The three exchanged no words, only brief glances.

Li Shang crouched down and pulled open the rusty manhole cover.

The smell wafting from the manhole was like aged brew, decidedly unpleasant.

Li Shang peered into the manhole, then jerked his head towards the two behind him, signaling them to follow, and jumped in first.

Chang Erbing and Ma Bin followed closely, their figures quickly swallowed by the darkness below.

"Damn this godforsaken place!"

Chang Erbing cursed, his voice echoing in the twisted underground tunnels.

"Stop whining, stay close."

Li Shang’s voice floated back to them from ahead.

The three twisted and turned in the underground sewer, and Li Shang finally stopped at a relatively wide confluence point after who knows how long.

The tunnel had long been abandoned, with not sewage but various smells mingling in the air.

"This is it."

Li Shang said as he unbuckled his backpack and gently set it on the ground.

[Mask] held their first live-streaming event in the underground sewer. It’s reasonable for them to choose the underground sewer for their meeting place this time as well.

Although they didn’t inform [Mask], and the agent likely wouldn’t suspect anything, details still matter.

That’s the professionalism of a detective.

Chang Erbing and Ma Bin also relieved themselves of their backpacks, almost simultaneously unzipping them.

The flashlight beams focused on the open backpack interiors, instantly illuminating the variously shaped contents — explosives.

There were no standard packaging, no regular shapes; they were stuffed haphazardly into the backpacks.

Inside Chang Erbing’s bag were several large blocks wrapped in rough oiled paper, emitting a strong ammonia nitrate smell, like some poor-quality fertilizer. Below were tightly wrapped cylindrical shapes slightly larger than fists.

Li Shang’s bag was mixed with a few tubes wrapped in waterproof plastic, exposed wires hanging out.

There were a few blocks of plastic explosives wrapped in moisture-proof paper, the edges somewhat frayed, and even a few bundles of primitive-looking black powder wrapped in red paper tubes, some of which were crushed and deformed.

The things in Ma Bin’s bag seemed slightly more "refined," but only just so.

There were a few pieces of C4 plastic explosives sealed in vacuum bags, presenting as pale yellow putty, and a few trigger mines the size of ping pong balls encased in simple plastic shells, fuses exposed.

Plus, a few rectangular remote detonation modules, the circuit boards visible.

These assorted explosives laid together were silently proclaiming their multigenerational presence under the beam of the flashlight.

Two constables from the Patrol Office and a gang leader managed to get some explosives hurriedly. It makes sense, right?

Li Shang looked at the uneven pile of "junk" in front of him, his brows furrowed tightly.

Well, using "uneven quality" to describe explosives is somewhat... disrespectful.

He picked up a piece of Chang Erbing’s ammonium nitrate explosive, weighing it, then picked up a remote detonation module with exposed wiring from Ma Bin’s bag:

"Can we use this stuff together?"

As a detective, his tone was unusually filled with uncertainty.

Chang Erbing scratched his head:

"Well, as long as the quantity is enough, right? Who cares? With so many explosives, it’s certainly enough to blast the agent to hell."

Ma Bin squatted down, pretending to inspect the explosives:

"Time was too tight, this is all we could get, make do. As long as they’re laid together, detonate one, and the others will go too."

Indeed, expertise belongs to those deeply engaged in a field, and clearly, these three were not demolition experts. Their understanding of explosives could not be said to be entirely ignorant, just very... basic!

Their execution capability, however, was unmatched.

The three picked up shovels and started digging, all possessing martial arts skills. Although they couldn’t match the agent in combat power, they wouldn’t be defeated by merely breaking up concrete ground.

Who knows how long it took, perhaps five hours, perhaps six.

All the explosives, regardless of shape, were buried in a series of interconnected pits in the ground.

Chang Erbing and Li Shang forcefully refilled the pits with rubble and dirt, but this was clearly an exercise in futility.

Chang Erbing was panting heavily, sweat mixed with mud dripping from his brow:

"Won’t this be obvious? If the agent isn’t blind, he’ll notice something’s buried here. Should he become wary..."

Li Shang also paused his actions, his brows knitted into a tight knot.

Ma Bin, however, was unhurried. He opened another tote bag and casually picked out a transparent blood bag, smashing it onto the ground.

"Splat—"

The blood bag burst open, blood splattering everywhere.

Chang Erbing and Li Shang both brightened up and peeked into the tote bag. Naturally, neither would foolishly ask Ma Bin where he got the blood from.

The two instantly grasped Ma Bin’s intention and also picked up blood bags, splashing them on the ground and against the walls.

Soon, the scene transformed entirely.

The glaring fresh dirt was covered, permeated, and concealed by large patches of dark red and deep brown.

Blood traces interwove and streamed wantonly on the walls like terrifying graffiti left by a mad cultist.

The lingering gunpowder smell in the air was likewise overshadowed by the thick scent of blood.

Ma Bin finally turned to Li Shang: "This should be able to fool the agent, right?"

Li Shang gave Ma Bin a thumbs-up: "Yes, no problem."

From his detective perspective, upon seeing the scene, the agent will inevitably associate it with the [Evil Sacrificial Ceremony]. Even if he notices the disturbed ground, he’s more likely to misconstrue it as a burial or part of the sacrificial ritual.

Chang Erbing uncharacteristically also gave Ma Bin a thumbs-up.

Ma Bin smiled: "Good, then you and Erbing should leave, Captain Li."

Li Shang and Chang Erbing both were momentarily stunned.

Ma Bin, without pause, continued:

"I am most physically similar to Zheng Hang, so I’ll stay to impersonate [Mask] and lure him in."

Before his words settled, he already pulled a human skin mask from his pocket, covering his face.

The human skin mask was noticeably rushed, with crude workmanship, and the features seemed rather stiff, only resembling Zheng Hang by about sixty to seventy percent.

But there’s no light in the sewer, only the flashlight’s glow. The face naturally becomes shadowed and indistinct, and a sudden distant glance is enough to unsettle anyone’s heart.

Chang Erbing looked at the face before him, exhaling a long breath. As long as he didn’t have to play [Mask] and face the agent directly, it was all good.

His tension instantly eased significantly, breeding some gratitude in his eyes.

Li Shang’s gaze lingered on Ma Bin’s "Mask" for a few seconds. He didn’t dissuade him but simply retrieved a detonator the size of a cellphone from his pocket.

"We’re leaving now, patrolling nearby in a car. Once the explosion occurs, regardless of the outcome, we will come over immediately. If the agent is resilient and is still alive then..."

Li Shang gritted his teeth, his voice filled with determination:

"We’ll finish him off!"

Ma Bin nodded, carefully pocketing the detonator.

Li Shang said no more, patting Chang Erbing on the shoulder. The two began picking up the scattered tools and empty backpacks from the ground.

Everything was in order, and just as the two were about to leave, Chang Erbing suddenly seemed to recall something and asked Ma Bin:

"Hey, Ma Bin, I forgot to ask you yesterday, we have the sheepskin scroll backed up with photos, so why were you so unwilling to let Feng Ju take a look?"

Ma Bin glancing at Chang Erbing, replied with a smile:

"I don’t really trust him. The three of us are the ones entrusting our lives to each other. Feng Ju? No matter how well he talks, he’s still an outsider. We naturally need to be cautious with him."

Chang Erbing opened his mouth, realizing Ma Bin was still deep and calculating.

But looking at him now, wearing the [Mask] and hearing him utter "our own," felt like his plotting nature wasn’t such a bad thing.

There is safety in having a deep thinker in our own group!

He merely muttered an "Hmm" in response, refraining from further questioning, and turned to follow Li Shang out.

.....