The tunnel was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Liya and Ethan slowly stepped out of the narrow maintenance alcove.
Dust floated in the beam of Ethan's phone flashlight.
The tracks stretched endlessly into darkness.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Both were still processing what had just happened.
Ethan finally broke the silence.
"Okay."
"That was insane."
Liya nodded.
"A runaway train… and then another train."
"Yeah," he said.
"Feels less like bad luck and more like the universe is actively trying to delete me."
She crossed her arms.
"That's exactly what I've been saying."
They began walking carefully along the maintenance path beside the tracks.
Their footsteps echoed softly through the tunnel.
Ethan checked the time again.
11:16 PM.
"Still a lot of time left."
Liya didn't like how that sounded.
"Don't remind me."
He suddenly stopped walking.
"What?" she asked.
"I think I figured something out."
"That sentence scares me."
He turned the flashlight toward the wall and leaned against it.
"Think about the pattern."
"Okay."
"In the first loop, I died in a truck accident."
"Yes."
"In the second, I fell into the river."
"Yes."
"Tonight we had a tree branch, a train crash, and another train in the tunnel."
"That's three attempts," she said.
"Exactly."
He looked directly at her.
"But there's something they all have in common."
"What?"
"They only become deadly if I'm nearby."
She frowned.
"Obviously."
"But what if the accident itself isn't the target?"
"Then what is?"
He pointed at himself.
"I am."
Liya stared at him.
"You mean fate isn't creating accidents randomly…"
"…it's aiming them at you."
"Right."
Her chest tightened.
"That's worse."
"Much worse."
They resumed walking slowly.
The faint glow of emergency lights finally appeared ahead.
An exit staircase leading back to the street.
Ethan looked thoughtful.
"But here's the interesting part."
"What?"
"Every attack failed."
"Yes."
"And every time it fails…"
"…the next one escalates."
Liya nodded.
"That's exactly what happened."
Ethan looked up the staircase.
"So the question is…"
"What's the final move?"
Liya's stomach sank.
"What do you mean?"
"If fate keeps escalating…"
"…there must be a final attempt."
"The one that guarantees my death."
She didn't like where this conversation was going.
"Maybe we can avoid it."
"Maybe."
They climbed the stairs and pushed open the emergency exit door.
Cool night air rushed in.
They stepped back onto the city streets.
Sirens echoed in the distance from the earlier train crash.
Emergency vehicles filled the area several blocks away.
But here…
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Ethan checked the time again.
11:24 PM.
"Thirty-six minutes left."
Liya stared at the glowing numbers.
Her heart beat faster.
"Ethan…"
"What?"
"What if you're wrong?"
"About what?"
"What if there isn't a final move?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"You think fate just keeps trying random things until something works?"
"Yes."
"That's possible."
Then he said something that made her uneasy.
"But if that's true…"
"…the biggest accident of the night might still be coming."
They began walking down the quiet street.
Streetlights reflected off the wet pavement.
The city looked calm again.
Peaceful.
But Liya couldn't shake the feeling that something enormous was approaching.
Ethan suddenly stopped walking.
"What now?" she asked.
He pointed upward.
High above the street…
A massive construction crane towered over a nearby skyscraper project.
Its long arm stretched across the dark sky.
Metal cables swayed slightly in the wind.
Liya's stomach dropped.
"That wasn't moving earlier."
Ethan stared at the crane.
Then he slowly checked the time again.
11:26 PM.
His voice grew quieter.
"…You know what's scary?"
"What?"
"That crane weighs about two hundred tons."
Liya's heart began racing.
"Ethan…"
The wind picked up suddenly.
The crane arm swayed a little more.
Metal cables creaked loudly.
Then—
A sharp snapping sound echoed across the construction site.
One of the main support cables broke.
The enormous crane shifted violently.
And began tipping slowly toward the street below.
Directly toward them. ⏳