Chapter 1 — Fire Race

In an old photo restored by AI, a newborn baby appears in the arms of a grandfather who passed away twenty years ago. When I sent that photo to my dad, he immediately made a video call with a shocked look on his face: "This is a picture of me when I was born!" On the other end of the screen, his father's face - Lam Kien Quoc - suddenly turned pale. His hand holding the phone shook violently. The voice revealed unconcealed horror. I grabbed the computer mouse, my fingertips were cold. In the office, only a soft murmur could be heard from the central processor. “Dad… what did you say?” "Didn't he pass away before you were born..." He interrupted me excitedly: "Yes! That's right!" “He died before I was born!” “This photo… must have been mistakenly recognized by AI!” “Today's technology, it's just a blind restoration!” He spoke in an urgent voice, almost screaming. I don't answer. Just quietly looked at him. On the screen, my father's eyes sparkled uneasily, not daring to look directly at me. He bowed his head, sweat dripping from his forehead in small drops. This is completely not his usual appearance. “Dad…” “The original of this photo is with me.” “It's in the old album that mom left behind.” “It took me a long time to scan it.” “At that location in the original, there was just a blurry white area.” “As if… someone had intentionally erased it.” Dad's lips trembled and moved. He was about to say something. In the end, he only reluctantly opened his mouth a few times. “Van Van…” His voice was hoarse, choking. “Listen to me…” “That… is in the past.” “Your grandfather… he loves you the most.” “Don't… don't think about nonsense.” That sentence again. From childhood to adulthood, every time I asked about my grandfather, he was vague and avoidant like that. Always emphasized that he loved me very much, but never gave any details. Before, I just thought he was too sad and didn't want to bring up the old story. But now — this photo, this newborn, this timeline — everything is riddled with anomalies. "Dad." “AI only restores, not creates.” “It only restores the deleted part.” “This child… is me.” "Right?" The other end of the video fell into dead silence. Only the sound of my father's heavy, suppressed breathing remained. It's been a while. He seemed to have exhausted all his strength to open his mouth. “Van Van…” “You just… just assume Dad got it wrong.” “Just looked at it wrong.” "Huh?" He forced a smile, but that smile was more unsightly than crying. “It's getting late…” “Go rest early.” “Dad is tired too.” He frantically tried to turn off the video call. “Wait!” I quickly called him back. "Dad." “Dad, tell me…” “When was the specific date that grandpa passed away?” He stopped. A flash of panic flashed in his eyes. “It was… half a year before you were born.” “Lunar calendar… December… that's right, the eighth day of December.” “Have you forgotten?” “Every year dad takes me to visit his grandfather's grave.” I stared at him. “Are you sure?” “Is it the eighth day of December?” He nodded vigorously. "Sure!" “100% sure!” “Okay Van Van, don't ask anymore.” “Dad really needs to rest.” The video call was hastily cut off. I looked at the screen that had just turned black, and my heart sank to the bottom of the abyss. Incorrect. Absolutely not right. I remember very clearly... A few years ago, when cleaning up my mother's remains. I remember seeing a funeral notice sent by my grandfather's old unit. The date written on it is absolutely not the eighth day of December. I jumped up from the chair. Run straight to the storage room. There, there are still a few boxes of old relics left by my mother. I searched for nearly half an hour. Sweat drenched his bangs. Finally, in a brown paper file bag marked "IMPORTANT DOCUMENT", I found that yellow slip. Fingers due to stress

but trembled slightly. I carefully opened it. My eyes stopped at the date line at the bottom. Although the ink has blurred a bit, it is still clear and easy to read: 【Date of death of Comrade Lam Chi Vien: July 15, 1992】 July 15! And my birthday is — December 30, 1992. It's exactly five months apart from that date! If grandpa died in July, how could he have held me when I was born? Unless… Unless that photo was taken long before he died. But it was my father who said it—the person in the photo is me when I was born! A terrifying thought suddenly rose in my head, like a poisonous vine wrapping tightly around my heart. Dad is lying. It was a lie from the beginning. About the day my grandfather passed away. About this photo. Even… about my birth. I fell down and sat on the cold floor, feeling like my whole body was drained of energy. With trembling hands, he picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. “Hello, Chu Hao?” “It's me, Lam Van.” On the other end of the line, a youthful and vibrant voice rang out. "Miss Van? It's so late, is there something urgent?" Chu Hao is a technical associate of my studio, a leading engineer in the field of AI algorithms. “Chu Hao.” “Can you help me check a photo?” “The one I sent you this afternoon.” “A photo of my grandfather holding a newborn baby.” “Yeah, I saw it, the restoration effect is so amazing, Ms. Van!” “It looks exactly like it was just taken.” “But…” Chu Hao's voice hesitated. "What's up?" I suddenly tightened my grip on the phone. “The data is a bit strange.” “What's strange?” “It's about the original scan data of the photo.” “I conveniently did an in-depth analysis…” “Detected the blurred area on the original—that area that had been erased…” “The way it was destroyed… wasn't very natural.” “What do you mean?” “It's not like it was yellowed by time or accidental damage。” “It's more like… someone used special chemicals to treat that area。” “And the way it was done… was very professional。” “That means before the AI restored it, someone had intentionally tampered with that photo。” Chu Hao's words were like a sledgehammer，hitting my heart hard。 Someone had touched the photo—before the AI even did it. used for restoration。 Who is it？ Why do that？ “Sister Van？” “Are you still listening？” Chu Hao's voice carried a bit of worry。 “I'm still listening。” I took a deep breath，trying to keep my voice calm。 “Chu Hao。” “Can you… help me with one more thing？” “Just say。” “Help me look up a little。” “All public information that can be searched… about my grandfather – Lam Chi Vien。” “Especially… all the records related to the period before and after his death。” “Household registration，work unit，hospital… anything is fine。” “Also…” I hesitated for a moment。 “Even my mother – Tham Hue Nhu。” “The birth records of Mrs.。” “And all the documents related to her death。” The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds。 Chu Hao no longer had his usual gentle tone，but turned completely serious： “Sister Van。” “What happened in the end？” “You can look it up for me。” “Money is not a problem。” “Okay。” Chu Hao didn't ask any more。 “I will do my best。” “But some internal records are difficult to access。” “I need time。” “The sooner the better。” I replied。 “The faster the better。” I hung up。 My eyes once again fell on the computer screen，where the restored photo was displayed。 My grandfather – Lam Chi Vien， wore a straight old Zhongshan-style outfit。 His face skinny face，gentle eyes。 He was cradling a newborn baby in diapers。 That baby，cute face like a statue，exactly like my mother when she was young。 Also exactly like... me now。 If what dad said is true—that this is me when I was born， then— The person who was holding me at the moment that photo was taken was

photographed， already "dead"？ Or... His death from the beginning... was just a lie？ My heart was pounding。 One question after another， all at once rushed like a wave in my head。 Why did dad hide the day grandpa really passed away？ Who was the one who deliberately erased my image in the photo？ As for my mother... does she know all this? no？ Mother's death in the past... is it related to this secret? Too many mysteries. Like an invisible net. Wrap me tightly. I have to investigate clearly. Not just to satisfy curiosity. But also to... find yourself. Rediscover the truth that has been hidden since I was born.