C.E. 62, Spring
Nangong Wentian crouched in the corner of the back kitchen, staring at the screen of the "Star Core," his fingers flying across the keyboard.
On the screen was an encrypted chat window; the other party's ID was a string of garbled characters. This was his thirty-seventh seller on the Dark Web, selling industrial-grade embedded processors—the most critical and expensive component in the entire upgrade plan.
"The price can't go any lower," the other party sent a message. "This is a server pull, tested and fully functional. One hundred and twenty thousand, not a cent less."
Nangong Wentian was silent for a moment, then typed: "Payment method?"
"Crypto. Payment first, then goods."
He frowned. Payment first meant all the risk was on his side. If the other party took the money and didn't ship, or if the shipped goods were faulty, he would have no recourse.
But he had no choice. Processors of this grade were almost never available at retail; they could only be bought through these gray channels.
"Send me the address," he typed.
The other party sent coordinates—not a specific address, just a general area. This was standard practice for Dark Web transactions; after the buyer paid, the seller would hide the goods in a public location and then tell the buyer the exact spot.
Nangong Wentian noted the coordinates, then opened his Bitcoin wallet and transferred one hundred and twenty thousand.
"Pick it up in three days." After sending this final message, the other party's avatar went dark.
Nangong Wentian let out a long breath and leaned against the wall.
"Wentian," Xiao Guang's voice came from behind him. "Bought another one?"
Nangong Wentian turned to see Xiao Guang squatting in the doorway, holding a baked sweet potato. The sixteen-year-old Xiao Guang had grown a bit taller, his face showing more of a teenager's angular features, but his eyes were still just as clear.
"Yeah," Nangong Wentian took the sweet potato and took a bite. "The last major component. The rest are all small parts."
Xiao Guang leaned in to look at the screen. Although he couldn't understand the complex numbers, he could read the balance.
"How much is left?" he asked.
"About thirty thousand," Nangong Wentian said. "Enough to buy the remaining stuff."
Xiao Guang grinned. "Then we're almost there!"
Nangong Wentian nodded, but in his heart, he knew the hardest part was yet to come.
Three days later, the two set out to retrieve the goods.
This time, the pickup point was a park in the northern part of Orleans City. According to the seller's instructions, the goods were hidden at the bottom of the trash can under the park's third cherry blossom tree, wrapped in a waterproof bag.
Xiao Guang rode the old, battered bicycle, carrying Nangong Wentian, heading north. The spring breeze was warm on their faces, and the cherry blossoms along the roadside were in full bloom, a sea of pink and white.
But neither of them had the mind to enjoy the scenery. Xiao Guang kept his eyes on the surroundings, warily observing every passerby. Nangong Wentian kept his head down, his cap pulled low, bundled up tightly.
"Wentian," Xiao Guang suddenly whispered, "that gray car behind us... has it been following us the whole time?"
Nangong Wentian felt a stir in his heart but did not turn around. Using his peripheral vision, he glanced back—a gray sedan was following them at a steady pace, about fifty meters behind.
"Don't panic," he whispered. "Keep riding, don't look back."
Xiao Guang gritted his teeth and continued pedaling. But the gray car kept following, turning when they turned, speeding up when they sped up.
"At the intersection ahead," Nangong Wentian said, "turn right."
Xiao Guang followed the instruction, turning into a narrow alley. The gray car also turned right, but the alley was too narrow to enter, forcing it to stop at the entrance.
Seizing the opportunity, the two accelerated, weaving through the alley and emerging from the other end, blending into the crowd.
"Did we lose them?" Xiao Guang asked, panting.
"For now," Nangong Wentian replied, glancing back. "But that person might still come looking."
Xiao Guang's face turned pale. "Who is he? Why is he following us?"
Nangong Wentian didn't answer. He didn't know who the person was, but he had a suspicion.
Blue Cosmos.
He had traded on the Dark Web so many times; it was impossible to remain unnoticed forever. Organizations interested in new technology must have long been tracking this lead.
"Xiao Guang," he said, "we can't pick up the goods today."
Xiao Guang froze. "Why? We spent 120,000 on it!"
"Life is more important than money," Nangong Wentian said, looking at him. "If that person is really after us, going to pick up the goods now would be walking right into a trap."
Xiao Guang opened his mouth to say something but ultimately stayed silent. He trusted Wentian and didn't ask why.
The two found a quiet corner, sat down, and watched the direction of the park.
After waiting for over an hour, they indeed saw the gray car reappear. It circled the park a few times before parking by the roadside. Two people got out and walked into the park.
A while later, the two emerged, carrying a waterproof bag.
Xiao Guang's face turned even paler.
"They… took the goods?"
Nangong Wentian nodded.
"What about our 120,000…"
"Gone," Nangong Wentian said calmly. "Consider it tuition."
Xiao Guang clenched his fists, his eyes reddening. "Those bastards!"
Nangong Wentian patted his shoulder. "Don't rush. Goods can be bought again; what matters is that we're safe."
Xiao Guang took a deep breath and slowly calmed down.
"Wentian," he asked, "what do we do next?"
Nangong Wentian thought for a moment and said, "Change channels. We can't use the same account, the same payment method, or the same delivery model."
He paused, then added, "And from now on, we need to be even more careful when picking up goods."
In the days that followed, the two adjusted their strategy.
Nangong Wentian registered a new anonymous account, switched to a new Bitcoin wallet, and used a new proxy IP. He no longer sought out big sellers but instead split the purchases into dozens of small orders, buying from different platforms and different sellers.
Xiao Guang no longer acted alone. Every time they picked up goods, Nangong Wentian went with him. One was responsible for retrieving the goods, the other for keeping watch. The two worked together seamlessly, like well-trained agents.
"Wentian," Xiao Guang couldn't help but ask after one pickup, "how did you know those people were following us?"
Nangong Wentian thought for a moment and said, "Instinct."
Xiao Guang didn't believe it, but he didn't press further. He knew Wentian had many secrets—secrets he didn't need to know, only to trust.
A month later, all the parts were finally purchased.
That night, the two locked the back kitchen door and spread all the components on the floor. Staring at the pile of items worth over six hundred thousand, they were speechless for a long time.
"Wentian," Xiao Guang whispered, "did we really do it?"
Nangong Wentian looked at the parts, a slow smile spreading across his lips.
"We did," he said. "Now comes the hardest part."
Xiao Guang swallowed hard. "Assembly?"
"Mm." Nangong Wentian nodded. "One careless move, and tens of thousands go to waste."
He picked up the most expensive processor, turning it over in his hands. The tiny chip, no larger than a fingernail, had cost one hundred twenty thousand. In his previous life, that could have bought a top-tier computer.
"Xiao Guang," he suddenly said, "do you know what this is?"
Xiao Guang shook his head.
"This is the brain of the 'Star Core'," Nangong Wentian explained. "All future calculations will depend on it."
Xiao Guang nodded, only half understanding, then asked, "What can I do to help?"
Nangong Wentian thought for a moment and pointed to a pile of parts nearby. "Help me sort them. CPUs in one pile, memory in another, hard drives in another, various interfaces in another... Just keep them organized."
Xiao Guang rolled up his sleeves. "No problem!"
The two began to work. Xiao Guang followed Nangong Wentian's instructions, sorting and arranging each part. Meanwhile, Nangong Wentian booted up "Star Core" 1.0 and began backing up the data.
On the screen, lines of characters flickered:
Backing up system data...
12% complete
28% complete
47% complete
Nangong Wentian stared at the progress bar, a mix of emotions welling up inside him.
Three years.
Three years ago, he had pieced together "Star Core" 1.0 from scraps salvaged from the garbage dump. Over those three years, it had accompanied him through countless sleepless nights, stored countless technical documents, helped him complete his first transaction, and allowed him to glimpse a broader world.
Now, it was time for it to retire.
"Wentian," Xiao Guang suddenly said, "are you reluctant to let it go?"
Nangong Wentian paused, then nodded. "A little."
Xiao Guang smiled. "Then keep it. As a memento."
Nangong Wentian thought it over and nodded. "Alright."
The data backup completed. He shut down "Star Core" 1.0, unplugged the power, and carefully packed the old components into a wooden box.
Then he turned to the pile of new parts and took a deep breath.
"Let's begin," he said.
Outside the window, moonlight streamed into the back kitchen, illuminating the pile of parts worth over six hundred thousand.
This was the starting point of "Star Core" 2.0, the fruit of their sweat and wisdom.
Meanwhile, the gray-clad man who had been following them stood in an office building, staring blankly at a damaged waterproof bag.
The bag contained nothing—the seller had never placed the goods inside, only stuffing it with scrap paper. He had wasted his efforts for nothing.
"Useless!" he snarled, hurling the waterproof bag to the ground.
But his accomplice was currently examining another report. It stated: Recent large-scale electronic component transactions, with delivery addresses scattered across the island, but payment accounts traced back to a single source...
"Interesting," the man murmured. "It seems we've caught a big fish."
Outside the window, the night grew deeper. In two different places, two groups of people were each busy with their own affairs.
One striving for the future, the other chasing ambition.
And the gears of fate were quietly turning.
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