Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

Zhao Hongtu's gaze fell on a document on the corner of the table; it was an arrest warrant for Liu Zhen.

Liu Zhenqian's?

He tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

Liu Zhen did have a motive.

Sun Guangcheng was killed, Ma Gang was killed, and Tao Yongnian is the highest-ranking official still alive on this line.

But he quickly dismissed the possibility.

Liu Zhen is currently wanted by the police and doesn't even dare to show his face, so how could he possibly track down or kidnap a living person?

Even if they find him, how could an electrician make a living person disappear without a trace?

It couldn't be Liu Zhen.

He doesn't have that ability.

Zhao Hongtu took a deep breath, put the cigar in his mouth, but did not light it.

Whether it's business rivals or people from the past coming back for revenge, it shows that someone is targeting Longteng.

The fact that the other party was able to accurately locate Tao Yongnian and make him disappear shows that they came prepared.

Call the police?

Zhao Hongtu's lips curled into a cold smile.

He himself is not clean either.

Tao Yongnian knows too much. If he really runs away and reports it to the police, the police investigation might implicate him instead.

What if Tao Yongnian is kidnapped, and the kidnappers' target is Zhao Hongtu?

Calling the police will only alert the other party and cut off their trail.

Conclusion: Do not report for now.

Look it up yourself.

We'll decide how to handle it after we've found out the truth.

He pressed the intercom button, his voice as cold as ice: "Call Old Chen in."

A few minutes later, a middle-aged man in a gray suit walked in, looking respectful.

"Mr. Zhao."

"Investigate Tao Yongnian's whereabouts in the last few days, who he met, and what phone calls he made," Zhao Hongtu ordered. "Also, check on Liu Zhen's movements—although I think it's unlikely, we still need to investigate."

"Yes."

"Also," Zhao Hongtu paused, a ruthless glint in his eyes, "dig up the background of that resident who was evicted three years ago and that supplier from last year. Find them and get to the bottom of it. Regardless of whether they did it or not, keeping those two around is a potential threat."

The confidant asked, "And then what?"

Zhao Hongtu glanced at him but didn't say anything.

The confidant understood, nodded, and left.

Zhao Hongtu's meaning was clear: regardless of whether they were the ones who did it, since these people might come back for revenge, then let them never come back.

Better to be wrong than to miss something.

After finishing his internal affairs, Zhao Hongtu stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

He subtly adjusted his security: he increased the number of personal guards and changed some of his itinerary details.

However, he reserved the public event that was scheduled for a few days later—an event attended by provincial leaders, which he couldn't refuse.

Pushing it would only make you seem guilty.

He had someone pull up the security plan for the event, reviewed it, circled several weak points, and demanded that they be strengthened.

"You think you can make me disappear so easily?" Zhao Hongtu whispered to his reflection in the glass. "No matter who you are, if you dare to touch my people, you'll pay the price."

……

Zhaoming City, the capital of Lieyang Province.

A private teahouse that is not open to the public.

Zhong Lin sat in the main seat, toying with an exquisite white porcelain teacup in his hand.

Sitting opposite him was a man in his early fifties, with a calm demeanor and understated yet sophisticated attire, exuding the air of a great man.

On the surface, he is Wang Hongyuan's confidant, but in reality, he is a secret member of the Five Mountains Society, directly responsible to headquarters.

Code name: "Green Snake".

The two sat facing each other, and the tea had been brewed.

Without exchanging pleasantries, Chung Lin cut straight to the point.

"What's the Wang family up to lately?" Zhong Lin asked.

"Green Snake" bowed slightly: "Wang Hongyuan is ostensibly cleaning up the mess. His son is dead, his daughter is sick, but he cares more about his position. He's recently made several trips to the provincial capital, trying to suppress the matter."

Zhong Lin nodded, his gaze falling on the tea leaves floating in the teacup: "How many extraordinary things has he accomplished?"

"The Wang family took over a portion of the data on Wei Donghai's 'Dawn Biotechnology'," "Green Snake" replied. "Wang Hongyuan doesn't understand the technology, but he knows it's valuable information and has been holding onto it. He has his people studying it, but I'm not sure about the progress."

"He's not being honest. He didn't mention any of this information to me. What about the experiment? Is it still going on?"

"It's stopped. Things are too tense in Chenxi City; the province is keeping a close eye on it, so he doesn't dare to make a move. But the data wasn't destroyed; it's stored in a place only he knows about."

Zhong Lin was silent for a moment, his fingers gently stroking the rim of his glass: "Headquarters needs those documents."

"Green Snake" nodded: "I know. But Wang Hongyuan won't hand it over easily. It's something he uses to save his life."

"Stay by his side and try to find a solution," Zhong Lin said.

"Green Snake" looked troubled: "It will take time. He's been very wary lately and doesn't trust anyone."

Zhong Lin picked up his teacup, but didn't drink from it, and then put it down.

The porcelain cup struck the table with a crisp sound.

"I don't need him to believe anyone." Zhong Lin raised his head, his gaze sharp as a knife. "I need to know when he's most vulnerable."

"Green Snake" looked at him without replying, but a knowing glint flashed deep in her eyes.

Zhong Lin stood up, walked to the window with his back to him, and looked out at the dark, rainy night: "Keep watching. If there's any movement, report to me immediately. Don't let the Wang family find out."

"clear."

"Green Snake" agreed and got up to take her leave.

Zhong Lin was the only one left in the tea room.

He looked out the window, where rainwater meandered down the glass, distorting the city's neon lights into bizarre and colorful patches.

Zhong Heng died in Chenxi City, and his remains were never found.

Wang Shijun was burned to nothingness.

Both of these blood debts point to the same place.

But more than revenge, the organization is interested in the data on those extraordinary powers.

That is the key to a new world.

Wang Hongyuan thought that holding the documents would give him protection, but little did he know that he had become an obstacle in his path.

It is important to understand that if loyalty to an organization is not absolute, then it is absolutely disloyal.

……

The night was as dark as ink at the Guangyang Convention and Exhibition Center.

The enormous dome gleamed with a metallic sheen under the neon lights, like a slumbering steel behemoth, quietly awaiting its awakening at the dawn of tomorrow.

This is the venue for tomorrow's "Power Development Forum," where energy giants and political figures from across the province will gather.

In the shadow of the behemoth, something unseen is quietly spreading.

Meng Zhaowen stood in the shade of a green belt on the outskirts of the convention center, her dark gray trench coat collar turned up, obscuring most of her face.

He slowly squatted down, his fingers gently touching a clump of holly at the edge of the flower bed.

The touch on my fingertips was slightly cool; beneath the rough bark, the plant's sap flowed slowly—the pulse of life.

[Awakening of the Earth Spirit].

As spiritual energy was injected, the holly leaves trembled slightly, a kind of deeper resonance.

Meng Zhaowen closed her eyes, her consciousness extending downwards along the roots of the plants, penetrating the concrete roadbed, probing into the underground pipe network, and then climbing upwards along the cracks in the outer wall.