The door to the Air-Raid Shelter's Fifth Layer was lower than before.
White light flowed out along the ground, illuminating the standing water. The words on the door had never faded. Instead, as Lu Wenchuan approached, they deepened stroke by stroke.
[Take the anchor.]
Standing before the door, Lu Wenchuan took out the Student ID first.
He held the little metal tag in his palm. Its edges were worn bright, and the words on its back remained.
[Don't look back. Keep going.]
Xu Zhihan stood beside him, his fingers hovering above the Student ID.
"Tell me if it hurts."
"It doesn't hurt yet," Lu Wenchuan said quietly.
"You might not tell me even when it does."
"Then watch."
Xu Zhihan glanced at him.
"I will."
Lu Wenchuan stopped joking.
Song Zhixia watched the Monitor outside. The Deputy Captain and the Seventh Team stood ten meters away; no one approached the gap in the door. The Director had enabled remote authorization. The Air-Raid Shelter's outer levels were sealed, and some people had already been evacuated from the surrounding hospitals and residential areas.
Xu Zhihan raised his hand.
A very thin golden light settled along the Student ID's edge, pressing down only on the slight connection between the tag and Lu Wenchuan's fate line, without touching its depths. Pain twinged through Lu Wenchuan's wrist, and his brow tightened slightly.
Xu Zhihan stopped immediately.
"Does it hurt?"
Lu Wenchuan looked at him. "A little."
"How much?"
"I can talk."
"When have you ever run out of nonsense?" Xu Zhihan said coldly.
Song Zhixia's voice cut in over the comms.
"The readings haven't spiked. You can continue."
Xu Zhihan continued pressing down on the line.
The Student ID slowly rose, casting a faint shadow from its surface. The shadow took on Lu Wenchuan's outline,