How many turning points should a person have in their life? For A’Xue, Adou leaving in childhood was one, meeting Yin Hanshan after growing up was another, and Yin Hanshan’s disappearance was the last.

He abandoned “Chen Jin” and entered the country frantically searching for Yin Hanshan’s whereabouts, but found nothing. He didn’t believe Yin Hanshan would inexplicably disappear. Yin Hanshan must have been killed.

He held intelligence but had lost the person to hand it over to.

In this world, besides Yin Hanshan, no police officer would believe someone like him would be an informant. He could no longer become an ordinary person. In his future life, he could never find Yin Hanshan.

He returned to Russia in despair. The “Chen Jin” in his hands was riddled with holes. In its prime, “Chen Jin” had an omnipotent darknet. But this darknet could no longer help him find the truth about Yin Hanshan’s disappearance.

But he had to obtain the truth!

Before long, “Chen Jin” completely perished from the view of police forces worldwide. But it hadn’t truly died—it was just temporarily dormant in its wounds. It had a brand new name—”Floating Light.”

This was probably an answer that would stun police forces worldwide. “Chen Jin” died but not completely. After lying dormant and gathering strength, it became a giant beast hidden in the darkness—”Floating Light.” Yet the “Gray Peacock” who developed “Floating Light” to this extent had once been the person most eager to destroy “Chen Jin” and present its remains as a gift.

“This world is so unfair, Adou. The Wei Zhiyong who saved you was just an ordinary police officer. He never uncovered the truth about the Bijiang case until his death. Hanshan was millions of times more excellent than him—he discovered early on that Yu Corporation was the mastermind behind everything.” Bai Lingxue paused. “But why… why could you, saved by Wei Zhiyong, shed your ‘Chen Jin’ identity, while I, who met Hanshan, will forever be a ‘Chen Jin’ member?”

Bai Lingxue’s eyes were sorrowful and desolate, seemingly filled with overwhelming helplessness, evoking images of snowflakes swept up by wild winds in winter, unable to control their own destiny.

But Ling Lie said in an almost mechanical tone: “Oh, but what does that have to do with me?”

Bai Lingxue seemed not to expect this reaction. After a moment of stunned silence, he laughed. “Adou, you’re a person without feelings.”

Ling Lie: “Not empathizing with you means I have no feelings?”

Bai Lingxue approached, his gaze licking across Ling Lie’s face like a snake’s tongue. Then he suddenly struck out and grabbed Ling Lie’s hair. “You’re always like this—using an innocent face to say hurtful things. So besides revenge, I also want to destroy you along the way.”

Ling Lie’s scalp hurt a bit. He frowned lightly. “Boring.”

Just then, “Navoice” pushed open the door. Seeing their posture, he froze for a moment.

Bai Lingxue released Ling Lie and asked: “What is it?”

“Navoice”: “Mr. Bai, the bomb the ‘Wicked Queen’ set is about to explode. We must evacuate immediately.”

Bai Lingxue looked at Ling Lie. “What a shame. We haven’t finished catching up.”

Ling Lie straightened his mussed hair, completely calm. “Then let’s continue catching up.”

“I don’t want to be blown up here.” Bai Lingxue suddenly thought of an idea. “If you don’t mind, come sit at my place?”

These words sounded like a polite invitation, but Ling Lie had no other option. He had no doubt that if he refused, “Floating Light’s” people would swarm him and end his life. These people’s combat ability couldn’t be compared to the trash Sha Man raised.

“Sure.” Ling Lie said: “But I have one condition.”

“Speak.”

“That guy following me earlier—like you, he was tricked by Sha Man. He’s timid and stupid. Find a safe place and dump him there.”

Bai Lingxue teased: “Yu Yesheng? That waste bullied you plenty before, right? You still want to help him?”

Ling Lie: “Sorry, but as a key police figure, if I stand by and watch civilians die, I’ll get disciplined.”

In the corridor, Yu Yesheng had woken up. Seeing Ling Lie, he immediately ran over, but several “Floating Light” members blocked him. Ling Lie said: “Thank you for your trouble.”

Yu Yesheng still didn’t understand what was happening when he was carried away. Thinking he was about to be executed, he cried while cursing Ling Lie as heartless and ungrateful.

Five-minute countdown. Yu Yesheng was thrown in a flower bed far from the explosion center. “Floating Light” evacuated quickly. When the thunderous explosion came, the business van carrying Ling Lie and Bai Lingxue had already left Chaoxi County from another direction.

After winding through several roads, the business van returned to Xiarong City’s main urban area but didn’t head toward the downtown. Instead, it chose a winding mountain road.

Lush green trees reflected on the window glass. Ling Lie said: “Yurong Tange?”

Bai Lingxue said: “Looks like you’re quite familiar with this place.”

Yurong Tange was a famous detached villa area in Xiarong City. Because it was a Yu Corporation project, the Major Crimes Unit had paid special attention, but at the time couldn’t discover Bai Lingxue was hiding here.

The car stopped in a villa’s underground garage. Ling Lie followed Bai Lingxue, “Navoice,” and one other “Floating Light” member upstairs. He observed that cameras were everywhere here, heavily guarded. Breaking through alone was almost impossible.

Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. Ling Lie toured the spacious hall and accepted the iced tea Bai Lingxue handed him. “Living quite nicely.”

Bai Lingxue said: “Do you know why this place is called Yurong Tange?”

Ling Lie shook his glass, the ice cubes clinking inside. “Because of Yu Ge?”

Bai Lingxue sneered coldly. “That’s right. The Yu family didn’t care about that child at all, yet they had to stamp his mark on various projects, pretending to be so affectionate. The real Yu Ge had long since…”

Speaking to this point, Bai Lingxue stopped. “The game always proceeded according to my plan. The only thing beyond my expectation was that Officer Ji turned out to be the real Yu Ge. I thought Yu Ge died long ago.”

Ling Lie raised his eyebrows. “You also saw that identification report?”

Bai Lingxue said: “Why do you think Sha Man knew?”

Fragments rapidly assembled in Ling Lie’s mind. Sha Man’s original plan was to deny everything, insisting she had nothing to do with “Floating Light,” pushing all crimes onto Yu Qianming, even silencing the murderer who killed Luo Manchai.

Today’s performance shouldn’t have been staged.

But there was Sha Man’s informant hidden in that identification center. She immediately knew what he had identified—he’d discovered that truth that absolutely couldn’t be known. So he had to die.

Ling Lie reacted. “The one in the identification center wasn’t Sha Man’s informant but yours?”

Bai Lingxue smiled: “Isn’t there a saying—what you know is what they want you to know? What Sha Man knew was, of course, what I let her know. The third-to-last step of this game was having the police uncover the truth about Hanshan’s death. The second-to-last step was having her kill you. The final step—she faces judgment and loses everything she’s built over decades.”

Ling Lie clicked his tongue. “You really raise the difficulty for yourself. Just take revenge—why make me catch a stray bullet?”

Bai Lingxue didn’t like hearing this. “Adou, you’re not innocent.”

Ling Lie was indifferent. “Fine, fine. I’m the big villain.”

Bai Lingxue continued: “I racked my brains thinking about how to make Sha Man move against you. It was too difficult. You and your Captain Ji always acted together. Whatever you discovered meant he discovered it too. He would definitely protect you. But you performed admirably, giving me an assist so quickly—you secretly checked Officer Ji and Yu Qianming’s kinship. I also only believed after seeing the results that such a coincidence could exist in the world.”

Ling Lie sorted through the logic. “Sha Man believed until her death that was her informant and was smug about being a step ahead.”

Bai Lingxue said: “So now she’s already a piece of charcoal.”

Ling Lie was silent for a moment. “I have a question.”

“What?”

“You got this move inspired by Xu Jiajia, right?”

Bai Lingxue smiled without speaking.

“Xu Jiajia guided our Officer Ji to investigate the Xu Yinyue case and arrest his adoptive parents. You guided me to investigate the Yin Hanshan case and arrest Sha Man.” Ling Lie said: “By the way, Xu Jiajia has been missing so long—did you silence him?”

Bai Lingxue snorted with laughter. “How could that be? Jaco is my important partner. He’s alive and well.”

Ling Lie showed a somewhat disbelieving expression.

“You got half right.” Bai Lingxue sat down on the sofa, his right leg crossed over his knee. “His revenge thinking did inspire me, but his plan ended when Officer Ji arrested the Ji Nuocheng couple. Mine has one final crucial step.”

Ling Lie nodded. “Having Sha Man kill me during her arrest, both eliminating me and adding to Sha Man’s crimes. You really are a clever one.”

Bai Lingxue: “…”

Ling Lie: “Clever one, you and our Little Ji actually knew each other long ago, right?”

Bai Lingxue: “Oh?”

“At Fengyi Manor, when he first saw you, he felt you were familiar.” Ling Lie said: “This feeling was similar to when I saw you. But he couldn’t remember who you were no matter what. Let me guess—you’re that informant Yan Xi who helped him solve cases?”

Bai Lingxue’s expression at this moment was somewhat inscrutable. “He still mentioned me to you?”

“Not only mentioned you but said you and I are very similar.”

After brief astonishment, Bai Lingxue laughed as if hearing a ridiculous joke. “Adou, are we similar?”

“Not similar.” Ling Lie said: “So our Little Ji is an idiot.” After a pause, Ling Lie added: “Such a stupid police officer—those who hurt him never have good endings.”

After a moment of quiet, Bai Lingxue sighed. “He’s a good police officer. Unlike you, I don’t want to hurt him.”

Back then, Bai Lingxue quietly entered the country but was helpless and alone, unable to find any news related to Yin Hanshan. He could only return to Russia, devoting himself wholeheartedly to revenge. “Chen Jin’s” riddled darknet was replaced by “Floating Light.” After stabilizing internal turmoil in the organization, Bai Lingxue entered the country again. But this time, he forged a new identity—Yan Xi—and used “Floating Light’s” customary disguise techniques as camouflage.

“Floating Light” had already grasped special intelligence—before Yin Hanshan disappeared, he had close dealings with a Xiarong City police officer named Ning Xiechen.

Yan Xi infiltrated Xiarong City, approached Ning Xiechen, and after providing multiple important clues, became Ning Xiechen’s regular informant.

As Major Crimes Unit captain, Ning Xiechen had countless cases and also brought along a rookie disciple. Ning Xiechen trusted Yan Xi. When really too busy, he’d throw his disciple to Yan Xi to train.

That was an upright and righteous young police officer with an unusual name—Ji Chenjiao.

Yan Xi didn’t want to stay with such a young police officer. Ji Chenjiao’s radiance sometimes made him feel his whole body was muddy, dirty, and foul.

But when Ji Chenjiao was abandoned by his master and seriously listened to him making up investigation approaches, he couldn’t help being attracted by those eyes. Gradually, even he himself didn’t expect it—he actually taught Ji Chenjiao some things.

He was like a real informant, like a dedicated teacher. When investigating cases with Ji Chenjiao, he even involuntarily recalled Yin Hanshan’s words—one day, be an upright and honest ordinary person.

Was this what being upright and honest felt like? The sunlight was dry and warm, his body felt relaxed, not needing to keep his head tied to his belt at all times. There was also a curious disciple asking questions.

But when he faced Ning Xiechen, all illusions disappeared. Reality reminded him of a cold truth—he came to Xiarong City because the clues were in Xiarong City, on Ning Xiechen.

He gained Ning Xiechen’s maximum trust. He heard that Ning Xiechen’s subordinate, that police officer called Xie Qing, was very dissatisfied with him. Voices within the city bureau said he’d bewitched Ning Xiechen.

Bewitched? Probably.

But he thought they already trusted each other enough to talk about everything. When he mentioned Yin Hanshan, Ning Xiechen still showed a guarded expression. From some traces, he judged Ning Xiechen also seemed to be investigating Yin Hanshan’s disappearance and already had leads.

But perhaps because it involved major issues or lacked concrete evidence, Ning Xiechen was completely unwilling to reveal anything.

He thought optimistically—it’s fine, at most stay in Xiarong City a bit longer. At least the direction was right, and… he really liked life in Xiarong City.

But man proposes, heaven disposes. From the moment he mentioned Yin Hanshan, Ning Xiechen suspected him. That day, before he could disguise himself, Ning Xiechen caught him red-handed.

He couldn’t expose himself at that moment. He could only choose to silence him. Ning Xiechen was a scrupulous police officer. He was different—he was a villain who did all kinds of evil. A bullet entered Ning Xiechen’s chest. That resolute face showed pain, regret, and sorrow.

Then this meritorious captain’s life fell into pitch-black abyss.

Though Ling Lie had a premonition, he still frowned. “You killed Ning Xiechen?”

Bai Lingxue’s lips moved slightly, showing some hesitation. “What else? Did I have another choice?”

Ling Lie finished the iced tea. “I seem to be the only fish that slipped through the net in your game. Sha Man couldn’t kill me but was blown up by you instead.”

“It’s not that Sha Man couldn’t kill you—I suddenly changed my mind and didn’t let her kill you.” Bai Lingxue smiled: “You should thank me.”

Ling Lie was unhurried. “So what do you want to do now? Take me away?”

“You wish.”

“Mm?”

“Adou, I know what you’re calculating. You’re someone who’s not afraid of death and especially cunning. On the surface, I’m taking you away. Secretly, you’re probing ‘Floating Light’s’ intelligence to give to your Officer Ji.”

Ling Lie smiled: “Don’t think of people so badly.”

Bai Lingxue assumed an attitude of seeing off a guest. “I won’t kill you today. Go back.”

Ling Lie said: “Your revenge is complete. What, still not planning to return to ‘Floating Light’s’ home base?”

“Testing me?” Bai Lingxue said: “For the sake of you accompanying me to complete this wonderful game, I’ll be straight with you. When I first arrived, my only thought was indeed revenge. But later I discovered this is a land full of vitality. When I went deep into it and understood it, I realized how beautiful it is. Return to the north? No, ‘Floating Light’ will take root here.”