Chapter 2: Intersecting Gazes
Every step Charles took toward the transmission compartment felt like treading on an invisible web of pressure. The silent gazes of his colleagues, the possible surveillance outside the office, and Black Cat's cold warning all buzzed in his consciousness. But he didn't look back. A technician's stubbornness and a kind of cornered anger pushed him forward.
The transmission compartment was the quietest and most awe-inspiring place in the company. A pure white room, with an ergonomic reclining chair at its center, connected to densely packed interface cables and sensors gleaming with metallic coldness. Indicator lights on the walls breathed softly, symbolizing the massive, invisible "Stardroop" system behind them.
He lay down, the cold conforming sensation traveling from his spine. Mechanical arms gently extended, precisely connecting the data interface to the port at the back of his neck. A low humming sound arose as the system self-check program projected a waterfall of data onto his retina.
[Identity Verification Passed: Charles Du, Longmen Tech, Authorization Level T6. Journey Reserved]
[Destination Receiving Station Confirmed: Ottawa City Center Hub, C7 Unit]
[Encryption Protocol Loading: Quantum Asymmetric Algorithm RSA-50000, Key Bound to User Consciousness]
[Full Journey Monitoring AI: Stardroop PLUS]
[Estimated Transmission Time: 10 minutes (external system time)]
[Warning: During consciousness transmission, the original cybernetic body will enter unconscious maintenance state. Upon transmission completion, the departure location cybernetic body will enter recovery standby mode. Please confirm you have made all preparations.]
Charles took a deep breath. Ten minutes. For the outside world, just a short period of time. But for consciousness in transmission... according to descriptions from those who had used it, that would be a completely different experience, and the actual time perceived personally would far exceed external time. Relativistic effects? Or some kind of subjective spacetime created by the system? No one could say for certain. Ironically, as a collaborative developer of the Stardroop system, Charles had never actually used it—tech enthusiasts didn't enjoy traveling, and all academic seminars and business negotiations were handled by his boss—Marcus was a regular Stardroop user.
He took one last look at the pure white ceiling, then closed his eyes.
"Confirm transmission."
Instantly, an intense sensation of detachment swept over him. Not pain, but a vertigo that shook the very foundation of his existence. Vision, hearing, touch... all sensory inputs were stripped away, then re-encoded and cast into an indescribable data torrent. His thoughts seemed stretched into an infinitely long thread, racing through a tunnel of light.
……
Within seconds of Charles confirming the transmission, several nearly imperceptible information flows were triggered outside Longmen Tech.
In the café across the street, a man in a trench coat set down his coffee cup, his fingers rapidly tapping beneath the table. "Target has entered transmission sequence. Destination: Ottawa Central."
Several blocks away, inside a seemingly ordinary black aerocar, Department of Transportation special agent Pierre Chan received the same information. He frowned slightly and told his colleague in the car: "He's made his move. Track the data chain, apply for 'Stardroop PLUS' metadata observation privileges, level Gamma. We need to know if he'll 'see' something he shouldn't inside the system."
Further away, at an anonymous node in the Stardroop Railway Company's security control center, the woman named Irina Petrova snorted coldly and ordered her railway company security team: "Activate backup tracking plan. We've been watching this Longmen Tech project for a long time. Marcus Wong and this Charles Du are both key points. We can't let him disappear too, at least not before he hands over the data."
On a private communications network, private investigator Kenneth Ryder sent a message to his employer: "The piece has moved. According to plan, I'll attempt to make contact with him on the other end. Please transfer payment to the designated account."
And in an untraceable encrypted data space, the virtual avatar of the hacker "Black Cat"—a lazy Chinese Domestic cat—flicked its tail and said meaningfully: "The fish has entered the net. The hunters have moved too. Good luck, Mr. Engineer. Don't forget my final payment~"
These information flows, these commands, surged toward the massive AI managing the Stardroop system—"Stardroop PLUS." But the AI, like an eternal lighthouse, only silently processed all requests, strictly executing protocols, encrypting data packages, transmitting them, sending decryption requests. Deep in its logic core, did it record these abnormal attentions? No one knew. For all these people watching Charles from the outside, all they could do was wait and monitor; they couldn't interfere with the transmission itself. The system's absolute security had now become an insurmountable barrier, turning all trackers into mere observers.
……
For Charles, that violent sensation of detachment didn't last long.
As if only an instant, yet as if an eternity, the surrounding chaos and data noise began to settle and reorganize. The sensation of weightlessness vanished, replaced by a solid touch beneath his feet. The tinnitus-like shriek gradually faded, replaced by another sound—the regular light friction of metal, and faint, soothing background music.
He "opened" his eyes.
He stood in a corridor covered with deep red carpet, with polished wood paneling on both sides and brass wall lamps emitting warm light. The air carried a faint mixture of cleaning agent and leather scents. He was inside a train, an extremely luxurious, even somewhat retro-looking train.
He looked down at himself—still wearing that ordinary engineer's jacket, the tactile sensation frighteningly real. He touched his face; he couldn't feel his electronic eyes or interface ports, as if he'd returned to a completely biological state. Was this the experience during consciousness transmission? A highly realistic virtual environment? Or was it his brain's unique interpretation of the data stream?
[Welcome to the Stardroop System.] A gentle but emotionless female voice sounded directly in his mind, clearly a system prompt. [Your journey has begun. Estimated arrival time will be notified later. Please follow the guidance to your suite. Enjoy your journey.]
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The notification sound disappeared with no further response.
Charles suppressed his surprise and forced himself to analyze calmly. He was now in a "consciousness package" state, in an activated simulated environment. His boss had disappeared here too. Perhaps there would be clues here.
He walked forward along the corridor. The interior of the carriage was much more spacious than it appeared from outside. A few steps away, a carved wooden door slid open, revealing a spacious lounge or observation car with comfortable sofas scattered about. The huge windows didn't show the expected city views or outdoor scenery, but rapidly flowing, dazzlingly brilliant colored data streams and nebula-like light clusters, as if the train were traveling through cosmic galaxies or rather... the data abyss.
There were already several people inside.
Charles remembered his communication with Black Cat before departure and pulled out his terminal (which indeed had no signal now), calling up the locally saved materials. He had asked Black Cat for a list of people who had reserved the same time slot and the same departure-destination cities (Neo-Chinatown Metropolis—Ottawa)—because according to past practice, these people might encounter each other during this virtual journey—as the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.
Charles opened the materials and quickly scanned them:
Jacob Lee (ethnic Chinese): Stardroop system security consultant (retired). Amiable, knowledgeable, responsible.
[Photo attached]
Threat Level: D
Pierre Chan (ethnic Chinese): Department of Transportation special investigator. Typical bureaucrat. Currently participating in the disappearance case investigation.
[Photo attached]
Threat Level: C
Irina Petrova (ethnic Russian): Stardroop Railway Company security department representative. Physically agile. Currently participating in the disappearance case investigation.
[Photo attached]
Threat Level: S
Kenneth Ryder (ethnic British): Private investigator, employed by an unknown client. Professional, with a heroic spirit.
[Photo attached]
Threat Level: A
Carmen Ortiz (Latina): External agent serving the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Currently participating in the disappearance case investigation. Cold and vigilant.
[Photo attached]
Threat Level: S
David Kim (ethnic Korean): Appears to be an ordinary geek tourist. Other information unclear.
[Photo attached]
Threat Level: B
Anya Sharma (ethnic Indian): Neuroscience and electronic information expert. Research direction related to consciousness transmission. Professional and serious, highly perceptive.
[Photo attached]
Threat Level: D
Leon Schmidt (ethnic German): Identity unknown. Suspected to be a bounty hunter active in the underground world. Rumored to be extremely eccentric and difficult to approach.
[No photo available for this person]
Threat Level: SSS
Sophia Rossi (ethnic Italian): Identity unknown. Suspected to be a bounty hunter active in the underground world. Rumored to be caustic, flippantly and sardonically.
[No photo available for this person]
Threat Level: SS
Samuel Jones (ethnic African): Sergeant from New Chinatown Metropolis District 23 . Experienced. Currently participating in the disappearance case investigation.
[Photo attached]
Threat Level: S
Lily Tang (ethnic Chinese): College student. Claims to be a distant relative of Marcus Wong. Seems to want to privately investigate the disappearance case.
[Photo attached]
Threat Level: E
Charles Du (ethnic Chinese): Engineer. Employed at Longmen Tech.
[Photo attached]
Threat Level: - (Client himself)
Including Charles himself, twelve people total. Along with the list, Black Cat had sent photos and brief descriptions of these people, which greatly facilitated Charles, allowing him to quickly identify each fellow passenger—the only two mysterious individuals without photos, one man and one woman, could be identified through process of elimination. However, these two suspected bounty hunters were indeed formidable; even Black Cat couldn't obtain their photos. Judging from the rumored personalities, they seemed to be two eccentric characters. No wonder Black Cat marked them with the highest and second-highest threat levels respectively. It seemed he would need to be extremely careful when facing these two.
An elderly Asian man who looked kindly (Jacob Lee), wearing a cardigan, held a steaming beverage and gazed out the window, lost in thought. A tall, Slavic woman (Irina Petrova) wearing a Stardroop Railway Company uniform sat alone in a corner, her golden hair braided into a thick plait that stood out prominently, sharp eyes quickly scanning the newly arrived Charles with an assessing gaze. An Asian man in a suit who looked like a government official (Pierre Chan) was trying to connect a small device to a wall outlet, but seemed to have failed, muttering a curse under his breath. There was also a young Chinese girl (Lily Tang) in a denim jacket who seemed somewhat out of place, curiously looking around. When her eyes met Charles's, she revealed a slightly shy smile.
Charles's heartbeat quickened slightly.
Black Cat's final warning echoed in his mind: "Almost none of these passengers are ordinary travelers. Several are from departments investigating Marcus's disappearance. Additionally, I've heard some vague rumors from the underground world: several killers carrying illegal hacking tools may enter this train, but I can't confirm which ones on the list they correspond to, nor can I confirm their targets. I guess the most likely ones carrying illegal hacking tools are David, Leon, and Sophia, but honestly with limited information available, this conclusion has low confidence and is just for reference, meow~"
These people were the fellow "passengers." Their appearances were projections of consciousness, but the identities hidden behind them could be anyone.
The killers were among them.
And at that moment, the door at the carriage connection opened, and a man in a trench coat with sharp eyes and British style (Kenneth Ryder) walked in. His gaze quickly swept across the entire scene, finally lingering on Charles for half a second before casually finding a seat.
The train trembled slightly, accompanied by a long whistle (a retro simulated sound effect), and the speed seemed to increase. The data galaxy outside the windows flowed more turbulently.
The journey had officially begun.
Charles felt an unprecedented sense of isolation. He was no longer an engineer, but had become a player lost in fog. A survival game had silently begun.
Now he had entered this completely sealed cyber space, his terminal had no signal, and even Black Cat could no longer provide him any support. He needed to identify allies, recognize enemies, and survive.
