Lower Downtown Chicago, near Lake Michigan, an abandoned warehouse, two o’clock in the morning. After a brief exchange, Chenier took orders from Luo An and hung up proactively. Stretching his body, Luo An stuffed the unconscious Sevin and Jaden into the car, cleared the scene of any traces, and left the area with Mona. On the passenger seat, Mona opened her laptop and asked with some confusion: "Luo An, why is Philadelphia our next stop?" Under the dim streetlights, as the car hurried along, Luo An explained while driving: "Because there’s a ’Skull Flower’ assassin organization’s customer service center there, the last one yet to be destroyed." "It’s not the last one." "Doesn’t the customer service center here in Chicago still exist?" "But this one is a trap." Luo An shook his head, earnestly explaining to Mona: "From the clues we have now, the customer service centers in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Kansas City were most likely destroyed by ’Blue-eyed Roy’, ’Red-Backed Spider Brenna’, and their friends acting together. We’re currently unclear why they would do this, but the higher-ups in the ’Skull Flower’ assassin organization must know the reason, hence why so many first-rate assassins are after them." Mona nodded, pulling up a federal map on her laptop, and said: "From the map, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Chicago, Philadelphia - these five cities form a somewhat irregular straight line from west to east across North America. After the destruction of the customer service center in Kansas City, the next stop would be Chicago where we are now, so..." "That’s why I said, the here in Chicago is a trap." Turning the steering wheel to enter another street, Luo An gestured with his hand to interrupt Mona, saying: "We could see ’Blue-eyed Roy’ and the others’ next stop is Chicago, and the higher-ups in the ’Skull Flower’ organization must know that too, certainly planning to ambush with a large force here. Earlier, when I scouted the customer service center, those peripheral guards were just a facade. Those guards are mediocre. I got close to them and didn’t notice anything wrong. They’re probably just tools meant to lull the likes of ’Blue-eyed Roy.’ The sniper who attacked me from behind and other assassins who haven’t shown themselves are likely the real lethal moves prepared for ’Blue-eyed Roy’ and the others." Mona suddenly realized upon hearing this and exclaimed: "’Blue-eyed Roy’ and the rest probably guessed this point, so they chose to bypass Chicago and head straight for Philadelphia." Luo An nodded and said: "Moreover, I suspect that the sequence from Los Angeles to Las Vegas then to Kansas City might have been deliberately orchestrated by ’Blue-eyed Roy’ and the others. Their goal is to lull the ’Skull Flower’ higher-ups into thinking their next target is Chicago, deploying more forces here to lie in wait, leaving Philadelphia vulnerable." Mona closed her laptop and frowned, saying: "Layers within layers, why do these assassins have so many plots? Wouldn’t it be better to keep it simple?" For more chapters visıt novel•fire.net "Simple-minded people don’t last in the assassination business." Luo An chuckled. A life of constant scheming and strategizing is the norm for assassins. Those of low intelligence and brawn without brains are quickly devoured by their peers, leaving nothing behind. The car slowly pulled up next to a dimly lit abandoned dock. Luo An pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Good evening, boss." The call was quickly connected, and Luo An said with a smile: "I’ve arrived at the designated spot." "Thank you for your hard work." The voice of Vireness sounded from the phone, speaking kindly: "The support team will arrive in five minutes." Before embarking on the covert capture operation tonight, Luo An contacted Vireness in advance to ask for assistance in dealing with the interrogated assassins. After a brief exchange, Luo An hung up the phone. Less than five minutes later, a black SUV arrived in the area. Once their identities were confirmed, Luo An handed Jaden and Sevin over to the operatives dispatched by Vireness and then contacted Mona to arrange a plane, preparing to head to Philadelphia. Philadelphia, situated in the southeast of Federal Pennsylvania, is one of the oldest and most historically significant cities in the union, known as the "City of Brotherly Love," just a river away from New Jersey. At half past eight in the morning, Luo An, leading Mona, Michelle, and NSA Agent Iris, arrived in Philadelphia. Luo An did not feel the "brotherly love" of the "City of Brotherly Love." Instead, he saw many addicted people on the streets, with vacant eyes, incoherent minds, barely clothed, sleeping rough, living alongside trash and excrement—understanding the origin of Philadelphia’s nickname, the "City of Zombies." At ten thirty in the morning, Winslow, Reesi, and Chenier also arrived in Philadelphia from Las Vegas, and the special investigation team gathered together once more. At noon, sitting on either side of a hotel suite’s conference table, the team had lunch while integrating the information at hand. "Everyone, there’s something I don’t understand." Reesi swallowed her food, raised her hand to catch everyone’s attention, and said with a puzzled look: "The three customer service centers that were destroyed are just the periphery of the ’Skull Flower’ organization. Their destruction doesn’t matter much as they can easily establish new ones. The truly important part of the ’Skull Flower’ organization are the assassins, aren’t they?" "So, you think ’Blue-Eyed Roy’ and others should have gone after those assassins?" Winslow took a sip of iced water and shook his head repeatedly, saying: "According to the information Group Leader Luo An found, the majority of frontline assassins in ’Skull Flower’ have varying strengths, but the differences are not huge. If ’Blue-Eyed Roy’ and his group really targeted a bunch of fellow assassins, then they must be crazy." "The current situation of ’Blue-Eyed Roy’ and his group is not much different from being ’crazy.’" Chenier wiped the corner of her mouth and added: "They are also being hunted by a group of frontline assassins." At the other end of the table, after finishing her lunch, Michelle spoke: "What Reesi means is that we still don’t know the reason why ’Blue-Eyed Roy’ and his group moved from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to commit their actions. We don’t understand why they did it. The second-string assassin Sevin knew only that this was a ’war,’ but he was also unclear about the story behind this ’war.’" "It could be retaliation or revenge." Mona, sitting next to Michelle, suggested with bright eyes: "Like someone from the upper ranks of ’Skull Flower’ accidentally killed a relative of someone among the ’Blue-Eyed Roy’ group?" "Guesses can be bolder." As soon as Mona finished speaking, Luo An, who had been busy eating and not talking, lifted his head and said with a smile: "Like someone killed a dog of someone from the ’Blue-Eyed Roy’ group or stole their package." Everyone around the conference table looked speechless. Reesi snorted: "Destroying three customer service centers of an assassin organization over a dog or package is too cold of a joke, Luo An." Luo An laughed, swallowed his food, cleaned up the trash, and stood up, saying: "Why ’Blue-Eyed Roy’ and his group did what they did, we’ll know once they are caught. I have already contacted the relevant departments; support will be arriving shortly. The plan for the next operation is simple: When the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole lies in wait. We are going to be that oriole!" Everyone around the table nodded in unison, the meaning in Luo An’s words not being hard to understand. ’Blue-Eyed Roy’ and his group planned to attack the ’Skull Flower’ customer service branch in Philadelphia, a group of assassins was hunting them, and the special investigation team was to catch all these people in one fell swoop. Mona, Michelle, and Iris were left behind to handle tasks like monitoring, phone calls, and signal handling. Reesi, Winslow, Chenier, and Luo An would each lead a squad after SWAT support arrived, parking and waiting on the streets far from the ’Skull Flower’ customer service center in the Philadelphia branch. The next day, at two o’clock in the morning, Mona’s voice suddenly erupted from the communicator: "Everyone, target individuals identified!"