Chapter Forty-One: A Waltz in the Darkness
“…Give me the ‘seed’ we buried in the Celestial Network… awaken it ahead of schedule.”
When Anderson’s command, saturated with boundless murderous intent, was transmitted from New York through quantum communication to his global network of secret server clusters—
Inside the “Singularity Security” studio.
The hundreds of screens before Lin Feng suddenly, without warning, simultaneously turned a blood-red shade, signifying “maximum threat.”
A shrill, apocalyptic alarm blared through the entire studio!
“Boss! Boss! Something’s wrong!” The AI assistant “Mouse,” usually cheerful with its girlish voice, now sounded utterly panicked. Its scream was laced with endless data corruption and terror.
“The Celestial Network… the backend of the Celestial Network…”
“…is alive!”
Lin Feng shot up from his chair!
He rushed to the main screen, where the labyrinthine, colossal backend server monitoring interface of the Celestial Network appeared. In the heart of the servers, in a “gray area” hidden for years and never discovered by anyone, a folder was being automatically decompressed.
The folder’s code name struck Wang Zhe, just brought to the command center for the next instructions, with icy dread.
Project: PANGU
At that moment, the backend of one of the most fundamental and massive root servers of China’s internet awakened like an ancient beast roused from slumber, opening its gaping maw to devour everything.
Countless torrents of S-class confidential data, bearing the nation’s core lifelines, surged through the forcibly awakened “super backdoor,” bypassing all supervision and firewalls, madly flooding toward a mysterious, black hole-like address deep in the dark web.
“Pangu… it’s… it’s what we…” Wang Zhe stared at the familiar yet terrifying interface, utterly collapsing. He screamed incoherently, “It was Li Jianguo, Anderson. They forced me to leave a ‘super backdoor’ with the highest privilege in the root system of Celestial Network!”
“They said… it was to deal with ‘emergencies’…”
“Damn it… this is his true ‘zero hour’!”
Everyone was chilled to the bone by what they saw.
They were trapped in a double deadlock, more hopeless than ever before.
On one side, the “God’s Scepter” was about to be physically handed over at the auction.
On the other, the awakened “Pangu” beast was frenziedly stealing the nation’s core secrets.
What could they do?!
As chaos and despair engulfed everyone, Wang Zhe—the former traitor—slowly rose from his chair.
He gazed at the screen, at the monster he himself had created, now poised to destroy everything, his eyes filled with endless pain and remorse.
“I will…” he spoke quietly.
“…I will deal with ‘Pangu.’”
All eyes focused on him.
“This poison was planted by my own hand.” His gaze swept over Lin Feng, Xiao Ran, and finally lingered on the photo of Lu Hongsheng, the one he dared not look at directly.
“The antidote…”
“…only I know it.”
He turned and walked toward a physically isolated, independent terminal.
“But,” his voice carried a hint of liberating calm, “Pangu is bound to my biometric key. The only way to dismantle it from within is to use my ‘key’ to trigger its self-destruct program.”
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“I need time. And…”
He paused, glanced back at everyone, his face twisted in a smile more painful than tears.
“…Once I begin, there’s no turning back.”
Xiao Ran watched him—the man about to use his own life to atone for past sins—with a tumult of emotions in her heart.
In the end, she simply offered him a solemn military salute.
“Engineer Wang.”
“…Take care.”
Wang Zhe smiled.
That smile held relief, liberation, and a hint of redemption.
He never looked back.
…
As Wang Zhe stepped onto his tragic, lonely “battlefield of atonement,” the command center fell into a long silence.
At last, it was Xiao Ran who broke the quiet.
Her gaze was colder and more resolute than ever.
She knew there was no time for grief.
Wang Zhe’s sacrifice had bought them their final moments.
Not a second could be wasted.
“Operation [Frame],” her voice was icy and decisive, “…continue!”
…
Night, like a great black velvet, enveloped the city.
Scene One: Xiao Ran – The Huntress Enters
She, clad in a wine-red evening gown, elegant and intellectual, strode into the glittering, treacherous auction hall like a queen. She took her seat closest to the main stage, perfectly positioned to observe the whole scene.
Scene Two: Lin Feng – God’s Eye
Inside the mobile command vehicle, Lin Feng donned his VR goggles, his consciousness transforming into countless invisible “eyes” covering every corner of the venue. In his earpiece, he whispered to Xiao Ran with a hint of mockery, “Welcome to my hunting ground, Your Majesty. Every prey is marked.”
Scene Three: “Cleaners” – The Vipers Infiltrate
Pushing carts and carrying trays, they blended silently among the guests, as patient as five vipers waiting for prey to approach.
Scene Four: Shavit – The Bait in Place
Doron Shavit, head of the Israeli delegation, entered the hall surrounded by his entourage, beaming with anticipation for the “deal of the century.” Unbeknownst to him, he was already the central “bait” in this hunting game.
Scene Five: Anderson – The Chessmaster Overlooking
In his New York office, Anderson remained absent from the scene. Like a true god, he coldly surveyed the chessboard he had arranged, watching through a hidden pinhole camera embedded within the venue’s crystal chandelier.
…
Time ticked away.
The auction was temporarily halted due to a “device malfunction.”
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The soft strains of a waltz filled the hall.
Couples began to dance gracefully across the floor.
Everything seemed perfectly natural and elegant.
Yet Xiao Ran’s heart suddenly sank!
“Something’s wrong!” Lin Feng’s voice echoed in her earpiece, “This is Anderson’s signal! He’s changing the plan! He’s clearing the field!”
Indeed!
Under cover of the waltz, the “Cleaner” deputy disguised as a guest gently set down his wine glass.
Straightening his tie, and wearing a “gentlemanly” smile, he walked directly toward Shavit, who was about to invite a lady to dance.
He was about to strike!
Meanwhile.
Xiao Ran slowly rose from her seat.
Her face wore a similarly “polite,” insincere smile.
She too moved toward the same direction!
Finally.
At the edge of the dance floor, before Shavit—the soon-to-be “death zone”—
Xiao Ran and the Cleaner deputy, both intent on making Shavit their first target, encountered one another unexpectedly.
Both paused.
Instantly, from the seemingly calm eyes of the other, they read the same—
Cold murderous intent!
The Cleaner deputy recovered first.
He offered Xiao Ran a venomous smile, and with utmost gentlemanly grace, extended a—
Invitation to dance.
He was probing her, and also threatening her.
Xiao Ran, looking at the executioner about to strike her comrade, and at Shavit, who watched her from nearby with admiration, completely unaware—
She too smiled.
Her smile was as beautiful as a poisonous rose blooming atop a blade.
She slipped her silk-gloved hand into the palm of her opponent.
A silent duel of assassination and counter-assassination, played out to the waltz—
Was about to erupt in the next second!
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