**Midnight, Abandoned Warehouse District**
A pall of fog clung to the deserted warehouses, their corrugated steel walls smeared with graffiti. Gu Jinci's convoy crawled through narrow lanes, headlights carving through the mist. At the lead, Lin Anran gripped the flash drive in her pocket, heart hammering at every echo of an engine or distant shout.
“Here," Gu murmured, guiding her and Su Jian'an out of the armored SUV. The boy yawned, still clutching the fox toy she'd given him at dawn. “Stay close," she whispered, lifting him in her arms.
They followed Gu's security team—a half dozen operatives in black tactical gear—into an enormous, dimly lit warehouse. A long table set up in the center held laptops and evidence binders, illuminated by a single overhead lamp. At its far end, Bai Yue
