By the time Gu Ning reached school the next morning, she had already investigated the number behind the cryptic message.
BlackViper wasn't a casual online nickname. It was a handle buried deep in commerce threads of forums that weren't indexed by any mainstream search engine. It was whispered in old procurement emails between shady supplier chains and buried in auction logs of closed-system bidding wars.
And now it had messaged her directly.
Gu Ning knew better than to respond without leverage.
So, while the others poured into homeroom still riding the high of the festival, she sat in the back of the room with her phone tilted slightly and her notebook open.
She wrote:
> "Profile: BlackViper
Specializes in underground limited-run luxury sourcing, rumored to link school networks to black-market test sales. Known for spotting talent before others."
She drew a clean line underneath the notes and added:
> "Do not respond until confirmed: motive, benefit, risk."
From the corner of her eye, Lin Yuhan was watching.
He leaned in.
"Did you get that message again?"
Gu Ning didn't answer. She slid her phone into her blazer pocket.
"Do you still have access to that secure subnet you once mentioned? The one for cross-school trade networks?"
Lin blinked. "Why?"
"I want to check what BlackViper's been buying."
He didn't ask why. He never did when she got that tone. He just nodded. "I'll pull it up at lunch."
---
Lunch – Library Coding Corner
They sat on the third floor, far from where the younger grades gathered to gossip.
Lin opened his laptop and typed rapid-fire commands. The screen flickered, then settled on a black-background dashboard with green font. It looked almost retro.
"This is the data stream for unindexed item drops across three nearby school forums," he explained. "It's like an invitation-only Craigslist, but encrypted."
Gu Ning scanned the live feed. It was full of anonymous codes: BPX-D3, VPR.SLV01, CrystalBatch90.
She stopped him.
"Go back two lines. What's 'VPR.SLV01'?"
Lin clicked.
A list expanded.
> VPR.SLV01
Status: Active Watchlist
Buyer: BlackViper (confirmed handle)
Type: Custom accessories – high resale potential
Source: Unknown female designer, Class S encryption
Estimate Value: x6 ROI
Timestamped: Yesterday 21:32
Lin frowned. "That can't be a coincidence. They're tracking your pendants."
Gu Ning leaned back, her fingers folded under her chin.
"They either want to buy the designs… or eliminate me as competition before I scale."
"What are you gonna do?"
She smiled faintly. "Neither submit nor retreat."
---
After School – The Second Message
By 5:12 p.m., she was back in her apartment. Her tiny studio above the hardware store was quiet except for the low hum of her electric fan.
She opened her phone.
A second message blinked at the top of her lock screen.
> [ID: 004_BlackViper]
"Time's ticking. Talent should never be wasted behind school gates. Meet me tomorrow, 8 p.m. Neon Alley. Come alone."
She didn't respond. Instead, she opened her encrypted voice app.
Lin answered on the second ring. "You saw it?"
"I need you to shadow the meeting. No interference unless I give a signal."
"What's the signal?"
"If I say 'colors fade,' that means pull me out."
He was silent for a beat. "Understood."
---
Next Day – Neon Alley
At exactly 7:55 p.m., Gu Ning entered the alley behind the old abandoned mall. Neon signs buzzed above shuttered shops, casting the entire row in hues of sickly purple and blue.
She wore black. Long sleeves, flat boots, hair tucked under a cap.
A figure stepped from the shadows. Hoodie. Gloves. Face obscured by a tech-mask with shifting light patterns across the surface—designed to scramble facial recognition.
BlackViper.
"You're punctual," they said.
"So are poison dealers," Gu Ning replied. "Shall we get to business?"
A chuckle, metallic through the mask. "You're bold."
She said nothing.
The figure held up a small device. A palm-sized scanner. "This reads supply tags. You're using a non-market alloy thread blend. Where'd you get it?"
"I made it."
"Impossible."
She tilted her head. "Do your research."
BlackViper was silent for a moment.
Then, "Here's the offer. Join my network. I provide access to mass resellers, delivery services, and private label packaging. You'll move ten times the volume. You keep 40 percent of net."
Gu Ning didn't blink. "Sixty."
BlackViper scoffed. "Not a chance. You're unknown."
"Not anymore," she replied. "I generated 100% sell-through in a single day. I control the design, the story, and the conversion funnel. You're just logistics."
Silence again. The mask flickered.
"Fifty-fifty, and I want your next drop exclusively."
Gu Ning folded her arms.
"You get fifty, but not for exclusivity. Instead, you help me set up at the inter-school expo next month. I want access. Not protection."
BlackViper hesitated. Then held out a gloved hand.
Gu Ning shook it. "Deal."
---
Later – Rooftop Reflection
Back on the rooftop that night, Lin joined her again.
"So it worked?"
Gu Ning stared at the stars.
"They think they're using me. I'll let them believe it. But once I've mapped their network, I'll use them to bypass every middleman."
Lin looked at her carefully. "What are you trying to build, really?"
She didn't answer directly.
Instead, she opened her notebook and wrote:
> "Step 1: Build brand.
Step 2: Control distribution.
Step 3: Own pipeline.
Step 4: Scale across schools.
Step 5: Exit with leverage."
Lin whistled. "And people think you're just the quiet transfer student."
Gu Ning's eyes narrowed.
"They'll learn soon enough. And when they do, I won't just be successful—I'll be untouchable."
---