My childhood friend is in her mature, sophisticated form again today. - Chapter 57

“Chengran, does that point marked on the map have a specific address?”

“No. Only coordinates.” Cheng Ran looked at the tablet. “The latitude and longitude are located at the end of a country road. On the satellite map, there are several buildings there, which look like warehouses or factories.”

“Another warehouse?”

“Maybe. Or maybe something else.”

After driving for more than two hours, we exited the highway and turned onto a provincial road. The provincial road was narrow, with only two lanes, and the surface was somewhat bumpy. Tall poplar trees lined both sides, their branches and leaves forming a green tunnel overhead. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the car. After about twenty minutes, A-Zuo turned onto an even narrower road. This road wasn’t paved with asphalt; it was gravel, and the wheels made a rustling sound as they rolled over it.

“We’ve arrived.” A-Zuo parked the car under a large locust tree.

Lin Jiqiu got out of the car and looked around. It was very quiet here; there were no car noises, no human voices, only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional bird call from afar. At the end of the road was a courtyard with red brick walls, some sections of which had collapsed, revealing weeds and broken bricks inside. There were several buildings in the courtyard—a two-story building, several single-story houses, and a shed made of corrugated iron. The doors and windows of the building were gone, leaving it dark and empty, like several hollow eyes.

“It’s abandoned.” Cheng Ran walked to Lin Jiqiu’s side and looked at the courtyard.

“It doesn’t look abandoned on the satellite map,” Lin Jiqiu said as she walked in. The yard was overgrown with weeds, the grass reaching above her ankles. Vines climbed all over the building’s walls, most of the windowpanes were broken, and the window frames were rusty, creaking in the wind. She reached the doorway; the door was gone, only the frame remained. She went inside; it was empty, the floor covered in a thick layer of dust, and most of the white paint on the walls had peeled off, revealing the grayish-black cement underneath.

“Is someone cleaning?” Lin Jiqiu asked.

Cheng Ran squatted down and looked at the ground. “Nothing. The dust is very thick; no one has been here for at least six months.”

Lin Jiqiu walked to the wall and shone her flashlight on the marks—things had been pasted there before, posters or notices, which had been torn down, leaving glue residue. She continued walking into a large room, probably over a hundred square meters. The floor was cement, with some circular marks, as if large equipment had been placed there.

“This used to be a production line.” Cheng Ran walked to the circular marks, squatted down and touched them. “Traces of equipment bases. The equipment has been moved.”

What equipment?

“I don’t know. But the base is very heavy, so the device must be quite large.”

Lin Jiqiu shone her flashlight on the wall. There was a patch of wall that had been painted, a lighter color than the surrounding area. As she approached, she saw that the paint was uneven, and she could vaguely see writing underneath.

“Chengran, there are words here.”

Cheng Ran walked over and shone his flashlight from the side. The writing appeared in the light—not a complete sentence, but several words: “Originium,” “No. 07,” “Sealed.” There were also some numbers, but they were not very clear.

“Number 07?” Lin Jiqiu read it aloud. “Fang Lin from the underwater facility, she’s XK-07. Is this number 07 part of the same serial number sequence?”

“Possibly. XK is the experimental subject number. The number 07 here could be the equipment number or the project number.”

Lin Jiqiu took out her phone and took pictures. She then shone her flashlight on other areas. There were several electrical boxes on the wall, their doors open, revealing that the wiring inside had been cut, with the copper wire ends exposed and oxidized to green.

“The lines were cut, the equipment was moved, and the documents were torn up.” Cheng Ran looked around. “This isn’t an ordinary relocation. It’s a planned evacuation.”

“The Court of the North Star is shrinking.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps this point has already fulfilled its purpose.”

Lin Jiqiu walked out of the building and strolled around the courtyard. The door to the bungalow was also open, revealing a jumble of odds and ends inside—old tables and chairs, rusty iron frames, and several dusty cardboard boxes. She opened one of the boxes; inside were old documents. Most were daily inventory records, dating from five years ago to six months ago. She flipped through them and found a few pages related to Yuantong Freight—goods names, quantities, and dates of receipt and dispatch. They were similar to what she had seen before, with no new information. She put the documents back and left the bungalow.

Under the tin shed were piles of wooden frames and plastic buckets. The wooden frames were rotten and would crumble at the slightest touch. The plastic buckets were empty, with traces of dried liquid inside that smelled like some kind of cleaning agent.

“Boss, someone has been here.” A-Zuo stood in the corner of the courtyard wall and pointed to the ground.

Lin Jiqiu walked over and squatted down to look. The weeds on the ground had been trampled down, leaving some blurry footprints. They weren’t old—the grass hadn’t completely withered, and the trampling marks were fresh, probably left within the last week or two.

“Someone came to check. Probably before us.” Cheng Ran squatted down and gestured to indicate the size of the footprints. “A person, wearing sneakers, size 42 or so. Not a worker, workers wouldn’t wear sneakers here.”

“People from the Northern Star Court?”

“Possibly. Let’s confirm that this point has been cleared.”

Lin Jiqiu stood up and looked at the abandoned courtyard. The outpost, which was still operating six months ago, was now deserted. The equipment was gone, but the documents remained—perhaps the unimportant ones, or perhaps the ones that couldn’t be moved in time. “Chengran, this outpost was probably abandoned intentionally. Not because we found it, but because its functions have been transferred elsewhere.”

“What about the other two points?”

“The eastern and southern parts of the city are still operating. The neighboring city’s is also operating. The one in the north has been abandoned, and what about the one in the west? It may still be operating, or it may have been abandoned as well.”

“Let’s go take a look in the west tomorrow.”

Lin Jiqiu nodded, turned, and walked out of the courtyard. After getting into the car, she mentally reviewed everything she had learned over the past two months. The Beichen Court’s network was vast, but not all nodes were operating simultaneously. Some nodes were deliberately abandoned, while others were retained. Those that were retained were the core.

“A-Zuo, go back.”

A-Zuo started the car and drove back along the gravel road. Lin Jiqiu leaned back in her seat, her mind filled with the blurry words on the wall—”Originium,” “No. 07,” “Sealed.” Originium, the Qin people called it “the artifact of destiny.” They used it to create tokens, to create technology, and to create her.

It was already afternoon when I got back to the office. Ah-you was waiting at the door with a broom in his hand. When he saw the car stop, he put down the broom and came to greet me.

“Boss, how about that spot to the north?”

“It’s abandoned. No one’s been here for six months.”

Ah You opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again. He turned and went to the kitchen to get the dishes.

Lin Jiqiu changed her shoes and sat down on the sofa. Cheng Ran sat down opposite her and placed the tablet on the coffee table.

“The outpost in the north is probably a production base.” Cheng Ran pulled up the photos he had taken. “Judging from the layout and scale of the equipment base, there should be three production lines there. What do they produce? It’s uncertain. But it’s related to Originium.”

“What about the point to the west?”

“From the satellite map, the western part is a separate complex of buildings with walls and gates. Unlike the abandoned factory to the north, that one still appears to be operational.”

Lin Jiqiu thought for a moment. “Let’s go take a look tomorrow. We won’t go in, we’ll just observe from the outside.”

“good.”

Ayou brought the dishes to the table: braised fish, stir-fried vegetables, and a bowl of tomato and egg drop soup. Lin Jiqiu sat down and picked up her chopsticks. Cheng Ran sat down opposite her. Azuo went to park the car and came back with a package in his hand.

“Boss, your package is here.”

Lin Jiqiu took the package and looked at the sender’s name; it was Sun Yuan. She opened it; inside was a book—”Deep-Sea Exploration Technology and Development.” Tucked inside was a note: “Ms. Lin, Fang Lin asked me to give this book to you. She said you might find it useful.”

Lin Jiqiu flipped through a few pages. There were some folded corners in the book, marked with pencil. The markings were all related to Originium—the mineral composition of deep-sea hydrothermal vents, the crystal structure of seabed rocks, and an abstract of a paper on “non-terrestrial minerals.” She closed the book and placed it on the coffee table.

“Sent by Sun Yuan. Fang Lin asked me to forward it.”

Cheng Ran glanced at the book. “She’s thoughtful.”

Lin Jiqiu picked up her rice bowl and took a piece of fish. The fish was very fresh; Ayou’s cooking skills were getting better and better. “Ayou, the fish is delicious today.”

Ah You’s eyes lit up. “If the boss likes it, that’s good.”

That night, Lin Jiqiu lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. His mind was filled with the abandoned factory. The equipment that had been moved, the torn documents, the repainted walls. What was Beichen Court trying to cover up? But the act of covering up itself was the biggest trace.

She pulled the photograph from under her pillow. Her father’s face. “How far have you gotten?” she asked softly. The person in the photograph didn’t answer. She put the photograph back and closed her eyes.

“Can’t sleep?” Cheng Ran’s voice came through the communicator.

“Um.”

“I found more information about that point to the west. It’s not a satellite map, it’s business registration information. That point is registered as an agricultural technology company called ‘Fengyuan Agriculture.’ Its business scope includes agricultural product processing, agricultural technology research and development, and warehousing services.”

“An agricultural technology company? In the Beichen Court system, what are these companies typically used for?”

“Money laundering. Or a cover-up. Agricultural companies are harder to audit than tech companies because they have large cash flows and lots of paperwork. By mixing funds into normal agricultural transactions, they are very difficult to trace.”

“So the point to the west might be a funding node.”

“Possibly. It’s also a technological milestone. It sounds reasonable for agricultural technology companies to do research and development; no one would doubt it.”

Lin Jiqiu opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. “Then we’ll go to the west tomorrow. Not just to look, but to investigate.”

How do I check?

“Find a way to get in. Or find someone inside.”

Cheng Ran was silent for a few seconds. “It’s too dangerous.”

How will you know what’s inside if you don’t go in?

“Observe the perimeter. Confirm the patterns of people and vehicles entering and exiting. Find an opening before going in.”

Lin Jiqiu thought for a moment. “Okay.”

The streetlights outside cast blurry patches of light through the curtains. Looking at those patches, she thought of the book Fang Lin had sent her. “Non-Earth Minerals.” Originium. The Garden of the Northern Star. These words swirled in her mind, like an unfinished game of chess.

“Cheng Ran”.

“Um.”

“Bring the book Fang Lin sent tomorrow. It might come in handy.”

“good.”

The communicator went silent. The ball on her wrist vibrated gently, in sync with her heartbeat. She placed her hand on the ball, feeling its faint warmth, and closed her eyes.