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Time Loop: The Yesterday You Can't Escape
墨書 Inktalez
At 3:15 AM, for the twenty-second time, Zhou Hang awoke, feeling no fear, only numbness. He mechanically turned off the glaring blue digits of the electronic clock. This time, he did not attempt to escape; instead, he began to search.
He knew that only by finding the woman who repeatedly appeared at the edge of death could he unravel this endless Death Loop and escape the prison of March 15th.
As Zhou Hang sprang up from the depression in the mattress, the electronic clock's blue digits changed to 03:15. He stared at the condensation on the air conditioning vent, swallowing back saliva that tasted of rust—this was already the third time he had awakened at this hour. His sweat-soaked pajamas clung to his back as the cold air from the central air conditioning drilled down his spine.
The sound of rain outside suddenly became exceptionally clear. He fumbled in the dark for his phone; the cherry blossom wallpaper had faded to a dull gray without him noticing. When the date displayed "March 15th," Zhou Hang felt a throbbing in his temples, and cold sweat pooled in his palms, wrinkling the sheets.
Suddenly, a mug on the bedside table shattered, brown coffee staining the wallpaper with grotesque claw marks. The morning rush hour crowd at the subway station surged forward, sweeping him along.
The Flower Girl in a red dress stumbled at the corner of the steps; as her bouquet of Gardenias scattered, Zhou Hang noticed a Butterfly Birthmark behind her ear. This detail pricked his memory like a fine needle. Before he could think further, a harsh metallic scraping sound erupted behind him.
In an instant, a truck collided with a Traffic Cone, and Zhou Hang smelled burning rubber from its tires. His body arced through the air, and the dull thud of his head hitting a lamppost mixed with screams rising and falling around him. In his final vision, the red hem of the Flower Girl's dress resembled a pool of congealed blood.
When he opened his eyes for the second time, the electronic clock read 03:15 again. Like Zhou Goes Mad, he yanked open the curtains; through the torrential rain, he saw the neon sign on the opposite building flashing "March 15th Consumer Rights Day."
Stumbling into the kitchen, he noticed that the fluorescent sticker on the Gas Stove knob was eerily lit. As the acrid smell of Coal Gas invaded his nostrils, an explosive wave knocked him against the security window. When shards of broken glass pierced his eyes, he heard a woman's light laughter.
In this third loop, Zhou Hang chose to walk to work.
The Oden in the convenience store gurgled softly as the clerk, dressed in a navy blue uniform, handed over a rice ball. On the back of his hand, there was a cross-shaped scar.
"New product tasting," the clerk said, his lips stained with bits of seaweed.
As he chewed on the Nori, a sudden thought struck him: in the previous two cycles, this clerk had always worn white gloves.
The sensation of suffocation came without warning. It felt as if an invisible hand was tightening around his throat. He staggered and knocked over a shelf, rows of drink bottles crashing to the ground and bursting into colorful foam.
In his gradually blurring vision, through the faint light seeping between the shelves, he caught a glimpse of a woman with long hair.
When the Electronic Clock displayed 03:15 for the seventh time, Zhou Hang had already dug his nails into his palm until it bled.
He stood barefoot in front of the bathroom mirror and noticed a faint purple bruise at his collarbone, shaped like butterfly wings. The cold water from the Sprinkler spray sent a shiver down his spine; this time, he decided to break all patterns of his daily routine.
But fate was like a spider's web, tightening around him. He narrowly avoided being hit by a truck only to drown in a suddenly bursting Fire Hydrant. He was struck by a falling chandelier in an empty office building. While resting on a park bench, he was pecked to death by a frenzied Pigeon Flock...
Each time he faced death, the blurry figure of that woman became clearer.
Before the twenty-first death arrived, Zhou Hang finally saw the Silver Pendant on her wrist—its shape exactly matched the birthmark behind the Flower Girl's ear. Amidst the explosion's flames, he could distinctly see her lips forming the words: "Find me."
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