The more exciting things were yet to come. 

After handing over the money, Yuan Ma-zi unexpectedly pulled out a gun and handed it to Shi Jin with a coaxing tone mixed with a sense of world-weariness. "This is for your protection. To be honest, Xiao Yuan, some of my friends are involved in some shady business. They wanted me to join them, but I refused. As a result, they resorted to using my family to threaten me..." 

As he spoke, he even wiped away some non-existent tears from the corner of his eye.

Shi Jin was completely dumbfounded. He never expected Yuan Ma-zi to be such a skilled actor. He couldn't help but show a look of disbelief and indignation on his face, and responded, "They used your family to threaten you? Your friends are truly despicable!" 

"Who said they weren't? I had no choice either. I thought helping them this time would make them spare my family, but they not only threatened my family, they also planned to kill me! It's my fault. If I didn't take the initiative to help you at the station and try to make money with you, you wouldn't have followed me into this wolf's den... 

"But I have to thank you. Fortunately you overheard their conversation tonight, otherwise we might have been done for here without explanation. Xiao Yuan, I'm sorry for what Brother Liu did to you. Brother Liu shouldn't have been so kind-hearted."

Yuan Ma-zi sighed three times, his face full of pain and regret. He grabbed Shi Jin's hand and rubbed it and kneaded it. It was unclear if he was taking advantage or just trying to increase the emotional drama. 

Shi Jin gritted his teeth, feeling the goosebumps rising all over his body. He couldn't take it anymore and finally grabbed Yuan Ma-zi's hand, tightening his grip with a fearful yet determined expression. 

With innocent eyes, he said seriously, "Brother Liu, don't be afraid! If we have trouble, we can find the police and report your bad friends! Let's call the police!"

"Eh hem hem hem hem!" Yuan Ma-zi was choked by his own saliva and coughed violently, his hand hurting from Shi Jin's grip. He tried to pull back but couldn't, so he shook his head frantically and lied, "We can't call the police! You don't know, my friends have powerful backgrounds, and as you can see, they all have guns. We can't call the police, or we'll die even faster!" 

"Is that so?" The strength on Shi Jin's face immediately disappeared, revealing his cowardly nature. He let go of his grip and asked fearfully, "What should we do, Brother Liu? Should we run? Let's run!" 

At this moment, he had already left several clear fingerprints on Yuan Ma-zi's hand. He was wincing in pain, but managed to force a smile and replied, "Of course we have to run, but in order to protect my family, I need to steal some information from my friend first. Once I have that information, I can turn the tables and threaten them to let my family go." 

Information? 

Shi Jin's eyes lit up, but he immediately put on a scared expression to hide his excitement. He weakly said, "But isn't stealing wrong... Shouldn't we just call the police? I trust the police more..." 

"Then you don't trust me?" Yuan Ma-zi put on a hurt expression and turned around, pulling out a few more stacks of money from who knows where and forcefully stuffing them into Shi Jin's arms. "Xiao Yuan, only you can help me now. Reporting to the police will put my family in danger. Can you bear to see my family lose their lives? My grandson is only one year old! Just one year old!"

Shi Jin was stunned by his exaggerated acting and the constant throwing of money - where did Yuan Ma-zi even get all this money from? He didn't see a single penny when he helped him take off his coat earlier! 

Yuan Ma-zi thought that Shi Jin was stunned by the amount of money and his expression became even more sorrowful. He took Shi Jin's hand and spoke slowly, "Xiao Yuan, we're not stealing, we're just protecting ourselves! As long as you help Brother Liu this one time, I'll give you twice the amount of this money! Didn't you say your brother broke his leg and is in a hurry to get married? With this money, your family will never have to worry about being poor again."

Shi Jin looked hesitant, but finally made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "Okay! Brother Liu, tell me what to do, and we'll escape together!"

Yuan Ma-zi smiled with relief and reached out to touch his head, "Good boy, Xiao Yuan, you're really my lucky star..."

Yes, indeed, I am your "lucky star". 

As Yuan Ma-zi allowed him to pat his head, he smiled at him with a look of dependence and trust, and his white teeth seemed to sparkle in the darkness of the night.

......

It was already late, and after discussing their plans, they each took half of the bed to sleep. Perhaps because he had something on his mind and also wanted to use Shi Jin, Yuan Ma-zi behaved himself that night and did not reach out to touch Shi Jin's butt again.

The effects of dinner's medicine had not yet worn off, and Yuan Ma-zi quickly fell asleep. Shi Jin opened his eyes, took out his mini phone, and hid under the covers to send a text message to Xiang Aoting.

00J: The Werewolf group is fighting within themselves. Yuan Ma-zi's backer has shifted his affections to the leader of the Werewolf and the scumbag third party is plotting to kill the original wife Yuan Ma-zi.

Xiang Aoting, who was the first to open the message: "..." 

"Captain Xiang?" The temporary team member sitting next to him spoke up in confusion as he watched Xiang Aoting stare at his phone without moving. 

As Xiang Aoting snapped back to reality, he silently sent a text message: Have you encountered any danger?

00J: No, I've reached a cooperation with the original wife and am preparing to seize evidence of the scumbag's affair with the mistress tomorrow. The original wife has paid me a bribe of 80,000 yuan and even gifted me a gun."

Xiang Aoting was left speechless once again.

"Captain?" The temporary team member grew even more confused, not understanding why the captain suddenly looked so world-weary while staring at his phone.

Xiang Aoting composed himself and signaled that he was fine, continuing to send: Stay safe and watch out for Yuan Ma-zi's tricks.

00J: Please rest assured, the sugar-coated bullets cannot corrode my soul!

Xiang Aoting raised his hand to massage his forehead, trying hard to remember the past, and couldn't seem to remember what Shi Jin was like. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see were the devilish kiwis with their bright white teeth.

...... 

After sleeping until dawn, Yuan Ma-zi had a gloomy expression while Shi Jin was still as timid as a quail. The two of them huddled together to confirm the plan they had made the night before. Finally, both of them carried a gun and headed out the door.

The plan was simple: they would continue their usual activities and put on a show for the other people in the house. Then, Yuan Ma-zi would scout out the boss's room and lure them away, while Shi Jin snuck in and stole the information that the boss had hidden somewhere. 

Of course, there is another possibility: the boss may have carried the information with him. If that's the case, Yuan Ma-zi will lead everyone away while Shi Jin puts drugs in the water that he will give to everyone. Once everyone is drugged, they can search for the information. 

However, there is a very unstable element to drugging everyone at once. If the Werewolf members catch on, Yuan Ma-zi and Shi Jin may face a deadly fight.

The plan is simple, but the execution is too random, and the danger falls mostly on Shi Jin. If he successfully steals the information, then Yuan Ma-zi's plan will work. But if he fails, Yuan Ma-zi can easily distance himself and accuse Shi Jin of being an enemy spy sent to get close to him, putting all the blame on Shi Jin. 

Of course, Yuan Ma-zi wouldn't tell Shi Jin about this. Shi Jin had figured out on his own.

Shi Jin sighed inwardly, "Yuan Ma-zi is really cunning."

Xiao Si was indignant, "Yes, he deserves to be a eunuch!"

In their minds, both Shi Jin and Xiao Si cursed Yuan Ma-zi with vulgar language that was too obscene to be heard. However, on the surface, Shi Jin still looked timid and foolish, completely concealing any flaws.

He maintained this cowardly appearance as he followed Yuan Ma-zi to the main hall on the first floor. 

Unlike the emptiness of last night, the main hall was now filled with people. Roughly counting, there were about a dozen, with three sitting at the Eight Immortals table - a burly man with a beard that obscured his features, a thin man with a scar on his face, and a short, plump man with a bald head. The others sat on scattered plastic stools, their status clearly visible at a glance.

When Yuan Ma-zi came down, the bearded man sitting in the main seat spoke first, his tone unfriendly. "Old Liu, we're here to do business this time. Don't push it too far." 

"How is it too far? I'm just bringing someone out to play. You guys are always so cautious, no wonder you can never accomplish anything big." Yuan Ma-zi maintained his usual arrogant attitude, and without being too soft or too hard, he jabbed at Luo Saihu. He walked up and pulled a chair over to sit opposite Luo Saihu, gesturing for Shi Jin to sit next to him.

This move was undoubtedly provocative, allowing a mere "plaything" to sit on equal footing with the Werewolf boss. It could be considered an insult at the very least.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became tense.

Shi Jin didn't move, in fact, his whole body was stiff, his mind frantically poking at Xiao Si: "Xiao Si, quick, take a look! Is that scar-faced guy and the bald fat guy the ones who kidnapped the original host in the original plot? Hurry and take a look!" 

Xiao Si was nervous when it heard the tone of his voice. He frantically searched his memory and gave a definite answer, saying, "It was them! One goes by the nickname Knife Brother, and the other is known as Rich Boss. They are the ones who kidnapped you! They destroyed your face and fingers!"

Shi Jin felt a twinge of pain in his face and hands when Xiao Si referred to him as "you." He looked at Scarface and Rich Boss, who were sitting next to Luo Saihu with obviously high status within the Werewolf gang. 

Suddenly, he remembered what Yuan Ma-zi had said on the way here yesterday: "If it weren't for the kidnapping case overseas a few months ago falling through, we wouldn't have to risk coming back to China for such a small amount of money."

The overseas kidnapping case! That case must have been referring to the original owner, which was now him! 

Sweat beads formed on Shi Jin's forehead as he forced himself to look away, his heart pounding with excitement and nervousness. 

"Xiao Si, we must steal the Werewolf's client list. The killer of the original owner is among them!"

Xiao Si was equally excited, but tried to calm itself down. "Mm, Jin Jin I'll help you!"

Shi Jin remained silent, even lowering his head and breaking out in a sweat. To those who didn't know, it looked like he was scared by the atmosphere in the room. Yuan Ma-zi was displeased, feeling that Shi Jin had embarrassed him. 

Luo Saihu wore a mocking expression and deliberately said, "Old Liu, the person you picked seems to lack courage. Don't force him to sit with us. I'm afraid he'll wet his pants. The best place for toys is still in bed." 

The people in the hall burst into laughter at his words.

Yuan Ma-zi's face was as cold as iron, and he sneered, "You all look down on the people I brought, and I'm sure you look down on me too. Well, forget it. You can handle the opportunity to make big money yourselves. I, Liu, can't bear it. I'm leaving with my 'plaything'." With that, he stood up to leave.

As soon as he spoke, the laughter in the room died down. Everyone frowned and looked at Yuan Ma-zi with anger and resentment, but no one dared to confront him. 

"Look at you, Brother Wolf. You know that Old Liu is the most considerate person, yet you still want to make fun of him. Now look, you've made him angry," said the bald and chubby man known as Rich Boss, stepping forward to play peacemaker. 

He got up and grabbed Yuan Ma-zi, who was pretending to leave, and smiled, trying to smooth things over. "Old Liu, don't be angry. You also know Brother Wolf's temper. We still need you to take care of this business. We're all brothers, so let's forget about it."

Yuan Ma-zi didn't leave, but he didn't respond either. He just sat there with a dark expression, not saying a word.

Rich Boss signaled to Knife Brother with his eyes, and Knife Brother stood up and actually went around to help Shi Jin sit down in a chair. He then said to Yuan Ma-zi, "Let's focus on the important business, Old Liu. Don't let your brothers down." 

Yuan Ma-zi sneered inwardly, but his face softened slightly. He frowned and sat back down, then gave Knife Brother some face by pushing Shi Jin to stand up and saying, "I can let it go this time, but I hope there won't be a next time."

No one spoke, and everyone once again endured his arrogance and capriciousness.

After the confrontation ended, everyone dispersed unhappily. Yuan Ma-zi took Shi Jin to the kitchen for breakfast, then hurried him back to his room and left alone.

Shi Jin once again asked Xiao Si to enhance his hearing, trying to eavesdrop, but found that there were too many people and too much noise during the day, and he couldn't distinguish much useful information. So he had no choice but to give up and wait obediently for Yuan Ma-zi to return. 

After more than an hour, Yuan Ma-zi returned and told Shi Jin about the distribution of people in the house and the location of Brother Wolf's room. He carefully taught him how to use the gun and set the time for the operation at dinner.

Shi Jin nodded silently, pretending to be the timid teenager he always was.

During lunch, everyone ate in their own rooms. Yuan Ma-zi almost choked himself again while talking to Shi Jin, but Shi Jin pretended not to notice.

As evening approached, Shi Jin received a message from Xiang Aoting, saying that he had brought his men to hide near the house and was ready to provide assistance at any time. Shi Jin replied with a simple "understood" and told him to hold off for now.

At dinner time, Yuan Ma-zi left the room alone. It was unclear how he did it, but he managed to gather all the people in the house to the main hall, looking like they were about to plot something. 

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shi Jin slipped out of the door and had Xiao Si buff him up before heading straight to the third floor.

The layout of the third floor was the same as the second floor, and Shi Jin quickly found Brother Wolf's room using the room number provided by Yuan Ma-zi. However, plans can never keep up with changes, and there was a big lock hanging on the door of Brother Wolf's room.

Shi Jin hesitated between adventurously picking the lock and changing his plan to go downstairs to drug them, but quickly chose to pick the lock. He took out a small wire hidden in his belt and carefully inserted it into the keyhole.

With Xiao Si's buff, after about two minutes, there was a soft click and the lock on the door opened.

Shi Jin was so nervous that his palms were sweating. He had Xiao Si confirm the situation inside the room and quickly removed the lock before darting into the room. 

Brother Wolf's room was also decorated very simply, with few pieces of furniture and some clothes scattered on the bed. A few luggage bags and a suitcase were placed on a stool at the foot of the bed, with the bags open and the suitcase closed.

He didn't know how long Yuan Ma-zi could hold out downstairs. Shi Jin didn't want to waste any time and went straight to the suitcase - the only object in the room that seemed to be hiding something.

"Wait!" Xiao Si suddenly spoke up, stopping Shi Jin from touching the suitcase.

Shi Jin quickly withdrew his hand and nervously asked, "What's wrong? Did someone come?"

"No," Xiao Si's tone was serious as he reminded him, "The lock on this suitcase has an alarm. If you enter the wrong password, the alarm will immediately sound and send a signal to the corresponding connector." 

Shi Jin quickly withdrew his hand, feeling both happy and worried. He was happy because the luggage was packed so tightly, indicating that there must be something very important inside. However, he was worried because the luggage was secured with a password lock, and he didn't have the password. He only had one chance to unlock it.

As time ticked by, Shi Jin didn't want to waste any more time. He searched through the other open luggage bags while trying to come up with a solution. Unfortunately, he only found a pile of dirty clothes and nothing useful.

"It's already been ten minutes, Jin Jin, we need to hurry," Xiao Si urged anxiously. It was more worried about Jin Jin being discovered and risking his life than he was about the information they were after. 

Shi Jin was sweating profusely with anxiety. He tried to calm himself down and racked his brain for a solution. Suddenly, he had an idea and asked excitedly, "Xiao Si, can you block sound and signals? I mean, can you temporarily trap all sound and signals in a certain space and prevent them from transmitting outside?"

Xiao Si hesitated in its tone and replied, "I can try, but if I do that, I won't be able to help you keep an eye on what's happening outside."

"It's okay, I only need a few minutes," Shi Jin's eyes lit up. He asked Xiao Si to block the sound and signals, then crouched down beside the luggage and took out a candy from his coat pocket. He carefully wiped some white powder from inside the candy onto the password lock with a soft tissue. 

Several blurry fingerprints with skin oil appeared on the keypad. Shi Jin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly wrote down the numbers displayed by the fingerprints. 

He asked Xiao Si, "When is the birthday of the Werewolf boss? Also, the time when the Werewolf organization was established, the time when the Werewolf earned their first bucket of gold, and the specific dates of important days such as the Werewolf boss's family members' birthdays. Tell me all of them."

These were all the information provided by Xiang Aoting. Xiao Si quickly recalled and reported them.

Shi Jin listened and filtered while arranging and combining the numbers displayed by the fingerprints in his mind. Finally, he matched them with the date when the Werewolf organization earned their first bucket of gold. 

He reached out and carefully pressed the password according to the numbers he analyzed.

Ding! The password was correct, and the suitcase opened. 

Xiao Si quickly disabled the sound-blocking buff and checked the situation downstairs. It noticed that there seemed to be an argument happening in the main hall, causing it to become nervous and immediately informed Shi Jin of the situation.

Shi Jin hurriedly increased his speed and scanned through the luggage, which was filled with various prohibited items. After searching through it all, he found two chips, a USB drive, and a small box the size of a palm. 

He quickly tucked them into his chest and closed the luggage, returning everything to its original place. He then left the room quietly.

When Yuan Ma-zi returned, Shi Jin had already returned to the room and was holding onto his jar of pickled vegetables.

"Did you find the information?" Yuan Ma-zi asked anxiously. 

Shi Jin nodded and took out a small box to show Yuan Ma-zi. "I only found this. It seems to contain a USB drive, but the box is locked and I can't open it." Of course, this was a lie. In fact, Xiao Si had already scanned it and found that the box contained several precious gems.

Yuan Ma-zi immediately took the box and shook it, hearing a slight knocking sound from inside. The box was also equipped with a password lock customized by Brother Wolf, which made him both surprised and delighted. 

He patted Shi Jin's shoulder and praised, "Xiao Yuan, you did a great job. Brother Liu didn't misjudge you."

Shi Jin smiled shyly, then poured cold water on the situation. "But we may need to run quickly. I had to pry open Brother Wolf's luggage to find this, and although I tried to restore it as much as possible, he could discover it at any moment." 

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ma-zi's expression changed. He quickly put the box in his pocket and walked to the door to listen for any noise outside. After hesitating for a moment, he tilted his head to signal for Shi Jin to follow him.

Shi Jin quickly caught up with him.

The two of them pretended as if nothing was wrong and swiftly left the house. As they passed through the main hall, they were stopped by the night watchman who asked them a question. Yuan Ma-zi impatiently brushed him off and led Shi Jin straight to the vehicle outside the house. 

He pulled out a key that he had somehow obtained and quickly unlocked the car. Barely waiting for Shi Jin to get in, he quickly started the car and drove off down the village road, as though intending to leave Shi Jin behind as cannon fodder. 

The people inside the house were shocked. Suddenly, a roar from Brother Wolf came from the third floor. Then, the window on the third floor was pushed open from the inside, and Brother Wolf aimed his gun at the van and fired wildly.

Shi Jin was scared and lay down, but he still insisted on his identity as a timid young man and asked, "T-they have guns, they've found out about us. What do we do, Brother Liu?"

Yuan Ma-zi was so scared that he stepped on the gas pedal hard, and the car rushed forward, almost falling into a ditch. After he barely stabilized the car, he looked back at Shi Jin lying on the back seat through the rearview mirror, with an incredulous expression on his face. "When did you get in the car?"

"Didn't Brother Liu ask me to get in the car and leave with you?" Shi Jin weakly asked, then said with grievance, "Does Brother Liu not plan to take me with him and leave me to be slaughtered?" 

"O-of course not," Yuan Ma-zi laughed stiffly, furrowing his brow as he tried hard to remember how Shi Jin had managed to get into his car so quickly and unexpectedly. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, so he reluctantly replied, "You're quite fast, Xiao Yuan. I was just a bit surprised."

Shi Jin had a look of understanding on his face and replied shyly, "It's nothing special. I often help my mother with farm work, so I'm used to doing things quickly."

Yuan Ma-zi: "...". What did getting into a car quickly have to do with farm work?

Bang!

A bullet had pierced through the back window of the van, narrowly missing Shi Jin's head and hitting the steering wheel directly. 

Shi Jin quickly pulled his head back in fear, while Yuan Ma-zi twisted his face and looked at the two black sedans chasing them from the rearview mirror. He cursed, "Damn it! These people are up to no good. The glass in my car that they sent to pick me up with isn't even bulletproof!" 

Who needs bulletproof glass when you're about to die.

Shi Jin huddled even tighter, and amidst the hail of bullets, he opened a can of pickled vegetables and fumbled for his phone. He blindly typed out a message: "Help! Bullets are flying!"