"Grant permission for them to leave freely?"

In the lounge, Ai Qing couldn't help but sneer upon hearing the rumors leaked by Chai Fei. "What kind of beautiful dream is he having? Besides, even if we agree, do you think the Social Security Bureau will just step aside? They're probably just trying to buy time..."

"But the higher-ups want to talk, and they plan to stall for time too," Chai Fei said with a helpless shrug.

Ai Qing had anticipated this and simply nodded. "And then?"

"And then, forty-five minutes ago, an Astronomical Club Officer was shot in the head during a Darknet live broadcast... BOOM, his brains splattered out," Chai Fei said, taking a big gulp of her soda to calm her nerves, appearing as if the shock hadn't worn off.

"And then?" Ai Qing asked again.

Chai Fei pondered for a moment, then lowered her voice. "It looks like several people are thinking along the same lines: this mess is Sea Trench Prison's fault, and we shouldn't be the ones to bear it. But the problem is, we can't be too spineless and give in at the first sign of intimidation. We have to show some attitude. Yet, we can't abandon the officers who were kidnapped to maintain the balance in Current Circumstances, or our reputation will be seriously damaged."

"They want to have their cake and eat it too... That's definitely the style of the Jinling Branch's top brass."

Ai Qing chuckled disdainfully. Then she quickly understood the upper echelon's thinking and directly asked, "The Social Security Bureau?"

Chai Fei, holding a straw, looked down and stirred the ice in her cup intently and seriously, as if she hadn't heard a thing. Even without a word, her message was crystal clear.

It seemed that the Jinling Branch, which outwardly appeared to be working hard, had secretly chosen to be passive and had leaked the information to the Jinling Social Security Bureau.

So you think you're capable? Go on then.

Now they begin to sing the tune of 'Astronomical Society and Social Security Bureau are family,' and although it's a bit embarrassing to spread around, this move is a necessary one.

The Border Faction formally made concessions to the Sovereignty Faction.

But the consequences were far from simple.

After this affair is settled, someone from the higher-ups of the Jinling Branch will have to take the blame. But it isn't over yet, is it? Everyone is busy trying to shift the blame onto someone else.

Even if all the crows in the world are black, there's always one crow that's blacker than the rest.

If this had been before, Ai Qing might have sneered and said something sharp and bitter. But now, she actually thought it wasn't so bad.

At least the unlucky bastard still had a chance to be pulled out of there.

"You've changed a lot," Chai Fei suddenly said, as if she had discovered something, her eyebrows happily raised. "Are you in love?"

Ai Qing furrowed her brows, looking at her with a puzzled expression as if she were staring at an idiot.

"Are your oxytocin levels a little too high?"

"Wow, no need to be so brutal with your words," Chai Fei shrugged helplessly. "Okay, fine, I get that you're not that kind of person, but have you really not considered it?"

Ai Qing was indifferent.

"Forget it, let's pretend I didn't say anything."

Chai Fei picked up her empty cola cup, the straw making GURGLE, GURGLE noises. "I even went out of my way to take a peek at your officer's file; I have to say, he's a good man. Just thinking about that good-looking young man, now being subjected to unspeakable acts by the bad guys, it makes my heart itch with... COUGH, COUGH, extreme pain."

A stream of blood quietly trickled down that silly smiling face.

Ai Qing closed her eyes, no longer wanting to see her act so foolishly.

「. . .」

In Chai Fei's imagination, at this moment, that skinny young man should be hanging weakly, with a grotesque, ugly man cackling as he swung his whip, leaving a trail of heartbreaking bloodstains on his fair skin...

Amidst an increasing number of mosaics, the youth screams helplessly, his expression wretched, with white roses growing even in the background.

In reality, there were no roses, no mosaics, no screams, and no desolation.

Though Huai Shi was indeed being whipped.

"Speak!"

The burly man wielding the whip spoke coldly, "What, are you mute?"

Amidst the space-breaking shriek, the steel-wire-laced whip slashed down, tearing his clothes, flesh curling away. Huai Shi convulsed in agony, finally raising his head to reveal a mocking smile at the man.

"Can you hit any harder?" he finally spoke. "Or is it that Green Day can't even afford to feed you properly?"

The burly man's face twisted suddenly, then with a vicious smile, he said, "Alright, boy, you're forcing my hand... It's a pity for that face of yours."

His muscles bulged once more, raising the whip again and slashing it down fiercely, leaving a bone-deep wound across Huai Shi's chest.

Huai Shi whistled but said nothing.

He just quietly watched the blood that sprayed up as it landed on the ground and silently splashed, generating a layer of fuzz too fine for the naked eye to see.

It was much like a dandelion.

Countless spores took to the air, carried by a breeze as broad as the sea, dispersing in all directions.

The whipping continued.

Until the old man sitting in the corner of the basement spoke up.

"Keep it down," Uncle Bian said, holding his teacup and watching the screen on the wall. "The other executions are about to begin."

On the flickering screen, dim images suddenly lit up.

A flurry of bullet comments streamed by.

"Is it for real?"

"Astronomical Club Officer?"

"That's so tragic..."

"Here's a rocket for ya, lil bro. Light up the place; can't see a thing. What's the point of streaming?"

In the abyss of the Darknet, numerous viewers gathered gleefully around their screens, eagerly anticipating the unfolding tragedy, spewing their merciless spite in the comments.

Among the many brutal live streams, a significant number of viewers were drawn here, with more and more accounts logging in and heading straight to this feed.

One could vaguely hear a thunderous noise from off-screen, as if a fierce battle were taking place.

In the center of the screen, a bound officer was kneeling on the ground, already tortured beyond human recognition. He was then violently yanked up by the hair, forced to face the screen.

In the final moments, his lips parted as if he wanted to say something.

"This is the second one."

A detached voice rose from the side, followed by a handgun pressed against the man's head.

BANG!

Brain matter splattered.

Even though rescue was moments away, it was still a step too late.

Green Day retaliated against the silent Astronomical Society with the crudest methods.

「. . .」

"Yuck, that's disgusting..."

In the action command center of the Jinling Social Security Bureau, Yao Queer shifted back in disgust, turned off the live stream, and shouted to the young man in charge of the operation, "Older Cousin, we were a step too late; one's dead."

"Then there's no need to capture any prisoners alive," said the man known as Older Cousin. After speaking into the walkie-talkie and putting an end to the standoff, he ordered, "Speed up the search by Long Bo Wei's men. It's rare for the Astronomical Society to give ground, so let's make an effort to handle this neatly."

On the screen, those Giants racing through the border layers and sprinting across the city responded to the call. Then, a somewhat youthful face squeezed into view, seemingly carrying a Long Spear and running through the streets, curiously asking into his phone, "Older Cousin, are we really going to save the guy who confessed to Cousin?"

Older Cousin sighed helplessly. "They said it was a misunderstanding; could you all stop making a fuss about it? I haven't even said anything yet as her brother."

"But just looking at him pisses me off!" the young man said with widened eyes, clearly upset, "How can someone so weak have the guts to confess to Cousin?"

"Yuan Zhao, even if he confessed to Xiao Bai, it's irrelevant to our mission," said Older Cousin, his expression turning serious. "It's already an exception to allow you to be involved in this operation. Follow the team leader's instructions in every action. Understand? Do not take matters into your own hands."

"Understood."

Yuan Zhao responded listlessly, cutting off the communication and pouting. He looked ahead at the team leader, who shrugged in resignation. After a moment of silence, Yuan Zhao's eyes lit up, and he moved closer as if ready to suggest something, only to be firmly interrupted by the experienced woman leading the team.

"Remember, no funny business, got it?"

"Fine..."

Yuan Zhao drooped his head dejectedly, though his eyes whirled with cunning. A brilliant idea was taking shape in his mind.

「. . .」

"I have an idea."

In the basement, Uncle Bian looked at the bloodied Huai Shi and proposed, "Actually, you don't need to suffer, and I don't have to go through all this trouble... Green Day is also human. Although we're both Border Faction races that you look down on, we're made of flesh and were born with the same morals as you. Given the choice, who would want to do something so cruel? So, you help me with one thing, answer my questions, and I promise to send you away safe and sound. How about that?"

The burly man stepped back, panting and wiping sweat from his brow.

Meanwhile, Huai Shi, nailed to the wall, hung his head weakly, bloodied, without a word.

No matter how you looked at it, he was a mere prisoner at another's mercy.

Yet for some reason, Uncle Bian's unease only grew stronger.

It was an inexplicable intuition, an inherent warning of danger—since this man had arrived at their hideout, his unease had only intensified, becoming more and more fearful.

Even having lived through so much, he was aware that this time he was likely facing death, but he couldn't pinpoint the source of this odd feeling.

This young Little Brag? This fragile-looking White-named face who would only be mocked if he were in the Border? Why did he feel increasingly uneasy?

Although as an accomplished architect who didn't believe in the logic of whims, at that moment, he found... if there were an elephant in the room, he couldn't ignore it no matter what.

But why did this young man give him an increasingly intense sense of threat?

No matter how he was whipped and tortured, this feeling of threat did not diminish but even grew stronger!

"Did I overlook something?"

Uncle Bian slowly stood up and approached Huai Shi, looking down at him. "Tell me, what have I forgotten?"

"Hmm, let me think..." Huai Shi pondered deliberately for a while, then looking up, he suggested, "Do you think it could be your conscience?"

SLAP!

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