Yang Mingzhong shook his head. Seeing Hu Jiayao about to break another wing to munch on, he lowered his voice and said, "Don’t make a sound." Hu Jiayao responded and was about to test the flexibility of his jaw muscles when he heard the person beside him add, "And don’t let the smell out either." He could barely manage not making a sound while eating, but not letting out any smell—was that even possible? At this point, Hu Jiayao finally realized that he simply wasn’t supposed to eat anything. Hu Jiayao wasn’t very sharp, but he was good at taking advice. He immediately wrapped up all the food, putting it in several layers of bags, and stuffed it back into his pocket. They had been squatting here for most of the night, and hadn’t seen a soul, not even a mouse. Yang Mingzhong was focused on those fine threads, while Hu Jiayao could only guard him with nothing to do, extremely bored. Now with even the right to eat taken away, he was idle with nothing to occupy his time, so he moved closer to Yang Mingzhong, pulled up a pop-up window from the system, typed, and asked: [Found any clues, Old Yang?] Yang Mingzhong shook his head. After a moment, he typed back: [I keep feeling, there’s something fishy.] Hu Jiayao got interested and asked, [Is the woman the president asked us to monitor suspect?] Not long ago, they received instructions from the president that Mo Yu had returned to report to Wei Zhe, and Yang Mingzhong was to confirm the situation in real-time through the [Thousand Threads]. Hearing Yang Mingzhong say there was something fishy, Hu Jiayao instinctively felt that Mo Yu had turned traitor again after going back. But Yang Mingzhong shook his head again. Based on the situation from [Thousand Threads], Mo Yu had merely returned to Wei Zhe’s side. The two seemed to have chatted for a while, and there were no extreme behaviors, everything seemed normal. What Yang Mingzhong found strange was that Wei Zhe’s network manipulation ability seemed to have regressed. [Thousand Threads] became the most popular tool of the Ghost Control Master Alliance due to its strong adaptability. This tool is like a brush and ink, where Ghost Control Masters use it for manipulation, akin to calligraphy. Every Ghost Control Master has their own "calligraphy" style. Seasoned alliance members can identify the "handwriting" of others through their manipulation methods. This was why, when Yang Mingzhong first entered this instance, he impulsively acted upon seeing a girl in the cafeteria— Because he vaguely saw the "handwriting" of that man on her. Of course, Yang Mingzhong’s ability to recognize this "handwriting" was not what it used to be. He had restarted without any skills, tools, or equipment enhancements, and most importantly, his current attribute values were too low. At the current account level’s sensitivity, he couldn’t reach the state of being one with people as he did before. Thus, it was only now that he could confirm the regression in the other person’s network manipulation technique. Like a calligrapher who once reached the pinnacle, but, due to age or illness, finds their strokes becoming wobbly and weak, their calligraphy not what it once was. Now through these threads, Yang Mingzhong sensed the regression in the other person. What was the cause? The person deliberately hiding their abilities? Technical limitations due to the instance restrictions? Injury during the mission affecting muscle and nerve control? Or... was there another reason? These doubts of Yang Mingzhong, Hu Jiayao couldn’t answer any of them. He typed: [Old Yang, just tell me what you need me to do now!] Yang Mingzhong replied helplessly: [Hold the fort and watch how it unfolds.] Hu Jiayao nodded vigorously and quietly shifted his numb behind. Thirty minutes earlier, at the foot of the hill on the other side of Lover’s Slope. Mo Yu walked up to an uninhabited garbage pile, skillfully found a circular mound on the ground, stepped on it, and was immediately transported into a hidden passage. Following the passage, she entered a deep secret chamber, where she immediately saw the blond man sitting against the wall. The man faced the wall, back to her, yet Mo Yu felt an oppressive aura emanating from him from afar. She gradually walked to the man’s back and respectfully bowed, "Boss." Wei Zhe did not turn around, merely asking, "Handled that group of people?" Mo Yu’s heart tightened, but she replied respectfully on the surface, "Boss, they have all been dealt with, not a single one left." Hearing this, Wei Zhe slowly turned his head, his emerald eyes scanning Mo Yu from top to bottom, finally resting on her neck. The temporary control pattern was hidden by Mo Yu before coming. As long as it didn’t suddenly light up due to summoning, it would not be discovered. Yet, as the gaze lingered on her neck, she felt the skin there burning, her body becoming rigid with fear. Wei Zhe seemed to mutter to himself, "I have still been too lenient with you..." Mo Yu was startled, her breath catching, "Boss..." Wei Zhe didn’t give her a chance to explain and raised his hand, "From now on, delegate everything to Gan Tie, and fully cooperate with him." Mo Yu thought about what Gan Tie did in Wang Yajun’s lab, clenched her fists, paused, and gritted her teeth and agreed. Wei Zhe raised his hand, palm holding a spindle covered with [Thousand Threads]. The spindle spun rapidly in mid-air like a top, while the silver threads around it retracted swiftly, making a "whoosh" sound. Looking at the threads before him, Wei Zhe said in a deep voice, "This game has dragged on too long, it’s time to pull in the net."