, but I'm afraid I won't be able to."
"If you've got something to do, go take care of it. I'll be at the funeral home tonight. I'll check on it myself."
The call ended.
As Chen Miao looked at the words "Eldest Uncle" in his call history, his brow remained furrowed.
Another possibility suddenly occurred to him.
If whatever was happening in cold storage wasn't targeting him specifically, did that mean his Elder Uncle would also be in danger if he went?
What should I do?
Stop Elder Uncle? With what excuse?
Given the funeral home's recent situation, his Elder Uncle would never allow anything to go wrong with cold storage. If Chen Miao didn't go, his Elder Uncle definitely would!
Call the police?
What would I tell them?
That I'd foreseen someone dying tonight?
As Chen Miao pondered this, his gaze happened to drift toward the book.
Suddenly, his pupils trembled, and every hair on his body stood on end!
It had changed!
The contents of the first chapter had changed!
"Old Wang, the funeral home's cold storage attendant, called me and said he had something to do tonight. He asked me to cover his shift and find time tonight to check that the cold storage equipment was running properly."
"It was only a matter of checking the equipment, nothing complicated. But after agreeing to help Old Wang, I suddenly remembered I had something to do tonight, so I asked the director for leave."
"The next day, I learned that the director had died."
The contents of the book had actually changed!
As he stared at that final line, Chen Miao's heart sank.
If all of this was true, then his guess had been right. Whatever was happening in cold storage wasn't targeting any particular person.
Whoever went would die!
Chen Miao picked up his phone again.
"Elder Uncle, I'm free tonight after all. I'll check on cold storage!"
"Did some girl stand you up?"
"No. I'm hanging up, Elder Uncle!"
The moment the call ended, Chen Miao looked at the book.
Right before his eyes, some force erased the words in the first chapter. Then an invisible pen wrote new content in their place.
It was the original version—the one in which he died!
Even though he had already prepared himself somewhat for the book's mysterious nature, witnessing this still shook him to his core.
The fever he had suffered when his grandfather died couldn't be explained by science, but it couldn't prove that anything extraordinary existed, either. Only Chen Miao had stubbornly believed there was more to that fever.
Today, he finally knew for certain.
There really were unknown forces in this world!
After letting his thoughts run wild for quite a while, Chen Miao slowly calmed down and began considering his current situation. After all, his life was at stake!
He focused on the words again.
He hadn't called his Elder Uncle to say he would watch cold storage because he intended to die in his Elder Uncle's place.
Agreeing was one thing. Whether he actually went was entirely up to him!
What puzzled Chen Miao, however, was why the book's contents hadn't changed when he had already decided not to go to cold storage tonight.
Chen Miao analyzed the logic behind it.
Two phone calls had changed the book's contents twice.
That had happened because his Elder Uncle had entered the equation.
"So some kind of variable has to appear before the contents of the book can change?"
To test this theory, Chen Miao called his childhood friend and asked him to come spend the night with him at the funeral home.
After Chen Miao promised him all sorts of things, his friend agreed.
Throughout the conversation, Chen Miao kept his eyes on the book.
Before the call had even ended, the contents of the first chapter had changed.
"..."
"It was only a matter of checking the equipment, nothing complicated. But after agreeing to help Old Wang, I suddenly felt a little lonely on my own, so I invited a friend to keep me company."
"In the early hours of the morning, I remembered Old Wang's request and went to cold storage with my friend, carrying flashlights. With a friend beside me, the funeral home's nighttime chill felt much less oppressive."
"We entered cold storage... We died."
"Fucking say something! You're trying to back out, aren't you?"
Hearing his childhood friend's voice through the phone, Chen Miao replied, "You don't need to come tonight. I just remembered it's the end of the month. I don't have any money to treat you!"
"Shit! You fucking..."
Chen Miao hung up, cutting off his friend's tirade, but then his expression froze.
The book's contents hadn't changed!
"What went wrong?"
Suddenly, something occurred to Chen Miao.
Perhaps the problem wasn't with the book, but with the person!
He picked up his phone and called his childhood friend again.
Only after Chen Miao explained that he had been joking earlier and wouldn't be staying at the funeral home tonight did his friend hang up, cursing all the while.
At the same time, the contents of the first chapter reverted to their original form.
The only person who died was "I"!
Before you continue