The country entrusted me to buy an aircraft carrier, Hou Liangping, do you dare to investigate?

The man gently shook his head, as if he had anticipated Huang Feipeng's doubts. He slowly said, "Don't you find it strange? Every mission you take on involves a complex network of relationships, even forces you yourself can't comprehend. Is all of this just a coincidence?"

The night wind swept through the bridge, carrying a cold, damp chill that seemed to pierce Huang Feipeng's skin. He stood beneath the bridge, his gaze coldly fixed on the man before him, yet his heart was weary from recent restless sleep. Almost every night, Huang Feipeng would wake from unknown, even hazy, dreams, the scenes before him always incredibly bizarre—indistinct figures, unfamiliar voices he couldn't recognize, as if countless unseen hands were pulling at him, preventing him from sleeping soundly each night. The cold sweat clinging to his skin upon waking brought an increasingly oppressive feeling.

The man's words stirred up his hidden pain once more. He never wanted to delve into the mystery of his origins, because each time he did, it felt like reopening a thorny wound, leaving him feeling unease and fear. He had been suppressing it, pretending those questions from the past didn't exist, pretending he was just a nameless shadow walking in the darkness of the city, indifferent to the past and the future. However, these sleepless nights and strange dreams had begun to make him doubt whether all of this could truly be so easily concealed.

The man's eyes were like cold needles, fixed on Huang Feipeng. His tone remained calm but carried an undeniable power: "You think you can forget everything, escape everything, but every corner of this city bears your mark. Ghost has been watching you for a long time; he knows you're not an ordinary mercenary."

Huang Feipeng coldly curled the corners of his lips, suppressing the irritation and unease in his heart, and sneered, "Observing me? He's certainly gone to a lot of trouble. If he really knew so much, why would he send a gofer to beat around the bush with me?"

The man smiled slightly, seemingly unconcerned by Huang Feipeng's sarcasm. He lowered his eyes, as if considering some more secretive information, and after a moment, he slowly spoke: "The Ghost isn't unable to find you; he simply believes the time isn't right. Every mission you've experienced, every choice you've made, has been part of his observation. He knows that you always have one question in your mind: why did you appear in this city, and why did you choose this path?"

Huang Feipeng's heart sank slightly, and his fingertips tightened slightly. He loathed this feeling of being seen through, especially since these issues were his past that he never wanted to face. However, there was no trace of sarcasm or disdain in the man's eyes, but rather a profound patience, as if everything he said was merely revealing a predetermined fact.

"Huang Feipeng, don't you think your past is strangely blank?" The man suddenly changed the subject, his tone tinged with a hint of probing.

Upon hearing this, Huang Feipeng frowned slightly, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists. Indeed, there were always gaps in his memory, as if certain fragments of his life had been forcibly erased. And these gaps were precisely the parts he least wanted to explore. Those memories were both vague and ambiguous, like some kind of fabricated illusion, yet so real that he couldn't deny them. He tried many times to sort it all out, even searching for clues, but each time he returned empty-handed, as if blocked by an invisible wall.

He responded coldly, "If you know anything, just say it clearly. Don't try to lure me with these vague hints. Now that I'm here, I won't back down easily."

The man was silent for a moment, his eyes flickering slightly, as if weighing whether to tell Huang Feipeng something. He finally spoke, his voice low: "Before you became the Huang Feipeng you are today, someone tried to erase your past, tried to make you forget some important things. Those blanks were not accidental, but man-made."

Huang Feipeng's heart skipped a beat. Despite his best efforts to remain calm, the shock made him momentarily gasp for breath. His past had been deliberately erased? It all sounded absurd and unbelievable, yet it was like a sharp knife, precisely piercing his deepest doubts. He asked in a low voice, "Who? Why erase my memories?"

The man shook his head and replied calmly, "I don't know either. The ghost may know more, but he doesn't intend to tell you now. However, he needs you to continue working for him and keep going. Perhaps one day, you will find the answer."

Huang Feipeng chuckled coldly, a hint of disdain in his eyes: "So, I'm just supposed to obediently follow his orders and become a pawn in his game? What if I don't want to?"

The man chuckled softly, his eyes showing no surprise, as if he had already anticipated Huang Feipeng's resistance. His tone was gentle yet tinged with amusement: "Huang Feipeng, do you really think you have a choice? Now that you've stepped into this darkness, you can't easily extricate yourself. Ghost has extremely high expectations for you, and this is your only chance."

Huang Feipeng remained silent for a moment, his gaze growing even more profound. The other person's words carried an undeniable implication, as if reminding him that choosing to resist would lead to an even more complex situation. However, he had always been a loner, and anyone who tried to control him ultimately failed. Since embarking on this path of no return, he had never surrendered himself to anyone, not even Ghost.

"Opportunity?" Huang Feipeng sneered, a hint of mockery in his eyes. "I never need anyone's pity, much less any 'opportunity' from others."

The man's expression changed slightly, seemingly surprised by Huang Feipeng's reaction. But he remained calm and said slowly, "No matter what you choose, the Ghost will not give up its attention on you. You can choose not to cooperate, but some answers will never be found."

Huang Feipeng shook his head with a cold smile, saying nothing more. He already understood that this was nothing more than a psychological game; the other party was trying to use his past to control him, leading him step by step into a ghostly web. However, this did not mean he would easily give in. He suppressed his inner turmoil, turned and walked into the night, his figure appearing particularly cold and aloof in the lamplight.

A few minutes later, Huang Feipeng had disappeared into the darkness under the bridge, while the man remained standing in the same spot, watching his departing figure with an indescribable complex expression in his eyes.