Chapter 197: Nightmare Strikes

"No wonder..."

Chen Ling recalled that when the thugs had spotted them transporting the corpse last night, it was already evening. They must have waited until the hospital's back entrance was less crowded before moving the body out through the morgue's family identification process.

"As for the other two, they're both top surgeons at that hospital. I checked the surgical records from the past week—each of them performed several surgeries daily. But yesterday afternoon, neither of them conducted a single operation. Some scheduled surgeries were even canceled... Combined with their reactions you mentioned, I'm ninety percent certain."

Chen Ling nodded. "In that case, shouldn't we find a chance to interrogate them separately?"

At this, Wen Shilin's expression turned odd. He glanced at Chen Ling, his eyes flickering as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"...What is it?"

"Lin Yan, I remember you're quite skilled in combat?"

"Passable."

"Then... can you kidnap all three of them?"

Chen Ling stared at Wen Shilin in disbelief, hardly able to believe such bandit-like words had come from his mouth.

"Let me explain." Wen Shilin straightened his expression.

"We're already certain Frostleaf Hospital is involved in the organ trade, right? After our blatant search for clues earlier, the forces behind the hospital must have gotten wind of it... I'm not worried about them coming after me. What I fear is that, in their panic, they might silence those doctors..."

"You're afraid they'll kill the witnesses to cover their tracks?" Chen Ling understood Wen Shilin's concern. Given the Stellar Chamber of Commerce's style, they were absolutely capable of such actions.

"Exactly. I've run into this situation several times before—just as I find a witness, before I can even conduct a formal interview, they're killed... cutting off the trail completely." Wen Shilin sighed heavily.

"I’ve considered kidnapping them before, but... I don’t think I can knock them out."

Chen Ling: "..."

"Fine." Chen Ling agreed without much hesitation.

Even if Wen Shilin hadn’t suggested it, Chen Ling had planned to interrogate—no, "interview"—these doctors. But since their ideas aligned, there was no need to act covertly.

Seeing Chen Ling’s agreement, Wen Shilin brightened immediately. "Where should I wait for you? My place?"

Chen Ling was about to respond when he remembered the sudden spike in audience expectation earlier, along with Wen Shilin’s warning about the hospital’s backers potentially silencing witnesses. His eyes narrowed slightly...

Could the expectation warning be tied to the masterminds behind the hospital? Otherwise, why would it appear right after their visit?

"No... I’ll pick the location. And don’t go home tonight either," Chen Ling said.

Wen Shilin had no objections. To him, one place was as good as another. "No problem."

---

A drop of blood streaked across the sky, swiftly materializing into a human figure on a deserted rooftop.

Jian Changsheng rubbed his tired eyes, dark circles prominently visible beneath them... He’d stayed up all night torturing Liu Chen for information.

If Chen Ling could extract answers so effortlessly, why couldn’t he? So after Chen Ling left, Jian Changsheng gritted his teeth and continued Liu Chen’s "interrogation"—besides outright beatings, he employed knives, whips, and everything else, working until dawn.

Strangely enough, after Chen Ling’s departure, Liu Chen’s resistance seemed to weaken. After enough torment, he finally divulged what he knew.

As Jian Changsheng had guessed, the bad news was that the Yan family had deployed most of their manpower to hunt him down. The good news? Those "outsiders" didn’t seem to be making a move...

With[Blood Drop Step], ordinary pursuers were no threat to Jian Changsheng. But those outsiders—the Stellar Chamber of Commerce’s publicly deployable elite forces—were not to be trifled with.

Lost in thought, Jian Changsheng continued his rooftop traversal using[Blood Drop Step]. His figure darted swiftly across Aurora City’s skyline when, suddenly, a faint shadow flickered past overhead.

Sensing something, Jian Changsheng frowned and looked up, squinting at the sky...

"Is that... an eagle?"

In the distant sky, a black silhouette flapped its wings, streaking across the horizon at astonishing speed. Backlit by the sun, only an eagle-like shadow was visible.

Jian Changsheng paid it no mind and continued toward the nearby hills. At the base of the slope, he found the woods where he’d previously taken refuge and the lone doghouse nestled within.

Crawling inside, he groped around the corner and pulled out an unopened loaf of bread.

The food his uncle had smuggled to him in garbage bags was nearly gone, but Jian Changsheng wasn’t worried. For someone like him now, pilfering snacks from a grocery store was child’s play... And if possible, he specifically targeted stores owned by the Stellar Chamber of Commerce.

Stretching out on the ground, Jian Changsheng chewed his bread while watching the swaying trees outside the doghouse, his mood relatively calm. Though cramped and humiliating, this shelter had given him immense peace of mind during this critical period.

After finishing his meal, Jian Changsheng slowly closed his eyes, ready to rest. As consciousness faded into sleep, his surroundings blurred into obscurity.

He dreamed.

In his dream, he lived in a paper house—the kind sold in funeral shops, meant to be burned for the dead. Cramped and stifling, it was even more uncomfortable than the doghouse.

Lying on a rigid bed, he looked up at the window. Outside, a white, hazy film covered the glass, as if someone had pasted a sheet of cloth over it.

Faint shadows flickered beyond the fabric, like figures pacing outside, searching for something... Jian Changsheng held his breath, staring fixedly at the white window.

At some point, the wandering shadows vanished. After an eerie silence, a thin, flat face slowly pressed against the window’s surface—as though a two-dimensional visage had adhered itself to the pane.

It was a garish face. Black-purple eyeshadow covered a third of its features, while two rosy cheeks resembled the exaggerated blush on New Year’s paintings. A small apricot-colored mouth, no larger than Jian Changsheng’s thumb, pursed delicately...

The face remained motionless against the window, its unfocused pupils abruptly rolling downward to fixate on Jian Changsheng lying in bed.

The sight struck Jian Changsheng like a thunderbolt!

With a gasp, he jolted upright in the doghouse, nearly banging his head against the roof. His back was drenched in cold sweat!

The blood-red hues of sunset spilled over the hills, dyeing the world in an ominous glow. Amid the dim woods, a gaudy, paper-thin figure stood beneath a tree, its hollow eyes locked onto the doghouse...

Suddenly, that tiny apricot mouth split open—nearly bisecting the entire face!

A metallic, grating voice whispered:

"...Found one."