Chapter 169 After He Zhao fell asleep, she had a dream. The scene in the dream was quite familiar to her, except...

After He Zhao fell asleep, she had a dream. The scene in the dream was quite familiar to her; it was the conference room of the Countermeasures Bureau. She sat in her seat, still somewhat dazed, not understanding how she had gone from the detention cell to the conference room.

She didn't realize she was dreaming. When Li Xia appeared, she took a closer look, and only when she saw Li Xia's heavy dark circles under her eyes did He Zhao breathe a sigh of relief: It was the real Li Xia, not a fake Li Xia.

Li Xia rushed in and went straight to He Zhao's side without even sitting down. She launched into a barrage of words: "Boss, listen to me! I'm tied up now! The Li Xia in front of you is a fake! She must know some secret techniques and has transformed into my likeness to infiltrate your ranks..."

At first, He Zhao didn't react when Li Xia started rambling on. But when she realized what was happening, she quickly stopped Li Xia: "I know it's fake. Are you in my dream now?"

"Yes." Li Xia paused for a moment, then nodded and quickly explained her situation. After explaining, she hurriedly prepared to leave, since entering the dream was a risk she had taken, and she was afraid of danger if she didn't hurry back.

After Li Xia returned to her body, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She was lucky this time; nothing unexpected happened, and there was no absurd situation like another ghost possessing her body. She moved her bound wrists; the hemp rope wrapped around them hurt a little from the friction.

Now that Qiao Yanyu has received the news, she will definitely find a chance to rescue her. But waiting for someone else indefinitely isn't a solution. Li Xia slowed her breathing, gathered her strength, and waited for the right opportunity.

She just hadn't expected the opportunity to come so quickly. Just two days later, the imposter came to ask for the passwords to the large, haunted cells in the underground prison of the Countermeasures Bureau. She had wanted to go down there herself these past few days, but without the passwords and fearing being exposed, she hadn't taken any action.

The fake Li Xia probably never dreamed that on her very first day at the Countermeasures Bureau, she would be recognized as an imposter.

What surprised Li Xia even more was that the fake Li Xia specifically asked for the password to Hua Hua's cell. She also complained that the bureau chief had previously asked her to check on Hua Hua, but she had no idea how to find the password. Upon hearing this, Li Xia began to wonder if the fake Li Xia was testing her, or if the bureau chief was genuinely using this method to send her information.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Xia figured that the old fox that was the bureau chief wouldn't use something so easily exposed to pass on information. Besides, they actually had other secret codes for passing messages when it wasn't convenient.

So Li Xia replied, "Hua Hua has already been executed, didn't you know?"

The fake Li Xia was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "I know, I was just worried you wouldn't cooperate. But you're still pretty good, you told us the truth. It's good that you're doing this, a wise person knows when to yield, and you'll suffer less."

Li Xia also felt that she was suffering a lot. She was locked in a dark little room and could only observe the outside world through a small window, knowing when the sun rose and set; her hands and feet were tied and she was blindfolded, and her hands and feet were only freed when she ate.

Although He Zhao was also imprisoned, his treatment was completely different from mine; He Zhao was living a much better life.

So even if someone has to be imprisoned, it's best if they're imprisoned by a respectable organization, at least their human rights will be guaranteed. Li Xia sighed inwardly, but couldn't help thinking that this guy was really cunning.

Having confirmed that Li Xia truly meant no harm, the fake Li Xia finally asked the bureau chief her real question. She spoke slowly and deliberately, unaware that Li Xia interpreted it differently. The bureau chief wanted her to… give the fake Li Xia the real cell codes, and assuring her not to worry, as the codes would be updated in a few days.

Li Xia remained silent for a moment, but still refused the fake Li Xia: "I can't say."

The fake Li Xia clicked her tongue: "You were just saying that you're a wise person who knows when to yield, why are you so stubborn now?" Because Li Xia was unwilling to say it out loud, the fake Li Xia punished her, left her hanging for a day, and even didn't let anyone feed her.

Only then did Li Xia weakly tell the fake Li Xia the passwords.

Watching the fake Li Xia's departing figure, Li Xia knew that this time she truly believed it. Some things, even if you have to tell the fake Li Xia, you have to pretend you don't want to, and let the other person "get" them out of her mouth so that the other person will believe it's true.

Otherwise, if I tell her too easily, she will easily become suspicious.

However, Li Xia also knew that the time for the Countermeasures Bureau to close in was approaching, otherwise they wouldn't have used the fake Li Xia to tell her that they were about to take action.

The storm is brewing, and special rectification campaigns have begun in the city streets. Many activities late at night have been canceled, and fire safety inspections have been carried out on entertainment venues such as KTVs and bars. However, the purpose of these campaigns is known only to the people in the Countermeasures Bureau.

The investigation team has already arrested many members of the Tonghuan Society. Starting with the person who created the graffiti, and using spells like soul-searching, it's actually quite easy to take them down one by one. Not only have several strongholds been destroyed, but even the members have been arrested.

Not only in the city where Qiao Yanyu and her group were located, but other cities where the Tonghuan Society was based faced the same problem. Because the Tonghuan Society's outposts involved could not possibly be confined to a single city. The Tonghuan Society had a relatively small number of members, making it impossible for them to send reinforcements to other cities in this situation. Large cities typically had countermeasures bureaus, making it easy to eradicate those outposts and arrest the local Tonghuan Society members responsible for liaison.

Under these circumstances, it's impossible for Tonghuanhui not to be anxious.

But when things get rushed, more mistakes are revealed. When the fake Li Xia does something different from usual, everyone on the investigation team knows they can't tolerate it anymore. Everyone is quiet, waiting for the red wedding dress to make her move.

Qiao Yanyu and the others had an assessment of Hong Jiayi's strength. According to Xiao Hei and Wang Yu, Hong Jiayi was very strong, but her strength was limited. Even so, Qiao Yanyu still treated Hong Jiayi with great patience because Hong Jiayi was after nothing but He Zhao.

Faced with such a red wedding dress, how could Qiao Yanyu not give it her all?

However, what Hong Jiayi did was even more ruthless than Qiao Yanyu had imagined. After the fake Li Xia obtained the passwords to the rooms where the powerful ghosts were imprisoned, they thought Hong Jiayi's plan was simply to release the ghosts and create chaos. But no one expected that Hong Jiayi would carry out a suicide attack, attempting to plant a gas bomb to kill all the ghosts and release a massive amount of yin energy, rendering them unable to use yang energy.

Fortunately, the person in charge of the monitoring room didn't even blink an eye 24 hours a day, and she and her people kept an eye on the Countermeasures Bureau, so they notified the Countermeasures Bureau the moment they discovered the other party's intentions.

At this moment, just as planned, they split up and acted separately.

The bureau chief went to rescue Li Xia, while Jiu Qing's people were sent out to capture all the Tong Huan Hui members who were causing trouble in the city. Qiao Yanyu and Wang Yu stayed behind to guard the countermeasures bureau, waiting for Hong Jiayi to walk into the trap.

It will definitely come; for it, He Zhao is its only hope right now.

As long as He Zhao is around, it can cultivate even more ghosts through He Zhao. Even if all the members are dead now and all the accumulated ghosts have been eliminated by the Countermeasures Bureau, as long as He Zhao is around, sooner or later it will be able to achieve an organization size far exceeding its current size.

It was determined to get He Zhao.

However, the woman in the red wedding dress used a rather rudimentary method. She pulled out a bomb from her bosom—not even a ghost bomb, but a real, unadulterated peasant weapon. Wang Yu's lips twitched involuntarily: "These guys really shouldn't be underestimated. All they know is how to use modern weapons all day long."

The cell where He Zhao is imprisoned can defend against attacks from various spells, including those from Yin and Yang energies. It can also withstand ordinary physical attacks, such as those from iron hammers. However, if the woman in the red wedding dress pulls out a bomb, it certainly won't be able to defend against it.

When Qiao Yanyu realized this, she immediately charged forward. She turned Xiao Hei back to its true form, rode on Xiao Hei's back, summoned her soldiers to protect her, and entered the cell where He Zhao was being held before the bomb exploded.

At that time, He Zhao was still playing on his tablet peacefully, with a piece of squid in his mouth. When he saw Qiao Yanyu rush in, he was a little puzzled: "Sister Qiao, what brings you here?"

Qiao Yanyu smiled, without saying a word, and rushed over to hug He Zhao, rolling under the bed in a flash. Little Black was quick-witted too, immediately shrinking and squeezing in. Even though it had the bloodline of the Howling Celestial Dog, it was still made of flesh and blood; who would want to compare their strength to a bomb?

After the three of them crawled inside, Qiao Yanyu's soldiers stood guard around the bed.

Before He Zhao could react, she heard a loud roar. Her ears were covered tightly by Qiao Yanyu, so she was in relatively good condition. However, the huge tremor caused dust to fall from the bed frame, covering both of them.

He Zhao could also faintly hear the sound of soil and bricks falling.

This time, there was no need to ask; He Zhao knew that the one who did this was Hong Jiayi.

—No, is it sick?!

He Zhao's first thought was this: only a crazy person would do something like this. This is underground! If it's blown up, who can escape?! Oh, the red wedding dress might work, since it's a ghost, it doesn't have a physical form.

As the aftershocks of the explosion subsided, He Zhao spat out several mouthfuls of dusty filth. Qiao Yanyu held her tightly, the veins on his arms bulging. Xiao Hei covered its ears with its two front paws, pressed against Qiao Yanyu's back, then stood up, shook its body, and shook off the dust.

He Zhao immediately went to see Qiao Yanyu, and his first words were full of concern: "Sister Qiao, are you alright?!"

Qiao Yanyu wasn't feeling too well either. She had immediately shielded He Zhao with all her might, even pressing her hand against He Zhao's ear, leaving herself less defensive. As a result, she was still experiencing tinnitus. She couldn't hear He Zhao's words, but seeing her mouth open and close, she knew that He Zhao was concerned about her.

She shook her head, intending to say she was fine, but instead said, "I miss you."