Night

District 8, City Z, Mo Family.

Mollier carried the tea tray, dismissed the servants, and approached Mrs. Mo, who sat quietly on the sofa. "Mom, this is your favorite black tea." Her eyes were filled with worry as she carefully observed the woman's expression. She had received news just over ten minutes ago that the bodyguards were on their way home with Mrs. Mo. Although she didn't say it directly, she had a rough idea of what was going on, so she hurried back to the Mo family's house.

After all, every time she sneaked out, she would only go to one place.

Mrs. Mo stared at the tea, picked it up by the rim with two fingers, and held it horizontally in front of Mollier. "Do you know why I prefer this kind?" She glanced at the ripples on the surface and then spilled the tea on the carpet. "Compared to your father's collection, this tea is nothing. I'm the only one in the family who knows how to drink it."

"After all, you guys have been spoiled for choice and disdain to drink something so obscure."

Pain flashed in Mollier's eyes. After hesitation, he said, "Mom, you know I'm different from them." Mrs. Mo smiled and said, "I know? I only know that the child I raised is now obsessed with running away."

Mollier's expression changed in shock. He knew she was truly angry, and sure enough, he heard a long string of words laced with rage. "Back then, I told you to be honest and stand out, but you wouldn't listen." She stared angrily at the round stud embedded in Mollier's brow. "Then I told you to be diligent and motivated, but you still wouldn't listen. So, now you just don't want to go home? Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"I'm telling you, it's too late. As long as you're a child of the Mo family, I can control you!"

Molly's eyes were red. "Mom, I know you're in a bad mood today and that what you said was just angry. I won't take it to heart. But I really haven't been able to spend more time with you recently because of my mission."

She took a deep breath, looked seriously into Mrs. Mo's eyes and said, "I am your daughter, and only you have the right to control me."

"Let's go eat, okay?" She was already very good at saying such submissive words, and Mrs. Mo would always take them up on them, including this time.

Before leaving the living room, Molly heard a very soft voice, "Lily, don't get hurt."

That night, Li Ming leaned against a pillow with half-closed eyes and asked Morrill, who was packing equipment by the cabinet: "I heard that you went home halfway today and seemed very anxious. Did something happen to your mother again?" His tone was casual, as if such things were common.

The cold blade accidentally rubbed against Mollier's fingertips when she was putting it away, leaving a new wound. She put her finger in her mouth and said muffledly, "Well, he ran away again."

Li Ming: "The fact that you can still run means your mind isn't completely lost. If one day you forget to run, you'll be truly insane."

"After all, he's been locked up at home and monitored for so many years, so it's only reasonable for him to become mentally ill."

Mollier put the knife down on the shelf with a thud, turned around and warned, "Even if you're the one, don't even think of using her story as a topic of conversation." Li Ming opened his eyes and looked at her aggrievedly, "That's not what I meant! I'm just stating the average person's perspective."

"It's not like I'm unaware of this. How could I not know how important she is to you?" Li Ming yawned and stood up. "I'm so tired. I'm going to sleep. I have to train all day tomorrow." After saying that, he returned to his residence.

Morrill stood there in silence for a long time.

She was not Mrs. Mo's biological daughter, and she knew that her half-sister had passed away long ago, but the grace of raising her could not be faked. She had been wearing an ionizer since birth, which resulted in her having no memory before the age of six, and no impression of her biological mother at all.

But Ben didn't care. All her experiences since she could remember told her that in the entire Mo family, the only person who really cared about her, Mollier's food, clothing, happiness and sorrow, was her mother who was not related to her by blood.

But to that father who is related to me by blood, I am just a signboard, a chess piece, a tool, a gift to please him, but not a living independent person.

When Molly came to her senses and let go of her hand, her palm had been deeply pierced by her nails, and the whole area was slightly numb.

On the other side, District 10, Luo family.

Luo Xi had been talking heart-to-heart with her son for most of the night, and finally said, "You've already thought about it so much. Apart from worrying about your safety, I can't find any other reason to refute you. In that case, go ahead."

Ying Yungui coughed lightly and stood up: "Thank you, Mom, for understanding me. That's it for me." "By the way, don't tell Luo Zhao and the others that I was here. It's unnecessary trouble. I'll contact them if there's anything. I'm leaving now and go to bed early."

Looking at his hurried back, Luo Xi's words of advice got stuck in her throat and she couldn't say them out loud.

Ying Yungui walked out of the door, tightened his collar, looked into the distance to the west for a while, but still suppressed his thoughts and stepped onto the pedal of the helicopter of the association headquarters.

Until the dust settles, I'd better not bother you anymore, otherwise I can't guarantee that I can hide my feelings properly. This feeling can't become the gravitational force that pulls you into the vortex. So, let's meet again soon, Shi Youchen.

......

In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed since the attack on the Maintenance Bureau, and it is already the 173rd year of the new calendar.

That night, light snow fell throughout the city of A. In the old city in the southwest, on a street where almost all other businesses were closed, the brightest spots were undoubtedly the nighttime venues - bars and hotels.

The lights were brightly lit in the buffet restaurant on the third floor of the Four Seasons Hotel. It was well past the usual peak meal times, but this hotel had two advantages: first, it was located across from an entertainment district; and second, the buffet restaurant was open 24 hours a day.

Waiters Xiao Ke and Mu Mu excitedly but subtly discussed the matter, thanking themselves for the umpteenth time for their part-time jobs here, which allowed them to see such a beautiful person up close. "Go ahead! With makeup on, you'll have a better chance than me." "Oh, but you have a better figure than me." They blushed for a long time before finally heading to the two-person table next to the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Hello...Hello, are you satisfied with the dishes?" Mumu adjusted the name tag on his chest and asked the man sitting there carefully.

The man was obviously stunned for a moment, then he withdrew his gaze from the window, turned his head, glanced at the untouched plate with some embarrassment and said: "Sorry, I don't have much appetite, so I can't comment." His eyelashes fluttered up and down in the blink of an eye, like the dancing wings of a butterfly, it was Shi Youchen.

Xiaoke tugged at the back of Mumu's clothes and exclaimed with her eyes, "Ahhh, his face is so handsome."

"Okay, okay! Sorry to bother you!" Mumu put one hand behind his back and grabbed the troublemaker who was scratching him so hard that he was about to strangle him. "Enjoy your meal!" Then he quickly dragged Xiaoke, who was hiding behind him without saying a word, and ran away.

"What are you doing? I haven't even asked for his contact information yet, why are you running away?" "Shut up! Every second we stand next to him is polluting the air he breathes and we're blaspheming him!" Their love plan failed before it even started.

Shi Youchen sighed and continued to look out the window. To be precise, he was looking at the slightly shabby bar "MIST" across the street.

A week ago, he used Lin Zhouze's help to find out some of Lu Shen's early deeds, and facing Lin Zhouze's questions, he had to tell part of the truth - "It has a little bit to do with a task I received in District 9. Now it is a special period and it is inconvenient for me to go to District 9, so I will try to check it here first." Of course, he concealed the most important part, that is, Lu Shen has some connection with the leader of the rampant mental invasion incidents in recent years.

Otherwise, given Lin Zhouze's personality, he would definitely follow me.

After integrating a lot of information, he came to City A where the Lu family was located, hoping to find the places of entertainment where Lu Shen frequented in his early years. However, more than 20 years had passed, and the original pubs and restaurants here had long been demolished and rebuilt.

So he could only collect intelligence in the nearby area. After a few days, he finally found the "MIST", which was demolished and rebuilt and is still in business today. Then he began to observe it during business hours every night.

Of course, he couldn't go in alone. First of all, apart from the fact that he was not good at socializing, the impression left by the bar on him was definitely not a good one. Therefore, he found this observation spot with an excellent view.

Outside, the snow was falling heavily. Some flakes landed on the bar's sign, melting into droplets that only made the light shine even brighter. Several cars on the roadside had a thin layer of snow on their roofs, showing they had been parked for a long time.

Suddenly, a few black shadows flashed in the corner of Shi Youchen's vision. He looked closely and found that three or four sneaky figures flashed into the alley on the side.

The alley seemed to be very shallow, because most of the body of one person was not covered and was exposed under the street light. He was a boy about the same age as Ying Yungui.

“?” What are you doing?

But he soon found out, because those people started pushing and shoving each other, and a head that was obviously shorter than theirs and had long hair was revealed.

Shi Youchen couldn't hear the sound from there, but just from the movements of the person on the outside he could tell that the person being pushed was much stronger than him.

Fight?

The thought flashed through his mind, but was immediately disrupted by a fragment of clothing illuminated by the streetlight—a white undershirt with the school uniform logo printed on it. A student being blackmailed? But City A had the best security in District 8, and the school's student protection measures were unmatched elsewhere.

A car on the side of the road lowered its window, and a hand holding a cigarette stretched out from inside, shook, and then retracted.

A few people staggered out of the bar, supported each other, and lay down next to the trash can, vomiting all over the place.

A young couple walked out of a small shop not far away, looked towards the alley, and then walked quickly into the Four Seasons Hotel.

No one stopped to look at that dim corner, even though they could see it more clearly than Shi Youchen on the third floor.

The shoving continued, the large shadows swaying from side to side, and one could even see the corner of the boy's mouth on the outermost side rise. Laughter and sobs seemed to pierce the cold night sky and the glass, drifting into Shi Youchen's ears.

Mumu and Xiaoke, who had just left and returned to the food counter, saw the stunningly handsome man stand up, lower his head, and leave the restaurant in a hurry.

"He's gone, what a pity." "I don't know if I'll see him again."