Chapter Eight: Seventeen Seconds
The voice recorder fell onto the desk. Lin Mo didn't immediately pick it up. Those words still lingered in his mind.
“He's awake.”
Who was awake? What did his father's unfinished “dead man” mean? What exactly had happened on June 3, three years ago?
He stared at the voice recorder. For the first time, he felt that a recording only seventeen seconds long could somehow be heavier than a person's entire life.
His phone suddenly rang. It was Su Yan.
“Hello.”
“Where are you?”
“I'm in my dad's old study.”
There was a second of silence on the other end.
“You found something?”
“Yeah.”
“The voice recorder?”
Lin Mo froze for a moment.
“You knew?”
“I was just guessing.”
“Why would you know?”
Su Yan didn't answer.
Lin Mo stood up.
“Is there something else you haven't told me?”
“Yes.”
“A lot?”
“…A lot.”
“Then come over now.”
“Okay.”
“I'll wait for you.”
He hung up.
Lin Mo looked at the voice recorder again.
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
If this recording was only seventeen seconds long, then a complete version had to exist. His father couldn't possibly have recorded only seventeen seconds.
Unless—
Someone had deleted everything after that.
Two in the afternoon.
Su Yan arrived in a hurry. The moment she entered the study, she saw the voice recorder on the desk. She stopped in her tracks.
“This is it?”
Lin Mo nodded.
Su Yan slowly walked over.
“You listened to it?”
“Yeah.”
“All of it?”
“Only seventeen seconds.”
She picked up the voice recorder. Turned it over. Looked at it for several seconds. Then suddenly said, “This isn't the original voice recorder.”
Lin Mo froze.
“What?”
“The old one didn't have this scratch.”
“You've seen it before?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Su Yan placed the voice recorder back on the desk.
“On June 3.”
Lin Mo looked at her.
“You said I gave the voice recorder to you.”
“Yeah.”
“Then why is it in my dad's study now?”
“I don't know.”
“Where did you put it back then?”
“I didn't take it with me.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you gave it to me, you told me to keep it somewhere safe for the time being.”
“Later, people working for my dad came looking for me.”
“I was afraid they'd find it, so I put it back on you.”
Lin Mo frowned.
“Put it back on me?”
“Yeah.”
“But I don't remember any of that.”
Su Yan looked at him.
“That’s why I said you might have forgotten part of it.”
Lin Mo sat down.
“Tell me everything.”
Su Yan sat down too.
“That night, my dad told me to come home.”
“I didn't go.”
“Because I knew he might ask me about you and me.”
“So I went somewhere else.”
“Where?”
“An office of his from years ago.”
Lin Mo's brow furrowed slightly.
“You went there too.”
“Yeah.”
“How did you know?”
“You texted me.”
Lin Mo was stunned.
“I did?”
“Yeah.”
“You said, ‘Come over. I have something to give you.’”
“When I got there, you were already inside.”
“And then?”
Su Yan closed her eyes, as if trying hard to remember.
“You looked really panicked.”
“You kept asking me if my dad knew someone named M.”
Lin Mo's breath caught.
“I asked you that?”
“Yeah.”
“Why would I ask that?”
“I don't know.”
“And then?”
“You gave me the voice recorder.”
“You said there was something on it you couldn't keep with you.”
“I asked what it was.”
“You didn't answer.”
Lin Mo asked quietly, “What's on that recording?”
Su Yan shook her head.
“I didn't listen.”
“Why not?”
“Because you told me not to.”
Lin Mo froze.
“I told you not to listen?”
“Yeah.”
“You said I could only open it if you really disappeared.”
“But afterward…”
“Afterward what?”
Su Yan raised her head.
“You disappeared.”
Lin Mo's heart sank.
“What do you mean, I disappeared?”
“That night.”
“After you left the office, I waited twenty minutes.”
“You didn't come back.”
“I called your phone.”
“It was turned off.”
“I thought you'd gone home.”
“But I didn't find out until the next day that you hadn't gone home at all.”
Lin Mo fell silent.
“Then where did I go?”
Su Yan looked at him.
“No one knows.”
Lin Mo lowered his head.
This was the blank spot in his memory. Two hours. No—not two hours. Maybe an entire night.
He didn't know where he had gone. He didn't know why he had returned to the dorm. He knew even less about why he had forgotten.
“How long did you say I was gone?”
“Eleven hours.”
Lin Mo abruptly looked up.
“Eleven hours?”
“Yeah.”
“Then where was I found?”
Su Yan didn't answer.
“Tell me.”
She bit her lip.
“At the hospital.”
“The hospital?”
“When you were brought in, you were conscious.”
“But you kept saying one thing.”
“What?”
She looked at Lin Mo.
“Don't let M find me.”
Lin Mo's whole body went rigid.
“I said that?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because the doctor said you might have been traumatized.”
“After you woke up, you didn't remember anything.”
“You didn't even know why you were in the hospital.”
Lin Mo closed his eyes.
A few blurry images suddenly flashed through his mind. White lights. The smell of disinfectant. Someone standing beside the hospital bed. A woman. She seemed to be crying. And a man. He kept asking:
“Do you remember?”
Lin Mo suddenly opened his eyes.
“I remembered something.”
Su Yan immediately looked at him.
“What?”
“The hospital.”
“You remember?”
“Someone asked me something.”
“What?”
Lin Mo knitted his brows.
“He asked me…”
“Whether I'd seen a woman.”
Su Yan's expression changed.
“What woman?”
“I don't know.”
“I couldn't see her face.”
“I only remember that she was wearing a black hat.”
Su Yan slowly stood up.
“M.”
The room fell terrifyingly silent.
Lin Mo looked at her.
“What did you think of?”
“The first time I met M.”
“She was wearing a black hat too.”
“And…”
“She said something.”
“What?”
Su Yan's voice began to tremble.
“She said you would forget.”
Lin Mo's heart sank.
“What does that mean?”
“She said you'd definitely forget what happened three years ago in the end.”
“I didn't believe her at the time.”
“But you really did forget.”
Lin Mo lowered his head.
For the first time, he felt that his memories weren't his own. As if someone had once taken away a part of him. And he hadn't noticed at all.
Four in the afternoon.
The two of them decided to go to the hospital. Not because Lin Mo still remembered which hospital it was, but because Su Yan did.
“This one.”
She pointed at her phone.
“This is where you were taken.”
Lin Mo looked up.
“You're sure?”
“I'm sure.”
They entered the hospital. After asking at the desk, they learned that because so much time had passed, the records had to be retrieved manually.
They waited twenty minutes. Finally, a staff member came out carrying a file.
“Mr. Lin?”
“Yes.”
“There was indeed a patient named Lin Mo here three years ago.”
“He was brought in that night.”
“His medical records are still here.”
Lin Mo took the file.
There was only one sentence in the diagnosis field:
“Transient amnesia, suspected external trauma.”
He frowned.
“External trauma?”
The staff member nodded.
“The doctor made notes at the time.”
“Can we see them?”
The other person hesitated. In the end, they let them look.
The medical record stated:
“Patient brought to the hospital at 4:12 a.m. No obvious external injuries. Conscious. Unable to recall the previous ten to twelve hours. Patient repeatedly asked:
‘Where is Su Yan?’
and:
‘Has M found me?’”
Lin Mo stared at the two sentences. His heart began beating faster and faster.
“I kept asking about Su Yan?”
Su Yan nodded.
“Yeah.”
“But you weren't with me that day.”
“No.”
“Then why would I ask about you?”
“I don't know.”
Lin Mo continued reading.
Doctor's notes:
“Patient refuses to explain what happened.”
He stopped.
“I refused?”
“Yes.”
“Why would I?”
No one answered.
Then he saw the next line.
“Patient stated: If I tell anyone, someone will die.”
Lin Mo's hand went rigid.
Su Yan saw it too.
They looked at each other. Neither of them said a word.
“There’s another page,” Su Yan said.
Lin Mo turned it over.
The back contained a police note. Only a few brief lines.
“Patient stated that he did not want the police called.” “Family was present.” “Family requested that the patient's information not be disclosed.”
The final line read:
“Patient's father arrived at the hospital at 5:07 a.m.”
Lin Mo stopped.
“My dad came.”
“Yeah.”
“What did he tell the doctor?”
There was no answer. The records after that had been blacked out.
“Why?”
The staff member said, “That section contains someone else's information.”
Lin Mo didn't ask anything else.
Because he suddenly remembered the letter his father had left behind.
What happened three years ago wasn't an accident.
Which meant— his father had known all along that he would lose his memory. He might even have known why.
After leaving the hospital, it began to rain. It wasn't raining hard, but it made the whole city look blurred.
The two of them stood beneath the covered walkway.
Su Yan suddenly said, “There's something I've never told you.”
Lin Mo looked at her.
“What?”
“The night you were hospitalized.”
“I went there.”
Lin Mo froze.
“You did?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn't you go inside?”
“Your dad wouldn't let me in.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that if I really cared about you, I shouldn't show up in front of you again.”
Lin Mo fell silent.
“So you left?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you feel awful back then?”
Su Yan gave a small smile.
“I did.”
“But compared to letting something happen to you…”
“I'd rather have you hate me.”
Lin Mo looked at the rain.
“I used to think you suddenly decided you didn't want me anymore.”
“Now I know.”
“You were actually protecting me the whole time.”
Su Yan shook her head.
“Not necessarily.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe I was just a coward.”
“Maybe I was just scared.”
“Maybe what I did really did hurt you in the end.”
Lin Mo didn't argue.
“But now we know.”
“At least we can choose again.”
Su Yan looked at him.
“Choose what?”
“Whether we face it together.”
She didn't say anything.
After a few seconds, she reached out her hand.
Lin Mo glanced at it. Then took it.
Rain fell against the eaves.
This time, neither of them left.
Seven in the evening.
The two of them returned to Lin Mo's house.
Lin Mo took out the voice recorder again.
“Let's listen to it again.”
Su Yan nodded.
The recording played.
“If you're listening to this recording…”
It was his father's voice.
“It means I can't tell you this in person anymore.”
A pause.
“Three years ago, the dead man you saw…”
Static.
Then:
“He's awake.”
The recording ended.
Su Yan frowned.
“That's all?”
“Yeah.”
“Wait.”
She suddenly reached out.
“Play it again.”
Lin Mo pressed the button.
The second time. The third. The fourth.
Su Yan closed her eyes.
“Did you hear it?”
“Hear what?”
“At the end.”
Lin Mo listened carefully.
“He's awake.”
Then came a very soft metallic sound. Like a doorknob turning.
Then, a faint breath.
And after that, the girl's voice.
“He's awake.”
Su Yan opened her eyes.
“That wasn't recorded later.”
“What?”
“The girl's voice.”
“She was in the room at the time.”
Lin Mo froze.
“How do you know?”
“Because there's an echo in her voice.”
“It wasn't added afterward.”
“She was right beside whoever made the recording.”
Lin Mo played it again.
They began paying attention to the background sounds.
Dripping water. The air conditioner. A clock.
Finally, a sound so faint it was almost inaudible.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Like someone was knocking on a door.
Lin Mo suddenly stood up.
“Wait.”
“What is it?”
“That sound…”
“I've heard it before.”
Su Yan looked at him.
“Where?”
Lin Mo didn't answer.
Because he suddenly remembered.
Three years ago. At the hospital. When he had been half-asleep and half-awake.
He had kept hearing someone knock on the door. Three times. Once every few minutes.
And that morning, the doctor had asked him:
“Did you hear someone knocking on the door?”
At the time, he had said:
“No.”
Only now did he realize that he remembered. He had simply forgotten that he remembered.
Nine in the evening.
Lin Mo decided to search his father's study again.
This time, he didn't just look through the documents. He moved the entire bookcase aside.
Su Yan helped him search.
Two hours later, finally, a small hidden compartment appeared behind the wall.
Inside was only a cardboard box.
Written on the box were:
2009–2016
Lin Mo froze.
“This isn't from three years ago.”
“No.”
“Why would it be here?”
He opened it.
Inside were photographs of his father when he was young, several documents, and an old notebook.
Lin Mo opened to the first page.
Written there were the words:
“M Project.”
His heart gave a violent thump.
“M isn't a person.”
Su Yan looked at the notebook.
“It’s a project?”
Lin Mo nodded.
He continued turning the pages.
The contents were chaotic. Large numbers. Names. Dates.
The final page read:
“Project failed.” “Three dead.” “One missing.” “The survivors must keep it secret.”
Lin Mo's hand stopped.
Three dead. One missing.
And on the next line, there was only one name.
Takahashi.
Su Yan's face instantly went white.
“Takahashi wasn't my dad's friend.”
Lin Mo looked up.
“He was part of the M Project.”
Su Yan said nothing.
The two of them continued reading.
At the very bottom of the last page, there was a date.
June 3, 2016.
Exactly ten years ago.
Lin Mo suddenly understood.
What happened three years ago wasn't the beginning of the story at all.
It was only the point when something happened again.
Eleven at night.
Lin Mo photographed all the documents.
Just then, his phone suddenly vibrated.
An unknown number.
This time, there was no call. Only a single photo.
Lin Mo opened it.
The photo showed the two of them reading through his father's documents.
The angle it had been taken from was right outside the door.
Time: Five minutes ago.
Lin Mo slowly raised his head.
He looked toward the door.
It wasn't fully closed. A crack remained.
In the dark hallway, there seemed to be a shadowy figure.
“Su Yan.”
“Yeah?”
“Don't move.”
Lin Mo slowly stood up.
The shadow didn't leave.
He took one step toward the door.
The figure stepped back.
Lin Mo immediately rushed out.
Footsteps echoed through the stairwell.
Fast.
He chased after them.
One floor. Two floors. Three floors.
The person was moving quickly.
Lin Mo chased them all the way to the first floor.
The door was shoved open.
Rain was falling outside.
Traffic flowed nonstop along the street.
The figure had vanished.
Lin Mo stood in the rain.
Then he suddenly saw something on the ground.
A photograph.
He picked it up.
The picture showed three people from ten years ago.
One of them was his father. Another was Su Yan's father.
The third person—
Lin Mo didn't recognize him.
But there was a sentence written on the back of the photo.
The handwriting was familiar.
It was M's handwriting.
“The third person didn't die.”
Lin Mo's heart gave a violent thump.
In the corner of the photo, there was also a name.
He stared at it.
His whole body felt as if it had been struck by lightning.
Because that name—
he knew it.
And he knew it very well.
Lin Mo.
Not the Lin Mo he was now.
But—
the thirteen-year-old Lin Mo from ten years ago.