The smell of disinfectant in the hospital was strong and pungent, mixed with medicine and a faint smell of blood, forming a unique, nerve-wracking cold breath.
The thickened ICU isolation door at the end of the corridor is like a gate separating life and death.
The red indicator light above the door was stubbornly on, and the light fell into Li Zhou's bloodshot eyes, burning them painfully.
How long had he been standing there? Three hours? Five? His sense of time was blurred by the disinfectant and the monotonous beeping of the heart monitor.
He leaned against the cold wall, his body stiff as a piece of dried wood. The wounds on his face and hands had been simply treated by the nurse and wrapped with gauze, but the burning pain was suppressed by a deeper, colder fear.
Every time the door was pushed open and closed by medical staff in blue sterile suits, his heart would feel like it was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand and would almost stop beating.
He didn't dare to ask, and even didn't dare to breathe too heavily, for fear of disturbing the faint breath inside the door that was teetering on the brink of life and death.
The raging flames of the explosion, the deafening roar, Gu Yuxiao's lifeless face buried under the burning rubble, and the blood-stained Night Owl badge on his last open palm... These images were like high-speed spinning blades, stirring wildly in his mind and cutting his sanity.
The hoarse and broken words "I smell his scent... I smell it..." echoed in my ears like a spell.
"What did he smell?" Li Zhou's nails dug deep into the gauze on his palm, causing a sharp pain but unable to dispel the chill in his heart.
What did Gu Yuxiao capture in that moment of life and death? Was it Night Owl himself? Or was it some indescribable, signature aura of that shadow?
Deliberately quiet but still distinct footsteps echoed in the corridor. Li Zhou suddenly raised his eyes, his bloodshot gaze like that of a wounded beast.
Chen Yanbai walked over. He had changed out of his combat uniform and was now wearing a loose-fitting black hoodie with the brim pulled low, covering most of his face, revealing only his taut jaw and tightly pursed lips.
His signature silver hair was matted to his forehead by sweat, dust, and blood, and the ends were stained with black stains from the explosion scene.
There were several bloody scratches on his face caused by flying objects, his arms were wrapped in bandages, and there was a barely noticeable stiffness in his movements.
He looked like he had just been pulled out of a pool of blood in hell, his whole body filled with thick smoke, blood, and an extremely suppressed and violent atmosphere.
He stopped a few steps in front of Li Zhou, without looking at the ICU door. His eyes, which always wore a cynical smile, were now as deep as a cold pond, icy and piercing, surging with lingering anger and something deeper and more heart-pounding.
"How is he?" Chen Yanbai asked, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper, and every word was scorching hot.
"I don't know." Li Zhou's voice was also dry and hoarse, his eyes fixed on Chen Yanbai, "He's still inside. The doctor said... he's seriously injured. The impact of the explosion, multiple fractures, excessive blood loss, and... possible intracranial injury and organ concussion."
He uttered these icy words with difficulty, each one piercing his heart like an icicle. "What about you?" he demanded, his tone sharp and almost piercing. "Where are your men? Casualty report!"
Chen Yanbai's jawline suddenly tensed, and in the shadow under the brim of his hat, the ice in his eyes seemed to crack, revealing magma-like pain and violence.
He was silent for a few seconds before he managed to speak through gritted teeth: "Six of the commandos…who were at the forefront…were killed instantly. Three were seriously injured and are in the operating room downstairs. Seven were slightly injured on the periphery."
He paused, his voice lower and deeper. "The bastard who detonated the bomb is dead. His body is shattered beyond repair. When we found him, he had a highly toxic capsule hidden in his mouth. The detonator was triggered by a remote amplified signal."
"Remote detonation?" Li Zhou's pupils suddenly shrank, and a chill rushed from his spine to the top of his head.
This means that the explosion was not a sudden impulse of the desperado, but someone had been lurking in the dark and coldly pressed the button of destruction at the most critical moment of the action. This was more like a carefully planned massacre trap.
"Yes." Chen Yanbai's voice was as cold as ice. "The bomb is a military-grade plastic explosive. It's extremely powerful and strategically placed, hidden in the core area of the production line. The enemy has calculated that we will definitely head straight for it."
He suddenly raised his eyes, and the gaze from under the brim of his hat was like a poisoned dagger, piercing Li Zhou. "Besides our internal core action team, who else knows the clues to the 'pharmaceutical factory'?!"
Li Zhou's heart suddenly sank, as if hit by a heavy hammer.
Chen Yanbai made no secret of his suspicions—the information had been leaked. Perhaps something was amiss within the task force, or perhaps Night Owl's tentacles had already silently infiltrated what they considered their strongest fortress!
"On my side..." Li Zhou forced himself to remain calm, but his voice couldn't help but tighten. "Only Gu Yuxiao, Ah Cheng, and a few of his absolutely trustworthy Dark River team members know the final location."
"The data link I analyzed originated from an old cache fragment from the Port Authority. In theory, only those with extremely high internal clearance can access the remaining traces."
He suddenly remembered something, and his eyes sharpened. "You suspect... someone within the police?"
Chen Yanbai didn't answer directly, but took out a burnt and deformed piece of metal wrapped in a transparent evidence bag from the pocket of his hoodie.
It can be vaguely seen that it was once a small part of a signal repeater or a miniature remote control receiver.
"Found it near the detonation point," he handed the evidence bag to Li Zhou, his voice filled with suppressed madness.
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