Time was slowly ticking down.

With only half an hour left, I was taken out of the car.

Wen Qingshan signaled his men to unlock my handcuffs and foot shackles.

Then, placing his arm around my shoulders in a seemingly intimate manner, he whispered into my ear:

“Just a reminder, Officer Xie.

“Don’t try anything clever.

“Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to turn you into fireworks halfway through.”

He waved a remote in front of me, warning of the consequences of disobedience.

Wen Qingshan had strapped a bomb and a listening device to me.

He would be monitoring my every move, and if I disobeyed, he only had to press a button, and I would be blown to pieces.

Cold sweat formed in my palms as I clenched my jaw.

Once Wen Qingshan finished speaking, silence enveloped us once again.

In the stillness of the dark, the only sounds were the rustling of the wind through the trees and the occasional noise of his men moving nearby.

I silently began counting the minutes.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes.

…

Ten minutes passed.

Now, there were just twenty minutes left before the agreed-upon time.

I lifted my gaze toward the distant warehouse.

A light hung from the door, flickering on and off, the only source of illumination in the darkness.

Wen Qingshan raised a finger, pointing to the warehouse, silently signaling for me to head inside.

I nodded and obediently began to walk forward.

The overgrown dirt path was uneven and hard to walk on, and it was too dark to see clearly.

I stumbled with each step.

Three steps in, I slipped.

Not long after, I let out a cry of “Ow!” as I lost my balance and fell to the ground.

Immediately, Wen Qingshan and his men focused their attention on me.

And in that split second, everything changed dramatically—

“Don’t move!

“Police!”

Someone grabbed Wen Qingshan from behind, locking his neck in a chokehold, with a gun pressed against his temple.

In an instant, Wen Qingshan was surrounded by three armed officers.

To the left was Jin Mo, and to the right, an undercover male officer.

And the person who had grabbed him from behind—

Was Wen Yingjue.

---

The dark forest was suddenly lit up by flashing red and blue police lights from all directions, turning night into day.

Wen Qingshan and his entire criminal gang were finally captured.

Wen Qingshan never saw it coming.

The so-called rendezvous with an informant was actually a trap designed to lure him out—

When Wen Ye was initially injured, I had a hand in it.

The goal was to create an opportunity for the informant.

While the Wen family’s attention was on Wen Ye, the informant could discreetly send out the crucial evidence.

The next step was the arrest operation.

But Wen Qingshan sensed something was off from Wen Ye’s injury, so he escaped early.

At that time, my identity was on the verge of being exposed.

Wen Qingshan had already instructed his close men to tighten surveillance on me.

After weighing all the options, the plan was adjusted.

We performed an elaborate act right under Wen Qingshan’s nose.

The good and bad news I received, and the mission plan, were all deliberately leaked to Wen Qingshan’s men.

But that was all part of the plan.

Even Jin Mo’s supposed betrayal was staged.

It was all to mislead Wen Qingshan, making him think he had control over everything.

In reality, the real mission details were hidden inside the wooden peace charm that Wen Yingjue gave me.

With Wen’s close surveillance, my superior couldn’t pass the real information directly to me.

They had to do it through someone else.

Honestly, I had suspected Wen Yingjue’s true identity before.

But when he quickly traced the symbol of communication between me and my superior on my shoulder, I was truly shocked.

And what I never expected—

Was that the highly classified informant who had been embedded with Wen Qingshan for so long and managed to obtain the key evidence was not one person, but two.

One was the now-deceased Jiang Ying.

The other was Wen Yingjue.

But “Wen Yingjue” was just his identity within the Wen family.

His real name was Bian Ci.

---

Side Story: Bian Ci

Bian Ci infiltrated the Wen family under the identity of Wen Qingshan’s eldest son, Wen Yingjue.

This was all orchestrated by the seasoned informant Jiang Ying.

Jiang Ying had been an informant since the days of Jiang Laoda.

He was meticulous, crafting plans that were intricate and interconnected.

The supposed abduction of Bian Ci by the Jiang family was also staged by Jiang Ying.

It was to help Bian Ci escape right under Wen Qingshan’s nose.

Only then could they buy enough time to prepare Bian Ci for his new identity.

But living in the underworld for so long, it’s hard not to do things you’d rather not.

Bian Ci had barely settled into his new identity as Wen Yingjue when Wen Qingshan captured a police undercover officer.

He tortured the young officer to the brink of death.

Then, Wen Qingshan handed the gun to Jiang Ying.

He ordered Jiang Ying to finish the officer off with one final shot.

At the time, Bian Ci was by Wen Qingshan’s side.

He saw Jiang Ying take the gun with a cigarette in his mouth, smiling, and saying:

“Thanks for trusting me, boss.”

Jiang Ying’s hand was steady, and with one shot, blood splattered everywhere.

After that, Bian Ci suffered from insomnia for half a month.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the face of that young officer.

Jiang Ying quickly reminded him to adjust his mindset.

The gray-haired veteran stood shoulder to shoulder with him on a grassy hillside.

In the distance, the setting sun was blood-red, the light stinging their eyes.

“Everyone who walks this path knows what the worst outcome looks like.

“Don’t forget your identity.

“And if one day you have to shoot me,

“Don’t let your hands tremble.”

---

Side Story: Bian Ci

Bian Ci thought assuming the identity of Wen Yingjue was already crazy enough.

But then another one appeared.

A new undercover agent infiltrated the group.

And this one was using Bian Ci’s old face.

However, Wen Qingshan became suspicious of this new “Bian Ci.”

So, he arranged for a brutal interrogation.

During the torture, Bian Ci was nervous.

He feared that his fellow undercover officer might slip up.

And he was also afraid that he would reveal something himself.

After all, both of them were imposters.

When Wen Qingshan instructed him to ask the final question, Bian Ci’s heart was in his throat.