One Year Later
Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
"Alright, everyone, settle down."
Professor Liang adjusted his glasses and clicked to the next slide.
"Today's topic: Bioelectrical Signaling and Neural Interfaces."
A collective sigh moved through the lecture hall.
Nobody was excited.
Half the students weren't even pretending anymore.
In the middle row, Yè Yī sat with one earbud in, eyes fixed on his laptop.
Three seats away, Qiū Huà Bǐ looked like he had personally declared war on consciousness.
Somehow, they were ranked first and second in the entire department.
No one understood how.
"There's no way he's actually listening."
"Which one?"
"The corpse."
"No, the ghost."
"That doesn't narrow it down."
A paper ball landed on Yè Yī's desk.
He ignored it.
Someone waved at Qiū Huà Bǐ.
No response.
Professor Liang continued.
"If the human brain can be mapped like a circuit board, then theoretically—"
The projector flickered.
Once.
Twice.
For less than a second, the slide vanished.
A grid of unfamiliar symbols appeared.
A red point blinked at the center.
Then everything returned to normal.
"...must be the wiring again."
The professor kept talking.
Nobody cared.
Nobody noticed.
Except two people.
Qiū Huà Bǐ's pencil stopped mid-stroke.
A strange sensation prickled across the back of his neck.
Like being watched from a direction that didn't exist.
The feeling vanished immediately.
Yè Yī had seen it too.
Every symbol. The red point. The half-second it lasted.
He returned his gaze to his laptop without expression.
Scrolled down one line.
Kept reading.
Whatever it was — it hadn't found what it wanted. That much was obvious.
No need to perform surprise for an audience that wasn't there.
Thunk.
The pencil slipped from Qiū Huà Bǐ's fingers.
He bent down to retrieve it.
"Great," he muttered.
Without looking away from his screen, Yè Yī said,
"You're not the only one."
Qiū Huà Bǐ blinked.
Yè Yī blinked.
Both slowly turned.
Their eyes met.
Silence.
"..."
"..."
Then both looked away.
The lecture continued.
Outside, rain drifted across Hangzhou.
Inside, neither student realized that somewhere far beyond the university's walls—
something had just failed to find what it was looking for.