All the sudden changes came so quickly, so violently.

So much so that Baiyu didn't even react before being dragged to an open space, surrounded by towering trees reaching tens of meters high.

After reaching the open space, Baiyu was released by the investigators, no longer being suppressed by blood qi.

It seemed they were confident.

Once here, Baiyu surely couldn't escape even if he had wings.

Baiyu didn't seem nervous, and after being let go, he neither asked questions nor attempted to escape, but instead seized the moment to rapidly restore his internal blood qi.

Very soon.

Baiyu felt almost completely recovered, and only then did he look around.

He saw several investigators standing quietly by the side, their expressions solemn and meticulous, as if they were welcoming the arrival of a "big figure."

He didn't have to wait long.

This "big figure" appeared before Baiyu.

It was a human, at least in appearance, looking to be in his forties, sporting a goatee, with hardly any visible signs of aging on his face.

Baiyu found him somewhat familiar.

But.

Could not recall where he had seen him before.

"It seems Commissioner Bai is so busy with affairs that you don't remember small people like us. At the last banquet, I even toasted you."

"They say important people tend to forget things."

"This saying is truly quite accurate."

The man's words informed Baiyu that they had met before and it should have been at some social event.

Baiyu recalled for a moment.

Then.

Finally remembered who this person before him was.

"Commander of the City Guard Army, Lv Tao?"

Baiyu asked hesitantly.

He had some impression of this person, who commanded the entire City Guard Army, and although not as influential as the Three Departments, was still quite notable in Mountain City.

The City Guard Army was a somewhat special organization.

Originally, it should have been under the City Lord's Mansion, but everyone knew the City Lord's Mansion in Mountain City.

Basically without real power.

Never taken seriously by Qiu Yun and He Jin.

After Baiyu killed City Lord Guang Yuanba, the City Lord's Mansion became a marginalized entity.

After that.

The City Guard Army became jointly managed by the Anomaly Bureau and the Armed Department, and after Baiyu's Security Bureau developed, it could also issue orders to the City Guard Army.

This was possible.

So, the City Guard Army was jointly governed by three parties.

Hence, the relationships were very complex, who was whose uncle, who had kinship ties with whom, and so on.

The commander before him.

Was the grand commander of the entire City Guard Army, a protégé of He Jin.

Baiyu had seen him once at a banquet, and the two didn't have much interaction usually, but now, reminded by the situation, Baiyu indeed recognized him.

Unexpectedly.

He turned out to be an alien spy.

Did not expect this guy to betray as well.

"I didn't expect it was you.

No wonder, someone outside the city could intercept and kill me.

No wonder the whereabouts of me and Qiu Yun leaving the city would be known to the aliens.

No wonder the nobles in the noble villa fell into the Tidal World, yet no one reported it.

If the grand commander of the City Guard Army defected, it indeed makes sense."

After all.

The City Guard Army controls a lot of the city's resources.

If their leader defected, then hiding information while arranging people to kill Baiyu, etc., would be very convenient.

Tracking it would also be very hard to trace.

At this moment.

Since Lv Tao dared to come out, it proved that he had absolute confidence in killing Baiyu, so the current environment is extremely dangerous.

Baiyu slowly stepped back, his eyes scanning the surroundings: "Was that Shell People base and that old shell person arranged by you?"

Lv Tao chuckled and shook his head: "Commissioner Bai, you overthink. We didn't anticipate that much. There indeed is a Shell People tribe here.

And what that old shell person said wasn't wrong.

We just seized the opportunity, finally catching you leaving the city, and using the chaos just now, managed to create an environment to kill you."

Baiyu frowned: "Why betray?"

"Why? Isn't it obvious? You simply don't understand the power of the aliens, resisting is just futile.

The ancient Human Race was strong enough, right?

In the end, they couldn't escape extinction.

And siding with the demons can grant eternal life, why do you think I would want that?

This isn't a betrayal.

People seek higher grounds, water flows to lower ones, I simply chose what was beneficial to me.

Commissioner Bai.

With your status, if you ally with the demons, the future could be limitless."

Lv Tao's voice was insidious, trying to persuade Baiyu to defect to the demons as well. His backer among the demons promised that if he could coax or capture an imperial human like Baiyu, they would perform the transformation ritual for him.

By then.

He would gain true eternal life.

Such a temptation, for humans, especially those with limited lifespans nearing their end, is simply irresistible.

Don't mind that Lv Tao looks only in his forties or fifties now.

His real age is already eighty.

And due to battles and cultivation in his early years, he had many health issues, significantly reducing his lifespan, with an estimated ten to twenty years left.

Under such circumstances.

With breakthrough hopeless, he could only turn to the demons.

Of course, he didn't expect Baiyu to understand all this, the other party is still too young, as long as he captures him back, the mission will be considered accomplished.

If that doesn't work.

Even killing him and taking back his head would suffice.

"How have you considered?"