17:40
In the archive room, the sound of the hard drive reading is piercingly clear in the silence.
Qi Si's fingers fly over the keyboard, lines of code scrolling on the screen.
Shen Yan stands behind him, eyes fixed on the monitor.
I clutch the thick journal, thinking:
"What is the final truth?"
17:45
Qi Si suddenly stops, and a folder labeled "Truth" appears on the screen.
He double-clicks it open, revealing a video.
In the video, Lin Yi stands in the massive ice-encased lab, with the transparent glass jar behind him.
"If you're watching this, it means you've reached the final step," his voice is calm and resolute.
"The truth is, we're all part of the experiment, and the purpose of this experiment is to test the limits of human nature."
He pauses, then continues:
"But the results of the experiment exceeded my expectations."
17:50
The video cuts to a close-up of the figure inside the glass jar, gradually becoming clearer.
It's a woman, her face eerily calm beneath the ice.
"Who is she?" I ask.
"She's the key to the experiment," Lin Yi's voice continues in the video.
"She's a volunteer who willingly participated in this experiment to test the relationship between memory and truth."
"She succeeded," he smiles, but there's a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"She proved that even without memory, a person can still remain true."
17:55
The video ends, and a line of text appears on the screen:
"The truth is not the end, but a new beginning."
I look at the screen, a complex mix of emotions rising in my chest.
"A new beginning..." I repeat softly.
Shen Yan walks over and places a hand on my shoulder.
"We've found the truth, but this truth is just the beginning of another story," he says.
Qi Si shuts down the computer and turns to us.
"What do we do now?" he asks.
18:00
We step out of the archive room and back into the lab.
In the center of the lab, the massive glass jar still stands silently.
I walk up to the jar and look at the woman inside.
"Did she really succeed?" I ask.
"Yes," Shen Yan replies.
"What about us?" I ask.
"We're part of the experiment too," Qi Si says.
"Part of the experiment?" I'm stunned.
"Yes," Shen Yan continues, "Every choice we made is part of the experiment."
18:05
I take a deep breath and look at them.
"What do we do next?" I ask.
"We keep looking for the truth," Shen Yan replies.
"Even if it disappoints us?" Qi Si asks.
"Even if it disappoints us," I answer.
"The truth, whatever it is, is worth seeking," Shen Yan says.
The three of us stand in the lab, the dim light casting cold shadows.
"A new beginning," I whisper, "We're just getting started."
Chapter 24, end.