Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

Yan Tingyao interrupted him: "That's enough."

"Eight survivors, bring back all the bodies you can."

"All traces at the scene have been cleaned up."

"Demolish the collapsed area if possible, and break the cement blocks into pieces if possible."

"Don't let the headquarters' technical team analyze anything from the wreckage."

"You eight, go straight back to headquarters and report for duty."

The team leader responded, hung up the phone, and slumped onto the railway tracks.

He looked at the sky in the east, which was now completely bright, and his mind kept replaying the moment Shen Hanzhou came out of the main gate and looked this way.

I couldn't see their faces clearly from 400 meters away.

But he could sense that cold certainty.

It's not that I'm letting you go, it's just that you happen to be outside my reach.

Next time you step on cement, you'll die.

The top-floor office of the headquarters building of the Five Sacred Mountains Society's Lieyang Province branch.

Yan Tingyao stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, clutching the phone he had just hung up.

The knuckles are turning white.

He turned and walked to his desk.

The assistant stood by the table with his hands at his sides, not daring to breathe.

Yan Tingyao spoke, his voice extremely low: "Of the forty people, only eight remain."

"Thirty-two were sealed in cement."

"Jiang Yi is dead, and the entire Crimson Thorn clan is wiped out."

"He killed fifty-seven people all by himself in one night."

"They rode away on their motorcycles, and one last look at us before they left."

"It's to tell them—I can't kill them all, go back and report back."

The assistant's lips turned pale: "Mr. Yan—what about headquarters—"

Yan Tingyao slammed his hand on the table.

"Headquarters has long been dissatisfied with Lieyang Province!"

"Song Mingzhang died at Yunyin Manor, Zhong Heng died at Qingyun Horse Ranch, and Fang Li died in the abandoned industrial zone. Now, only eight of the forty people remain!"

"How am I supposed to report this to headquarters?"

The assistant didn't dare to respond.

Yan Tingyao took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his emotions.

"Notify all peripheral teams to return to headquarters."

"Abandon all peripheral searches."

"I will never go to him unless he comes to me."

"He's coming to find me, so I'll wait for him here."

The assistant hesitated: "What if headquarters asks—"

Yan Tingyao interrupted him: "I'll handle things at headquarters."

"Upgrade headquarters' defenses to the highest level now."

"A perimeter of gravel was laid around the building, but no cement was laid underneath, so that he couldn't demolish the foundation."

"All load-bearing structures inside the building have been reinforced."

"No windows on the first floor, and all non-essential entrances are sealed off."

"Leave a passageway at the main entrance and install three steel plate gates."

"Recall all personnel on leave, and deploy all heavy weapons on the perimeter."

The assistant quickly took notes.

Yan Tingyao added, "Notify the R&D team to compile the data on Chen Guohua's body."

"If Shen Hanzhou really comes knocking on our door, this batch of data will be my bargaining chip when negotiating with headquarters."

The assistant left the office.

Yan Tingyao stood alone in front of his desk, looking down at the report on the table that was soaked with tea.

Photos of the scene where Fang Li's extermination team was killed are still tucked inside the report.

He knew in his heart that Shen Hanzhou would definitely come.

Fang Li and his six companions couldn't stop him.

Jiang Yi and his twenty-five men couldn't stop him.

Even with forty men, they couldn't stop him.

Can we stop them by bringing back everyone from the entire branch?

He dared not answer himself.

On the country road, Shen Hanzhou rode his motorcycle.

As dawn broke, sunlight streamed through the poplar grove and fell upon his face, which was covered in ash and dried blood.

He took out a photo of his senior sister, Shen Yanhui, from his inner pocket, glanced at it, and put it back.

Then I took out the USB drive.

There are four things on the USB drive now.

My senior's complete experimental records and correct formula.

Old Yan's 20-year-old underground intelligence database in Guangyang City.

A copy of all intelligence on the Red Thorn organization and its secret agreement with the Five Mountains Society.

The communication records between Chiji and Xiongbei Company copied from Jiang Yi's computer.

Shen Hanzhou mentally organized his next goals.

The first name: Yan Tingyao.

After killing thirty-two members of the Five Mountains Society tonight, Yan Tingyao will retreat to his headquarters building.

Taking down a fortress is harder than taking down a cold storage facility; it requires preparation.

The second name: Zheng Daoyuan.

The head of the Lieyang branch of Xiongbei Company installed a GPS tracker on his motorcycle, forcing him to turn from a partner into a prey.

According to Lao Yan's intelligence and Chi Ji's communication records, Zheng Daoyuan is keeping an eye on Jiang Yubai.

The third name: Jiang Yubai.

Senior Sister Shen Yan, who had connections before her death, is currently being monitored by Xiong Bei and is a key figure needed to complete the potion.

Shen Hanzhou mentally prioritized the tasks.

Before fighting Yan Tingyao, we need to deal with the medicine first.

Pharmaceuticals require raw materials and laboratories.

Jiangyu Bai can provide both of these.

Zheng Daoyuan is keeping an eye on Jiang Yubai. Without dealing with Zheng Daoyuan, Jiang Yubai will be unable to make contact.

Zheng Daoyuan is not Yan Tingyao; he has no fortress to retreat to.

He was just a district head; the defenses of his safe house and outpost were not as good as those of the Five Mountains Alliance headquarters.

Killing him is easier than killing Yan Tingyao.

Shen Hanzhou made a decision: go to Guangyang first and contact Jiang Yubai.

The Xiongbei Company wants to use her as bait, so I'll kill the person fishing first, and then go find the person being fished.

Zheng Daoyuan, you should have thought of this day when you installed the tracking device on your motorcycle.

I put the USB drive back into the inner bag, started the motorcycle, and headed towards Guangyang City.

Inner monologue: Jiang Yi is dead. Zheng Daoyuan is next. Then comes Yan Tingyao.

My senior sister's debts, one by one, must all be paid off.

------

Shen Hanzhou rode his motorcycle along the country road toward Guangyang City.

The morning light was fully bright, casting dappled shadows on the asphalt road through the branches and leaves of the poplar grove.

He parked his car next to an abandoned water station on the side of the road, took out a USB flash drive from his inner pocket, and held it in his hand.

The plastic casing still held body heat. Inside were Senior Sister Shen Yanhui's complete experimental records, Lao Yan's twenty-year intelligence database, all of Chiji's organizational intelligence and copies of secret agreements with the Five Mountains Society, as well as communication records between Chiji and Xiongbei Society copied from Jiang Yi's computer.

He plugged the USB drive into the portable tablet he had taken from Jiang Yi's cold storage. The screen lit up, and rows of file directories unfolded.

In Jiang Yi's communication records, the contact channel of Xiongbei Company's Lieyang branch was prominently listed.

He opened the call logs for the past three months and scrolled down one by one.

Zheng Daoyuan and Jiang Yi made three encrypted phone calls, each lasting no more than three minutes. The language was polite but cold, a typical example of communication based on an exchange of interests.

One of the call summaries caught his attention: "Zheng Daoyuan inquired about Shen Yanhui's connections during his lifetime, and Jiang Yi provided basic information about Jiang Yubai."

Shen Hanzhou stared at the three characters "Jiang Yubai," his pupils slightly contracting.

He switched to Lao Yan's intelligence database and entered Jiang Yubai's name for cross-referencing.

Although Lao Yan's intelligence network cannot compare to the formal intelligence systems of the three major forces, his twenty years of underground operations have allowed him to weave a unique information network in Guangyang City.

Jiang Yubai's file was exceptionally complete in his hands: 34 years old, Shen Yanhui's junior classmate during her doctoral studies, currently the deputy director of the Synthesis Department of Chaoyang Biotechnology, living alone in Room 902, Building 3, Cuitingyuan.

The file also included a label made by the old smoker himself: "After Shen Yanhui's death, this person was secretly monitored by the Xiongbei Society for unknown reasons, and the deal did not go through."