Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

The air in the abandoned factory seemed to freeze at that moment.

The strange man's voice was like a rusty saw, tearing back and forth in the deathly silence.

"Your old partner is still alive."

This statement carries immense weight.

Gu Xidong's body suddenly stiffened.

His knuckles were white from gripping the ice skates too tightly.

That name, that face, that body that gradually grew cold in the pool of blood three years ago... like an inescapable nightmare, instantly devoured all his reason.

Ling Wuwen hid behind Gu Xidong, his heart pounding.

She could sense the extremely dangerous aura emanating from Gu Xidong.

That was a killing intent colder than death itself.

But at that moment, she had no time to comfort him.

Her intuition, like a radar, was spinning wildly.

Not right.

Something's really wrong.

How could this group of people know so much?

How did they find this place?

This abandoned factory area was a "safe house" she had carefully chosen, and almost no one outside of her and Gu Xidong knew about it.

unless……

"Smack."

A crisp sound.

It was as if someone had lightly flicked the light bulb with their fingernail.

Immediately afterwards, the only dim overhead light in the entire factory flickered twice.

Then, it went out completely.

Darkness, like a bucket of ice water, was poured over my head.

In an instant, it became pitch black.

2

"Who?!"

Gu Xidong's roar echoed in the darkness.

He was like an enraged beast, his ice blade slicing through the air with a sharp whistling sound.

"Get out here!"

His response was the sound of hurried footsteps coming from all around.

The footsteps came from all directions, like a tide surrounding them.

Ling Wuwen quickly crouched down, lowering his center of gravity.

Her eyes adapted rapidly to the darkness.

This wasn't the first time she had fought in the dark.

She knew that in this environment, whoever exposed their position first would die first.

She held her breath, her ears catching every movement of the air.

She heard Gu Xidong's heavy breathing.

They could hear footsteps approaching.

I also heard a very faint buzzing sound, like electricity.

The sound came from above.

From the top of the ice rink.

Ling Wuwen suddenly raised his head.

Beneath that pitch-black dome, she saw a faint red dot, almost blending into the darkness.

It resembles the eye of a demon.

A cold eye that had been watching them for three years, hovering above their heads.

It is flashing.

It appears and disappears in a regular pattern.

It seems to be breathing.

It seemed like a mockery.

It's as if to say, "I've been watching you all along."

In that instant, Ling Wuwen's blood turned completely cold.

She got it.

These three years.

Gu Xidong drinks, fights, and gives up on himself here.

He thought he was acting.

He thought he was in control.

He thought he was using "corruption" to lull the enemy into a false sense of security.

But actually.

He was the cricket trapped in the glass jar.

Every struggle, every roar, every painful self-torture he endured.

Everything was recorded exactly as it was by this "red-eyed" creature.

It was sent to the person behind the scenes.

That "black swan".

That so-called "partner".

The other party not only did not die.

The other person was still sitting in a corner of the ruins.

While sipping tea, I watched Gu Xidong, this "monkey," perform on stage, acting like a clown, tearing his heart out for a false truth.

3

"Gu Xidong!"

Ling Wuwen's voice was unusually calm in the darkness.

She grabbed Gu Xidong's still trembling arm and held him down firmly.

"Don't move!"

"There's a camera!"

Gu Xidong's movements suddenly froze.

"What?"

"Three o'clock above your head!" Ling Wuwen gritted his teeth, his voice carrying an undisguised chill. "Someone has been watching you! For the past three years, your every move has been under their surveillance!"

Gu Xidong suddenly raised his head.

His eyes were fixed on the flashing red dot in the darkness.

At that moment, all his anger, all his hatred, and all his pain froze.

Instead, there was an extreme madness of being utterly humiliated and completely manipulated.

He thought he was a hunter.

He thought he was setting up a plan.

He thought he was waiting for the mastermind behind the scenes to slip up.

The results of it?

He was just a character in someone else's script.

A pitiful, tragic clown who is merely an object of entertainment.

His three years of suffering, his three years of struggle, his three years of self-destruction.

In the eyes of the mastermind behind the scenes, it might just be a wonderful, free "reality show".

This realization is more painful than killing him.

He felt like a fool.

A fool who is ridiculed by the whole world.

4

"ah--!"

Gu Xidong let out a beast-like roar.

He's going to destroy it!

He's going to destroy this eye!

He's going to destroy all of this!

He raised his ice skate and was about to rush towards the camera.

"Don't be impulsive!" Ling Wuwen held him tightly.

"If you rush in now, you'll really become a sitting duck!"

"They're just waiting for you to come over!"

Gu Xidong's body trembled violently.

He stood still, his chest heaving violently, like a volcano about to erupt.

Ling Wuwen stared at the flashing red dot.

She knew, at this moment.

There must be a pair of eyes watching them in front of some dark screen.

Watching their panic, watching their helplessness, watching them struggle like trapped beasts in this cage.

She was smiling.

She was enjoying herself.

She was expecting them to collapse.

A cold smile slowly curved the corners of Ling Wuwen's lips.

Ok.

You want to see it?

Then I'll show you as much as you want.

She released Gu Xidong and slowly picked up a broken icicle from the ground.

It fell to the ground during morning training.

She weighed it in her mind.

The ice picks are very light and very sharp.

She didn't look at the camera above her head.

Instead, she turned her head and looked at Gu Xidong.

In the darkness, she couldn't see his expression.

But she could sense his despair.

She reached out and gently smoothed his messy hair.

Then, she leaned close to his ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Don't be afraid."

"This time, it's my turn to protect you."

After saying that, she turned around abruptly.

Her eyes instantly locked onto the flashing red dot.

Her body was like a fully drawn bow.

Her arm suddenly swung backward.

Without the slightest hesitation.

There was not the slightest fear.

She threw the ice pick in her hand with all her might!

5

"Whoosh—!"

The sound of something cutting through the air was particularly jarring in the silent factory.

The icicle pierced the darkness like a white lightning bolt.

It hit the flashing red dot precisely.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound.

Sparks flew everywhere.

The camera shattered instantly.

The "eye" that had been peering in for three years was extinguished in an instant.

The darkness became even purer.

The factory was deathly silent.

Even the approaching footsteps stopped.

Ling Wuwen stood still, his chest rising and falling slightly.

she knows.

The other party has already seen it.

I noticed her composure.

I saw her ruthlessness.

I saw her protecting Gu Xidong.

She was exposed.

She is no longer the unknown "rehabilitation therapist".

She became the "new target" of the mastermind behind the scenes.

But she doesn't care.

She looked at the fallen fragments, her eyes showing not a trace of regret.

Gu Xidong stared at her blankly.

In the darkness, he couldn't see her face.

But he could sense the figure standing in front of him, shielding him from all prying eyes.

It felt so...familiar.

It was so familiar that it broke his heart.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something.

But it couldn't make a sound.

Just then.

The strange man's voice rang out again.

This time, there was a hint of surprise, a hint of amusement, and a hint of...excitement in his voice.

"Wonderful."

"That was truly amazing."

"Ling Wufeng... oh no, I should call you... Ling Wuwen now?"

"It seems this play is much more interesting than we expected."

Ling Wuwen's body suddenly stiffened.

What did he call her?

Ling Wufeng?

How did he know that name?

She had already disguised herself so well.

She clearly already...

That voice gave her no time to think.

It continued, with a strange, chilling laugh:

"You think you only smashed a camera?"

"No."

"What you shattered was Gu Xidong's last... hope."

"Now, the screen is black."

"The game... has only just begun."

"Are you ready... to welcome the 'audience'?"

The voice just fell.

The factory's main gates were suddenly smashed open with a loud "bang"!

Countless blinding flashlight beams, like sharp swords, pierced the darkness and converged on Ling Wuwen and Gu Xidong!

They were pinned to the spot!