One person said: The essence of Wuhou Qimen lies not in Qimen, but in Wuhou.

She blinked, and with an innocent tone that suggested she had no idea what was going on, asked the fatal question: "What happened?"

What happened? What happened? What happened! These six words played repeatedly in Xu Si's mind, like a broken tape record, and his blood pressure spiked every time it played.

He suddenly turned his head to look at Feng Baobao's innocent face, his lips trembling for a long time, unable to utter a single word.

Zhang Chulan, who was standing to the side, finally managed to recover from the shock of being terrified by the gunshot.

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing violently, and cautiously moved a few steps toward Xu Si.

The soldier's words were still replaying in his mind—"a dangerous element suspected of attacking a leader"—and although he wasn't part of the system, he could roughly guess how heavy those words were.

He leaned close to Xu Si, his mouth just opening as he prepared to explain everything that had happened that day in detail—from how he was tricked by Feng Shayan, to how he was shot down from upstairs, to how he was inexplicably almost sent back to his mother's womb by a bullet.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, before he could utter the first syllable, Xu Si suddenly raised his hand, and a finger almost poked the tip of his nose.

"What happened? Shut up!"

Xu Si's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, each word low and filled with murderous intent.

His eyes burned with a complex flame, a mixture of anger, fear, and the will to survive, as he glared at Zhang Chulan. Every word seemed to have been pulled from the depths of hell. "Especially you—a stupid college student, Zhang Chulan! If you dare utter another word—I'll have someone kill you. I'm serious."

Zhang Chulan immediately covered his mouth with both hands, his ten fingers tightly clenched around his lips, covering them completely.

His eyes were wide open, and he nodded frantically, clearly meaning—I won't speak, I won't say a word, I'll even keep my breathing as quiet as possible.

Xu San opened his mouth as if to say something, but his gaze swept over Xu Si's ashen face, the unconscious and bleeding Jia Zhengyu on the ground, the two bullet holes in the wall, and the person sitting behind the tightly closed door who could decide the fate of all of them at any moment. Then he silently shut his mouth.

He pushed up his glasses and admitted to himself that he, Xu San, couldn't handle this situation.

For the first time in his life, he admitted his inability to do anything in the field of "rational analysis," which he was most proficient in.

Xu Si took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

He closed his eyes and quickly went through all the things he needed to do in his mind—control the scene, gather the people, count the casualties, report to the leaders, and bring that bastard Zhang Chulan back safely.

When he opened his eyes, his gaze had changed. It was no longer the look of someone pushed to the limit and on the verge of collapse, but rather the decisiveness and composure honed after decades of struggling within the system.

Just as he was about to give the order, another figure suddenly fell through the large hole in the ceiling above his head—

Sand swallows descended from the sky and landed steadily in the center of the ruins.

She changed into clean clothes, and her hair was obviously styled again. She didn't look like she had just been through a fierce battle at all.

She brushed the dust off her sleeves and frowned slightly as she looked at the messy scene before her.

The moment Zhang Chulan saw Feng Shayan, he immediately let go of the hands that were covering his mouth.

The anger in his heart was like someone pouring a bucket of gasoline on him and then striking a match; it exploded with a bang.

He forgot that he had just promised not to say a word, forgot that Xu Si had just threatened to have someone kill him, and forgot that Jia Zhengyu, who had been shot twice in the knee, was kneeling on the floor in front of him.

He pointed fiercely at Feng Shayan with one hand, then turned to Xu Si and loudly accused him, his words coming out as fast as a 100-meter sprinter, each word filled with the grief and tears of someone who had been utterly betrayed: "Fourth Brother! It's this woman! She just attacked me! She knocked me off the building! Otherwise, I wouldn't have fallen so badly—and I'd be labeled a dangerous element for attacking a leader! Tell me, Fourth Brother, am I wronged?! I've had the worst luck imaginable, why did I have to fall on a leader? Heavens above, I'm innocent!"

Feng Shayan was completely stunned by the barrage of accusations.

She looked at Zhang Chulan, then at Feng Xingtong by the door, her expression shifting from confusion to even greater confusion.

She opened her mouth and asked, "Xing Tong? What happened? Where's Dad? What's going on? And Zhang Chu Lan—what are you babbling about?"

Feng Xingtong was about to explain, but before she could even open her mouth halfway and pronounce the first word, a powerful aura pressed down on her from behind.

That aura wasn't the pressure of the wind, nor the vibration of sound, but something pure, bursting forth from the depths of a person's soul.

Xu Si stood there, and his aura expanded several times in an instant, like a silent shockwave spreading outward from him.

That sense of oppression was not transmitted through Qi, but rather felt instinctively by everyone present.

Feng Xingtong's mouth closed automatically, Feng Shayan's brows furrowed even more but she didn't say anything, and even Feng Baobao peeked half her head out from behind Xu San to look at Xu Si before quickly shrinking back.

"Shut up, all of you. Be quiet. Everyone standing in this office right now—is a suspect."

Xu Si's voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to be poured into the ears of everyone present by some irresistible force, leaving no room for doubt, rebuttal, or bargaining.

He scanned the entire room, his gaze moving from Feng Shayan's face to Feng Xingtong's, from Zhang Chulan's face to Feng Baobao's, and finally settling on the person directly in front of him.

"Everyone, come with me. You either choose to come back to the company for investigation, or you choose to go to the police station—I'll choose for you: go to the company. Don't ask any questions; I don't have time to explain. I'm Xu Si, the head of the North China region, and I'm in charge here now. Do you all understand?"

Feng Baobao was startled by Xu Si's imposing aura and shrank behind Xu San, revealing only her eyes and a wisp of bangs on her forehead.

She spoke to Xu San in a very soft voice, almost like a whisper, but it could still be faintly heard in the quiet office: "Xu San, Xu Si is terrifying—I can feel his Qi, he's very angry, he even wants to kill."

Xu San tilted his head slightly, covered his mouth with his hand, and replied in a lower voice, "Shh—baby, don't speak. Don't say a single word. Now."

Feng Baobao nodded as if she understood, then shrank back behind Xu San, leaving only that unruly tuft of hair sticking out and trembling slightly in the light...