Qin Xuezhong was on her way home from work.
Even though the Ghost Organization was engaged in this earth-shattering event, she set a small rule for herself and the members of the Ghost Organization: don't let this matter affect normal life.
Eat when it's time to eat, play when it's time to play, sleep when it's time to sleep—maintain a healthy body and a happy spirit, going to work and coming home on time.
Others thought this was a quirk of the Ghost, and didn't pay much attention. But Zhang Yuan, who knew Qin Xuezhong's identity, felt deeply moved.
—As expected of the leader, no matter what happens, she never forgets her original intention, always goes to work on time.
Qin herself was also practicing this principle.
She sat on the swaying subway, surrounded by crowds of commuters, completely unaware that the leader of the most mysterious secret organization in Creek Valley City was sitting in this car.
Soon, she received a message.
[Boss, everything is ready. Should we begin?]
Qin found a comfortable position, leaning back in her seat. Like all polite subway passengers, she tried not to let her legs touch anyone else, then replied:
[Start]
She immersed herself in the void of consciousness and used the video signal broadcasting program prepared by her subordinates to forcibly occupy the signal streams of screens throughout Creek Valley City, as well as the hot channels on news pages and live streaming platforms.
Just like in this subway car.
The screens, which had been showing flashy advertisements, suddenly went black.
At first, many people didn't notice.
As the images slowly emerged, a vast, empty warehouse appeared on the screens—clearly renovated, with many key areas concealed to avoid revealing its exact location.
Then everyone saw it clearly—Fifth Shufeng, the most famous entrepreneur in Creek Valley City and the current leader of the Fifth family, was tied to a chair.
In an instant, the city was shaken.
On screen, Fifth Shufeng pressed his lips together and asked in a deep, calm voice, "Who are you?"
Then, a burst of wild laughter followed by the declaration, "We are the Ghosts," echoed throughout Creek Valley City.
No matter who they were, everyone stopped what they were doing, staring in shock at this extravagant live broadcast.
Who would have thought Fifth Shufeng would be kidnapped?
No one found anything wrong with it.
As Xue Zhi Shi had previously educated Qin Xuezhong, several thousand people go missing every year in Creek Valley City, all related to the Fifth family.
In this place, the law was merely a tool to maintain social order.
Karma eventually comes around; good and evil are rewarded. This was the most popular moral guideline.
The live broadcast continued.
"Fifth Shufeng, we have analyzed the virus that caused large-scale brain infections and extracted your name from it. This is why you are now sitting here, undergoing our interrogation."
The electronic voice of the interrogator belonged to a senior agent. Qin Xuezhong had checked his profile—he was experienced.
Coupled with a voice modulation program developed by security experts within the organization, his voice was entirely unrecognizable, laced with a hint of eeriness and terror.
"Firstly, your daughter, Fifth Niyi, was murdered by Yue Zhao; secondly, people infected with the virus at Yue Zhao's concert had ties to your management company; furthermore, we found a large number of Yue Zhao's clones and victims' brains in your Fifth family's transport fleet… Thus, this matter is inextricably linked to your Fifth family."
The interrogator laid out all the evidence and facts, making it clear—this matter was connected to you, don't think you can deny it!
Fifth Shufeng remained unfazed, still pursing his lips.
As a high-ranking member of the Fifth family, he had witnessed countless storms throughout his life. The internal rivalries within the family were a hundred times more terrifying than kidnapping.
He was not panicked.
Since they hadn't harmed him immediately and were instead conducting an interrogation, it meant they needed information from him.
The more this was the case, the more he needed to delay.
Even if he left Creek Valley City, even if he was in some remote corner of the Eastern Federation, the family and the federal government would organize a thorough search to find him as quickly as possible.
So the longer he delayed, the more anxious they would become, putting him in a better position, perhaps even allowing him to extract some information from them.
"I know what you're thinking."
The interrogator spoke again, his tone calm and patient.
"You're a big shot, and now the Fifth family and the federal government are frantically searching for you. They might find you soon, so the longer we take, the more anxious we'll become."
The interrogator even chuckled lightly, as if he had heard some naive boast.
"But don't worry, I assure you, no one will find you. If we leave you here until you turn to bones, no one will discover you."
"Do you know why? Because we are the Ghosts."
Fifth Shufeng felt a heaviness in his heart but didn't show it at all.
"Alright, we have plenty of time. We'll take it slow."
The interrogator pondered for a moment and continued, "Usually, at this point, I would guess your motives for committing crimes, what stories you have… but you people are too boring; your purposes boil down to three: making more money, gaining greater power, and achieving longer life."
"To be honest, this is quite dull," he sighed. "I'm a literature enthusiast. I enjoy exploring human emotions, dreams, and suffering… In this case, the only emotion involved is probably related to your daughter."
At the end, the interrogator shifted the topic to Fifth Niyi.
He asked directly, "You ordered the murder of your daughter, didn't you?"
---
Fifth Shufeng remained unmoved.
The interrogator, unfazed, said, "Look, the daughter's home is plastered with photos of her father, yet there isn't a single picture of them together. I think I need to imagine a story—Dad was too busy to care for his adoring daughter, and over the years, she became increasingly obsessed, even affecting Dad's work, until he could no longer bear it and secretly had her killed?"
Seeing that Fifth Shufeng still showed no emotion, the interrogator joked, "Come on, don't keep that stern face. I know you've heard about our interrogation methods—we like to provoke people and find flaws in their expressions… Don't worry, as I said, I'm just a literature enthusiast."
The interrogator's tone was like casual conversation, constantly tugging at Fifth Shufeng's attention.
"Oh wait!" The interrogator's voice suddenly rose. "Look what I've found! This is your daughter's most genuine thought…"
He then began playing a memory extracted by Qin Xuezhong from the red fog on the night of the concert.
From the moment Fifth Niyi met Yue Zhao, to the end where Tang Kede experimented on Yue Zhao, including the part where Fifth Shufeng had told her, "You're the daughter of the Fifth family; you can casually keep small celebrities, but marriage must be for the family's benefit."
"Tsk tsk," the interrogator seemed to enjoy these clips. "As I said, you big families really only understand interests, huh?"
"I was wondering why a young lady would be so obsessed with romance… Hmph, was it all forced out of you?"
For the first time, Fifth Shufeng showed a reaction.
He clearly held back his anger and asked, "Where did you get this? Can you fabricate such things?"
"Eh," the interrogator's tone shifted abruptly from casual to serious. "Fifth Shufeng, remember this: I'm the interrogator, I ask the questions, you answer. Likewise, you have no right to ask questions… Our relationship is that simple."
"However…" His tone shifted again, "Since you rarely speak, I'll show mercy and tell you this is Fifth Niyi's memory, extracted by us Ghosts from that virus…"
At this point, the interrogator seemed to have discovered something.
His tone became slightly excited. "I don't know much about viruses, but my colleagues tell me this type of virus is a fusion product of a person's memories and the virus program… Did you… turn Fifth Niyi's memories into a virus?!"
"This is the most reasonable explanation for why there are so many of your names and your daughter's memories in the virus…"
"Fifth Shufeng, oh Fifth Shufeng… I thought I already knew how evil you were, but I didn't expect you to hand your own daughter over to Tang Kede… For what? Is this part of your evil plan for immortality?"
"For yourself, you would even sell your own daughter?!"
At this point, Fifth Shufeng's expression clearly began to crack; he looked shocked.
"You…" Fifth Shufeng began to speak but was interrupted by the interrogator.
"Shut up!" The interrogator shouted, clearly angry. "You have two choices: First, tell us where Tang Kede is; second, rot here until archaeologists dig you up two hundred years later!"
"Alright, now it's your turn to speak." The interrogator said coldly at the end.
"I…" Fifth Shufeng looked shocked and defeated. "I really don't know…"
The interrogator fell silent for a few seconds before speaking again, his voice once more calm and serious. "Oh… then you've chosen the second option. Fine."
Once he finished speaking, the screen went dark.
The people who had been standing behind Fifth Shufeng quietly left.
Only a cold light remained, illuminating Fifth Shufeng.
At that moment, those watching the live broadcast in Creek Valley City held their breath, waiting for a turning point to occur.
Though Fifth Shufeng wielded great power and wealth, he didn't know much about the Ghosts.
When the Ghosts first appeared, various intelligence organizations in the Eastern Federation tried to find any traces of them.
Even when they found some who claimed to have joined the Ghosts, there were no channels, codes, or evidence that could lead back to the Ghosts.
It was as if a technology beyond this era had quietly arrived from the shadows.
As a member of the Fifth family's board, Fifth Shufeng now understood that someone inside must have found Tang Kede and used his daughter for new experiments.
To his shock, he hadn't known anything about it!
It was only after Fifth Niyi's death that he felt something was off.
He knew that to clarify this matter, a top-level internal investigation must be initiated, entering the internal system of the Fifth family to find the originator amidst the deep and complex secrets akin to a castle.
His tone was urgent, but his words remained clear. "Wait! The transport fleet you attacked belongs to the Fifth family! The response after this attack was too swift; someone must have tipped them off from within. I can immediately gather an internal investigation to hurry…"
"Hmph," the interrogator's voice returned. "I see."
Hearing the interrogator say this, Fifth Shufeng let out a sigh of relief.
The viewers of the live broadcast also felt a bit disappointed.
Another internal investigation? Would ordinary people never find out anything?
The interrogator continued, "Connect him."
Fifth Shufeng was taken aback.
The black-clad individuals behind him reappeared, holding a network transmission line used for the core AI of an aerial mothership, which they abruptly jammed against his neck.
At the same time, Qin Xuezhong connected to this line.
Through Fifth Shufeng's chip, she quickly gained access to the Fifth family's internal system, like a true ghost, entering the most secretive network space in Creek Valley City.