Still trying to recover from the shock, Clair's wary reminder reached him.

"Wait, someone is approaching, and it's not just one person!"

Zhou Zhao also became alert. No one besides himself and Clair should know about his hiding place. He had clearly already handed the seeds to Hank, and the Mayfly's reward had been transferred to his account. His companions shouldn't be looking for him at this time.

Since they weren't his companions, who could they be?

His long-time instincts from the wasteland told him that danger was closing in.

Zhou Zhao immediately took action. He quickly moved to the surveillance equipment, switched the surveillance around his home to the screen, zoomed in quickly, and clearly saw the figures of several uninvited guests approaching the location above the hideout from different directions.

Those people were all dressed in uniforms similar to those of the Law Enforcers. Unlike the gray-black color scheme of the Enforcers, their uniforms were black and white, with the emblem of "Sky City" glaring prominently on their chests. It was the mark of the Elias Judgement Court!

Zhou Zhao's mind went blank; he couldn't imagine how these people had found him so quickly. It had been less than an hour since he handed the can of seeds to Hank. How did they find his location?

The sense of crisis quickly fermented in his heart. Zhou Zhao couldn't afford to think any more; he grabbed the crystalline electric shock stick from the table, got up, and opened the door, intending to escape before the Judgement Court members could surround him. Who would've thought that as soon as he opened the door, a black muzzle was pressed against his forehead.

"Kid, you have some nerve, stealing anything you fancy?"

Three people walked in, two men and a woman. The leading woman looked down on him, her silver-white uniform indicating a distinguished position. Another Judgement Court member with a rogue-like monkey face came up and kicked Zhou Zhao to his knees, mouthing foul language.

"I can't even imagine what would happen if this incident tonight gets out."

"How did you... find me?"

Zhou Zhao was forcibly pinned to the ground by the soldiers who stormed in. A powerful knee pressed on his neck, and another soldier was about to cuff his hands.

"Is it even necessary to look? You had a traitor among you, kid."

"Wait, you promised to let me go to Sky City, to make me a citizen of Alfas. You promised me!"

"Don't kill me, I'm a spy working for Mayfly. I have other intelligence related to Mayfly, all of which I can share with you. I still have value!"

Hank was brought in by two soldiers at gunpoint. Due to his bulky frame, he started panting after just a few steps, looking extremely comical with his small, shuffling steps. He turned back every few steps, his face full of fear, constantly pleading.

With two sharp gunshots, the man fell into a pool of blood, his pupils slowly dilating, his final gaze resting on Zhou Zhao, with no apology, only resentment that the young man died later than he did.

Zhou Zhao stared dumbfounded at the scene, not understanding why Hank, who had cooperated with him for so long, would betray him. It was just like before, just an ordinary transaction...

"Damn it, a bunch of damned rats, making me jittery all day long. Why can't you just honestly die in the sewers?"

"You almost got me thrown into the Consciousness Prison for a few hundred years, do you know that?"

"You almost made me become like you inferior people, do you know that?"

The monkey-faced Judgement Court member furiously kicked at Zhou Zhao's abdomen, as if venting all the day's accumulated anger on the young man. He then squatted down, grabbed Zhou Zhao's hair, lifting his blurred line of sight, before smashing it heavily to the ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Until Zhou Zhao's blood and hair were glued together, his earphones shattered, did the monkey-faced member feel relieved, stepping on Zhou Zhao's face, taking out his gun to load it:

"Your companions died because of you, understand?"

Zhou Zhao's eyes slowly widened.

Even the companion responsible for picking him up...

Just as the monkey-faced member was about to draw his gun and directly kill Zhou Zhao, the woman beside him stopped him.

"That's enough."

The woman squatted in front of Zhou Zhao, her cold voice sounding very familiar to the youth.

"Where's that seed?"

Zhou Zhao laboriously raised his head, scorching blood flowing into his vision. With the help of light, he barely made out the contours of her face.

The woman was very heroic-looking, dressed sharply, outstanding temperament, unlike the rogue-like monkey face beside her, clearly having received a better education.

Zhou Zhao looked back to the room, only to find that Clair had already taken advantage of the recent chaos and escaped. For some reason, he suddenly felt much lighter inside, like a heavy stone had fallen to the ground.

Ignoring the intense pain throughout his body, he laboriously lifted his head, letting the blood flow into his eyes.

Zhou Zhao pointed to his neck, slowly trailing his finger down to his abdomen.

"Swallowed it."

The woman stood up coldly, ordering the two Judgement Court members beside her:

"Cut open his stomach."

Zhou Zhao, in a daze, thought he misheard, unable to imagine these well-dressed upper-class people being more brutal than they struggling insects.

Why...

They obviously don't have to claw and fight over a piece of food, they've clearly been educated, they shouldn't need to make themselves look so menacing just to survive.

The monkey-faced member seemed excited to do this, pinning down Zhou Zhao's hands and violently flipping the young man over, the blade slowly sliding against Zhou Zhao's neck, as he licked his teeth in excitement.

"Did you think I would kill you? No, no, no, this sort of thing must be done while you're alive, you'll die slowly, bit by bit, in despair and pain."

Another tall Judgement Court member squatted down, a man who had done this many times before:

"Kid, better luck in your next life."

The chilling grip of death slowly closed in, gradually tightening around him, suffocating Zhou Zhao. The chilling sensation was like a scalpel cutting through his skin, penetrating his flesh, and seeping into his marrow. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"I recognize you!"

Suddenly, Zhou Zhao shouted at the woman.

The two Judgement Court members were slightly stunned, not understanding what the young man was up to.

"Omega, you are Omega, must you force me to say it out loud?"

Hearing this, the woman's expression didn't change at all. In front of all the soldiers, she raised her icy gun and aimed it at Zhou Zhao.

Then, continuous gunfire erupted. When Zhou Zhao reopened his eyes, all the soldiers, including the two Judgement Court members, were on the ground, blood oozing from their bullet holes.

"How did you recognize me?" the woman coldly asked.

"The voice sounded familiar." Zhou Zhao coughed dryly a few times, secretly relieved that he had gambled correctly.

"So it was a bluff."

Hearing this, the woman nodded, slowly raising her hand under the infinite astonishment of the young man, the gun aimed at his forehead, her finger pulling back the trigger.

"Now cutting open your stomach to find the seed has become the second most important thing."