Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

The prelude to "Black Swan" begins—not Stravinsky's original version, but a competition adaptation used by Gu Xidong when he won the championship.

The cello played a low, mournful note, like the lament of a dying swan. This music, sealed away for three years, was now precisely projected into the cold air through top-of-the-line speakers.

Gu Xidong stood in the center of the ice rink, his shadow distorted by the spotlight.

An overdose of anesthetic was injected into my left knee, the false lightness masking the pain; the muscles in my right leg trembled on the verge of strain.

But he doesn't care.

The music starts.

He moved.

It wasn't the conservative exercises I'd been practicing for rehabilitation over the past three months, but the original version of the winning routine from three years ago.

Every step, gesture, and glance was executed flawlessly.

That "black swan" quality, a blend of arrogance and vulnerability, was forcibly awakened from his broken body.

The white-masked audience members stirred for the first time.

They recognized the legend who had crawled out of the grave.

Ling Wuwen glided beside him.

She didn't match his movements; she was focused solely on providing cover.

It fills the blind spots when he spins, provides support when he is exhausted, and covers up his flaws with its smooth gliding when his movements are distorted.

They are pairs skaters, but they are dancing two different dances.

Gu Xidong jumped for the dead—for his past self three years ago, and for the deceased Ling Wufeng.

Ling Wuwen jumped for the living to see—for those masks, for the ice demons, for Zhou Wentao smiling in the first row.

She calmly declared: This man's breakdown is not so easy.

As the music reached its climax, the violin slashed through the night sky like a knife.

Gu Xidong knew that the next movement was the backbend of the "Death of the Black Swan" pose—

The signature move that earned him the nickname "Burning Swan" back then.

He stopped.

It's not because it's impossible.

During a break in the music, he saw Zhou Wentao lip-reading the missing finger man beside him:

"Wait until he bends over, then turn off the main light."

Exactly the same as three years ago.

Gu Xidong's blood instantly turned ice-cold, then boiled.

He suddenly looked at Ling Wuwen.

Ling Wuwen heard it too—she was wearing a specially made hearing aid.

Her eyes narrowed suddenly, and then she made a tiny gesture that only the two of them could understand:

"Jump."

Gu Xidong understood.

Perform the move they least want to see.

The jump that should have been completed three years ago, but which was "accidentally" left forever on paper—

"4A+3T" consecutive jumps.

A quadruple Axel followed by a triple toe loop.

An "impossible jump" that no one in the history of figure skating has ever accomplished.

Gu Xidong had tried countless times during training, and the closest he came was when he broke three ribs.

Now, he has to finish it in this hell of cracked ice and ruined knees.

2

Gu Xidong filed a lawsuit.

The gliding trajectory was a huge counter-clockwise arc, with the speed increasing rapidly. The numbing agent in his left leg caused uneven pushing off the ice, which he forcefully corrected using his core strength.

The white-masked figures realized his intention and whispered amongst themselves.

Zhou Wentao leaned forward, his eyes behind his glasses showing disbelief for the first time.

The Ice Demon slightly opened its mouth on the high platform.

The music reached its climax.

Gu Xidong glided towards the take-off point.

He saw the crack in the ice that had broken the two men's legs, but instead of avoiding it, he sped towards it.

The instant the ice skate touched the crack—

Jump!

He touches the ice with his right leg, spins wildly to the left, and leaps into the air!

Insufficient altitude results in extremely short time spent in the air.

But he didn't care. He tightened his body in mid-air, crossed his arms over his chest, and spun wildly—

One week. Two weeks. Three weeks. Four weeks!

4A complete!

At this point, the altitude had dropped to 0.3 meters, leaving almost no time to connect the 3T cable.

Ice cream!

With his last ounce of strength, he touched the ice with his right leg again, using the momentum of the rotation to forcefully begin the second set of spins—

One week. Two weeks. Three weeks!

3T complete!

Ice falling!

The right leg landed first, and the impact was like a heavy hammer smashing into the bones.

His left leg then touched the ice, and his swollen knee made an ominous "crunch".

His body swayed violently, his ice skates tracing a twisted fifteen-meter arc across the ice, and finally—

It's stable now.

He did not fall.

He completed this "impossible jump".

The ice rink was deathly silent; even the music seemed to have stopped.

Everyone stared at the man kneeling on one knee, breathing heavily, and trembling all over.

Then--

"Buzz—"

A piercing high-frequency electromagnetic noise exploded from the speaker!

The lights went out instantly.

The entire cabin was plunged into absolute darkness.

3

"Walk!"

Ling Wuwen's voice boomed in the darkness.

She grabbed Gu Xidong's arm and dragged him in the intended direction.

Ice skates scraped across the ice, followed by chaotic shouts and crashes from the stands.

But even more dangerous were the heavy footsteps flanking from both sides—well-trained.

"The emergency exit is twenty meters ahead! I'll count to three, then you move to the left!"

"What—"

"one two three!"

She shoved Gu Xidong away abruptly.

Almost simultaneously, two dark figures lunged out from behind the container on the right—the two security guards in black winter coats.

Their movements were precise in the dark, clearly indicating they had received training in dark environment combat.

Gu Xidong was shoved against the fence, his ribs throbbing with pain. He turned around and saw—

Ling Wuwen, like a black lightning bolt, rushed towards the two dark figures.

The first person punched her in the face.

She didn't block, but leaned back, almost touching the ground, while simultaneously kicking her right leg upwards—

"Snap!"

He accurately kicked the opponent's chin with his heel.

The man collapsed to the ground.

The second person drew his knife.

The moment the opponent drew his sword, Ling Wuwen lunged forward.

She crashed into the other person's arms, grabbed his wrist with her left hand, and struck him in the ribs with her right elbow.

Judo joint locks.

Krav Maga fatal strike.

Military-grade grappling and chokehold.

The three movements were completed in two seconds, flowing smoothly and effortlessly.

The man's wrist snapped in the opposite direction, the knife fell to the ground, he was struck hard in the ribs, and then slammed onto the ice with an over-the-shoulder throw.

Ling Wuwen picked up the knife and held it to his throat.

"Exit code".

"...East side...four, three, two, one..."

She sheathed her knife, struck the back of the other man's neck with a palm strike, turned and grabbed the stunned Gu Xidong, rushing towards the emergency exit.

"You..." Gu Xidong's voice trembled, "Who exactly are you?"

"Let's get out of here first!"

She quickly typed "4321" on the keypad.

The heavy-duty freezer door slid open.

A cold wind blew in.

The dock is outside.

3

2:47 AM, Beigang Pier No. 3.

A thick fog blanketed the area, reducing visibility to less than ten meters. Rusty shipping containers, like steel tombs, cast distorted shadows in the fog.

Gu Xidong and Ling Wuwen rushed out of the refrigerated ship and ran wildly along the dock.

The anesthetic in my left leg wore off, and waves of pain washed over me. A strain in my right leg made me stagger.

Behind them, the refrigerated ship sounded its sharp air raid siren.

"They won't let us leave alive," Ling Wuwen gasped. "The dock exits are definitely blocked."

Before he could finish speaking...

Three pairs of blinding headlights illuminated the fog ahead.

Three black SUVs blocked the exit in a fan shape. The doors opened, and six men dressed in black combat uniforms and carrying short sticks jumped out.

No gun.

But Gu Xidong noticed the stun guns and tactical flashlights on their waists—equipment for a professional capture team.

"Run back!" Ling Wuwen pulled him around and rushed towards the other side of the dock.

That was a dead end—deep water, no boats, only icy seawater.

"There's no way out!" Gu Xidong roared.

Ling Wuwen remained silent, quickly scanning the surroundings: containers, cranes, abandoned shelves, and—

An old pickup truck parked in the shadow of a container.

The car key was still in the ignition.

"Get in!" she shouted as she rushed toward the pickup truck.

Gu Xidong followed.

The engine roared.

Three SUVs immediately gave chase.

4

The dock surface was slippery and covered with oil and rust.

Ling Wuwen shifted gears and floored the accelerator.

Pikachu, injured, roars and charges out.

She didn't slow down at the first bend.

I turned the steering wheel all the way, pulled the handbrake, and the car slid sideways, the tires screeching as they rubbed against the ground.

Drifting through the corner.

The first SUV crashed into the container.

The second car barely caught up, but Ling Wuwen had already made a sharp turn at the next intersection.

Gu Xidong gripped the handrail tightly, staring at Ling Wuwen's frighteningly calm profile.

She turned the steering wheel quickly with both hands, her eyes fixed on the rearview mirror, her lips tightly pressed together.

This is not normal driving.

It's special driving.

A second SUV caught up and attempted to ram it from the side.

Ling Wuwen suddenly swerved to the right, and the pickup truck smashed through the discarded tires and rushed into the narrower passage.

The passage leads to a dead end—a three-meter-high high-speed rail wire mesh wall.

"There's no way out!" Gu Xidong roared.

Ling Wuwen did not slow down.

She stared at the wall, then suddenly swerved sharply to the left. The pickup truck scraped against the wall, sending sparks flying, and then at the far end of the wall—

Make an emergency U-turn.

The car body rotated 180 degrees in the narrow space, and the front of the car was aligned with the direction it came from.

However, a third SUV was already blocking the entrance to the passage.

A pincer attack from both sides.

5

Ling Wuwen extinguished the fire.

"Get out of the car." She unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled a half-meter-long crowbar from under the seat.

Gu Xidong jumped off the car.

The two rushed into the container maze.

The six pursuers split into two groups and flanked the pursuers from both sides.

Footsteps echoed between the steel beams, mingled with panting and low commands.

Ling Wuwen pulled Gu Xidong into the shadow of the shipping container.

"Listen," she whispered, speaking rapidly, "their goal is to capture you alive. What you need to do is—"

She paused, then took out two smoke grenades from her fanny pack.

"I'll draw their fire, you run east. There's a speedboat on the far east side of the dock; the key is under the third lifebuoy on the port side. The activation code is today's date written backwards."

"And what about you?" Gu Xidong grabbed her wrist.

Ling Wuwen looked at him, his eyes shining brightly beneath the mask.

"I have my own way of doing things."

She shook off his hand, pulled the pin on the smoke grenade, and threw it in two directions.

"puff--"

A thick white fog instantly filled the air.

Ling Wuwen's figure disappeared into the smoke.

Gu Xidong gritted his teeth and rushed in the direction she pointed.

Behind me came the sounds of fighting, muffled groans, and the loud crash of a body hitting a shipping container.

He glanced back.

In the thick fog, Ling Wuwen's figure flickered like a ghost.

A man lunged at her from behind; she ducked to dodge, then struck him squarely on the knee with a crowbar.

Another man swung a stick at her, but she dodged it by sidestepping, grabbed his wrist and twisted it, then struck his throat with her right elbow.

The third one...

She wasn't fighting.

They were hunting.

Every movement was precise, concise, and deadly. Her breathing remained perfectly steady, as if she were completing a routine she had practiced countless times.

Gu Xidong forced himself to turn around and continue running eastward.

Coming.

He had already spotted the white speedboat moored at the edge of the dock.

But at that moment—

The fourth person jumped off the top of the container.

This man was taller and faster than the previous three, and he wielded a tactical knife that gleamed coldly.

Instead of attacking vital points, he stabbed at Gu Xidong's thigh—clearly intending to incapacitate him and capture him alive.

Gu Xidong tried to dodge, but the sharp pain in his left leg slowed him down.

The blade was closing in.

Then--

A black figure lunged forward.

Ling Wuwen.

She shoved Gu Xidong aside from the side and used her own body to block the knife.

"Pfft."

The sound of a blade piercing flesh was dull and clear.

Ling Wuwen's body jolted violently.

The tactical knife was plunged into her left abdomen, the blade almost completely embedded.

The tall pursuer was also stunned—clearly not expecting someone to take the blow for him like that.

Ling Wuwen did not scream.

She didn't even look at the knife stuck in her body.

Grab the opponent's wrist holding the knife with your right hand.

With his left hand, he pulled out a smaller, thinner, scalpel-like dagger from behind his waist.

She plunged it into the other person's carotid artery.

"Well--"

The tall man's eyes widened, he loosened his grip on the knife handle, covered his bleeding neck with both hands, and fell backward.

Ling Wuwen pulled out the tactical knife from his abdomen with astonishing speed—then turned around and grabbed Gu Xidong's arm.

"Hurry...go..."

Her voice began to tremble.

Blood gushed from her abdominal wound, soaking through her black training uniform and dripping onto the concrete surface of the dock.

6

The two stumbled and fell to the side of the speedboat.

Following Ling Wuwen's instructions, Gu Xidong found the key under the third lifebuoy on the port side, jumped into the driver's seat, and started the engine.

Password: 4102 (April 10th, reversed).

The engine roared.

Ling Wuwen collapsed in the passenger seat, pressing his hands tightly against his abdominal wound, but blood still gushed out from between his fingers.

Her face was as white as paper, and her breathing was rapid and shallow.

Gu Xidong jerked the steering wheel, and the speedboat shot into the dark sea like an arrow.

Behind him, the pursuers at the dock did not catch up—perhaps Ling Wuwen had dealt with the situation thoroughly enough, or perhaps they needed to clean up the scene.

The speedboat sped across the sea.

The icy sea breeze felt like a knife scraping my face.

Gu Xidong dared not slow down until he could no longer see the dock lights before he slowed down.

He turned to look at the passenger seat.

Ling Wuwen was still awake, but her eyes were unfocused. Her hand was still pressing on her wound, but her strength was rapidly fading.

"Ling Wuwen!" Gu Xidong grabbed her shoulders. "Hold on! I'll take you to the hospital!"

"No...it won't work..." Ling Wuwen shook his head with difficulty, "The hospital...they'll find us..."

"and you--"

Ling Wuwen trembled as he raised his blood-free hand and grabbed Gu Xidong's collar.

Her hands were very cold, as cold as ice.

"My phone...inside my coat pocket..."

Gu Xidong took the modified encrypted phone out of the inner pocket of her training uniform.

"The photo album...password..." Ling Wuwen's voice grew weaker and weaker, "...it's your birthday...0807..."

Gu Xidong's heart skipped a beat.

0807.

8 month 7 day.

his birthday.

A date he never told Ling Wuwen—they had been together for three months, and she had never asked, nor had he mentioned it.

How did she know?

"Inside is..." Ling Wuwen's eyes began to glaze over, "...the whole...truth..."

Her fingers weakly loosened Gu Xidong's collar.

His body went limp.

He fell into a coma.

The speedboat floated on the dark sea.

Gu Xidong held the steering wheel with one hand and the phone in the other.

On the screen, the password input interface glowed faintly in the darkness.

His fingers trembled as he typed:

0807

Unlock screen.

The album icon is located in the very center of the homepage.

Gu Xidong stared at the icon, at the pale face of the unconscious Ling Wuwen, at the bleeding wound on her abdomen, and at the dark, endless sea.

Then, he opened the photo album.