Young Shen He

As Xu Shi had said.

Shen He's recent life had not been ideal.

Nearly two weeks had passed since Luo Zhikang went missing. Coupled with the tightly shut gates of the stronghold and the bodyguards who had vanished along with him, only a fool wouldn't know something had happened.

Shen He could also estimate that this was "Serpent Coil's" doing.

This relentless pressure was making it hard for him to breathe, but what puzzled him even more was why the other party could always pinpoint his vulnerabilities so accurately.

Xia Wuyou was one thing, as she was employed by "Serpent Coil"... but what happened afterward was somewhat unbelievable.

The surprise raid on the District 13 factory was a private deal between him and He Yuqiang, and no third party should have been aware of it.

Not to mention, he had launched the operation the very next day after it was approved, aiming for a complete surprise.

Yet, "Serpent Coil" seemed to have been prepared, reinforcing the defenses with a large number of personnel, forcing them to pay a heavy price.

Luo Zhikang's situation was even more absurd. The old gentleman had gone into hiding, lying low in a corner of District 12 for nearly ten years, never noticed by anyone.

This was proof of how well he had concealed himself... Shen He himself had been quite surprised to learn he was still alive.

But shortly after entrusting him with "Sea Crane," "Serpent Coil" operatives had appeared and abducted him.

All of this gave Shen He a distinct feeling.

The person pulling the strings behind the scenes had a complete grasp of every detail, and based on that, had meticulously planned everything in advance.

Everyone else was merely acting according to the path he had laid out.

This was what Shen He found most incomprehensible—even "Tianhe" back in the day couldn't possess such a level of foresight.

So, Xu Shi... how could he?

Shen He genuinely didn't believe that playboy possessed such capabilities, but the current reality forced him to accept it.

From the moment he took action against "Serpent Coil," his once smooth sailing life had taken a sharp downturn.

Despite expending vast amounts of manpower and resources, he had ultimately gained nothing. The only operation that could be considered a "success" was quickly extinguished.

The successive failures had dealt him a tremendous blow. "Spark's" hard-earned foundation had been depleted by more than half, and its most crucial talents were either dead or injured.

Not to mention, he had personally experienced the ruthless betrayal of someone he cherished.

Tsk...

Just then, the communicator on his wrist rang.

"Leader, Leader! Lei Song is awake!"

!

This was likely the best news Shen He had heard recently. Without thinking further, he rushed over.

Lei Song, lying on the hospital bed, was still very weak. Extensive burns and his missing arm made him look rather ghastly.

"Leader..."

"It's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake."

Shen He breathed a sigh of relief. "You're still very weak, get some good rest first."

"...I was incompetent and failed your expectations."

Lei Song was deeply moved by his words, but then became agitated. "It's all that bitch from the Inspection Bureau's fault! I... I'll chop her into eight pieces sooner or later!"

The revenge for his severed arm was truly a matter of irreconcilable hatred.

"Mm-hmm."

Shen He nodded in agreement, but inwardly, he knew this matter was not easily handled.

The media had been flooded with reports about the incident these past few days, and he was aware that the person who arrived at the scene was Director Tang Shuang of the Inspection Bureau.

Dealing with her would likely be no easier than dealing with "Serpent Coil."

At least for now, he lacked the strength and energy for it.

And the matter he was most concerned about was not this.

"I saw on the news that another person was present at the time, and you were both listed as wanted criminals afterward?"

He asked curiously, "That person wasn't one of ours... did he save you?"

"Yes."

Upon mentioning his savior, Lei Song's demeanor visibly softened. "If he hadn't intervened, I probably wouldn't have made it back alive."

"But I injured my eyes at the time and couldn't see clearly. I only knew that he..."

Listening to his fragmented narration, Shen He's expression gradually became somewhat strange.

He had already felt a bit suspicious when the Inspection Bureau released the wanted information.

Combined with what Lei Song had said, it felt like... this person was Xia Wuyou?

He had a rough idea of Xia Wuyou's Ability after the failure at Huajin Plain—it was gravity-related, very similar to this Armored Man.

But hadn't she already chosen to side with Xu Shi? Why would she intervene to save him in a moment of crisis?

Xu Shi's contradictory actions truly puzzled Shen He. Was she merely playing along with Xu Shi, and were her previous actions forced upon her?

...Or was this another of Xu Shi's schemes, hiding some other calculation behind it?

He was willing to believe the first scenario with all his heart, but reason forced him to lean towards the second.

This internal struggle was undoubtedly agonizing.

"Leader, speaking of which, what's the situation with the drones?"

Unaware of Shen He's thoughts, Lei Song asked about what concerned him. "Old Man Luo, pfft, has Mr. Luo figured it out?"

"..."

Shen He was instantly speechless.

Lei Song had only just woken up, and Shen He truly couldn't bear to tell him, nor did he feel right about revealing that the mission he'd nearly died for had been for nothing.

Even Luo Zhikang himself...

However, as he was trying to find the right words, someone else had already stepped in to help answer.

A bullet shattered the hospital room's glass and flew directly between the two men.

"What's going on?!"

Lei Song sat up abruptly. "Who's shooting?"

He couldn't believe someone would dare to cause trouble on "Spark's" territory.

But Shen He didn't seem surprised.

After all, such incidents had happened countless times recently.

The continuous setbacks and the breakdown of cooperation with "Shark Tooth" had caused "Spark's" influence in Sin City to plummet drastically, and their control over many strongholds was no longer what it used to be.

This gave other gangs an opportunity to start encroaching on "Spark's" territory.

At first, it was only gangs of similar standing, but it soon escalated to the point where even small, fragmented organizations dared to step on them.

And these gangs all had one thing in common – they had all received equipment support from "Shark Tooth" to varying degrees.

It was clear that He Yuqiang intended to exterminate "Spark" completely.

With such a concerted attack, coupled with their own severe injuries, "Spark" had lost many strongholds in less than two weeks, and their living space had been greatly compressed.

Even their current location was a safe house they had moved to several times.

The subsequent explosion also proved it was one of many attacks... or was it not?!

Because through the window, Shen He saw a heavy armored vehicle slowly approaching his direction.

This was "Shark Tooth's" flagship product, the "Grizzly"!

And he knew very well that "Shark Tooth" would never provide this level of weaponry to support gangs in Sin City.

Therefore, it could only be...

"Hey Shen, if I don't turn you into minced meat in this armored vehicle today, then my name isn't He!"