Official title: Refused to stay at the university, started his career in a rural town.

The hesitant tone of Deputy Squadron Leader Zhou Yuanzheng made Zhang Hongsheng's heart skip a beat.

He grabbed Zhou Yuanzheng's arm, his knuckles white, and lowered his voice, but there was an undisguised urgency and a hint of barely perceptible fear in it: "Research what?"

Zhang Hongsheng stared into Zhou Yuanzheng's eyes. He had seen countless people and knew his deputy all too well.

Zhou Yuanzheng worked his way up from the grassroots criminal police. He was efficient and decisive in his speech and actions. When had he ever been so hesitant?

This sight made his heart sink.

"Director Zhang." Zhou Yuanzheng took a deep breath, his face looking like he had swallowed a fly.

"Comrade Qi Tongwei—he may not have seen it, or he may not have understood the evacuation signal we left nearby. He should still be in Nanshi Village!"

After Zhou Yuanzheng finished speaking, he simply closed his eyes.

Zhang Hongsheng stood frozen in place. The hand that was gripping Zhou Yuanzheng's arm slowly loosened and fell to his sides. It was as if the air in the conference room had been sucked out.

He turned around, his back to everyone, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and the smoke obscured his face.

Grass!

He cursed under his breath.

Who was he cursing? Qi Tongwei? Himself? Sun Jianjun's damned drink? He couldn't tell; he was just burning with anger, a raging fire that seemed to rise from his dantian to his throat.

The evacuation signal they left was a standard procedure used by the criminal investigation team. It not only had clear markings, but they also drove several cows to moo nearby for an entire afternoon.

Any properly trained criminal investigator could spot something amiss at a glance.

Even if you couldn't understand the markings, after the cow had been mooing for so long, you should at least take a look, right? But Qi Tongwei neither saw nor heard it.

This is clearly a case of no training, or rather, there was training, but it lasted less than a week. They haven't even gotten the hang of handling a gun properly yet, so what kind of muscle memory can they possibly develop?

The formation of farts is muscle memory!

Zhang Hongsheng stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"No, we can't wait any longer, it'll only get more dangerous!"

Last night they just evacuated an informant who had been in the drug cartel for quite some time and knew a lot of inside information.

His sudden disappearance will surely alert the drug dealers.

Given the drug traffickers' modus operandi, they'd rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.

Do you think Qi Tongwei can get away with this by professing loyalty on his own? You've watched too many Hong Kong movies.

"Take action immediately!" Zhang Hongsheng turned around, his gaze sweeping over every face in the conference room.

"Open the armory, and get all the body armor out. Double-check the roadblock plan, and I'll notify the SWAT team. Listen up—the primary objective of this mission is to apprehend the suspect, but all personnel involved should familiarize themselves with this person's photo. Once the operation begins, confirm his safety immediately!"

He slapped Qi Tongwei's photo on the whiteboard, turned around, and strode out.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At 4:40 a.m., at Guying Ridge, in the abandoned quarry of Nanshi Village.

The night was as black as ink spilled on a cloth. A few kerosene lamps were lit in the tunnels of the quarry, their flames flickering in the wind, casting long and short shadows.

Sixth Master sat in an abandoned pit, with several burly men standing behind him, each with weapons bulging at their waists.

A pile of blood-stained rope lay at his feet. The young man kneeling before him had his hands bound, his face bruised and battered, dried bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, and his left eye swollen shut.

"Tell me, where did Lao Hai go? Do you know?"

Sixth Master's voice was not loud, and his tone was even quite amiable.

Qi Tongwei looked up, blood and sweat mingling and flowing into his eyes.

It hurt. Every part of his body ached! He was panting heavily, his head buzzing.

He truly didn't know that since being placed into this gang, no one had ever met him once.

He felt like he had been thrown into darkness, surrounded by wolves. He couldn't see or hear his companions, and he had to rely on himself to get through it.

He sometimes even wondered if people outside had forgotten about him.

"How would I know where he went?" Qi Tongwei's voice was hoarse. "Sixth Master, it was just a coincidence that I ran into you at the restaurant that time. I really want to make a lot of money!"

"Please." His eyes suddenly reddened, and it wasn't an act.

He remembered the crooked ledgers in the village: Aunt Zhang, thirty eggs; Uncle Li, fifteen yuan and sixty cents; Granny Wang, the hen that laid the eggs; and the old man who walked two miles with his cane to see him off.

"Hundreds of villagers supported my decision to leave home, and they're waiting for me to go back and repay them!"

Qi Tongwei knelt on the ground, his face indistinguishable between blood and tears, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping iron.

Sixth Master leaned back in his chair, his brows slowly furrowing. He had seen far too many people put on an act in front of him—crying, making a scene, kowtowing—they used every trick in the book.

But when he asked where Lao Hai had gone, the fleeting look of confusion in Qi Tongwei's eyes, and the resentment and guilt he felt when talking about the village, seemed to seep from the very marrow of his bones.

This doesn't look like acting!

Sixth Master was somewhat bewildered, rubbing his chin as he looked at the weeping Qi Tongwei.

A young man next to him suddenly sniffled, his eyes red-rimmed. Sixth Master turned his head and asked, "Why are you crying?"

"Sixth Master, the family background he described is even worse than the people on that talent show I watched. I can't hold back anymore!" The kid blew his nose forcefully.

Sixth Master's lips twitched, and he slapped the kid on the back of the head. "Get lost, go stand guard!"

He turned around and stared at Qi Tongwei for a long time. Then he squatted down, took out a crumpled handkerchief from his pocket, and handed it to him.

"Qi Tongwei, Sixth Master is giving you a chance! If everything goes smoothly after today's transaction, you'll live a life of luxury with Sixth Master from now on. But if something goes wrong with today's transaction..."

Qi Tongwei nodded hurriedly, wiping the blood from his face with his sleeve. "Sixth Master, since I started following you, I haven't acted alone once! You can't doubt me, no matter who you suspect!"

Sixth Master thought about it and realized it was true!

Since Qi Tongwei started following him, he hasn't gone anywhere around here. He just hangs around in front of him every day, and he's never even been to the village store by himself.

If he really is an undercover agent, then Sixth Master will admit it!

He reached out and patted Qi Tongwei on the shoulder, untied the rope binding him, and comforted him.

"You know how it is in our line of work, caution is paramount. Old Hai disappeared last night, you know what I mean!"

"Thank you for your trust, Sixth Master! Thank you, Sixth Master! I understand, I understand! I just want to make big money with you, Sixth Master!"

After his hands were freed, Qi Tongwei quickly got up and said to Sixth Master.

boom.

A gunshot suddenly rang out in the distance, exploding in the silent night sky and startling a flock of birds that fluttered and swooped over the quarry.