The SSSSSSSS-level Mad Dragon is released from prison!

The office of the Haicheng Police Chief was filled with smoke.

Wei Zheng sat behind a large desk, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers.

There was an official document with an official letterhead in front of him.

Xiao Ruoye pushed open the door and brought in a gust of damp, cold night wind.

She hadn't changed out of her evening gown yet; it was half-soaked by the rain and clung to her body, outlining her breathtaking curves.

"Director Wei, you wanted to see me?"

Xiao Ruoye walked to the table, her voice a little hoarse.

Wei Zheng didn't look up, but pointed to the documents on the table.

"Sign it."

Xiao Ruoye glanced down at it.

Notification Regarding Comrade Xiao Ruoye's Suspension from Duty for Self-Reflection and Early Retirement Due to Illness.

"On what grounds?"

Xiao Ruoye slammed her hands on the table.

"The Ye family massacre case hasn't been solved yet, and Guo Tianhao's blatant murders at Tianlong Pavilion haven't been caught either. Now you want me to retire?"

"I'm only twenty-four years old this year."

Wei Zheng sighed and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"It's precisely because you're only twenty-four that I want to save your life."

He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to Xiao Ruoye.

"Tonight at Tianlong Pavilion, you publicly threw wine at Guo Tianhao, disrespecting the Guo family."

"That old madman Guo Zhenxiong has already declared that anyone who protects you is going against the Haicheng Martial Arts Association."

"The police station doesn't belong to me alone; I have to consider the hundreds of brothers in charge."

Wei Zheng's voice was filled with deep weariness.

Xiao Ruoye bit her lip, tasting a hint of rusty, bloody flavor.

"So, I've become a pawn?"

Wei Zheng turned around, took an envelope from the drawer, and placed it on the document.

"This is the compensation the bureau is giving you. Take the money, leave Haicheng, and go to Beijing or abroad to lay low for a while."

"As long as you stay in Haicheng, the Guo family will not let you go."

"Sign it."

Xiao Ruoye looked at the thick envelope and felt it was incredibly irritating.

She grabbed the envelope and tore it to shreds.

Red banknotes were scattered all over the ground like snowflakes.

"I find this money dirty."

She took off her police badge and unfastened her sidearm from her waist, then slammed them onto the desk.

"So what if I quit?"

"I'm not putting up with this anymore!"

Xiao Ruoye turned and left.

"Wakaba!"

Wei Zheng called out.

Xiao Ruoye didn't stop, she pulled open the door and rushed into the rain.

Wei Zheng looked at the empty doorway, then at the police badge on the table, sighed heavily, and slumped into a chair.

……

In the dead of night, a torrential rain began to fall in Haicheng.

The cold rain washed over the streets and also over Xiao Ruoye's thin body.

She was soaked to the bone, her black evening gown clinging to her body, chilling her to the bone.

But what was even colder was the inside of her body.

The sharp, metal-like energy that Jiang Chen had suppressed surged within him once more due to the intense emotional fluctuations and the invasion of the cold air from the outside.

This time, it came more fiercely than ever before.

"Well……"

Xiao Ruoye clutched her chest, staggered back to a phone booth by the roadside, and slid down to the ground against the glass.

pain.

Excruciating pain.

Every meridian and every bone in the body feels like it's being cut and scraped by countless tiny blades.

That was her inner strength, the power she was so proud of, but now it had turned into a vengeful ghost seeking death.

Her hands and feet began to lose sensation and became stiff as iron.

Vision began to blur, and the glow of the streetlights stretched and twisted into bizarre shapes in the rain.

"He won't live past three years..."

Jiang Chen's words echoed in her mind like a curse.

How long has it been?

Three hours?

Is she going to die on this dirty, rainy night?

Not reconciled.

She hasn't caught the murderer yet, and she hasn't sent that beast Guo Tianhao to prison.

Xiao Ruoye's hands trembled as she pulled her phone out of her handbag.

The screen was covered in rainwater, making the touchscreen unresponsive.

She struggled to open her contacts.

Father?

No, telling the family at this time would only bring shame upon the Xiao family of the capital.

Director Wei?

He has given up on himself.

My finger slid aimlessly across the screen, eventually stopping at a note.

[Extremely dangerous].

This is the number she saved for Jiang Chen.

Last time at the Hilton Hotel, she checked his file and left her contact information, intending to facilitate his arrest.

Unexpectedly, it has now become her only lifeline.

Xiao Ruoye bit her tongue, using the pain to keep herself as conscious as possible.

She pressed the call button.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

Okay, go ahead and accept it.

Answer it quickly.

Hilton Hotel, Presidential Suite.

Jiang Chen was sitting on the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a glass of red wine, looking at the rain scene outside the window.

Tangtang was lying on the carpet, counting the snakeskin bags full of cash. Her greedy little face was quite amusing.

The phone on the table vibrated.

Jiang Chen glanced at the screen.

Unknown number.

He picked up his phone, pressed the answer button, and didn't say anything.

I heard rapid breathing through the receiver, accompanied by the sound of pouring rain.

"Help...help me..."

The voice was very weak, with a sob and trembling, like the mournful cry of a wounded animal.

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow.

That voice sounds familiar.

"Captain Xiao?"

He swirled his wine glass, his tone indifferent.

"Why are you looking for me, a suspect, in the middle of the night instead of catching a thief?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a muffled groan of pain.

"I... am... at... the old telephone booth on... Jiefang Road..."

"Help me!"

"beep--"

The phone was disconnected.

Jiang Chen stared at the blacked-out screen and downed the glass of red wine in one gulp.

"Tangtang" (a type of sugar).

Tangtang, who was happily counting her money, looked up with a blank expression.

"Huh? Big brother, what's wrong?"

I need to go out for a bit.

Jiang Chen stood up and picked up his coat, which was draped over the back of the sofa.

"Stay in the hotel and don't go anywhere."

"oh."

Tangtang nodded obediently, then turned her attention back to the pile of money.

Jiang Chen walked to the window and opened it.

A strong wind swept in the rain.

He flashed and leaped from the top floor, disappearing into the vast night.

Jiefang Road, old telephone booth.

The rain was pouring down harder and harder, as if it were going to flood the city.

Xiao Ruoye huddled in the corner of the phone booth, her body convulsing uncontrollably.

Her lips had turned bluish-purple, and a thin layer of white frost had formed on her eyebrows and hair.

That's a sign that the body's metal energy is leaking out.

Her consciousness was fading, and everything was pitch black before her eyes, except for the sound of rain hitting the metal sheet that was particularly clear in her ears.

Am I going to die?

Just when she thought she would freeze to death on this rainy night.

A dark shadow blocked the wind and rain.

The noisy rain around us seemed to have subsided a bit.

A warm breath approached.

"Tsk."

"How miserable."

A familiar voice, tinged with a slightly irritating, teasing tone.

Xiao Ruoye opened her eyes with difficulty.

In the dim light of the streetlamp, she saw a handsome but indifferent face.

Jiang Chen stood in front of her, holding a black umbrella, looking down at her.

His clothes were clean and dry, not even a speck of mud on his shoes, a stark contrast to her disheveled appearance.

"Jiang...Chen..."

Xiao Ruoye opened her mouth, but no sound came out; she could only utter a few faint breaths.

Jiang Chen squatted down, extended two fingers, and placed them on her wrist.

Her pulse was so weak it was almost imperceptible, and the internal energy within her body was in complete disarray, frantically destroying her life force.

"I told you, you wouldn't live more than three years."

Jiang Chen withdrew his hand and looked into her eyes.

"Looks like I overestimated you."

"At this rate, you won't live past 3 a.m. tonight."

A tear slid down Xiao Ruoye's cheek, mingling with the rain, making it impossible to distinguish whether it was rain or a tear.

She doesn't want to die.

She still has so much to do.

She looked up at the man she had once considered a criminal, her eyes filled with pleading and despair.

"No...don't let me...die here..."

"Please...you..."