He just broke up with his girlfriend and is already living with the devilish rich girl.

On the top floor of the hexagonal tower, Qingyao leaned against the window.

This is the highest point in the Ghost Market of Youdu, where you can see the entire dark red sky.

Countless phosphorescent lanterns flickered on and off in the streets and alleys.

This vast Ghost City of the Underworld is at her beck and call.

She is not affiliated with the Special Administration, but has been one of its most stable partners for thousands of years.

Many matters that were inconvenient for the Special Administration Bureau to handle became more manageable when they came to her territory.

Luo Yao didn't stand on ceremony and sat down on the soft couch opposite Qing Yao. She even took an unknown purple-skinned fruit from the fruit plate and took a bite.

Treat it like your own home.

Bai Ziheng stood beside her, his gaze habitually sweeping over the layout of the room.

Qingyao didn't stop her, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly, which was considered tacit approval.

"We've already found out the details of that incident from last time."

Qingyao turned around, took out a thin booklet from her sleeve, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Luoyao.

"All the animal breath has been artificially processed."

"The other party's methods are very sophisticated. After extracting your chaotic power, they mixed it with at least three different catalysts."

"Adding to the artificial alien core you showed me last time, I can confirm that these two things were made by the same group of people."

Luo Yao looked up from the fruit plate and stopped chewing the fruit.

She took the booklet and flipped through a few pages, her brows furrowing more and more deeply, before finally shoving the booklet into Bai Ziheng's hands.

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked in the direction Qingyao was pointing.

Qingyao refers to a gray industrial factory on the edge of the outer district of Youdu, with wisps of blue smoke rising from its chimneys.

"That's the one."

Qingyao withdrew her hand, her tone indifferent.

"It's a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant nominally under the Special Administration, but you know better than I do what it's actually doing."

"My men couldn't investigate any further. Going any deeper would alert the enemy, so the rest is up to you."

"So it was an inside job."

Luo Yao rolled her eyes, stuffed the remaining half of the fruit into her mouth, and mumbled a curse.

"Understood. Let that old bastard Zheng Ningyuan deal with this. If the investigation of the mole leads back to him, let's see how he can slack off then."

Qingyao didn't respond to that.

Her gaze passed over Luo Yao and landed on Bai Ziheng, who was always half a step away from her, her tone carrying a hint of mischief.

"You really do take him everywhere you go. This trip to Youdu is for official business, but you're always sticking to him like glue."

"What exactly is your relationship?"

Luo Yao turned her head with a smile and glanced at Bai Ziheng, then turned back to meet Qing Yao's gaze, her lips curving like a fox that had just stolen a chicken.

"First of all, I didn't come here to see you, but to return something... about it..."

"Whatever you think the relationship is, then that's the relationship."

Bai Ziheng lowered his head slightly behind Luo Yao, but his expression remained calm.

...

...

three days later.

A crow swooped down from the clouds, its wings brushing against the barbed wire fence surrounding the factory, and landed silently on the roof beam.

Those scarlet eyes moved, syncing frame by frame the entire view of the factory below to the mobile vehicle hidden in the abandoned shipping container in the distance.

"The factory has been out of contact for more than 24 hours since the notice for assistance in the investigation was issued."

The agent responsible for intelligence support swiped rapidly across the control panel, projecting the images transmitted by the crow onto the main screen.

"This is the current situation around the factory."

On the screen, the factory's walls, gates, roof, and even the edges of every window were tinged with a faint blue light.

That wasn't ordinary lighting; it was a protective barrier.

A high-density isolation barrier woven from layers upon layers using complex techniques.

There are at least three layers, from the outer perimeter to the core.

The density of techniques at each level far exceeds that of conventional security levels.

What's even more dangerous is that these barriers are not arranged in a fixed defensive manner, but rather they are constantly changing position like water.

"If we want to continue exploring further—"

The screen on the control panel suddenly turned into static.

In the last frame of the image transmitted back by the crow, a hand formed from black smoke reached out from inside the factory.

He spread his five fingers and grasped the crow that was circling low in the sky.

The image froze at that moment, and then the entire screen turned black.

The operator's fingers stopped on the keyboard.

She looked up at the lines of error codes flashing across the screen, her voice kept quiet.

"This is the consequence. The other side is also a unit under the Special Administration Bureau, so they are well aware of our reconnaissance methods."

There were eight people inside the vehicle.

Special Operations Group of the Special Administrative Region Administration.

Code name: "Judgment".

All are Rank A operators.

This team does not participate in regular missions; they only take on the highest priority cases involving high-risk supernatural crimes, internal betrayals, and emergencies.

Those who can get into this group must have a minimum rating of A.

"From now on, everyone listen carefully."

The captain, seated in the main seat, pressed the switch for the holographic projection, and a three-dimensional structural diagram of the factory unfolded in the center of the carriage.

"This operation was a small-scale, targeted strike. Before we can confirm the evidence of its crimes, it remains a sister unit to us, so we cannot carry out a large-scale intrusion."

"The operation was divided into four groups, each with its own responsibilities, and no link in the chain could be broken."

He pointed to several nodes around the factory with his finger, and the corresponding locations lit up in red on the hologram.

"Group A, Barrier Breakthrough Group."

"Your mission is to simultaneously penetrate the outer barrier from three directions after the operation begins and cut off its energy supply lines."

"Don't try to break through head-on; use disruptive techniques to paralyze their power supply nodes."

He steered towards the factory's main entrance area.

"Group B, Frontal Assault Group."

"After Group A creates an opening, you will launch your attack from the main entrance."

"Remember, your mission is to create pressure and tie their defenses down on the front lines."

"I need you to create a force that would require the opponent to deploy all their remaining forces to suppress you."

He pointed to a narrow ventilation duct on the side of the factory.

"Group C, Infiltration and Investigation Team."

"While Group B draws all our attention, you infiltrate the factory through the side ventilation ducts."

"The objective is to find evidence of animal breath processing, the production line for artificial cores, and any documents related to the mole within the Special Administration."

"Be quick, make little noise, and send a signal immediately after you succeed. Don't linger."

Finally, he slid towards the blue light band surrounding the factory.

"Group D, the outer perimeter containment group."

"Your task is to guard all the factory's exits."

"Regardless of whether what comes out of there is a person, an alien, or something else, take them all under control."

"Our goal this time is not just to shut down this factory, but more importantly, to capture everyone who has direct contact with the mole. Letting even one go means we've worked for nothing."

On the hologram, the positions of the four groups of people were marked with different colors.

Green light for Group A, red light for Group B, yellow light for Group C, blue light for Group D.

Each marker is followed by the corresponding operator's code name and ability rating.

The captain withdrew his hand and glanced at his watch.

"Everyone, check the time. Move out in two minutes."

Eight people raised their wrists at the same time.

The countdown numbers on the dial jumped in sync, and each tick of the second hand sounded like a heartbeat, exceptionally clear in the quiet carriage.

"Operation begins."