The real-time feed of the Alice Crown Carnival was transmitted back to the L Country police and simultaneously to the Special Action Team’s command center. Asak was initially ecstatic, running and jumping while shouting, “‘Jasmine Tea’! That’s what you get for humiliating me! Su Yi, weren’t you trying to play me? You get your comeuppance today!”

But as the fleeting ecstasy faded, Asak gazed at the sea of fire, gradually becoming nervous. Yes, he wanted revenge on “Jasmine Tea,” ideally destroying the Alice Crown Carnival and locking up everyone from “Jasmine Tea”!

There would inevitably be casualties in a police operation, but he didn’t wish for too many deaths. Equipment could be destroyed, but people should live.

However, looking at the scene now, any fool could see that the people on the mountain were likely all dead, and those at the foot of the mountain probably wouldn’t survive either.

Asak trembled slightly, vaguely realizing he might have made a mistake. He could only constantly encourage himself—You aren’t wrong. “Jasmine Tea” deceived the police first! “Jasmine Tea” is an illegal organization; death is what they deserve!

Shen Xun’s face turned pale instantly. The explosion on the mountain at the Alice Crown Carnival was far beyond comparison with the explosion in the Tianma forest. The explosion occurred at the most important ski resort on the mountain; the machine room was destroyed by rockets and exploded. That place…

Shen Xun quickly had technical reconnaissance analyze the location, confirming that the ski resort was exactly where Su Yi had filmed and sent the video from.

Ji Chenjiao had likely been sacrificed.

And “Black Peacock,” whom the Special Action Team was pursuing, might have perished as well.

Fu Zhong sighed deeply and contacted Ling Lie’s group, who were rushing to the Salingauke region.

Zhao Fan initially thought the vibration was an earthquake but soon realized it wasn’t; it was an unimaginable explosion. “Captain Fu? We haven’t arrived yet. Explosion ahead, location unknown. What happened?”

Fu Zhong informed them of what happened at the carnival. Zhao Fan’s pupils contracted, and he instinctively looked at Ling Lie. Ling Lie just stared out the window, his hands constantly assembling and disassembling a gun.

Zhao Fan felt his throat go dry, unable to speak. “They…”

“Perhaps already sacrificed.” Fu Zhong had to state the worst-case scenario. “But proceed to the carnival as planned. We are urgently negotiating with the L Country police. Captain Shen has already gone to the prison to see Duan Wande. After you arrive, await my orders.”

Zhao Fan said, “Ling Lie is in no condition to act.”

Ling Lie still didn’t react.

Fu Zhong said, “Protect him. Watch him.”

Zhao Fan took a deep breath. “Yes!”

Xiao Hui slammed on the gas, and the off-road vehicle sped south. Zhao Fan wanted to say something to Ling Lie several times but couldn’t get the words out. Ling Lie must have heard the phone call just now, but why was there no reaction? Crying, rage, anything would be better. Seeing Ling Lie sitting so quietly, Zhao Fan felt increasingly like he was sitting on pins and needles.

Actually, since the vibration started, he had noticed Ling Lie wasn’t normal. Did he sense Ji Chenjiao was in trouble back then? Perhaps there really was such a telepathy between people who loved each other.

Suddenly, Zhao Fan’s hand was grabbed. Ling Lie pried his fingers open, trying to take the communicator from his hand.

“Ling Lie! Listen to me!” Zhao Fan hugged Ling Lie. “None of us know Ji Chenjiao’s situation right now. We’re almost there. I promise you, I swear to you! As long as he’s still alive, I will definitely get him out!”

Ling Lie stared at Zhao Fan’s mouth, his eyes suddenly filling with killing intent. His pronunciation was slightly strange: “Explosion was Alice? Who bombed it?”

Zhao Fan suddenly realized, grabbing Ling Lie’s shoulders. “You can’t hear?”

Ling Lie didn’t answer, still watching Zhao Fan’s mouth.

He was reading lips!

At such a critical moment, Ling Lie’s hearing had failed again. Not just tinnitus, but completely deaf! Amidst his chaotic thoughts, Zhao Fan forced himself to calm down and started using sign language with Ling Lie, telling him that the L Country police suddenly attacked the carnival. It was unclear whether Ji Chenjiao, Su Yi, and “Black Peacock” were dead or alive, but the Special Action Team would do everything possible to rescue them.

Turbulent waves surged in Ling Lie’s eyes. Zhao Fan had no doubt that if Asak were standing here right now, Ling Lie would end his life with a single shot.

But Ling Lie didn’t say a word, like a dormant beast silently waiting for the horn of action.

---

“This is the underground mechanism built by Mr. Wonder, also serving as a shelter. Once the ski resort is attacked, it opens automatically.” Su Yi led everyone into the shelter. After the heavy door closed, the raging fire and bullets were shut out.

About ten people entered the shelter. Besides Su Yi’s and Yan Xi’s respective trusted aides, Ji Chenjiao was surprised to see a familiar face.

Xu Jiajia!

Having not seen him for over a year, Xu Jiajia’s features seemed even sharper. He actively waved at Ji Chenjiao. “Officer Ji, didn’t expect to reunite under these circumstances. We’re grasshoppers on the same rope now, aren’t we?”

Ji Chenjiao looked at Yan Xi. Yan Xi still wore that expression that nothing concerned him. “Jaco works for me now.”

Jaco was used by Bai Lingxue back then. Although he hadn’t been caught by the police after escaping, he seemed to have maintained contact with Bai Lingxue. Last year, Bai Lingxue was arrested, “Na Sheng” died, and many “Floating Light” members active within the borders were caught. The police failed to catch two people: Xu Jiajia and the psychologist Zhuo Suying.

So Xu Jiajia had long come to E Country and become “Black Peacock’s” subordinate.

Su Yi looked at these people and laughed. “You’ll have to wait until we get out to settle your grudges. Now everyone’s goal is to leave alive. How about a temporary cease-fire?”

Ji Chenjiao nodded. Yan Xi looked ahead. Xu Jiajia smiled and gave a gentleman’s bow.

The underground mechanism was like a massive maze. Looking only at the Alice Crown Carnival, it was hard to imagine such a magnificent underground palace had been dug out inside those mountains. Compared to it, the palaces on the ground and mountainside were insignificant.

It was both a shelter in emergencies and potentially a life-claiming guillotine because it was simply too complex. If someone unfamiliar with the internal structure stumbled in, finding the “gate of life” to exit would be almost impossible.

Su Yi suddenly revealed a bizarre smile, turning around to say, “Actually, if I wanted to, I could trap you all to death in here.”

“Floating Light” members made noises of raising their guns, but Yan Xi raised a hand to stop them. “You could kill us right now.”

Su Yi said, “‘Black Peacock,’ I am very curious. Do you really have no fear at all? You are very different from what I imagined. Since I met you, I felt you were someone who didn’t want to fight for anything, but that’s different from my inherent perception of ‘Black Peacock.'”

This was also where Ji Chenjiao felt a contradiction. “Black Peacock” shouldn’t be like this.

“As long as you accept the worst outcome early on, there is nothing you cannot bear.” Yan Xi looked at the dozen pathways ahead. “Which one are you taking us into?”

Su Yi stared closely at Yan Xi’s eyes. After a moment, he smiled. “I was joking. I still plan to make a comeback; no need to make enemies here.”

After walking for a while longer, a tremendous vibration suddenly came.

Everyone instinctively hit the deck, protecting their heads and necks. The vibration lasted a long time, extremely violent, accompanied by muffled explosions.

The machine room had finally exploded.

It wasn’t truly muffled. If on the surface, human eardrums would likely be torn instantly. The mountain body and mechanisms isolated part of the roar, but even so, the vibration was intense.

Only when the shaking gradually subsided did people stand up one after another. But in fact, the shaking hadn’t completely stopped; the entire mountain was still moving. Ji Chenjiao looked vigilantly at the nearest wall, touching it with his fingers to find a spreading crack.

Xu Jiajia supported himself against the wall. “Mr. Su Yi, this underground palace won’t collapse from the explosion, will it?”

Su Yi’s expression wasn’t good; he was obviously worried about the explosion just now too. But as far as he knew, this shelter could withstand missiles and should guarantee their safe evacuation.

“Cut the crap, move!”

The shaking persisted, sometimes violent, sometimes gentler. The explosions outside seemed to have stopped completely. When the shaking was violent, everyone would crouch down and find cover.

Yan Xi fell behind. Xu Jiajia, who should have been guarding him, was mingling with “Jasmine Tea.” Ji Chenjiao quietly kept Yan Xi within his sight. If he could get out, he would take Yan Xi out and handcuff him.

The shaking was somewhat unsettling. The further they walked, the more Ji Chenjiao noticed severe cracks in the walls. What made him feel the situation might have changed was that Su Yi actually made everyone turn back halfway several times after choosing a path, going to another one.

Su Yi explained that the shelter was too complex; even he couldn’t be sure of every path, so he could only use trial and error.

But Ji Chenjiao felt it might not be that, but a worse possibility—Su Yi hadn’t chosen the wrong path, but the vibrations had changed the paths in the maze. Some originally correct paths had collapsed!

He observed Su Yi’s expression, seeing cold sweat seeping from Su Yi’s forehead and neck, seeming increasingly anxious.

After hitting a wall again, before Ji Chenjiao could speak, Xu Jiajia said, “Mr. Su Yi, are we trapped to death in here? If I’m guessing correctly, the explosion collapsed several key paths?”

Su Yi’s threatening gaze swept over. Just as he was about to speak, the mountain shook again. Without an explosion, it moved on its own, and much more violently than previous times.

Mud and sand fell. Two of the several paths ahead collapsed right under everyone’s gaze.

Su Yi finally couldn’t hold back, cursing viciously.

Xu Jiajia scratched his head. “Seems we really are trapped here.”

Half an hour ago, to scout the path, Su Yi had sent two of his own bodyguards and two “Floating Light” members to another branch. After the shaking just now, that path was sealed.

They were blocked in the middle of the road, hopeless.

Yan Xi simply sat down, tidying his clothes leisurely.

The shaking of the mountains was like the shadow of the Grim Reaper. No one knew when the next violent tremor would strike, no one knew if the mountain would collapse completely, or if they could find a way out before then.

Su Yi continued to send subordinates with detectors into a path, then checked the underground mechanism blueprints on his computer. They were currently trapped in the mid-lower section of the mountain. This path was still in the core shelter position. As long as they went down past three more isolation points, they could reach the safety gate at the foot of the mountain.

Su Yi watched the flashing green dots on the blueprint, his hand bones making cracking sounds. Ji Chenjiao walked over, his gaze falling on those green dots. The green dots represented the subordinates sent out. They were all moving but were confined within a fixed area, meaning they couldn’t approach the next isolation point.

As time passed, Ji Chenjiao felt the mountain shaking more violently each time. And each time, at least one area on Su Yi’s blueprint collapsed. From top to bottom, it was foreseeable that more and more places would collapse, faster and faster. This shelter would eventually become their tomb.

Suddenly, a vibration came from below, shaking the space up and down. This vibration was different from before; it wasn’t from top to bottom, but from bottom to top, signaling the most terrible possibility—the isolation points below might have collapsed.

If that was truly the case, they would definitely die here.

Su Yi frantically typed on the keyboard. Suddenly, the noise from the keyboard stopped. Su Yi let out a long, sharp breath. Everyone looked at him, seeing him raise his head slowly like a robot, a ferocious light in his eyes. “Finished, all finished! Two isolation points collapsed. We can’t get out. Haha, hahahaha—”

Yan Xi frowned, but only frowned. He turned around and walked toward one of the paths.

Su Yi shouted, “Stop! Where are you going?”

“Didn’t you say? We can’t get out. Rescue is impossible. Even if someone comes, they can only stand outside and watch helplessly as this mountain collapses.” Yan Xi turned back. “So what does it matter where I go?”

But Ji Chenjiao could absolutely not let him wander freely. He immediately stepped forward to block him.

Yan Xi sighed, speaking in a somewhat amused tone, “At this stage, do you still want to capture me alive?”

Ji Chenjiao said, “As long as I still have breath.”

Yan Xi shrugged and backed out of the passage.

Xu Jiajia screamed in alarm, “We just die here like this? Impossible! Isn’t this your ‘Jasmine Tea’s’ last fortress? I don’t believe it! There must be a way out!”

Su Yi looked at him like he was looking at a dead man. “How to get out?”

Xu Jiajia said, “If isolation points collapsed, just blast them open! Don’t tell me you didn’t prepare explosives in a place like this!”

Ji Chenjiao said, “Explosions will accelerate the collapse and tremors. I advise you not to seek death.”

Xu Jiajia seemed crazy, laughing loudly. “No, I am seeking survival! You are the ones seeking death!”

Saying that, Xu Jiajia rushed toward the path Yan Xi had chosen earlier. This time, neither Su Yi nor Ji Chenjiao stopped him. Although he was also a suspect who had committed crimes in our country, Ji Chenjiao really couldn’t be distracted to control him right now.

Can’t sit and wait for death. Can’t die here.

Ling Lie’s always-asking-for-a-beating face surfaced before Ji Chenjiao’s eyes. Every time, it was Ling Lie causing trouble, making him worry to death. Now, it was finally him in a desperate situation. He had to set a good example for Ling Lie, or Ling Lie would… would mock him for a lifetime.

Ji Chenjiao took the laptop, trying to find a route on the blueprint that could bypass the collapsed isolation points and lead to the final isolation point. Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt the surrounding oxygen was decreasing; he had to breathe very hard for his lungs to feel a trace of relief. Ji Chenjiao’s back was covered in sweat, and the laptop battery was running low.

At this time, the shaking became violent again, and increasingly irregular. People were jolted like in an irregularly rotating mixer.

“I miscalculated a step.” Su Yi sneered. “Since Mr. Wonder decided to serve his sentence in your country, I shouldn’t have exhausted my efforts to save him. I did a thankless task, while you are his real son.”

Ji Chenjiao paused. When he looked up, the gun in Su Yi’s hand was pointed at his forehead.

“Stop.” Ji Chenjiao said, “Even if you shoot now, you might not escape.”

Su Yi laughed loudly. “If I could still escape, would I be smashing the pot like this? We are dead for sure, Officer Ji. Stop fucking wasting effort!”

Saying that, Su Yi actually fired directly. Bang bang bang, the gunshots sounded exceptionally loud in the narrow cave.

Ji Chenjiao leaped to dodge, pushing Yan Xi aside at the same time.

Yan Xi’s shoulder hit the wall, and he frowned in pain.

No one was hit, but the laptop was shot to pieces.

Now the blueprint was gone, and the hope of escape was even slimmer.

Ji Chenjiao looked at Su Yi incomprehensibly. This calculating man appeared exceptionally childish at this moment. When a madman reaches a dead end, does he treat his own life and everyone else’s as a joke?

“Haven’t you figured it out yet? Officer Ji? This is Mr. Wonder’s punishment for me!” Su Yi was so agitated his eyeballs were jumping in their sockets. “He is punishing me to die here with you! I dared to kidnap you, threaten your life, so he dared to take mine! What am I, the trusted aide he cultivated single-handedly? You are his child!”

Ji Chenjiao felt it was unreasonable. Could Duan Wande have predicted all this? Impossible. And how was Duan Wande punishing Su Yi? If none of them escaped in the end, wouldn’t death befall him too?

Ji Chenjiao shook his head. “I saw a path just now…”

“There is no path! Stop wasting energy!” Su Yi squeezed out a shrill laugh through his teeth, pointing the gun at Ji Chenjiao again. “I will die here today, but you must die before me! We two will be buried with Mr. Wonder!”

Ji Chenjiao rolled on the ground, dodging the sweeping bullets, diving into the nearest passage and hiding behind the wall.

Outside was the sound of Su Yi changing magazines. He walked over with a hmph and a laugh. “Officer Ji, we’re all going to die anyway. Let me give you a quick end. A bullet through your head, just one, better than being crushed to death by the mountain, right?”

Before his voice faded, Su Yi appeared at the passage entrance, firing wildly inside. But the moment the gunfire stopped, his eyes widened in astonishment. The passage was empty; where did Ji Chenjiao go?

He didn’t dare move, only his eyes darting around. The passage was rugged, but there was no one ten meters ahead. Had Ji Chenjiao already drilled into the next cave? Anger rose in Su Yi’s heart, and he took a step inside.

His boots hit the ground, echoing. He fiddled with the safety, suddenly saw a shadow sweep across the wall ahead, and immediately raised his gun to shoot. However, a strong wind suddenly blew from the back of his head, a powerful pressure descending from above.

He turned quickly, but it was too late. Ji Chenjiao, hanging in the shadow above the passage junction, swooped down abruptly!

Bang bang—

Su Yi only had time to fire two shots wildly. Ji Chenjiao pinned his body down and kicked the gun several meters away.

Su Yi gasped pathetically, his face pressed tightly against the ground. His nose bridge was broken, and his breath was filled with the overwhelming smell of blood. But the smell of blood stimulated him further. He slammed his elbow backward with all his might, attempting to struggle free from Ji Chenjiao’s restraints.

Ji Chenjiao didn’t intend to kill him here, so his movements were slightly reserved. He wanted to dislocate Su Yi’s joints to temporarily disable him, but Su Yi took advantage of the moment he twisted the arm back. This tricky devil instantly pulled a sharp dagger from his tactical vest and stabbed toward Ji Chenjiao’s eye!

Ji Chenjiao’s breath hitched. His right foot kicked violently against the wall, using the momentum to dodge the blow, but the blade rolled over his eyebrow. Burning pain blossomed, and blood flowed down instantly, dyeing one side of his vision red.

Su Yi lunged for the gun on the ground. Ji Chenjiao rushed over quickly but was a step too late. Su Yi got the gun and fired wildly behind him.

Ji Chenjiao rolled to dodge. In the instant Su Yi changed magazines, he shot Su Yi’s wrist, breaking it.

Su Yi cried out in pain. Ji Chenjiao wiped the blood from his face, aimed at Su Yi, and approached slowly.

Su Yi was turned sideways to him, hair wet with sweat and blood covering his cheek. Su Yi’s shoulders trembled, and he actually chuckled. He suddenly raised his head, looking at Ji Chenjiao like a victor.

Ji Chenjiao: “You…”

Su Yi was biting a bomb. As long as he moved his teeth slightly, the bomb would explode.

Ji Chenjiao looked back. He was some distance from the passage entrance now; it would be hard to escape the moment it exploded. And the small area outside couldn’t withstand such an explosion. Once Su Yi bit down, everyone would die.

But he couldn’t die! He wanted to get out! He couldn’t let Xia Xiaodou mock him for a lifetime!

He had to stop Su Yi!

“What is this?” Ji Chenjiao slowly raised his gun, biting the muzzle himself. “What did you say just now? Didn’t you want to die before me? If you dare bite down, the first one to die will be you.”

Su Yi’s eyes widened, unable to believe Ji Chenjiao would point the gun at himself. What was he doing? Suicide?

“Our business, we settle ourselves. What if this mountain doesn’t collapse? Then wouldn’t you have harmed ‘Black Peacock’?” Ji Chenjiao spoke very slowly, staring unblinkingly at Su Yi. “Come, pick up your gun, change the magazine. If you think I’ll make a move while you change magazines, then use mine.”

Saying that, Ji Chenjiao removed his right hand from the gun, slowly raising both hands above his shoulders.

Su Yi stood up skeptically. Obviously, he didn’t want to detonate it either. Being blown to pieces wasn’t the way he wanted to die.

He approached extremely slowly, guarding against any movement from Ji Chenjiao. There were only three steps left between them. His hand was about to raise, about to grab the gun Ji Chenjiao held in his mouth.

The mountain shook again. Su Yi subconsciously propped himself to the side to stabilize his body. Ji Chenjiao fell backward in the shaking. Reflexively, Su Yi stepped forward, trying to grab Ji Chenjiao.

Ji Chenjiao suddenly stopped his falling momentum, flipped over violently, and kicked Su Yi fiercely in the abdomen with his right foot. Su Yi couldn’t guard against this blow at all. He was kicked into the air, the back of his neck hitting the wall directly, spitting out a mouthful of blood on the spot.

Ji Chenjiao wouldn’t give him another chance. Slanting his body, he flew past quickly, crack crack dislocating the joints of Su Yi’s arms and legs, and searched out all dangerous items on him.

Su Yi nearly fainted from pain. Ji Chenjiao tied him up and dragged him out of the passage.

With such a big commotion just now, Yan Xi actually hadn’t come to the passage entrance to watch the excitement even once. Seeing Ji Chenjiao drag the person out, he only cast a simple glance.

Ji Chenjiao remembered a path he saw on the blueprint, which might connect to an isolation point.

“Go.” Ji Chenjiao said, “Whether there’s hope or not, we have to try.”

Su Yi collapsed on the ground, refusing to let Ji Chenjiao take him. “I’m not going. I’ll stay here and watch you walk toward hell.”

Ji Chenjiao was silent for half a minute, hesitating no more. He turned to Yan Xi. “You must go.”

Yan Xi laughed. “Because you are still executing your mission, right?”

Ji Chenjiao gestured with the gun in his hand. His face was covered in blood, his usual clean handsomeness long gone, looking more like a fiendish desperado.

Yan Xi walked in front of him. Dust fell from the passage from time to time. Soon, a loud noise rang out. The cave behind them collapsed, cutting off all their retreat.

This wasn’t a loud noise from the mountain shaking; it was an explosion from deep within the mountains. Someone had detonated a considerable amount of explosives.

Armed helicopters hovered over the Alice Crown Carnival. The fire filling the mountains had been almost extinguished, but the palace that was brilliant not long ago was now ruins. Bodies on the mountain were being carried down. Ling Lie stood like a steel nail driven into the scorched earth, gazing at the hellish scene before him.