Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

This isn't just about revenge; it's about racing against time with the authorities.

Having secured it, the Awakened's abilities and the potion formula are now in our hands.

If they couldn't seize it, the General Administration would take control of Shen Hanzhou first, and the Five Mountains Alliance would completely sever this connection.

He spoke, his tone cold and hard: "Don't report it. Once we catch him, send him up with the report. A living person is more convincing than a report."

The assistant hesitated again: "What if headquarters finds out in advance through other channels—"

"The only other channel is me," Yan Tingyao interrupted him. "Now I'm in charge of the Lieyang Provincial Branch. If I don't speak up, nobody else will."

He glanced at his watch and ordered his assistant to gather the remaining core members of the security team.

Ten minutes later, all five core team leaders of the security group arrived and sat down on either side of the long table in the conference room.

Yan Tingyao stood at the end of the long table, with photos of Fang Li's mopping-up team spread out on the table in front of him.

He said, "We treated Shen Hanzhou as a defector technician before, and sent a six-person cleanup team to hunt him down for four days and four nights. Now he is an Awakened One, and his abilities are related to manipulating solid matter. The strategy needs to be completely overhauled."

He held up one finger.

"First, the priority for the pursuit should be capturing them alive. The ability to crush cement, reconstitute minerals, and seal living people into the foundation—if the principle behind this can be clearly understood, its value to the Five Mountains Society will far exceed that batch of drug formulas."

The second finger is raised.

"Second, no more small-scale mopping-up teams. Fang Li and the other six were dealt with one by one in the confined space. Small units are just suicide missions against Shen Hanzhou. From today onwards, each group will consist of at least twelve people, equipped with heavy firepower, and maintain communication. Shen Hanzhou's ability requires contact with matter to activate—keep your distance and don't let him get close."

The third finger.

"Third, conduct a city-wide search of abandoned factories, shantytowns, and short-term rental properties. Shen Hanzhou's continuous escape and awakening have taken a huge toll on his mental health; he must be hiding somewhere to recover. We must find him before he recovers."

The fourth finger.

"Fourth, keep a close eye on Xiongbei Company and Chiji. Whoever finds Shen Hanzhou first will have the upper hand."

A security captain raised his hand: "What if Redthorn finds it first?"

Yan Tingyao said, "Jiang Yi sent Zhou Ting and Wang Zhaoping to kill Shen Hanzhou. Those two are now burned to ashes and sealed inside the stone sphere. Shen Hanzhou knows that Jiang Yi betrayed him. They encountered each other first; either Jiang Yi died or Shen Hanzhou was seriously injured."

His tone turned cold and hard.

"But no matter who dies or gets injured, Shen Hanzhou must fall into our hands. If Chiji succeeds first, we'll double-cross them. Send professionals to monitor Chiji's logistics lines and known strongholds without being detected. Report any unusual activity from Chiji immediately."

He scanned everyone present.

"Shen Hanzhou's awakened ability is too valuable. We'd be willing to turn against Chiji for this bargaining chip."

Another security captain asked, "What if Xiongbei Company finds it first?"

"Zheng Daoyuan installed a tracking device on the car. Shen Hanzhou managed to shake off his pursuers three times, but was re-locked each time. In the end, he had to squat by the roadside and pry open the mudguard to finally stop them. He'll remember this. The same goes for Xiongbei Company getting the first move—we'll take them down."

Yan Tingyao tapped his fingers on the table with a rapid and heavy rhythm.

"Send another team to keep a close watch on several strongholds of the Xiongbei Company's Lieyang division. Compile a real-time updated list of Zheng Daoyuan's field agents, their usual transport routes, and the number of safe houses in Guangyang City. As soon as the Xiongbei Company makes a move, our people will follow. Once their direct confrontation with Shen Hanzhou is over, regardless of which side is weakened, we will make a move to close the net."

He kept his voice very low.

"The premise of a three-way alliance is the equal distribution of benefits. But Shen Hanzhou's value after awakening is so great that it cannot be evenly distributed among the three parties. Whoever monopolizes it will have the upper hand over the opponent. Xiongbei Company's influence in the north is not weak, but Lieyang Province is our territory. Even if we completely fall out over someone taking people from my territory, I can handle it."

He slammed his hand on the table.

"Remember, the purpose of this surveillance is to capture him. Don't let Xiongbei Company and Chiji discover that we're watching them, but if we are exposed, take action immediately. There's no room for negotiation regarding Shen Hanzhou's ownership."

Yan Tingyao stood up, placed his hands on the table, and leaned forward. The fluorescent light from the ceiling cast a cold, hard shadow on his face.

"We're not chasing after Shen Hanzhou. Fang Li's mistake was chasing him into that corridor."

He ordered the traps to be set.

"Strengthen defenses at several known strongholds of the Lieyang Provincial Branch, and set up one of them as a cage that is loose on the outside but tight on the inside—so that Shen Hanzhou can find the location and think he has an opportunity to take advantage of it."

At the same time, we'll use our intelligence network to trace all of Shen Hanzhou's secret communication channels during his six years with the Five Mountains Society. The pharmaceutical formulas he possesses require raw materials, equipment, and buyers. By cutting off these gaps, we can intercept him before he can act.

Yan Tingyao straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone present. His eyes reflected a cold light under the fluorescent lights.

"The photo of Fang Li's body is posted on the wall opposite my desk. It reminds us that even the strongest awakened ones bleed, get tired, and get arrested."

His voice echoed in the conference room.

"Shen Hanzhou killed six of my people. I want him to stand before me alive and hand over his senior sister's formula and his abilities."

He raised his hand and glanced at his watch.

"From now on, all pursuit operations will report directly to me. I will personally take command."

The security team members filed out, their footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

Yan Tingyao stood alone in front of the long table, looking down at the photos on it.

The photo of Fang Li sealed in cement is placed at the top.

He stared at the photo for a long time, then picked it up, walked to the wall opposite his desk, and pinned the photo to the wall.

After nailing it, I took two steps back and looked at the blurry human-shaped outline sealed with cement at the bottom of the photo.

He knew Shen Hanzhou would definitely come.

Fang Li's body was nailed to the wall, Zhou Ting and Wang Zhaoping were sealed in a stone ball, and Shen Hanzhou turned this into a public declaration of war.

Then let's wait for him.

Yan Tingyao reached out and turned off the desk lamp, plunging the office into partial darkness. The morning light was already bright outside, but he had drawn the curtains.

He sat in the darkness, his hand on the cover of the report, his fingertips slowly tracing the edges of the pages.

Then he spoke aloud to the empty office.

"Come on, Shen Hanzhou."

------

Xiongbei Club.

Zheng Daoyuan laid out the three documents in a row on the table.

The first message was an encrypted message sent by Shen Hanzhou.

"I'm still alive. The cement plant will be handed over as planned in two hours. This is your last chance to get the formula."

The messenger sent to make contact waited in vain, only to see flames in the direction of the abandoned industrial area.

The second message came from an informant planted on the periphery of the Five Mountains Alliance.

Fang Li's crackdown team was dispatched in the early hours of the morning to carry out the arrest mission, targeting Shen Hanzhou.

They did not return by noon, and all six of them were out of contact with communication.

The Five Mountains Alliance has activated its emergency response.

The third document was a copy of the on-site investigation report obtained through internal channels of the Chenxi City Public Security Bureau.

The ink wasn't completely dry yet.

Zheng Daoyuan opened the report, and the appendix photos were laid out one by one.

The floor of the entire corridor collapsed into the first floor.

It wasn't blown apart; it was uniformly pulverized into powder by some force.

The cement crumbled into sand, and the steel bars dangled from the crossbeams, their ends jagged and uneven.

He read through the report one by one and then closed it.

His right hand was pressed against the cover, his knuckles turning white.

"All six of Fang Li's men are dead. There were no explosive residues, no trace of a second person. No matter what method Shen Hanzhou used, he did it." Zheng Daoyuan pushed the photo aside and remained silent for a long time.

The assistant stood across the desk, not daring to utter a sound.

Zheng Daoyuan's silence was far more frightening than any scolding—he had worked at the Lieyang branch of Xiongbei Company for five years and had never seen Zheng Daoyuan sit motionless for so long after finishing reading a report.

Zheng Daoyuan looked up from the photo, his voice filled with obvious remorse: "I made a mistake."