74: You're talking about programming? I'm the new program!

Time was stretched into a taut string.

Inside the ward.

The only sound was Fang Zheng's heavy breathing.

Cracks appeared for the first time on his face, which seemed molded by rules and discipline.

Zhao Dahai and Su Qingxue exchanged glances, seeing the tumultuous waves in each other's eyes.

They looked at Chen Mo as if he were a god... wearing human skin.

"Bang!"

The ward door was violently slammed open!

One of the strong men who had rushed out earlier stumbled back inside.

His face was bruised, the sleeve of his suit was ripped open with a vicious cut, and his breathing was ragged.

"Director... Director Fang!"

He panted heavily, his voice filled with the shock of narrowly escaping disaster.

"He... he's been caught! Right outside 307! He was disguised as a cleaner and had a knife! He almost... he almost got in!"

Boom!

The confirmed news exploded like a bomb in Fang Zheng's mind!

He felt his knees weaken, almost unable to stand steady.

Three seconds.

If he had hesitated for just one more second.

If he had insisted on his damned "procedural justice."

Then right now, he would be facing the corpse of a key witness and a massive scandal capable of burying his career!

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

"Heh."

An uncontrollable sneer escaped Zhao Dahai's throat.

He picked up the apple from the floor, wiped it on his sleeve, and took a sharp, loud bite.

"Director Fang, how about that? Are you satisfied with this 'explanation' from Team Leader Chen?"

"Should we go through the 'procedure' again to see if we were 'obstructing official duties'?"

Every word was like a slap, stinging Fang Zheng's face.

Fang Zheng's face cycled between green and pale.

All his life, he had believed in rules, discipline, and that unshakable system.

But now, that system had been easily shattered by the young man lying on the hospital bed in front of him, in a way he completely failed to understand.

Slowly, he turned his head.

His gaze fixed intensely on Chen Mo.

In his eyes, there was no longer scrutiny, but a mixture of fear, bewilderment, and a trace of... awe he was unwilling to admit.

"How... how did you know?"

His voice was dry and hoarse.

Chen Mo leaned against the headboard, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.

He just looked calmly at Fang Zheng, his dark eyes bottomless.

"I told you, I can hear the heartbeat of this city."

"The heartbeats of normal people are peaceful and rhythmic."

"But the heartbeat of sin is frantic, chaotic, and full of discordant noise."

"I merely heard a noise."

Noise?

Fang Zheng felt his brain was close to being unable to process this information.

This sounded more absurd than a myth!

"Just based on that?" He couldn't accept it.

"Of course, there's more."

Chen Mo shook his head.

He looked at Fang Zheng, and a hint of pity suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"Director Fang, do you think catching a killer and saving a witness means the mission was a success?"

Fang Zheng's heart sank abruptly.

"What do you mean?"

"That killer is a fanatic willing to die."

Chen Mo's voice was like a cold blade, slicing open the bloody reality.

"He has a cyanide capsule hidden in his tooth socket. The moment he was captured, his life entered a countdown."

"The person who hired him never intended for him to live."

"And the truly terrifying thing is, the person who hired him..."

Chen Mo paused, his gaze turning sharp as an eagle's.

"Is right inside your team."

"Impossible!"

Fang Zheng blurted out the words without thinking!

This was even more shocking and infuriating to him than the previous prediction!

This was an insult to his professionalism, and to his entire department!

"Every person in my team has gone through the most rigorous screening!"

"Is that so?"

A cold curve appeared at the corner of Chen Mo's mouth.

"Screening? Can your screening find the five million US dollars that appeared in an anonymous Swiss bank account three weeks ago?"

Fang Zheng's pupils suddenly contracted!

That number, that detail!

It was like a poisonous needle, violently stabbing his most sensitive nerve!

"Who... who exactly are you?!" he asked, losing his voice.

"Who I am is not important."

Chen Mo slowly straightened his body.

He leaned forward slightly, and an invisible sense of oppression immediately enveloped the entire ward.

"What's important, Director Fang, is that you now have two choices."

"First, continue following your 'procedure' and take me away. Then, watch as that mole sells every piece of information about your operation, and watch all the witnesses you are supposed to protect die one by one."

"Second."

His voice was full of temptation.

"Cooperate with me."

"I will help you dig out this tumor hidden right beside you."

The ward fell into a deathly silence.

Fang Zheng stood there, his expression constantly shifting.

An internal struggle was raging inside him.

On one side were the rules and order he had adhered to for half his life.

On the other was a dangerous man whose abilities were unfathomable and completely beyond his comprehension.

And a terrifying mole capable of overthrowing his entire department.

"Why should I... trust you?"

After a long time.

Fang Zheng squeezed the words out through clenched teeth.

He had compromised.

Or rather, he had no choice.

"Because I know his next target."

Chen Mo's gaze turned toward Su Qingxue.

Su Qingxue's heart leaped suddenly.

"That Deputy Director Wang was just a smokescreen. A disposable bait used to test your security capabilities."

"Their real target is you."

"Because you are the only person who participated in the 'heavens punishment' plan from start to finish and possesses all the core technical details."

"Killing you would be a greater blow to them than detonating a hundred bombs."

Su Qingxue's face instantly turned pale.

Fang Zheng's body also shook violently!

He finally understood!

This entire thing was a setup!

A vicious trap that used a human life to test the waters!

And he and his team had been played for fools from the very beginning!

"Now."

Chen Mo looked at Fang Zheng, his eyes cold.

"Do you still want to talk 'procedure' with me?"

Fang Zheng's lips trembled; he couldn't utter a single word.

He felt like a naked man standing before Chen Mo.

All his secrets, all his plans, had been seen through completely.

This feeling filled him with unprecedented dread.

He walked with difficulty to the bedside.

He lowered his head and asked in a tone that was almost pleading.

"What... what should I do?"

Chen Mo smiled.

It wasn't mockery, nor was it amusement.

It was the satisfied smile of a hunter seeing his prey finally step into the trap.

"It's very simple."

"From now on, I am taking over here."

"Your men, your weapons, all your authorizations, are now under my command."

He pointed to his own head.

"You talk about procedure, you talk about rules."

"And I..."

"Am the new procedure, the new rules."