Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

The glass of the medical pod reflected Gu Xidong's pale face, while Ling's mother's smile was terrifyingly gentle.

"The funeral three years ago was very dignified; even Wuwen believed it." She turned her wheelchair closer, her fingers tracing the glass.

"She was supposed to become my new body a year ago, but then I discovered a better option—your child."

The monitor on Ling Wuwen's chest glaringly displayed "Pregnancy reaction: positive".

"She's pregnant, eight weeks along," Ling's mother said. "Fetal stem cells are the best catalyst for consciousness fusion."

"What do you want to do with my child?"

"Create." Ling's mother pressed the button, and the side of the medical pod slid open, revealing a neural connection device.

"A complete transfer requires a donor brain, a recipient body, and a pure source of life energy."

She looked at Gu Xidong: "You and Wuwen are young, healthy, and in love. The emotional memories in your brains will become the strongest anchor point when you merge."

The wall display screen lit up, showing more than a dozen images:

Li Xiang, Chen Xiaoyu, Zhang Hao... are all athletes who have retired in recent years due to "accidental injuries," and they are currently lying in the medical pod.

"These are the first recipients," Ling's mother said proudly. "Wuwen is the most successful work. And your child is the perfect catalyst."

She pointed to Ling Wuwen in the medical pod: "The perfect ending is for her to live and become me."

Gu Xidong found it absurd: "Does Wang Zhenhua know who you are?"

"I know, that's why he has to die." Ling's mother said indifferently.

"But he was too clever; he left himself a backup plan before he died... Unfortunately, we still emerged victorious."

She pressed a button, and several thin needles extended from the medical pod, hovering above Ling Wuwen's abdomen.

2

"Advance one millimeter every three minutes," Ling's mother said gently. "We'll puncture the uterus in twelve minutes. The fetus will die, and there will be massive bleeding. Of course, we can save her life, but the baby..."

She looked at Gu Xidong: "You know the pain of losing a child, right? Just like your father, Gu Ming."

"You killed him?"

"Cardiac arrest induction agent," Ling's mother admitted.

"No pain, like a natural death. We even let him live until he sees you one last time and hands you the key—that's mercy."

Gu Xidong clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm.

"Time's up." Ling's mother glanced at the timer, and the first hand advanced one millimeter.

"Wait a minute," Gu Xidong said. "I agree, but on two conditions."

Ling's mother raised an eyebrow: "Speak."

"First, I need to stay conscious. Second, I need to participate in the surgical planning."

Ling's mother stared at him, and finally nodded: "I'll give you three hours of access. But every step you take will be monitored."

Gu Xidong was taken to the control room, where the technician granted him Level 2 access.

He began browsing the data—experimental records from the past fifteen years, parameters of thousands of athletes, cases of failure…

He quickly filtered the keywords: Ling Wuwen, clone, fetus, stem cells.

Document Title: Project Nirvana - Optimization Scheme for the Mother Container

The content sent chills down his spine: Ling Wuwen was artificially implanted after in-vitro fertilization.

The sperm used was extracted from Gu Xidong during surgery three years ago, and the eggs were stolen by Ling Wuwen during a physical examination last year.

The fetus was genetically edited—rejection markers were removed and neural development genes were enhanced.

This is not a child, it is a tool.

Another encrypted file: "Alternative Solution - Container Replacement Protocol"

Unlocking requires advanced permissions.

Gu Xidong tried adding the pinyin for "Nirvana" to Ling Wuwen's birthday—a password that Ling's mother had used before.

The document shows that if Ling Wuwen's body rejects the substance, there are five alternative containers—

Young female athletes such as Chen Xiaoyu and Li Xiang were all implanted with edited embryos.

The club not only steals consciousness, but also creates replaceable Matrix containers.

"Have you finished reading?" Ling's mother came in and handed over a paper document. "Surgical plan. Once you sign it, the needles will be removed."

Gu Xidong took the pen, the tip hovering in the air.

He pressed the hidden button on the pen cap—this was the emergency signal transmitter mentioned in Ye Shen's phone, which he had just secretly installed.

The signal will be sent to Old Gun, and the transmission will take three minutes to complete.

3

He began to sign, writing very slowly.

Does Wang Zhenhua know your true identity?

"I know." Ling's mother was silent for a few seconds. "That's why he had to die."

After signing the last piece of paper, the alarm went off.

"Warning: External signal intrusion detected."

Zhang Weiguo rushed in: "Professor, armed forces have broken through the outer perimeter! At least twenty men, well-equipped!"

"Activate the emergency protocol!" Ling's mother shouted sternly. "All test subjects are to be cryogenically frozen!"

She pressed the red button.

White mist began to fill all the medical chambers in the laboratory, and the temperature plummeted.

Ling Wuwen's medical pod was also among them.

"No!" Gu Xidong rushed toward the control panel, but was stopped.

The screen showed that Ling Wuwen's vital signs were beginning to decline—the cryopreservation process had been initiated.

"The frozen state can be maintained for 48 hours." Ling's mother was frighteningly calm. "That's enough time for relocation. As for you..."

She pressed the switch on the wheelchair, the floor beneath Gu Xidong's feet opened, and he fell into the passageway, landing on the air cushion.

The door opened, and two people in protective suits came in.

"Take him to the primary operating room and begin consciousness extraction immediately."

Gu Xidong was lifted onto the operating table, and the nerve connection helmet was lowered.

He remembered his father's words: "Some ice surfaces can only be crossed by one person at a time."

I recalled Ling Wuwen saying, "After this is over, let's go south and find a place with the sea."

Thinking of my unborn child.

The countdown starts.

60, 59, 58...

Synchronizing consciousness frequency with the clone and establishing a reverse connection—this was the last line of defense left by Wang Zhenhua.

Gu Xidong actively adjusted the frequency and invaded the blank brain of the clone in reverse.

[Warning: Two-way stream of consciousness detected—]

The alarm stopped abruptly.

4

Gu Xidong opened his eyes and lay on the cloning operating table.

And his own body was looking at "him" with its eyes open, its gaze reflecting Chen Zhenghua's consciousness.

"Get out of my body."

"Now this is mine," Chen Zhenghua said in Gu Xidong's voice, aged and smug. "You're just a clone."

Gu Xidong threw a punch.

He saw the emergency button on the control panel—the lab's self-destruct system, which required two keys: Ling's mother's and Chen Zhenghua's.

Old Gun and Mouse led the National Security Bureau to storm the area, and the guards were shot down.

"Professor, they've breached the inner defenses!"

Ling's mother stared at the monitor and suddenly smiled: "Activate the final protocol. All test subjects, including me, are to be permanently cryogenically frozen."

"professor?!"

"Do as I say." She was unusually calm.

"We will fall asleep, waiting to be awakened in the next century. And they... will get nothing."

The entire laboratory shook violently, white mist billowed out of the vents, and the temperature plummeted.

Gu Xidong dragged Chen Zhenghua into the control room, where Ling's mother's wheelchair was frozen in ice.

Chen Zhenghua struggled frantically: "Yaqin! You can't do this! We promised to be together—"

Gu Xidong pressed him onto the biometric device and ripped the ring—the fingerprint scanner—from Ling's frozen hand.

Verification using two keys.

[Self-destruct system activated. Countdown: 10 minutes.]

Gu Xidong turned and rushed toward Ling Wuwen's medical pod.

The temperature had dropped below zero, and the hatch was covered with thick ice.

He smashed through the ice and pried open the hatch. Ling Wuwen's body was cold and stiff, but the monitor still showed a faint heartbeat.

He scooped her up and rushed towards the emergency exit. Old Gun and Mouse were waiting at the entrance: "Quick! The entire mountain is about to collapse!"

They ran frantically. Explosions echoed behind them as the laboratory began to collapse.

When we burst out of the mountain, it was the darkness before dawn, and snow was falling heavily.

The helicopter is waiting.

Before boarding, Gu Xidong looked back one last time.

The snow-capped mountain collapsed in the explosion, burying the evil laboratory forever.

But Chen Zhenghua is still inside his body.

He himself was inside a clone.

Ling Wuwen was unconscious, carrying a gene-edited child in her womb.

The helicopter takes off, heading towards the unknown dawn.

In the cockpit, Mouse turned around, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopped himself.

"Speak," Gu Xidong said.

"The National Security Agency intercepted the club's last communication." Mouse's voice was dry. "It was sent thirty seconds before the self-destruction, and the recipients were twelve overseas addresses."

"content?"

The mouse was handed over to the tablet, which displayed only one word:

Nirvana 2.0 has been launched.