The person in front of him was actually a Dream Thief who could change his appearance!
Without a doubt, in his eyes, this was the undercover agent who had tipped off the Bureau to raid the place.
But what he couldn't understand was why this person hadn't arrested him and had instead followed him to the bottom of the shaft.
Did he want to turn him into an informant for the Bureau?
It was a well-known fact that Taotie Street was crawling with Bureau informants. Some insiders had even disclosed that nearly half of Haicheng's underworld figures were actually informing for the Bureau.
The only reason the other half wasn't was because the half that were informants were terrified of losing their jobs, so they actively ruined the registration attempts of others.
While this might have been a joke, it perfectly illustrated just how convoluted the underworld's factions truly were.
Brother Scar had no interest in becoming an informant, and he knew he wasn't cut out for it anyway. Given the things he had done at the stronghold, not being sentenced to death three times over would already be a miracle of mercy.
He only wanted to know what the person across from him was actually up to. Drawing on his years of experience in the underworld, he could tell this man didn't harbor any murderous intent. Perhaps he merely wanted to pry some information out of him.
If it meant getting another chance to see her, Brother Scar would gladly tell him everything he knew.
The struggle on Brother Scar's face did not escape the red-haired Yu Jin.
Wasting no time, he cut straight to the chase and asked, “What is the plan that woman mentioned last night?”
“!!!”
Brother Scar's pupils shrunk.
He wasn't surprised that this man was still conscious after being injected with the drug; a Dreamwalker had plenty of ways to bypass the methods of ordinary people.
But he was actually asking about her!
What did he want?
To go after her?!
Brother Scar's heart sank once more.
He felt like he was as good as dead because he would absolutely never reveal anything about her. He didn't want to expose her to some unknown danger.
Reading Brother Scar's mind, Yu Jin threw his own words from yesterday right back at him: “You'd throw your life away just for some woman?”
“...”
Brother Scar's eyelids twitched violently. With a sullen face, he turned his head away.
“Just kill me.”
“Tsk, your death would be completely meaningless. I only want to know what her plan is.”
“I'm not saying a word.”
“Oh, really? In that case, if I told you that in exchange for the truth, I'd tell you where to go to save her, would you still refuse?”
“!!!”
Brother Scar's face twisted sharply. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said.”
“You know where she is?” Stricken with doubt and shock, Brother Scar found it hard to believe the red-haired Yu Jin. “If you know where she is, why don't you know her plan?”
The red-haired Yu Jin ignored the question, merely saying, “I don't have much patience. I'm giving you only one chance, so it's up to you whether you take it.”
“...”
Having survived in the underworld for so many years, Brother Scar considered himself resilient under pressure, yet now he was sweating profusely from anxiety, struggling to even breathe.
By the faint light of the lighter, he stared at the increasingly impatient face, his mind locked in a frantic internal debate.
He had no way of knowing whether the man was telling the truth. He had to choose between getting bluffed and having a sliver of hope to save her.
If either choice didn't affect her safety, he could have made his decision in a heartbeat, even if it meant death.
But when both options revolved around her... he was paralyzed.
For the first time, a man who didn't even fear death felt true terror.
Seeing the shifting expressions and hesitation on Brother Scar's face, the red-haired Yu Jin's patience finally wore thin.
He gave a cold snort and flicked the lighter off.
The moment the light vanished and darkness returned, an image of the plan failing and the woman dying a tragic death seemed to flash before Brother Scar's eyes. His heart tightened in sheer panic. Unable to withstand the pressure any longer, he succumbed in desperation: “I'll talk! Don't, I'll talk! She's been looking into medical and nursing stuff lately. At first I was happy, thinking the boss was on his deathbed and needed care, but later I realized she was preparing for some operation. I had my suspicions that their target is likely a hospital or some nursing center. As for the specifics, I wasn't involved, so I don't know... I really don't know! That's all I know. I've told you everything I can. Please, tell me where I should go to save her.”
“!”
It really was her!
The red-haired Yu Jin sparked the lighter once more. Under the flickering flame, he stared into those exhausted eyes as a chilling thought suddenly crossed his mind.
The only similarity between a drug trial stronghold and a hospital was injections.
So, were they planning to use the patients at Shuguang Hospital as test subjects for their drugs?!
Those absolute beasts!
An uncontrollable red gleam flared at the tips of Yu Jin's hair. He felt an intense urge to execute Brother Scar right then and there.
But he couldn't.
Because the Bureau had let Brother Scar escape.
It went back to that same principle: it wasn't that Taotie Street couldn't be wiped clean, but rather that it couldn't be entirely cleared out.
If the Bureau had genuinely wanted to eradicate this stronghold, they wouldn't have even needed to deploy a whole Special Response Squad. A single phrase like “kneel” from Zhou Li would have been enough to capture Brother Scar and his entire crew in one fell swoop.
Yet the Bureau hadn't done that. They had only sent ordinary field agents—and those agents had even made a grand show of kicking the doors open.
The raid had been so noisy that it felt as though they were practically begging the people inside the stronghold to run.
This was clearly meant to give the occupants a chance to flee. Such a showy operation strongly suggested that the Bureau was casting a long line to catch bigger fish.
He didn't want his own actions to disrupt the Bureau's overall strategy.
So, after extracting the confirmation from Brother Scar, he left through the secret passage without saying another word.
Brother Scar chased after the red-haired Yu Jin, pleading desperately for the location to save her.
Seeing that Yu Jin was ignoring him, rage surged in his heart. He actually snatched up his fallen gun from the ground, aimed it at Yu Jin, and threatened, “Tell me where she is! Or else...”
Before he could even finish his sentence, the red-haired Yu Jin vanished into the shadows.
“...”
Brother Scar stared blankly at the empty passage before him, his entire body beginning to tremble.
An intense wave of lingering fear washed over him, almost bringing him to his knees.
Fortunately, that man hadn't attacked. Fortunately, he wasn't with the Bureau.
Otherwise...
No, she was in danger! He had to save her!
Driven by sheer resolve, Brother Scar forced himself to stand. Knowing he couldn't stay any longer, he grit his teeth and ran out through the secret tunnel on trembling legs.
While Yu Jin and Brother Scar had been dealing with each other in the secret tunnel, the Bureau's field agents had completely secured the stronghold.
The two teams of field agents who had charged through the front entrance had only managed to capture three or four low-level thugs and several hundred unconscious test subjects.
Standing at the factory entrance, the captain leading the field agents leafed through the surviving drug trial records, his expression somewhat grave.
His communicator remained active as he reported to the other end: “The operation was highly successful. The stronghold has been secured, and we have zero casualties. Most of Sand Scorpion's men were allowed to escape. We only have a few who were too scared to move, and some idiot who fell while trying to climb over the wall... Should we let them go? Locking these fools in prison is just a waste of food. We might as well let them fend for themselves. In addition, based on internal intel, we're currently excavating explosives buried under the factory. We've unearthed three so far, and the fuses have indeed been sabotaged, so there is no immediate danger. We're verifying the number of test subjects now. Looking at the records, there's a significant crowd here. What should we do with them? Flooding the market with too many freelance test subjects all at once might alert other strongholds. Should we bring them all back? We've also secured a large quantity of the drugs. Rest assured, they'll be transported back safely. Mission guaranteed!”
Field agents busily bustled in and out, clearing the area where almost no fighting had taken place.
Just outside the main area, in the shadows near a trash heap in the backyard, a dense patch of shadow once again formed a head and an arm. The shadow peered toward the secret passage, deep in thought, and made a phone call of its own.
“Hello, Eldest Miss. Yes, I'm at the scene. The field agents are wrapping up. Don't worry, there were no casualties, and I've defused all the explosives. I didn't stop Old Scar. However, there was another suspicious individual who seemed to be a Dreamwalker... I understand. I didn't cause any unnecessary trouble. I'm just curious about who sent him. Judging by his moves, he doesn't look like he's with the Bureau. Right, let's not worry about it. The tip-off went smoothly this time. After a few more of these, we should have enough points to visit Eldest Brother. Anyway, the field agents are heading over. I'm backing out.”
Before the voice fully faded, the shadow slipped back into the darkness.
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