4: Chapter 4 The First Undercurrents

In the dark, narrow space beneath the quilt, Lin Feng's rapid breathing was infinitely magnified. Cold fear, like vines, coiled around his heart, tightening its grip.

[Sky Curtain].

The mere mention of this name was enough to make the vast majority of people in this city feel a suffocating sense of awe and obedience. It was the invisible dome of the sky, the absolute controller of the data torrent, and a massive creation that maintained social "order" while sucking the blood of the lower classes. His small actions from earlier were likely so insignificant in its presence that they wouldn't even count as bacteria.

But even so, he had still been flagged.

"Low priority," "Pending review"—these words didn't bring a sense of luck, but rather a deeper chill. It meant he was like a lab rat under temporary observation; once he showed more abnormalities, what awaited him would be a ruthless, precision culling.

He had to hide! He had to be more careful!

He repeatedly warned himself in his heart, desperately suppressing the restless excitement that came with gaining power. The temptation of the ability was immense, especially when he recalled the eighteen hundred credit points returned out of thin air and Supervisor Wang's pale, panicked face. But the price of such temptation was something he likely couldn't afford at all.

An unknown amount of time passed until the noise outside the ward gradually subsided and the corridor lights dimmed. Only then did Lin Feng slowly pull down the quilt and cautiously peek his head out.

Night had already fallen outside. The glow of neon lights filtered through the damp glass, casting bizarre colors onto the ward floor. The middle-aged woman in the neighboring bed had already fallen asleep at her bedside, letting out light snores. Everything seemed to have returned to normal.

But Lin Feng knew that some things had changed completely.

He tried to concentrate again, whispering softly, "Status?"

There was no response.

He tried a few more times, but the blue characters did not appear. Was it because there was no clear target? Or... did "it" only activate when it perceived a strong need or encountered an interactable "interface"?

He didn't dare try again lightly, fearing he would once more draw the gaze of the [Sky Curtain]. He never wanted to experience that feeling of being glimpsed by an invisible, giant eye ever again.

Hunger and thirst gradually became intense. He struggled to sit up. The pain in his side seemed to have lessened slightly, but it was still noticeable. He picked up the cold cup of water on the nightstand, took a sip, and his gaze fell on the bag of nutrient solution abandoned by Supervisor Wang.

The packaging was cheap, and the ingredient list was full of chemical synthetics, but at least it could provide some energy. He hesitated for a moment before tearing open the packaging and drinking it in small sips. The thick, sickly sweet liquid slid down his throat, bringing a false sense of satiety.

Survive. Only by surviving first could he think about the future.

He needed information. He needed to understand what this "thing" that had suddenly appeared on him was, how to better hide himself, and more importantly... he needed to get enough money as soon as possible to "buy" Xiao Yu out of the hospital.

Conventional paths were completely blocked. He had lost his job, offended Supervisor Wang, and was carrying a mountain of "debt" that didn't originally belong to him. The remaining path seemed to be only one—utilizing this dangerous yet alluring ability to take a perilous road he had never considered before.

A vague concept emerged in his mind—the Dark Net.

It was an urban legend circulating among the bottom-tier workers, an underground network world existing within the regulatory gaps of the [Sky Curtain], filled with gray transactions, illegal information, and shady business where money talked. Previously, he had kept his distance, feeling it was the domain of desperate outlaws.

But now, he seemed to have no other choice.

Just as his thoughts were wandering, the ward door was pushed open softly.

A young woman wearing a white nursing uniform and a mask pushed a medicine cart inside. Her movements were skilled and quiet as she began distributing evening medications to the patients in sequence.

When it was Lin Feng's turn, she picked up a scanning gun and aimed it at the patient barcode on his wrist.

There was a soft "beep."

The woman looked at the information displayed on the handheld terminal screen and seemed to freeze for a split second, subconsciously looking up at Lin Feng. Although the mask covered most of her face, Lin Feng caught a flicker of subtle surprise in her eyes.

That look was very brief, almost immediately replaced by professional calm. She skillfully prepared the medicine and handed it to Lin Feng, her voice sounding somewhat muffled through the mask: "Your condition is stable. This is anti-inflammatory medicine and something to promote bone healing. We'll do another checkup tomorrow morning, and if there are no issues, you can be discharged."

"Discharged?" Lin Feng took the medicine and the water cup, somewhat surprised. He thought he would have to stay in bed for at least several days.

"Yes," the nurse aide nodded, adding seemingly casually while writing something on an electronic record board, "The system shows your account balance is sufficient. All arrears have been cleared, meeting the discharge criteria."

Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat!

Cleared? He had clearly only zeroed out his current hospitalization fees! The previous arrears, as well as his sister's astronomical medical expenses...

He almost held his breath, concentrating all his focus and staring intently at the electronic record board in the nurse aide's hand, screaming frantically in his mind: "Query! Lin Xiaoyu's medical fees! Query total debt!"

As if driven by his intense will, that blue shimmer, which had been silent for a while, glowed faintly in his vision once more!

`>> Accessing MedSys_BILLING_v4.2...`

`>> Query: Patient - Lin, Xiaoyu (Ward_7A_Bed12)`

`>> Total Outstanding: 78...`

`>> /////`

The number hadn't changed. That massive debt of nearly a million still weighed down like a mountain.

Lin Feng quietly breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a wave of bitterness. What exactly was he expecting? Was he expecting this ability to conjure money out of thin air?

But immediately after, new characters jumped out, making his heart, which had just settled, leap into his throat again!

`>> Warning: Concurrent Access Detected.`

`>> User: [MedSys_Nurse_Aide] - Jiang Li (ID: MS_NA_0927)`

`>> Query: Lin Feng (PT2023110798) - Billing_Status, Discharge_Eligibility`

`>> /////`

Someone was querying his information at the same time! It was this nurse aide named "Jiang Li"! Was her surprise just now because she saw his zeroed-out hospitalization fees? Or... did she see something else?

A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Lin Feng's back. He forced himself to lower his head, pretending to swallow the medicine to avoid her gaze.

The nurse aide, Jiang Li, didn't seem to notice any abnormality. She finished her recording and prepared to leave with the cart. But as she passed by Lin Feng's bed, her footsteps paused for an imperceptible half-second.

An extremely ordinary tissue, folded to the size of a fingernail, slipped from her hand and landed silently on the edge of Lin Feng's pillow.

Then, without looking back, she calmly pushed the cart out of the ward as if nothing had happened.

Lin Feng's heart pounded wildly, nearly bursting from his chest.

He stared fixedly at that white tissue. It took several seconds before he used his slightly trembling fingers to pick it up with extreme slowness.

The soft texture of the tissue met his fingertips. He turned his body to block any potential line of sight and cautiously unfolded it under the quilt.

The tissue was completely blank.

No handwriting, no symbols.

Lin Feng froze for a moment, then realized something. He tried tilting the tissue slightly, and by the shifting light of the neon signs outside, he saw it—on the rough fibers of the tissue, written in an extremely fine, almost transparent colorless liquid, was a line of tiny script that required a specific angle to see:

**"Your 'clean' account is too conspicuous. 'Dark River' entrance, Old Port District Pier 3, Abandoned Mooring Post."**

Within seconds of him finishing, the handwriting rapidly faded and vanished like evaporation, leaving behind nothing but a piece of unremarkable crumpled tissue.

Lin Feng suddenly clenched his fist, the tissue being crumpled into a ball in his palm.

Clean account? Conspicuous?

Of course! He had only thought about zeroing the debt but forgot to consider the aftermath—how could a delivery rider struggling on the poverty line, a patient who had just suffered a major blast injury, suddenly have a medical account with zero debt? This abnormality might not be noticed by ordinary people, but to certain interested parties, or... in the [Sky Curtain]'s system logic, it was inherently an irrational "data noise"!

That nurse aide... she wasn't an ordinary person! Who was she? And what was the "Dark River"? Was it the entrance to the Dark Net? Was this a trap? Or... an opportunity?

Countless questions and alarms blared frantically in his mind.

Just then—

`>> Alert: [Tianmu]-Node_74_SW - Review Triggered.`

`>> Anomaly Correlation: PT20231107 (Balance Post Trauma) && XF0382 (Unauthorized Salary Adjustment)`

`>> Priority Elevated: Low -> Medium.`

`>> Assignment: Field_Verification. Agent 734 Dispatching. ETA: 12H.`

Crimson warning characters, like a countdown to death, suddenly occupied his entire field of vision!

Priority elevated! Medium level! Field verification! Agent 734 dispatched! Estimated time of arrival: 12 hours!

Lin Feng's blood seemed to freeze completely at that moment.

The abnormal salary change on Supervisor Wang's end and the eerie clearing of his own medical fees—these two events he thought were independent had ultimately been linked together by the [Sky Curtain]'s powerful correlation analysis system!

Twelve hours.

In twelve hours at most, an agent from the [Sky Curtain] would find this ward!

A massive sense of crisis, like ice water poured over his head, instantly dispersed all his hesitation and fear.

There was no time to be afraid.

And there was no time to plan slowly.

He glanced at the crumpled tissue in his palm, then turned to look out the window. The distant Old Port District was submerged in the city's shadows, blurred and indistinct.

Whether it was a trap or an opportunity.

That seemed to be the only path left.

He took a deep breath, the last trace of hesitation fading from his eyes, replaced only by the cold determination of someone driven into a corner.