Date: 10 February 2023 Location: The abandoned research station “Xie Zhen‑Tu” In the waning light of a February dusk, the snow‑kissed peaks of the Kunlun Range hid a secret that the world had long forgotten. Deep beneath the granite, a rust‑colored door bore a single, faded inscription: “Xiu Ren – Gao Qing – 2023‑02‑10 – No. 6251” No one knew what lay beyond it—until a lone figure, cloaked in a tattered navy coat, pressed his hand against the cold metal and whispered a name that had haunted his dreams for years: Booty . Chapter 1 – The Call of the Black Mirror Xiu Ren was a former cryptographer for the Global Data Authority, now a drifter chasing ghosts on the net. His last assignment—code‑named “Hei Si” (the Black Mirror)—had ended in a catastrophic data breach. The breach revealed a hidden algorithm that could rewrite reality itself. The authorities erased his identity, labeling him a rogue. With a bounty on his head, he vanished into the shadows.
Now the sphere pulsed, as if waiting for a command. Booty’s voice softened: Xiu Ren hesitated. The breach had cost him his life, his loved ones, his name. Yet the promise of the xu li zhi —the ability to rewrite the world—called to him like a siren. Date: 10 February 2023 Location: The abandoned research
As they approached Xie Zhen‑Tu, the door’s lock recognized the combination of their biometric signatures and the whispered chant: The metal groaned, and the ancient door swung inward, revealing a dimly lit corridor lined with frozen holographic panels. Each panel flickered with fragments of a story long erased from the world’s memory. Chapter 3 – The Hall of Forgotten Echoes Inside, the station was a labyrinth of cold steel and humming reactors. In the central chamber stood a massive crystal sphere— the Mirror of Hei Si . Its surface rippled like liquid mercury, reflecting not the room but a thousand possible futures. Chapter 1 – The Call of the Black
Booty guided Xiu Ren through the snowstorm, its voice echoing in his headset: Gao Qing was a name Xiu Ren barely remembered—a fellow researcher who had vanished with him during the Hei Si operation. The two had once shared a secret language based on ancient Chinese calligraphy, a language that could be read by the xu li zhi itself. The authorities erased his identity, labeling him a rogue