Hunt Qi Chuan!

Seeing that Qi Chuan had nearly finished wolfing down his food, Su Chen waited a while longer before slowly walking in.

Qi Chuan's shoulders trembled. He looked up, the resentment in his eyes vanishing in a flash, leaving behind only a helpless, bitter smile. "Brother Su... I've finally seen you. Did it really have to come to this?"

"I..." He sighed. "I was only unwilling to accept it. I couldn't control Jiang He, so back then, I thought about... killing someone."

"Later, something unexpected happened, and I only wanted to find out what had really happened that night."

Right away, he brought up the reason the two had crossed paths. He seemed thoroughly sincere and seriously apologized for contacting Hu Xiang.

"It was only because you were young and handsome that jealousy consumed me and gave rise to murderous intentions. I will never harbor any ill intentions toward you again."

"Is that all?" Su Chen's reaction was calm.

"Brother..." Qi Chuan said helplessly, "you should have looked into my background. I'm just a live-in son-in-law. Jiang Rong keeps a close watch on me, and I don't have any extra income in the Research Department either."

"Who's behind you?" Su Chen asked bluntly.

"I..." Qi Chuan's gaze flickered, his face full of difficulty. "Don't ask. It won't do anyone any good if you find out. I didn't contact him after coming in this time. I'll honestly stay here for the next few days. Just consider it my atonement."

"We're all on the same path. Give me a chance."

His final words carried a faint hint of implication.

Su Chen stared at him. He really knew when to bend and when to stand tall.

The last time Su Chen had mentioned being on the same path, Qi Chuan had nearly lost control. This time, to dispel Su Chen's vigilance, he apologized, flattered him, and finally even took the initiative to bring up those four words.

"Jiang He came to save you," Su Chen said with some emotion. "She's upstairs."

Upstairs? Qi Chuan secretly gritted his teeth, but forced out a smile. "We were husband and wife, after all."

"Sign this, and you can leave tonight." Su Chen took out a leather scroll.

Qi Chuan knew what it was, but he was not surprised. He sighed. "This should have happened long ago."

He seemed quite carefree as he took it and signed his name. The characters on the leather scroll flashed faintly, and the entire scroll disintegrated.

Su Chen took it back and turned to leave. "Wait until tonight, and I'll let you out."

"I believe you, Brother." Qi Chuan said warmly. He could not have stayed much longer anyway; sooner or later, he had to get out.

Boom!

The cell door shut again. Qi Chuan snorted inwardly, but suddenly felt his heart contract, a faint stabbing pain spreading through it.

"What's going on..." He touched his chest, but the sensation quickly faded. The hunger in his belly tormented him every moment, and every cell in his body seemed to be wailing.

"At most, I just need to endure a few more days."

What he had not expected was that only three or four hours later, at around ten that night, Su Chen actually released him.

"I can leave?" Qi Chuan was still somewhat surprised.

"If you don't want to leave, you can stay longer." The guard was expressionless.

"Leave, I'm leaving." Qi Chuan was already starving mad. He had originally wanted to retrieve the things he had before entering prison.

Instead, he was informed that the person in charge had already gotten off work. If he wanted them, he could only come back tomorrow morning.

"Forget it." Qi Chuan turned and left. The Inspection Department was in the inner city, and walking back would only take three or four hours. If he waited until tomorrow morning, who knew what trouble might arise.

The night was dim, and at this hour, there were already few people on the streets.

"Why hasn't it acted up yet? Was the dose too small?"

In the shadows some distance away, Su Chen wore the Shadow-Hiding Garment and held binoculars, trailing far behind Qi Chuan with a different face.

It was the Mimicry Mask Yuan Chenyang had given him. If he felt unsafe when going out, he could use it to disguise himself. It was also a tiered item.

[Mimicry Mask (Tier 1): Crafted from Ghost Demon Hide, it can make simple changes to one's facial features.]

"I wonder how far the plan has progressed?" Qi Chuan instinctively walked through the shadows, pondering inwardly.

"I originally planned to proceed gradually. Once Jiang He died, I would gain Jiang Rong's support, then use the theft of the Holy Word Stone to take down Yuan Chenyang. Jiang Rong would support Zhou Xian in taking over as head of the Inspection Department, and then all I had to do was wait another year... Unfortunately, things went wrong from the very beginning!"

He could not help but grow angry. "Where the hell did Su Chen come from!"

That man had too many secrets. Qi Chuan did not believe the outside rumors that Yuan Chenyang had long since taken Su Chen as his student, laying plans far ahead and planting him as an undercover agent within the city patrol.

"...Damn it!"

The hunger in his belly, the frustration in his heart, the cuckold's green hat over his head, and the submissive attitude he had just been forced to adopt before Su Chen all left Qi Chuan consumed by rage.

"One day... Su Chen, Jiang He, I'll make you beg for death, beg for—"

"Urgh!"

Suddenly, Qi Chuan, whose expression had been constantly shifting, collapsed to the ground. He struggled to breathe as agonizing pain tore through his heart, and green streaks appeared along his arms.

"This is? Corpse-Shadow Poison!" His pupils contracted. "When was I..."

"An... antidote!"

Faced with the sudden threat of death, Qi Chuan had no time to think of anything else. He spun around and headed toward the outer city.

"Where is he going?" Su Chen was rather surprised. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly followed.

Qi Chuan was a Tier 2 Professional, but he had been starving for days and was also severely poisoned. He staggered along at no great speed, allowing Su Chen to follow him easily.

Qi Chuan's face was pale, and cold sweat covered his forehead. Only after running for three or four hours did he reach the edge of the inner city, just one step away from the outer city.

Su Chen had even feared that he would die on the way, yet he somehow endured it.

Qi Chuan stopped in front of a dilapidated apartment building and rushed straight to the top floor. Without even taking out a key, he forcibly broke down the door. Dust flew everywhere, and tables, chairs, and benches toppled over.

Bang!

He tore open a section of wall, pulled a metal box from within, hastily verified his fingerprint, then took out a glass bottle and gulped down its contents.

By now, the green streaks had nearly climbed to his neck.

"Huff... huff... huff..." Qi Chuan gasped heavily and collapsed onto his back, his body convulsing nonstop as though he had snatched his life back from the hands of death.

As his tightly wound nerves finally relaxed, he instinctively began to think about when exactly he had been poisoned.

But suddenly, a chill ran through his heart, and he turned his head.

A blurry shadow was already charging in from outside the door. A long whip cracked through the air, frightening him out of his wits.

Before he could react, his head suddenly exploded with pain, as if needles had been driven through his temples. But he could still withstand that much.

"Who!"

He roared, blazing flames erupting from his eyes and expanding into a curtain of fire in an instant.

But he was still a step too late. The whip shadow tore through the fiery curtain and was already descending upon him. Qi Chuan instinctively raised both hands, intense flames blazing around them.

Yet the end of that whip shadow suddenly scattered like celestial maidens tossing flowers, transforming into countless fine threads that lashed down with savage force!

"Ah!" Qi Chuan let out a miserable scream. The metal threads were like high-speed wire saws, forcibly cutting into his arms as blood and flesh burst apart!

"A Tier 2 item? Who? Who the hell wants to kill me?!" Terror filled Qi Chuan's heart. The weakness of his body had severely diminished his strength.

One or two of the metal wires coiled like venomous snakes, slipping through the gaps between his arms and piercing directly into his eyes, violently stirring inside his brain.

Splat! Eye fluid sprayed out!

"Urgh!"

His body stiffened. Qi Chuan made no further sound, and the flames around him gradually faded.

[Advancement condition one: Hunt and kill a Tier 2 Professional without being noticed by anyone else during the process (Completed)]