I started with a portal, then turned around and handed it over to the nation.

Ministry of State Security, temporary interrogation room.

Su Wan sat in the chair with her arms crossed. She had already removed the face mask, and her face was slightly pale from anxiety.

She forced herself to remain calm and even crossed her legs.

The man opposite me wore an ordinary gray jacket, had an ordinary face, and ordinary eyes.

He quietly flipped through the documents, as if Su Wan didn't exist.

The only sound in the air was the rustling of paper turning over.

The deathly silence deepened Su Wan's growing irritation.

"What exactly do you want to ask? You brought me all the way from home just to sit here doing nothing?"

She lost her temper first, her voice filled with barely suppressed anger.

The man opposite finally looked up, closed the file, and placed it flat on the table.

"Ms. Su Wan, please don't be nervous. We just want to confirm some details."

The voice was flat and monotone.

Tell me about Lin Mo from your perspective.

"he?"

Su Wan scoffed, leaning back in her chair, her eyes full of contempt.

"A bookworm, stubborn, blockhead. He's been out of school for a year, changed jobs several times, and still only makes a few thousand yuan a month. He has absolutely no ambition."

She spread her hands, and her fingers, painted with exquisite nail polish, shone brightly in the white light.

"Was I wrong to break up with him? People strive for better things, just like water flows downhill! I don't want to be thirty years old and still worrying about next month's rent!"

The interrogator nodded, seemingly agreeing with her statement:

"So, during the days he's been missing, you didn't consider calling the police?"

"Call the police?"

Su Wan seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and she let out a cold laugh.

"I wish he would just disappear. What could possibly happen to him? A grown man, he can't just get lost, can he? At most, he can't pay his rent and got kicked out by the landlord, so he'll have to sleep under a bridge for a few days."

The interrogator didn't ask any further questions, but simply pulled another document out of the folder and pushed it in front of her.

A printed agreement, with the title in bold, large characters.

Su Wan's gaze fell on it, and her pupils contracted.

"What is this?"

"The highest level of confidentiality agreement."

The interrogator's voice remained flat.

"Sign it. From today onward, forget that you know someone named Lin Mo. His past, present, and future are none of your business, and are beyond your imagination."

The man leaned forward, placed his hands crossed on the table, and his gaze sharpened for the first time.

"Ms. Su Wan, your future depends on whether you can control your tongue."

The color drained completely from Su Wan's face in an instant.

Her gaze was fixed on the agreement, on the words "national security," "valid for life," "accountability for leaks," and "Supreme People's Court."

Each one felt like a red-hot branding iron, searing her eyeballs.

She wanted to laugh, to say that this was absurd, but her lips were too stiff to move.

A chill ran from my tailbone straight up to the top of my head.

She finally realized what kind of world she had missed.

She looked up, staring incredulously at the man opposite her.

"He... Lin Mo... what exactly...?"

"This is not something you should know."

The interrogator interrupted her and placed a black pen next to the agreement.

"Sign it."

Su Wan looked at the pen, then at the agreement, her breathing quickening.

She stretched out her hand, which had been nimbly outstretched just moments before, but was now trembling uncontrollably.

She tried several times before she could barely hold the cold pen.

The pen tip landed on the paper, making a slight scraping sound.

She signed her name, each stroke crooked and labored, as if she had used all her strength.

……

The interrogation room next door had almost the same layout.

Wang Defa was in a much worse state than Su Wan.

He was drenched in sweat, his expensive suit jacket was wrinkled and draped over the back of the chair, and his shirt clung tightly to his fat belly, outlining his greasy figure.

He was facing another interrogator, a fawning yet terrified smile plastered on his face.

"Comrade... I swear, I really, I swear I really didn't know Lin Mo... he... he had such a powerful background!"

Wang Defa clasped his hands together and kept bowing, his posture extremely humble.

"I'm just a small business owner, earning a meager living through hard work. When I fine him or deduct from his bonus, it's all to motivate him to improve!"

"Young people these days value this; our company's main focus is on a 'wolf culture'!"

The interrogator stared at him expressionlessly, as if he were a clown jumping around.

He ignored Wang Defa's explanation, picked up a booklet from the table, opened it, and pointed to a passage with his finger.

Article 90 of the Labor Law states that if an employer delays or fails to pay wages in full, the employee may apply to the local people's court for a payment order in accordance with the law.

"The people's court shall issue a payment order in accordance with the law."

The interrogator raised his eyelids and looked at him coldly.

"Mr. Wang, do you need us to help you understand the law regarding your 'wolf culture'?"

Wang Defa's smile froze instantly, and sweat stung his eyes as it flowed into them.

The fat on his face twitched violently, and he slumped into the chair as if his bones had been removed.

"No...no no no! No need! No need for legal education!!"

He suddenly jumped up from his chair, his face contorted with grief, his voice trembling with sobs.

"I'll make it up! I'll make it up right away! I'll make it up to him ten times... no! A hundred times! Please, please, please don't... please don't mention me in front of him! I have elderly parents and young children to support, I..."

"sit down."

The interrogator uttered two words.

Wang Defa immediately shut up, obediently sat back down, his body still trembling uncontrollably.

The interrogator also pushed a confidentiality agreement and a pen in front of him.

"Sign it."

Wang Defa didn't even look at it, grabbed a pen and scribbled his name haphazardly on the signature area, his hand shaking so much he could barely hold the pen.

After signing, he looked up at the interrogator with an almost pleading look in his eyes.

"Comrade...may I...may I go now?"

The interrogator retracted the agreement and stood up.

"You can go now. Remember, this is the end of today's business."

……

Three o'clock in the morning.

The cold night wind carried a chill, making one shiver involuntarily as it blew against their skin.

Su Wan and Wang Defa walked out of the gate one after the other, both looking dejected.

The automatic door closed silently behind them, shutting out the world inside that they would never forget.

The two stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked at each other.

They both saw in each other's eyes the fear of surviving a disaster, as well as endless confusion and regret.

Wang Defa pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, which were a little soft from being soaked in sweat. He shook them for a while before finally pulling one out and handing it to Su Wan.

Su Wan waved her hand, refusing.

Wang Defa lit the cigarette himself, took a deep drag, and the glow of the cigarette flickered on his pale face.

"What the hell is this...?"

He muttered to himself, his voice hoarse.

Su Wan didn't say anything; she just wrapped her coat tighter around herself, feeling cold all over.

She took out her phone, the screen's light illuminating her bloodless face.

She slid her finger across the screen and, instinctively, tapped the familiar green app.

In her contacts, she found the profile picture she had deleted.

A simple, default gray silhouette.

She hesitated for a moment, her fingertip hovering above the screen, but ultimately she couldn't bring herself to tap it.