“Old Ding, can you immediately send a team to support us at Fangzhu Yayuan?”

“What happened?”

“I can’t get in touch with Yin Feng.”

“I’ll arrange it as soon as possible.”

After hanging up the phone, You Mingxu looked around. Everyone was busy; after such a major incident, they couldn’t spare personnel right away. She went to Xu Mengshan and said, “You watch over things here, I need to go somewhere.”

Xu Mengshan, having experienced both great sorrow and joy today, had just comforted his parents, and his eyes were still red. Hearing this, he became alert: “What happened?”

“I’m not sure yet. I can’t reach Yin Feng and his team, I’ll only feel at ease if I go check on them.”

Orders from superiors had already been passed down through the ranks, and they truly couldn’t spare people from this site. Xu Mengshan nodded: “I’ve got things covered here, we won’t miss you. Go ahead. Be careful, and call for backup if anything happens.” After a pause, he added: “Don’t risk your life for him.”

“I understand.”

Tu Ya’s car was parked outside the chicken farm, separate from the police cars, at some distance. The two got into the car.

Though night had fallen, there was still a hint of heat in the air. Coming out of the scorching hot chicken coops, You Mingxu felt parched, and Tu Ya even more so. As soon as the car steadily reached the main road, he unscrewed a bottle of mineral water from the center console and guzzled the entire bottle.

You Mingxu also took the water beside her seat and drank half the bottle in one go, finally quenching her thirst.

You Mingxu took out her phone again and dialed Yin Feng’s number, still unable to connect. She had the speakerphone on, and both their expressions grew increasingly grave.

“Teacher Yin and the others…” Tu Ya asked, “Nothing bad has happened to them, right?”

You Mingxu replied, “No. I believe in him.”

She believed that even if Yin Chen had set a trap, Yin Feng would have a way to deal with it. Every time, he had always been more capable than Yin Chen, always one step ahead. This time would surely be no exception.

Tu Ya felt somewhat relieved.

Despite saying this, You Mingxu turned to look out the window. Night had deepened, and under Tu Ya’s superb driving skills, they were rapidly approaching the city’s myriad lights. The distant horizon looked like a crouching beast, gradually revealing its silhouette.

“We’ll be there in five minutes,” Tu Ya said.

You Mingxu raised her eyebrows—were the two locations not far apart? If so, they should arrive earlier than the support Ding Xiongwei could dispatch. However, Ding Xiongwei had limited police forces at his disposal, and they might not arrive as promptly as they would.

In the distance, they finally saw a cluster of new buildings standing in the night. You Mingxu’s brow furrowed as she exclaimed, “What’s that?”

Tu Ya’s mind jolted, and he narrowed his eyes to look. Indeed, he also saw thick billowing smoke coming from one of the floors of one of the high-rise buildings.

“There’s a fire!”

Although she didn’t know which building it was, You Mingxu mentally estimated the floor and felt a sense of foreboding. How could there be such a coincidence? Her heart suddenly tightened. Although she had confidence in Yin Feng, one should never risk the one-in-a-million chance.

Tu Ya stepped on the gas, and the car rushed straight toward the building.

Before them was a straight driveway with cars parked on both sides. At the end of the road, quite a few people had already gathered at the bottom of the building. It had been only three minutes since the explosion, and the fire department hadn’t arrived yet.

You Mingxu stared fixedly at the burning apartment, continuing to dial the phone, but unable to connect. Just as she was pressing her lips tightly, about to try calling someone else, she suddenly felt the car make a sharp turn, heard the piercing sound of brakes, and realized they were heading toward a flower bed by the roadside!

You Mingxu grabbed the back of the front seat to stabilize herself, only to hear a muffled “bang” as the car finally stopped, having crashed into the flower bed. Cold sweat broke out on her skin. When she looked carefully, she saw that Tu Ya had somehow collapsed onto the steering wheel, motionless like a fainted bear.

You Mingxu immediately rose to push him: “Tu Ya! Tu Ya!”

There was no response, but You Mingxu could feel his breathing and the rise and fall of his chest, as if he had suddenly fallen into a deep sleep.

What was happening?

You Mingxu kept one hand on the unconscious Tu Ya’s shoulder, sitting alone in the car, momentarily frozen.

The car had come to an emergency stop but hadn’t turned off; the engine continued to rumble quietly. The windows around were intact, with no sign of damage from moments ago. Many cars were parked around, but no one was nearby. Ahead, black smoke mixed with flames still billowed from the high-rise, with the crowd over a hundred meters away.

You Mingxu tore off her seat belt and had just pushed the door halfway open when she felt a heavy dizziness sweep over her head. She steadied herself against the door and stepped onto the ground, but the ground felt as soft as cotton. Gritting her teeth, she stood firm, and looking up again, she found the building in her vision seemed covered by a blurry light, with everything around wavering.

The water.

It was the two bottles of water in the car.

Tu Ya had drunk an entire bottle, while she had only drunk half, so the effects on her were delayed.

The unusually hot air in the warehouse, the two parched individuals. An entire scheme, hiding an almost imperceptible detail. Were the five hostages merely bait, with the real poison plot here?

That person wasn’t elsewhere; he had been by her side all along. Like a slender snake in a damp forest, hidden beneath withered-colored leaves, waiting for the opportune moment.

You Mingxu stumbled toward the building, drawing her gun from her waist with one hand and pulling out her phone with the other, wanting to call Xu Mengshan, but her fingers repeatedly missed the screen.

After walking just a dozen steps, she was drenched in sweat, feeling extremely nauseous, wanting to vomit, and sleep. She didn’t know when she had fallen to the ground until the cold sensation from the ground reached her, slightly awakening her. Then she felt someone taking away the things from her hands. Her brain reacted very sluggishly as she struggled to open her eyes, only to find that her hands were already empty—both her gun and phone were gone.

But You Mingxu, somehow finding strength from unknown sources, actually supported herself on the ground and slowly stood up again. This caused the person behind her to make a light “tsk” sound.

Knowing her weakness, You Mingxu, having just risen, bumped into a nearby car and leaned against it, barely managing to stay upright. She struggled to open her eyes and saw a tall figure in black walking toward her step by step, short boots making light sounds on the ground.

He grabbed her waist in one motion, pulling her toward him. In her hazy state, You Mingxu’s hand followed his sturdy arm upward, then with a reverse grip and a twist of her waist, she slipped out of his embrace.

Yin Chen let out a “hmph,” no longer showing any chivalry. He delivered a knife-hand strike toward the back of her neck. You Mingxu’s reactions were far too slow; vaguely sensing the danger, she bent her body, but too slowly. The strike missed her neck but landed on her back. She let out a muffled groan, her body involuntarily crashing forward toward a motorcycle parked diagonally nearby.

That motorcycle was one that You Mingxu had spotted while staggering and had desperately tried to approach.

With a “clang,” she knocked over the motorcycle and fell ungracefully to the ground. However, the household motorcycle immediately emitted a series of piercing, high-pitched alarm sounds that almost resounded throughout the residential area, causing many of the onlookers ahead to turn around.