I wanted to shout his name.

But I couldn’t.

—I’ve undergone a lot of special training, including dream awareness training.

I can no longer call out his name in my dreams.

All I could do was watch everything replay.

And he would act just as it was recorded in the case files.

He knocked me unconscious and stuffed me into the trash can.

Then he turned around and lured the pursuers away.

In the end, he ran into a dead end and was stabbed in the chest.

---

When I woke up, it was already evening.

I opened my eyes, drenched in cold sweat, and saw someone sitting by my bed.

It was Wen Yingjue.

I didn’t expect him to come and take care of me.

He was surprisingly good at it.

Meticulous and thoughtful.

But the feeling was strange.

It was like a last meal before facing the executioner.

We spent almost a week in this eerie atmosphere.

Until the day I fully recovered.

He suddenly said he had a gift for me.

It was a small wooden protection charm.

As he hung the charm around my neck, he gave my shoulder a squeeze.

He said I was too weak and always getting sick.

I thought to myself, what’s sickness? Surviving in a place like this is already an achievement.

We stood in front of the mirror, looking at our reflections side by side.

He asked if I liked the gift.

I said, as long as it’s from him, I liked it.

He smiled and complimented me on my sweet words.

Then he looked me in the eyes and said seriously:

“Take a good look.

“I got it especially for you.

“I hope you stay safe and sound from now on.”

---

As soon as Wen Yingjue left, I received two messages.

One good news, one bad.

The good news was that a deep-cover informant had found key evidence and was trying to send it out.

The bad news was that Wen Qingshan had escaped.

His exact whereabouts were unknown, but it was likely he was still in the country.

Although he wanted to flee abroad.

According to the original plan, once the key evidence was received, Wen Qingshan would be arrested.

Given the current situation, the plan had to be adjusted. The priority now was to secure the evidence and figure out the next steps.

But although Wen Qingshan had fled, he left behind his loyal subordinates.

It wouldn’t be easy for the informant to get the evidence to the police.

To send a message outside, a relatively free identity was needed.

Not long after, I received a new mission—

To meet with the informant and send out the key evidence.

To ensure the safety of the evidence, only my identity was disclosed for the mission.

The informant’s identity was highly confidential.

In other words, even if the Wen family intercepted the mission details, the evidence wouldn’t fall into their hands.

Only I, personally, would trigger the informant’s appearance.

The agreed date was fast approaching.

I silently counted the days.

And just one day before the scheduled meeting—

Everything changed.

Wen Qingshan had secretly returned.

---

After a forced body search and a drug injection, I was taken to Wen Qingshan’s secret hideout.

There, I met a familiar face.

“Surprised, Officer Bian?

“Oh no, you’re not Bian Ci. You’re a fake.”

At this point, my hands were bound, and five guns were pointed at my head as I knelt on the ground.

Wen Qingshan sat in the main chair, smiling as he looked at me.

And the woman beside him—

Was my superior, Jin Mo.

“What’s his name again?”

Wen Qingshan smiled and put his arm around Jin Mo.

The woman leaned close and whispered in his ear.

“Oh, right, I remember.

“Xie Shi. Officer Xie.

“So young and promising, Officer Xie.”

Without a doubt, my identity and mission had been completely exposed.

There was no good outcome waiting for me.

So there was no need to pretend anymore.

I spoke rudely to Wen Qingshan, even cursing his ancestors.

Wen Qingshan wasn’t angry.

He motioned for his men to lower the guns pointed at my head and said:

“I should never have let you leave my side in the first place.

“Now look at you, running wild with those two brothers for so long.

“Your manners have gone downhill.”

After speaking, he glanced at the two Wen brothers sitting on either side.

Wen Yingjue sat to Wen Qingshan’s left, still with a cold expression.

And on the other side, Wen Ye, even with a cast on his leg, couldn’t hide the excitement on his face as he watched the show.

I ignored Wen Qingshan and turned to ask Jin Mo why.

The woman gave me a sidelong glance and told me irritably that she was always working for Wen Qingshan.

My face must have looked terrible.

Because Wen Qingshan, who had been watching me closely, laughed even harder.

“Ms. Jin is a smart woman. She knows that following me will take her further.

“Officer Xie, I admire you.

“If you’re willing to follow me, I won’t hold the past against you.”

Wen Qingshan was trying to turn me.

But all he got was more of my curses.

His men wanted to shut me up, but he raised his hand to stop them.

He let me continue cursing for a full ten minutes.

Then he pulled out his phone and showed me a video.

In the video was a middle-aged policeman, walking calmly down the street.

“Do you know him?

“Do you know how many ways I have to make him disappear?

“Do you want to see for yourself, Officer Xie?”

Wen Qingshan finally saw the expression he wanted on my face.

He laughed wildly and arrogantly.

He knew he was about to win.

Because the man in the video was my only living relative.

That man was my uncle.

---

Wen Qingshan ordered me to continue with my mission to meet the informant.

He intended to use me as bait to catch the informant.

According to the information Jin Mo had stolen from the police, the informant’s identity was highly classified, and even she couldn’t access it.

But this informant had been deeply embedded in Wen Qingshan’s inner circle for a long time.

An informant who had infiltrated so deeply could even obtain the key evidence.

Wen Qingshan was seething with hatred.

This time, he vowed to capture the informant himself.

---

The address the informant left was at an abandoned warehouse.

Wen Qingshan had already sent people to scout it out.

An hour before the appointed time, Wen Qingshan arrived with his men near the warehouse.

The sun had long since set, and the forest around the warehouse was pitch black and eerie.

Wen Qingshan’s convoy lay hidden within the woods.