Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

The letter arrived on the afternoon of the third day after training resumed.

It wasn't mailed or delivered by courier; it was like a ghost, stuck directly into the crack of the abandoned ice rink's main gate.

The envelope was pure black, made of thick cardboard, and sealed with dark red wax. The design featured a broken ice skate.

Ling Wuwen discovered it first.

She was testing the newly installed security camera at the door.

After Lao Zhao's identity was exposed, she upgraded the security of the entire factory area to military level.

Then she saw that abrupt blackness.

"Don't touch it." She stopped Gu Xidong from reaching out and took out disposable rubber gloves and an evidence bag from her tool bag.

Gu Xidong watched her professional, forensic-like movements and smirked, "You think it's poisonous?"

"I think," Ling Wuwen carefully picked up the envelope with tweezers and examined it against the sunlight,

"The person who delivered this letter is more dangerous than you think."

She put the envelope into the evidence bag and took it back to the storage room.

The unpacking process was like defusing a bomb.

Ling Wuwen carefully melted the sealing wax with steam to avoid damaging the details of the seal.

Then, use a scalpel blade as thin as a cicada's wing to cut open the edge of the envelope.

Inside was only one card—also made of thick black cardstock, with a few lines of text printed on it in gold lettering:

Under the Ice Club

Sincere invitation

Project: The 19th "Abyss" Underground Ice Show

Time: 14 days later, midnight

Location: Pier 3, Beigang Port, on the refrigerated ship "Polaris".

Requirements: Pairs skating teams must complete a designated high-risk sequence of maneuvers.

Prize money: $50 for the champion (cash, settled on the spot)

Special Note: Accepting the invitation constitutes agreement to the "Liability Waiver Agreement".

There is no signature in the lower right corner of the card, only the same broken ice blade badge.

Gu Xidong stared at the line "$50" and narrowed his eyes.

"We need money," he said calmly.

"Equipment, training facilities, registration fees and travel expenses for international competitions—not to mention the resources and channels needed to investigate 'black swans'."

Ling Wuwen wasn't looking at the card; she was looking at the wax seal.

She took a high-resolution photo with her phone, connected it to her laptop, and launched an image analysis software that Gu Xidong had never seen before.

"Do you know where this is?" she asked, her voice as cold as ice.

"Underground ice shows. Gamblers bet on whether the athletes can perform a deadly move, the bookmaker takes a cut, and the athletes risk their lives for money."

Gu Xidong spoke in a flat tone, as if he were asking what to have for breakfast, "I've heard of it before, but I've never been in contact with it. The team is very strict."

"more than."

Ling Wuwen pulled up a screenshot of a dark web interface—a pure black background with blood-red text.

Gu Xidong could barely recognize a few English words: "accident," "heart disease," and "missing."

"The Underground Ice Club was founded eight years ago." Ling Wuwen scrolled through the page, his tone as if reading an obituary.

"It started as an illegal gambling operation by a group of retired athletes, but was later acquired by a multinational gambling syndicate. They specifically target athletes who desperately need money and have top-notch skills, luring them to participate with high prize money."

She clicked on a subpage.

"This is the record of 'accidents' over the past three years."

The screen lists them line by line:

On November 7, 2022, figure skater Li suffered a spinal fracture after landing unsteadily following a quadruple jump, resulting in lifelong paralysis.

On March 22, 2023, the ice dance pair Wang/Zhang collided with the guardrail while performing a throw jump, resulting in the female skater dying from intracranial hemorrhage.

On August 15, 2023, short track speed skater Jin suffered a sudden "heart attack" after a race and could not be saved. An autopsy revealed high concentrations of adrenaline and an unidentified neurotoxin in his blood.

On January 30, 2024, just three months ago, another short track speed skater died in the same way.

Gu Xidong stared at the last record.

"Neurotoxin," he repeated the word, "is it the same one in Ling Wufeng's blood test report?"

"The sample has been destroyed and cannot be compared." Ling Wuwen closed the page.

"But the timing is delicate—after the 'black swan event' three years ago, the accident rate of these underground competitions suddenly skyrocketed. And..."

She pulled up another document.

"This is a non-public warning letter from within the International Skating Union, reminding national associations to be aware of the infiltration of underground gambling syndicates into professional competitions. The letter was sent four years ago, and Chen Guodong's name is on the list of recipients."

Gu Xidong's fingers tapped the table unconsciously.

a bit.

Two times.

"So," he said slowly.

"Chen Guodong not only manipulated the matches, but also had connections with underground casinos. He used his position as a referee to 'arrange' accidents for the players, while the casinos placed bets, profiting from both sides."

"That's a reasonable speculation," Ling Wuwen said, closing his laptop, "but it lacks direct evidence."

"Then let's go find it." Gu Xidong stood up, picked up the black card, and said, "This 'Abyss' ice show is the evidence."

2

"Are you crazy?"

For the first time, Ling Wuwen lost her composure in front of him—she suddenly stood up, the chair scraping loudly on the concrete floor.

"That's a life-or-death game! They'll make you do the impossible, then watch you fall to your death amidst the cheers of the gamblers!"

Her voice trembled, not with fear, but with anger. "Gu Xidong, I spent three months digging you out of the rubble, not to send you to die in another one!"

Gu Xidong turned around and looked at her.

Her face was shockingly pale in the dim light of the storage room, her eyes wide open, churning with complex emotions he couldn't decipher.

Anger, anxiety, and something deeper... fear.

"Ling Wuwen," he said softly, "do you know what I've been thinking about every single day for the past three years?"

He took a step forward.

"I wonder why I fell."

"Why did Ling Wufeng die?"

"Those hiding in the shadows, aren't they laughing and counting their money right now?"

He took another step forward.

"Then I thought, if one day I find them, how will I take my revenge?"

He stopped in front of Ling Wuwen, so close that he could see her pupils contract.

"Kill them directly? That's too lenient."

"Expose them? Where's the evidence?"

"Use the law? They've already mastered the law."

He lowered his head, looking at his outstretched palm—

Those hands, which once held gold medals and trophies, are now covered with calluses and scars from training.

"But now, they've given me a chance."

"An opportunity to crush them face-to-face in the game they do best."

He raised his eyes and looked directly into Ling Wuwen's eyes.

"Underground ice shows are a gamble on whether or not they can be completed."

"But what if I could not only complete it, but also complete it even more perfectly than what they defined as 'impossible'?"

"What if I did something in front of all the gamblers—a move so rare even in professional sports that it would make all their shady dealings look like a joke?"

A cold, almost insane smile slowly curved the corners of his mouth.

"What was destroyed wasn't just my life."

"It's a business they've been running for many years."

"It's the 'reputation' of Chen Guodong and his ilk."

"It's the 'rules' of the entire underground gambling network."

Ling Wuwen stared intently at him.

She looked at the man before her—the man who had fallen from grace three years ago and was still rotting in alcohol three months ago—and now his eyes burned with a light that made her heart flutter.

That wasn't a mad desire to die.

That was... a resolute act that would drag the entire hell down with it.

"They'll cheat," she finally struggled.

"Lights, ice, equipment, even your food—they will use every means to make you fail."

"Then let them use it." Gu Xidong's voice was eerily calm.

"I will complete the action by cheating. That way, their 'accident' will become 'incompetence'."

He paused, then added:

"Besides, aren't you right here with me?"

Ling Wuwen's body jolted violently.

"You're a top-notch rehabilitation therapist. You understand medicine, toxicology, and all the dirty tricks they might use." Gu Xidong looked into her eyes.

"You'll inspect every inch of ice, every bite of food, every piece of equipment. You'll be watching every possible problem as I perform my movements."

He reached out his hand—not to touch her, but simply to open his palm, as if to show her something.

"Ling Wuwen, this is not a battle I'm fighting alone."

"This is our revenge."

The air freezes.

The only sounds in the storage room were the low hum of the computer fan and the intermittent breathing of the two people.

Ling Wuwen looked at his outstretched palm, at the unwavering determination in his eyes, and at the almost self-destructive madness on his face…

Then she closed her eyes.

three seconds.

Five seconds.

When she opened her eyes again, all the anger, fear, and struggle had vanished.

All that remained was a cold, sharp, scalpel-like calm.

"Okay," she said.

One word.

It weighs as much as a thousand pounds.

3

With the decision made, the two began to study the details of the invitation.

Ling Wuwen used a high-powered magnifying glass to examine the card's material and printing process, while Gu Xidong stared at the broken ice blade badge—he felt like he'd seen it somewhere before.

"The material is a special synthetic paper, tear-resistant and waterproof," Ling Wuwen reported. "The printing uses a thermal sublimation process, which is very difficult to counterfeit. The sealing wax... contains trace amounts of radioactive isotopes, possibly for tracking purposes."

She took a portable ultraviolet lamp out of her toolbox.

"These underground organizations like to use invisible ink to transmit true information."

Turn on the ultraviolet light, and the purple beam sweeps across the black card.

The front remains unchanged.

But when the beam of light moved to the back of the card—

A line of text slowly appeared.

It is not printed text.

It is handwritten.

Fluent, elegant, and with an old-fashioned aristocratic flair in its English calligraphy:

"To Gu Xidong: We've been waiting for you for three years."

(To Gu Xidong: We've been waiting for you for three years.)

Gu Xidong stared at the line of words, his blood slowly running cold.

Three years.

It happened right around the time of the "black swan event".

This is not a random invitation.

This was a long-planned "welcome ceremony".

Ling Wuwen's fingers trembled slightly under the ultraviolet light.

"They had it all planned out long ago," she said softly.

"Ever since that 'accident' three years ago, they've been waiting for you—waiting for you to be disgraced, waiting for you to be driven to desperation, waiting for you... to voluntarily walk into this cage."

Gu Xidong remained silent.

He just stared at that line of text for a very long time.

Then he reached out and turned off the UV light.

The purple light disappeared, and the words vanished back into the darkness.

"Then let's go," he said.

His voice was as calm as if he were saying, "What should we eat tomorrow?"

"Go to their cages."

"Then--"

He raised his eyes and looked out at the deep night.

"Take the cage apart."