In the evening, the dazzling lights of Xigu City just lit up, dyeing the sky a warm shade of pink and purple.
At this time, Xigu City appeared somewhat surreal.
Not only because of the lights, but also due to the countless individuals with vacant eyes, immersed in the scenes before them or lost in their dreams.
Sometimes, an entire street would be quiet, with numerous people standing or sitting, gazing at images only they could see. Around them, neon signs flickered silently, and the curious meow of a passing cat could be distinctly heard.
Only the occasional flying cars descending from above reminded the onlookers that this world hadn't come to a standstill.
However, today, the atmosphere felt distinctly different.
At the major subway stations and rail intersections in Xigu City, the strictest checkpoints had been established, complete with signal jammers.
Everyone passing through the checkpoints had to undergo rigorous scanning.
Those attending video conferences or gaming through their brain chips couldn't help but curse.
For all those with questions, the order-maintaining personnel merely coldly pointed to the notice board nearby.
[There are terrorists attempting to enter Xigu City with weapons of mass destruction. The Security Department is conducting inspections; please cooperate.]
[The suspect is carrying a nutrient pod containing brain organ specimens, suspected to contain Tang Kede's virus. If discovered, please report immediately. The first informant will receive a basic reward of 100,000 credit points, with additional rewards based on the detail of the information provided.]
"Stop staring; next!"
The soldier, gun in hand, impatiently waved his hand, urging those still lingering to move along as the line behind grew longer.
Qin Xuezhong was tucked away in a small alley, draped in a large, tattered robe, holding a bottle of beer.
At a glance, she seemed no different from the homeless man sitting nearby, drinking.
However, her bottle contained no alcohol, just dirty water she had scooped from the roadside—just a better disguise.
A little black cat curled up in the pocket of her robe, occasionally poking its head out curiously to look around.
Qin Xuezhong hadn't dared to leave the little cat at Sky Manor, especially since it was a cat taken from the Langfu family; it might alert the mainframe to something amiss.
One person and one cat had smoothly descended into the city without being detected, but now, she couldn't afford to make any moves.
The entire Xigu City was under strict control.
The closer she got to the mental hospital, the tighter the restrictions became.
She had even disconnected from the black space, sending only a warning message for all members to be cautious, along with some programming tools for their use.
She worried that the continuous interaction of vast amounts of confidential data in the black space might draw the mainframe's attention. Or worse, the mainframe might be able to track her down through such means.
She also forced her chip to go silent using her consciousness to avoid detection.
Thus, she and Yu Zhezhong were completely cut off from each other.
Still inexperienced, she realized that when she left Yu Zhezhong's body, she should have provided a rendezvous point for him.
Qin Xuezhong looked up at the two moons in the sky.
The black moon hiding behind the silver one resembled an eye concealed in the night, silently watching the Earth below.
Even without being connected, Little Qin felt that the mainframe was using its computational power, which linked all federal citizens and devices, to search for her and Yu Zhezhong.
This was the biggest issue now: both her chip and Yu Zhezhong's chip were registered with the mainframe.
Even if she used a brain patch to send messages, the underlying code of the chips wouldn't change. As long as they maintained contact, it was highly likely they would be exposed.
Thinking this over, she pretended to be drunk and staggered deeper into the alley.
Xigu City was never short of homeless people.
Not long after, Qin Xuezhong spotted a disheveled office worker in formal attire.
His collar was unbuttoned, hair messy, and his expression clearly weary, as if he had encountered some misfortune. He sat by the street, head lowered, drinking.
Even as Qin Xuezhong approached, he didn't display the alertness typical of most homeless people.
Confirming that there were no cameras around and that no one was watching, Little Qin staggered and bumped into him, making her actions appear accidental.
---
However, in the instant she bumped into the man, she squeezed the data cable in her hand, quickly sliding it across the back of his head.
The consciousness flowed through the data cable, directly breaching the man's expired firewall that hadn't been renewed in a year, sending out a message.
The recipient was a member of the Moon Children, whom she had hacked, stationed beneath the mental hospital.
[Today wasn't great. I'd like to have the spicy hot pot you made, or we could eat downstairs.]
This message appeared nonsensical at first glance, merely a routine conversation for an ordinary person.
In reality, Yu Zhezhong had never made her spicy hot pot, and there wasn't a single restaurant serving it near Wangwan Apartment; such dishes existed only in the Walled District of Xigu City, which featured a few rare culinary options shared between her past life and the cyber world.
Just the day before, while grocery shopping with Yu Zhezhong, they had discussed this dish. They were near a restaurant at the entrance of the underground market when Yu Zhezhong suggested trying it the next evening. But then, the entire apartment had been destroyed.
Given Yu Zhezhong's personality, she was certain this conversation was etched in his memory, lingering on his mind.
She surmised that the Moon Children wouldn't overlook such a critical message sent at a pivotal moment; if Yu Zhezhong saw it, he would likely understand her meaning and rendezvous near Wangwan Apartment.
Her next concern was how to reach that location.
Ignoring the grumbling man she had bumped into, she turned her gaze toward a sewer sign behind him.
Since the kidnapping of the Fifth Suofeng, many members of the Phantom Organization had begun to manage the underground world of Xigu City.
These ancient tunnels, abandoned for decades or even centuries, were filled with rusty metal structures, some stained with suspicious blood and decayed biological matter.
According to urban legends in Xigu City, there were lingering consciousness fragments that hadn't fully died, attached to the pipes and electronic devices in the corners. When someone passed by, they would emit unconscious cries for help, even infecting some chips and turning people into one of the countless madmen in this place.
Several extreme survival experts in the Phantom Organization believed that if a virus like Tang Kede's ever controlled the mainframe, the entire world's network would fall into enemy hands.
At that point, they would likely need to be prepared to communicate and operate underground, free from the network.
Qin Xuezhong had never participated in these plans and had no idea how far her subordinates had gotten.
She was merely trying her luck as she walked into the nearest sewer entrance.
In the dark, damp air, slightly pungent with decay, her light illuminated a bizarre pattern composed of trash and graffiti in the distance.
—It was the same pattern that members of the Phantom Organization had posted in the black space.
It indicated that following this series of images would lead to an underground safe house.
At that moment, the black space went offline again. Her allies, who had fought alongside her, were now under control, and she was being actively hunted, but the sign before her felt like a spark of hope, illuminating her path forward.
This made her feel particularly reassured.
Meanwhile, the command center of the Xigu City Security Department's anti-intrusion team was bustling with activity.
Yet, there was an air of unease.
The original leader of the anti-intrusion team, Wei Fan, who was supposed to be in charge of searching for the Phantoms, was conspicuously absent, replaced instead by a strange woman.
With a full head of pure white hair, she appeared quite young, but her visible parts were all high-end metallic enhancements.
Most notably, this woman was shackled with electromagnetic restraints, guarded by a special operations team on high alert.
It was evident that she was an extremely dangerous criminal.
On the large screen in the command center were photos of Qin Xuezhong and Yu Zhezhong.
Next to the photos, the ongoing data of the search operations across Xigu City continuously displayed information about the Phantom Organization.
There was even a section dedicated to analyzing everyone's trajectories through camera and data sensors, pinpointing any irregularities.
Everyone was busy analyzing data.
The information they received stated that the Phantom Organization was actually a terrorist group, and now it was the Security Department's turn to deal with them.
Despite the frantic activity, the white-haired woman merely sat back in her chair, legs crossed atop the table, staring at the ceiling.
In the far corner, a few staff members were whispering to each other.
"Is it her?"
"It should be, the butcher from Yulu City, the White Ghost."
"Sending an A-level wanted criminal to catch another A-level wanted criminal? What's going on?"
"Criminals understand criminals best. Just be careful not to attract attention."
"I still don't understand how the Phantom plans to destroy the world."
"Stop talking, just get to work. The Security Department has changed half of its vice ministers in a single day… Fifth House is gone, and these matters are beyond our reach."
As they spoke, the group exchanged complicated glances at the photo of Qin Xuezhong displayed on the large screen.
Not long ago, she had been there attending meetings with everyone; now, she was a wanted criminal?
At that moment, a calm voice only audible to the white-haired woman rang in her ear: "White Ghost, what's your solution?"
The white-haired woman glanced again at the data on the screen, shrugged, and said, "No way to find out, how could we?"
"It seems you haven't learned enough; let me send you back for more training, so you can improve yourself." The tone of the voice remained calm, but it had a chilling undertone.
Hearing the word "training," the woman's expression shifted, as if she had heard something terrifying.
"Wait, I have another idea."
"Speak."
"Given the current situation, you've already dealt with the federal government and the consortium, why resort to such careful methods to find Qin Xuezhong and that brain?"
The white-haired woman smirked and continued, "Since you can create a Black Moon and control so many minds, I think... it wouldn't be hard to make everyone in Xigu City believe that Qin Xuezhong is the killer of their loved ones, right?"
The voice in her head paused for a moment before responding: "Not difficult."
"Great, this way, even just seeing someone resembling Qin Xuezhong would incite rage, leading to a collective attack."
"I believe no one can hide long in a city where everyone is an enemy."