The Kaohsiung sea breeze blew across the moonlit campus.
At Kaohsiung's Zhongzheng Senior Industrial Vocational School, the night guard patrolling the fifth floor heard a strange electronic buzzing. At first, he paid it no mind—after all, the fifth floor of the Zhongxiao Building housed the IT department. But as he approached and glanced in by the moonlight, he realized the door lock had been pried open! Inside, a blue glow emanated, and a small modified laptop was connected to one of the industrial machines. Alarmed, the guard called the police.
But the first to arrive wasn't the police. It was a stranger: Lin Yao, [Identity: Taiwanese National Security Bureau field intelligence officer; Operational Cover: assisting in investigating transnational hacking incidents; Public Cover: Ministry of Education information security consultant]. How did he arrive first?
Because the intruder hadn't just pried open the server room; he had also hacked the electronic lock to the IT office, stolen many students' basic information, and infiltrated the Education Network Center on the 8th floor. The moment the network center was breached, Lin Yao received a notification.
After inspecting the laptop, he noticed English documents scattered on the floor. One read: "Redline Node – Preliminary Response Detected." His expression darkened:
"…Impossible. This kind of quantum interference signal shouldn't appear in Taiwan."
He immediately sealed off the scene and instructed the guard to maintain confidentiality.
Kaohsiung Port — Mysterious Container
That same night, a container marked in Veronian script was unloaded at Kaohsiung Port. Three armed men from the mercenary group "ZAK-7" followed it ashore. Inside the container, they discovered an item: a strange device encased in a metal frame, its surface showing crystalline fractures. The label in Veronian read: Codename: Crystal Shard.
The mercenary leader, Talik, remarked:
"They had us deliver this to Taiwan to test the Redline activation response."
But who exactly were they? What was the Crystal Shard meant for? And what was this "Redline activation response"? Was Talik's comment hinting that Taiwan was only part of a global experiment?
Kaohsiung City — Lin Yao vs. Unknown Signal
Lin Yao returned to a secret Kaohsiung safehouse, disguised as a shared office. Comparing logs from the Zhongzheng High laptop, he discovered the signal source came from the deep South Pacific? (Lin Yao murmured in disbelief.)
Consulting the NSB's internal file "Deep Sea Redline," he matched the captured signal's frequency and found it perfectly aligned with the "Deep Sea Redline" studied years ago. But the Redline Node should only exist near the polar country of Thera.
Lin Yao muttered to himself:
"How could a Kaohsiung vocational student receive this…? Someone must be guiding this from behind the scenes."
Student Introduction: Yan Zilin
Yan Zilin (16)
Zhongzheng High, IT Department
Mediocre academic grades, but decent technical skills
Dreams of becoming a freelance engineer
Accidentally, he cracked a "shadow signal" of the Redline. After school, Yan Zilin returned to his rented apartment and saw a news report about a theft at his school (his apartment was very close). Fearful that his work had been exposed, he ran a dark web backup program via his internet connection. An anonymous message appeared:
"You're not looking for a hacker, you're looking for the world. Come find me. Midnight, Pier-2 Warehouse No. 7."
The message's format was identical to the Crystal Shard's encoding. Yan Zilin felt an uneasy sense of foreboding.
Conflict at the Port
The mercenaries were preparing to hand over the Crystal Shard to an unknown contact at Kaohsiung Port. Suddenly, a third party attacked. Not the Taiwanese police, but a woman with visibly bleached hair, moving with calm, lethal efficiency, defeating the mercenaries.
She gently lifted the Crystal Shard and whispered:
"Finally, I've found you."
Her identity: Elena Vos, a Veronian detective. Why was she in Taiwan? She was tracking the signal clues left by her father.
Lin Yao rushed to the port but found only bodies, spent shells, and blood. The sole surviving mercenary, barely conscious, muttered to Lin Yao:
"Redline… they want to activate it… Crystal… Shard… in… her… hands…"
Taiwanese police arrived, forcing Lin Yao to retreat quickly, taking only a small fragment of crystal and spent shells for study. This marked the beginning of a global upheaval.
Yan Zilin Heads to Pier-2
Late night, 11:50 PM
Yan Zilin followed the anonymous instructions, riding the metro while pondering who might be behind it. Transferring to the light rail, he arrived at Pier-2 Warehouse No. 7.
Inside, a voice emerged from the shadows:
"You are neither their agent… nor ours. But you can hear the Redline… this is a gift."
Suddenly, the warehouse lights flashed on. The intense light made Yan Zilin blink violently. When he opened his eyes, a slightly hunched figure stood before him: Dr. Gog, the true creator of the "Crystal Redline System."
Yan Zilin asked: "Who are you?"
Dr. Gog replied: "I am Dr. Gog, the creator of the Redline shadow signal you discovered."
Smiling, he said: "Child, I need you. The world needs you."
The camera froze on Yan Zilin's stunned expression.
End of Episode 1 · NEXT EP Preview
Elena escapes Taiwan with the Crystal Shard
Lin Yao is ordered by NSB superiors to "immediately contain the entire Kaohsiung signal incident"
Dr. Gog begins manipulating Yan Zilin
An unidentified foreign submarine approaches Kaohsiung Port
Deep Sea Redline signals appear globally in synchronization