I was livestreaming, chatting with my followers as I walked, forcing a weak smile at the camera before my vision swam, and I felt myself slowly, inevitably, go down. Amidst my followers’ frantic calls for help, a uniformed officer, gun at the ready, appeared in everyone’s view. I confidently collapsed onto the sturdy chest of the officer. In my previous life, my mentor, Dr. Silas Vance, had stolen crucial experimental data, selling it to a rival nation. Yet, the surveillance footage showed *me* as the last person to enter and leave. Two minutes after I left, a fire erupted, causing the lab building to explode and incinerate all evidence. Sleeping soundly in my dorm, I had no one who could provide an alibi. Convicted of arson, causing significant property damage, I was sentenced to life imprisonment and eventually died in a prison brawl. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the fire. If he could fake surveillance evidence against me, then I would use irrefutable proof to rip off his deceptive mask. Without me as his scapegoat, how would he ever convince the university to swallow hundreds of millions in losses?
I livestreamed for half an hour straight. Without any filters, my face was visibly pale. The chat feed had shifted from: “Audrey’s genuinely a PhD, her ideas are so advanced!” “Holy crap, her method could solve my current technical problems!” To: “Audrey, do you researchers ever exercise? You’re breathing so heavily!” “Audrey, I know this path. Just a few more steps, there’s a federal facility ahead, go ask for help! You look like you’re about to pass out.” “Mom, help! Someone’s about to collapse on my screen!” I looked up, weakly gazing at the screen, my forehead visibly drenched in cold sweat. “Yeah, I don’t feel so great. Might be low blood sugar, I’m so sorry.” The comments scrolled thick and fast: “No, no, no, Audrey, don’t talk! Someone save her!” “Officer! This citizen needs serious help!” Finally, I saw the gates of the facility. I mustered all my strength, sped up a few steps, and stumbled past the yellow warning line. “Hold it right there! What are you doing?!” The officer at the gate, gun in hand, immediately went on high alert, seeing someone holding a selfie device walk directly into the restricted area. I kept my head down; the camera could capture my pale face and half-closed eyes, but the officer couldn’t see them. To him, an unknown individual was ignoring his warnings and barging into the base. One officer raised his weapon, while another called for backup and cautiously approached me. Until I crashed heavily into him, then softly collapsed to the ground. I squinted at the time: 9:48 PM. Seven minutes until the fire. I gasped, a tense knot in my chest suddenly loosening, my consciousness instantly fading. I felt someone shaking me. I struggled to open my eyes, unable to make out the face in front of me. I tried to speak as loudly as I could, but the sound was barely a whisper until he leaned his ear close to my mouth. “I’m sorry… I’m not a bad person… I’m still livestreaming, could you… turn it off for me?” The last image on the livestream was the officer’s cap. My consciousness receded, and I saw my past life. Waking up to my blankets being ripped off and being dragged out of bed while still half-asleep—that was the nightmare that haunted my past life. Dressed in thin pajamas, surrounded by a group of police officers and university officials, repeatedly questioned in harsh tones about why I started the fire, all I could do was offer a weak, helpless “I didn’t.” Nothing more. My hands were clamped in cold handcuffs, and I felt as though my entire life had been locked away. During my days and nights in prison, I replayed countless scenarios. The best possible explanation was that the fire was caused by a short circuit, not intentional arson, meaning I wouldn’t be sentenced so severely. But I couldn’t prove it wasn’t me who was last in and out of the lab. The surveillance clearly showed me entering and exiting the building, and the lab’s access card records were under my ID. The evidence was so solid, it could crush me. It wasn’t until a year later, when my former mentor was teaching in the States, and the research he published was built directly upon my core technology, that I finally understood the truth. The fire wasn’t meant to destroy anything; it was meant to cover something up. And now, without my unwitting cooperation, who else could help him pull off this clandestine data swap?
I felt someone moving me and struggled to open my eyes. My vision was too blurry. I could only grasp onto the person in the uniform, whoever it was. “Alright, young lady, just let go for a moment. Let the paramedics check you over.” I didn’t want paramedics, and I didn’t want to go to the hospital. I wanted to stay under *their* surveillance, here at the facility. Someone was prying my fingers open. It hurt so much. Tears streamed down my face. I clung on with all my might, refusing to let go. “She’s probably just startled, nothing serious, just low blood sugar. If she won’t let go, let’s carry her to the duty room for now.” I stopped struggling, letting them carry me through the gates. I looked up at the security cameras above the entrance—such solid evidence. Someone put a piece of candy in my mouth, and I slowly regained some strength, enough to sit up. A group of people surrounded me. None of the harsh, cold faces from my past life. Their expressions of concern made tears well up in my eyes. “Feeling a little better, miss?” Seeing the light return to my eyes, Captain Miller, a man with two stripes and one bar on his uniform, asked with genuine concern. A wave of injustice and sorrow surged within me, like floodgates bursting open, and I couldn’t stop it anymore. I began to sob uncontrollably. The clock on the wall seemed to be counting down, bringing me closer and closer to safety. 9:50 PM. Dr. Silas Vance must be in the lab copying my data by now, right? I had considered calling the police beforehand to catch him red-handed, but then I realized: he not only faked my access card but also tampered with the university’s surveillance data. This wasn’t something a professor, who had only returned to teach here for less than a year, could do alone. 9:53 PM. I was crying so hard I started to hiccup. The people around me, initially flustered, had calmed down, passing me water and tissues. Dr. Silas Vance must have already left, locking up behind him. I wondered how he started the fire. Logically, the lab had excellent power cut-off and fire safety measures. How could it catch fire so easily, and even spread to cause the entire building to explode? 9:54 PM. My emotions slowly stabilized. Captain Miller couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Young lady, you’re the most impressive crier I’ve ever seen.” I pouted, embarrassed. I was terrified of what I’d endured, and ecstatic about my rebirth. Heaven knows, the sheer joy that erupted when I realized I’d been reborn an hour before the fire almost drowned me. “I can’t stay in the dorm!” That was my only thought. I grabbed my essentials and fled immediately. It wasn’t until I was in the taxi that I came to my senses and started thinking about what else I could do. I usually recorded faceless videos to share study tips and methods. Now, I decided to go live, face and all, to have all my followers bear witness. Collapsing at the facility gates was a sheer coincidence. When I was reborn, I had been up for over twenty hours and was finally ready to sleep. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have slept so soundly that I was oblivious to the fire. The dual pressure of mental exhaustion and physical strain had simply overwhelmed me. In this situation, the timing of my low blood sugar was perfect. “Do you want me to call an ambulance?” Captain Miller’s smiling eyes met mine. “You still look frightfully pale.” 9:55 PM. The second hand on the clock seemed to tick directly on my heart. “Yes, please. Thank you so much.” I stopped my sobbing and said gratefully.
Emergency sirens howled, not for an ambulance, but for the fire department, racing past the window. I watched, dazed, as the red lights vanished into the distance. “We’ve verified your identification. Here, take your documents back.” I snapped out of it, taking the documents Captain Miller handed me. All my IDs: driver’s license, student ID, and the lab access card. “Don’t worry, we’ll go to the hospital with you.” His clear, reassuring voice gave me such a sense of security that I drifted into a deep sleep before the ambulance even arrived, waking only when my body was suddenly yanked, almost throwing me off the bed. “Audrey Hayes, you’re suspected of arson. We need you to cooperate with our investigation!” The same cold, stern voice as in my past life sent a shiver down my spine. My head was still a bit foggy. I stared blankly at the people in front of me and asked, bewildered, “What?” “Do you think getting yourself admitted to the hospital will get you out of this?” Dean Henderson’s voice was hoarse; he looked like he hadn’t slept all night. “Audrey, you were caught on camera escaping after starting the fire.” Dr. Silas Vance, still looking refined and scholarly, condemned me in the gentlest tone. “Your recent research progress has stalled, and you’ve been under too much stress.” “I told her she wouldn’t have to delay graduation, but who knew she’d be so extreme, rather destroying everything than admitting her own incompetence.” He explained to the Dean and the officers, playing the part of a caring mentor. “This really is her fault, but I hope you can go easy on her, considering how young she is.” The officers ignored his soft-spoken pleas. Detective Captain Hayes coldly addressed me: “She’s an adult and must take responsibility for her actions.” “What exactly happened?” I asked, completely confused. “Still playing dumb!” Dean Henderson roared, pointing at me. “Minutes after you left the lab last night, it caught fire!” “The fire spread, causing an explosion, and half the lab building was destroyed!” “The whole university didn’t dare close an eye last night, and here you are, having a leisurely sleep in the hospital!” He turned to Detective Captain Hayes, shaking his head in disappointment. “Detective Captain Hayes, just take her. I’m done with this.” “I never went to the academic building last night!” I propped myself up on the hospital bed, leaning forward, desperately trying to make them believe me. “I have no reason to burn down the academic building, please believe me!” No matter how earnest or anxious I was, everyone around me stared coldly, as if I were a jumping clown. “You should be grateful no one was hurt. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be speaking to you so politely.” “I am Detective Captain Hayes of the city’s Major Crimes Unit. You are officially under arrest. Take her away!” He roughly yanked my arm, pulling me off the bed without a shred of gentleness. I stood barefoot on the cold floor, the chill seeming to freeze my heart. A female officer next to me gripped my wrist tightly, the cold glint of handcuffs about to snap shut. “What are you doing?!” A firm shout from the doorway interrupted her. A young uniformed officer, clutching a lunchbox, stood in the doorway, frowning as he glared at everyone in the room. “Who are you?” Dr. Silas Vance asked him gently. “Are you Audrey Hayes’ boyfriend?” His words instantly undercut the officer’s authoritative presence. “My commanding officer sent me to look after her.” The young officer ignored Dr. Silas Vance, walking straight past him to address Detective Captain Hayes. “What’s going on? She’s still a patient!” “She’s suspected of arson, causing significant property damage. We need to take her to the precinct,” Detective Captain Hayes said, strictly professional. The young officer looked at me, troubled. Seeing my pleading gaze, he thought for a moment, then stepped directly in front of me. “I’m coming with her, and I’ll inform my commanding officer. Otherwise, you’re not taking her anywhere.” It was the familiar interrogation room, and the intense lights made me squint. “Audrey Hayes, what were you doing at the lab last night?!” Detective Captain Hayes and a female officer sat opposite me, questioning me sternly.
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