Inside the "Broad Institute," De Silva was currently cloaked and invisible in a laboratory. As soon as he heard Daechir had been captured, he tracked her down and had come specifically to rescue her. He had originally brought two invisible robots with him, but they got separated on the way. While invisible, they couldn't see each other and had to constantly call out to keep track of one another. When someone appeared up ahead, De Silva rushed to hide in a restroom. By the time he came out, the two robots were long gone. Since he had come this far, he didn't want to give up and decided to proceed alone. Being a robot, Daechir had been brought here as a test subject. De Silva didn't know exactly where she was being held and could only search slowly.
Coming out of the lab, he saw a girl walking toward him. He planned to restrain her and force her to reveal Daechir's whereabouts, confident that he could handle a single girl. As she drew near, he made his move, covering her mouth and dragging her into an office. He became visible and asked menacingly, "Tell me, where is the robot you captured?"
The girl wasn't afraid. Instead, she smiled. "Mister, you don't seem like a thug at all. Why are you acting so tough with me?"
This girl has some nerve, De Silva thought. I appeared out of nowhere and she's not the least bit surprised. He hardened his tone. "Where is she? If you don't tell me, I'll kill you."
"Then kill me. I'd love to see if a man like you would actually lay a hand on a woman." After speaking, the girl closed her eyes, like a lamb to the slaughter. Though she spoke bravely, her heart was pounding with anxiety. She secretly prayed that he wouldn't get hot-headed and actually kill her.
De Silva would hesitate for ages before killing a chicken, let alone an innocent woman. He was at a loss. He changed the subject. "Why weren't you surprised to see me?"
"Why should I be?" the girl retorted. After a moment, she added, "Who is that robot to you? Why are you looking for her too?"
"What? Someone else has been looking for her?" De Silva was greatly surprised.
"Yes. You're the third one to come for the rescue. Want to know what happened to the first two?"
"Tell me."
"They were both captured and taken to Lab 21."
The lab De Silva had just been in was Number 5. "Where is Lab 21?" he asked.
The girl smiled. "What? You want to go in there too?" She paused. "To be honest with you, the robot you're looking for isn't here anymore. She's been transferred to a new location. If you want to see the other two, I can take you there."
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome!" The girl led the way. They walked one behind the other for nearly ten minutes before she stopped and pointed to a door. "Go in here, walk forward about thirty steps, then turn left. The first room is Lab 21. This is as far as I go."
"You're not lying to me, are you?" De Silva became suspicious.
"Suit yourself, you creep." The girl turned and walked away. De Silva pushed the door open. As he was counting his steps, the door automatically closed behind him, and an alarm began to blare. He was about to turn invisible, but it was too late. He felt his body go limp and collapsed, unconscious. The girl ran back, muttering to herself, "This guy is so dumb. I tricked him with a simple made-up story."
When De Silva woke up, he was in a prison cell, his hands and feet in shackles. This was the treatment reserved for a high-security felon. He couldn't understand why he was being treated this way when all he had done was try to rescue someone. The next day, the cell door opened and two guards walked in. One said to him, "Number 242, stand up. You're coming with us."
"Where are we going?" De Silva couldn't help but ask.
"To your court hearing." A short while later, he was escorted from the cell and put into a police van. After about a half-hour drive, they arrived at a district courthouse. The three of them got out of the van, walked over 300 meters, and climbed fifty steps to an iron gate where three bailiffs stood guard. The prison guards handed De Silva over, exchanged a few pleasantries, and left.
Inside the courtroom, over a hundred spectators were seated. A young female judge sat at the bench. Two bailiffs led De Silva to the defendant's dock. He was still in shock when the judge began to speak. "Defendant, you have consistently refused to cooperate with the police. However, the evidence of your murder charge is conclusive and cannot be denied. With the approval of the Supreme Court, you are hereby sentenced to death by hanging, to be carried out in three days."
De Silva screamed, "When did I kill someone?"
The judge motioned to a staff member to her left. A moment later, a projection appeared on a white wall in the courtroom. It showed that after De Silva had collapsed in Lab 21, he had suddenly stood up as the girl returned, pulled a gun from his pocket, and fired four shots. The girl fell to the ground. The entire event was captured by surveillance cameras.
"This is impossible," De Silva yelled. This was completely different from what he remembered. No matter how much he pleaded, the spectators all felt the verdict was just. He was dragged back to his cell.
"What on earth happened? Why did I stand up after I collapsed?" De Silva racked his brain but couldn't come up with anything. Just then, a guard brought his dinner. "Hello, sir, can you please tell me today's date?" he asked. The guard glanced at him and answered coldly, "The 19th."
"The 19th of what month?"
"What do you think? December 19th, of course."
"Thank you," De Silva said, but his mind was in turmoil. By that count, he had been unconscious for an entire week. That night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The thought of being hanged sent a chill down his spine. No, Alice once said I would live into the future. It's impossible for me to die this early. The thought calmed him down a little. Then he wondered, Who will come to save me?
He drifted off to sleep. By the third day, still no one had come, and fear began to creep back in. In three hours, I'll be hanged. Why hasn't anyone come to save me? Could history have changed? At that thought, he immediately felt a sense of suffocation, as if the rope were already around his neck.
The minutes ticked by. With only forty minutes left, he was filled with despair. It seemed he really was going to be hanged. "This isn't right. I'm supposed to live into the future," he finally couldn't help but stand and shout. "History must have changed! Why did this happen? Why?" he yelled over and over.
A guard ran over and said angrily, "Number 242, what are you shouting about? Are you in a hurry to die?"
"No, I'm not supposed to die here! I'm going to live to be three hundred years old!" The guard heard this and shook his head. "So he's been scared witless. Poor guy."
"Something must have gone wrong." Just then, something Daechir had once said floated into his mind: "Forcibly changing history will have terrifying consequences."
That's it. It must be. After Alice and the other one escaped, history changed. If it weren't for them, Daechir wouldn't have been captured, and if she hadn't been captured, I wouldn't have had to come and save her. Most importantly, if I die, the invisibility cloak won't exist in the future. Everything could change. At this realization, he gritted his teeth in hatred. He secretly vowed that if he got out of this alive, he would correct this mistake.