“Tina!” The traffic light had turned red, but Hank dashed toward her without hesitation.

A car that was about to hit him slammed on the brakes. The driver rolled down the window.

“Are you an idiot? What the hell are you doing running out like that?!” he yelled, but fell silent the moment he saw the woman lying in a pool of blood.

She lay there motionless, devoid of life. Someone nearby had already called an ambulance, but judging from Tina’s condition, it was likely too late.

Su Lingyan froze in place. Tina… her mission target… was dead?

The ambulance arrived quickly. After the medical staff’s desperate attempts to resuscitate her, they could only declare her dead.

Outside the emergency room, Hank sat there, still covered in blood he hadn’t bothered to clean. When he heard the news, he opened his mouth but said nothing, staring at Tina with hollow eyes.

Su Lingyan glanced at her mission again, confirming that the one she was supposed to save was Tina. And now, Tina was already covered with a white sheet.

Hank sat there blankly, unable to comprehend how the woman who had been smiling so sweetly just moments ago—over the recovery of her family heirloom—had now become a corpse.

He looked at the box in his hands, took out the music box, and recalled how happy Tina had been when she saw it that morning. She looked so beautiful at that time.

If none of this had happened…

If time could rewind… could I save her?

As Hank sank into his unrealistic fantasies, he suddenly felt the music box in his hands grow scorching hot. It was as if a voice whispered in his ear.

Turn the music box. Let the beautiful melody soothe your soul.

Su Lingyan stood about five meters away, watching as Hank reached out and wound the music box.

Für Elise. A very familiar melody. As the music played, the box burst into a blinding light, forcing Su Lingyan to close her eyes.

It felt like riding an elevator in a rapid free fall. After a violent sense of weightlessness, she opened her eyes—

—and found herself standing on a street.

The street looked strangely familiar. Wasn’t this where she had first entered the instance?

She checked the mission panel—unchanged. Then she took out her phone.

11:00.

The exact time she had entered the game.

I see.

She seemed to understand now… but she needed to confirm it.

She quickly rushed to the café, just in time to see Hank running out in a hurry, talking on the phone.

“Tina! Tina!” His voice trembled.

“What’s wrong, honey? You sound scared,” Tina’s voice came from the phone. Hearing her voice again, Hank seemed dazed.

Had he really… gone back in time?

“Tina, I’m coming to find you now.” He hung up and hurried through the alley.

Su Lingyan followed him. Then, a man in a baseball cap appeared in the alley.

“You can’t change the ending. So don’t make futile attempts.”

The exact same words.

Last time, Hank hadn’t paid any attention. But this time, he grabbed the man’s arm.

“What do you know?”

The man pulled his hand back. “You can’t change the ending.”

He simply repeated the same sentence and walked away.

Can’t change the ending? Hank didn’t believe it. As long as Tina didn’t cross the street, everything would be fine. That wasn’t hard.

This time, he arrived on the other side of the road first. Soon enough, Tina walked toward him.

Seeing her again felt unreal. Hank blinked hard, holding back his tears.

They embraced.

“Oh, Hank, I feel so happy today,” Tina said.

“Did you get news about your family heirloom?” Hank spoke differently this time, making a change.

“You’re so smart. But you don’t look too well today. Are you feeling okay?” Tina quickly noticed something was off.

“No, I’m fine. I’ll go with you to get it.” Hank forced a smile, hiding his emotions.

“Hank, did you suddenly gain mind-reading powers? How do you know everything I’m about to do?” she joked.

“It’s our connection,” Hank replied.

They went together to the villa and retrieved the music box.

Tina opened it. The white music box gleamed with a mysterious glow under the sunlight.

“It’s so beautiful.” She reached out to touch it.

“Yeah. Let’s go home,” Hank said.

“Huh?” Tina looked up in surprise. “But I still have things to do…”

“Are you buying books for me? It’s okay, I can go get them myself later. ” Hank decided to stop her from going to the bookstore. If they went home first, nothing would happen.

“O-okay… Hank, you’re acting really strange today.” Tina looked at him with confusion.

“I just didn’t sleep well. I had a nightmare.” He brushed it off. Right now, all he wanted was to get her home safely.

This time, Hank led Tina toward a different road, away from the one where the accident had occurred.

The light turned green. After carefully making sure all the cars had stopped, they began to cross.

Su Lingyan followed.

When she reached the middle of the road, she noticed something—

A car that had already stopped suddenly accelerated forward, as if its brakes had failed!

“Watch out!” she shouted.

Hank, focused only on crossing quickly, didn’t notice.

Tina pushed him away.

Bang!

Hank fell to the ground, watching as Tina was once again flung into the air, before crashing down heavily.

The driver jumped out of the car.

“I’m sorry! The brakes suddenly failed!” he rushed over.

Tina still had a faint trace of consciousness.

“H-Hank…” Even speaking took effort.

“Don’t feel guilty.”

With those words, she lost consciousness.

The ambulance arrived quickly, but by then, she had already stopped breathing.

Su Lingyan looked down at the time.

11:41.

This time… Tina had died because of him.

Hank’s heart sank.

He opened the box, took out the music box, and took a deep breath.

Last time, he had rewound time by winding it.

This time… could he do it again?

The answer was yes.

As the music played, the blinding white light swallowed everything once more.

Su Lingyan returned to the street.

She rushed to the café. Hank had already left and was heading into the alley.

The man in the baseball cap appeared again—but before he could speak, Hank grabbed his shoulders.

“You know something, don’t you?! Tell me—how can I save Tina?!”

“You can’t change the ending,” the man said again.

For some reason, Su Lingyan felt his tone was slightly gentler this time.

“No… that’s impossible!” Hank’s eyes were bloodshot. Watching his lover die twice had dealt a devastating blow to his sanity.

“Mr. Lin, please calm down.” Su Lingyan stepped forward, speaking to him for the first time since entering the dungeon.

Hank released the man. “…Sorry.”

The man quickly left. At the alley’s exit, he turned back and glanced at Su Lingyan. His green eyes met hers.

What beautiful eyes, she thought.

“Who are you?” Hank asked. She hadn’t appeared in the previous loops.

“I’m Zerion. I know your wife is Tina. Your surname is Lin. You’re of mixed heritage. And before this, your wife has already died twice.”

“How do you know all that?” Hank stepped back cautiously.

“I’m like you—caught in the loop. Every time you wind the music box, I return with you to 11:00 a.m. today.”

“Then… can you help me? Help me save Tina.” Hank clung to her like a lifeline.

“Yes. I need to break the loop.” That was her mission as well.

“Right now, Tina has died in traffic accidents both times. So we can avoid crossing the street,” Su Lingyan suggested.

“I was thinking the same. But we can’t avoid crossing streets forever,” Hank said.

“Have you noticed the time? Both times, she died at 11:41. If we get past that point, she should be safe.” Su Lingyan showed him her phone.

11:21.

Hank stared at the screen, then suddenly said, “I’ve got it.”

“I’ll stall for time. As long as we don’t cross before 11:41, it should work.”

“That’s the most straightforward approach,” Su Lingyan nodded.