This conclusion was rejected by Old Zhao. Zhao Bowen insisted that no matter what, they had to produce a meaningful report with practical guidance. The higher-ups had given him strict orders – if they couldn’t deliver, everyone would go down together.
So the computer group started over. After a second round of rigorous analysis based on educated guesses, they reached a second conclusion – they truly couldn’t find any pattern in the Big Eye’s behavior. Everyone stared at Nanjing’s map alongside the survey satellite photos, marking every location where the Big Eye had appeared, analyzing latitudes and longitudes, magnetic fields, and microclimates. Like police investigating a case, they connected all these points with red lines – from Lychee Plaza to Jun Lin International to Xinhua Building to Siya Fortune Center to Nanjing Broadcasting Station then to Westin International Hotel. The more they connected, the more it seemed like the Big Eye was just touring Nanjing.
One gifted member of the group was passionate about the I Ching and studied numerology. He claimed the creature’s movements secretly aligned with the Later Heaven Eight Trigrams, following the Big Dipper pattern, moving according to Feng Shui’s five elements. It’s wandering everywhere was supposedly seeking to sever Nanjing’s dragon veins. He suggested inviting a Taoist priest from Mount Mao to perform rituals.
Zhao Bowen: Why are there so many mystics in your group? Is it so you don’t need to hire outsiders when blessing the servers?
The computer group struggled for a long time, wracking their brains without results. Then one late night, while a junior researcher was inputting Z-axis elevation data into the map, eating bread and drinking milk, they casually sorted the elevations of all the places the Big Eye had visited. This sorting made them spray milk all over the desk.
Of course, the Big Eye’s behavior had a pattern, and it was incredibly simple. They had just been missing the forest for the trees.
They had insisted on finding meaning in the Big Eye’s movement routes, only discovering that it was circling through Qinhuai, Xuanwu, and Gulou districts – sometimes clockwise, sometimes counterclockwise, seemingly without purpose. But just by changing perspective to observe its behavior on the Z-axis, they found it followed one rule.
This junior researcher immediately called their boss, waking them at 1:30 AM. The boss came to the computer room without hesitation, only to find the researcher laughing hysterically at the scene of spilled white liquid everywhere.
The boss immediately called Zhao Bowen, waking Old Zhao at 3 AM. Zhao hadn’t gone home – he was camped out at command waiting for satellite data.
Old Zhao was about to doze off when the computer group’s first words instantly woke him:
They’d found it!
They had discovered the Big Eye’s behavioral pattern. It was so simple that even Zhao Bowen was stunned.
Just one sentence:
This thing always climbed to the highest point.
Perhaps to facilitate searching, to see farther from higher up, the Big Eye always stayed at the highest points. Regardless of why it preferred high places, now that they’d figured out its pattern, they could design targeted routes for the girl to avoid it.
The Operation Red Dawn leadership team immediately formed a working group, sending people to conduct field surveys. Several old Nanjing locals cycled from Plum Blossom Manor toward the Zitai office building and Mochou Lake subway station, observing as they went, trying to avoid routes near skyscrapers. But from Qinhuai District to Gulou District was Nanjing’s city center, the most prosperous area of the entire city. Completely avoiding all tall buildings was impossible, giving the working group a massive headache.
The group cycled along Zhongshan Gate Avenue, and just after passing the city wall, they looked up to see the towering Westin International Hotel looming before them.
They hit a wall right out the gate.
At that moment they wanted to blow up that building.
The leadership group had many demands. While avoiding tall buildings, the designed route also needed to minimize distance, couldn’t be too complex, couldn’t go through residential areas, and couldn’t wind through small alleys – they wanted both to avoid skyscrapers and stick to main roads. It was an impossible choice between fish and bear’s paw. The working group could only do their best to find a compromise and balance.
At this point, they were secretly cursing why Nanjing had built so many tall buildings – each one was a landmine. At least they were thankful it wasn’t Shanghai’s Lujiazui district or the job would have been impossible.
This was how Ban Xia got her route map.
The first and second bases at the Zitai office building and Mochou Lake subway station served as backups for each other. The working group designed six routes in total – three to Zitai and three to Mochou Lake. Going straight west along Zhongshan Gate Street and East Zhongshan Road was one route, and taking Houbiao Camp Road and Ruijin Road west was another route. Each route was available for selection, allowing for flexibility.
“Young miss, have you memorized all the routes? OVER.”
The day before departure, Bai Yang asked her.
“Memorized them, BG. I could recite them with my eyes closed,” the girl answered. “Each route is very simple, just following the main roads.”
“Can you guarantee you won’t get lost?” Bai Yang asked. “OVER.”
The girl pondered for a moment, scratching her head.
“Hmm… probably? But it’s very dark going out at night. I’ve never been that far before. To be honest, it’s quite scary.”
She paused, then continued:
“I might not be able to find my way alone, but I’m not afraid with you all there. If I can’t find my way, you’ll need to remind me. After I set out, you’ll be my navigation, okay?”
“Leave it to me!”
Bai Yang promised firmly.
“Also, do you still want photos?” the girl asked.
Bai Yang was stunned for a moment, then answered almost without thinking: “Yes!”
In the first two days after setting up the image transmission link, it was the girl asking Bai Yang for photos. So he ran all over Nanjing taking pictures, transmitting them one by one. BG4MSR’s side had no storage equipment and no way to develop and save photos, so each picture could only exist briefly on the display for a few minutes before being replaced by the next. If Ban Xia found one she liked, she’d ask the other side to wait while she sat there slowly appreciating it.
Ah, BG, why do such beautiful things only exist for such a short time?
Ban Xia said.
Nothing in this world can exist forever.
Bai Yang said.
I don’t need forever… I just wish it could exist a little longer, just a little longer would be good.
Ban Xia said.
In the latter two days after setting up the image transmission link, their positions reversed. Bai Yang couldn’t resist asking the girl for photos. The first time he brought it up, Bai Yang was truly hesitant and roundabout – Young miss, when we video chat, could you show your face more… Of course if it’s not convenient, that’s fine too, I’m just suggesting… Lianqiao couldn’t stand watching him be so wishy-washy, nudging him with her elbow saying just ask boldly, why are you blushing and being shy, say you want to see her, you won’t lose anything by asking.
Show my face? Sure! Should we video chat now?
Ban Xia agreed straightforwardly.
Ah… okay okay wait, let me connect the line!
So that night they struggled for quite a while. Ban Xia’s room was completely dark, and it wasn’t easy to see people clearly in such lighting conditions. They tried everything they could think of, finally solving the lighting problem by tying a flashlight with its reflector removed to the camera.
“You said the image was very blurry last time, right?” Ban Xia said. “The flashlight isn’t very bright. Let’s think of a better way next time, we’ll talk when I get back.”
“Okay.”
“Then you have to wait for me to come back, okay?” Ban Xia said.
It seemed to be this girl’s habit, Bai Yang thought silently. No matter when or where, even if leaving for just a moment, she never forgot to specially remind someone to wait for her.
Thinking about it, he could understand. She drifted alone in the world – walking and walking, she might just disappear. Only when someone remembered her, waited for her, could she find her way home.
Missing someone is a kind of force that can tie you firmly to this world, so you won’t drift away with the wind.
“I’ll wait for you to come back,” Bai Yang said. “We’ll all wait for you to come back.”
He wanted to tell her: Silly girl, how could you possibly not find your way back? Do you know how many people in this world care about you? Can you understand how powerful that force is? It can pierce through the longest time, and cross the farthest distance – even the end of the world can’t defeat it.
But Bai Yang said nothing. He just gently stroked the picture frame on the table. The photo inside was blurry – it was a printed screenshot from the video, the only fruit of their hour-long struggle that night. The flashlight beam shone directly on the girl’s face as she held up a yellow weasel with both hands. A pair of big black eyes and a pair of tiny black eyes squinted together in the strong light, both faces smiling foolishly.