Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

"Second, the death toll at the municipal square and the western suburbs granary is still being tallied, with an initial estimate of over 150. Among them are Zhou Zhengde, mayor of Shanyang City; Zheng Guangming, vice governor; Liu Dongqiang, director of the Finance Department; Zhou Haitao, deputy head of the Armed Security Corps; and Huo Kun, president of the Ningxia branch of the Five Sacred Mountains Association."

"Third, the three off-road vehicles and sixteen bodies belonging to the Black Falcon organization have been confirmed. They were equipped with thermobaric weapons and military rocket launchers, making them genuine foreign armed forces. This matter has escalated from a crime committed by superhumans to a complex and major case involving foreign forces, underground organizations, and local officials."

After she finished speaking, she looked at everyone in the conference room.

"Anyone with a question, ask now."

There was silence.

After a few seconds, the coordinator sent by the city government, a bald man in his fifties, spoke cautiously.

"Director Cheng, this matter has blown up too much. Mayor Zhou died in the city square, and the whole province can't suppress it. The General Administration has to give an explanation."

Cheng Yanqiu gave him a cold look.

"Zhou Zhengde is dead."

"Doesn't your city government know why he died?"

The coordinator's face instantly turned bright red.

"Director Cheng, what do you mean by that!"

"What I mean is, the investigation team and the disciplinary committee are at Zhou Zhengde's house right now. How much dirty money he took, what deals he made with the Five Mountains Society, and how many lives he's suppressed over the years—we'll have the results soon. What you need to do now is get the city government to cooperate with the investigation, not come to me for an explanation."

Cheng Yanqiu's voice wasn't loud, but every word was spoken with great emphasis.

The coordinator opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

The head of the investigation team sent by the provincial department, a middle-aged woman wearing silver-rimmed glasses, spoke as she flipped through the documents in front of her.

"Director Cheng, we have investigated Li Su's background. Her husband, Zhao Yuan, was murdered, and her child, Zhao Nian'an, died after being sent to the Shannan Provincial Center for Eugenics and Childbirth Research. These facts are indeed true."

Her tone was objective and restrained.

"But we also found that Li Su went to the Municipal Health Bureau to retrieve her medical records immediately after the incident, but was refused. She made several reports afterward, but they were all suppressed by the Disciplinary Committee and the Municipal Health Bureau. Less than three months after her child died, her husband was beaten to death by people from the research center. She was forcibly confined to a mental hospital and injected with large amounts of antipsychotic drugs."

She paused, then closed the document.

"Procedurally speaking, we did not protect her well."

The meeting room was so quiet you could hear the air conditioner humming.

Cheng Yanqiu remained silent for a few seconds.

"I know."

"So the current attitude of the higher-ups is to first track down Li Su's whereabouts, but not to launch a full-scale encirclement and suppression for the time being."

"This time, the enemy is the Five Mountains Alliance. Li Su killed Huo Kun, doing something we couldn't do for the time being."

"But that doesn't mean she can continue to lose control."

She stood up, walked to the map on the conference room wall, and pointed to the locations of Lieyang Province, Jeolla Province, and Sannam Province with her finger.

"The Five Mountains Society's largest stronghold in Shannan Province was the Changning branch. Now that the Changning branch has collapsed, the Five Mountains Society headquarters will not let it go. Huo Kun's men are dead, and the headquarters will definitely send more people over."

"Li Su obtained information from Zhou Zhengde that there were more experimental subjects hidden on the territory of the Five Mountains Society. She will not stop. She will continue to kill."

"Our people must follow her. She kills in front, and we close in from behind. She tears through the Five Mountains Society's defenses, and we wipe out their strongholds. The leaders she kills, we investigate their financial chains and protectors."

"This is a dangerous collaboration. It's not that we sought her out for cooperation; it's that she's cleaning up this cancer in her own way. What we need to do is prevent this cancer from dragging the entire city into the abyss."

After Cheng Yanqiu finished speaking, he turned to look at the people present.

"Did you understand?"

No one speaks.

But no one objected.

Cheng Yanqiu turned his gaze to the head of the provincial department's investigation team.

"The investigation team will continue to investigate those involved in the health system and the disciplinary committee. Regardless of whether Li Su kills them or not, they will have to pay the price for their actions."

"Yes."

"Starting today, the Armed Security Corps will comprehensively strengthen patrols and defenses in Shanyang City and Changning City. The focus will be on monitoring the movements of the remaining forces of the Five Mountains Society and the Black Falcon organization."

"Yes."

"In addition, notify the General Administration to request the dispatch of the second Sharp Blade Brigade to Shannan Province to prepare to take over the clearing and suppression of the Five Mountains Society's strongholds."

"Yes."

After Cheng Yanqiu finished making the arrangements, he sat back down in his chair.

Her face remained expressionless.

But her hand, which was under the table, slowly clenched.

Li Su.

Where did you go?

How many more people do you have to kill before you stop?

After the meeting, Cheng Yanqiu remained alone in the conference room.

She opened her phone and tapped on a photo.

In the footage, Li Su stands on the steel frame of the half-collapsed rostrum, her gaze passing over the camera and looking into the distance.

Her eyes are very bright.

It wasn't the light of a burning fire, but the starlight of the polar night.

Cheng Yanqiu looked at the photo and lightly swiped his finger across the screen.

This was the closest she had ever been to Li Su.

Next time, she must catch her.

------

Nestled among the mountains in northern Son Nam province, at the end of an abandoned mountain road, stands an abandoned forestry management station.

Lin Shen and Shen Qinghou stood on the open ground in front of the management station, looking at the city outline at the foot of the mountain in the distance.

They have been in Shannan province for two days.

To be precise, they came following in Li Su's footsteps.

"She killed people too quickly."

Lin Shen leaned against the car door, an unlit cigarette between his fingers, his eyes fixed on the direction down the mountain.

Shen Qinghou couldn't hear, but he could read Lin Shen's lips.

He gestured with his hand.

"Should we continue pursuing it?"

Lin Shen nodded.

"Pursue her. But don't rush into contact. She'll attack anyone she sees now. We'll follow her and wait for the right opportunity."

He turned his head to look at Shen Qinghou, then at the small house behind him.

"She's heading north."

Xu Suyuan's voice came from behind the house.

Lin Shen turned his head.

What's to the north?

Xu Suyuan stood up and patted the cat food crumbs off her hands.

"To the north is Dingbei City, another stronghold of the Five Mountains Society in Shannan Province. When Zhong Lin was alive, he stored a batch of 'goods' there."

Lin Shen's brow twitched slightly.

"What kind of goods?"

Xu Suyuan looked at him, a cold glint in her eyes.

"Experimental subject".

"Zhong Lin brought them from Chenxi City. Some of the 'samples' from the human experiments conducted by Chenxi Biotechnology back then weren't taken away by the authorities. Zhong Lin transferred them to Dingbei City."