With black lines across his forehead, Pei Yan summoned back each mechanical tiger along the highway. Thankfully, these guys didn't harm others after losing their attack target; they either layed snoring on the ground or wandered around aimlessly along the road.

Retracting his abilities and looking at the scattered scraps of machinery all over the ground, Pei Yan felt a bit of heartache. Ah, what a pity! Once these mechanical beasts transformed, they could never return to their original form. His second-tier awakening ability was truly costly, and he wondered if there would be any change when his abilities improved in the future.

However, seeing Engineer Li enthusiastically load these mechanical scraps onto a truck and take them away, Pei Yan's heartache eased a bit. It seemed that Engineer Li was going to use them for some strange research again.

But Pei Yan didn't have much energy to research this now. He and his teammates, dragging their exhausted bodies, got into the car for the return journey.

Back at the investigation hall, everyone planned to check on Ye Jiumu and the others' condition, but Boss Lin ordered them sternly to go rest, leaving only Xue Buli, who refused to leave. Elder Lin knew she felt guilty, so he reluctantly let her stay.

Carrying concerns in their minds, no one slept well. Barely five hours later, Pei Yan emerged from the dormitory, shaking his swelling head and yawning.

By the time he finished washing up and arrived at the medical room with Wang Wenze, someone else had arrived earlier. Seeing the dark circles under Xia and the others' eyes, it was clear they hadn't slept well either. At that moment, the treated Ye Jiumu was able to get up and eat. Beside him, Qi Weidong remained in a coma, with Xue Buli asleep next to him, holding his only remaining hand.

"Xiaoxue just fell asleep after guarding all night. Keep it down, let's go in later." Ye Ruozai walked out of the medical room with his brother's empty lunch box, gently closed the door, and said to everyone outside.

Summer Yu eagerly asked, "How's Jiumu doing?"

"Don't underestimate Elder Lin's ability. Though my brother's wounds look ghastly, they're superficial. Now he can eat and drink, and in a couple of days, he'll be able to move around." Ye Ruozai said, turning his gaze toward Pei Yan among the crowd, extending his hand with a smile, "You're Pei Yan, right?"

"Ah! Yes!" Pei Yan shook his hand. Although he had seen Ye Ruozai several times from afar, this was their first face-to-face conversation.

"I just heard from Gu Chu that you had a fight with those two last night. I remember you have a recording function, right? Could you show me what those two look like?" Ye Ruozai held Pei Yan's hand, asking sincerely.

"Sure!" Pei Yan said, and mechanized his shoulder to erect a camera, projecting images of the two onto the wall.

Ye Ruozai's cold gaze swept over the images, then he turned to ask, "Did these two leave the wounds on my brother?"

Summer Yu nodded and pointed at Wang Xishu's image, speaking venomously, "Mainly him; the wounds on Jiumu's back and chest are his doing," then pointed to Liang Guangsheng, "And he is the culprit for critically injuring Qi Weidong!"

Ye Ruozai stared at the two photos for a long time as if imprinting them in his memory, then turned, patted Pei Yan's shoulder, and said with a smile, "Thanks, I thank you on behalf of Jiumu! It's reassuring that he has such good friends to fight alongside."

After the pleasantries, watching Ye Ruozai's departing figure, Liang Qian sighed, "I wish I had a brother like that!"

But for the next three days, the Upper Star Squad didn't receive any task orders. The squad members visited the patients in the medical room in turns. Ye Jiumu could now get up and move around, and Qi Weidong opened his eyes after being in a coma for two days, now lying weakly in the hospital bed enjoying Xue Buli's meticulous care.

After that, Ye Ruozai, who seemed to care much for his brother, never appeared in the medical room again.

Some follow-up reports from that night began appearing in public. Initially, the reason for the lockdown was simple: the pursuit of continuous murderers. If Wang Xishu and the others did one "good thing", it was leaving the body of Sha Dehui, allowing the police to trace and resolve the case.

Secondly, the incident was so major that despite the lockdown, some onlookers witnessed the mechanical battle at the intersection that night. The local forum exploded with claims of seeing Transformers battling a Steel Tyrannosaurus, yet no one could present concrete video evidence. Such comments were quickly drowned in skepticism and ridicule.

Later, the original posters of these threads ceased to make similar comments; whether they found it uninteresting or were visited by the Three Pristine Department to have their memories wiped is unknown.

Pei Yan was no longer interested in this. Now, what he was anxious about was whether Shenyu would abandon their attack on the Secret Prison because of this.

The high-levels at the investigation hall were equally anxious. Signs indicated Shenyu was gathering personnel and showing signs of retreat, sparking heated debate on whether to continue waiting or seize the opportunity to strike first. Only a few, like Gu Shenghui, insisted this was a facade, believing Mu Fanchen would certainly double back for an attack.

Ultimately, Cen Xiaoran used his ability to predict the general direction of events, standing firm in supporting Gu Shenghui's proposal to continue waiting!

Three days later, in the vast desert under a sun so fierce it could melt people, Wang Xishu, showing exhaustion, leaned against a tree long dead, gasping for air as wind-swept sand battered his body.

"Not healed yet? Do you need to report to the organization and withdraw?" Liang Guangsheng approached, handing him a bottle of mineral water, speaking with concern but with a schadenfreude smile.

Wang Xishu glanced sidelong at him, accepting the water bottle, speaking in a deep voice, "Don't bother worrying! I'll make it through! What are their preparations?"

"The Teleportation Array has been inscribed; it's one-time anyway!" Liang Guangsheng said, pulling out another bottle of mineral water from his spatial ring, unscrewing it and gazing into the distance, "After these days of on-site investigation, the signals from the Secret Prison are accurate. Three SUVs pass by here every two days, as the intelligence suggests, carrying vehicles with Jiezhi Space, constantly on the move."

"When will we act?"

"Tonight, when Zhao Liben leads people through the Teleportation Array into the Secret Prison, we will control the vehicles from the outside!"

"Alright, let me rest for half a day more, don't disturb me!" After speaking, Wang Xishu clutched his painfully aching abdomen and closed his eyes.

Liang Guangsheng snorted coldly at the half-dead Wang Xinshu, drinking the water with his eyes on the distance, thinking, So that mechanical youth was Pei Yan, whom the intel mentioned capturing alive?

Heh, interesting. I hope I'll meet him in tonight's battle!