Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

Darkness is not about losing consciousness, but about another battlefield.

Gu Xidong felt himself sinking, but his hearing was unusually clear:

His own heavy breathing, Ling Wuwen's anxious shouts, the screeching of tires—

They were all covered and distorted by the buzzing sound deep inside the brain.

The voice was speaking. Not language, but a nerve-piercing pulse command: [Stand up].

My body was resisting; the excruciating pain in my left knee was the only anchor point.

But the command was stronger, like an invisible hand lifting his joints. [Walk east, 300 meters, black sedan].

Visibility returned, but colors were distorted; only the car mentioned in the instructions stood out vividly in the field of vision.

His legs began to move.

"Gu Xidong!" Ling Wuwen rushed out from behind the bushes and grabbed his arm, but was suddenly shaken off.

"He's been controlled!" came the sound of a mouse clicking in the distance, mixed with static interference.

"It's a long-range signal!"

Ling Wuwen stood in front of him.

Gu Xidong saw her lips move, but all he heard was: "Clear the obstacles." He raised his hand.

"No," Ling Wuwen refused to back down.

"Three years ago in Harbin, it snowed after the competition. You said that snow in the north is different from snow in the south—"

[Execution]. Just as the fingers were about to touch her neck, the buzzing sound suddenly distorted.

A discordant note broke in—two frequencies clashed within the brain.

One was cold and forceful; the other was strange yet familiar.

Gu Xidong stood frozen in place. [Command conflict... Recalibrate...]

"Found it!" the mouse shouted into the headset.

"The interference wave in the last three seconds of Wang Zhenhua's recording was a counter-frequency he implanted! He used his son's voice to record the interference code!"

Ling Wuwen pounced on him and stuffed the miniature earphone into his ear.

The music started—

It was actually a sophisticated mathematical waveform, with frequencies so complex that the melody was indistinguishable, but something in his mind recognized it.

The beeping stopped. [System Error... Source command overwritten...]

Gu Xidong knelt down and vomited. The world regained its color, but his brain felt as if it had been struck a heavy blow.

"Get in the car!" Old Gun's car sped towards them and braked suddenly.

As they rolled into the back seat, a bullet shattered the rear window.

Inside the car, Ling Wuwen bandaged his wound. "How did they find him?"

"Zhang Weiguo." The mouse clicked while simultaneously typing on the keyboard as the car sped along.

"His phone was being monitored in two ways. I tracked four signal sources simultaneously locating us."

Gu Xidong was drenched in cold sweat. In those few seconds, he truly felt that he had become a puppet set up by someone else.

"Can the counter-frequency be played again?" he asked hoarsely.

再次播放。在複杂波形下，隐约可闻人声低语重複数字：「7-19-23-5-12-1……」

"Latitude and longitude," Old Gun glanced at it, "South China Sea coordinates."

"Ice Surface Command Center." Gu Xidong recalled the words from the recording.

The car turned into the abandoned factory. "It's safe for now, but all electronic devices have likely been tampered with."

We moved to the second floor of the factory. Dark clouds loomed outside the window.

"We need a new plan," Ling Wuwen said.

"You failed to confront Zhang Weiguo directly, public opinion was suppressed, and now even your mind is not safe."

"That's precisely why we need to be faster." Gu Xidong leaned against the wall and stood up.

"Their activation of the control program means we're close to the truth that must be stopped. That coordinate—we need to find command."

"How do I find it?"

"Chen Guodong's private studio," Gu Xidong said. "If he were in the executive position, he would definitely have kept contact records."

The mouse brought up a floor plan: "He has a 'Youth Sports Training Consultation Room' in the west of the city. I went there before the live broadcast, and the police haven't found it yet."

2

At 3 PM, in Room 307, Building B, Creative Park, the door lock was quickly cracked.

The interior was simple, but a safe was hidden behind the bookshelf.

Upon opening, there were three items inside: an encrypted hard drive, a passport with an alias, and a key labeled "Port Storage Area C-12".

The hard drive requires a password. Attempts using birthdays or similar passwords have all failed.

Gu Xidong stared at the passport, which bore the pseudonym "Chen Dong," and typed in reverse pinyin: "DONGCHEN19871103".

Unlock.

The hard drive contains only one folder: "Cleanup List". It contains twenty-seven names, each with a status indicator.

[Coach Zheng - Completed - 2019.04.12]

[Lin Wufeng - Completed - 2023.10.08]

[Wang Zhenhua (Li Guozhong) - Under surveillance]

[Gu Xidong - In Progress]

[Zhang Weiguo - Pending Action]

As the slide continued, Gu Xidong's pupils suddenly contracted.

[Ling Wuwen - Under Observation]

"They already knew about you," the mouse whispered.

The folder also contains subdirectories arranged by year. The most recent files are candid photos: Ling Wuwen shopping, researching, and smoking outside the safe house window—three days ago.

And a recording. Clicking on it revealed Ling Wuwen's voice, his tone unfamiliar: "...Target memory erasure failed, but the control program implantation was successful. Long-term monitoring is recommended, awaiting activation instructions." Date: Three years ago, the second week after Gu Xidong's surgery.

3

Gu Xidong slowly turned his head.

Ling Wuwen stepped back and shook his head: "No, this isn't me. I absolutely never said such a thing."

"Voiceprint matching accuracy: 98.7%." The mouse stared at the data.

"I believe you," Gu Xidong said softly but firmly. Ling Wuwen's eyes reddened.

"But that means the club has always had people around us." He turned to the screen. "Maybe very close."

Continuing to examine the hard drive, the communication logs were found in the encrypted partition. Chen Guodong communicated with a contact codenamed "Deep Blue" using a custom protocol. Partially decrypted content:

[Deep Blue: New equipment has arrived at port area C. Recipient: Zhang.]

[Chen: Subject 3 (Gu) has incomplete memory erasure.]

[Deep Blue: Implanted control module, trigger frequency 18.7kHz, activation command "White Whale".]

[Chen: Is the monitor (Ling) reliable?]

[Deep Blue: Temporarily available. If issues arise, clean it up.]

The last record was from a week ago: [Deep Blue: The live stream plan is approved. Chen recited the pre-set lines and then remained silent. Zhao Zhigang took his position.] and [Deep Blue: That's the second part of the plan. We need Gu to be activated in front of the public.]

Gu Xidong felt a chill run down his spine. Everything during the live broadcast—the exposure, the silencing, his appearance—was likely part of the plan. They needed him to "lose control" in front of millions of viewers, thereby completely denying all the truth.

"The key," he picked up the port key, "the next stop."

In the Chengdong freight area, container C-12. Inside, three rows of metal racks neatly hold sealed boxes.

The first box contains medical equipment: microsurgical instruments, implantable chips, and diagnostic equipment.

The second box contained forged athlete documents.

The third box was the heaviest: ten pistols, sniper rifle components, and ammunition.

"Armory," Old Gun inspected. "The serial numbers have been worn away."

A refrigerated container was found deep inside the shipping container. When the power was turned on, the light illuminated rows of test tubes.

[Experiment Subject 1 - Brain Tissue Slice]

[Experiment Subject 2 - Neural Sample]

[Experiment Subject 3 - Blood and DNA (Gu)]

Gu Xidong looked at the test tube with his name on it, and his stomach churned.

The mouse scans for the transmitter in the ceiling mezzanine.

"Frequency 18.7kHz—that's the trigger frequency that activates you. It's broadcasting continuously."

"For all recipients." Ling Wuwen's voice tightened. "This might be a relay station, amplifying the signal coverage area."

Gu Xidong recalled Wang Zhenhua's words: He was not the only victim.

"Tear it down."

"Demolition would alert control center." Mouse shook his head.

"Why not tamper with it—change the frequency to a countermeasure frequency. So that what's being emitted here isn't a control command, but an antidote."

Just as the mouse was about to finish, the sound of engines came from the distance of the port. Four vehicles were closing in.

"How long will it take?"

"Three minutes."

"Give us three minutes."

Old Gun quickly assembled the sniper rifle. Ling Wuwen inspected the pistol. Gu Xidong dragged the evidence box deeper inside.

4

The car headlights pierced the night.

The first vehicle stopped, and the six-man tactical formation dispersed.

"The equipment is too professional...like SWAT?" Before the old gunman could finish speaking, a gunshot rang out—but the bullet was aimed at the approaching figures.

A second wave emerged from the shadows of cranes and cargo ships. The two forces clashed between the containers, stray bullets flying everywhere.

"Third parties are attacking each other."

Mouse finger flies across the screen: "Done!" The transmitter frequency jumps from 18.7kHz to a complex waveform. The counter-frequency begins broadcasting.

At the same time, Gu Xidong felt a slight vibration in his brain—like a taut string suddenly being released.

Gunfire drew closer. "Go from behind, towards the dock!" Old Gun changed his magazine to provide cover.

They moved through the shadows. Strangely, no one fired at them. The two groups seemed more focused on eliminating each other.

At the dock, small cargo ships were unloading their cargo. Just as they approached, a loudspeaker blared:

"Gu Xidong, stop moving."

Searchlights shone down from the deck, illuminating the dock. A man in plain clothes, around fifty years old, stood unarmed on the ship's side.

"My name is Yang Zhenguo, head of the Ninth Division of the National Security Bureau. Wang Zhenhua—Li Guozhong—was my subordinate. His last message before he sacrificed himself was about you."

Gu Xidong froze.

"We know the club's entire plan, and we know about the implant in your brain." Yang Zhenguo stepped down the gangway. "We need your help to find the ice command center. But first, you have to come with us."

The gunfire behind them had stopped. Both groups had laid down their weapons.

"Are you on the same side?"

"The people who attacked the club were our men," Yang Zhenguo nodded. "But there's a third force present—I don't know who they are, but they're also looking for you. You must leave immediately."

Gu Xidong stared at him. Wang Zhenhua's recording mentioned "being ordered to infiltrate," but why is the National Security Bureau only showing up now?

How can I trust you?

Yang Zhenguo tossed him an old-fashioned pocket watch. Inside was a miniature photograph—a picture of Wang Zhenhua with a young man, with the inscription on the back: "With his apprentice Yang Zhenguo, taken in Beijing in 2003."

"He is my mentor, and also the one who chose you as the backup carrier for the 'Deep Dive Project.' Three years ago, during the surgery, while implanting the control chip, he also implanted the encrypted data he had collected over eight years—the control program is the outer shell, and the truth data is the core. Only by countering the frequency can the outer shell be unlocked."

Gu Xidong touched the scar on the back of his head.

"Can you feel it now? Your memories are returning."

Gu Xidong closed his eyes.

The scene unfolded: the night before the finals, backstage at the training hall. He saw more than just Zhou Wentao and Chen Guodong. A third person turned around—

He is Ling Wuwen's father.

He opened his eyes and looked at Yang Zhenguo. Yang Zhenguo slowly nodded:

"Ling Jianguo, codename 'Deep Blue.' A core member of the club and the third-ranking figure in the ice command center. His 'car accident' was orchestrated by us."

Under the searchlight, Ling Wuwen's face instantly lost all color.