Alison hadn't slept. She'd spent the entire night in the lab, her eyes red and swollen. She couldn't trust her memories anymore, especially those of her mother's car accident. The moments that once brought her warmth and comfort now seemed so unreal. She felt an unfamiliar sense of weightlessness, as if an invisible force was pushing her toward an unknown abyss.
She rubbed her eyes, opened her laptop, and continued to examine the abnormal memory data. The screen displayed garbled text and distorted images, making her heartbeat quicken. She had to admit that this was beyond her control. It wasn't just a simple system glitch; it seemed like there were signs of some sort of human interference. The timeline she'd set for the memory retrieval had been interrupted by some force, and the source of the data was now unclear.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated, breaking her concentration. Alison picked it up and saw an unknown number.
"Hello?" Her voice was hoarse.
"Alison Kale?" A deep male voice came through the line. "I'm Max Fox, a cybersecurity expert. I need to talk to you about your research."
Alison paused for a moment, her heart racing. A sense of caution flashed through her mind, and she almost hung up the phone, but forced herself to stay calm. "Who are you? How do you know about my research?"
"I know you've been working on the memory preservation project, and I'm aware that there's been a problem with your recent experimental data," Max's voice was calm and measured, as though he had anticipated her response. "I have some knowledge of 'memory theft,' and perhaps I can help."
"'Memory theft'?" Alison's heart skipped a beat. "What is that? Why have I never heard of this term before?"
"That's because you haven't really looked into it," Max said coolly. "But you're standing on the edge of it now, and I know you'll be dragged into it. I'll be waiting for you outside your lab tonight. We need to meet and discuss some things you may not have considered."
"Who exactly are you?" Alison's voice was tinged with anxiety, but she couldn't deny a strange sense of curiosity.
"You'll find out," Max's voice was steady and firm, and then there was the click of the phone being hung up.
Alison stared at the phone screen, her mind racing. She realized she was facing an unpredictable situation. She had never heard the term "memory theft," but Max seemed to know things she didn't. And his mention of "experimental data problems" made her heart tighten. Could the mystery of her mother's car accident somehow be connected to all of this?
She took a deep breath, closed her laptop, packed up her things, and prepared to head to the meeting.
---
When Alison stepped out of the lab building, night had fully descended. The city's neon lights flickered in the darkness, like countless eyes watching her. She quickened her pace and made her way toward the parking lot. She wasn't sure why she was choosing to trust Max, but that sense of danger she hadn't encountered before made her realize she couldn't go it alone any longer. She needed help—at least, for now, she needed a compass to guide her toward the truth.
Her car was parked on the side of the road. She was about to start the engine when a shadow suddenly appeared next to her car window. Alison instinctively pulled the door lock tighter, her heart racing.
"Don't be afraid," Max's voice came through. He tapped on the car window. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Alison hesitated for a moment before rolling down the window and seeing a man in his thirties standing by her car. He was dressed in a simple black jacket, with cold eyes and sharp features. He didn't look like an ordinary person, especially in the dead of night in this city. There was an inexplicable sense of pressure about him.
"You're Max Fox?" Alison asked, even though she already knew the answer.
Max gave a slight nod. "That's me. We can talk, but not here." He gestured toward a dimly lit alley nearby. "Follow me."
Alison's instincts immediately screamed caution, but she nodded, started the car, and followed Max down the narrow alley. She knew that tonight, no matter what, she was stepping into an unknown world.
---
A few minutes later, Alison parked outside an old, rundown café. Max walked inside, and Alison followed him in.
The café was empty, save for a woman in a service uniform standing behind the counter, her gaze vacant as though she had grown accustomed to the silence.
Max sat down, and Alison took the seat across from him. She studied him for a moment, then finally asked, "What is 'memory theft'? How do you know about my lab's situation?"
Max didn't answer right away. Instead, he pulled a photo from his pocket and placed it on the table. The person in the photo was her mother. The woman in the photo looked young and full of life, smiling beside a man in a background that Alison didn't recognize—an unfamiliar city.
"This is your mother, isn't it?" Max asked quietly.
Alison's eyes widened. "This is—"
"Before she died, your mother had contact with an organization called 'Echo,'" Max's words hit Alison like a ton of bricks. "This photo was taken before she died. You've never seen it before, have you?"
Alison's breath became shallow, her mind racing with shock and confusion. Why would her mother have been involved with this mysterious organization? And what was the truth hidden behind the memories of that car accident?
"Your mother didn't die in that car accident," Max continued. "Everything about it was a lie. She tried to bring a huge secret to light before she died. And now, you're standing on the threshold of the truth."