Chapter 14: An Explosion Occurs

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The rainy night was eerie and silent.

Yet, no one could make out what the two of them had said.

Seeing the person lying on the ground in such a state, Shen Zhaoxi curled her lips in satisfaction.

She slowly rose from beside Gong Xiali.

Her brows were cold and indifferent, a sharp pain pricking her fingertips, causing her to curl them instinctively.

“Miss, how shall we deal with her now?”

Half of W Group’s power was under Gong Shenxi’s control. What did Gong Xiali have to compete with her?

Coming to Sand City had been a calculated move, a way to see what trap Gong Xiali was so painstakingly setting and what she truly intended.

Now, neither could they stop Yu Mo, nor could they kill her.

Shen Zhaoxi’s eyes, like blossoming peach petals, lifted at the corners, as though rippling with a smile. “How to deal with her?”

“Let it be known that a fire broke out in an abandoned factory in Sand City, causing a fuel pipe to explode, and that the second young lady of W Group, Gong Xiali, was inside and died tragically.”

“Does that suffice?” Her lips, stained with blood as if painted with rouge, were vivid and alluring, slightly parted as she gazed at Gong Xiali with contempt and a playful air.

Gong Xiali frowned, a sharp pain splitting her head, blood flowing endlessly. She struggled desperately to get up.

But no matter what, her body would not move.

She could only lie in a pool of blood, feeling the warmth seep from the back of her head, her body trembling, unable even to open her mouth to speak.

What Shen Zhaoxi had just said was not a question, but a declaration to everyone present.

Tonight, Gong Xiali would perish here.

It was not an announcement, but a pronouncement.

No one dared to question her.

“Miss, the car is outside.”

The young woman in the black dress walked toward the exit without so much as a backward glance, her black coat draped over her shoulders. As she passed through rows of black-clad bodyguards outside the derelict factory, she gently announced her departure.

Yu Mo, his expression cold and grim, followed by her side. As Shen Zhaoxi neared the factory doors, he lowered his gaze, his lips pressed into a thin line.

His handsome face appeared before Shen Zhaoxi: fair-skinned, black hair drenched by the rain, narrow, dark eyes exuding a brooding and restrained allure.

Shen Zhaoxi spoke: “Clean this up.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Shen Zhaoxi suddenly stopped, looking up at the suited man, her tone light—she despised nothing more than others knowing her secrets.

“Yu Mo, you know what must be done with everyone here tonight, don’t you?”

She wanted not only for Gong Xiali to die here, silenced forever, but also everyone who had been with her.

Even if they were subdued, who could guarantee they would not speak of tonight’s events?

“I understand, Miss.”

Yu Mo lowered his lashes, his gloomy face and indifferent voice betraying the scant patience he reserved for the young woman before him.

“Miss, your wound?”

As he answered, he glanced up and suddenly noticed the bandages wrapped around her chest.

They were thoroughly soaked with blood, a chilling gleam flickering in the depths of his narrow eyes.

“I’m fine.”

Shen Zhaoxi looked down at the bleeding wound on her chest, utterly unconcerned. The bullet wound had passed clean through, now inflamed and infected. She clutched her suit jacket tighter around herself.

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She covered her wound.

Yu Mo frowned.

“Let’s go.”

Night had fallen, darkness thick as ink. Outside the factory, a gray mist lingered, and a black luxury car was parked in front.

In the pouring rain, countless black umbrellas stood like sentinels, an oppressive sea of darkness.

As the young woman emerged, the black-clad bodyguards on either side hurried to open the car door.

Shen Zhaoxi bent down and slipped into the car, and Yu Mo folded his umbrella and handed her a snow-white silk handkerchief.

She took it and wiped the blood from her fingertips.

In the next instant, a raging fire burst out in the abandoned factory!

The flames blazed, reflected in Shen Zhaoxi’s cool, clear eyes as she turned her head.

Then the engine started, and the sea of black-clad men bowed their heads: “Safe journey, Miss!”

Shen Zhaoxi’s face was expressionless as she tossed the blood-stained handkerchief out the window.

It was only then, watching the girl’s indifferent face through the car window, that they truly understood the eldest daughter of W Group.

Killing, for her, seemed as common as daily bread.

As simple as crushing an ant.

The rumors of her cruelty and ruthless methods—every one was true.

Hidden in the shadows, a man from a Y Country special operations team frowned deeply.

They had never expected to stumble into a vicious internal struggle within W Group, a dark spectacle of scheming and fratricide—a blood-chilling, merciless scene.

It was too ruthless. Too bloody.

And far too dark.

Chen Yu’s eyes grew dim.

Watching the endless stream of W Group men folding their black umbrellas and departing Sand City in dozens of luxury cars, there was nothing he could do.

Their team, including Qin Hu whom they had just rescued, numbered only thirteen. It would be unwise to confront hundreds of black-clad bodyguards tonight.

Inside the burning factory, the fire raged on, undiminished even by the rain.

With a thunderous bang, an explosion erupted in Sand City.

The abandoned factory was swallowed by a sea of flames!

In that gloomy, rain-soaked night, the inferno blazed until dawn, leaving not even ashes behind.

As the rumors said, this eldest daughter of W Group had never been a benevolent soul.

Gong Xiali had tried to torment her slowly, to make her suffer every humiliation.

But Shen Zhaoxi would not waste her time.

She wanted to eradicate all threats, to cut down every weed at the root.

Yet with Gong Xiali dead by Shen Zhaoxi’s hand, W Group was sure to face a storm, perhaps even war.

After all, Gong Xiali’s boyfriend was within the Group.

And her cunning mother also worked for the organization.

Who could say how they would react when they learned their girlfriend and daughter had died in Sand City?

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After Shen Zhaoxi’s departure, the team that had planned to circle back for a rescue received a message from Y Country.

“What’s the word?” One of the team members, seeing Lu Yunzhou’s furrowed brow, set down his bent leg, wiped his gun, and leaned against the rotting doorframe, glancing at the tense young man who’d rushed in.

They were regrouping in Sand City, having found a secluded, derelict building for shelter. Though it kept out the rain, water still dripped from the roof, splashing onto their faces.

“Captain!”

After reading the message, Chen Yu’s pale, youthful face relaxed slightly as he addressed Lu Yunzhou.

“Command reports that half a month ago, the First Military District launched a secret joint operation in Dongzhou. To avoid a clash with our team, they sent a special communiqué.”

“What?” This news stirred the others.

“People from the First Military District?”

“What’s going on, where are they?” How could they not have known?

“The First District keeps secrets well,” someone muttered.

Such a major military operation, and they’d been completely unaware.

By right, since they were all in Dongzhou, they should have crossed paths.

They themselves had arrived in Dongzhou half a month ago, which was how they discovered the strange goings-on in Sand City.

“Captain…” After his report, Chen Yu looked worriedly at the man radiating coldness as he leaned against the door.

Because the data transmission from the Sand City experimental base had failed.

Then, the lab’s control system had self-destructed, destroying all data. Any hope of finding evidence of W Group’s crimes here was gone.

They would have to find another way.

“I have an idea.”

“Let’s hear it.”

At that, Lu Yunzhou looked up, his dark eyes fixing on the youth before him.

Chen Yu said, “We can go straight to Dongzhou, to W Group’s headquarters! Isn’t their main office right in Dongzhou?”

If that was the case, why not go straight to the heart of W Group?

“Chen Yu! Do you really think we can just waltz into their headquarters?” another team member argued.

“W Group is a multinational corporation, dabbling in every industry, legal and otherwise. They’ve been entrenched in Dongzhou for years, with sprawling influence. Even if we wanted to, do we have the capability?”

W Group’s headquarters isn’t some rabbit’s den you can just stroll into. No matter how skilled their special ops team from Y Country was, they were still only a dozen or so men.

And Dongzhou was already a dangerous theater—they couldn’t act rashly.

If it were in the governed zone, it would be one thing. But in the contested territories of Dongzhou, a single misstep could mean total disaster, an irretrievable loss.

“We’re going to W Group’s stronghold,” came a low voice from the doorframe as the others debated their next move.

Lu Yunzhou lifted his gaze to them.