Chapter 1 Within District One

Inside a villa in District One.

The hall was brightly lit. Liu Qi was covered in sweat, kneeling on the ground, trembling with fear.

Yu Mingyuan sat in front of him with his legs crossed.

On the other side, Qiu-ge, along with two burly men, stared at him menacingly.

Liu Qi averted his gaze, looking at Yu Mingyuan's gloomy expression with fear, and said in a trembling voice, "Chairman, I really don't know where your wife is... I'm just a..."

Before he could finish, Qiu-ge waved his hand.

"Bang!"

The two burly men stepped forward and pinned him to the ground.

Liu Qi struggled violently, unable to move, and could only shout like a stuck pig, "I really don't know! I beg you, I'm just a errand boy for them..."

Qiu-ge glanced around and, seeing disposable syringes in the medicine cabinet, grabbed one. "Are you unwell? Do you need long-term medication?"

Liu Qi's forehead was covered in sweat, his face was pale, and his lips trembled without a word.

"I'll help you with your treatment." Qiu-ge said, walking up to Liu Qi, opening the syringe, and, in front of him, pulling back the plunger and drawing a tube of air.

"Shua!"

One of the burly men grabbed Liu Qi's arm, rolled up his sleeve, revealing his arm.

"Don't move." Qiu-ge said, pressing on Liu Qi's arm, slowly inserting the slender needle into his vein, then pressing the syringe, injecting the air bit by bit.

In that instant, Liu Qi felt like he was suffocating. He himself was involved in interrogation work and knew the consequences of injecting large amounts of air into the human body!

Under the pressure of this fear, Liu Qi caved. His body trembled violently, and he shouted almost in a wail, "Don't, don't inject! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Qiu-ge stopped the injection, patted Liu Qi's face, and said to him, "Damn it, you're just cheap! You only become honest when a bullet hits you."

Liu Qi was drenched in sweat, as if he had taken a cold shower. He gasped for a few breaths before slowly saying to Yu Mingyuan, "After Zhou Tonghui was killed… your… your wife was secretly transferred away. As far as I know, the Qingyi Bureau (Blue Uniform Bureau) handed her over to the Chinese Military Command. I guess she's being held in a special prison… but I really don't know the exact location… Think about it, I'm just a small fry, running errands for them. They wouldn't let me have access to that kind of core information. But Chairman Kong and Kang Dinghuang, they must know!"

Yu Mingyuan paused, lit a cigarette, and looked down at him, asking, "What about Kang Dinghuang and Kong Zhengui? What have they been up to lately?"

Liu Qi's spirit was already collapsing. Not daring to hide anything, he confessed readily, "Recently, the higher-ups assigned a mission, which is to use our connections to find ways to lure and co-opt important cadres in Dragon City. If we can't co-opt them, we use torture to force them to reveal valuable intelligence. But it's been very ineffective. I've been working overtime for three days straight, and still haven't made any progress. Chairman Kong is very annoyed about this… As for Kang Dinghuang, I heard that he's no longer at the forward base of the First Army. It seems he's gone to the rebel side, because the fighting there isn't going very well either."

Yu Mingyuan took a puff of his cigarette and asked, "When is Kang Dinghuang coming back?"

"Chairman, I really don't know!" Liu Qi paused and quickly said, "Whether he comes back or not probably depends on the situation over there, but I definitely don't know the exact time!"

Yu Mingyuan shook his head and said, "You know, I put so much effort into finding you, spending money and risking my life. But your usefulness is much less than I thought."

"I don't think he's fully recovered, he needs more treatment," Qiu-ge said, picking up the syringe, ready to inject him again.

"No, no, no!" Liu Qi trembled all over in fright and quickly shouted, "Chairman, I'm not lying! But I speculate that Kang Dinghuang will be back very late…!"

Hearing this, Yu Mingyuan looked at him and asked, "What makes you say that?"

Liu Qi explained, "It's like this. When I went to the Weian Hui (Security Committee) this morning to give a report, I happened to hear that Commander Wang of the Chinese Army might be going to the front lines of Dragon City soon…"

Hearing this, Yu Mingyuan frowned and pressed, "Why is he going to the front lines?"

Liu Qi continued to explain, "I speculate that it's because Kang Dinghuang needs to be stationed on the rebel side. And the fighting in the Lao Mo area is not going well, the morale of the front-line troops is very low! In addition, there are so many occupied areas in Dragon City. Commander Wang, as a banner for the Chinese in District One, is probably going to appease the military. According to the information I've gathered, it seems that the Foreign Minister of the Military and Political Committee of District One will also be arriving at the front lines. Their actions will also have a guiding effect on the recent situation between the Chinese districts and District One."

Yu Mingyuan nodded slowly, took a drag of his cigarette, and asked, "You don't have direct contact with the Qingyi Bureau (Blue Uniform Bureau)?"

Liu Qi immediately said, "No, I'm responsible for the Weian Hui (Security Committee) side, which is basically responsible for co-opting people, specifically using my relationships to deal with the Dragon City side. Someone like me, the higher-ups wouldn't pay any attention to. Only Chairman Kong can talk to Kang Dinghuang."

Yu Mingyuan thought for a moment, bent down, took Liu Qi's phone from his pocket, handed it to him, and said, "Call your office and tell them you need to take a day off tomorrow."

Liu Qi's eyes flickered, and he pleaded, sweating profusely, "Chairman, I really can't! There are many things going on recently. If I suddenly take a leave of absence, the higher-ups will definitely be suspicious…"

Yu Mingyuan threw his cigarette butt on the ground, suddenly reached out, grabbed Liu Qi's neck tightly, and said in a low voice, "You've been with Kong Zhengui for so many years, and you'd be suspected for taking even half a day off? Are you taking me for a fool?"

Liu Qi stared blankly at him, his face turning red.

Yu Mingyuan stared at him and said, word by word, "Don't try to play tricks on me. I understand you, just as you understand me."

Liu Qi nodded vigorously and reached out to take the phone. Only then did Yu Mingyuan release his neck, sit back on the sofa, and watch him with his arms crossed.

Liu Qi took the phone and dialed a number.

…

Half an hour later, the group left the villa in a car.

On the way, Yu Mingyuan suddenly turned his head and smiled at Liu Qi beside him. "Your daughter is very cute. If I had gotten married smoothly, my child would be about that age too, right?"

Hearing this, Liu Qi couldn't help but shudder, his eyes filled with fear.

Yu Mingyuan took out his phone from his pocket, made a video call, and handed it to Liu Qi.

In the picture, a little girl was tied to a chair. When she saw Liu Qi, she immediately cried and shouted, "Daddy! Daddy, save me! I'm scared!! Daddy…"

Liu Qi felt ice-cold all over and hurriedly shouted at his daughter, "Wenwen, Wenwen, don't be afraid, Daddy will definitely…"

Before he could finish, Yu Mingyuan hung up the phone with a snap.

"Chairman! Chairman, I beg you!" Liu Qi reached out, grabbed Yu Mingyuan's arm, and pleaded, crying, "I've been following Kong Zhengui for so many years, we're already tied together. I can't leave him! I'm just a small fry, please don't mess with my daughter, don't mess with my family…"

Qiu-ge used force to pull Liu Qi back and press him firmly into the chair.

Yu Mingyuan looked at him and said slowly, "Don't beg your enemies, because your enemies hate you to the bone. You know my character. If you dare to play tricks, they will die miserably."

Liu Qi trembled all over, slumped in the chair, and fell into a long silence.

Soon, the car drove into an alley, and Liu Qi was taken out.

Yu Mingyuan sat in the car, smoking silently.

Qiu-ge sat beside him, looked at him, and said, "Su Chief's "Military Silence" plan is not easy to handle. The situation in Lao Mo is changing now, Kang Dinghuang has run away, and it's too difficult for us to follow. We don't have any contacts on the rebel side, the success rate is too low. And we can't find your wife either…"

Yu Mingyuan waved his hand at him, "Don't panic, I'll make a call."

Qiu-ge glanced outside and couldn't help but say, "Will forcing Liu Qi expose us?"

Hearing this, Yu Mingyuan smiled. "This kind of person goes to whoever offers the best deal. He only loves himself, doesn't have any sense of belonging to any organization, let alone any belief. This kind of person is very easy to handle..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the call connected, and Yu Mingyuan softly called out, "Xiao Yu."

Su Tianyu hurriedly asked, "Where the hell have you been?"