Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

After Song Mingzhang finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the secret room.

Wang Hongyuan frowned, his knuckles tapping the table, making a dull sound;

Song Mingzhang pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the fluctuating data stream on the screen, his eyes revealing an undisguised ruthlessness;

Only Chung Lin leaned back in his chair, relaxed, but the way his fingertips gently rubbed against each other betrayed his current plans.

His gaze shifted from the screen, his knuckles tapping the red data line "47 centimeters deep," his voice filled with undisguised fervor.

"If we could capture them alive, send them to the lab, and dismantle them from head to toe—how the electricity is controlled, how the plants are stimulated, how the nerves resonate with the plants—once we figure that out, maybe we could use this power ourselves."

Zhong Lin leaned forward, the table lamp casting a long shadow on the wall behind him, like a ferocious beast ready to devour its prey. "Only by thoroughly studying it can you truly control it."

Wang Hongyuan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "You want to use them?"

His voice carried a hint of surprise. As the third political commissar of Lieyang Province, he had seen all sorts of people, but he had never thought of bringing two avengers with blood on their hands and deep-seated hatred under his command.

"Why not?" Zhong Lin's lips curled into an almost cold smile, a hint of fanaticism flashing in his eyes. "The organization has been searching for usable superhumans. Those in Dawn City, some are dead, some have disappeared."

"Now we have two living examples of people who are intelligent, cooperative, and have strong execution skills—these are the kinds of talents that you can't cultivate on the battlefield no matter how much money you spend."

Sitting on the right, Song Mingzhang frowned. "But they killed my men. And sooner or later, they'll trace the trail from Zhao Hongtu to Han Dongcheng back to us." His voice was calm, yet tinged with suppressed anger. "By then, we'll be their enemies."

Han Dongcheng had been with him for many years, helping him handle countless dirty deeds that couldn't be brought to light, and was his most capable right-hand man.

Now that they've become expendable, not even their bodies remain, it would be a lie to say I'm completely unmoved.

What bothers him even more is that Liu Zhen's arrow of revenge has already pierced through Zhao Hongtu and Han Dongcheng, and the next target will inevitably be himself, who is hiding behind Han Dongcheng.

"I know. But that's precisely why we need to talk." Zhong Lin looked at him, his eyes sharp as knives, as if he could see through all his thoughts.

"You hate them, and they hate you. Now you're faced with either this: either you stay on this side and wait for them to come after you, or you try to turn them into our people before they find out."

Song Mingzhang fell silent. Zhong Lin's words struck him like a hammer, hitting the spot he cared about most.

He wasn't afraid of dying, but he was afraid of dying an unjust death, and even more afraid that the family fortune he had painstakingly built would end up as the grave goods of the two avengers.

If we could really recruit these two people to our side, it would be worth it, not just one Han Dongcheng, but even ten Han Dongchengs.

"...What if they refuse to talk?" After a long silence, Song Mingzhang finally spoke.

Zhong Lin's smile vanished instantly, his eyes turning icy cold: "Then fight. Beat them half to death first, then ask them again."

Silence fell again in the sealed room, broken only by the hissing sound of data streaming on the screen, like the sound of some kind of countdown.

All three of them knew that this was not a simple choice, but a high-stakes gamble.

If they win the bet, they will gain two extraordinary combatants who can be considered strategic-level, and their status within the Five Mountains Alliance will also rise accordingly.

If you lose the bet, your family will be destroyed, and your body will be left nowhere to be found.

After a long silence, Wang Hongyuan finally spoke slowly: "Let's not talk about incorporation for now. The most urgent thing is to figure out where they'll go next, how to defend against them, and how to attack them."

"Han Dongcheng is dead. Whether he spoke before he died, no one knows. A businessman like Zhao Hongtu couldn't withstand torture. Although Han Dongcheng had received anti-interrogation training, no one can say how long he could withstand methods that can manipulate human bioelectricity. If Han Dongcheng had spoken, Liu Zhen and the others would know Song Mingzhang's name by now."

Song Mingzhang's expression darkened.

He was well aware of Han Dongcheng's background. Those anti-interrogation training exercises might be useful against ordinary torture, but against Liu Zhen's ability to directly manipulate nerve currents, they were simply a joke.

If Liu Zhen wanted to, he could make Han Dongcheng honestly tell him how many times he wet the bed when he was three years old.

"Even if they don't say anything, they'll investigate," Wang Hongyuan continued. "Zhao Hongtu's business network, Han Dongcheng's call records, bank statements, underground money lenders—all the leads converge in Zhaoming City, ultimately pointing to one person: Han Dongcheng's supplier. And Han Dongcheng's supplier is you, Song Mingzhang. They'll dig that out sooner or later."

Song Mingzhang did not refute.

He knew Wang Hongyuan was right.

Han Dongcheng has been with him for so many years, and the connection between the two is intricate. Even though he has tried to sever ties layer by layer, it is impossible to completely eliminate all traces.

As long as Liu Zhen and Meng Zhaowen aren't fools, they'll eventually find their way back to themselves if they follow Han Dongcheng's trail.

"And then what?" Zhong Lin picked up the conversation, tracing circles on the table with his finger. "Check Song Mingzhang's address, schedule, and daily routine. Song Mingzhang lives at Yunyin Manor."

"This is your private territory. People come and go all year round, and there are regular meetings every week. When Liu Zhen and his men want to make a move, they will come to Yunyin Manor; when they want to scout the area, they will use the plant-based tool to survey it inch by inch beforehand. So Yunyin Manor is a place they must go to."

This is the most basic deduction in criminal psychology, and also the most reasonable prediction.

The Avengers' targets are always the places where their enemies most frequently appear and where the defenses seem the most robust. This is especially true for someone like Meng Zhaowen, who relies on plants to gather intelligence. A fixed manor with abundant vegetation is simply the best reconnaissance target.

"So our battlefield will be at Cloud Hidden Manor." Zhong Lin's fingers slammed heavily on the table, making a dull thud. "Mingzhang will stay here and wait for them. Let them scout the place, let them see enough, let them think they've locked onto their target. The moment they step in, this will be their grave."

Song Mingzhang looked up at Zhong Lin, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "My true body staying at Yunyin Manor? That's too dangerous. What if they make their move first, or the trap fails..."

"Danger makes things seem real." Zhong Lin interrupted him, his eyes resolute. "That plant-type ability user is too cautious; he'll retreat into his shell at the slightest disturbance. If you don't make a normal appearance in the manor, he won't believe you're a target he can make a move on."

"Only if you come and go on time every day, meet with guests on time, and work in the study on time, so that his plants can 'see' that you are really there, will he feel at ease letting Liu Zhen make a move."