"Name."
"... Xin Youquan."
"Age."
"43."
"Occupation."
"Chief Physician at Frostleaf Hospital."
"When did you start removing organs for them?"
In the dim, cramped warehouse, Xin Youquan hung his head in silence.
On the small table in front of Wen Shilin, a fountain pen was automatically transcribing their conversation into a notebook. As Xin Youquan fell silent, the pen tip stopped moving.
Wen Shilin frowned slightly. "Xin Youquan, do you really think you can still hide what youâve done at this point?"
Xin Youquanâs hands and feet were tightly bound as he curled up in the corner of the warehouse, still refusing to answer.
"...Or are you afraid that if you talk, the Stellar Chamber of Commerce will retaliate?"
At Wen Shilinâs next words, Xin Youquan shuddered slightly, looking at him in surprise. "You know?"
"Two years ago, I already discovered traces of suspected organ trading by the Stellar Chamber of Commerce across the seven major districts. But back then, information inside and outside the city wasnât interconnected, all leads were dead endsâeven I couldnât gather enough evidence... But this time is different."
Wen Shilin spoke unhurriedly. "This time, you actually dared to operate within Aurora City... Youâve left too many traces behind. Thinking you can walk away unscathed? Impossible."
"Even so, thereâs nothing I can tell you."
"You think keeping quiet will make the Stellar Chamber of Commerce protect you? Do you even realize that if I hadnât kidnapped you and brought you here, youâd already be dead by now?" Wen Shilinâs voice was utterly calm.
"What?!" Xin Youquan froze. "No, thatâs impossible..."
"Impossible? Youâve worked with those people from the Stellar Chamber of Commerceâyou should know exactly what theyâre like. When things are calm, fine. But the moment they sense danger, do you really think theyâd let you live?"
Xin Youquan seemed to recall something, his face turning as pale as paper.
"Even if you donât talk, it doesnât matter. Earlier, when I interrogatedâno, interviewed Qiu Dong, he told me everything he knew." Wen Shilin set the self-writing fountain pen aside and casually flipped back a page in the notebook, filled with dense lines of dialogue.
"As the first one to cooperate with the investigation, Iâll honor his requestâwhen this story goes public, Iâll omit his name to keep his friends and family from finding out. Iâll also explain the situation to the law enforcement system, which should help reduce his sentence..."
"No! Qiu Dong was brought in by me! He only handled the surgeries!" Xin Youquan immediately spoke up. "I was the one dealing with the Stellar Chamber of Commerce! I know far more than he does!"
"Oh?" Wen Shilin raised an eyebrow, placing the fountain pen back on the notebook.
"So, Mr. Xin, youâre willing to cooperate now?"
A flicker of hesitation passed through Xin Youquanâs eyes before he finally said, "What do you want to know?"
---
By the time Wen Shilin finished interviewing the last person, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
Carrying a thick notebook, he sat alone at the warehouse entrance, rubbing his temples with a weary expression.
"Harvesting organs outside the city, distributing them inside... The White Swan Charity Foundation... That young master Yan Xishou has dragged the entire Aurora City business world into this... Even a few high-ranking officials in the law enforcement system are involved."
"This is bad..."
Wen Shilin knew all too well that the Stellar Chamber of Commerce alone might not be terrifyingâwhat was truly frightening was the entire chain of interests tied to it. Now, even though he had gathered information, it was all just verbal testimony. Trying to overturn everything with this was nearly impossible...
He needed more direct, more irrefutable evidence. But such evidence would undoubtedly be thoroughly hidden by the Stellar Chamber of Commerce. Relying solely on himself to find it was practically hopeless.
Knowing the truth but being unable to prove itâthis sense of powerlessness was all too familiar to Wen Shilin. Over the past few years, while investigating other cases, he had often encountered situations like this. He knew there were even greater conspiracies behind it all, but he couldnât dig deeper. Sometimes, he couldnât even publish an exposĂ© article smoothly... His enemies never left him any openings.
Wen Shilin didnât know how to explain this to Chen Ling. Maybe he shouldnât have boasted in the first place.
"Whereâs Lin Yan?" Wen Shilin suddenly remembered, looking around outside the warehouse in confusion.
Earlier, he had been completely immersed in the in-depth interviews, completely forgetting about Chen Ling going to fetch the camera. Only now did he realizeâChen Ling had been gone the entire night without returning...
Wen Shilin, after all, was someone who had weathered many storms. He immediately sensed something was wrong. He sprang up from the warehouse floor, about to leave, but after taking half a step, he hesitated and turned back.
First, he took off his overcoat, stripped Xin Youquan of his padded jacket, and wrapped another personâs scarf around half his face. After confirming that he wouldnât be easily recognized from a distance, he hurried toward his home.
The cold wind of dawn brushed against Wen Shilinâs cheeks, temporarily suppressing his exhaustion from the night. His heart was in his throat as he warily scanned his surroundings, silently praying that Chen Ling was safe.
Finally, the familiar residential building appeared at the end of the road.
Wen Shilinâs gaze swept over it, noticing a crowd of neighbors gathered around the fourth floorâhis floorâalong with a few uniformed law enforcement officers. His heart sank.
"This is bad."
Wen Shilin quickly approached his apartment, where a group of people was pointing at a massive, cracked hole in the hallway floorânearly smashing through entirelyâthat looked anything but man-made.
The onlookers were shocked, unable to comprehend how this had happened. The law enforcement officers, however, seemed oddly indifferent, casually jotting down a few notes before waving dismissively:
"Itâs just the floor cracking from the cold... Everyone, disperse. Nothing to see here."
As the crowd was shooed away, Wen Shilin didnât approach further. Instead, he kept his head down and blended in with the crowd, gradually distancing himself.
He knew something must have happened here last night. And judging by the law enforcementâs reaction, it was almost certainly tied to the Stellar Chamber of Commerce... Chen Lingâ disappearance was undoubtedly connected.
Had the Stellar Chamber of Commerce actually deployed a Path practitioner to target them?
This thought unsettled Wen Shilin deeply. Over the years, though he had faced numerous assassination attempts, most of his attackers had been ordinary people... After all, in Aurora City, all local Path practitioners were promoted to law enforcement officers, bound by the systemâs regulations. Even outsiders were strictly monitored. For the Stellar Chamber of Commerce to send an outsider this time meant they were dead set on eliminating him.
Wen Shilin knew his own situation was dangerous, but he was even more worried about Chen Ling... Chen Ling had only gotten dragged into this because of him!
With law enforcement riddled with Stellar Chamber of Commerceâs people, reporting this was out of the question. But aside from that, who else could he turn to for help in rescuing Chen Ling?
Names flashed anxiously through Wen Shilinâs mind until, finally, one stood out:
The Miracle Doctor, Chu Muyun.