“Hmm?” Shen Qi leaned closer to the monitor, pushing up nonexistent glasses on the bridge of his nose, and asked in confusion, “Yu Qin isn’t at Yurong Tange?”

Since releasing Yu Qin, the Major Crimes Unit had been keeping a close watch on her movements. Not long ago, Shen Qi had tracked her leaving the Yu Group’s branch in Xiarong City and heading to the high-end villa district, Yurong Tange, which was also a property of the Yu Group. Afterward, Yu Qin hadn’t gone out, but now, Shen Qi discovered she wasn’t at Yurong Tange at all.

Shen Qi instantly became nervous. An inexplicable disappearance was very bad news; it was highly likely the other party knew they were being monitored. Going to Yurong Tange might have been a feint to cover her real movements.

Just then, another red dot monitored by the police disappeared. Shen Qi frowned even tighter. That was Yu Yesheng.

He was also someone the Major Crimes Unit couldn’t let go of. Although he was a useless dandy, he was, after all, Yu Qianming’s son and the person closest to Yu Qianming during his treatment. Was his stupidity a smokescreen? Did his sudden disappearance mean something had happened?

Shen Qi dared not be sloppy and immediately rushed to the Major Crimes Unit conference room, forgetting to even knock. “Brother Captain—”

The atmosphere in the conference room was unusual. Xi Wan seemed to be saying something important. Shen Qi, panting, saw everyone looking at him.

He quickly closed the door and slipped into the seat next to Ji Chenjiao. Seeing Ling Lie wasn’t there, he wanted to ask “Where’s my brother?”, but felt it wasn’t the right time.

After a brief pause, Xi Wan said, “So regarding this person, our preliminary judgment is that he isn’t an ordinary hitman, but an illegal mercenary brought back from abroad by the Yu family!”

Shen Qi’s head buzzed. What? Illegal mercenaries are involved now?!

“What’s going on?” Shen Qi tugged at An Xun’s sleeve. “What is Sister Wan talking about?”

An Xun whispered, “Remember the body found in the South District a while back? It was later confirmed to be the murderer of Luo Manchai. Being killed at this critical juncture, it was likely to silence him. We couldn’t find this person’s identity at all; he was undocumented. His physical condition was obviously superior to ordinary hitmen, and he had a strange tattoo on the sole of his foot. Starting from these characteristics, we found out he was a mercenary for an international criminal gang.”

Shen Qi was shocked. “Then how did he enter the country?”

An Xun: “Not just him, a whole group. For entry on this scale, there must be someone organizing it behind the scenes. Having investigated this far, it can only be the Yu family. They work for the Yu family.”

Shen Qi’s hair stood on end. “The Yu family not only collaborates with ‘Floating Light’ but also has its own illegal mercenaries. Is this company a gang?!”

Xi Wan had finished reporting the situation. Ji Chenjiao tapped Shen Qi on the shoulder. “Running here in such a hurry, what’s the matter?”

Shen Qi quickly sat up straight and reported the disappearance of Yu Qin and Yu Yesheng. Ji Chenjiao’s gaze darkened instantly. Leaving the police’s sight at this time was obviously not a good thing without even thinking about it.

With two heavy pieces of news, the conference room erupted in discussion.

The Yu Group cultivating illegal mercenaries abroad and bringing them back to the country, along with firearms and ammunition, and hiding it so well for so many years—their ambition was enormous. Now at a moment of dilemma, with Yu Qin and Yu Yesheng missing, it was hard to guarantee they weren’t planning a big move, possibly a desperate last stand.

The more it was like this, the less the Major Crimes Unit could act rashly.

Ji Chenjiao looked at the empty seat next to him, his heart suddenly tightening.

The Major Crimes Unit wouldn’t, but what about Ling Lie?

Ling Lie had often acted alone recently, claiming the Special Action Team had assigned him work. He didn’t even attend today’s meeting.

Ji Chenjiao sucked in a breath, having a very bad premonition. He immediately called Ling Lie, but couldn’t get through.

“Shen Qi!” Ji Chenjiao shouted. “Search for Ling Lie’s location!”

Shen Qi was startled and hurriedly returned to the technical investigation office area. He searched, sweating profusely. “No way! Why is my brother missing too!”

It was like having a bucket of ice water poured over his head. Ji Chenjiao clenched his fists, his face terrifyingly cold. A moment later, he strode out of the technical investigation office area, calling Shen Xun as he walked.

Shen Xun gave him the answer he wanted to hear least—the Special Action Team hadn’t assigned any tasks to Ling Lie recently!

Standing in the empty lot below the office building, the not-so-scorch autumn sun made Ji Chenjiao dizzy.

Ling Lie had lied to him.

When this case traced to “Floating Light,” then to “Chen Jin,” and then to the connection with the Liu Yixiang and Wei Liang cases, he had a vague worry—that Ling Lie would be like a lone wolf, breaking free from his control.

So he forced Ling Lie to promise that no matter what he found or wanted to do, he must let him know.

Ling Lie promised, but deep down, Ji Chenjiao still couldn’t feel at ease.

Sure enough, Ling Lie acted behind his back. Ling Lie must have found some clues he didn’t know about recently and wasn’t willing to share them with him. Ling Lie felt this was his own business.

But it wasn’t!

Ji Chenjiao punched the car door in anger. Worry and indignation ignited the fire in his brain like alcohol; they were burning fiercely, intensifying.

Liang Wenxian chased him from upstairs. “Captain Ji, calm down first. I’ve already applied for support from the Special Police Detachment. Criminal Investigation Team 2 and some of our Major Crimes team members are setting out to search immediately. I’m going to Beizhi Hospital to see Yu Qianming right now. But for now, I can only think of Yurong Yongge, Tange, and other Yu family territories. Ling Lie is very likely with Yu Qin and Yu Yesheng. Calm down and think, did he leave any clues?”

Ji Chenjiao tried hard to suppress his roaring anger and nodded at Liang Wenxian. “Brother Liang, sorry for the trouble.”

Liang Wenxian sighed and patted Ji Chenjiao hard on the back. “Don’t mention it.”

More than a dozen police cars drove out of the City Bureau. Ji Chenjiao kept the call with Shen Qi open and rushed back to the family quarters.

If there was anything particularly wrong with Ling Lie these past few days, it was that he always came home earlier than him, but never cooked once, and sometimes spaced out.

Ling Lie found something outside, but knowing that bringing it back to the Major Crimes Unit might be discovered by him, he brought it directly home?

Ji Chenjiao opened the door anxiously, his hand shaking, and the key fell to the ground.

He cursed under his breath, using so much force when opening the door that he almost smashed it open.

Ling Lie wasn’t home—of course, Ling Lie couldn’t be home. But the moment this fact was confirmed, Ji Chenjiao’s heart sank even further.

He ran into the guest bedroom where Ling Lie stayed and rummaged through it. In an instant, the tidy bedroom looked like it had been hit by a typhoon.

Ling Lie rarely slept here now, preferring to stick with him in the master bedroom, so there were basically no extra items on the bed or desk.

He pulled open the drawer and saw a pile of small items Ling Lie had bought from the Huirong Mall in Chaoxia County last time. There was even a pair of overly gaudy sun sleeves that he had stuffed in there.

Under the small items lay the retrieved paternity test report. Ji Chenjiao felt a bit nauseous just looking at it, and after a glance, he hastily threw it back.

Ling Lie spent little time in the guest bedroom, so he probably didn’t keep anything important here. Ji Chenjiao turned to the study and the master bedroom but found nothing either.

Standing in front of the desk, he suddenly thought, the day Ling Lie brought back the appraisal report, they read it in the study. After reading it, Ling Lie personally threw it onto the bookshelf. How did the report end up in the guest bedroom drawer?

And when he picked it up just now, the thickness seemed different from the last time?

Ji Chenjiao returned to the guest bedroom and slowly picked up the appraisal report, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Turning the pages felt like uncovering some unsightly truth.

Below the paternity test was a kinship test.

The parties involved in the test weren’t named, but the conclusion was clear: a kinship relationship existed.

Ji Chenjiao sat on the edge of the bed, crumpling the report into a strip with his right hand.

After getting the paternity test, Ling Lie did another test for him. With whom from the Yu family?

But that wasn’t important.

What was important was that he indeed had a blood relationship with the Yu family, yet Yu Qin was neither his mother nor his relative. Ling Lie saw this result!

Ji Chenjiao shook his head violently. The sudden kinship was like a boulder weighing several tons tied to his feet, rapidly dragging him toward the deep sea.

He looked up at the light above getting smaller and dimmer, his mind in chaos, forgetting to think, forgetting to struggle.

He was sinking just like that.

But suddenly, he shook his head vigorously and gasped heavily a few times.

A voice in his heart said: None of this fucking matters! He didn’t care whose blood flowed in his veins, nor did he care if he was related to the case!

Where was Ling Lie? He had to find Ling Lie as soon as possible!

Reports from Shen Qi and the field teams came through the Bluetooth earpiece—

“Signal is blocked! Still need time to lock the location!”

“Yurong Yongge is all normal!”

“No trace of Yu Qin and the others found at Yurong Tange!”

…

It was like countless noises converging into surging waves. Ji Chenjiao floated within them, choking on water, swept in by the undercurrent. Gurgle, gurgle. The world became quiet again, isolated by the waves.

He looked at the two appraisal reports, his peripheral vision landing on the sun sleeves.

Chaoxia County? Rongmei?

Rongmei was also a Yu family property!

The North Zone of Rongmei was fully closed, and the South Zone was guarded day and night by police from the County Bureau. It was the least suitable place to hide!

But perhaps, Yu Qin chose the most impossible place!

Ji Chenjiao ran to the police car and called Liang Wenxian and Shen Qi respectively. “Brother Liang, split a team of special police to Chaoxia County. Yu Qin might be at Rongmei! Shen Qi, stop casting a wide net, check Rongmei!”

Police cars sped like lightning on the highway out of the city. The County Bureau received the order and quickly dispatched teams to search the North Zone.

At Beizhi Hospital, Liang Wenxian ended the call and turned to meet Yu Qianming’s complicated gaze.

“You said just now that Yesheng is missing?” Yu Qianming spoke with difficulty, his brows showing the worry of an ordinary father. “She… actually dared to go this far…”

Liang Wenxian said, “We have leads that the Yu Group is keeping illegal mercenaries.”

Yu Qianming opened and closed his mouth in astonishment, as if unable to digest this information. “Il-illegal mercenaries? No, impossible!”

Liang Wenxian said, “You didn’t know?”

Yu Qianming said excitedly, “It’s Yu Qin! She brought them back from abroad! I warned her… cough cough cough…”

The instruments at the bedside fluctuated violently. Nurses rushed in and asked Liang Wenxian to leave.

On the way for the Major Crimes Unit and the Special Police Detachment to Chaoxia County, a hair-raising message came from the County Bureau: Explosives detected in the North Zone, bomb disposal experts needed urgently!

Shen Qi also shouted, “My brother is very likely in the North Zone, but can’t be reached!”

Ji Chenjiao’s nerves instantly tightened. The worst-case scenario he had imagined was a gunfight. Yu Qin would inevitably have illegal mercenaries around her. These people grew up in chaotic lands abroad, and their combat capabilities certainly weren’t low. Ling Lie also had a gun, and with the hail of bullets he had experienced in the Special Action Team, he might be able to handle it.

But now, there were explosives at Rongmei!

The County Bureau lacked the ability to handle large-scale conflicts and had to prioritize public safety. Ji Chenjiao ordered them to withdraw from the North Zone immediately and evacuate the masses as soon as possible.

Xie Qing received the news and had already applied for another team of special police to fly to Chaoxia County by helicopter.

The car was still speeding on the highway. Ji Chenjiao felt the road ahead was endless. Amidst the constantly repeating scenery, his mind wandered again.

Those two appraisal reports, Yu Qianming’s odd expression when looking at him, his resemblance to Yu Yesheng, and that dream…

Was the name he couldn’t hear clearly in the dream Yu Ge?

Was he the lost child of the Yu family, the real Yu Ge?

Was it because Ling Lie deduced this layer that he insisted on hiding it from him?

Yu Ge, Yu Ge.

He was Yu Ge, and Ling Lie was also Yu Ge.

At different ages, they jointly played this character who had never been favored by fate.

He used to only dream of that gentle woman holding him.

Later, later—since when did he start dreaming of participating in missions he absolutely never participated in, with people around him calling him by a name he had never heard? He could never remember that name, but he remembered the dream.

He suddenly woke with a start. That was when he had just learned about the Special Action Team and seen some exposed video materials. Subconsciously, he yearned for that kind of life, and subconsciously, he knew he had another name.

That was Ling Lie’s mission, Ling Lie’s life. What he dreamed of was Ling Lie!

Ji Chenjiao struggled to pull himself from imagination back to reality. He had to focus. Yu Ge was just a figure far away from him, while Ling Lie was living, breathing, detestably deceiving him, yet he had to run to him.

The police car finally arrived at Chaoxia County, but before they reached Rongmei, an explosion sounded like rolling thunder. Flames soared into the sky ahead, and the shockwave bent the trees along the road like a gale.

Ji Chenjiao pushed open the door and got out, staring in astonishment at the billowing black smoke, feeling the shockwave explode in his internal organs, tearing him apart inside.

Fire trucks rushed toward Rongmei one after another. The sky above this small county town echoed with fire sirens.

Ji Chenjiao sprinted at a speed he had never reached before. Surrounded by people’s screams, his earpiece fell off, and Shen Qi’s crying voice was trampled into the dust—

“What do we do? My brother is still inside!”

Almost all the fire trucks in Chaoxia County rushed over. The explosion collapsed Building 7 and Building 4 in the North Zone, and several surrounding buildings were severely damaged. Fortunately, the South and North Zones were separated by an artificial lake. Before the explosion, most of the people in the South Zone had been evacuated, and there were no civilian casualties.

But there might still be unexploded bombs in the North Zone. The fire had to be extinguished first before bomb disposal experts could enter.

The search hadn’t started yet, but firefighters had already found three charred bodies.

It felt as if a pair of charcoal-burned hands were strangling Ji Chenjiao’s neck. His eyelids twitched violently, blurring his vision.

Time was stretched incredibly long. The red-burned sky darkened, the fire was gradually extinguished, and bomb disposal experts entered, disarming bombs one by one. New bodies were found successively, all dying miserable deaths without exception.

All bodies were transported to the Chaoxia County Funeral Home. Over a dozen forensic pathologists, including An Xun, arrived to begin autopsies and confirm identities.

Among the bodies found, Ling Lie was not there.

Rewinding to before the explosion, in the lecture hall of Building 7, Ling Lie’s words were like a very fine silver needle slowly pushing into Shaman’s brain. Surrounded by illegal mercenaries, she could have ordered them to open fire immediately, but she fell into shock because of Yin Hanshan mentioned by Ling Lie.

Yin Hanshan, the police officer she personally killed, was actually related to “Floating Light”?

Scenes of confrontation with “Grey Peacock” flashed before her like a revolving lantern. Details ignored in the past gradually became clear and sharp, as if mocking her arrogant oversight.

“Floating Light” initially approached Yu Qianming. At that time, Yu Qianming was healthy and strong, occupying absolute dominance in the group. She had secretly built her own assassin team, waiting for an opportunity to seize control of the Yu family.

However, “Floating Light” took the initiative to contact her, placing her on equal footing with Yu Qianming. She witnessed “Floating Light’s” power and understood that her own group of assassins couldn’t compare.

From then on, although she continued to invest money abroad to maintain hitmen, her focus gradually shifted to cooperating with “Floating Light.”

“Grey Peacock” seemed to favor her more, even expressing hope that she would replace Yu Qianming and become the helmsman of the Yu Group.

Over the years, “Floating Light” had indeed done a lot for her.

She thought this was only natural.

But just now, Ling Lie slammed her against a truth that was likely full of mockery and malice.

“Floating Light’s” so-called “favor” might be related to Yin Hanshan!

“Grey Peacock” might not be helping her, but dragging her into the abyss step by step!

It was during this hesitation that gunshots suddenly rang out in the lecture hall. Ling Lie moved like a lightning bolt; a bullet cleanly hit a man in black in the knee. The mercenaries counterattacked, some protecting Shaman, others shooting at Ling Lie.

Ling Lie rolled agilely on the ground. Shaman thought he was trying to escape through the front door and was feeling smug because that door couldn’t be opened. But just as several bullets grazed him, Ling Lie leaped into the air and jumped out the window.

Shaman was dumbfounded. jumping from a height of over a dozen floors meant certain death!

A mercenary rushed to the window, but there was no body or pool of blood below. Just as he was surprised, Ling Lie suddenly leaned out from the window on the floor below and shot through the opponent’s shoulder joint.

Ling Lie’s reaction threw the mercenaries into chaos, and they howled while looking at Shaman.

Shaman hadn’t expected Ling Lie to be so agile and decisive. Gritting her teeth, she changed the plan and pointed to a team. “Go downstairs and search! He can’t escape this building! The bomb will explode soon!”

Then she pointed to another team. “You follow me to leave!”

The back door of the lecture hall crashed open, and the two teams split up.

The searching team rushed downstairs because the shot came from below, so Ling Lie was likely still down there.

But while Shaman was deploying urgently, Ling Lie had already used the gaps in the wall outside to climb to the nineteenth floor.

There seemed to be no mercenaries on this floor. Ling Lie vigilantly observed his surroundings. He actually had a way to leave directly; having climbed over the window, going down was always easier than going up. But Yu Qin’s words concerned him greatly.

Let “Floating Light” take the blame.

Was Shaman “chatting” with him, telling him the truth about Yu Ge’s background and how she impersonated Yu Qin for so many years, just to diligently maintain the “villain talks too much” persona?

Impossible.

Shaman was stalling for time. She was waiting for someone’s arrival.

And she was very certain she could kill him here, and dead men tell no tales.

Shaman created such a big scene to blow up the entire building, yet wanted to extricate herself from the vortex. Why did she think the police would be helpless against her?

Because “Floating Light” would appear as appointed! She wanted to kill two birds with one stone: kill him, blow up important figures of “Floating Light,” and let the police besiege the remnants of “Floating Light”!