Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

The ship shook violently for the second time, and Gu Xidong was nearly thrown against the bulkhead.

He gripped the doorframe tightly as the sharp, fingernail-scratching fire alarm suddenly blared, mingling with the baby's cries.

Ling Wuwen held the child tightly in his arms, curled up behind the sofa, and shook his head in refusal to "stay here":

"Let's go together! It's more dangerous if we separate!"

Gu Xidong grabbed the blunt steak knife from the table and opened the hatch.

The corridor flickered with red light, and sweet-smelling white hypnotic gas gushed from the vents. He tore off a corner of his shirt and threw it to Ling Wuwen:

Hold your breath and cover your mouth and nose!

The two ran wildly down the corridor. Gunshots rang out in the distance like popping beans, the sparks from bullets hitting metal plates mingling with screams and the thuds of heavy objects falling to the ground—a scene fraught with danger.

At the corner, Gu Xidong suddenly grabbed Ling Wuwen—

Fifteen meters ahead, three men in black were firing at them with their backs to them. They couldn't see their opponents through the smoke, but more footsteps could be heard behind them.

Ling Wuwen suddenly pointed to a half-open maintenance door:

"This way!" The two crawled into the door, bolted it, and climbed down the dark ladder. The red alarm light could only illuminate the narrow ladder. Ling Wuwen followed closely behind, clumsily but firmly carrying the child.

Halfway up, the door above them was smashed open, and after the sounds of the search and arrest faded into the distance, the two finally reached the lower level.

The air was thick with the smell of diesel fuel and rust. Under the emergency green light, the narrow passage was lined with pipes and cables on both sides.

Following the airflow of the ventilation system, Gu Xidong chose the left side. The passage was winding and tortuous, and the roar of the waves crashing against the hull and the howling of the wind became increasingly clear.

In front of the waterproof gate, Gu Xidong looked through the observation window and saw the containers on the deck rattling and swaying, while another speedboat was rapidly approaching.

The tall, slender figure with long hair stood like a javelin at the bow of the ship. Even through the hundred-meter waves and dim light, he recognized her as Ling Yashi.

The moment the other person raised something, Gu Xidong abruptly pushed Ling Wuwen down: "Lie down!"

The explosive bomb hit the ship's side, causing it to list violently. The container chains broke, and two boxes fell into the sea, creating huge waves.

The waterproof door's seal failed, and seawater rushed in through the gaps, but behind them came the flash of a cutting torch burning through metal—

Chen Mo appeared at the door with two people dressed in diving suits, his left cheek smeared with blood.

"Ling Yashi has arrived ahead of schedule with her mercenaries. The ship is sinking. Let's change the plan. Put on your life jackets and come with me!"

"Where is Ling Yaqin?" Ling Wuwen asked urgently.

"You're trapped in the lower deck, save yourselves first!" Chen Mo tossed over two life jackets, his tone impatient.

Gu Xidong stared at her overly calm eyes, his mind filled with doubts, but he could only put on his life jacket and be sandwiched between the two as they moved toward the lifeboat on the east side.

The water level in the passageway was already above ankle level, and the groans of the ship's hull and the ear-piercing sound of metal twisting were incessant.

The dim morning light shone through the damaged bulkhead. The lifeboat was half-lowered, and six fully armed strangers on board pointed their guns at them, but at Chen Mo's gesture, they put away their weapons.

"You lied to us!" Gu Xidong suddenly stopped. Chen Mo's face showed a mocking expression:

"This is a safe place. Get on the ship or wait to die. Choose one."

2

The man on the boat jumped off and stared at the child in Ling Wuwen's arms:

"Silver-white eyes?" "Not yet, but genetics confirm it's an autonomously evolved being," Chen Mo replied.

The man reached out to touch the child, but Ling Wuwen sternly stopped him.

Just as the six men were leading them toward the lifeboat, the child suddenly let out a high-pitched, piercing cry that sounded like an alarm, and everyone instinctively covered their ears.

A faint silvery-white light emanated from the swaddling clothes, which then burst into a bright light like a flashbang.

Gu Xidong's vision went white, and he heard gunshots, shouts, and the sound of someone falling into water. He grabbed Ling Wuwen's arm from memory:

"Run!" When his vision returned, the six people next to the lifeboat had already fallen to the ground. Chen Mo's nose was bleeding profusely and his eyes were unfocused. The silver light on the child's body was gradually dimming, but his forehead was burning hot.

"Excessive energy consumption!" Gu Xidong remembered Ling Yaqin's report and pulled Ling Wuwen towards the lower deck. "Find Ling Yaqin, she can save the child!"

The ship tilted more severely, the water level had reached knee-deep, and metal debris continued to fall from above.

Following the sign for "C Area Experimental Sample Storage", the two found a sealed door that had been deformed by the explosion and squeezed through it.

The lower-level laboratory resembled a small hospital, but it was in complete disarray—half of the ceiling had collapsed, instruments were on fire, and the floor was stained with blood.

Ling Yaqin was trapped under a metal cabinet, her left leg broken with the bone exposed. Upon their arrival, she pointed urgently to the refrigerated display case:

"Cabinet number three, inhibitor, injected intramuscularly into the child's thigh!"

Ling Wuwen used the steel pipe that Gu Xidong found to smash open the refrigerator that had lost power, took out a syringe marked "3", and tremblingly completed the injection.

The child's crying gradually stopped, his breathing became calm, and his high fever subsided.

"It can only be suppressed temporarily. She's too young; using her power again will kill her..." Ling Yaqin coughed up blood, took out a USB drive, and handed it to Ling Wuwen.

"The laboratory on the third basement level of the Northern City contains the formula for gene stabilizers... You are not a clone, but my sister's biological daughter. I used my own genes to create a disguise... There is an escape submarine at the stern; the password is my birthday..."

3

Suddenly, the ship emitted a tearing sound like a giant beast's howl, and the hull was about to break apart as seawater rushed in.

Ling Yashi's figure appeared in the smoke, holding a gun and aiming it at Ling Yaqin:

"Sister, after hiding for thirty years, we've finally met." "You won't get the child." Ling Yaqin sneered.

Just as Ling Yashi raised her gun, Chen Mo suddenly appeared from behind, the muzzle pointed at the back of her head:

"My father, Professor Chen, died in your Lab No. 3. He was never loyal."

The water had risen to their chests, and Gu Xidong pulled Ling Wuwen towards the emergency exit.

Gunshots rang out behind them. The two men took a deep breath and swam towards the stern of the ship in the water that had submerged the ceiling, following the signs.

Just as the lungs were about to burst, the silver escape submarine finally came into view, stuck in the launch bay. After entering Ling Yaqin's birthday, the hatch closed, and the submarine detached from the sunken ship and sank into the deep water.

Through the observation window, Gu Xidong watched as the large ship broke in half and slowly sank. Amidst the flames and debris, the figures of Ling Yashi, Ling Yaqin, and Chen Mo disappeared into the sea.

When the submarine surfaced, the sky had cleared and the sea was so calm that it seemed as if nothing had happened.

The child in Ling Wuwen's arms was asleep. Deep within the pupils of his dark brown eyes, a very thin ring of silver-white light, like a ring, encircled the child. Upon waking, the child unconsciously smiled at the two of them.

The radio signal from the International Maritime Rescue Center suddenly came on. Gu Xidong pressed the call button, reported the coordinates, and then disconnected the line.

Ling Wuwen inserted the USB drive into the submarine's backup computer and tried to enter Ling Yaqin's and his own birthdays, but both attempts failed. Finally, he entered the child's birth date, and the system was successfully unlocked.

Three documents pop up on the screen:

"To My Daughter", "The Human Evolution Trap: Why 'Perfect Genes' Lead to Extinction", "Ling Ya Shi's Real Purpose: She Doesn't Want to Evolve Humanity, She Wants to Destroy It".

Gu Xidong clicked on the first one, and Ling Yaqin's tired yet gentle face appeared on the screen:

"If you see this, it means I'm already dead. What follows may be hard for you to accept, but it's all true..."

The roar of a rescue helicopter came from afar. The child reached out his little hand and touched Ling Yaqin on the screen, then turned his head to look into the depths of the submarine—

Something alive stirred in the shadows.