Someone's Charge

Of course, this would most likely draw an investigation afterward. Whether it was the Shadow Bureau or the Insect Blood Society, they would probably trace the clues back to him.

"Good luck." Ye Qian silently mourned for him.

A few minutes later...

Min Xingyuan, who had just gone out to buy some snacks, returned home, turned on his phone, and saw the messages on the temporary account.

After reading every sentence, he froze completely.

"No way?"

He simply could not believe it.

Especially that final farewell. Judging by the tone, it seemed the girl had been enduring immense pain at the end.

"Damn it!"

He clenched his fists.

It had not been easy... not easy at all for him to finally like a girl. Why did she suddenly have to...

Whenever he thought of that pitiful, kind girl, his heart twisted painfully.

"Damn Insect Blood Society, damn them! Why did they have to make such a kind girl suffer so much?!"

He slammed his fist viciously into the sofa.

"Everyone looks down on me. Only she... only she! Why did she have to leave this world just after I met her? She was already so pitiful, why?! Why is this world so unfair?!"

Thinking of the beautiful girl's final, red-rimmed, pitiful appearance, he truly wished he could capture those Insect Blood Society people and tear them to pieces.

Someone's Charge

Half a day later, Shi Jing, an undercover operative of the Shadow Bureau, was called into the captain's office.

When he entered, he saw six team members seated together, each wearing a rather subtle expression.

"What happened?" Shi Jing asked, though he already knew.

"Take a look."

The captain slid a tablet toward him.

A video was playing, showing footage from Xi Lulu's livestream.

"This..."

"Hehe, openly provoking the Shadow Bureau? These people have some nerve, choosing a public place like a livestream room too." The female team member, a somewhat mature-looking young woman, could not help laughing.

The captain snorted. "We had not even made a move against them, yet these idiots came out to provoke us. I am beginning to wonder whether this is really as simple as it looks."

"Captain, do you mean someone is framing this organization?"

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." The captain tapped his fingers on the desk. "Based on the information we got from the Chief, the Insect Blood Society should have quite a few local enemies. For example, the little blonde girl he mentioned himself."

Quite a few people's expressions shifted. "Do we need to investigate?"

"No. We only need to start with the Insect Blood Society. This matter has gotten too big. Although the livestream room has already been banned, the impact has already spread." As the captain spoke, he stood up, his expression gradually turning solemn.

"This has pushed the Insect Blood Society into the spotlight, and it has pushed us forward as well. Higher-ups have already put pressure on our branch. To settle this matter, even if there is a trap involved, we must fight the Insect Blood Society to the death."

"What a pain." The woman yawned. "Still, we get paid. Let's get to work..."

Shi Jing could somewhat understand the situation.

Under normal circumstances, the Shadow Bureau would not excessively monitor hidden forces.

Rather, the existence of Transcendent organizations was tacitly permitted in the first place.

What was truly illegal were organizations that clearly displayed dangerous tendencies.

Although the Shadow Bureau was powerful, there were no shortage of organizations in the darkness capable of contending with them.

Their limited manpower had to be spread across the entire country. In a remote little city of little value like Konghai City, their strength was somewhat insufficient.

"The local headquarters has already begun investigating this matter. We may receive a mission as well. Stay on standby."

Another two hours passed, and an explosion occurred in neighboring Jinghai City.

After the police who arrived at the scene investigated the situation, they realized something was wrong and immediately contacted the Shadow Bureau.

The Konghai branch in charge of the matter also dispatched personnel.

Shi Jing finally had something to do.

Only after following them to the scene did he discover that the victim was an ordinary family living in a residential building.

"According to the investigation, the husband of this family was the one who donated to Xi Lulu. He made the donation at a nearby internet café."

Shi Jing's heart stirred.

He was certain the Insect Blood Society had acted. They were faster than the Shadow Bureau.

A few minutes later, new information arrived... Xi Lulu had died at home.

"What kind of ridiculous efficiency is this?"

Shi Jing felt somewhat stifled. The Insect Blood Society's investigative speed and operational efficiency were actually faster than the Shadow Bureau's.

The team quickly dealt with the scene. Then, the captain moved the donor's corpse into the ruined living room.

A square table was placed in the center of the room.

Candles, edible spices, gold...

These items were arranged in a strange manner, and the trash in the room was also repositioned.

The female team member stepped forward and stood by the corpse's feet in front of the table, holding up a pendant.

"3, 2, 1..."

Whoosh—

Under Shi Jing's astonished gaze, the deceased sat upright stiffly and opened his eyes.

"Question. Who told you to donate to Xi Lulu and recite those words?" the woman asked.

"A young man I did not know. Slightly overweight. He claimed to have a lot of money."

"The exact place where he told you to donate. Do you have his contact information?"

"The place was..."

His finger moved and pointed to a map beside him.

"I do not have his contact information. We met in person."

"Good. Your task is complete."

Bang!

The corpse fell over.

Shi Jing's mouth twitched.

Was this the power of the Transcendent?

"Now that we know the meeting place, the rest will be easy. Give me ten minutes." The woman glanced at the captain.

"Go."

"Yes."

Before long, the woman returned with information, and the group headed directly to their destination.

When they arrived and knocked on the door of the relevant residence, there was no response.

The captain installed a small lock-breaking bomb.

With a bang, the door opened.

The scene inside was shocking.

All the curtains were drawn. The room was a complete mess, and corpses covered the floor.

Two of them wore the black robes and masks of the Insect Blood Society.

A cross stood in the center of the living room, with a mangled, bloody man tied to it.

"Min Xingyuan?"

Shi Jing recognized him at once.

The captain immediately stepped forward, took several leaves from his person, stuck them onto Min Xingyuan's body, and then untied the ropes around his arms.

After spraying him several times with a strange mist, the man regained a little vitality.

"His life has been temporarily sustained. In this state, he probably will not live much longer."

The captain muttered before crouching down and asking, "How do you feel?"

Half-conscious, Min Xingyuan opened his eyes. "I... I'm scared."

"Do not be afraid. You have been saved."

The captain comforted him and laid him flat on the floor.

"Tell us everything you know."

Min Xingyuan slowly came back to his senses and panted, "The Insect Blood Society."

"The Insect Blood Society. I spent a lot of money and hired ten people to declare war on the Insect Blood Society online. Then they found my home. Only two came. We used dozens of guns and wounded one of them, then forced information about their temporary base out of him. The other escaped."

The captain raised his brows. "Why did you do that?"

"I hate them, so I brought people to this temporary residence... We launched a surprise attack and killed many of them, but they... were too powerful. I was tied up here, cough cough. Those people were afraid of drawing the Shadow Bureau here, so they fled early. Are you... the Shadow Bureau?"

"Yes."

The captain's gaze was strange and complicated.

"I do not know whether you are good people, but the Insect Blood Society killed her and tortured me too. I'm so scared..."

Seeing the look in his eyes, Shi Jing did not know what to feel.

The truly smart approach would have been to hide at home and do nothing. It would actually have been difficult for the Insect Blood Society to trace the clues back to him, because the Shadow Bureau had already intervened. They might have feared the Shadow Bureau and dared not investigate openly.

But actively exposing himself was different.

This shut-in had not only jumped out on his own, he had even led people to attack them?

Did he have to be this fierce?

"His life force is fading." The captain watched the man's complexion worsen at a visible rate. "There is no useful information."

Shi Jing, controlled by Little Soul, calmly took two steps toward the front left and arrived before the shut-in.

The Mystic Thread passed beside him.

"Min Xingyuan." A voice appeared in his mind. "I am that girl's friend in the Shadow Bureau. She asked me to pass on a message... She said that you might have been safe if you had done nothing. Do not do anything unnecessary."

Min Xingyuan opened his eyes. Seeing the man before him, his gaze became somewhat agitated.

"You..."

"Do not speak. Do not expose me." Shi Jing actually knew the man no longer had the strength to speak. "She did not want you to be in danger... Sigh, if you have any clues, tell me everything. Just imagine it all in your mind, and I will know. I will help you avenge her."

"She is already dead?" The shut-in sounded utterly disbelieving.

"Yes. She suffered even more than you did."

Yeah, she had only self-destructed, that was all.

"Wuwu~" He wept bitterly in his heart, tears streaming from his eyes as well. "I liked her. Why did our fates have to be like this? Why?! I only wanted to avenge her."

Behind Shi Jing, Ye Qian felt incredibly pained.

"This... should be my fault, I guess. But I did not expect things to turn out like this either."

He had actually been willing to die for a girl he did not even know.