Lu Shen opened his eyes.
The fluorescent light tubes embedded in the gray-white aluminum grid ceiling emitted a continuous and steady hum.
His first thought was... the lights on the ninth floor of the State Security Building needed replacing again.
Then, like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, the second thought struck him.
This wasn't the State Security Building.
Before him wasn't the familiar square system terminal, but an old computer... its beige plastic casing had yellowed with age. On the ten-inch monitor, a green cursor flickered tirelessly against a black background.
The screen was densely packed with data on financial flows, with the header marked "Sumitomo Bank."
Sumitomo Bank, Hong Kong Branch, Third Quarter Transaction Monitoring.
Lu Shen's gaze moved from the screen, scanning the space around him inch by inch.
An open office area of about sixty square meters, gray carpet, gray partitions, gray filing cabinets.
The windows were sealed with heavy blinds, allowing only a few strands of sunlight to leak through the edges. The air was filled with the mixed scent of cheap instant coffee and toner.
Three desks were arranged in a triangular formation, with identical computers on the other two, but no one was present.
The wall above the partitions was plain white, without any markings.
But Lu Shen noticed three details...
Above the door frame was an inconspicuous magnetic sensor, a standard peripheral of a security system; in the corner, a high-security shredder, the kind only intelligence agencies and the military would purchase; and in the trash can by the break room door, a crumpled brown paper bag with the "Pacific Coffee" logo and the address of the Central Exchange Square branch.
Central, safe house, CIA Asia Operations Directorate, Hong Kong Station.
Two sets of memories clashed violently in Lu Shen's mind, like two ocean currents of different temperatures converging at the edge of a continental shelf, stirring up a tumultuous undercurrent.
The first set of memories was heavy and long, carrying the weight of years of accumulation: Dragon Nation, the State Security System, the intelligence front against America, countless days and nights spent in the nine-story building.
He remembered his state the last time he sat at his desk... three consecutive all-nighters, even two hundred milliliters of strong tea couldn't suppress the physiological dizziness, the last image before his consciousness collapsed was the cover of an old file marked Top Secret on the computer screen.
The second set of memories was as clear as a freshly developed photograph: Lu Shen, twenty-seven years old, a master's degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Virginia, recruited by the CIA through campus recruitment in 1983, rotating through the Intelligence Analysis Division and the Counterintelligence Center at Langley Headquarters, and stationed at the Hong Kong Station in early 1985, responsible for collecting and analyzing East Asian economic intelligence.
His cover identity was a third-class economic counselor at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong.
Within the station, he was a mid-to-low-level analyst, without field qualifications, his daily work involved tracking financial data between Hong Kong and Japan, writing analysis briefs, and sending them back to Langley.
A marginal role far from the core circle, the most inconspicuous pawn on the chessboard.
The moment the two sets of memories completed their convergence, Lu Shen's hands lay flat on either side of the keyboard, his ten fingers steady as if nailed to the desktop.
Lu Shen was, of course, shocked.
But having spent his entire career immersed in the intelligence system... in the face of any abnormal situation beyond his cognitive framework, his first reaction was never panic, but assessment.
Assess the environment, assess the identity, assess available resources, assess the threat level.
He completed this process in about ninety seconds.
The conclusion was: no matter what the underlying logic of this situation was... whether it was quantum consciousness transfer, parallel universe collapse... it didn't matter.
What mattered was that at this moment, he was sitting in a CIA Hong Kong Station safe house, with a complete CIA agent identity that could withstand any scrutiny, and his mind was filled with the historical trajectory of the next thirty years.
That was enough.
Just as he was about to stand up from his chair to stretch his stiff neck, an unexpected change occurred.
About forty centimeters directly in front of him, a light appeared in the void without warning.
It was as if someone had torn a slit in the air, and a light source from another world shone through the rift.
The light quickly coalesced, unfolding into a semi-transparent panel about the size of a book in front of him.
At the top of the panel, several Chinese characters slowly emerged, each stroke like molten iron being poured:
[Red Dragon System]
Lu Shen's pupils contracted slightly.
The text on the panel continued to refresh at an extremely fast speed...
> Host Binding Confirmed: Lu Shen
> Consciousness Fusion Degree: 100%
> System Status: Activated
> Newbie Gift Pack Distribution...
> Ability Injection: Jason Bourne Peak Full Ability Package
> Injection Progress: ████████████████ 100%
> Injection Complete.
There was no buffer.
The infusion of abilities was like a high-voltage current piercing through his entire body... a sense of fullness instantly filled him.
Lu Shen looked down at his hand.
He slowly clenched his fist, then released it.
In his previous life, he had received basic combat training within the system, but that level wouldn't even count as third-rate in field operations.
But now... Lu Shen clearly knew that if someone launched a surprise attack from behind, he could complete a full set of actions—turning, blocking, counterattacking—in 0.3 seconds, and accurately apply the counterattack force to the opponent's carotid sinus.
It felt like instinct, written into the muscle memory of every motor unit.
Lu Shen didn't have time to be shocked again as the text on the panel refreshed once more,
[Core Main Mission・Released]
Mission Code: Hunt the Traitor
> Intelligence Summary: Former Deputy Director of the North American Intelligence Directorate of Dragon Nation's State Security, Yu Ruoyin, flew to Hong Kong on October 14, 1985, and is currently hiding in Room 707 on the eighth floor of the Regent Hotel.
> Core Threat: Yu Ruoyin carries a piece of top-secret intelligence... containing the complete list of 37 Dragon Nation undercover agents, including Jin Youdai. If this list is handed over to the CIA, Dragon Nation's intelligence network in America will suffer a devastating blow.
> Mission Objective: Intercept and eliminate the traitor before Yu Ruoyin completes contact with the CIA, and retrieve the top-secret list.
Lu Shen stared at the panel for a full two minutes, then slowly closed his eyes.
Jin Youdai.
In the old files of his previous life, this name was marked with the highest level of confidentiality, but all the veterans of the State Security System knew that story.
Jin Youdai, who provided countless valuable intelligence to the Republic.
In 1985, due to betrayal by Yu Ruoyin, his identity was exposed, captured by the Americans, and ultimately committed suicide in prison!
Along with him, thirty-six names scattered throughout the North American intelligence network were also wiped out, thirty-six lives uprooted.
It was the most tragic defeat in the history of Dragon Nation's foreign intelligence, perhaps unrivaled.
And now...
Lu Shen opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the old-fashioned screen, where the Sumitomo Bank data was still quietly arranged, the green cursor still flickering tirelessly.
He reached out and turned off the monitor.
The moment the screen went dark, something in his eyes was completely ignited.
In his previous life, as he lamented over that old file in the nine-story building, his only thought was... if time could turn back, if someone could stand at the center of the storm, even if just a moment earlier, a step faster, then perhaps Jin Youdai wouldn't have had to sacrifice.
Now.
He stood at the center of the storm.
Clad in the guise of a CIA agent, with thirty years of future memories, and possessing the world's top special operations combat abilities.
Lu Shen stood up from his chair, walked to the window, and used his index finger to part a slat of the blinds, looking out.
Victoria Harbour stretched out in the afternoon sun like a sea of shattered gold and silver, the Star Ferry slowly departing from the Central pier, carving a white wake across the water.
Everything was still in time!