Trap

Masked Heroine and Celestial Star were worried about Ranger.

Meanwhile, at Hengyuan Group's headquarters in Our City...

The building looked rather deserted, but everything still seemed to be moving in the right direction.

After that upheaval, the once-mighty business empire had lost its former glory.

Of course, it had never amounted to much beside the Association. The Association was a global giant in a league of its own.

During the last operation, the organization's forces hidden in the city had suffered a heavy blow. Hengyuan Group had been deeply infiltrated by them, so it had taken a serious hit too. Many of its businesses had been uprooted, and a network built over years had collapsed overnight.

Still, not all its assets had been seized.

The Branch investigators had taken the inquiry into Hengyuan Group seriously, and the findings were clear: the group had been manipulated by the organization. It had not acted knowingly.

Many people throughout the group had no idea what lay behind the accounts they handled.

Even those who had tried to intervene at the site of the incident knew only that they were following the demands of the investors behind the scenes.

Those mysterious investors had helped Hengyuan Group considerably over the years. In the end, the group had left that side of things alone and focused on running its business... Who could have guessed those backers were actually...

Well, it was a painful story.

Fortunately, some businesses had survived. The Branch had also sent dedicated supervisors to oversee Hengyuan Group for a while. As long as it kept operating properly, everything could get back on track... right?

At the other end of the city, in a gloomy basement...

More than a dozen figures sat together. The atmosphere was so oppressive it seemed ready to drip.