Black Shield Police Department, Director Hogg

Ding, ding, ding... Yu Yuan felt as if his head were splitting open. His whole body ached, as though it had been pulled apart.

Still, the alarm gradually woke him.

He opened his eyes to the ceiling of the hideout and the soft glow of its energy-saving lamp.

His foggy mind slowly cleared.

"Am I... in the hideout?"

His earlier ordeal flashed through his mind: the Mutant Giant Rat, the fight, the escape.

He glanced at the Positioning Watch on his wrist. It was still vibrating and ringing relentlessly.

"That's the alarm I set. I needed to..." Yu Yuan's heavy eyes snapped wide open. He checked the time: 3:18 a.m.

"Oh no. The supplies I listed on Taotao Cave will hit the twelve-hour mark in five minutes."

Yu Yuan struggled upright in a panic. To keep anyone from buying his supplies, he had priced each item at a million Survival Points. If the time limit passed, the five-percent storage fee would be astronomical.

Thank goodness he had set an alarm. Otherwise, he would have been finished.

But the moment he braced his right hand against the bed, a piercing pain shot through his wrist.

Frowning, he looked down and found it slightly swollen.

The damage to his wrist was worse than he had thought.

He had no time to worry about the injury now.

"Miemie, come here."

Miemie had already come to his side when he woke. Yu Yuan gripped one of Miemie's horns with his left hand and finally managed to stand.

Fighting through the aches all over his body, he made his way to the air-raid Evacuation Passage outside the hideout and hurriedly took down every supply listing on Taotao Cave. With thirty seconds to spare, he removed the last barrel of fuel.

Yu Yuan looked at the twenty barrels of fuel, the weapons, equipment, and explosives packed around him, and let out a long breath.

With Miemie's help, he dragged the supplies he had left near the ladder exit back into the hideout. He took off his gear and brought out the vehicle first-aid kit and medical pack.

After tending to his wrist and applying medicine for bruises and sprains, he prepared to go back to sleep.

Then he saw Miemie and remembered that Miemie's High-Energy Sheep Milk seemed to help injuries heal, especially fractures.

His wrist was not broken, but it probably had a hairline crack and some bruising.

He drank his daily serving of High-Energy Sheep Milk, then stopped fighting his body's demands and fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, at the Black Shield Police Department...

Carmen was confined to a room by himself, waiting for the final decision.

He silently estimated how much time had passed.

I've been in here about ten hours. The investigators should be back by now.

As Carmen stared at the light overhead, one figure kept flashing through his mind.

Creak...

The door swung open. A towering, burly man entered and sat in a chair that looked a little too small for him.

He was a bald, dark-skinned man with sharp, alert eyes. The Commander Suit he wore weighed dozens of pounds, yet he carried it with effortless ease.

He looked at Carmen and got straight to the point.

"Carmen, the investigators are back. They found traces of the Burning Fortress, just as you said. Our people also saw men from Marauder Prison heading there a few hours ago. You're cleared."

Carmen was not surprised. He looked at the man before him.

"Commander Old Ke, there's no way the Burning Fortress and Marauder Prison attacked us together for something simple. I suspect this is only the beginning. Marauder Prison's earlier Ambush at the Land Hotel may have been bait to lure us into attacking their trade convoy. The inside source who tipped us off may already have been discovered."

"I know. We'll discuss that later. The director wants to see you now. Come with me."

Surprise finally crossed Carmen's face. "You mean Director Hogg?"

"Come on. Don't keep the director waiting," Old Ke urged.

"Yes, sir!"

The two went up to the police department's fifth floor and entered an extraordinarily luxurious room.

Someone was already waiting inside. He stood with his back to the door, gazing through the window at the night sky. The tip of his cigar glowed between his fingers.

Old Ke led Carmen in, snapped to attention, and saluted the figure.

"Director, I've brought Carmen!"

Two seconds later, the figure slowly turned. He gave Carmen a cool once-over, then turned back toward the window.

"Leave."

His voice rang through the room, flat and utterly devoid of emotion.

"Yes, sir!" Old Ke immediately led Carmen out.

Only then did Carmen notice the beads of sweat covering Commander Old Ke's nose. He was stunned.

Old Ke was the foremost of the Black Shield Police Department's three commanders, second only to the director. Yet even he feared the director this much.

"All right, you can go. War with Marauder Prison and the Burning Fortress will probably break out soon. But..." Old Ke eyed Carmen like prey.

"Don't tell anyone else about this yet. Do you understand?"

Carmen understood at once.

"I understand, Commander Old Ke."

"Go."

Carmen headed for the stairs, but just as he was about to descend, someone approached him from the opposite direction.

Carmen stopped. His heart tightened, and a fear that made him tremble suddenly surged through him. He immediately composed himself and saluted.

"Commander Lawrence!"

Lawrence seemed slightly surprised to see Carmen there. His steps faltered for an instant.

After giving Carmen a long look, the faintest hint of a smile touched his lips. Then he brushed past.

Carmen watched Lawrence walk away. Only then did that inexplicable fear slowly fade.

Sensing the change within himself, he recalled what Soda had said in the Sewer. His gaze toward Lawrence shifted ever so slightly.

He pressed his lips together, turned, and went downstairs.

When Yu Yuan woke again, it was already four in the afternoon.

He had slept for a full twelve hours, but his condition had improved.

During those twelve hours, the single bed had boosted his body's recovery, while the High-Energy Sheep Milk had helped heal him.

Apart from a faint ache in his right wrist, the soreness elsewhere had vanished. His drowsy mind was clear again.

Yu Yuan lit a cigarette to wake himself up, sat against the wall on his bed, and opened the virtual panel.

A surprising number of players were heatedly discussing something in the chat channel.

Messages flew by. Yu Yuan read them curiously and realized that something momentous had happened while he slept.