Siheyuan came through and sent Jia Zhang to prison

Ma Xin turned around, the calmness he had shown when facing He Feng gone, replaced by a cold, icy gaze: "Liu Li has been exposed. The police are watching him; they've had people following him for the past few days." He paused, his tone resolute and unwavering. "Keeping him alive is a menace; he has no reason to live. Deal with him cleanly and quickly, leave no trace, understand?"

The figure paused, seemingly surprised, and his gaze shifted beneath the brim of his hat: "Liu Li is a crucial informant we've planted over there. He's passed on a lot of vital information for us and helped us avoid trouble several times. Is it really such a waste to just get rid of him like this?"

“It’s a pity, but we have to let it go.” Ma Xin interrupted him mercilessly, her tone resolute and authoritative. “Now the police have started monitoring him around the clock, even when he goes to the toilet, someone follows him. Although Liu Li has never met me and doesn’t know about our core plan, he might have let something slip in our daily interactions. Even a careless remark could be used against him.”

Ma Xin walked to the window, looked at the deep night outside, and lowered her voice even further: "If he gets arrested and can't withstand the interrogation, even if he only reveals the little bit he knows, it could lead to further investigation and ruin our long-planned scheme. In order for the plan to proceed smoothly, we have no choice but to sacrifice him as a pawn."

The figure remained silent for a moment. The light from the corridor shone through the window, casting a long, narrow shadow at his feet. Clearly, he understood the implications—in their line of work, once a pawn lost its value, or even turned against them, it had to be disposed of promptly. There was no room for sentimentality; otherwise, it would only backfire. He finally nodded, his voice still hoarse: "I understand." Without asking any further details, his figure, like a bat disappearing into the darkness, vanished in a flash into the shadows of the corner, his breathing completely silent, as if he had never been there.

Downstairs, only Ma Xin remained. She walked to the window, gazing at the inky night sky. The distant streetlights cast a dim, yellowish glow, unable to penetrate the heavy darkness. Her brows furrowed, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. Who could have imagined that Zhang Jie, an unknown nobody, would act like a stone thrown into a calm lake, not only creating ripples and pulling Jiang Hu into the picture, disrupting the original rhythm, but now also having to eliminate his own people to cover his tracks? This game seemed to be spiraling increasingly out of control, and a sense of unease crept into her heart.

On the other side, Liu Li sat on a creaking old wooden chair, its legs swaying on the uneven cement floor, making a "creaking" sound, as if accompanying the panic in his heart. His fingertips unconsciously picked at the crack in the corner of the table, the peeling paint on the wood was being picked at until the white wood underneath was exposed, but his heart was as messy as a ball of yarn that had been scratched by a cat.

He truly didn't know what to do—after all, he never expected that Zhang Jie would be found dead in the warehouse the night before last, and Jiang Hu had also disappeared yesterday. In the evening, he heard from an old lady at the alley entrance that the police had pulled a body from the river, wearing the same blue overalls as Jiang Hu. Overnight, both of his contacts on this line were gone, effectively severing his connection with the organization. He was like a headless fly, buzzing around aimlessly without finding his way.

He knew he had to find a way out quickly. Over the years, he'd helped deliver encrypted messages and hid contraband under his bed; his hands were stained with far too much "goods." Every entry in the ledger was enough to cause him serious trouble. If the police caught him red-handed, forget about going to jail; he probably wouldn't even have a chance to turn his life around. The sky outside the window gradually darkened, like a cloth soaked in ink. The room was dark, his face hidden in shadow, only the occasional glow of his cigarette illuminating the burning red in his eyes.

In fact, since yesterday afternoon, two men in plainclothes had been loitering around the alley where he lived. One was always leaning against a telephone pole smoking a pipe, while the other was pretending to drink water from an enamel mug, but his eyes kept glancing at his window—He Feng had long ago arranged for someone to watch him, like casting an invisible net, just waiting for him to walk right in. But Liu Li was too preoccupied with his own thoughts and was still unaware of what was going on.

All he could think about was finding his new superior, with whom he'd only spoken on the phone once. It was from a public phone call Zhang Jie made last week before his death, saying that "Old Yin" would be taking over, giving only a vague address and no specific time. Now, he just wanted to find him, to see if he could be given clear directions or a specific code to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible, even if it meant hiding in a small county in a neighboring province.

Clutching his few coins and a gleaming brass key—the key to his old cabinet where he hid his things—Liu Li took a deep breath and locked the door. The hinges creaked, the sound particularly jarring in the quiet alley. Just as he was about to step out, before he could even steady himself, a man in black suddenly emerged from the shadows in the corner, like a blob of ink appearing out of thin air.

The man was wearing a faded black short-sleeved jacket, with the brim of his hat pulled low, almost covering most of his face, revealing only his tightly pursed lips, the corners of his mouth turned down as if frozen.

"Where are you going?" the man in black asked, his voice low and deep, like sandpaper scraping against wood, carrying an indescribable chill.

Liu Li was startled by the sudden appearance of the figure. His heart pounded in his chest, and he instinctively took a half-step back. His hand reached for the keys in his pocket, but the cold metallic touch made him regain his composure and prepare to assume a defensive stance. He was about to demand to know who the other person was when he caught a glimpse of a half-broken silver chain peeking out from the black-clad man's collar—a tiny diamond-shaped pendant hanging from it, the mark of an internal member of the organization, worn only by those directly in contact with the leader.

His heart skipped a beat, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, and he instantly knew who it was.

He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, his facial muscles stiff, and suppressed his fear. "I... I was just looking for you guys, but you showed up first." He rubbed his hands together, his palms clammy with cold sweat, his tone pleading and urgent. "Can you get me out of here now? Look at the situation, Zhang Jie and Jiang Hu are gone, all the leads have dried up, every day I stay here is a day of increasing danger... The police might already be watching me..."