The three of them got back into the car. Number Three went to deal with the hollow needle he had obtained, while Number Two stared at Shi Jin, who in turn stared back at Number Two. The air was momentarily frozen.

"You just swore, didn't you?" Shi Jin attempted to change the subject.

Number Two glared at him, his hand holding the phone loosening and tightening, until he finally blurted out, "Your acting is really terrible."

Shi Jin really wanted to say, "Then how did you get fooled by my terrible acting?"

But seeing his expression was not good, he wisely swallowed those words and squeezed out a slightly apologetic smile, saying, "It's pretty bad... but I think Nine Eagles' subordinate is stupid enough to be fooled."

Number Two gritted his teeth. "You're too clever for your own good."

Shi Jin was modest, "You flatter me, it's all thanks to your excellent teaching, senior."

Number Two: "..." He suddenly felt like punching Shi Jin, his hands were itching.

Number Three put the hollow needle in Shi Jin's hand into a sealed box. As he turned back, he heard a faint sound and frowned, listening carefully. He looked around warily and finally fixed his gaze on the phone in Number Two's hand.

He asked, "Number Two, there seems to be a voice coming from your phone. Who are you talking to?"

Number Two's expression changed abruptly. The incident happened while he was reporting to Lian Jun. He stiffened for a moment, then suddenly shoved his phone into Shi Jin's hand and said, "You explain your own drama."

With that, he squeezed through the gap between two front-row seats and sat in the driver's seat, starting the car.

"What do I need to explain? Hey, why did you give me your phone? I..." Shi Jin was confused and pressed Number Two's phone to light it up. Then, with a quick glance at the caller ID and the ongoing call, he muted the sound and hung up the phone without thinking.

"You..." Xiao Si began.

"I..." Shi Jin replied.

Both of them were stunned. Suddenly, Shi Jin snapped out of it and leapt up from his seat, frantically searching the car. "Where's the tablet? Quick, give me a tablet!" he exclaimed.

Number Three wordlessly handed him a tablet and, while the van was still stationary, lowered the window and called out to his subordinate with a gun on his back. He explained that he would go ahead to the hospital with Shi Jin to treat his injuries, and asked him to keep an eye on things and make sure all the surviving members of Nine Eagles' gang were tied up and delivered to Lian Jun.

The subordinate with the gun had no idea that Shi Jin was just acting, and was both anxious and angry. He quickly agreed and gestured for the people surrounding the van to move aside. After watching the van drive away, he couldn't resist taking a swing at the Nine Eagles member who had tried to make a move.

The Nine Eagles member let him hit him as he watched the direction the van was leaving with a crazed expression, as if he had just taken drugs.

......

The van raced towards the capital of L country where their temporary headquarters were located.

Inside the car, Shi Jin rubbed his face and made a video call to Lian Jun using his tablet.

After the incessant ringing of the phone stopped, the video call connected and Lian Jun's figure appeared on the screen. He was still sitting behind his desk, but the documents in front of him were in disarray. He held his phone with an anxious expression, his brow furrowed, his face faintly pale, and even a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

Without waiting to see the picture clearly, he anxiously asked, "What happened to Shi Jin? Is he okay? I heard him scream in pain, he--"

Shi Jin waved his hand towards Lian Jun and forced a smile, saying, "I'm fine. I was just shouting for fun."

Lian Jun: "..."

Seeing that Lian Jun's expression had calmed down, Shi Jin began to bite his lip and look over at him without saying a word. Feeling anxious, he quickly cleared his throat and explained, "Here's what happened. I suspected that the Nine Eagles' attack was aimed at me, so I took the opportunity to put on a little show..."

He tried to downplay the situation as much as possible, then looked at Lian Jun with a pleasing smile, hoping to win him over.

But Lian Jun remained unmoved, his lips tightly pursed and his eyes deep and heavy. His face still lacked color, and after staring at Shi Jin for a while, he suddenly spoke up, "Move the camera down, towards your body."

Uh oh, did this mean he was so angry that he didn't even want to look at Shi Jin's face anymore?

As Shi Jin heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly adjusted the camera downwards and awkwardly explained, "I really didn't mean to scare you. Don't be angry. Drink some warm water to calm down. You look so pale..."

"Take off your clothes," Lian Jun's cold voice interrupted him.

As soon as these words were spoken, both Number Two, who was driving, and Number Three, who was handling something, turned their attention to him. Then, they quickly averted their gaze without leaving a trace.

The atmosphere suddenly became strange.

Shi Jin's hand holding the tablet was a bit stiff. He glanced at Number Three and Number Two, then leaned over to look at Lian Jun's face, lowering his voice and saying, "This isn't appropriate. Number Three and Number Two are both here. I'll go back now, and you can wait a bit..."

He leaned to the side and lowered his voice, getting closer to the camera. His rosy complexion and relaxed expression were magnified on the screen.

Seeing him like this, it didn't seem like he was injured at all. Lian Jun's tense body finally relaxed a bit and he said, "Hang up now. Let Number Three answer the phone." With that, he ended the video call. The next second, Number Three's phone rang.

Number Three quickly put down what he was doing and answered the phone, greeting Young Master Jun.

Shi Jin glanced at the closed video call page in his hand, then at Number Three who was speaking to Lian Jun with his body turned to the side. Suddenly, he felt a little sour in his heart and pulled at his collar, muttering to himself, "Actually, if he had persisted a little longer, I wouldn't have minded taking off my clothes. The pants might not work, but the shirt would be fine..."

Xiao Si: "..."

There are some people who are alive, but their moral compass is dead, completely dead.

The play had already been set in motion by Shi Jin. To make it more realistic, Lian Jun quickly set up an act.

He first rented out a private hospital at lightning speed, emptied it out, and replaced all the staff with his own people. Then, he had the hospital heavily guarded and frantically brought in doctors, as if he would do anything to save his lover.

After that, he called Uncle Long and had him bring his team over on a private plane, intentionally making a big fuss so that anyone who was curious could easily discover what was going on.

Finally, he even convinced the L country officials to help him clear the way, ensuring that the van that was about to arrive could go straight to the hospital without waiting for a single red light.

In just a short two hours, Lian Jun had set up the stage.

Fei Yujing was startled by the commotion coming from Lian Jun's side of the building and walked out of his room. As he entered the living room, he bumped into Lian Jun, who was being pushed out by Number Nine. Fei Yujing noticed that something was wrong with Lian Jun's expression and furrowed his brows, asking, "What happened?"

"Shi Jin got into trouble," Lian Jun replied simply, gesturing for Number Nine to keep moving as he walked out the door.

Fei Yujing's expression changed upon hearing this and he remembered that he hadn't seen Shi Jin for a whole day and night. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to follow Lian Jun.

The van rushed back to the capital of L Country at the fastest speed possible, heading straight for a private hospital.

At this moment, there were some "blood" stains on Shi Jin's clothes, and his hair was also a bit messy. He was lying crookedly on the back seat of the van, worrying whether Lian Jun was still angry, while repeatedly rubbing his mahjong tiles.

"Sometimes I really want to open your head and see if there's something non-human inside," Number Two looked at him through the rearview mirror and spoke in a spooky tone.

Shi Jin was startled, and Xiao Si was also startled. Both he and his system felt guilty.

Shi Jin's movements in playing his tiles stiffened for a few seconds, and he tried to play it cool, saying, "You're wrong. There is only one person in my brain, and that person is called Lian Jun."

Number Two was choked by his cheesy words and suddenly turned the steering wheel, saying, "We've arrived at the hospital. Act a little more convincingly."

As soon as Shi Jin put down his tablet, he relaxed his limbs and lay on his back. He tilted his head and closed his eyes.

The van stopped at the emergency entrance of the hospital. The doctors who had been waiting at the door rushed over and pushed a mobile stretcher towards them. As soon as the van door opened, several doctors quickly and skillfully lifted Shi Jin onto the stretcher and pushed him towards the hospital.

Lian Jun was standing next to the doctors. He saw Shi Jin, who was 'close to death', being carried out of the van, and although he knew it was fake, he couldn't help but panic for a moment. He quickly slid his wheelchair and followed.

Fei Yujing didn't know the truth. He saw Shi Jin being carried off the van with blood on his body and frowned. Instead of following the stretcher, he asked Number Three, who got off the van after him, "What happened to Shi Jin?"

"He..." Number Three was about to say that Shi Jin was fine when he noticed that they were still outside the hospital. He spoke cautiously, "Let's talk inside." With that, he strode towards the hospital.

Fei Yujing felt that the situation with Shi Jin was very bad and couldn't be explained in words. His emotions were complex for a moment as he took a glance at the stretcher that had already disappeared inside the hospital. He quickly caught up with Number Three.

As the saying goes, "If you're going to act, act the whole way." Even after entering the hospital, Shi Jin continued to "remain unconscious" and was pushed all the way into the operating room. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he changed into a set of clothes, put on a white coat and a mask, and pretended to be a doctor as he walked out.

Lian Jun immediately approached him and grabbed his hand, pulling him into the nearest hospital room.

As soon as Fei Yujing saw Shi Jin coming out of the room, all his complicated emotions froze. He slowly regained his expressionless and cold demeanor, then turned to look at Number Three.

Number Three also had no expression on his face as he explained, "It's just as you saw. Externally, Shi Jin has been injured, but internally, he can still play mahjong."

"..."

Fei Yujing glanced at the hospital room where Shi Jin was staying, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot. He muttered, "How is he so free!" and stormed off.

......

Inside the hospital room, Lian Jun led Shi Jin to the attached bathroom and stood up from his wheelchair. He had no expression on his face as he stripped Shi Jin naked.

Shi Jin covered his little Jin Jin and pretended, "Isn't this inappropriate? Everyone is still outside..."

Lian Jun reached out and covered his mouth, then flipped him over to check for injuries. After confirming that he had no wounds, only a few bruises on his skin, Lian Jun breathed a sigh of relief and hugged him. His legs went weak and he fell back into the wheelchair.

Shi Jin realized something was wrong and quickly leaned over to steady him, helping him sit properly in the wheelchair. He didn't dare to play around anymore and knelt in front of him, rubbing his legs with concern. "What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Lian Jun shook his head, picked up the clothes on the ground and helped him put them on. He touched his face, his voice slightly hoarse, and his brow still furrowed deeply. "Shi Jin, don't scare me like that again next time."

Shi Jin immediately softened and hugged him, rubbing his pale face and saying, "I'm sorry, I was being stubborn. Don't be angry."

"I'm not angry." Lian Jun held him tightly in his arms, feeling his warmth and breath. His heart gradually settled down and he whispered, "I was just afraid that you were lying when you said you were okay... Don't do this again, don't risk your health."

Shi Jin finally understood that Lian Jun had asked him to take off his clothes and take pictures of his body to confirm if he was really okay. He felt a pang of guilt and regret for his own recklessness, and quickly apologized in a low voice.

......

'Shi Jin' stayed in the operating room for a day, and then was pushed into the intensive care unit.

In the hospital room, Lian Jun adjusted his emotions and listened to the detailed report of the mission from Shi Jin. After that, he called everyone together for a meeting.

It was an unexpected discovery that there was a connection between Hydra and Gunfire. Lian Jun assigned Number Three to investigate this area and see if he could uncover more hidden organizations related to Gunfire through the Hydra.

The Gunfire were clearly unaware of the operation against Shi Jin by Nine Eagles. Now that Shi Jin had tricked Nine Eagles, Lian Jun decided to wait and see what would happen next before making any moves. There were too many opportunities to manipulate the situation.

As for Long Shi, Lian Jun sent Number Two to interrogate him again. The main goal was to find out if Long Shi knew that Hydra was actually working for Gunfire, and to learn about what had happened after Long Shi was captured by Zhuo Yang.

After quickly giving out orders, everyone left to carry out their tasks.

When Shi Jin finished talking to the others and they had all left, Lian Jun still had a pensive look on his face. Shi Jin asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Lian Jun snapped out of his thoughts and replied, "I just have some doubts about the collaboration between Gunfire and Nine Eagles. I suspect that Gunfire has set a trap for Nine Eagles."

"A trap?" Shi Jin was surprised and poured him a glass of water. "Why do you think that?"

Lian Jun took the water and held onto his hand, kneading his fingers as he analyzed, "Nine Eagles has developed rapidly in recent years, not only acting arrogantly domestically but also making a lot of noise abroad. As a local organization in the southeast, Gunfire faces fierce competition from Nine Eagles, who is attacking aggressively. Instead of suppressing them, they chose to cooperate, which is very strange.

"Now that you have discovered the connection between Gunfire and Hydra, who was hiding Long Shi, I suspect that Gunfire deliberately leaked Long Shi's whereabouts to Nine Eagles in order to shift their focus to domestic infighting with me. And do you remember, Gunfire once wanted to establish influence in the country through Nine Eagles."

Shi Jin furrowed his brow and said, "So, Gunfire meant to stir up trouble between Nine Eagles and us, and then take advantage of the chaos to infiltrate our country?"

Lian Jun replied, "That's a possibility. After all, China's situation is unique, and foreign forces have always found it difficult to penetrate. It's not hard to understand why the Gunfire would act with some ulterior motive."

Shi Jin followed his line of thought and felt that he made a lot of sense.

Thinking carefully about Nine Eagles's current situation, they were in direct conflict with Annihilation in the country from using Long Shi to threaten Lian Jun, and they also offended the authorities, which limited their development in the country. Abroad, Nine Eagles was entangled by Phantom and their business network was facing collapse.

Moreover, Nine Eagles actually had the opportunity to stop the loss in time, but because the Phantom's men were being held by Gunfire who refused to release them, Nine Eagles lost this opportunity and could only continue to fight with Phantom.

Even if he thinks more deeply, the fact that Phantom discovered Nine Eagles' movements and confronted them can also be seen as a conspiracy. After all, Phantom has a strong foundation in the southeast region and has some influence here, which is also a threat to Gunfire.

"If all of this is really a trap set by Gunfire, with the aim of causing infighting within our organization in China, what should we do? Do we still need to fight against Nine Eagles?" Shi Jin couldn't help but ask.

Lian Jun tightly held his hand, his eyes slowly turning cold as he replied, "We'll fight. Being foolish is not a reason to be forgiven. If you make a mistake or stand on the wrong side, you must pay the price."

......

The next day, Uncle Long rushed over in the early hours of the morning and immediately went into the laboratory. He worked through the night to study the hollow needle that Nine Eagles used to secretly attack.

With the many experimental materials in the secret laboratory, Uncle Long quickly identified the type of drug in the hollow needle. He found Lian Jun and explained the situation: "It is indeed a neurotoxin with unknown ingredients. Its effects come in two types, mild and severe. The mild symptoms include headaches, nausea, and vomiting, while the severe symptoms can cause mental damage, difficulty breathing, organ failure, and ultimately death.

"If the poison is not completely cleared at once, the remaining toxins will continue to spread and intensify, even if the person initially only experiences mild symptoms. Without timely treatment, it can be fatal."

Lian Jun listened with a heavy heart, and Shi Jin quickly reached out to comfort him, holding his hand.

"Furthermore, I found that the other sample you sent has the exact same ingredients as the one in this needle. Based on the information you later provided, I can confirm that both medicines were made by Long Shi."

Uncle Long finished his deduction, and although his tone still sounded a bit unnatural when mentioning Long Shi, his emotions were finally not too turbulent.

Other sample? The one they got from the child's hand? So, that child is actually a member of Nine Eagles?

Furrowing his brows, Number Two quickly reported the result of Long Shi's interrogation from the day before: "Young Master Jun, according to Long Shi's confession yesterday, all the drugs he had hidden on him when he was captured by Nine Eagles were taken by Zhuo Yang. Zhuo Yang knows what those drugs are for, but he doesn't have the antidote. Based on my investigation, I can confirm that Long Shi didn't know the connection between Gunfire and Hydra. He thought there was a certain official from Country L behind Hydra, so he stayed there all this time."

All the clues were pointing more and more towards the fact that Nine Eagles was actually set up by Gunfire.

After pondering for a few seconds, Lian Jun asked Uncle Long, "According to the dosage of the injection, how long can a person last without receiving proper treatment?"

"Assuming the best medication is used to alleviate and maintain the condition, at most two months," Uncle Long conservatively estimated.

Lian Jun pointed to the armrest of his wheelchair and asked Number Two, "How's the situation on Number One's side?"

"They've already taken down two small organizations of Gunfire's, and are currently preparing to deal with a medium-sized one. Both the officials and L country officials are secretly helping," Number Two replied.

Lian Jun's expression improved slightly as he ordered, "You go help too. Notify Old Ghost over there to continue to increase the pressure on Nine Eagles. If there aren't enough resources, I'll help him out."

Was he really going to continue to be so tough?

Number Two was surprised and looked at the fraud Shi Jin, asking, "Young Master Jun, weren't we supposed to act? I thought..."

"We are going to act, but it won't be a play about compromise," interrupted Lian Jun, gripping Shi Jin's hand tightly until his fingers turned white. "In my dictionary, there is no such word as compromise." Those who meddle with things they shouldn't, must pay the price.

Although Shi Jin's hand was in pain, his mind was wandering and he couldn't help but poke fun, "So, Lian Jun, are you preparing to act out a play of 'anger for the sake of a woman'?"

Xiao Si: "..."

......

That afternoon, when Zhuo Yang realized something was amiss, he immediately sent a message requesting to speak with Lian Jun in person.

Lian Jun agreed and received Zhuo Yang's video call in the hospital room.

"What do you mean by this?" Zhuo Yang got straight to the point, his tone filled with suppressed anger and frustration.

Lian Jun looked at him coldly and asked, "What do you mean? You've touched my people and provoked me so blatantly, and now you're asking me what it means? Zhuo Yang, I've indulged you for years. Do you really think I won't touch you?"

This is not like the script he had written!

Zhuo Yang was angry and said, "Are you crazy? Your lover's life is in my hands now. If you keep opposing me like this, do you not want him to live?"

Lian Jun's expression was blank, but his words made Zhuo Yang feel a chill down his spine. "If he dies, I'll bury him with your entire Nine Eagles. Anyway, I'm not going to live much longer. I'll die fighting."

"You're insane!" Zhuo Yang slammed the table, forcing himself to calm down and negotiate. "As long as you make the Old Ghost stop and don't instigate the authorities against me, I'll send someone to give you the antidote."

Lian Jun sneered, "Zhuo Yang, do you think everyone is as foolish as you? The toxin you gave Shi Jin is obviously the work of Long Shi. I know his habits of using toxins to destroy his enemies better than you. If he had the habit of leaving an antidote, my legs would have healed long ago. Zhuo Yang, you don't even know the formula of the toxin you gave, let alone the antidote, do you?"

Zhuo Yang's expression changed when he was confronted with the truth, but he quickly regained his composure and stubbornly said, "Lian Jun, is Long Shi the only person in the world who knows how to make medicine? Are you too confident in your own speculation?"

"I certainly believe in myself more. The doctor said I could only last for two months at most, but Zhuo Yang, I want to see if your Nine Eagles can last under my care for two months. Also, let me remind you that the Hydra who was hiding Long Shi is a secret organization of Gunfire, and the popular 'Happy Pills' sold by them are also Long Shi's doing. You sure are foolish to become a tool for the enemy!"

After speaking, Lian Jun hung up without caring about Zhuo Yang's reaction.