Chapter 25

Seeing Luo Yu asleep, Song Lingyuan stood up and cautiously looked around the warm little cabin again, typical of a deep winter night.

There was nothing unusual—this cabin was just like any other.

Song Lingyuan walked back to the bed and knelt down.

…He had absolutely no desire to share a bed with Luo Yu. Doing so felt disrespectful!

But the bed was the only resting place here!

Convincing himself of his lack of choice, Song Lingyuan leaned against the headboard and turned his head to look at the little live-streamer, who was already in a deep sleep beside him.

Luo Yu’s sleeping posture was just like on his streams—resembling a lazy yet elegant white cat, lying motionless on his side, even breathing softly.

He slept so soundly and peacefully that it made one hesitant to speak loudly, fearing to disrupt his dreams.

Just one look, and Song Lingyuan couldn’t help but feel tempted to lie down as well, wondering just how wonderful sleep must be.

He had never watched those live streams that brought Luo Yu such fame, and initially, he couldn’t understand how Luo Yu had skyrocketed from an unknown streamer to global stardom in such a short time.

But now, sitting beside him, watching Luo Yu sleep in person, it all made sense.

Outside, a cold night scattered with snowflakes loomed. The distant world was restless and unstable, yet just looking at Luo Yu brought a sense of peace.

Song Lingyuan watched him for a while.

Suddenly, he heard the “crack” of a snowflake sliding down the window sill.

Only then did he realize how lost in thought he’d been!

Frowning, he shifted his focus back to his work.

---

[President, Bodyguard Team 1 was blocked by the military! The other side refused negotiation and started attacking immediately. Ten of our people were lightly injured, three severely. They’ve returned for medical treatment!]

[President, Bodyguard Teams 2 and 3 were ambushed by the military. All members were injured, many seriously, and have been sent back for medical care!]

Soon, several urgent messages blew up Song Lingyuan’s phone.

Bodyguard Team 1 was assigned to capture Dr. Duan Dong, his estranged uncle.

Teams 2 and 3 were the two escort cars that had left with Song Lingyuan from the Federation.

Song Lingyuan had anticipated heavy losses this time, and after taking a deep breath, he made several quick, quiet phone calls to arrange medical treatment for all injured personnel.

At the same time, he raised the Federation’s security level to the highest alert.

Duan Yixun had likely been laying out this scheme for a long time, and quite a few people within the Federation might be his pawns.

Song Lingyuan thought grimly as he issued orders.

But he wasn’t unprepared!

Over the years, he had recruited trusted allies into the Federation—people with extraordinary abilities and skills.

Song Lingyuan opened his phone and pulled up his chat with Vice President Qi Yuan, typing a few lines.

[Prioritize sleep pill research to the highest level.]

[If you can’t reach me tomorrow, you’ll temporarily take over as President of the Federation.]

On the other end, Qi Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately sent a flurry of messages, offering to send a protection detail.

Song Lingyuan replied: [Unnecessary.]

Sending bodyguards from the Federation against the District A military would be pointless and a waste of lives. The priority was to protect the Federation headquarters.

His life was insignificant as long as the Federation didn’t fall into Duan Yixun’s hands.

Otherwise, he dared not imagine what chaos that madman might unleash!

Exiting his chat with Qi Yuan, Song Lingyuan saw that Li Rui was still reporting on the anti-sleep drug testing from different locations.

[President, 2,000 samples from City A have been tested so far, with no anomalies found.]

Song Lingyuan: [Continue.]

Li Rui: [5,000 samples tested in City A; no anomalies so far.]

Song Lingyuan: [Continue.]

Time ticked by, and soon an hour had passed.

Li Rui: [Abnormality found in City A, sample #13,769!!!]

Song Lingyuan’s heart sank.

[Is the anomaly identical to Dr. Zheng’s sample?]

Li Rui: [Yes! Ingestion would be fatal!!]

Song Lingyuan exhaled slowly.

[Continue testing.]

[Investigate everyone involved with this drug sample: the production worker, driver, sleep clinic liaison, and all locations along its route. Focus especially on the hospital regions.]

[Do not distribute any remaining drugs in this batch in City A. Release new drugs from the pharmacy storage to distribution points, with the entire transport and distribution process supervised by Federation personnel.]

As Song Lingyuan’s instructions continued to arrive, Li Rui swiftly relayed them to the respective departments.

Meanwhile, the technicians in the hospital’s testing lab were paralyzed with fear.

How could such a deadly drug have made it into the anti-sleep pills distributed to the public daily? How had it slipped through?

And how long had this been going on?

This thought spun in their minds, and after Song Lingyuan issued the command to “continue testing,” everyone, feeling uneasy, sped up their work.

---

In the snowy little cabin.

Song Lingyuan put down his phone, and a rustling sound came from beside him.

The little streamer was awake.

Luo Yu groggily opened his eyes and looked at Song Lingyuan in a daze, then closed them again, turning over to bury his head in the fluffy blanket.

“Stop sleeping,” Song Lingyuan’s voice sounded behind him. “Tell me the location of the leader of the Hypnos League. I need to find him.”

“Huh? You’re planning to hide with the Hypnos League?” Luo Yu mumbled, repeating himself, “This is the solution you came up with after thinking for hours?”

Half-awake, he rubbed his head, turned back, and said, “I’m not going to betray my organization for favors.”

Song Lingyuan let out a cold laugh. “Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of immortal? Why would an immortal join a human organization?”

“…”

Luo Yu finally woke up a bit, sitting up with a look of disbelief. “Hey, do you not realize that You are the person the Organization hates the most? Even if I tell you their location, you wouldn’t even make it onto their territory. Believe me, the moment you’re a hundred meters away, they’d swarm out and beat up their enemy—you!”

Song Lingyuan raised an eyebrow. “Worried I’ll get hurt?”

“Worried? Ha! I’m worried they’d mistake me for your accomplice and accidentally hit me too!” Luo Yu replied in exasperation.

Song Lingyuan got off the bed, one foot on the floor and his knee resting on the edge of the bed, supporting his upper body as he looked intently at Luo Yu. “Do you know why I’ve never wiped out the Hypnos League?”

Luo Yu scratched the back of his head. “Because you can’t find them?”

“Luo Yu, you’re underestimating the Federation’s intelligence network,” Song Lingyuan said with a faint smirk. “If I really wanted to, I could easily locate all of the Hypnos League bases. I only asked you because I wanted to find their leader quickly.”

Luo Yu was a bit surprised. “Then why haven’t you taken them out?”

Song Lingyuan, seeing Luo Yu’s confused expression, realized he wouldn’t let it go without an explanation, so he reluctantly said, “Two years ago, rumors started in City A that people were dying from allergies from the anti-sleep medication.”

“At that time, the Federation concluded there were two possible reasons for these rumors.”

“One was that it was complete nonsense. If that were the case, taking out the Hypnos League wouldn’t fix the problem. We’d need irrefutable scientific proof to debunk it.”

“So, I contacted the A Medical School to create an allergy reagent. Once the reagent went to market, those rumors would naturally lose credibility.”

“The other possibility was that someone tampered with the anti-sleep medication. But despite daily inspections in the pharmacy storage, we never found any issues with the medicine. What’s more, no hospital around the world ever reported an adverse reaction from anti-sleep medication.”

Song Lingyuan’s face was darker than the night outside the window.

“Looking back, I was wrong—I was too careless.”

“The lack of reported cases didn’t mean there were no cases; it just meant that the locations where cases occurred are hiding the truth.”

“I thought it was impossible for the whole world to remain silent. I didn’t realize that the dangerous drugs weren’t spread globally…”

“The medicine in storage was fine, but it went wrong when distributed. The problem lies in the distribution points.”

“All the issues are concentrated at the City A sleep clinic.”

Song Lingyuan’s tone grew heavier as he continued.

“Duan Yixun would want to keep this under wraps. He likely kept the percentage of dangerous drugs very low, making them hard to detect even in random tests. Finding a problematic sample among ten thousand today was probably just sheer luck.”

“But even at such a low rate, with City A’s population of ten million, if even one in a million pills is deadly, dozens of people could suffer every day.”

Though Luo Yu had anticipated foul play, the reality of it still made him gasp.

Song Lingyuan continued, “The only bit of good news is that these dangerous drugs probably only exist in City A.”

Although Luo Yu had originally suggested this theory, he didn’t fully understand why. “Why City A? Is it because it’s the capital? Is it part of some political power struggle?”

Song Lingyuan remained silent.

Luo Yu punched the mattress in frustration. “What on earth is that crazy big brother of yours planning?”

Song Lingyuan seemed like he was finally about to respond, but in the end, he held back. “We’ll talk on the way. Now tell me the Hypnos League’s base location.”

“I need to form an alliance with them.”

Luo Yu hesitated for a long moment, then pursed his lips. “I’ll have to ask the leader if he’ll allow you in.”

Song Lingyuan folded his arms and stared at him. “Fine, go ask. If he refuses, I’ll search each base one by one until I find him.”

Luo Yu: …

He pulled his phone from the bedside table, jumped off the bed, and said, “Song Lingyuan, if you want access to the base, you need to guarantee that none of the sleeping members of the Hypnos League will be punished! And that once the Federation resolves this crisis, they won’t harm them!”

“Punish?” Song Lingyuan looked at him in confusion. “Do you think the Federation has nothing better to do?”

Luo Yu stammered, “I… I heard… people who refuse to take anti-sleep medication and get reported are subjected to inhumane torture!”

“Stop reading unreliable news,” Song Lingyuan said as he headed toward the door. “If you’re curious, just ask me directly.”

Luo Yu quickly followed. “Oh, so what actually happens to them if they’re reported?”

Song Lingyuan replied, “They receive a verbal warning, sign a pledge, and pay a fine of ten thousand, which goes to fund the anti-sleep medication project.”

Luo Yu: …

Taking their money was just as bad as torture!

Song Lingyuan’s voice dropped, sounding heavy:

“This time, it was my mistake. Once this is over, I’ll apologize to everyone and compensate those who lost loved ones because of this.”

With that, Song Lingyuan pushed open the door and slowly walked out of the warm cabin.

In front of them lay the dark summer forest, overgrown with bushes.

Luo Yu stepped outside and retracted the “Snowy Day – Perfect for a Good Nap” background that had about half an hour left. The dusty metal cabin appeared once more.

Song Lingyuan locked the door, and together they headed down the mountain. When they reached the parking area, he didn’t get into the car. Instead, he approached the ticket counter, retrieved another set of keys, and walked to the far end of the lot, to a car that had been left gathering dust.

It looked exactly like the one they’d arrived in.

“Get in.”

Finally in the passenger seat, Luo Yu took the chance to check his phone. He had dozens of missed calls and messages from Wen Li!

Without reading them, he dialed Wen Li’s number right away.

“Put it on speaker.” Song Lingyuan glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

Acting high and mighty when asking for help… Luo Yu pursed his lips and pressed the speaker button.

The call was picked up on the first ring, and Wen Li’s anxious voice came through: “Xiao Luo, are you alright? Where are you now?”

“I…” Luo Yu met Song Lingyuan’s gaze in the rearview mirror, organizing his thoughts. “I’m with the president of the Federation, Song Lingyuan!”

“Song Lingyuan?!” Wen Li’s voice instantly tightened. “You’re at the Federation headquarters? I knew it was them… Xiao Luo, don’t worry, I’ll come to rescue you. It’s my fault for not protecting you.”

Song Lingyuan, focused on the road ahead, gave a cold laugh.

Luo Yu shot him a glare, then pressed his fingers to his forehead and said, “I’m okay for now, senior, you don’t have to worry!”

“The situation is a bit complicated. Anyway, Song Lingyuan actually seems like a decent person. The real mastermind behind the anti-sleep drug scandal is trying to kill him, and he wants to discuss a collaboration with you… Senior, are you following?”

Luo Yu realized that explaining everything in a few sentences was impossible!

There was a pause on the other end, as Wen Li seemed to struggle to grasp the situation. After a long silence, he sighed:

“Xiao Luo, how can you trust him? You don’t know the lengths the Federation goes to. This could all be a trap. He could be using you as bait to capture us all in one go.”

Song Lingyuan frowned, looking annoyed, and motioned for the phone.

With a sigh, Luo Yu handed it over.

“This is Song Lingyuan.”

Holding the steering wheel with one hand, his deep blue eyes were calm yet commanding. His voice carried a powerful presence.

“Don’t overestimate your worth. I don’t need to set a trap for you—I already know all the Hypnos League’s locations, including the new one established last week.”

As he spoke, he even recited an address.

The other end of the line fell into a long silence.

“I called to find out which location I can reach you faster at. The situation is urgent and concerns both of us.”

It was several minutes before the other person finally replied.

“Song Lingyuan! Out of respect for Xiao Luo, we’ll allow you to come and speak, but there’s no guarantee the others won’t want to tear you apart.”

Song Lingyuan placed the phone on the armrest, unbuttoned his black cuffs, and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his toned forearm.

“They’re welcome to try.”

Luo Yu propped his elbow on his knee, resting his head in his hand, and watched as Song Lingyuan moved, his thoughts drifting.

His forearm muscles were pretty firm.

Wen Li’s voice came through the phone, sounding like he was gritting his teeth:

“Fine, Xiao Luo knows where I am. He can bring you here.”

“But I have two conditions.”

“First, you must return Xiao Luo unharmed. Second, you must come alone, without anyone else.”

Song Lingyuan scoffed and decisively hung up.

Luo Yu carefully retrieved his phone from the armrest. “You really know all the Hypnos League’s locations? I thought you hadn’t investigated yet?”

Song Lingyuan shook his head. “I only know that last one.”

Luo Yu: …

He knew it!

Then Song Lingyuan suddenly asked, “What’s your relationship with him?”

“Him?” Luo Yu scratched his head in confusion. “Wen Li? He’s my senior!”

“Just your senior?”

Driving with an air of indifference, Song Lingyuan remarked, “He seems pretty invested in you.”

“What’s strange about that?” Luo Yu chuckled and shrugged, unconcerned. “It’s not just him. I’ve got millions of fans online who care about me too! If you hadn’t banned my account, I’d probably just be finishing a stream right now, chatting with my fans!”

Song Lingyuan: …

He coughed lightly. “Just start the navigation.”

Luo Yu activated the voice navigation to the “Hynos League base” and absentmindedly opened his trending platform, thinking of his canceled stream from last night.

Would his fans be worried?

There it was, trending at number ten!

Luo Yu’s heart skipped a beat, and he clicked on it with a sense of shame.

#SleepingStreamerDisappears

Sure enough, his fans had been spamming the hashtag all night, and even though it was already 4 a.m., plenty of people were still waiting for him!

【Why didn’t the streamer go live tonight?】

【Did he start a new streaming channel? Am I the only one who missed it?】

【I’ve been scrolling through new streamers all night on Xingyao and still couldn’t find him.】

【Did something happen to him?】

【Don’t say that, I missed out on getting a bed last night, and I was hoping to buy one today, waaah.】

Luo Yu didn’t want to disappoint his fans. He struggled with the thought of posting a message to tell everyone not to wait, but he was worried about accidentally revealing his location.

In the end, he didn’t send it.

He couldn’t post it publicly, but it should be fine to let his sponsor know!

Luo Yu opened his chat with S and quickly sent a few messages:

[S Brother, you don’t need to wait for my stream anymore! Something came up suddenly, so I probably won’t be streaming these next few days!]

[Little cat crying with tears.jpg]

[Once I’m back, I’ll send you the link right away!]

At the same moment, Song Lingyuan’s phone, lying flat on the dashboard, suddenly vibrated.

“Beep—beep—beep—”

Three consecutive notifications.