Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

Prison cell.

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

Ling Wuwen leaned against the wall. The wound on his wrist had scabbed over, and the dark red scabs were cracked into fine lines on his skin.

She looked at the light outside the window—the afternoon sun slanted in through the vent, cutting out the last piece of gold on the floor.

The door opened.

Volkov slid in.

He was holding a file folder. It was a thick stack of kraft paper, and the seal was stamped with the letters WM using wax.

He placed the file bag on the small table.

"What you want."

She looked at the file folder.

"What is this?"

"All of it," he said. "The complete report on the Chimera Project. The raw data from the Quad Labs. The serial numbers of the 437 subjects. The identities of the 39 survivors."

He paused.

"Including you and your brother."

She stood up.

Walk to the small table.

I reached out and touched the file folder. The kraft paper was rough, and the sealing wax was cold.

She looked up at him.

"condition?"

He smiled.

"You know."

She nodded.

"Get your job done, GG. Publicly acknowledge the technical success. Attract buyers."

He nodded.

"right."

She looked into his eyes.

It was grayish-blue and had no temperature.

"I need time to see."

He raised his hand.

"please."

2

She opened the file folder.

Remove the first page.

Russian. Title: "Research on Chimera Construction Technology: Annual Report 2013-2020"

She turned it over.

Page 2. English. Executive Summary.

Page 3. Chinese. Recruitment criteria for experimental subjects.

Page 4. Japanese. Gene editing process.

She read very quickly. Her eyes scanned each line, and her fingers flipped through the pages.

Volkov sat in his wheelchair and looked at her.

"You understand these languages?"

She didn't look up.

"English. Russian. A little Japanese."

He nodded.

"Did your brother teach you that?"

She stopped.

Look up at him.

How did you know?

He remained silent for three seconds.

"It's in the file. Ling Wufeng sent his sister thirty-nine letters in 2015. Each letter contained a list of foreign language vocabulary."

She looked at him.

Her eyes welled up with tears.

He lowered his head and continued flipping through the pages.

3

Turn to page seventeen.

photo.

Operating room. Operating lights. Doctor in surgical scrubs. A person lying on the operating table.

Ling Wufeng.

Bottom right corner time: 2017.11.9 14:17:03

She looked at the photo.

long time.

My fingers touched his face.

In the photo, his eyes are closed. The two vertical lines between his eyebrows are exactly the same as hers. His lips are slightly parted, as if he wants to speak.

She turned to the next page.

Written records.

Experimental subject number: CH-17-09

Name: Ling Wufeng

Age: 23

手术时间: 2017.11.9 14:23-15:47

Time of death: 15:47

Brain tissue extraction time: 15:52

Receptor: Ling Wuwen (CH-17-10)

Note: The recipient is the experimental subject's younger sister, with a 99.7% genetic match, making her the optimal transplant candidate.

She closed the file.

Look up at Volkov.

"You've already made your choice."

He nodded.

"Starting in 2015. Your brother's gene sample, your gene sample. Pairing analysis. The most compatible combination."

She gripped the document tightly.

The paper deformed in my hand.

"Does he know?"

Volkov looked at her.

"have no idea."

She let go.

The file fell onto the table.

4

She took a deep breath.

He raised his hand to touch his hair.

He held the ring between his right fingers. It was silver, a thin band, with a line of small characters engraved on the inside: "West East".

It was a gift from Gu Xidong.

It contains a miniature camera.

She aligned the ring with the document.

Press.

Page 1. Page 2. Page 3.

Volkov looked at her.

"What are you doing?"

She didn't stop.

Keep flipping through the pages. Keep filming.

Page 17. Page 18. Page 19.

Volkov glided over.

Grab her hand.

The ring glittered under the light.

He looked at the ring.

three seconds.

Laughed.

"Miniature camera".

She didn't say anything.

He let go.

He leaned back into his wheelchair.

"Take the picture."

She froze for a moment.

"What?"

He pointed to the document.

"Go ahead and take the picture. You can't get out anyway."

5

She continued filming.

Page by page.

Page 47 was photographed.

List.

Names of the thirty-nine survivors. Nationality. Age. Current status.

First: United States. Texas. ID: US-13-07. Name: John Miller. Status: Under isolation treatment.

Second: Russia. Moscow. Number RU-14-22. Name: Ivan Petrov. Status: Missing.

Third: China. Beijing. ID: CH-17-10. Name: Ling Wuwen. Status: Observation period.

She looked at her own name.

long time.

Continue flipping through.

Page 53.

in conclusion.

"Chimera technology has already demonstrated military applications. It is recommended to initiate the 'Double Agent Program' and the 'Undercover Program.' Initial budget: $500 million."

She closed the file.

Looking at Volkov.

"You want me to publicly admit this?"

He nodded.

"right."

She pointed to the document.

"Do you know what will happen after it's made public?"

He looked at her.

"Know."

She took a step closer.

"These survivors will be taken back, locked in laboratories, and subjected to further experiments until they die."

He didn't speak.

She took another step closer.

"I'll be treated like a monster. Dissected. Researched. Papers written. Published in journals. Let scientists all over the world see what's different about the brains of people who have had memory transplants."

He spoke.

"Maybe."

She looked at him.

"You don't care?"

He was silent.

three seconds.

"I'm dying."

6

She was stunned.

He rolled up his sleeves.

His arm was covered in needle marks. Bluish-purple veins bulged beneath the skin. The IV needle was still in the back of his hand, the tubing leading to the pump in the wheelchair's side pocket.

"Pancreatic cancer. Late stage. Three months."

He lowered his sleeves.

Look at her.

"So I need money. Lots of money. Enough to leave my daughter a lifetime's worth of money."

She didn't say anything.

He continued.

"For the past thirty years, I've collected scandals, controlled politicians, and extorted corporations. I've made enough money for her to live on for ten lifetimes. But it's not enough."

He paused.

"Because I want her to never have to live like me."

She looked into his eyes.

It's grayish-blue. It's warm now.

It's very light.

Like water flowing beneath the surface of ice.

7

She stood still.

long time.

She spoke.

"I won't help you."

He didn't speak.

She pointed to the stack of documents.

"This evidence should be made public. Let the world know what happened. Protect other test subjects."

He looked at her.

"Publicize it? You'll be the first one locked in the lab then."

She nodded.

"Maybe."

She paused.

"But at least... those who come after will be prepared."

He looked at her.

three seconds.

I smiled.

It's very light.

"You're just like your brother."

She didn't say anything.

He wheeled himself to the door.

Stop.

He didn't turn around.

"In thirty seconds, someone will come and take you to another place. There will be a bed, books, and music. You can stay there until..."

He didn't finish speaking.

Push open the door.

Slide out.

8

She stood still.

Looking at that door.

My fingers touched the ring.

Those photos are still inside.

Evidence. List. Truth.

She looked up at the ventilation duct.

It's getting dark outside the window. The last ray of sunlight is disappearing.

The door suddenly opened again.

It wasn't Volkov.

He was a bodyguard. In his twenties, wearing a black suit, and holding a walkie-talkie.

"Miss Ling, come with me."

She didn't move.

He took a step closer.

"quick."

She picked up the file bag on the table.

Follow him outside.

9

I walked to the stairwell.

The lights went out.

The entire city is without power.

Darkness surged in from all sides.

The bodyguard cursed. He turned on his flashlight. The beam illuminated the downward staircase.

wrong.

It's not upwards.

It's downwards.

"Where to?" she asked.

He did not answer.

He pushed her down the stairs.

One floor. Two floors. Three floors.

Another door.

Push away.

There was another room inside.

It's bigger than a prison cell. There's a bed, a bookshelf, and a sofa. There are paintings on the walls. Monet's Water Lilies.

A person was standing by the window.

Gu Xidong.

He turned around.

Look at her.

three seconds.

She ran over.

She threw herself into his arms.

He caught her.

His left knee couldn't support him, so he leaned against the wall to steady himself.

She looked up at him.

"What are you doing—"

He lowered his head and kissed her.

I didn't let her finish speaking.

10

long time.

She let go.

Look at him.

"Was it because of the power outage?"

He nodded.

"Raven. Thirty seconds."

She smiled.

"Again?"

He smiled too.

It's very light.

Outside the window, alarms blared. Inside the villa, footsteps echoed in disarray.

He took her hand.

"Walk."

She didn't move.

He turned to look at her.

She took the file folder out of her pocket.

"this."

He took it.

"What?"

"All the evidence. The chimera project. The Quad Labs. Thirty-nine survivors."

He looked at the brown paper bag.

He tucked it into his arms.

He took her hand.

"Walk."

They ran out of the room.

Run upwards.

One floor. Two floors. Three floors.

We've reached the ground.

The cellar door was open. Moonlight streamed in from outside.

He pulled her along and ran out.

Flashlights were everywhere in the garden. Bodyguards were shouting. Walkie-talkies were beeping.

They walked through the garden.

They ran towards the wall.

The wall is three meters high.

He squatted down.

"Step on my shoulder."

She stepped on it.

He stood up.

He gritted his teeth, his left knee throbbing with pain.

She grabbed onto the top of the wall.

Turn it over.

He jumped up.

Grab the top of the wall.

Turn it over.

Landing.

The left knee made a dull thud the moment it hit the ground.

He fell down.

She helped him up.

A black Mercedes sped towards us.

The car door opened.

The raven is in the driver's seat.

"Get on the bus!"

They climbed in.

The car door closed.

The car sped off.

The bullet hit the car.

Ding ding ding.

The car rounded the bend.

The sound of bullets faded into the distance.

She leaned against him.

He held her in his arms.

The moonlight outside the window shone on the winding mountain road.

She closed her eyes.

11

One o'clock in the morning.

Safe house.

Raven helped Gu Xidong to the sofa. His left leg was so swollen that his pants were about to tear, and the wound was oozing pus and blood.

Ling Wuwen squatted down beside him.

Cut open the pant legs with scissors.

Look at that wound.

long time.

She looked up at the ravens.

"Surgery is needed."

The raven nodded.

"The hospital arrangements are complete. One hour from now."

She looked down at him.

He had his eyes closed.

But I didn't sleep.

He stretched out his hand.

He took the file folder out of his pocket.

Hand it to her.

She took it.

Looking at that brown paper bag.

The sealing wax seal had cracked. His blood stained the edges.

She held it in her arms.

long time.

He opened his eyes.

Look at her.

"You took the picture?"

She nodded.

Take the ring off your finger.

Hand it to him.

He looked at the small silver object.

Inside were three hundred pages of evidence. Thirty-nine names. One truth.

He held it in his palm.

She leaned on his shoulder.

Outside the window, the lights of Monaco came on again.

Thirty seconds have passed.

Dawn is still far away.