Shen Qingshu went out to make a phone call.

To be honest, the moment she stepped out of the room, a very rude thought briefly flashed through Lin Han’s mind.

—Was she really going to make a call?

Just as this thought popped up, Shen Qingshu looked back at him as if she had sensed it.

It was a very calm, even gentle look.

But Lin Han accurately read the meaning of “If you dare ask that question, I’ll break your ribs” from it.

Although Lin Han couldn’t figure out how Shen Qingshu had conveyed such a complex and precise thought with just a look, he still very wisely kept his mouth shut.

And as it turned out, Lin Han had indeed been overthinking it.

Shen Qingshu’s efficiency was even higher than he had imagined; in less than ten minutes, she pushed the door open and returned.

Her expression remained indifferent, but there seemed to be a hint of imperceptible fatigue between her brows, as if she had just fought something very troublesome outside the door.

“The entry qualifications are settled.”

“It’s… settled just like that?”

Tang Xiaoman’s eyes widened bit by bit.

“So… so amazing…”

Lin Han was also a little surprised.

Although he knew that given Shen Qingshu’s personality, whatever she said was basically a sure thing, he still asked in wonder, “How did you manage it?”

Shen Qingshu fell silent for a moment.

Though she recovered quickly, Lin Han clearly noticed a fleeting look of annoyance on her face in that instant.

This was quite rare for the usually incredibly level-headed Shen Qingshu.

Sensing her hesitation, Lin Han said, “If it’s inconvenient to say, it doesn’t matter.”

Shen Qingshu shook her head, her eyes lowered.

“It’s not that I can’t say,” she said in a calm voice.

“My family happens to have some small businesses in X City. So I tried asking if they had received any invitations.”

“It seems they indeed received an invitation to the Radiant Foundation’s charity auction, but they didn’t appear to have any plans to attend, so I asked for one.”

She spoke of it nonchalantly, as if she were simply borrowing a spare umbrella from home.

Even if it were only through the brief words of the drug dealer and the youth, Lin Han could realize just how “hard to come by” this invitation was.

He estimated that there were still many small families and minor factions in X City praying for the favor of the Radiant Foundation, hoping they would extend a ticket from “Noah’s Ark” to grant them entry into the upper class.

Just how large was the business of Shen Qingshu’s family that they could treat this invitation as if it were nothing, to the point of not even planning to attend the auction?

Furthermore, Lin Han keenly sensed a trace of something being off.

When Shen Qingshu mentioned “home,” her tone was noticeably lighter than usual.

Not only was there no sense of closeness, but it was as if she were avoiding something.

It seemed the relationship between Shen Qingshu and her family was not simple either…

But since she did not elaborate, Lin Han did not press further, silently noting it in his heart.

Shen Qingshu continued:

“I also asked about the specific details of the banquet. It starts tomorrow at five in the afternoon at the Silvertree Grand Theater.”

Tang Xiaoman immediately lowered her head to search for it.

A few seconds later, she looked up and said:

“The Silvertree Grand Theater was originally planned seven years ago as one of X City’s landmark buildings. Later, the project was halted due to a break in the capital chain. Five years ago, it was bought in its entirety by a mysterious buyer; it has been undergoing internal renovations ever since and has never officially opened to the public.”

Tang Xiaoman paused.

“If it’s opening tomorrow, then there’s a high probability that the people from the Radiant Foundation were the ones who bought it.”

As she spoke, Tang Xiaoman handed the photos she had found on her phone to the others.

Although the Silvertree Grand Theater in the pictures was covered in scaffolding and iron sheds, making it hard to see any details, one could still tell that once completed, it would be a building of immense proportions.

Lin Han nodded, then asked Shen Qingshu:

“How many people can one invitation bring?”

“One invitation allows the bearer to bring at most one other relevant person into the venue.”

Shen Qingshu looked at Lin Han and said:

“However, I can only get one invitation at most. So, my thought is that you and I should attend this banquet together.”

Gu Xinglan pointed at herself.

“What about us?”

Lin Han thought for a moment, understood Shen Qingshu’s train of thought, and spoke for her:

“You, Xiaoman, and Xu Weian will stay on the perimeter. If I remember correctly, your ability is electromagnetic manipulation, right?”

“So?”

“Can you jam electronic equipment?”

Gu Xinglan vaguely understood what Lin Han was getting at.

“If it’s just short-term interference with surveillance or access controls, I can give it a try.”

Lin Han glanced at her and explained his reasoning:

“A venue like the Silvertree Grand Theater—the backstage, ventilation ducts, equipment rooms, temporary staff passages—it’s impossible for there to be no vulnerabilities. You can look for opportunities from the outside and see if you can slip into the backstage area.”

Having Gu Xinglan enter through the front with them would be a waste of her supernatural ability.

Infiltrating from the shadows and looking for clues backstage was much better suited for her.

“We’ll stay in touch. Try to avoid being exposed as much as possible; ideally, we can coordinate from both the inside and outside.”

After saying that, Lin Han discussed the specific tactical details with everyone, spending over an hour refining the plan.

Tang Xiaoman and Xu Weian also seemed to realize they might not be of much help in tomorrow’s operation, so they put a lot of effort into this “pre-battle preparation” phase, constantly proposing various scenarios and identifying potential loopholes.

By the time the brainstorming session finished and they had run out of ideas, it was already past midnight.

Lin Han closed his notebook and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Then that’s the arrangement.”

“Get some rest. We’ll reorganize the information tomorrow morning and start the operation in the afternoon.”

The next morning.

Lin Han was currently on a call with Zhao Chenfeng, while the others had already gathered in his room once again.

The background noise on the other end of the line was somewhat chaotic; the faint sound of footsteps and the rustling of things being rummaged through could be heard.

Zhao Chenfeng’s slightly tired voice came through the intercom—

“We’ve already checked the contact points provided by the drug dealer. Two of them had already been wiped clean, while the other three showed signs of relocation.”

Lin Han sensed something was wrong.

“Relocation?”

“Yeah.”

Zhao Chenfeng said:

“It’s like the other side knew we were coming in advance. When we arrived, people were in the middle of hurriedly moving out documents and drug samples.”

“One location was even more thorough; we only saw filing cabinets that had just been incinerated.”

Lin Han’s heart sank slightly.

The other side’s reaction was too fast, fast to the point of being abnormal.

They had acted as quickly as possible last night, yet the enemy still found out…

Should he put it down to X City being territory they had operated in for many years?

Or was there some other reason…

“So, what’s your situation now?”

“Fortunately, we moved fast enough to intercept some items.”

Zhao Chenfeng said:

“There’s a large amount of residual reagents, some ledgers, and several encrypted hard drives. The data hasn’t been decrypted yet, but it should be useful.”

Lin Han felt a slight sense of relief; it seemed they hadn’t come away empty-handed over there.

“Next, we’re preparing to go to Kiang Wu Hospital.”

Zhao Chenfeng’s voice dropped a little lower.

“Current clues indicate that it likely has ties to the Metamorphosis Society. Even if it’s not the headquarters, it’s at least a major node.”

“Don’t charge in recklessly.”

“Understood.”

Lin Han wanted to say more, but there was a sudden knock at the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Everyone in the room looked toward the door simultaneously.

Lin Han paused, then said to the other end of the line:

“Let’s leave it at that for now. Stay safe, and contact me anytime if anything happens.”

The connection cut.

Tang Xiaoman walked to the door and opened it cautiously.

Standing outside was indeed Chen Shao.

He was still wearing the same uniform from last night. He seemed to be trying his best to look energized, but the dark circles under his eyes betrayed the fact that he probably hadn’t slept much last night either.

Behind Chen Shao stood several members of X City’s SAVE.

“Good morning, Team Leader Lin.”