I waited three days before asking the question.
Not because I lacked opportunity.
Because I understood the cost.
1. THE BODY RETURNS TO ME
Xu Yichen's body remained unclaimed.
No family.
No friends.
No one asked questions.
That alone was an answer—but not one I could use.
On the fourth morning, the request arrived.
SECONDARY REVIEW AUTHORIZED.
CAUSE OF DEATH RECONSIDERATION REQUIRED.
No signature.
No department seal.
Just permission.
And a warning disguised as bureaucracy.
Ling stood beside me as I read the notice.
"They're giving you rope," she said quietly.
"Yes," I replied. "And waiting to see if I hang myself."
She hesitated. "You don't have to—"
"I know."
But I also knew something else.
Xu Yichen had refused to answer who killed him.
That meant the truth endangered someone still breathing.
Which meant the truth mattered.
I pulled on my gloves.
"This is the last time," I said. "After this, we walk away."
Ling didn't ask if I meant the case—or the power.
2. PREPARATION
I did not rush.
I reviewed every note. Every photograph. Every discrepancy.
I reconstructed Xu Yichen's last twenty-four hours minute by minute.
Apartment exit time.
Stairwell position.
Heart failure onset window.
He had known when he was going to die.
Which meant the question could not be blunt.
Blunt questions got people hurt.
I stood at the autopsy table, lights low, room silent.
The pressure behind my eyes stirred faintly—watchful, restrained.
"You don't have to answer," I said quietly, aloud. "But I will ask once."
Ling stepped back.
I placed one hand flat against the table.
Grounding.
Breathing.
Then I shaped the question.
Carefully.
Deliberately.
Not who killed you.
Not why did you die.
I asked:
"Who was present when you chose not to be saved?"
3. THE ANSWER
The pressure struck instantly—sharp, focused, overwhelming.
My vision fractured.
Images slammed into my mind, not as a stream but as selected fragments, curated with intent.
Xu Yichen standing in the stairwell.
Not weak.
Not panicked.
Waiting.
Footsteps descending.
A man stopped one step above him.
Well-dressed.
Calm.
A face I did not recognize—but the aura of authority was unmistakable.
Not a killer.
A witness.
Xu Yichen spoke.
"If I tell you, they'll erase more than me."
The man replied evenly.
"Your choice has already been made."
Then something unexpected.
The man offered help.
Medical.
Immediate.
Xu Yichen shook his head.
"You don't get to be clean anymore."
The image shifted.
A hand—gloved—removing a device from Xu Yichen's chest.
Not in panic.
In silence.
Consent given under pressure.
The final fragment burned itself into my mind:
The man's identification card as he turned away.
Not a name.
A seal.
MINISTRY OF PUBLIC HEALTH
SPECIAL OVERSIGHT DIVISION
I gasped, staggering back.
The pressure vanished.
The answer was complete.
And catastrophic.
4. THE WEIGHT OF KNOWING
I leaned against the counter, breathing hard.
Ling rushed forward. "Shen—what did you see?"
I looked at her.
Really looked.
If I spoke, she would be implicated.
If I stayed silent, Xu Yichen would die twice.
"It was a choice," I said slowly. "And a witness."
"A witness to what?"
"To a system that kills quietly," I replied.
She went still.
"High level?"
"Yes."
"How high?"
I hesitated.
Then: "High enough that filing this truth would end my career. And possibly yours."
Silence filled the room.
Ling sat down heavily.
"They let him die," she whispered.
"Yes."
"And you know who."
"I know what," I corrected. "A department. A seal. A structure."
I closed my eyes.
Xu Yichen hadn't refused because he was loyal.
He had refused because exposure would not stop the machine.
It would only feed it more bodies.
5. THE MORAL DILEMMA
That night, I stared at the report draft on my screen.
Two versions.
Version A:
Cause of death — cardiac failure due to unknown complications.
Case closed.
Version B:
Cause of death — induced cardiac failure following unauthorized medical device removal, witnessed by a government oversight official.
One would protect me.
One would destroy many people.
Including some who didn't deserve it.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I didn't answer.
A message appeared.
You saw enough.
Another.
Do not confuse knowledge with obligation.
Another.
There are limits even truth must respect.
I typed back once.
He chose not to be saved. Why?
The reply came after a long pause.
Because martyrs are useful. Witnesses are dangerous.
I deleted the messages.
6. CONSEQUENCES BEGIN
The next morning, security was waiting at the lab.
Not police.
Administrative.
"Routine reassignment," the lead officer said politely. "You'll be transferred temporarily."
"Where?" I asked.
He smiled. "Somewhere quieter."
Ling's hand clenched around her tablet.
I met her eyes.
This was the cost Xu Yichen had tried to spare me.
I handed over the report.
Not Version A.
Not Version B.
A third option.
Cause of death: cardiac failure following voluntary cessation of life-saving intervention.
Witnessed by unidentified party.
Further investigation recommended.
Incomplete.
Careful.
Enough to poison the well.
The officer's smile thinned.
7. THE DEAD ARE WATCHING
That night, the dreams returned.
But this time, Xu Yichen did not speak.
He only nodded.
As if to say:
You heard me.
You chose.
I woke with the weight of the answer still inside my skull.
The truth endangered the living.
And now, so did I.