We Can't Stop Him Now!

Inside the private room.

Wen Wenyu and Lu Yanjin sat facing each other, while Shen Yu had brought his own seat to the table.

Shen Yu was typing away with gusto when a square shadow fell over him.

After being subjected to the flavorless milk tea, Wen Wenyu needed a new drink to rinse his mouth. He held up the drinks menu and asked, "Want anything to drink?"

Shen Yu gave it a quick glance. He had just finished his milk tea and didn't have much appetite. "A glass of plain water will do."

He looked at Lu Yanjin, who was sitting ramrod straight. "Get him a coffee to perk him up."

Lu Yanjin: "I'm not drinking it. It's bitter."

Shen Yu refused. "You're drinking it."

Lu Yanjin: "...All right, then."

Seeing the amusement flash through Shen Yu's eyes, Lu Yanjin shook his head helplessly.

He really holds a grudge.

Wasn't it just because I wouldn't let him eat spicy strips?

Wen Wenyu pressed the call button. "Two cold brews, one without sugar, and a glass of warm water."

Shen Yu went back to typing.

Knock, knock—

"Gentlemen, your coffee is ready."

Wen Wenyu: "Come in."

Shen Yu was surprised. "That fast?"

The waiter walked in carrying a tray, serving them with a smile. "Yes, sir. Prompt service is our shop's specialty."

He came over and stopped beside Shen Yu, placing the warm water precisely in front of him and the unsweetened coffee in front of Lu Yanjin. He handed the last cup to Wen Wenyu.

"Enjoy your drinks, gentlemen."

Dimples appeared on the waiter's face as he smiled. After bowing and offering his good wishes, he left the room... and stopped at the door.

Wen Wenyu picked up his straw and took a big sip. The familiar bitterness, tinged with a faint fragrance, washed over the back of his tongue. Noticing Shen Yu watching him, he lazily raised his pale violet eyes.

"I haven't started timing yet."

Could he let me finish my drink?

Shen Yu withdrew his appraising gaze and looked at Lu Yanjin, whose expression was conflicted. From the smell alone, the sharp bitterness had already crept through his nose and into his mouth.

Meeting Shen Yu's gaze as he waited for a show, Lu Yanjin lifted the lid and took a sip.

The bitterness nearly twisted his face into a mask of agony.

An intense bitterness filled his mouth, the burnt flavor washing over his tongue and straight down his throat.

But nothing showed on his face.

Lu Yanjin: "It's all right."

Shen Yu: "Then have another sip."

Lu Yanjin: "..."

Shen Yu lowered his head to fiddle with his phone again. Seeing that Luo Ningsang hadn't replied, he added another line: "Even you think there's something wrong with my mental state?"... Wasn't that rubbing a little too much salt in Consultant Luo's wound?

Thinking of how Luo Ningsang would very likely start shedding big pearl-like tears with a blank face again...

He'd better comfort him.

He typed again.

Forget it. It was only a psychological assessment, after all. It wasn't as if he couldn't pass.

Shen Yu: I can cooperate, bro.

But the message wouldn't send.

A bright red exclamation mark appeared beside his message.

—Unable to connect to the network. Please try again later.

The signal was gone.

Shen Yu's brows knitted.

The door was pushed open. Shen Yu's hand shook, and his phone fell, sliding under one of the sofas on either side of the room. The sound was drowned out by the door closing.

The waiter from before walked back in.

Wen Wenyu frowned. "I didn't call you."

The man still wore a smile, but now, no matter how one looked at it, there was something sinister about it. He raised his right hand, setting a golden pocket watch swinging. At its center was a wavy pattern like a mosquito coil.

Shen Yu turned his head and saw Wen Wenyu and Lu Yanjin staring fixedly at the center of the pocket watch.

This was bad.

Snap!

The waiter snapped his fingers.

Both men stood up at once.

Their pupils were unfocused, and they had clearly lost consciousness of themselves.

Shen Yu unconsciously turned his wheelchair backward, bumping into the chest of the person behind him. The three formed a triangle, surrounding him, and a soft chuckle came from behind.

"Don't move, or I can't guarantee their safety."

Shen Yu looked up. A pair of smiling eyes were looking down at him, but the smile didn't reach their depths.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Bai Yin."

Shen Yu's whole body was stiff as Bai Yin pushed him out the door.

"My master wants to see you."

Bai Yin's airy tone made it sound as though he were saying what fine weather it was today.

The two men followed close behind, one on either side like guards.

Shen Yu, who had guessed who it was in just one second: "Is Bai Xiaofan a sewer rat? Can't stand the sunlight, so he has to sneak around to see me?"

Shen Yu kept talking.

"Speaking of which, isn't your master being held at the Police Bureau? He didn't sneak out, did he?"

A warm touch came from the back of his neck, and Shen Yu fell silent.

Bai Yin applied a little pressure, leaving red marks on his pale skin. "Mr. Shen, you're full of little tricks, aren't you?"

Then he caught Shen Yu's hand as he tried to leave a mark, placed it on his knee, and patted it reassuringly.

The four left the private room, took the staff passage straight to the back door, and got into a van.

The license plate was cloned.

Luo Ningsang pulled up the surveillance footage. He and the man who had taken Shen Yu had entered or left the café almost one right after the other.

A little earlier,

and he could have caught them in the act.

Luo Ningsang's fingers clenched with a cracking sound.

But neither the surveillance cameras in the private room nor those in the hallway had captured Bai Yin's full face clearly. At most, they could make out his profile. He always managed to find a blind spot to hide in.

Luo Ningsang took out his phone and contacted someone at the Police Bureau. "Trace where this vehicle went. Mobilize personnel, send out every team, and check for suspicious individuals starting from Xingwu Street, working outward."

Xu Shenzheng slammed a fist into the wall. "The coffee's been sent for testing. And Lu Yanjin claimed he had a keen sense of smell? He drank two big mouthfuls like a complete idiot!"

Lu Xianchang had already headed back to get the computer.

The surveillance footage played again.

The camera in the private room faced the table from the doorway, giving it a clear view of the three people at the table. Bai Yin had stayed in the blind spot by the door the whole time.

"Stop!"

Luo Ningsang had noticed Shen Yu's hand shake and his phone fall.

He ran to the private room, crouched down, and retrieved the phone from under the sofa. There was no password, and the first thing he saw was a message that had failed to send.

I can cooperate, bro.

"..."

Xu Shenzheng felt the temperature around him plummet, raising goosebumps all over his skin. Then he saw Luo Ningsang let out a low chuckle, his voice suppressed.

Xu Shenzheng pulled out his phone with trembling hands.

Lin Xinluo's phone rang.

Xu Shenzheng: Sister Luoluo... get ready to write a report.

Lin Xinluo: ?!

Lin Xinluo: Where are you? I'm coming over now.

Xu Shenzheng: Even if you come, you can't stop him now! The boss has already started cleaning his gun!

Lin Xinluo: !!! That bastard Luo Ningsang!