Chapter 182: Wen Shilin's Dilemma

"No! I'm not lying!" Ah Cheng struggled wildly against his restraints. "Everything I said is true!"

Chen Ling gripped Ah Cheng's neck, his fingers tightening, as if to choke him to death then and there. At the same time, the grim voice spoke again:

"How can you prove it?"

"I..." Ah Cheng's voice was hoarse and broken from the chokehold. "I have a handwritten backup copy in a hidden compartment of my desk drawer at the newspaper office... I really did leave the original at the meeting point... I don't know anything else..."

Chen Ling's eyebrows raised slightly.

Of course, he didn't know about any original document, nor the meeting point Ah Cheng mentioned. But that was no longer important; if Dan Xin had truly sent someone, the original would likely have been taken already.

However, the fact that Ah Cheng had handwritten a backup copy and kept it at his workplace was intriguing. It seemed this young man wasn't entirely loyal to the faction he served.

Indeed, if he were truly loyal, he wouldn't have confessed so readily.

Having learned the location of the backup, Chen Ling relaxed slightly and spoke unhurriedly:

"What is the 'Hand of Redemption' plan?"

Chen Ling didn't know what the "Hand of Redemption" plan was, but judging by Wen Shilin's reaction, it seemed to be highly classified information.

The moment he heard the question, Ah Cheng froze, then, as if something dawned on him, he spoke in astonishment:

"No... that's wrong! You're not Officer Dan Xin's people! Who exactly are you?!"

Ah Cheng's heart sank instantly. He had never imagined they would impersonate Dan Xin's people to trick him. No wonder they claimed not to have found the original; he had fallen for it completely, even revealing the backup copy he had kept. In that moment, he knew he was finished.

Yet, he still couldn't understand which faction would do such a thing, or why they would be interested in the "Hand of Redemption."

"Does it matter?" Chen Ling sneered. "You have no other choice now: either you speak, or you... die."

Knowing Ah Cheng wasn't entirely loyal, and unwilling to play word games any longer, Chen Ling laid his cards on the table, pressing the gun barrel against Ah Cheng's forehead.

Ah Cheng's face, hidden beneath the cloth bag, turned ashen. He gritted his teeth, agonizing for a long time before finally speaking with difficulty:

"I don't know..."

Chen Ling's eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Ah Cheng quickly continued, "The secrecy level of this plan is extremely high. It's said that fewer than five high-ranking law enforcement officers are authorized to know about it... I was merely an undercover agent sent to infiltrate Wen Shilin's circle; how could I possibly know the specific details of the plan?"

"So, if the 'Hand of Redemption' plan is so highly classified, how did Wen Shilin, a reporter, come to know about it?"

"I don't know the exact details. I hadn't infiltrated his circle at that time... He spent several months investigating this plan, and his efforts were interrupted multiple times. He only managed to find some fragmented clues, all of which were in those articles...

The clearest thing I remember is that the 'Hand of Redemption' supposedly concerns the fate of all humanity in the Aurora Domain... and will bring us salvation.

I only received the articles yesterday. That's all I know; I really don't have any other information."

Ah Cheng's tone was utterly sincere. Ever since realizing Chen Ling was not one of Dan Xin's people, his demeanor had become noticeably humble. He knew his life and death were no longer in his own hands, nor controlled by the faction he served.

Concerned the fate of all humanity in the Aurora Domain?

Hearing this, Chen Ling's heart stirred. Could it be related to the Aurora Lord? Or the frozen sea calamities outside the city? Or was Aurora City hiding some kind of trump card?

Chen Ling tried to coerce him a few more times using different methods, but Ah Cheng provided no further useful clues. Realizing he wouldn't gain anything more by pressing him, Chen Ling abandoned the interrogation.

He looked at Ah Cheng, still struggling desperately beneath the black bag, and gently pulled the trigger.

A minute later, the hum of machinery inside the factory slowly ceased. Chen Ling pushed open the silent factory doors, and a gust of cold wind dispersed the faint scent of blood within.

"This Wen Shilin is indeed interesting."

As if remembering something, he chuckled softly, his figure gradually disappearing into the vast wilderness.

Wen Shilin couldn't sleep.

In his cramped room, barely ten square meters, he tossed and turned in bed. Every time he closed his eyes, Chen Ling's calm and silent face appeared in his mind, accompanied by the whistling sound of fists slicing through the air.

Wen Shilin didn't know what was happening to him. The last time he felt this way was during his school days, when he encountered a girl he shouldn't have, at the dawn of his first love. But this time, it was a man. He knew, of course, that he didn't have such peculiar preferences, but Chen Ling had simply left too profound an impression on him.

Past 3 AM, Wen Shilin still couldn't sleep. He decided to get up and sit at his small table, lighting the kerosene lamp in the corner, preparing to record his day's experiences.

However, his mind kept wandering. He would involuntarily drift off during his writing, stopping and starting multiple times. After a long silence, Wen Shilin sighed and took out the photograph from the file folder.

The dim lamplight illuminated the phrase "Who stole your heart?" Upon closer inspection, every stroke of the writing revealed a shocking intensity of hatred.

This object seemed to be one of the sources of his distraction.

Wen Shilin turned the photo over, gazing blankly at the unfamiliar young face on the desk.

After an unknown period, he took a blank sheet of paper and copied the sentence from the back of the photo. His thoughts then began to expand, connecting one phrase after another, each with a question mark. The most prominent words were "heart," "organ," "hospital," and "organ trafficking?"

For some reason, Wen Shilin's curiosity about this matter was almost overwhelming. He became immersed in speculating about every possible meaning of the phrase. By the time he snapped back to reality, dawn had already broken outside.

Wen Shilin sat motionlessly at his desk, watching the rising sun from the corner of his eye, feeling an inexplicable emptiness within.

His gaze fell on the file folder containing job application information. A strong impulse surged through him. As if possessed, he slipped the photo back into the folder, then hastily put on his clothes and rushed out the door towards the rising sun.

He wanted to see Chen Ling again! There were some things he absolutely had to ask.

He knew Chen Ling might not want to see him at the moment, but the forgotten file folder provided a perfect excuse.

As for how to find Chen Ling... "unintentionally," Chen Ling had already provided the answer.

He would go to Doctor Chu for his injuries. Given his condition, he likely wouldn't be able to leave that clinic anytime soon. Therefore, as long as he went to Doctor Chu's clinic, he would surely find Chen Ling!