“How’s it going?” Xu Lan pushed the door to the cafe open and ordered a cup of coffee before joining Xie San and Wang Meng. Xie San was typing speedily on the keyboard and Wang Meng stared hard at the surveillance footages for fear of missing any details.

Xiao Feng was acting as the owner of the Sparrow Game, in reference to the event that unfolded on the first of June. ‘Pft, he’s so young at heart,’ Xu Lan thought. Xiao Feng was talking to the mine owner at the corner while Hu Cheng observed closely somewhere nearby.

What would they be talking about? The mining accident that took place thirteen years ago? The mine owner was a heartless man who paid his way out of the trouble even though lives were lost because of him. Who would have known that someone would come after him years later?

It was only a matter of time before karma caught up with him. Everyone who was related to the mine died and the main culprit was the only one left…

“There’s nothing strange so far. However, Sparrow published a new article. It seemed like he took notice of this,” Xie San continued typing and answered without raising his head.

“After generating so much attention, it’d be strange if he hadn’t noticed it. It’s fine, he’s exactly where we want him to be,” Xu Lan looked at the monitor and said with a raised brow.

“However, we must keep a close eye on the mine owner. This can’t go wrong! Right, how’s Lan Er?” Xu Lan frowned, this was when things usually went wrong.

“Physically, he’s recovering. The main problem is with his psychological condition. It’s hard to say really. I think it’s going to take some time for him to recover, let’s just take it slow,” Wang Meng shook his head and asked the waiter for a refill.

Xu Lan knocked on the table with his knuckles. He took over the walkie-talkie and spoke to Xiao Feng. Xiao Feng tensed up immediately and glanced at Xu Lan.

“Will he take the risk?” His question hung over their head.

“Who knows? Better be safe than sorry.”

“…”

The waiter served the mine owner with a cup of Irish coffee that had a strong alcoholic scent. Xiao Feng was chatting away with the mine owner when the mine owner took a sip of the coffee. Xiao Feng thought Xu Lan sent them the coffee. They heard a bam and the mine owner collapsed on the table without any prior signs.

“Bobcat, what’s happening? Why did the bait collapse?” Hu Cheng fired his questions anxiously at the walkie-talkie.

“Heck!” Xu Lan immediately made his way forward. There was a commotion at the cafe after the crowd noticed that one of the patrons collapsed. People were pushing their way out. Hu Cheng ran toward Xiao Feng to check on the mine owner’s condition.

Fresh blood was dripping from the mine owner’s mouth and nose. His pupils were dilated and he seemed to be in critical condition.

Xiao Feng stood up and looked around. He noticed a person in a cap who was trying to leave.

“Get him! Don’t let anyone go!” He shouted into the walkie-talkie, alerting the policemen who were ambushing outside.

“Call 120. Bring him to the toilet and try to purge it from his system. Pack the coffee up and look for the waiter!” Xu Lan took a good look around as he gave out instructions calmly. He dragged Xiao Feng along as he ran toward the kitchen.

“Can anyone tell me what the heck is going on?” Wang Meng removed his headset and slammed it onto the computer. He stood up and made his way out to address the crowd gathering in front of the cafe.

Wang Meng’s intimidating build silenced everyone. The loud chatter became softer, someone started to complain about how incompetent the police in the Whitehorse City was, as someone was poisoned to death in broad daylight.

“How did you know that he died of poison?” Xu Lan shot an icy glance at the middle-aged man curling up in the corner.