Somewhat to Yin Feng’s surprise, the woman before him showed no shock, disgust, or even the slightest trace of fear. She merely lowered her gaze, rotating the half-full teacup in her hands as if something particularly fascinating lay within.

A sudden irritation rose in Yin Feng’s heart.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re unwilling. I won’t let you go anyway,” he said.

Only then did You Mingxu look up.

Lately, facing this Yin Feng often left her feeling dazed. His every movement, tone, and demeanor were entirely different from You Yingjun’s. Yet they shared the same face, the same body. It became truly difficult to discern who he was.

But now, he had spoken these words. Confirming what You Mingxu had long suspected but couldn’t verify. He said he had two personalities, and that You Yingjun’s emergence was his final escape. Yet You Mingxu suddenly had a strange feeling—she could finally sense that You Yingjun and the man before her were one person. You Yingjun were just a part of him. When driven to the edge, instead of falling into guilt as the Punisher organization had hoped, he had completely forgotten his past, forgotten the long-suppressed darkness within, becoming the purest, cleanest You Yingjun.

You Mingxu felt a pain in her chest.

The man’s dark gaze remained fixed on her. Having laid everything bare, he no longer concealed himself, wearing the look of a caged beast ready to devour her whole.

You Mingxu met his eyes and slowly spoke: “The day we got together, what did you say to me? Do you remember now?”

Yin Feng was startled. He hadn’t expected that after revealing his deepest secret, she would suddenly ask this.

You Mingxu pushed back her chair and stood up: “Since you don’t remember, then just continue to…” she smiled slightly, “…be tormented by your desires.”

As she turned to leave, Yin Feng abandoned his teacup and caught up with her, grasping her wrist.

His thumb gently caressed the inside of her wrist as he stared at her, saying: “I might never remember.”

You Mingxu said: “Let me think about it.” After a pause, she added: “I’ve never met anyone like you, never thought about being with someone like you.”

Yin Feng’s face showed a flash of pallor, but quickly returned to its composure. His arm suddenly pulled her into his embrace. You Mingxu froze, slowly turning her head. With lightning speed, he lowered his head and kissed her neck, catching both hair and skin. Those cool lips, the hint of the tongue, left You Mingxu’s whole body tingling before he released her.

“Think carefully,” he said softly. “Don’t make it too hard for me.”

You Mingxu didn’t want to look at him and walked out.

—

In the following days, You Mingxu didn’t seek out Yin Feng, nor did he come looking for her.

The investigation into the Punisher organization yielded new findings. The provincial special task force, following previous leads and evidence, found another of their gathering places. The house was almost identical to the previous one, with the same seemingly peaceful lifestyle. However, this time the occupants had been prepared—they’d taken almost everything with them, thoroughly cleaning away fingerprints and traces. But one thing was certain: for the foreseeable future, they wouldn’t dare to act again, forced into hiding from the police’s widespread search. This would be a war of attrition.

The three people whose fingerprints and identities had been confirmed were on wanted lists, but no traces had been found yet.

Moreover, You Mingxu compared evidence and found no fingerprints or DNA from Luo Yu in either house.

From Yunnan, no news had arrived yet. Kaiyang Group and Luo Yu showed no unusual activity during this period. Like predators hunting, the three-person vanguard team of You Mingxu, Jing Ping, and Xu Mengshan had to wait patiently.

Oh right, a four-person team. But the fourth member had been consistently absent lately, nowhere to be found.

After her conversation with Yin Feng, You Mingxu analyzed who the Punisher organization’s leader might be.

She wrote down several possibilities in her notebook:

First, Yin Chen. According to records, Yin Chen died in a car accident thirteen years ago, and his remains were never found. But that day, Yin Feng had said that person seemed to share his blood. You Mingxu immediately thought of Yin Chen. Though she didn’t know the brothers’ past, if it was his brother, he would certainly understand Yin Feng very well. The leader also understood Yin Feng deeply. Moreover, when he was still You Yingjun, at the pork knuckle hotpot restaurant, during his painful headache episode, he had called out “brother” several times with great anguish.

However, if this person had faked his death and was still alive, how could he have remained hidden for over a decade? Would he treat his brother this way just to compete and compare their beliefs?

Like reflections on a lake at night, one in the moonlight, one in the dark waters below, mirroring each other.

The second possibility she wrote down was Luo Yu. Currently, there was no direct evidence linking Luo Yu to the Punisher organization, but the organization’s clues repeatedly pointed to him. So was Luo Yu their next hunting target, or one of their members? This person was a connection point between two criminal organizations, a very strange existence.

The third possibility was that the leader was someone they hadn’t encountered yet, another hidden figure. A deeper investigation into the profiles of the nine known organization members might yield results. But for now, the special task force hasn’t provided any further information.

Since layers of fog still obscured their view of the organization and its leader, what You Mingxu and her companions could do now was focus on their only lead—Luo Yu and Kaiyang Group. Finding evidence of Kaiyang’s crimes might clarify the relationship between the Punisher organization and Kaiyang.

—

That day, Jing Ping said: “Let’s have a meeting this afternoon to go over the profiles of Kaiyang Group’s main members.”

Neither You Mingxu nor Xu Mengshan objected.

Jing Ping said: “The higher-ups approved Yin Feng’s involvement in this case. Should we call him over?”

You Mingxu didn’t respond immediately. Xu Mengshan glanced at her and said: “Let’s call him, Teacher Yin is quite useful.”

Jing Ping nodded and returned to his work.

Xu Mengshan rolled his chair to You Mingxu’s side and whispered: “You want me to call?”

“You call.”

Xu Mengshan took out his phone and dialed. After a brief conversation, he hung up and said: “He’ll come after lunch.”

The three had lunch in the cafeteria. You Mingxu got two side dishes and ate quietly. Xu Mengshan said: “Sister You, something on your mind? You haven’t said a word.”

Jing Ping also looked up at her.

You Mingxu said coolly: “Why so many unnecessary words? Can’t I just not feel like talking to you today?”

Jing Ping said: “You’re including me in this? When did I offend you?”

You Mingxu glanced at him and said: “Not you.”