The richest man's parents were kidnapped, and his adorable son captivated the entire family.

The market value evaporated completely, and tens of billions vanished into thin air.

The bank's risk control system issued a full-scale warning, and a flood of loan demand letters overwhelmed Gu's finance department's server; several strategic partners who had already signed contracts issued announcements on social media, declaring "termination of all cooperation" and demanding huge compensation, with phrases such as "Gu's reputation has been damaged" and "cooperation expectations have been seriously affected" throughout the announcements.

The Gu Group has been completely blacklisted.

Once an industry giant, it now stands truly and irrevocably on the precipice of bankruptcy liquidation.

On the other side, Xie Yumin hadn't closed her eyes for a long time.

The curtains in the temporary accommodation were drawn tightly shut, making the room dimly lit. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and the subtle acrid smell of burning electrical appliances, creating a sense of irritation and oppression.

Her hair was messily tied back, her face was pale, but her eyes remained calm.

The laptop sat on the desk, its screen deathly black, completely unresponsive. She repeatedly pressed the power button and the restart button, checked the power connector, but it remained as silent as a tomb.

Without further delay, she immediately picked up her computer and headed to a nearby repair shop. Standing in front of the counter, she crossed her arms and watched the repairman's fingers move rapidly as he disassembled the motherboard, her heart sinking deeper and deeper.

A dozen minutes later, the repairman took off his goggles and looked at her with a complicated expression: "The chip is burned out, and it wasn't due to natural aging, it was deliberately... precisely damaged, very cleverly. Do you have important data on your computer?"

Xie Yumin's throat tightened, and her fingers involuntarily clenched, her knuckles turning white.

"...Can the data be recovered?"

The repairman hesitated for two seconds, then shook his head.

"I'm sorry, it can't be recovered. The main control chip was burned out completely, and the entire storage architecture was severed. It was a very professional technique."

Xie Yumin didn't speak, only nodded, picked up her laptop, turned and left, her arm stiff as if it didn't belong to her. The moment she stepped out of the store, her face had completely lost all color.

That evening, she returned to her residence, where the hallway was unusually quiet.

She inserted the key, and as soon as she turned it, her brows furrowed slightly, because she suddenly noticed a barely perceptible mark on the edge of the lock, as if it had been pried open by a needle-like tool.

Her heart skipped a beat. She took a deep breath, held it, and pushed the door open.

Then he saw that the room was in a mess.

The drawers were opened, papers were scattered on the floor, the wardrobe door was open, the contents of the boxes were overturned and spread out on the floor, and the mattress was also lifted and inspected, but strangely, the jewelry box, cash, small devices, and even the wallet were still in their original places, untouched.

They weren't there to steal; they were there to find her information and everything she possessed related to Mengmeng's background or the investigation.

On the desk, under the lamplight, a clean white A4 sheet of printing paper is neatly arranged.

There was no signature, only one sentence: "This is the last warning. Next time, it will be you."

The handwriting was still that cold, deliberately disguised mechanical style, just like the previous threatening letters.

Xie Yumin froze instantly, as if she were frozen in place. She slowly took a step back, slid down against the wall, her clothes soaked with cold sweat, her back pressed against the cold stone wall, even breathing felt painful.

She knew she was being watched, and the other party not only knew who she was and where she was, but also managed to precisely intrude and leave within just one hour of her leaving her residence, even with a warning, without leaving any trace.

She felt as if she were in a dark forest, with the soft rustling of twigs being broken underfoot, but she couldn't see any of the attackers.

Until one quiet morning before dawn, she dialed a familiar but long-unused number.

A low, hoarse, tired yet familiar voice came from the other end of the phone: "...Yu Mian?"

“Gu Yinshen…” she lowered her voice, as if afraid of disturbing the ears behind the wall, “They’re here again. The computer is ruined, the motherboard is burned out… all the data is gone. The house was also ransacked, not for robbery, but to look for things. They also left… a warning.”

Her voice trembled slightly; the lingering fear was not an exaggeration, but a genuine feeling that seeped into every bone.

"They really...are capable of anything."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

“…Yu Mian.” Gu Yinshen’s voice was low and hoarse, revealing an unconcealable weariness and a helpless regret. “Listen to me. I can’t even protect myself now, let alone you.”

He took a deep breath, as if making a difficult decision.

"Suspend the investigation. Immediately, do you hear me? Immediately! Take Mengmeng, find a safe place to hide, and disappear completely for a while."

“I’ll take care of all the expenses. You don’t need to worry about the money, just… stop going.”

Xie Yumin did not respond immediately; her knuckles turned white as she gripped the phone, and her lips were tightly pressed together.

After a long silence, she exhaled, her breath hoarse and tinged with an unyielding sorrow and stubbornness:

"Pause? What about Mengmeng's background? What about those threats? How long do you think we can hide?!"

"Gu Yinshen, we have nowhere left to retreat."

After a moment of silence, she changed her tone and said softly, "But... okay. I'll listen to you."

She paused for a moment, her voice calm yet each word sharp and piercing.

"A temporary halt."

The silence before the call ended was like an unspoken farewell.

Soon after, she put on a plain gray-blue sports jacket, tied her hair in a ponytail, and mingled in the crowd at the mall. She went into a corner café, ordered a latte, and sat down at a small table by the window.

To outsiders, she was just an ordinary white-collar worker who worked during her lunch break.

But she had a nearly invisible bone conduction earpiece behind her ear, and her other hand was typing in encrypted commands.

Soon after, a deep voice came through the weak radio waves, clear and distinct.

"Go ahead."

Xie Yumin's eyes were cold and deep as she gazed at the blurry reflection outside the window, her voice as low as the wind whistling through the treetops:

"Old Ghost, the situation is more dangerous than we anticipated. Someone is monitoring me, all my equipment has been destroyed, my residence has been hacked, and I've received death threats."

"The overt investigation must be suspended."

The other party paused for a second, then replied, "Understood. Target?"

She tapped the outside of the paper cup lightly with her knuckles and whispered, "Two lines."

"The first is the source of the threatening letter and the secret filming. Since they were able to accurately track my and Mengmeng's whereabouts, there must be an inside agent or extremely advanced technical means."

"Secondly, the secret of the West Building of Jingyuan, and the whereabouts of the 'mysterious female designer' Ye Qing. Her disappearance... was too deliberate."

"Old Ghost, all operations must be conducted offline and absolutely secretly. No trace can be left. Your reward will be doubled."

On the other end of the phone, Old Ghost chuckled softly, "You're really crazy, Miss Xie."

His tone then turned solemn: "But I accepted. You know the rules: single-line contact, regular updates. Once there's progress, I'll use a 'safe signal' to notify you of the meeting place."