All of us held our breath and stared at the screens, but in the end, it was only footage.
No matter how clear it was, it still couldn’t fully reflect what was really happening outside.
The man Suo Tian had been watching earlier was no longer being observed by just one person.
Around him, quite a few people had already gathered—seemingly naturally, but clearly intentional.
I knew what was happening.
The old man in uniform had begun setting a trap.
It wasn’t time to alert the enemy yet—there was no way they’d risk losing the whole field just for a single melon.
The old man had gradually calmed down from his earlier rage.
Now he stared at the screens with a deeply furrowed brow, his gaze razor-sharp.
If anyone on the screen so much as reached into their pocket, his eyes would flash, and he’d immediately order that section to be zoomed in and examined carefully.
Only after confirming that the person wasn’t suspicious would he move on.
During this time, a few other individuals with questionable behavior were also marked and put under surveillance.
To be honest, I didn’t really see what was suspicious about those people.
But they were all in plain clothes.
If I wasn’t mistaken, since that earlier man was a seventh-floor inspector and had already been labeled suspicious, the old man had simply decided to monitor all of his colleagues as well.
Just as a technician pulled up a crowded section of the footage, my eyes flickered—I thought I caught sight of someone familiar in the frame.
But it was only for a split second.
The person disappeared from view almost immediately.
It was just a silhouette.
I tried to recall it in my mind, but I couldn’t be sure if I had really seen that person before.
I had already made a bit of a name for myself by pointing out the earlier suspect.
Now, even though I felt something was off, I didn’t dare speak up again without certainty.
Some things—if you do them once and do them well, it’s merit.
But if you try again and come up empty, it just looks like showing off.
These two old men—even Suo Tian treated them with great respect.
We didn’t know how long we’d be staying here, so we absolutely couldn’t afford to offend them.
Leaving a good impression was important.
As time passed, minute by minute, Tingting was called out to have her makeup done.
When she came back, she was clearly annoyed.
After scratching her head for a while, she leaned over and whispered to me, “Look at this mess of a wedding—it’s almost noon, and we’re still here playing cat and mouse.”
I looked at her helplessly, understanding how she felt.
A wedding is supposed to be the most romantic memory in a girl’s life.
This apocalypse had taken that chance away from most girls, but Tingting was one of the lucky ones—with a powerful father and husband, she could still have a grand, romantic wedding even in times like these.
But unfortunately… once conspiracy and duty got mixed in, all that romance became nothing more than a beautiful illusion—something to look at, but not touch.
Master Gu overheard Tingting’s complaint.
He gave her a helpless glance, sighed, then turned back to the screens.
The lockdown ordered earlier by the old man in uniform was gradually becoming difficult to maintain.
More and more guests were arriving at the entrance, piling up outside and growing confused.
As the crowd increased, there was a real risk of alerting the hidden culprits.
Even Suo Tian and Gao were drawn toward the situation at the entrance.
After handling it briefly, Gao actually let the guests in.
The old man’s face darkened instantly.
The next second, Suo Tian pulled aside one of their own people dressed in plain clothes and whispered a few words to him.
Then, as if sensing we were watching, he turned and looked toward the camera.
Just before turning away again, he made a subtle gesture—telling us to stay calm.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door.
The plainclothes man Suo Tian had just spoken to entered and said to the two elders, “Captain Suo asks you both to remain at ease—the situation is gradually coming under control.”
Hearing that, both Master Gu and the old man visibly relaxed.
After dismissing the man with a wave, they finally picked up their teacups and took a couple of sips.
Watching Suo Tian on the screen quietly talking with Gao, I couldn’t help but go full fangirl mode—my husband is so handsome!
A server approached them with a tray.
Gao took a glass, but Suo Tian shook his head and continued talking.
The others had no idea about the issue with the alcohol or that it had already been replaced.
After the server left, Gao and Suo Tian exchanged a few more words.
Then, suddenly, both of them turned their heads in the same direction—
They had found something again.
Following their gaze, I looked toward a group of people gathered around a fruit platter, eating happily.
In times like these, how precious fruit had become went without saying.
Even if orchards everywhere were still producing fruit on their own, how much could realistically be harvested and transported back with the limited manpower and resources?
The amount was extremely scarce.
The screen zoomed out again, but I kept staring fixedly at that small section of the footage.
My eyes swept over the people one by one, trying to pick out anyone suspicious.
Then, just as my gaze quickly passed over one figure, that strange sense of familiarity hit me again.
I immediately focused back on it.
A flash of realization struck—
It’s him!
No wonder something had felt off from the very beginning.
That sense of déjà vu wasn’t wrong!
The attendant who had just brought drinks to Suo Tian and Gao—ever since earlier, I had been focusing all my attention on the guests coming and going, completely overlooking the possibility that someone from the “staff” at the wedding could be a problem!
Suo Tian and Gao must have realized it too… their sudden reaction had indirectly reminded me.
That attendant… was the security guard who had suddenly run off back at the mall!
Gao had once told me something: “Don’t overlook any tiny detail.”
Looking back now, that line was practically a truth of the world—because those tiny details are often the key threads that lead straight to the heart of the problem.
Just a few days ago, he had been nothing more than a security guard.
And now, by such coincidence, he appeared at this wedding.
From the way he carried the tray earlier, it was clear he had been specially trained.
Otherwise, how could a security guard move with such practiced ease?
The suspicious points about him weren’t even small details anymore—they were practically bold signs spelling out that something was wrong.
Some problems, once you find a single point to start from, unfold just like solving a math problem.
As long as you apply the right formula and don’t make mistakes along the way, the answer reveals itself naturally.
With the first suspect already exposed, the second one was quickly identified as well.
Without most people even noticing, by the time Suo Tian and Gao moved away from that spot, someone else had already taken over to keep an eye on the attendant.
Although the old man in uniform and Master Gu hadn’t said anything, it was obvious from their expressions that they had noticed this detail too.
After all, they had spent most of their lives navigating situations like this.
Compared to our relatively inexperienced perception, their insight was far sharper.
These two elders were nothing like Uncle Gazi from the countryside who spent his days slaughtering pigs—while they lacked his easygoing warmth, they possessed far greater wisdom and vigilance.
Looking back at the screen, we still didn’t know how many of them there were, or what identities they had used to infiltrate.
None of that was clear.
Relying on just a few people to identify suspects one by one simply wasn’t a viable solution.
What had happened with the poisoned drinks already proved one thing: if even a single person slipped through, the consequences would be disastrous.
Suo Tian, Gao, and Bai Wuchang spread out again.
In an instant, beneath the lively surface of the estate, a hidden current surged once more—quietly flowing everywhere, searching for those concealed behind nearly perfect disguises.
I furrowed my brows tightly and took another careful look.
The suited man and the attendant—the former security guard—were from completely different backgrounds.
If that was the case, then it was very likely they weren’t acting under a single leader, but rather as part of a small organization.
Life within the base was usually quite open.
Aside from the 10 p.m. lights-out rule, there weren’t many restrictions.
As long as secrecy and cover were maintained, something like this was entirely possible.
Those men in military uniforms must have already thought of this long ago.
But there was one thing I couldn’t quite figure out—since they dared to set up such a trap today to lure them out, weren’t they afraid of wasting manpower and resources, only to end up catching a few underlings?
Wouldn’t that be a complete loss—gaining nothing while paying a heavy price?
But then I reconsidered.
If they could even recruit someone like an inspector—someone with enough authority to live in the villa district—into their organization, then the leader behind it definitely wouldn’t be of low status.
And today, almost everyone with some level of importance in the base had gathered here.
That meant it was very possible that the “boss” had come along as well.
With so many high-ranking figures gathered in one place, wouldn’t this be the perfect opportunity for them to carry out revenge or create chaos?
The moment I realized this, I felt my whole body tense up.
If I could think of it, then Suo Tian, Gao, Bai Wuchang, and the two old men beside me must have thought of it instantly too.
Yet they still chose to proceed.
That could only mean one thing—in reality, they didn’t care all that much about the lives of these high-ranking officials?
Thinking back to when they first learned the drinks were poisoned, the old man in uniform had seemed angry, but not particularly worried about what might follow.
As for Master Gu, his expression hadn’t even changed.
That didn’t make sense.
The base was surrounded by large numbers of walkers—this was exactly when manpower was most needed.
The people gathered here were all valuable individuals.
Logically, they shouldn’t be this calm about the possibility of losing them.
Then it suddenly clicked—my mind flashed back to the helicopters parked in the open area outside before we came in…
There would be no need for helicopters to transport people within the base.
Since they were parked outside the villa, it meant those people had come from elsewhere.
To have that many helicopters, just to attend what was essentially a dispensable wedding—it was obvious that the place they came from must be far larger and far safer than this base.
— The end of the Chapter–
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