Chapter One: The Zero-Degree Line

It felt as though an action that had already happened was pushing his arms. He shot. The puck traveled through an impossible gap between three players. Beyond center ice, it shifted just enough to evade a defender's blade, then struck the inside of the far post. The red light came on. 3–2. For one second the building was silent. Then the roof seemed to lift. Gao reached him first and crushed him into the net. Gloves, helmets, and screaming teammates became a mountain around the longest goaltender goal in league history. Shen heard none of it. The instant the red light appeared, he saw somewhere else. A narrow service corridor under green emergency lamps. A man in gray coveralls stumbled backward. His badge read ZHOU QIMING.