After sending the message, Li Xiao quickly received a reply from Jiang Mu and immediately forwarded it to Song Jin.

“Go to this clinic first.”

Song Jin commanded 07 to transform into a medical transport vehicle. Carrying Jiang Hao and Yan Qing, they flew toward the clinic coordinates sent by Jiang Mu.

“Is the Yi family reliable?” Song Jin asked.

Li Xiao replied, “Before the Meng family is dealt with, the Yi family won’t turn against me. Compared to the Meng family, a second prince like me poses no conflict of interest to them. Even if someone else takes the throne, as long as the ruler’s surname remains Li, the Yi family’s status won’t change. But if the surname changes to Meng, the Yi family will be the first to suffer.”

The clinic was not far from Wanhua Street. When the vehicle drove into the garage, medical staff and stretcher robots were already waiting.

Due to Song Jin’s status as a Shengya Empire citizen, Li Xiao did not let him show his face. He stepped out of the vehicle alone, carrying Jiang Hao and Yan Qing onto the stretchers, and mentally instructed 09 to hijack the AI patrol guards to follow them all the way.

Inside the vehicle, a virtual screen popped up on the console in front of Song Jin.

07 prompted: 【I am very worried about Little Jiang-Jiang as well. Can I keep an eye on them together with Great-Grandpa?】

Song Jin answered, “Yeah.”

07: 【I’m on it!】

The medical personnel hurriedly rushed the stretcher robots into the operating room. They noticed two AI patrol guards trailing behind like door gods, positioning themselves strictly on the left and right sides of the operating room door.

“Did these two systems glitch?” one staff member asked, preparing to contact the back-end personnel on duty, but was stopped by another.

“It might have been arranged by them. Leave it alone. The injured have life-threatening wounds, surgery takes priority!”

“Right!”

Just as Song Jin drove out of the garage, both he and Li Xiao simultaneously received the live surveillance feed from inside the operating room.

“What about the bodies in the alley?” Song Jin steered the vehicle into a deserted corner, instantly switching the vehicle into its cloaked mech form, and accelerated toward the aerial bar.

Li Xiao replied, “The Yi family has already sent people to handle it. Jiang Hao’s blood and fingerprints are at the scene. If the Meng family gets to them first, it will inevitably lead to more complications.”

_

A substantial number of vehicles were hovering near the aerial bar, their lights flashing, indicating that the area had already entered a state of high alert.

A hatch door on one side of the floating airship opened, and a convoy flew out, speeding in the direction of Wanhua Street. Taking advantage of the brief window before the hatch door closed, Li Xiao and Song Jin slipped into the hangar bay.

07 reported: 【Hangar bay surveillance hijacked.】

Song Jin scanned the surroundings and moved toward the elevator with Li Xiao, communicating mentally: 【Check the surveillance logs and extract all footage featuring Yan Qing from this past week.】

07: 【Infiltrating surveillance logs now—】

While the mechs’ cloaked state prevented them from being captured on camera, encountering cyborgs would make two walking masses of solid steel stand out drastically. Because they had left in a hurry, they hadn’t even brought caps; the moment they deactivated their mechs, they would be exposed.

Exiting the elevator, Li Xiao led Song Jin away from the crowds and located a changing room used by the staff. This hour marked the peak business time for the bar, leaving the changing room entirely vacant.

Once 07 successfully hijacked the cameras, Li Xiao locked the door, deactivated their mechs, and gestured for Song Jin to change clothes.

Several rows of clothing racks stood nearby, filled with garish, glittering outfits. Song Jin casually pulled down a piece that looked less blinding, only to turn it around and find two massive holes cut out directly across the chest.

The second piece covered the chest, but the rest of it consisted entirely of drafty, loose strips of cloth. The third option was a pair of triangular briefs covered in rivets and locks.

Song Jin threw them back onto the rack in a fit of rage, turning toward the door with a dark expression. “I’m not changing. If anyone discovers me, consider it their lucky day!”

Before he could take two steps, an arm reached out from the adjacent rack, wrapping around his waist and pulling him back.

“Don’t be so temperamental.” The voice echoing by his ear carried a distinct hint of amusement. Song Jin turned his head and fell into absolute silence upon seeing Li Xiao’s attire, taking a long while to find his voice again. “This actually works?”

“Trust me.” Li Xiao confidently handed him the props he had found. “This suits you.”

Song Jin: “…”

A minute later, the two stepped out of the changing room, following the directional signs toward the medical sector. Likely due to the recent incident, numerous uniformed personnel were pacing back and forth along the corridors. Bars were highly prone to accidents, so any standard bar would be equipped with a medical room, though the quality of the medical staff varied wildly, capable only of providing basic emergency treatment.

Song Jin looked left and right, muttering through gritted teeth, “As long as my brother doesn’t see this, I don’t care.”

Li Xiao commented, “Why? I think it looks quite cute.”

Song Jin snapped, “…Is something wrong with your eyes?”

One of them wore a giant frog mascot head, while the other wore a cat mascot head, complete with camouflage films over their faces. It was highly probable that even their own biological fathers wouldn’t recognize them. What normal person would wear such things? They looked like absolute creeps.

Li Xiao reasoned, “This is the most convenient option. Did you want to wear those strips of cloth instead?”

The memory of those outfits turned Song Jin’s face black, and the cat head suddenly felt a lot more acceptable.

Li Xiao observed their surroundings from his peripheral vision, adding in a low voice, “If you absolutely must wear those, wearing them just for me is enough.”

Song Jin: “…” Closet pervert.

_

As they passed the main hall entrance, a security guard stopped them. The guard sized them up. “Why are you two in casual clothes?”

Li Xiao responded in a disguised voice, “The performance is over.”

The guard chided, “If the performance is over, go wash off your makeup! Walking around looking like this will get us complaints from the guests!”

Li Xiao explained, “A colleague drank too much and isn’t feeling well. I’m accompanying him to get some sobriety medicine.” Convenience dictated that Song Jin’s face was covered by the prop, making it impossible to tell whether he was actually drunk.

Seeing Li Xiao’s natural composure, the guard advised, “Someone caused trouble tonight. Once you get the medicine, remove your makeup and clock out immediately. Don’t loiter around here.”

As they spoke, a group of people approached from the direction of the medical room. Li Xiao glanced over; they were dressed identically to the assassins from the alleyway. An alpha wearing a business suit was being heavily guarded in the center, carrying a black briefcase.

Li Xiao could faintly catch a scent of rotten tomatoes coming from the alpha, and he gestured for 09 to shadow them covertly.

Once the group passed, the two continued toward the medical room. Inside a trash can by the entrance, they spotted a pair of discarded medical gloves stained with a substantial amount of the unique coating. It appeared the box of blood had indeed been here.

The medical room had only one doctor on duty. Li Xiao used the excuse of being drunk to strike up a conversation with the doctor, giving Song Jin the opportunity to have 07 stun the man with an electric shock. They quickly moved into the inner storage room.

The small warehouse was stacked with various medications. Li Xiao immediately noticed several illegal stimulants, and at the very back, he located the medical case—but it was already empty.

“They transferred it,” Song Jin noted, remembering the briefcase held by the man in the suit earlier.

“Yeah.” Li Xiao swiftly inspected the four walls, confirming there were no hidden compartments. “Let’s check other areas.”

07 warned: 【Someone is approaching!】

Just as they reached the warehouse door, the warning sounded. Li Xiao looked up and locked eyes perfectly with a lackey barging inside.

“There are people in the medical room!” the lackey shouted, pulling a modified pistol from his waist and firing a succession of shots.

Li Xiao stepped back, disarmed the lackey as he lunged forward, and turned the weapon against him.

A swarm of lackeys rushed into the medical room. Seeing the doctor slumped over the desk and a body lying at the warehouse entrance, they raised their weapons, approaching warily, and kicked the warehouse door open. The warehouse was small, offering a clear view of everything at a glance.

There was nothing inside.

“The targets fled! Notify everyone to begin a full-scale search immediately!”

“Roger!”

As the footsteps faded into the distance, a metal wall suddenly revealed itself in a corner of the warehouse, rapidly shrinking back into Song Jin’s hand.

_

Since there were people stationed along every route and they had already been discovered, Li Xiao and Song Jin decided to make the most of it by thoroughly scouring every single area for clues.

Halfway through, they were spotted by a few lackeys who chased them, shouting, “The frog head and the old cat head are highly suspicious! They’re currently on the second basement floor!”

Li Xiao: “…” Frog?

Song Jin: “…” Old cat?

“The frog head appeared on the first basement floor, moving toward Hall 13! They doubled back!”

“The old cat head hits incredibly hard, stay away from him!”

“They’ve reached Hall 20 on the third basement floor!”

In crowded areas, these lackeys didn’t dare fire their weapons; they could only pursue them on foot. Being called “old cat” the entire way caused Song Jin’s temper to flare dangerously. If they hadn’t been wearing these mascot heads, they wouldn’t have been discovered so easily. Standing at over 1.9 meters tall normally, the mascot heads pushed them past two meters, making them the most glaringly conspicuous targets wherever they walked.

Suddenly, his wrist was caught. Song Jin snapped out of his irritation as Li Xiao pulled him into an adjacent doorway.

The hall inside was dimly lit, packed to the brim with people dancing frantically. The heavy, pounding music vibrated against their eardrums, and Song Jin’s immediate reaction was to worry that Li Xiao might get dizzy from the sheer volume.

“I’m fine,” Li Xiao assured him.

Li Xiao guided Song Jin along the edge of the crowd, grabbing two masks along the way and tossing one to Song Jin. Quickly removing the mascot heads and donning the masks, they evaded the pack of lackeys chasing them and exited through a small side door.

Outside the corridor lay the elevators, where seven or eight individuals wearing strips of cloth and masks were draped over one another, looking thoroughly intoxicated. The sheer amount of exposed flesh was a complete eyesore, and Song Jin didn’t want to stay for a single second longer.

Just as he prepared to walk away, he suddenly heard a middle-aged alpha whisper into his companion’s ear, “Tonight, once I drink that divine blood, I will definitely reclaim my youthful vigor!”

Song Jin’s footsteps halted instantly, and he exchanged a look with Li Xiao.

A group of lackeys rushed out from the doorway. Without a word, Li Xiao pinned Song Jin against the corner of the wall and kissed him. Song Jin’s hand tightened on Li Xiao’s shoulder; he experimentally licked Li Xiao’s lips, and seeing no rejection, his tongue began to boldly push into his mouth.

Li Xiao: “…?”

Keeping an eye on the lackeys’ movements, Li Xiao firmly blocked Song Jin from view, which predictably earned him an unhappy grunt from Song Jin, who reached up to forcefully tilt his chin. Their intimate, passionate state blended seamlessly among the other guests, presenting a completely natural picture.

The lackeys couldn’t distinguish them immediately, scanning the crowd one by one, their gazes lingering on Li Xiao and Song Jin with a hint of suspicion.

The elevator arrived, and the eight individuals staggered inside one after another. Li Xiao grabbed Song Jin’s hand and followed them. “Stop messing around, let’s continue back in the room.”

Song Jin smirked. “You said it.”

Li Xiao: “…Yeah.”

_

The elevator car was small, and combined with the fact that the others were rowdy drunks who couldn’t stand straight, Song Jin was forced into the corner to avoid contact. Fearing his “little lion” might slaughter someone out of irritation, Li Xiao turned his back to the crowd, shielding him completely.

Song Jin couldn’t suppress the upward curve of his lips, whispering into Li Xiao’s ear, “Coming to bars occasionally isn’t a bad idea.”

Li Xiao muttered, “…What’s good about it?”

Song Jin gestured toward the side. “You can learn a lot of things.”

Li Xiao glanced over. Half of the eight people in the elevator were aggressively making out, entirely disregarding anyone else’s presence. He immediately covered Song Jin’s eyes. “Forget everything you just saw.”

Song Jin pulled his hand away. “Once I master it, I’ll teach you.”

Li Xiao: “…” Since when were you this enthusiastic about learning?

The elevator reached the fifth basement floor, which consisted entirely of guest rooms. The two trailed at a discreet distance behind the middle-aged alpha, watching them enter room 512.

Song Jin had 07 test the energy usage of the neighboring rooms. Confirming they were vacant, he had 07 bypass the lock to room 514. There were no cameras inside the room, but 07 managed to infiltrate the middle-aged alpha’s terminal, forcibly activating its camera.

Li Xiao sat down. In the upper right corner of his vision was the live feed transmitted by 09, displaying its current location below. The group of men in black had taken a massive detour before entering a residential district near Wanhua Street.

“They’re starting.”

Hearing Song Jin’s prompt, Li Xiao focused on the feed projected by 07.

The middle-aged alpha removed his mask, revealing a face that looked to be in its late fifties or sixties. He pulled a vial out from an opened case, boasting proudly to his companion, “This is top-tier stuff. Took an immense amount of effort for me to get my hands on it.”

The omega, significantly younger, crawled from the other side of the bed to position himself behind the old man, asking curiously, “It really looks like blood. Does it truly have such potent effects?”

“Would I lie to you?” the old man chuckled. “This is an exclusive commodity available only within the highest elite circles. Average people couldn’t buy it even if they had the money.”

The omega pressed, “Then how did you manage to get it?”

“Now that, I cannot say.”

“Oh, come on, tell me~” the omega cooed, leaning affectionately against the old man.

Song Jin cursed under his breath, scratching his hair uncomfortably. He wanted to turn it off but couldn’t afford to miss the information, so he looped around behind Li Xiao, using his back as a shield against the visual assault. Li Xiao found it rather amusing, reaching up to casually pat the “lion’s head” while listening to the sweet-talking on the screen until the old man finally relented.

“The owner of this bar has connections at the very top. I managed to acquire it at just 1.5 times the standard price!” the old man said excitedly. “They say drinking it not only extends your lifespan, but also elevates your pheromone grade. The more you drink, the younger you get!”

The omega asked, “How much did it cost?”

“Not much, just 150 million.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Song Jin: “…” Is money really that easy to make nowadays?

Prompted by the omega, the old man eagerly took a sip, carefully refraining from drinking the whole thing before placing the remainder back into the box.

“How is it?” the omega inquired.

The old man grimaced as he swallowed down the metallic taste of blood, his face instantly lighting up with pure ecstasy. “It really works! I feel completely refreshed right now, like I could go seven times in one night!”

“Oh, stop it~” the omega giggled.

_

Song Jin reached his absolute limit. He marched out of the room, ordered 07 to unlock room 512, kicked the door wide open, and stormed in with his weapon drawn. “Don’t move! This is the Police Department’s Vice Squad! We suspect you are engaging in illegal transactional sex. Put your hands behind your heads and squat down for inspection immediately!”

The two individuals inside were completely stunned by Song Jin’s authoritative tone, instinctively raising their hands.

“W-We aren’t—”

“Get down!” Song Jin barked, leveling his weapon at the old man, his tone fierce. “Daring to commit offenses right under our noses, you’ve got some nerve!”

Li Xiao followed closely behind, picking up the box from the table and opening it. He reported solemnly to Song Jin, “Captain, suspected stimulant substances discovered.”

Song Jin commanded, “Confiscate it! Search all clothing.”

“Yes, sir!”

Li Xiao picked up their clothes and shook them out, but only a few condom packets fell out.

Song Jin glanced at them and declared righteously, “Getting to this age and still eating candy—there must be illicit substances involved. Take them away as well!”

Li Xiao: “…” Where is there candy?

Seeing Li Xiao hesitate, Song Jin urged, “Hurry up and bag the candies.”

Once the act concluded, they promptly left.

Inside the room, the old man explained aggrievedly, “That wasn’t candy, those were condoms.”

The omega knitted his brows, asking impatiently, “What condoms? The ones meant for trash bags?”

The old man pouted, his head dropping as he neared tears.

Outside, Li Xiao thought to himself that if they stayed any longer, he would completely burst out laughing. He decisively grabbed the packets and pulled Song Jin along as they made their getaway. Once the old man realized he had been swindled, he would immediately contact security, so they needed to move fast to avoid being surrounded.

“Why did you throw them away?” Song Jin asked with a serious expression, still contemplating. “What exactly are those used to contain?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao pulled him into the elevator. Seeing that Song Jin still looked deeply analytical, he leaned over and whispered the explanation into his ear.

Song Jin’s realization was instantaneous. Recalling the situation just now, he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into. “No, why on earth do they make the packaging look so flashy?”

Amused by how he was blaming the packaging, Li Xiao couldn’t stop laughing. “Condoms for trash bags… you really are something.”

“Is it that funny?” Song Jin’s face completely collapsed. A total dark history. I’m no longer perfect in his eyes.

_

The two navigated across several floors, having gained a solid understanding of the facility’s layout. Exiting from the third basement level, they bypassed security and the lackeys, made their way to the guest hangar bay, and flew out of the airship by trailing behind a departing vehicle.

Li Xiao directed 07 to return to the clinic first. By the time they arrived, the surgeries for Jiang Hao and Yan Qing had already concluded. Both had suffered massive blood loss and had not yet regained consciousness.

Looking at the monitoring data on the equipment beside Jiang Hao’s bed, Li Xiao let out a sigh of relief. Given their current condition, returning to the academy tonight was completely out of the question.

Song Jin sat on the sofa in the corner, instructing 07 to analyze the partial vial of blood they had brought back.

07 reported: 【PRM value exceeds 600!】

Seeing Li Xiao walk over, Song Jin lowered his voice and remarked, “I forgot to draw a vial of that old man’s blood earlier.”

Li Xiao handed him a glass of water and sat beside him. “That old man wasn’t a modified human; his pheromone carried a normal scent.” He looked toward the vial. “There’s no unique coating on this, which means it isn’t from the same batch.”

Song Jin’s expression darkened, his voice turning cold. “Drinking it directly is ineffective. They filter out the candidates they want, allowing the Ferryman to guide them through the door. Those kept outside are merely pigs lined up for slaughter.”

“Even if it’s inspected, it registers as ordinary blood; they might not even be able to detect stimulants inside,” Li Xiao added. “Using this system operating out in the open to conceal the entire network of modified humans provides them with exceptional concealment.”

The two first reviewed the extracted surveillance logs regarding Yan Qing. Within the span of a week, Yan Qing had visited only three times, each time accompanied by a different person. The day after his second visit, they had discovered the coating on his hands, and his third visit was tonight. During both the second and third visits, he had taken a detour to the restroom midway.

On the second visit, he went to the medical room to purchase sobriety medicine. The doctor happened to have been called out by someone, allowing him to break into the warehouse and open that case. However, he seemed to notice the staff returning and hurriedly retreated. On the third visit tonight, he similarly left the restroom to head to the medical room, managing to extract a vial of blood, but was detected midway and pursued all the way.

Looking at it this way, Yan Qing was not Ferryman G2; he had simply accidentally come into contact with the unique coating during his infiltration.

“Relieved?” Song Jin looked at Li Xiao, teasing him.

Li Xiao replied, “Not quite.”

“At least for now, he doesn’t seem to be a bad guy.”

Li Xiao remained silent, directing 09 to play the warehouse surveillance. After the blood case was delivered to the warehouse, two individuals were responsible for inventory. These two retrieved items twice, and aside from them, only Yan Qing had touched the case.

Song Jin noted, “They clearly aren’t from the military academy. Their height is insufficient, and their posture is completely off.”

Li Xiao nodded. “They should be lackeys from the bar.”

“They retrieve the blood, then hand it over to G2, who poses as a customer at the bar?” Song Jin pondered. “If that’s the case, things get complicated. Now that this place is compromised, they will inevitably look for a new den.”

09 piped up: 【These two have visited the Shike Used Bookstore.】

Hearing 09’s prompt, the eyes of both Li Xiao and Song Jin flashed.

Li Xiao asked, “Is there a record?”

09: 【Of course.】

Two surveillance screenshots popped up in their vision, capturing the exact moments these two entered and exited the Shike Used Bookstore. On both occasions, the clerk present on duty was Yan Qing, who was volunteering his time.

Li Xiao fell into deep thought. “The aerial bar might just be a receiving point, while the Shike Used Bookstore is the actual handover location. Teachers and students from the military academy frequent that place, making it even harder to detect.”

“Let’s wait for Yan Qing to wake up and see what he says.” Song Jin finished his water, leaning sideways to rest his head on Li Xiao’s lap. “I’m sleepy.”

“Go sleep on the bed.”

The setup of this private clinic was significantly better than standard public hospitals. Yan Qing and Jiang Hao had individual rooms, and there was an empty room perfectly suited for them to rest.

Song Jin opened a networking platform, spotting a new headline in the local news:

Suspected Violent Gang Brawl on Wanhua Street Results in 48 Confirmed Fatalities; Wanhua District Police Department Launching Deep Investigation.

Below the text were several photographs from the scene, heavily pixelated due to the graphic nature of the blood. The sudden eruption of a major case involving dozens of deaths immediately caused a sensation locally, rising straight to the trending searches.

Just as Song Jin was drifting off to sleep, his terminal vibrated, waking him up. He casually swiped it open. “What?”

Qian Can’t anxious voice boomed from the other side: “Boss, where are you? Is the earring guy with you? The adjacent dorm room is completely empty this late. We heard something happened on Wanhua Street, is Xiao Jiang alright?”

The rapid barrage of questions made Song Jin’s head throb. He tossed the wristband straight to Li Xiao, wrapping his arms around his waist to snuggle closer before closing his eyes to sleep.

“Hello? Boss? Brother?”

Li Xiao took over the call. “It’s me. We’re all fine. Jiang Hao suffered some injuries but is currently out of danger.”

“Holy shit!” Qian Can cursed under his breath. “Where are you guys? Lele and I want to come check on him.”

Li Xiao replied, “Moving around right now makes you too large of a target. I’ll send the location over; come tomorrow instead.” With that, he transmitted the coordinates, handled a couple of follow-up sentences, and terminated the call.

_

The next morning, Jiang Hao woke up from his slumber. Seeing himself lying in an unfamiliar room, it took him a long while to piece together what had occurred the previous night. He hastily tried to contact Li Xiao, but the door opened a step ahead, and Li Xiao and Song Jin walked in together.

“Big brother.” Jiang Hao tried to sit up but was stopped by Li Xiao, leaving him to report last night’s events while lying on his side. “Professor Yan gave me something, telling me to deliver it to a person named Jin Heng. I was in too much of a rush to look closely at the time. Is the item still around?”

Hearing this, Li Xiao opened the wardrobe in the corner of the room. Inside hung a set of blood-stained clothes, a heavily slashed backpack, an old book with a punctured hole, and a blood-streaked test tube.

Li Xiao’s eyes flashed. He donned a pair of gloves and retrieved the test tube. “Is it this one?”

Jiang Hao nodded. “Yes!”

Song Jin had 07 step over to run an analysis, asking Jiang Hao, “Did he provide any personal details regarding Jin Heng?”

Jiang Hao recalled for a moment before shaking his head. “He only said Jin Heng.”

“Then there’s a high probability it’s someone from the military academy,” Song Jin reasoned, looking toward Li Xiao. “Otherwise, without providing any details, it would be impossible for Jiang Hao to locate the person.”

“Yeah,” Li Xiao agreed.

09 had previously breached the military academy’s personnel system, so Li Xiao instructed it to execute a direct search based on the name. The results yielded eighty-six matches: one school doctor, one teacher, and the remaining were students—none of whom were modified humans.

While 07 was running the test, Jiang Hao craned his neck to peek into the wardrobe. Seeing a massive hole punched through the “Blademaster’s Bible,” he asked somewhat awkwardly, “Big brother, the borrowed book is damaged. Do I need to pay compensation for it?”

Li Xiao glanced back at the book, replying nonchalantly, “Just buy it outright.” With that, he transferred a sum of money to Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao quickly protested, “No need, I’ll ask my older brother for it.”

Li Xiao countered, “His funds consist of dirty money. The moment it hits your account, you’ll be investigated.”

Jiang Hao: “…” Should I start thinking of ways to make money instead of always relying on big brother’s funds? I’ll find an opportunity to ask Qin Le and Qian Can; they should be more knowledgeable about this.

07 announced: 【PRM value exceeds 600! Initial assessment indicates the composition matches the sample from last night.】

07 added: 【Yan Qing is awake!】

“Perfect timing to ask the source directly,” Song Jin said, turning to leave.

Li Xiao placed the book from the wardrobe beside Jiang Hao’s bed. “Call us if you need anything.”

Jiang Hao nodded. “Don’t tell my older brother about this; he’ll nag me endlessly.”

“Understood.”

As the two stepped out of the patient room, they happened to see Qin Le and Qian Can entering the suite fully disguised, coming face-to-face with them.

“We took a detour to get here, we shouldn’t have been detected,” Qin Le explained to Song Jin and Li Xiao, removing his cap and mask.

Song Jin tilted his chin. “Jiang Hao is over there. Go keep him company first; we have some matters to attend to.”

Qian Can and Qin Le acknowledged the instruction, hurriedly entering Jiang Hao’s room. Very soon, Qian Can’t loud, theatrical crying could be heard echoing from inside.

Next door, Yan Qing had just woken up, his reactions still somewhat sluggish. Watching Li Xiao and Song Jin enter, he couldn’t quite grasp the current situation.

“You two… am I at the military academy?”

Song Jin pulled up a chair and sat down. “Given your condition, how could you possibly return to the academy? If it weren’t for Jiang Hao, you’d be thoroughly dead by now.”

At the mention of Jiang Hao, Yan Qing snapped awake. “How is he?!”

“He was saved.” Li Xiao stood beside Song Jin with his hands in his pockets, looking down at Yan Qing. “What happened last night?”

Yan Qing let out a sigh of relief. “I had a bit to drink, and while driving, I accidentally scraped a vehicle in another lane and hit a wall.”

“Just having a bit to drink gets you pursued by dozens of people?” Song Jin sneered. “Did you fail to pay for your drinks?”

Yan Qing sighed, “As expected, nothing can be hidden from you.”

Song Jin countered, “Cut the act. We saved your life; you have an obligation to tell us the truth.”

“That is the truth,” Yan Qing insisted.

“What did you give to Jiang Hao?” Song Jin pressed. “Why did you want him to give it to Jin Heng? Who is Jin Heng?”

Yan Qing clutched his heavily bandaged head. “My head hurts immensely, the wound must have reopened. Quickly call the doctor for me.”

Li Xiao retrieved the photograph from his pocket and placed it directly in front of Yan Qing. “Do you still remember this photograph?”

Yan Qing glanced over, and upon seeing the photo clearly, his pupils dilated violently, utterly failing to mask his shock.

“This is… what?”

Li Xiao flipped the photograph to its reverse side. “Mouths can lie, but fingerprints cannot. What do you think, Professor?”

Yan Qing: “…”