As Si Nian finished speaking, Qin Ningyi had already guided the micro-detector to the location Huo Rou had indicated.
"Yes, this is it," Huo Rou confirmed. Qin Ningyi hadn't looked where she pointed earlier, but he'd found the spot precisely. She watched as a door appeared on the screen. "Can we get in?"
Qin Ningyi narrowed his eyes, thinking. "Yes."
He remembered from the map that this room was very close to another, and there seemed to be an observation window.
Soon, they followed the camera feed into a room where people were sitting and chatting.
He activated the sound playback function, and their conversation reached the ears of those on their side.
"Giles is such a waste. Why are we going to all this trouble to save him? We almost got caught."
"Exactly. I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking. We've been in China for so long, and it's all to save this beast. He should have said everything he needed to say by now. What's the point of saving him now? We might as well kill him..."
"Can't say that. He's our brother, after all."
"Nonsense. There are so many people surrounding us. Where are the people who were supposed to meet us? Didn't they say they'd solve our problems? Still calling him brother."
Some complained, while others offered comfort.
"Why worry? The boss won't abandon us."
"Isn't the person taking care of him inside one of the boss's people? He even brought a secret weapon. Maybe it'll be useful at a critical moment!"
"That's right, why are you all so untrusting! Now that Shen Yuanshu has fallen, we have a chance to shine. The boss's arrangements must be to give us more responsibility."
"Let's just guard here. We've planted bombs at the front and back entrances. They won't dare to come."
Their voices of complaint faded as Qin Ningyi carefully maneuvered the micro-detector past them and reached the observation window.
The glass of the observation window had long since shattered. The micro-detector flew in with ease.
The vast, empty smelting room was silent.
"He won't be here," Si Nian said to Huo Rou in a low voice. "You're the most perceptive warrior I've ever met. This place is too easy to breach. They wouldn't hide someone here."
"Let's check that room in the middle with the door closed," Si Nian said, patting Qin Ningyi's arm.
Qin Ningyi remained silent, his gaze calmly fixed on Giles appearing on the screen.
He turned the image to Si Nian, his tone not at all cheerful. "He's here."
They had found the right place, but Giles's condition was far from optimistic.
He was tied to a chair, his head slumped to one side.
Thick explosives were strapped to his body.
The camera rotated, and not far from Giles, a person sat on the ground with a look of indifference, casually playing with a remote control in their hand.
Qin Ningyi zoomed in on the camera, examining the remote control in his hand, then switched the view back to the explosives strapped to Giles, with their messy wires and screens.
Si Nian frowned, looking at Giles in a place he least expected. "How could he be here..."
Although Huo Rou had guessed the right location, her expression was grim upon seeing Giles there.
"Quick!" Huo Rou and Si Nian said in unison, "Check the room in the center of the factory."
Something was wrong.
Judging by the conversation of the people outside, Giles was someone their boss had sent them to rescue. However, Giles's situation inside the room was not what a person being rescued should look like.
After expending so much effort and resources to rescue him, they strapped him with explosives?
Zhao Wen saw the current situation and looked at Huo Rou and Si Nian's expressions. He also realized that something crucial had been missed.
He pointed to a subordinate. "You, tell me again about the scene where they abducted the person, including their conversation and actions. Tell me everything, one by one."
The subordinate brought in a superior who had also been at the scene to report. As Zhao Wen listened to them speak, doubts began to form in his mind.
"Did they come directly in this direction?"
The subordinate nodded. "They were cornered by us and fled all the way here before hiding inside."
Another person added, "When we arrived, they had already placed explosives at the entrance, so we didn't dare to rush in."