12:35
The lifeboat is tossed and slammed by the waves, like a matchbox casually thrown by a giant.
Seawater seeps in through the seams, cold and piercing.
I wipe my face, my palm full of the taste of rust, and all I see is Qi Si's pale profile flickering in front of me.
Shen Yan cranks the helm to the bottom, his knuckles pale, but his voice is terrifyingly steady:
"Hard to port! Avoid the rocks!"
Qi Si doesn't speak, just raises his hand to fasten my seatbelt for me, his fingers trembling like power lines in the wind.
12:37
The radar screen is a blizzard, all signals lost.
I switch on the emergency light, and in its circle floats a soaked envelope—
Lin Yi's handwriting, the ink blurring:
"The key is at the buoy, the truth is at the bottom of the sea, and only the living have the right to see."
Inside the envelope is a copper key, with a single character engraved on the handle: Fire.
12:40
The lifeboat crashes into the buoy, sparks flying from the rust.
I grab the buoy, the cold metal cutting into my hand, but I feel a chain.
At the end of the chain, a sealed metal box lies three meters underwater.
I take a deep breath and dive in.
The seawater cuts through my skin like a knife, and I open my eyes to see the combination lock on the box—
Four numbers: 1-7-2-9.
12:42
I surface, the key slips into the lock, and there's a soft click.
The box opens, revealing only two things inside:
A yellowed photograph—
Ten-year-old me standing at the orphanage gate, next to ten-year-old Lin Yi.
And a voice recorder.
I press the play button, and Lin Yi's voice is hoarse but clear:
"If you're hearing this, it means you've won the first round.
The second round is at the lighthouse onshore.
Take them with you, or leave them behind.
The choice is yours."
12:45
The lifeboat hits the shore, the rocks tear through the bottom, and we're thrown into the shallows.
I turn around, Shen Yan is supporting Qi Si, both of them drenched, but they're both looking at me.
I raise the photo, my voice shredded by the waves:
"Round two, to the lighthouse."
Shen Yan nods, Qi Si smiles.
The three of us, like three nails polished by seawater,
nailed at the junction of night and dawn.
12:50
In the distance, the lighthouse's beam sweeps across the sea,
like a giant blade,
cutting the night in half.