Gu Xi’s question stunned Yang Chi for a moment. He thought about it carefully, then said with certainty, "It was after that."

Several helicopters flew out of the city last night, one after another. The commotion was so huge, there’s no way he could have misremembered.

Hearing this answer, Gu Xi and Wei Heng exchanged a glance. ’Something’s wrong. The timeline doesn’t add up.’

’If the mutants were only sent out *after* Tang You’s group departed, then where did the ones that besieged the camp before come from?’

"Are you sure?" Now even Qi Xiang’s expression turned a little strange. "There was no activity at Site 176 before that?"

"I’m sure." Yang Chi nodded, also realizing something was off. He thought for a moment and said, "For the last three days, at least, there’s been no activity at Site 176." He had been watching it the whole time, even having someone cover for him when he went to the restroom.

Gu Xi frowned slightly. ’So besides Site 176, there’s another den in City A where they’re raising mutants?’

’That would make things a lot more complicated.’

Gu Xi’s intuition told her something was wrong.

"Why don’t we ask Mr. Li about this?" Qi Xiang suggested from the side.

While it’s true that two heads are better than one, when it comes to strategy, Li Ming is the real professional.

Hearing Qi Xiang mention Li Ming, Yang Chi’s eyes lit up.

Li Ming—the former vice-captain of the Doomsday Squad, a formidable and renowned figure—was without a doubt the idol he worshipped most.

...After all, they were both in the intelligence business.

But Li Ming had been living in seclusion for years, rarely appearing in public. Yang Chi had long wanted to meet his idol, but he’d never had the chance...

He looked at Gu Xi with eager anticipation.

Gu Xi had already placed a call to Li Ming.

Seeing the older man in a wheelchair suddenly appear on the Light Screen opposite him, Yang Chi was incredibly excited.

Gu Xi smiled, beckoned him over, and introduced him to Li Ming.

"Yang, isn’t it? I’ve heard Xiaoxi mention you before. You’re a good kid." Li Ming had long ago investigated everyone who appeared around Gu Xi, so he was naturally familiar with Yang Chi. His tone now was very gentle and natural.

Realizing his idol knew who he was, Yang Chi was so excited he started to stutter.

But excitement aside, he still had the sense to know when to be serious. Aware that the "big shots" had business to discuss, he greeted them and then got straight to the point.

Yang Chi briefly recounted his surveillance of Site 176 over the past few days, then tactfully stepped aside.

"Xiaoxi, what are your thoughts on this matter?" After listening, Li Ming didn’t offer his own opinion, instead asking Gu Xi gently.

"I suspect there’s another power operating behind the scenes in City A," Gu Xi speculated.

Clearly, this power was hidden very deep.

Gu Xi even suspected that her move to take over City A had likely been anticipated by this hidden power.

’If that’s the case, I’ll have to be even more careful from now on. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll just become a tool in someone else’s hands.’

And Gu Xi had no intention of paving the way for someone else again.

Li Ming raised his hand and tapped lightly on the armrests of his wheelchair. He had started laying his plans for City A many years ago. He hadn’t intended to hide it from Gu Xi, but for her to have figured it out on her own was genuinely surprising to him.

Beyond the surprise, he felt a sense of relief, but beyond the relief, there was also a touch of heartache...

’My little sister has finally grown to this point.’

’But the price she paid to achieve this growth was not something I ever wanted to see.’

For a moment, Li Ming’s emotions were particularly complex.

"Ming?" Seeing Li Ming lost in silent contemplation, Gu Xi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Li Ming snapped back to reality, his fingertips pausing their tapping on the wheelchair’s armrest.

"Xiaoxi, I was the one who arranged it," he said.

Gu Xi froze. "Ming... are you saying you were the one who arranged for those Hybrid Monsters and mutants to appear outside the Death Swamp?"

’But why?’

Beside them, Wei Heng and Qi Xiang exchanged a look, also completely baffled by the current situation.

Li Ming said calmly, "To be precise, I just gave certain people a little push from behind."

Of course, Li Ming wasn’t the one raising the mutants and Hybrid Monsters.

But it was also a fact that he had long been aware of these activities and had quietly planted his own people inside their operations.

Of course, his initial involvement was simply to help things along, letting the situation spiral out of control to force certain people to consider releasing Gu Xi.

As for what came after... as the vice-captain of the Doomsday Squad, Li Ming naturally wanted to have a few more cards up his sleeve.

’He couldn’t let what happened thirty years ago repeat itself, could he?’

’Some mistakes only need to be made once.’

Li Ming’s hands, resting on the sides of his wheelchair, tightened slightly.

So, originally, after it was discovered that the miasma enveloping the Land of Death had begun to dissipate, City A had sent Zhou Yue with supplies merely to scout the situation ahead of time.

But Li Ming felt that this was the time to add more fuel to the fire.

After all, you can only fish in troubled waters.

...

"Are these people insane?! How dare they, how dare they!" Liu Bo slammed his hand on the desk, startling the few subordinates standing nearby.

After returning to City A, Liu Bo immediately began investigating what had happened.

They were clearly supposed to be reinforcing Ye Junhan, but when they arrived, those mutants and Hybrid Monsters had suddenly attacked the Liu Family’s team, causing them to lose their advantage.

If someone were to say there wasn’t a conspiracy behind this, Liu Bo wouldn’t believe it for a second.

But back in the Land of Death, with so many eyes and ears around, and with the race against time to find the Superpower Seed, Liu Bo hadn’t been able to deal with it.

So, no sooner had he returned to City A than he immediately ordered an investigation.

And the results... Liu Bo stared at the investigation report in front of him, his face impossibly grim. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Second Brother, it’s obvious someone set us up." Liu Mo pushed open the conference room door and strode in, his face dark. "I’m afraid the Research Institute and Tang You’s group joined forces behind our backs long ago."

"What else did you find?" Liu Bo frowned slightly.

Liu Mo narrowed his eyes. "I planted someone with Zhou Yue before he departed, but that person... is now missing."

"Second Brother, think about it," Liu Mo said, lowering his voice. "Several of our factions sent people over. Why did those mutants and Hybrid Monsters end up attacking only *our* helicopters?"

The obvious reason was to hold them back, allowing certain people to reach the Land of Death first and search for the Superpower Seed.

After all, there was only one Superpower Seed. Whoever arrived first had a better chance.

As Liu Bo thought of this, his expression darkened even further.

Although he had long suspected those people weren’t sincere about cooperating with the Liu Family, for them to backstab the Liu Family before the prize was even secured... ’Do they really think the Lius are a pushover?’

"What does Uncle have to say about this?" Liu Bo looked at his cousin, his eyes narrowing dangerously. ’The Liu Family can’t just swallow this huge loss, right?’

The "Uncle" he mentioned was Mr. Liu, the commander who had married the eldest daughter of the Gu Family.

"Uncle told us to bear with it for now and that we’ll settle the score with them later. The most important thing at the moment is..." Liu Mo tapped open his personal terminal and displayed a personnel list.

"This is the list of important personnel after *that person* took power." Liu Mo projected the Light Screen in front of Liu Bo. "Second Brother, take a look."

Liu Bo already knew Gu Xi had made some moves against people in City A’s administration building, but he hadn’t thought much of it before. He had assumed *that person* was just making an example of them to establish her authority.

But now, hearing what his cousin said, he suspected there was more to it.

’Just as I thought...’

Liu Bo stared at the profiles on the list, his expression growing darker and darker.