Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

The two guards who tried to rescue him were also entangled in countless tiny vines, pinning them to the spot, and could only watch helplessly as Zhao Hongtu was dragged into the air.

Just then, footsteps came from deep within the passage.

Heavy, slow, each step felt like it was on the beat of everyone's heart.

Liu Zhen emerged from the shadows.

At this moment, the electric arcs swirling around him were much dimmer than they had been in the corridor, a result of the depletion caused by the continuous release of power.

But the killing intent in his eyes was more intense and burning than ever before.

That was the hatred that had accumulated during the escape, the rage from the still-warm bodies of his wife and children.

Liu Zhen saw Zhao Hongtu, who was tightly bound by vines and unable to move, and nodded slightly to the shadows beside him.

Meng Zhaowen was there.

Without a word, their teamwork was seamless.

……

The air in the underground parking garage seemed to freeze, with only the faint "creaking" sound of the vines tightening, like bones groaning under unbearable pressure.

Zhao Hongtu was hanging upside down in mid-air, blood rushing to his head, turning his face a purplish-red. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the man who emerged from the shadows.

Electric arcs traveled around Liu Zhen's body, crackling and illuminating his weathered face.

Zhao Hongtu's pupils suddenly contracted, and only at this moment did that face overlap with a blurry shadow in his memory.

That was an old engineer from Longteng Power, someone who should have been fleeing like a stray dog ​​on a wanted list, not the Thor-like figure before him.

"It's you... Liu Zhen!" Zhao Hongtu's voice was hoarse, sounding sharp and strange due to his inverted position, "and he's gained such unscientific power!"

He had thought about many enemies.

Business rivals, oppressed suppliers, and even foreign powers.

The only thing he never imagined was that the person who would truly kill him was the grassroots technician he had never even looked at and who had already been socially dead.

Liu Zhen did not answer immediately.

He walked up to Zhao Hongtu, stopped, and a wisp of electricity from his fingertip gently brushed across the fabric of Zhao Hongtu's suit, instantly carbonizing the fabric and emitting a wisp of smoke.

"My wife. My son." Liu Zhen's voice was soft, yet colder than the surrounding static. "Do you remember them?"

Zhao Hongtu's throat bobbed violently, and sweat mixed with blood flowed into his collar.

He tried to shake his head, but found that his neck was constricted by vines and he couldn't move.

He knew this person wasn't there to negotiate.

But he didn't want to die yet; he hadn't had enough of enjoying decades of wealth and luxury.

"Liu Zhen..." Zhao Hongtu said, "What are your demands? We can talk! I can compensate you for your losses, however much you can offer!"

"I killed Tao Yongnian," Liu Zhen interrupted him. "Before he died, he said something—you were his superior. And you have powerful backers."

Zhao Hongtu stared intently at Liu Zhen without saying a word.

The lights in the garage flickered on and off, as if they might go out completely at any moment.

"Who gave you permission to touch me?" Liu Zhen asked. "Who's the big shot behind you?"

Zhao Hongtu's lips twitched.

He glanced at the electric arcs surrounding Liu Zhen, then at the still-wriggling vines, and realized that he was facing an existence that could not be measured by common sense.

Conventional power is ineffective here; only intelligence might offer a glimmer of hope.

"I told you, can I exchange my life for yours?" Zhao Hongtu said.

Liu Zhen did not answer.

He simply raised his hand, a wisp of eerie blue electricity dancing on his fingertips, and flickered it in front of Zhao Hongtu's eyes.

That arc of electricity was enough to remind people of the scene of Sun Guangcheng being electrocuted on the stage, and the smell of burning seemed to have already entered Zhao Hongtu's nostrils.

Fear overwhelmed the last line of defense.

"His name is Han Dongcheng," Zhao Hongtu gritted his teeth and spat out the three words.

This name came into Liu Zhen's view for the first time.

"An invisible figure in both the political and business circles of Lieyang Province." Zhao Hongtu gasped for breath, pouring out everything he knew to survive. "He specializes in acting as a 'lubricant' for big projects. That power grid renovation project was his doing; he cleared all the obstacles. No one has ever seen him actually make a move, but every obstacle that seemed insurmountable becomes a breeze with him."

"Where does he live?" Liu Zhen pressed.

"Jingyuan Villa in the southern suburbs of Zhaoming City. That's where he lives regularly." Zhao Hongtu spoke quickly. "He has more than one place to stay. He also has a private club in the North Shore District. It doesn't have a sign and only receives internal staff. He's most likely there these days."

Liu Zhen asked, "Is it just him?"

"And Song Mingzhang."

In the shadows, Meng Zhaowen listened intently to Liu Zhen's interrogation.

Upon hearing the name Song Mingzhang, his pupils contracted sharply.

The next moment, he slowly emerged from the shadows.

Meng Zhaowen walked up to Zhao Hongtu, stared into his eyes, and suddenly said, "When you were talking about Jingyuan Villa just now, your gaze was very steady, and that was the truth."

Zhao Hongtu didn't speak, but his breathing became a little easier, and he thought he had seen a glimmer of hope.

"However," Meng Zhaowen paused, her fingers lightly touching the vines wrapped around Zhao Hongtu's waist, "you said that these past few days, when you were most likely at the private club, my plants told me that you were too excited."

The vines tightened abruptly, and Zhao Hongtu let out a muffled groan, his face turning deathly pale.

Are you giving us false information, or true information that's a trap?

Before Meng Zhaowen could answer, the vines tightened again, constricting Zhao Hongtu's neck.

With his trachea compressed, air could not enter his lungs. Zhao Hongtu opened his mouth as wide as possible, but could not inhale a single breath. A choking gurgling sound came from his throat.

His face turned from deathly pale to bluish-purple, his eyes rolled back, and his legs twitched unconsciously in the air.

three seconds.

Five seconds.

Eight seconds.

Just as Zhao Hongtu was on the verge of losing consciousness, the vines suddenly loosened.

Zhao Hongtu coughed violently, swallowed large gulps of air, and felt a burning pain in his lungs.

He had never longed to breathe so much.

"I'll ask you one more time," Meng Zhaowen's voice was authoritative, "What is that club?"

Amidst a violent cough, Zhao Hongtu caught a glimpse of Meng Zhaowen's eyes hidden behind her glasses.

There was no anger, no disgust in those eyes, only a bottomless chill—it wasn't the gaze of an interrogator, but the gaze of an executioner.

He understood—this person wouldn't mind just killing him.

Fear finally crushed the last shred of hope.

"I'll tell you everything!" Zhao Hongtu said. "I have an agreement with Han Dongcheng—if the private club is attacked, it will be a signal! If something happens there, it will trigger an alarm, and he will immediately relocate and initiate a 'cleanup procedure'! That location is bait!"

After he finished speaking, the garage fell into a deathly silence.

Only the faint hum of emergency lights in the distance sounded like some kind of countdown.