Lâm Khả Vũ sat alone in the third basement of an abandoned university library — once a confidential archive room, now his private domain.
On the table, an old projector cast dim light across stacks of data:
Portraits.
Biographical notes.
Combat records.
Emotion charts.
Uyển Thư.
Age 26.
Graduated top of her class in Biomedical Engineering.
Former employee of a biotech institute in Beijing.
Vanished three years ago.
"A genius. A ghost.
One who carries both loyalty… and a blade."
He removed his glasses, gently wiping them with a soft cloth.
On the screen, her image froze —
That moment when her knife was disarmed.
And she stood still — confused.
Not afraid. Not broken.
Just confused.
As if, for the first time, she didn't understand herself.
Khả Vũ closed his eyes.
The scene imprinted in his memory like corrupted code in a hard drive.
"She was trained not to feel.
But her eyes… trembled.
Why?"
He scribbled a line into his notebook:
"Emotional mismatch. Action does not match objective."
He didn't believe in mistakes.
Only patterns. Logic. Data.
If she failed—
then either she wasn't skilled enough…
Or—
she had hesitated.
A soft mechanical click echoed.
An ancient device in the corner buzzed to life —
New mail.
[Sender: L.T]
"Vũ.
The girl who approached you isn't working alone.
She's indirectly linked to the Blue Mountain Cipher.
Most likely already knows your true identity.
Priority: Neutralize or vanish."
Khả Vũ smiled — coldly, faintly.
"So she knew,
and still walked in.
Confident… or desperate?"
He rose and walked to a steel cabinet.
Inside were rows of wooden boxes.
In one:
A photograph.
Old and slightly faded.
It was her.
Still Uyển Thư —
but different.
No coldness in her gaze.
Wearing a white lab coat.
A soft smile.
Holding a blue rose — pressed behind glass.
"Have we met before?"
He couldn't recall.
Only a feeling — like a corrupted file erased long ago
but still leaving fragments behind.
Rain began to fall outside.
Lâm Khả Vũ put on his coat and climbed the stairs.
The small bookstore where he worked part-time was preparing to close.
A young employee called out:
"You okay, Mr. Khả Vũ? You seem off today."
He smiled — the same smile he always wore.
"I'm fine.
Just… someone old walked back into my memory."
🥀 In the game of blades and ciphers,
The first to feel…
Is the first to bleed.