My childhood friend is in her mature, sophisticated form again today. - Chapter 58

Lin Jiqiu closed the book and looked out the window. Orchards lined both sides of the road, apple trees laden with bright red fruit, bending the branches. In the distance were several farmhouses, white walls and red tiles, wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys, creating a scene reminiscent of a tranquil rural oil painting. But at the far end of this picture, a high gray wall appeared. The wall was very high, about three meters, covered with barbed wire, and every few meters there was a security camera. The red indicator lights were almost invisible in the sunlight, but Cheng Ran said they were all turning.

“Fengyuan Agriculture.” Cheng Ran read the bronze plaque next to the gate. The plaque was small and the words were inconspicuous, as if it was deliberately designed to avoid attracting attention.

The main gate was made of iron bars and was closed. There was a security booth at the entrance. A man sat inside, wearing a gray uniform with his hat pulled low, obscuring his face. The security guard didn’t look at them; he was looking down at his phone.

A-Zuo parked the car on the roadside about two hundred meters from the gate. There were several large poplar trees there, their shade thick, making it difficult to see anyone in the car from a distance. Lin Jiqiu got out of the car, and Cheng Ran followed behind. The two walked along the roadside drainage ditch for a while, until they found a sloping earthen mound from which they could see the inside of the courtyard wall.

“There are greenhouses inside.” Cheng Ran raised his binoculars.

Lin Jiqiu also raised his binoculars. Inside the courtyard were rows of greenhouses, their white plastic sheets reflecting the sunlight. People were moving between the greenhouses, wearing blue overalls and pushing carts. It looked like an ordinary agricultural technology company.

“What did you see?” Cheng Ran asked.

“The greenhouse. The workers. Nothing seems amiss.” Lin Jiqiu lowered his binoculars, looking further into the distance. At the far end of the courtyard stood a gray, three-story building, its windows closed and curtains drawn tight. A closed iron gate stood on the side of the building, equipped with a security camera.

“That building,” Lin Jiqiu put down his binoculars, “is a bit like that office building in the east of the city. The offices are upstairs, and the warehouse is downstairs.”

“Shall we go in and take a look?”

“How do I get in? There are security guards at the main gate, and there are also surveillance cameras at the side gate.”

“Wait. Sneak in when the workers are getting off work. Or wait when their delivery trucks are coming in or out.”

Lin Jiqiu glanced at her watch. It was 10 a.m. She thought for a moment, then turned and went back to her car.

“Ah Zuo, drive the car to a place nearby where you can park for a long time. We’ll wait in the car.”

A-Zuo drove the car onto a side road where there were several large poplar trees, making the car less conspicuous.

Time passed slowly. The sun rose high in the east and then slowly slanted westward. Lin Jiqiu ate the sandwich Ah You had made in the car, drank some water, and leaned back in her seat to rest with her eyes closed. Cheng Ran kept looking at her tablet, while Ah Zuo occasionally got out of the car to stretch his legs.

Around 2 PM, a truck drove up from a distance and stopped at the gate. The security guard came out of the guard booth, spoke a few words to the driver, and then the iron gate opened, allowing the truck to drive in.

“The delivery truck.” Cheng Ran put down his tablet. “It comes around this time every day. It might be delivering materials or picking up goods.”

Lin Jiqiu looked at the rear of the truck. The cargo compartment was enclosed, white, and unmarked. After it drove in, the iron door closed again.

“If we could find the route of that truck—”

“That will tell us where their goods are being delivered,” Cheng Ran continued, picking up where she left off. “I’ve already taken a picture of the license plate.”

About an hour later, the truck drove out. The iron gate opened, the truck turned right, and drove away in another direction.

“Shall we go with it?” A-Zuo asked.

Lin Jiqiu hesitated for a moment. “I won’t follow. Let’s observe the pattern today and follow it tomorrow.”

A-Zuo didn’t move and continued to wait in the car.

At 4:30 p.m., workers began to emerge. Some rode electric bikes, some walked, and some were picked up by cars. Lin Jiqiu observed each person’s face but did not see any familiar faces.

Around 5 PM, the sun began to set. The sky gradually darkened, and the lights in the courtyard came on. The main gate remained closed; the security guards had changed shifts.

“There might still be some of them at night,” Cheng Ran said, looking at the tablet. “The power consumption hasn’t decreased significantly.”

Lin Jiqiu thought for a moment. “Let’s go back first today. Come back early tomorrow and see if any trucks are coming or going in the morning.”

A-Zuo started the car and turned it around towards the city. Lin Jiqiu leaned back in her seat, her mind filled with images of those greenhouses. If it really was just for growing vegetables, why were there such high walls? Why so many security cameras? Why were the curtains drawn in the buildings?

“Chengran, what do you think is growing in those greenhouses?”

“They might be growing real vegetables. It’s just a cover-up. The real production is in that building.”

“Originium Technology”.

“possible.”

It was almost seven o’clock when I got back to the office. Ah-you was waiting at the door, holding a spatula. He came to greet me when he saw the car stop.

“Boss, why are you so late today?”

“I spent a whole day staking out the west side.”

Ah You didn’t ask any more questions and turned back to the kitchen to serve the dishes.

Lin Jiqiu changed her shoes and sat down on the sofa. Cheng Ran sat opposite her, placed her tablet on the coffee table, and pulled up the photos of the truck she had taken that day.

“I checked the license plate of this truck. It’s a fake plate. The original vehicle was a refrigerated truck belonging to a food company. But that refrigerated truck was scrapped three months ago, and the license plate was cancelled.”

“Another case of cloned license plates. Are all the vehicles in Beichen Zhiting’s logistics system using cloned license plates?”

“Most of the time, that’s the case. That way, even if they find out, they can’t trace it back to the source.”

Lin Jiqiu looked at the photo. The white truck, unmarked, looked ordinary. But what was inside its cargo compartment was likely not ordinary goods.

Ah You brought the dishes to the table: braised pork ribs, stir-fried broccoli, and a bowl of corn and pork rib soup. Lin Jiqiu stood up, walked to the table, and sat down. Cheng Ran followed and sat opposite him.

“Boss, are we going to the west again tomorrow?” Ah You asked while serving rice.

“Go. Follow that truck tomorrow and see where it delivers the goods.”

Ah You placed the rice bowl in front of her without saying anything, but his hand paused slightly.

That night, Lin Jiqiu lay in bed, tossing and turning. Tomorrow she would be on the truck. She didn’t know where it would go. Maybe within the city, maybe to another city. If it went to another city, it might take several days to return. She turned over and pulled the photograph from under her pillow. Her father’s face. “You know how big Beichen Court is, right?” she asked softly. No one answered.

She closed her eyes, and the ball on her wrist vibrated slightly. “Cheng Ran.”

“exist.”

“If the truck goes to another city tomorrow, we may have to spend the night outside.”

“Yes. I asked Ah Zuo to prepare a change of clothes.”

When did you ask him to prepare it?

“In the car this afternoon.”

Lin Jiqiu’s lips curved slightly. “You’ve thought of everything.”

Cheng Ran did not answer.

The next day, before dawn, A-Zuo had already driven to a side road near Fengyuan Agriculture. Lin Jiqiu had dozed off in the car and was gently woken up by Cheng Ran.

“The truck is here.”

Lin Jiqiu opened her eyes and looked towards the main gate. A white truck was parked outside, the same model as yesterday’s, but with a different license plate. The security guard came out and spoke a few words to the driver, then the iron gate opened and the truck drove in.

“The fake license plate has changed again.” Cheng Ran took a picture of the license plate.

At 6:40, the truck drove out. This time, it wasn’t heading in the same direction as yesterday, but south.

“Follow them,” Lin Jiqiu said.

A-Zuo started his car and followed the truck at a distance. The truck wasn’t going fast, but it was driving steadily; the driver didn’t seem to be in a hurry. They got onto the provincial highway, then onto the expressway, and drove south for about an hour before exiting and entering a small town.

The town was small, with only one main street. The truck drove slowly along the street, passing a few shops before turning into a small alley. A-Zuo parked the truck at the alley entrance, and Lin Jiqiu got out and followed him on foot. The alley wasn’t long; at the end was a courtyard with a closed gate. The truck parked in the courtyard, and the driver got out and went into a two-story building.

Lin Jiqiu stood at the alley entrance, memorizing the location of the courtyard and its surroundings. Besides the truck, there were two black sedans in the courtyard. The curtains were drawn in the windows of the small building, obscuring the view inside.

She turned and got back into the car.

“Where is this place?” A-Zuo asked.

“I don’t know. It might be another receiving point.” Cheng Ran pulled up a map. “This town isn’t marked with a name on the map; it’s very small. But its location is special—it’s at the intersection of three cities.”

“Convenient transportation, but inconspicuous.” Lin Jiqiu looked at the small building. “Beichen Zhiting likes this kind of place.”

“Want to go in and take a look?”

“We’re not going in. Today is just to confirm the location. We’ll come back tomorrow.”

A-Zuo started the car, turned it around, and drove towards the office. Lin Jiqiu leaned back in her seat, looking out the window. This small town, these few inconspicuous buildings, might just be a tiny node in the Beichen Zhiting network. But every node is worth remembering. One day, these nodes will connect to form a complete network.

Back at the office, Lin Jiqiu saw a figure at the door. It was Sun Yuan. He stood by the door, holding a bag, hesitating whether to knock. Ayou saw him from inside and opened the door.

“Sun Yuan?” Lin Jiqiu walked over.

“Miss Lin,” Sun Yuan turned around, “I’m here to deliver something. Fang Lin asked me to come. She said there might be a few pages missing from the book we received last time, and she wants me to fill them in.”

He took an envelope out of the bag and handed it to Lin Jiqiu. Lin Jiqiu opened it; inside were several photocopies with handwritten notes on them.

“This was compiled by Fang Lin herself. She said she saw something in the underwater facility, but didn’t have time to say it at the time. Later she remembered it and wrote it down for me to bring to you.”

Lin Jiqiu flipped through the notes. Fang Lin had drawn a diagram of the underwater facility’s room layout. She marked several locations—”There’s a door here, locked. I could see something inside through the crack, like a machine.” “There’s a vent here, and I could hear people talking next door. They mentioned ‘echoes.'” “Someone knocked on the wall next door, three short knocks followed by a long one. I responded with three short knocks followed by a long one.”

Lin Jiqiu’s finger paused on the word “echo.” Fang Lin had heard the “echo” while in the underwater facility. Not now, but back then. The word “echo” permeated the entire network of Beichen Zhiting.

“Sun Yuan, how is Fang Lin now?”

“She’s much better. She went back to her hometown and is living with her parents. She still has nightmares often at night, but she can go out during the day.”

Did she say if there was anything else she could help me with?

Sun Yuan thought for a moment. “She said she hoped those people wouldn’t show up again.”

Lin Jiqiu was silent for a few seconds. “I will do my best.”

Sun Yuan nodded, turned and left.

Lin Jiqiu walked into the office with the few pages of notes. Cheng Ran was already on the sofa; she sat down and handed him the notes.

“Fang Lin wrote it. She had heard the word ‘echo’ in the underwater facility.”

Cheng Ran looked at the notes. “The echo isn’t just in the funding chain. It’s also at the operational level. It could be a code name, or it could be a department.”

“The ‘Echo’ Department of the Northern Star Court”.

“possible.”

Ah You came out carrying two cups of tea and placed them on the coffee table. He looked at Lin Jiqiu, then at Cheng Ran. “Boss, how is Fang Lin?”

“Much better.”

“That’s good.” Ah You turned and went back to the kitchen.

Lin Jiqiu picked up his teacup and took a sip. “Chengran, let’s go to that town again tomorrow. This time, let’s try to get in and take a look.”

How do we get in?

“Same old method. When the people inside come out, sneak in.”

Cheng Ran thought for a moment. “That courtyard isn’t big, and there probably aren’t many people inside. If we’re discovered—”

“Then let’s retreat.”

Cheng Ran looked at her. “You’ve been getting bolder and bolder lately.”

“It’s not that we’re bold,” Lin Jiqiu put down his teacup. “It’s that we’re running out of time. The Beichen Court is shrinking; they’re destroying evidence. If we don’t hurry, we won’t find anything.”

Cheng Ran didn’t reply. He knew she was right.

That night, Lin Jiqiu lay in bed and read Fang Lin’s notes again. The locked door, the machine, the sounds coming from the ventilation duct… Fang Lin had been imprisoned underwater for fourteen days. She hadn’t gone mad, she hadn’t given up; she had been listening, she had been taking notes. She wrote these things down not for herself, but to let Lin Jiqiu know—the iceberg of Beichen Court had a long way to go underwater.

Lin Jiqiu placed the notebook next to her pillow and closed her eyes.

“Cheng Ran”.

“exist.”

Do you think the ‘echo’ Fang Lin heard was from the same person?

“It’s uncertain. But the recurring use of the word ‘echo’ is no coincidence. It’s a code name, a code name that exists in multiple layers of networks.”

“Then it might not be a department, but a system. A system for transmitting instructions.”

“Like the ‘nervous system’ of the North Star Garden.”

Lin Jiqiu opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. The nervous system. Commands originated from the Seven Stars, passed through Wenqu, Jumen, and Pojun, reached Echo, then Liu Wei and Li Wei, and finally reached those whose names she didn’t know. Every node was operating, and every node was unaware of its own position within the entire network.

“Chengran, what if we cut off the echo—”

“The command system of the Northern Star Court will be paralyzed. At least temporarily.”

“Then let’s find the echo.”

“We’ve already looked. That truck, that town, they might all be part of the Echo System.”

Lin Jiqiu turned over. “Tomorrow. In that courtyard.”

“good.”

The streetlights outside cast blurry patches of light through the curtains. Looking at those patches, she thought of her father. If he had also discovered the Echo level back then, would he have made the same decision—to go in and investigate? And then he never came out. She didn’t know. But she wouldn’t do the same. She would come out. She had to come out.