Five hours after leaving Smallville, Li Jie was driving along a pitch-black stretch of interstate in Missouri toward the nearest motel.
A country music CD he had bought at a gas station played in the car, the singer telling a story of heartbreak in a raspy voice. The fields in the darkness resembled a black ocean, with the occasional farmhouse light flashing past like an isolated island.
His phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen. It was an unknown number.
"Hello?"
There were a few seconds of silence on the other end, broken only by heavy breathing-or rather, breathing simulated by a mechanical circulation system.
"It's me. Cliff."
"What's wrong?" Li Jie turned off the music. "Did something happen?"
"No, no. Nothing."
Cliff sounded even more subdued than he had in Las Vegas, a strange weariness in his voice. "I... just wanted to call. To apologize for what happened that day."
"Apologize?"
Li Jie held the wheel with one hand, his gaze sharpening. "For what? Did you pretend you couldn't drink that day to get out of drinking?"
"No, no, I mean..."
Cliff paused. "I shouldn't have dumped my problems on you. Those things, those doubts... they shouldn't have been your burden. You were just on vacation, and I unloaded everything on you like some out-of-control robot."
"Did you catch a virus?" Li Jie frowned. "Or did someone reinstall your system? Do you currently feel an urge to light a stick of incense and keep kowtowing?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Absolutely not."
Cliff made a mechanical sound resembling a sigh. "I just... did a lot of thinking after I got back. Those problems should be mine to face."
"And?" Li Jie asked. "Did you face them?"
The other end went silent again. This time, it lasted nearly ten seconds.