During the annual awards gala, I stepped out to use the restroom. When I came back, my year-end bonus was gone, canceled for allegedly assaulting a new coworker, Elan Crowe.

In my first life, I desperately tried to prove my innocence by showing my fitness tracker’s movement data, proving I had been in the bathroom.

Calder Roane, the department head, flew into a rage. "Everyone in the department saw you hit him. And you still want to deny it?"

I struggled and explained frantically, but in the chaos, I accidentally fell down the stairs and died on the spot.

In my second life, I took medical leave and skipped the gala entirely. I never expected that just past noon, the police would surround my home.

"Lyra Vale, you’re suspected of intentional homicide. You need to come with us."

Elan’s enraged family had then rushed forward and stabbed me repeatedly. I died again.

In my third life, I ran to the city plaza, started a livestream, and rapped on camera, turning every viewer into my alibi.

That night, the police still came. "The evidence is conclusive. Please come with us."

At the station, they pulled up surveillance footage. It clearly showed me sneaking into the gala hall, arguing with Elan, then picking up a knife and stabbing him straight in the back.

I was completely stunned.

Three days later, I took a bullet.

After endless rebirths, I finally laughed in anger.

This time, I stormed straight into the gala hall, pressed a knife across Elan's throat, and said, "This is a kidnapping."

My sudden move terrified my coworkers.

Calder Roane, Calder, let out a strange laugh and spread his hands. "What is this? Some kind of creative annual gala performance?"

He cautiously stepped toward me. "Lyra, even performances need limits. People will think our company has terrible internal relationships."

Countless ways I had died flashed through my mind. I could almost still feel the tearing pain ripping through my body.

I roared without thinking, "Don't come any closer! Take another step, and I'll hurt him!"

As I spoke, my grip tightened. The sharp blade sliced across Elan's neck, drawing blood. He let out a scream of pain, and the entire hall erupted in shocked cries.

Only then did everyone finally realize this was not a joke or a skit. This was a real kidnapping.

In unison, they backed away.

Calder panicked, cold sweat pouring down his face. "Lyra, calm down! Whatever it is, we can talk it out!"

I had talked it out in my first life. I had worn the most advanced fitness watch our company had just released, and showed them my entire movement record.

During the five minutes I spent outside the gala hall, I had done nothing but use the restroom.

Yet somehow, every single person in the company had seen me viciously beating Elan during those same five minutes. No matter how desperately I struggled to explain, it had been useless.

Not far away, Calder stomped his foot anxiously. "Lyra is usually so gentle. This new guy, Elan Crowe, isn't even in her team. They have no grudge, no conflict. Why would she do something like this?"

Exactly.

I almost wanted to scream in agreement.

I barely even knew this new coworker, Elan. At most, we had nodded to each other a few times when we crossed paths in the pantry.

More importantly, he was a man, and I had grown up never even swatting a male mosquito.

There was no work conflict or emotional entanglement. So why was it that in every single life, another version of me appeared out of nowhere, determined to kill him?

There was no reason for it.

None at all.

As that thought surfaced, I looked eagerly at Killian Taylor, the coworker who was dialing 999.

"Did you call the police?" I asked. "Make sure you use the emergency line."

Killian stared at me, completely confused. "Aren't you the kidnapper?"

Once I confirmed the call had gone through, I immediately switched back to a vicious expression.

"Everyone, stay back," I shouted. "Or his life is forfeit. And turn on the main overhead lights!"

Afraid I would hurt Elan, they did exactly as I said. The colorful lights in the hall were shut off, replaced by harsh white illumination.

For the first time, I could clearly see Elan's face. He had a quiet, delicate look, the kind that made him seem very honest.

He shrank in front of me, his whole body stiff as tears pooled in his eyes, and he looked utterly wronged.

I asked him, "Where are you from? Which university did you go to?"

Choking back sobs, he named two unfamiliar places.

That was enough to confirm it. Our lives had never intersected.

The endless weight of repeated cycles crushed down on me, and my sense of injustice was no less than his.

"Then tell me," I asked, "why do you think I kidnapped you?"

He froze, then shook his head slightly. "I don't know."

Exactly.

Neither of us could understand it.

So why did this keep happening, over and over again?

In every rebirth after that, no matter what methods I used to avoid it, I would always appear beside Elan during those bizarre five minutes, and I would always take his life brutally.

Every time, there would be irrefutable evidence proving that I was the one who did it.

The sound of sirens grew louder as they approached.

My gaze hardened. This time, I would uncover the truth.

I would clear both Elan's name and mine, and I would survive.

The police were already downstairs. Dense footsteps were closing in.

Calder was still trying, tirelessly, to talk me down. "This is the company’s annual gala. Whatever grudge you have, why make a scene here?"

That sentence jolted me awake.

Why did it always happen at the annual gala?

In every rebirth, the moment when that other version of me killed Elan always fell within the same five minutes of the company gala.

Those five minutes were fixed. Absolutely fixed.

From 9:00 p.m. to 9:05 p.m.

I turned my head and asked Elan, "Does 9:00 to 9:05 mean anything special to you?"

This time, he did not answer right away. He froze for a few seconds before shaking his head, his expression visibly unnatural.

I immediately sensed something was off. There was something fishy.

I was about to press further when the police suddenly kicked the door open.

Because Killian had reported an armed kidnapping, the officers had even brought stun batons and firearms.

As I stared at the dark gun barrels aimed at me, my mind once again flashed back to the sensation of bullets piercing my forehead in past lives. My body shuddered. I bit down hard on my tongue to force myself to stay calm.

"Don’t come any closer," I warned. "Whoever steps forward, I’ll cut him."

The lead officer, Officer Ronan Pierce, furrowed his brow and shouted at me, "Ma’am, if you have grievances or demands, you can talk to us. You don’t have to take things to this extreme!"

How was I supposed to explain?

Explain that I had been reborn countless times into a loop on the day of the annual gala?

No one would believe me. They would only see me as a murderer.

I took a deep breath, pulled Elan in front of me as a shield, and moved step by step toward the awards stage.

It was the most visible spot in the entire gala hall. If avoiding the problem never worked, then I would face it head-on. I wanted to see for myself.

This time, I would not leave. I would stay right here with Elan. I wanted to see whether that other version of me would still come to kill him. These police officers would be my witnesses.

The tension made my breathing uneven. I kept turning my head to check the time.

Right then, a young officer quietly circled behind the curtain.

The moment I looked away to check the clock, he lunged at me.

Every officer was professionally trained. He knocked the knife out of my hand with ease and subdued me in a few swift moves.

"Take the kidnapper back to the station!" Officer Pierce ordered. "As for the victim, send him home and arrange for a psychologist!"

My eyes burned red as I screamed, "No! I cannot be separated from him!"

The officers exchanged glances, clearly seeing me as a delusional woman obsessed with someone who did not want her.

I grabbed Elan’s hand and explained frantically, nearly hysterical, "After nine o’clock, he will die. Believe me. You have to leave someone to protect him."

Officer Pierce sneered. "The biggest danger here is you. Take her away!"

Handcuffs snapped shut around my wrists, and I completely lost my ability to resist.

Strange looks and murmured discussions flooded in from all directions.

Suddenly, I dropped to my knees in front of the police.

"In a moment, someone who looks exactly like me will appear and kill him. I’m begging you, please believe me..." I cried in utter despair.

After all, the experience of dying was truly unbearable, and I had already endured it more times than I could count.

A female officer named Officer Maeve Collins seemed moved and tried to comfort me.

"There can’t be two identical people in this world. You’ll be taken to the station and won’t be anywhere near him. Even if something really does happen, we’ll be your witnesses."

But would things really turn out that way?

I sat on the floor, despair filling my eyes. "No. You won’t."

In one lifetime, in order to clear my name, I had deliberately committed theft just to get myself locked up.

However, the moment the clock struck nine, the night-shift officers at the station fainted, and the surveillance system malfunctioned.

At the same time, ten kilometers away at the gala hall, the other me appeared.

This time, the officers dragged me forward, pushing me toward the exit.

Thinking that I still had not changed the outcome of death, I broke down and cried out in despair.

Then a voice suddenly rang out behind us.

"Wait. You can’t take her away."

I spun around abruptly.

Through my blurred vision, it was Elan walking toward us with steady steps.

My whole body jolted. My eyes filled with disbelief and fear.

Elan stopped in front of me, thought for a moment, then said, "She looks really scared. And honestly, I’m a little curious about why she kidnapped me. So… why don’t I go to the station with you?"

The police froze for a second. "We don’t recommend that the victim stay with the suspect."

Elan didn’t back down. "And didn’t she say I’d be in danger soon? I also want police protection. The station should be the safest place for me."

That reason left the officers with no way to refuse.

By the time both Elan and I got into the patrol car, I still hadn’t fully processed what had happened.

The officers in the car whispered among themselves in amazement. It was their first time seeing a kidnapper more afraid than the victim.

I looked at Elan, trembling. "You… you spoke to me on your own?"

This had never happened in any of my countless previous rebirths.

In every past confrontation, no matter how desperately I told him the truth or begged him to leave with me, he had always stayed silent, shrinking back into the crowd. He had always looked timid and frightened.

The Elan in front of me simply tilted his head in confusion. "Did something happen?"

It hit me then. I had changed something. Even if only slightly.

So in this rebirth… could the ending be different?

Elan and I were taken to the station, and we gave brief statements. Because he insisted on staying with me, we were placed behind the same iron bars.

I asked him seriously, "Have you offended anyone recently?"

He shook his head. "I’ve never liked talking, and I’ve never liked causing trouble. Even when I’m treated unfairly, I just endure it."

A textbook invisible person. Someone like that rarely drew attention, let alone hatred.

So who was it?

Who could possibly have a reason to want him dead so badly?

Seeing there was still some time before nine o’clock, I told him everything I had experienced.

All of it.

"Whether you believe it or not, my doppelganger will appear and kill you."

Elan looked unconvinced. "Doppelgangers only appear once every few centuries. And like you said, night-shift officers pass out, surveillance just happens to fail… How could those five minutes be that special?"

I stared at him intensely. "That’s exactly why I’m asking you. What’s so special about those five minutes?"

He paused. "I wouldn’t call them special. It’s just that I noticed a long time ago… Every night during those five minutes, I feel strangely hollow. Like I’ve… Lost something."

The room fell silent. The wall clock ticked relentlessly forward.

It was an answer I hadn’t expected, one that only pushed everything into deeper ambiguity.

I fell quiet too.

Then Elan volunteered his background. He said he was a fresh graduate hired this year. He looked a little embarrassed as he explained, "The department didn’t recruit enough people, so I was accepted as an exception and brought into the company."

I kept an eye on the time, planning to brush it off with a few reassuring words.

Then suddenly, his body stiffened. He muttered to himself, "Right… I only graduated with a bachelor’s degree this year. And yet, I joined the company."

His usually quiet, unassuming eyes suddenly filled with terror, becoming bloodshot and wide.

I jumped back in alarm.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Elan was shaking all over. "I get it now. I know why all of this is happening."

Every hair on my body stood on end. I shot to my feet and rushed to his side. "Why?"

But before Elan could say anything, the clock struck nine.

Ding, ding, dang—

In that instant, Elan and I saw our own fear reflected in each other’s faces, twisted and distorted.

The next second, my eyes widened violently. I stared at the horrifying scene in front of me, unable to believe it, and screamed.