South City's suburban district, a basement of an unfinished building.
Jiao Hongyuan squatted darkly at the basement staircase entrance with his palms together, constantly rotating his thumbs.
Occasionally, when his thumbs rubbed against each other, they emitted a sound like metal clashing.
After a while, the basement entrance above was lifted open.
A young man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight with half-long hair, wearing a sleeveless vest marked with a razor, walked down.
His physique was somewhat lean, not bulky, but if one looked closely, they would see that his muscles were tightly wound like steel was embedded beneath the skin, incredibly hard and even giving a sense of sharpness similar to a blade.
Jiao Hongyuan looked at him and began by asking, "Bijin, how did it go?"
Razor Gang's leader, Su Bijin, approached Jiao Hongyuan and respectfully said:
"Master, all the experimental subjects have been transferred."
Jiao Hongyuan nodded, his expression softened a lot, yet he frowned and said:
"I didn't expect these White Crows to have such a keen sense of smell that they could find this place. Thankfully, I had arranged many spies beforehand... Did they listen to the so-called experts who think that this place is prone to 'weak overlaps,' hence they came to investigate? Was it just a coincidence?"
Jiao Hongyuan shook his head.
"By the way, how is everything at Kaiping?"
Su Bijin nodded and said, "As you instructed, he took 'Number Nine' to Qingcheng Affiliated Middle School; we should hear from them soon."
Jiao Hongyuan hummed, "Using Number Nine to distract the White Crows and draw them away allows us to transfer the Heavenly Lodge Insect Mother. Otherwise, this thing is too conspicuous and could easily be exposed."
Su Bijin couldn't help but complain, "Kangde Corporation is not helping at all; it's all on us…"
Jiao Hongyuan said expressionlessly: "That's how big companies are, they don't want to stick their necks out. If the plan succeeds, they reap the benefits; if it fails, they lose nothing. They play their cards well."
"Moreover, it's because of this that such tasks fall to us."
Su Bijin worriedly said, "Master, if this plan succeeds, won't Kangde Corporation stab us in the back?"
Jiao Hongyuan stood up, gazing towards the heart-like pulsing turquoise insect nest at the center of the basement.
"How could I have not considered that?"
"The contingency plan is already in place... if we run into trouble, Kangde won't have it easy either."
...
At Qingcheng Affiliated Middle School's sports field, the noise was deafening.
Nearly all teachers and students of the school, amounting to thousands, were gathered on the sports field, all dressed in sportswear convenient for movement.
"Mr. Du, what did Xue Jing say? Is he coming yet?"
The students of the Elite Class were gathered together when Li Ge saw Du Shiwei approaching with a phone and asked him.
Du Shiwei nodded, his expression eased, "He's coming, said he's on the way, stuck in traffic."
Li Ge sighed in relief, "That's good."
As the class president of the Elite Class, he cared quite a bit about the honor of his class.
Recently, Xue Jing had been frequently absent from school, and Li Ge was genuinely worried that he might have forgotten about the sports event.
"Mr. Du, I'm going to use the restroom."
Li Ge informed Du Shiwei and left the group, heading towards the restroom.
The opening ceremony had just ended, and the time was nearing ten in the morning. The sun was high up in the clear sky, glaringly harsh.
"What nice weather."
Li Ge shielded his eyes with his hand and glanced at the sky.
"Huh? Who is that?"
Li Ge looked toward a man not far from the restroom, dressed in a janitor uniform, wearing a cap and a mask, pushing a garbage bin.
"Never seen him before… is he a new janitor?"
Li Ge didn't pay much attention, only noticing that the janitor had a good physique, tall and strong, not at all hunched over like common janitors who often work with their heads down.
He turned and entered the restroom to relieve himself.
And right after he entered, the garbage bin pushed by the janitor moved slightly.
By the time Li Ge came out of the restroom, the new janitor had disappeared, his whereabouts unknown.
Li Ge returned to his class's gathering spot.
"Class president, where's Xue Jing? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"
A classmate asked.
"He'll be here soon; he said he's caught in traffic," Li Ge shrugged and replied.
"Class president, why don't you give him a call to check? The races are about to start, and the 100 meters is the first event," a short-haired female classmate whispered to Li Ge.
Li Ge scratched his head and sighed, "Alright, I'll check with him."
He took out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, found Xue Jing's number, and dialed.
...
Meanwhile, Xue Jing sat in a taxi… indeed caught in a traffic jam.
He rolled down the window to look around. The sound of horns was incessant, the road was packed tight with cars, completely jammed with no space to move.
"Damn, why is it so badly jammed today?"
The taxi driver slapped the steering wheel, complaining.
Xue Jing, observing the situation, thought:
'At this rate, I probably won't make it on time…'
At that moment, his phone rang.
Xue Jing saw the caller ID and answered the call.
Li Ge's voice came through the earpiece.
"Hey, hey, hey, Lord Jing, have you arrived?"
Xue Jing held his phone out the window, letting Li Ge hear the continuous honking on the road.
"It's jammed."
Li Ge said, "Your race starts in fifteen minutes; the 100 meters is the first event..."
After thinking it over, Xue Jing replied, "Don't worry, I'll be there soon."
He hung up the call and said to the driver in the front seat:
"Master, just stop here; I'll walk the rest of the way."