Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

At seven o'clock in the morning, the sunlight tried to penetrate the smog over the city, but only left behind a bleak gray-white.

Ling Wuwen changed into an inconspicuous gray tracksuit, wore a baseball cap with the brim pulled low, and blended into the morning rush hour crowd at Gu Xidong's upscale apartment building.

Instead of going straight back to the top floor, she turned into the property management office on the first floor.

"Hello, I'm Gu Xidong's distant cousin," she fabricated a clumsy but plausible excuse, a perfectly timed, embarrassed smile on her face. "My cousin hasn't been home much for the past three years; the house's practically overgrown with weeds. I'd like to help him find a cleaning lady, and while I'm at it, I'd like to ask the property management how his water, electricity, and property management fees have been settled for the past three years? Are there any outstanding payments?"

Her tone was natural, and her eyes were sincere; she was just like an ordinary sister-in-law who cared about housework.

The young woman at the property reception looked up and saw an unfamiliar face; her professional smile instantly froze on her lips.

A barely perceptible hint of panic flashed in her eyes.

"This..." The young woman's fingers hovered over the keyboard for a long time without typing. "Sir, your property information and payment records are personal privacy. We need to verify your identity..."

"Oh, I understand," Ling Wuwen took out a copy of the fake ID card and household registration book that he had prepared beforehand from his bag. "These are the supporting documents I brought. Take a look..."

As she spoke, she pushed the materials forward, leaned slightly forward, lowered her voice, and said in a gossipy tone, "Actually, I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me. You know my cousin, he used to be a big star, but then he had an accident and his career was ruined. Our whole family is worried about him... How many times has he come back in the last three years? Has he brought any weirdos back with him?"

The more detailed her questions, the paler the receptionist's face became.

2

"Miss, you...you'd better not ask."

The little girl didn't take the forged documents; instead, she recoiled as if she'd been electrocuted.

Her voice was very low, and her eyes glanced in fear toward the depths of the office, where a heavy curtain hung.

"Why?" Ling Wuwen feigned ignorance. "I'm his relative, I care about him..."

"Sh-!"

The little girl made a "shush" gesture, her whole body trembling slightly.

"Miss, let me give you a piece of advice," she whispered in Ling Wuwen's ear, her voice trembling like a leaf in the wind, "regardless of whether you're his relative or not, regardless of what you're here for... leave now."

"Mr. Gu... Mr. Gu hasn't been seen by anyone for the past three years. His house is like... like a tomb."

"Our manager gave a strict order: no one is allowed to mention that this person ever lived in this building. Anyone who dares to utter a word will be fired."

"You'd better leave quickly, or... or it will be too late."

After saying that, she dared not look Ling Wuwen in the eye again, and hurriedly lowered her head, pretending to be busy tidying up the documents on the table, but her body was as tense as a stone.

Ling Wuwen stared at her quietly for a few seconds.

She could read real fear in those terrified eyes.

It's not acting.

It is a deep-seated fear of some unknown force.

She silently took the documents from the table, turned around, and walked out of the property management office.

3

Stepping out of the apartment lobby, the cold morning wind hit him, but it couldn't dispel the gloom in Ling Wuwen's heart.

She didn't leave immediately. Instead, she pretended to look at her phone, stood under the sycamore tree by the roadside, and subtly scanned her surroundings out of the corner of her eye.

Then, she saw it.

A black sedan was parked under the shade of a tree across the street.

It was a very ordinary car, but in the city center where land is incredibly valuable, being parked on the side of the road without license plates was itself the most unusual thing about it.

The car windows were covered with dark film, resembling the eyes of a huge, lurking beast.

Ling Wuwen's intuition immediately sounded the alarm.

She pretended to walk aimlessly forward, and the car slowly started its engine, keeping its distance, and followed.

She turned into a convenience store, and the car stopped at the intersection.

Through the glass window of the convenience store, Ling Wuwen saw that there was a man sitting in the driver's seat and a man in the passenger seat.

They were wearing oversized sunglasses that almost covered half of their faces.

He was wearing an inappropriate black suit, with the collar buttoned up tightly.

Their posture was as stiff as two stone statues.

They had no phones or cigarettes in their hands; they simply placed them quietly on their knees.

That's the kind of posture that only highly trained people have—a posture that's always ready to strike.

4

Ling Wuwen bought a bottle of water, unscrewed it, took a sip, but his eyes were rapidly calculating.

They are "black swans".

They are not here to protect Gu Xidong.

They were there to monitor him.

They were like a flock of vultures, circling above a corpse, waiting for the prey to die completely, or... to prevent the prey from reviving.

They were monitoring the apartment building, watching everyone who came in and out.

What are they guarding against?

To prevent someone from finding Gu Xidong?

Or is it to prevent Gu Xidong from being found?

Ling Wuwen knew that a head-on confrontation was unwise. Her current identity was "Ling Wuwen," a frail rehabilitation therapist. If she revealed her skills here, all her plans would be in vain.

She has to get rid of them.

She walked out of the convenience store, not turning left to go back to her apartment, but turning right towards the entrance to the huge, complex, maze-like underground parking garage next door.

That area is a blind spot for surveillance.

It was also the best battlefield for her to turn the tables.

She walked into the underground parking garage, where a cold, damp atmosphere filled with the smell of gasoline hit her.

I heard soft footsteps behind me.

The two men followed them in.

They made no attempt to hide or conceal themselves, and simply swaggered into the shadows.

They seemed very confident.

In this enclosed space, confidence makes it impossible for prey to escape.

5

Ling Wuwen quickened his pace, weaving through the intricate network of pillars and vehicles.

The footsteps behind me grew closer.

She could hear the two men's steady breathing.

Just as they were about to get close, Ling Wuwen suddenly dodged and hid in the shadows under a large truck.

Two men in black ran past her, their footsteps continuing forward.

She didn't move.

She is waiting.

A few seconds later, one of the men in black stopped.

He seemed to realize something was wrong.

He slowly turned around, his emotionless eyes, in the dim light, like two cold glass beads, scanning his surroundings.

He was less than five meters away from where she was hiding.

Ling Wuwen held his breath and quietly reached for his ankle, where a tactical knife as thin as a cicada's wing was hidden.

Just when the atmosphere reached its peak, as if a bloody battle was about to erupt at any moment—

The man in black's phone suddenly rang.

He answered the phone, listened for a few minutes, and his expression suddenly changed.

He didn't say anything, but simply made a gesture to his companion.

The two quickly turned around and left the underground parking garage as fast as they could.

Ling Wuwen waited in the shadows for another five minutes.

Only after confirming that they had really left did she crawl out from under the car.

She didn't chase after it, nor did she check where the car went.

She simply walked to the spot where the two men in black had just stood.

There was nothing there.

No.

She crouched down and picked something up from the ground.

It was a small, crumpled card.

She unfolded it and took a look.

That was a "fire inspection notice" from the property management company.

It was exactly the same as what she saw at the property management reception.

She stared at the notice, a strange glint in her eyes.

She suddenly realized that the two men in black had not appeared by chance.

They were "notified" to come.

Or rather, they were "arranged" to be discovered by her.

This is a trap.

A scheme orchestrated by someone in the shadows, a warning to her.

The other party was telling her, "I know you're investigating, I know where you are. Stop now, or next time it won't be a warning, it will be..."

Ling Wuwen clutched the notification slip tightly in his hand.

She looked in the direction where the man in black had disappeared, and a cold, blood-tinged smile slowly curled at the corner of her lips.

"Trying to scare me?"

She murmured to herself.

"Let's see who... scares whom to death first."