When the group arrived at the airport, the sky had already turned completely dark.

Shi Jin first helped Lian Jun settle down, then sat next to him and took out the business card given by Fei Yujing. After some consideration, he decided to save Fei Yujing's number on his phone.

Despite not wanting to have anything to do with Fei Yujing, the progress bar still hadn't disappeared and the problems with the Shi family hadn't been completely resolved. It was better to save Fei Yujing's number just in case.

On the return trip, they still took the private plane, but there were fewer people on board compared to when they came.

The official liaison and Lawyer Wen who came with them last time, just like Fei Yujing, stayed in L country to handle the extradition of the Old Ghost's subordinates back to their home country.

Uncle Long stayed in L country temporarily. He needed to hurry up and make the antidote for the Old Ghost's subordinates and Zhuo Yang, so he would be very busy in the short term.

Shi Jin saved the number and turned to Lian Jun, asking, "Um, what about Long Shi's body?"

Lian Jun was flipping through files on his tablet and turned to look at him when he heard the question. He replied, "Zhuo Yang's deputy has already cremated Long Shi on the spot. The ashes will be sent to Uncle Long in the next few days."

On the day they received the news of Long Shi's death, everyone hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell Uncle Long the truth about his son's passing. Uncle Long didn't show much emotion at the time, but he stayed up all night in the lab.

The next day, he approached Lian Jun and expressed his desire to handle Long Shi's affairs, as a way to bring closure to their troubled father-son relationship. Lian Jun agreed and contacted Zhuo Yang's deputy, which led to this question from Shi Jin.

Upon hearing the answer, Shi Jin couldn't help but sigh.

It was better to just send the ashes over, so that Uncle Long didn't have to see his son's disfigured body and suffer even more.

"Don't think about that now. How about I play a few rounds of mahjong with you?" Lian Jun held Shi Jin's hand and asked in a gentle voice.

As Shi Jin came to his senses, he couldn't help but lean over and give Lian Jun a kiss, enjoying the tenderness and thoughtfulness of his lover. "Okay, it's been a while since we played mahjong together. We have some time today, so let's play a good game. Oh, by the way, I bought a new set of skins for your account. Take a look and see if you like them," he said happily.

Lian Jun remembered the couple skins and smiled, "As long as you bought them, I'll like them."

Shi Jin happily accepted this sweet response and pulled out his tablet, opening the mahjong app and sitting close to Lian Jun.

Lian Jun closed his files and opened the mahjong app, admiring the matching but different-colored couple skins on their screens. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of Shi Jin's joyous expression, his lips slowly curling upwards.

The sound of mahjong filled the air. On the other side of the aisle, Number Two turned his gaze towards this direction, put on his eye mask and let out a satisfied sigh. After being busy for so long, he could finally relax for a few days. It was a pity for Number One and Number Three, who still had to work a while longer before they could rest.

Playing and sleeping, time passed quickly. After a layover, everyone finally arrived in City B at 5:30 in the morning on the second day. Shi Jin, still half asleep, reluctantly opened his eyes at the sound of Lian Jun's voice.

Xiao Si reminded him helplessly, "Jin Jin, your progress bar has increased by another 500, just after the plane arrived in City B."

Shi Jin woke up immediately, looked at Lian Jun's face close to him in despair and reached out to hug Lian Jun's neck, burying his head on his shoulder and groaning in pain. How could he forget that B City was not a good place to rest, but a nest of troubles? Last time, Shi Weichong even stirred up some hatred for him with the stock incident from Xu Jie.

His heart was so tired, why was it so hard to have some easy days?

Lian Jun was softened by his dependent and clingy posture, hugging him back and stroking his hair, asking softly, "What's wrong? Are you still sleepy? Hold on a bit, we'll continue sleeping when we get on the car."

Lian Jun was always so good to him.

Shi Jin reluctantly pulled himself together, leaned back and gave Lian Jun a kiss, sitting up straight and saying, "Energy replenished, let's go, let's go home!"

When Lian Jun heard what he said, he was taken aback. Looking at Shi Jin's suddenly energetic appearance, he couldn't help but smile and leaned over to give him a kiss, saying, "Then I'll also replenish my energy."

With this response, Shi Jin's liking for Lian Jun swelled up in his heart. He hugged Lian Jun tightly, feeling like he was about to burst with happiness. Lian Jun, who was so kind, gentle, considerate, and good-looking, actually liked him back. It was too good to be true, like a dream come true!

Filled with a sense of inexplicable gratitude, Shi Jin protected Lian Jun like a precious treasure, pushing aside Number Two, who wanted to help push Lian Jun's wheelchair, and personally pushed him off the plane while humming a tune.

Number Two watched Shi Jin's back speechlessly, rolling his eyes. "Who would want to compete with you... Whoever cares about your wound is a dog."

As Number Five and Number Nine passed by him, they exchanged a knowing look of love and care for the intellectually disabled, then left without looking back - interrupting someone's love life, of course he'd become a dog.

The group headed straight for the club in the morning light and finally arrived at the Nightfall just before seven o'clock.

Upon getting out of the car, Shi Jin instinctively looked towards the courtyard of the club and, of course, did not see the ugly snowman that was built last winter. Instead, he saw greenery everywhere and couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic.

When he left here, it was still deep winter, but now it was already early summer. Time really flies. Upon careful calculation, he realized that he had been reborn into this world for almost a year.

As they got off the car, Lian Jun noticed a change in Shi Jin's mood. He slid over and held his hand, saying, "If you like it, we can build another one in winter."

Shi Jin snapped out of his thoughts and held his hand back, smiling and nodding. "Okay, let's build it together this year, truly together."

Everyone carried their luggage into the clubhouse and went up to the sixth floor together. Shi Jin first escorted Lian Jun to his room before picking up his own luggage and preparing to go to his own room.

But Lian Jun immediately grabbed his hand and asked, "Where are you going?"

Shi Jin stopped and turned to look at him, naturally replying, "Back to my room, I want to take a shower."

Lian Jun snatched his luggage from him and put it on the ground, pointing to the bathroom in his own room. "Go wash up there."

Huh?

Shi Jin's heart skipped a beat as he turned to face him.

Lian Jun tilted his head slightly and bent down to open his suitcase. "Summer is coming soon, so I had someone buy you some summer clothes. They're already sorted and placed in the wardrobe. Go take a look and see if you like them. If you don't, we can exchange them," he said.

Shi Jin immediately understood which wardrobe he was referring to and turned to look at the built-in wardrobe in Lian Jun's room, which was as large as a dressing room. He couldn't resist walking over and opening the cabinet door.

A pile of summer clothes appeared before him. On the left were various types of robes, and on the right were various types of normal summer clothes. Two completely different styles of clothing were mixed together, but they looked strangely harmonious.

Shi Jin opened the wardrobe where his underwear was already neatly arranged according to his size. He couldn't help but smile and closed the door with a swish, turning to look at Lian Jun.

Lian Jun was holding clothes he had taken from Shi Jin's luggage and noticed the change in his expression. He lowered his gaze for a few seconds before quietly asking, "Stay with me, alright?"

Xiao Si screamed, "Yes, yes, yes! Jin Jin agrees! Jin Jin agrees to everything! Stay together! I support you guys!"

Shi Jin's tender emotions were just beginning to stir, but Xiao Si's outburst immediately shattered them. He broke his serious expression and walked over to Lian Jun, squatting down and holding onto his knees. He asked with a smile, "What if I say no? What will you do?"

When Lian Jun saw him smile, his tense expression relaxed a bit. He bent down and held his face, saying, "I'm going to seal off all your old rooms and any other vacant rooms, so you can't go anywhere except here with me."

Shi Jin chuckled and hugged him, tilting his head to kiss his lips.

On the first night back, everyone was very relaxed. After packing their bags, they wandered around the clubhouse with nothing to do. They played here and tidied up there, annoying the logistics director responsible for organizing the sixth floor so much that his face turned black. Shi Jin even went into the kitchen to show off his cooking skills and made an ugly cake for everyone, saying it was to celebrate their safe return home.

Number Two took a picture of the cake and sent it to Number One. Number One replied briefly, "Wait until I get back to give you extra training."

So Number Two stopped showing off.

After a lively dinner, Shi Jin escorted Lian Jun back to their room and gave him a good massage. As he was about to send Lian Jun to the bathroom, he was pulled in by him.

The two of them spent over an hour in the shower before finally coming out. Shi Jin had some unsightly marks on his body and his mouth was swollen. Lian Jun's hair was messy, but his complexion had become much rosier.

Turning off the lights, the two of them lay down on the bed. Shi Jin lifted the blanket and was surprised to find a egg-shaped pillow on Lian Jun's usually plain bed.

"Is this for me?" Shi Jin asked, hugging the pillow to his chest.

Lian Jun took the pillow from his embrace and opened his arms, saying, "Come here."

Without hesitation, Shi Jin quickly chose to snuggle up with Lian Jun instead of the pillow, rubbing against him with satisfaction.

"Go to sleep, goodnight," Lian Jun kissed his forehead.

Shi Jin smelled the same shower gel on Lian Jun's body as his own, and sighed contentedly in his heart, replying, "Goodnight."

Although they had already shared a room in L Country, living together outside felt completely different from living at home. Holding each other like this, he felt like they were truly becoming a family.

It was comforting and fulfilling.

Changes in environment can quickly change one's mood. Just one night in B City and everyone felt like the events in L Country were suddenly very far away, even though news from there continued to pour in.

After being unconscious for several days, Zhuo Yang finally woke up. In the end, he made the difficult decision to choose his own life over protecting the Nine Eagles.

Number One personally delivered the medicine to Zhuo Yang and then brought back a large amount of confidential information about the Nine Eagles.

A few days later, the authorities officially stamped the Nine Eagles with the charge of colluding with foreign forces and attempting to infiltrate the country, and began to crack down on their domestic influence. After the news came out, Zhuo Yang's deputy disappeared with him in the southeast region, decisively abandoning the Nine Eagles.

It wasn't until this moment that the leaders of various organizations in China realized that the sudden conflict between Annihilation and the Nine Eagles in the southeast region was not because Zhuo Yang had angered Lian Jun during a meeting, but because he had discovered the Nine Eagles' collusion with foreign forces and their attempt to influence the country.

So, was this wave of actions by Annihilation aimed at eliminating 'traitors'?

Everyone's emotions were complex, feeling that Annihilation's style of being the 'police' in this underworld was a bit strange. But despite the complexity, everyone was secretly happy that Nine Eagles, who trained maggots professionally, was taken down by Lian Jun. It was just a pity that Nine Eagles died so easily and didn't cause much damage to Annihilation.

As a result, without their leader, Nine Eagles completely collapsed under official scrutiny in less than two months. The benefits left behind were greedily devoured by various forces, and soon, no one on the path mentioned the name Nine Eagles again. It became like countless other fallen organizations, a nameless stepping stone for those who came after.

On the other hand, after Nine Eagles was taken down by the authorities, Phantom also made a big move.

After rescuing his subordinates, the Old Ghost surprisingly submitted an application to the authorities to remove Phantom's application to become a legal organisation, voluntarily liquidating all business and announcing the dissolution of Phantom.

When this news came out, even Lian Jun was surprised and took the initiative to call the Old Ghost to inquire about the situation.

In response to his inquiry, the Old Ghost replied firmly, "I just don't want to lose my brothers again. By surrendering now, although I have lost the wealth and power that we worked hard to accumulate, at least I have saved everyone's lives. Lian Jun, I am not like you, I don't have the ability to secure a stable and clean future for my brothers, so I can only use some stupid methods. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to start over by giving up everything."

Furrowing his brows, Lian Jun said, "Quitting the game is not that easy, Old Ghost. The authorities may let you go, but your enemies won't. Without the protection of those forces, everything you're doing now is sending your brothers to their deaths."

"We won't die," Old Ghost said, his tone relaxed and full of confidence and relief. "I've hired a good lawyer. As long as they're my brothers, I'll do my best to save their lives. Thank you, Lian Jun. Goodbye." With that, he hung up the phone.

Lian Jun didn't quite understand what he meant, so just to be safe, he instructed Number Two to keep an eye on any suspicious activity in the underworld. If anyone tried to take advantage of Old Ghost's downfall, they would lend a helping hand.

But in the end, their help was not needed. Old Ghost was even more ruthless and carefree than Lian Jun had imagined.

Everyone knew that Old Ghost hired Yu Jing to use economic cases as a cover to safely extradite all of his detained subordinates back to China through official channels, in order to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation. But no one expected that Old Ghost would use the same method to frame most of the middle and high-level members of Phantom, one by one, through the operation of economic cases, and send them all to prison.

Prison, a place where one may lose their freedom, but can still keep their life.

It must be said that Old Ghost played his hand very cleverly, choosing to use the official system that people in the underworld fear the most to protect himself. By the time all of Phantom's people are released from prison in a few years, the underworld will surely be a different place, and those who have become history may have a chance for a new beginning.

And with Fei Yujing around, there was no way these people's futures were uncertain.

In addition to the middle and upper management, Old Ghost also considered the future of the lower-level members of the Phantom organization. Following Fei Yujing's suggestion, he used the company's bankruptcy as a way to provide severance pay and subsidies to as many people as possible. Some members had attracted grudges and couldn't easily leave the organization's protection, so he also asked Fei Yujing to help arrange a way for them to escape overseas.

Within just a week, Nine Eagles was shut down by the authorities, and Phantom announced its dissolution. Two major organizations withdrew from the power stage of China, causing a turmoil comparable to an earthquake of magnitude eight.

The situation in the underworld instantly became turbulent. Some people wanted to take advantage of the situation to expand their influence, while others sensed something was wrong and began to retreat quietly. Some people openly or secretly looked towards Lian Jun's side, wanting to see how Annihilation would react.

However, in the face of the turbulence caused by Nine Eagles and Phantom, as the organization that had the last connection with them before their disbandment, Annihilation's reaction was... no reaction.

Rumors were flying around the underworld, and everyone knew that Nine Eagles and Phantom's disbandment was related to Annihilation. But Annihilation remained as still as a mountain, not taking advantage of the benefits left behind by Nine Eagles and Phantom, nor paying attention to the outside world's ups and downs. It reverted back to being the low-key boss who didn't fight or grab for anything.

Everyone... everyone hated it in their hearts! But there was nothing they could do about it. Annihilation was just too strong, and everyone was afraid to speak or act recklessly.

Fast forward to the present, it was the fifth day since Shi Jin officially moved into Lian Jun's room. The news of Nine Eagles and Phantom being disbanded had just come in, and everyone gathered in the study to discuss the current situation in the underworld... except for Shi Jin, who was doing his homework again.

Number Two spoke first: "Nine Eagles has gone down, Phantom has withdrawn on his own. Now, among the top tier organizations in the country, besides us and the Tarantula, there are still five left. This wave has left a huge cake up for grabs, and those with ambitions to be number one will definitely make big moves in the second half of this year."

"Even if there are big moves, we're not afraid. Whoever moves first will die," Number Five replied, his words short and his tone cold.

"Over the years, the top tier organizations have disappeared one after another, and the middle tier organizations have never had a dark horse break into the front line. The number of small organizations allowed to be listed by the government each year is also decreasing. Now that Nine Eagles, the target that attracted everyone's attention, is gone, I'm afraid someone will soon notice that the current situation is not right," Number One spoke up on the other end of the video call, his expression serious.

Over the years, under the covert operations of the government, the number of legal criminal organisations in the underworld had increased, giving the appearance of prosperity and growth.

However, it was all a facade. The increase in these organizations only consists of small, weak groups, while the only prosperous and growing organization is the Nine Eagles, who were being used as a target. Ironically, many powerful large and medium-sized organizations had quietly disappeared from the power stage due to various strange struggles.

In reality, the overall strength of legal criminal organisations in China had gradually been weakened. The rapid development and high-profile arrogance of the Nine Eagles have given everyone the illusion that criminal organisations are still suppressing the government.

Now that Nine Eagles and Phantom are exiting together, someone is bound to notice something is off. And once someone does, Annihilation's secret dealings with the authorities could be exposed. If that happens, Annihilation will become the target of all the organizations.

"Don't worry, we knew it would come to this," Lian Jun spoke calmly and confidently, reassuring everyone. "We still have control of the situation for now. Even if someone does catch on, they won't act recklessly. We have time, and with Tarantula on our side, we won't be completely helpless even if we are targeted."

Upon hearing this, Number One's expression improved slightly. "I understand. I'll take care of things here as soon as possible and hurry back."

The main topic was almost finished, when Number Two spoke up and asked, "By the way, where is Uncle Long? Young Master Jun is still waiting for him to arrange a physical examination."

Upon hearing this, Shi Jin stopped writing and turned his head, his eyes shining.

"Uncle Long took Long Shi's ashes and flew to an island today. He should arrive in B city the day after tomorrow," Number One replied with a sigh. In the end, Uncle Long softened his heart and chose the safest, most beautiful and homely place to give Long Shi his final resting place.

Everyone fell silent, feeling a bit sad.

"Let's disperse," Lian Jun spoke up, bringing everyone's thoughts back. He instructed, "Number One and Number Two, keep an eye on the situation in the underworld. If anyone in Phantom encounters a tricky situation, lend a hand."

Number One acknowledged and hung up the phone.

As everyone got up to leave the study, Number Two saw Shi Jin holding his tablet like a little puppy and staring at Lian Jun. Unable to resist, he leaned in and whispered, "How does it feel to move in with Young Master Jun?"

Shi Jin glanced at him, smirked, and replied in a low voice, "The bed is pretty soft. Do you want me to buy you the same one? But you might need a single bed, the double bed is too big for you."

Feeling indirectly mocked, Number Two choked and rolled his eyes before walking away.

With the study now empty, Shi Jin immediately approached Lian Jun with his tablet and said seriously, "You can't procrastinate anymore. Uncle Long is coming the day after tomorrow, so you need to prepare yourself. Eat lighter meals and, uh, don't do anything too strenuous at night. Take care of yourself and get ready for the check-up."

"I know," replied Lian Jun, reaching out his hand to him and asking, "Have you finished the assignment?"

"Yes, I have," Shi Jin answered, handing him the tablet with a pained expression. "Recently, Mr. Feng has been giving me assignments every day, even though I'm not taking the college entrance exam. It's pointless."

Lian Jun took the tablet and looked at it, saying, "Who said you're not taking the college entrance exam?"

Shi Jin was stunned and asked in shock, "Do I still have to take the college entrance exam?"

Wasn't it enough for him to study hard every day and become a proud high school graduate? He was going to attend a university for adults in the future!

"Of course you have to take the exam," said Lian Jun as he tapped on his tablet and checked the total score of the practice test. His eyebrows furrowed briefly, but then relaxed as he continued, "With your current level of preparation, getting into a second-tier university should be enough. Take the next two days to rest up, and I'll take you to the exam site the day after tomorrow for the college entrance exam."

The college entrance exam? Shi Jin gasped and looked at the calendar. It was indeed the day after tomorrow. He felt so overwhelmed that he couldn't breathe and was about to negotiate with Lian Jun, but was interrupted by him.

"When we were on the ship, we made a bet. I agreed to one of your conditions, and you agreed to one of mine. My condition is for you to take this year's college entrance exam. Shi Jin, are you going to break your promise?"

Shi Jin suddenly froze, his vision going black. It was only after the fact that he realized he had fallen into Lian Jun's trap, and had even blocked off his own escape route.