Qiquan took action.

The armed officers under his command, already donning bulletproof vests, followed suit.

After all, this was a rare chance to make a name for themselves.

But just as Qiquan was charging forward, Deputy Director Song suddenly shouted.

"Qiquan!"

Swoosh!

Qiquan froze mid-step.

"What's the matter now?" he asked, turning his head.

"Wait a moment!" Deputy Director Song called out, waving to someone nearby.

A police officer quickly ran over with a bulletproof vest in hand.

"What's this for?" Qiquan asked.

"I know you're a daredevil who's been through life and death countless times, but you still need to put this on-just in case!" said Deputy Director Song.

"Can you even run with this thing on? It's such a hassle. In all my years working cases, I've never needed one of these. Just take it back!" Qiquan snapped.

"Qiquan, I'm ordering you to put it on! I know you're capable, but that guy has been on the run for seven years. Who knows what kind of weapons he might have? I don't want anyone getting hurt because of some heartless scumbag," Deputy Director Song insisted.

"Come on, Captain, just put it on!"

"Yeah, Captain, the Deputy Director is right. What if that bastard has a gun?"

"He's a ruthless criminal, after all. Better safe than sorry!"

The officers chimed in one after another.

"Get lost!"

Qiquan chuckled in frustration.

He hated wearing these things. They not only slowed him down but also hindered his agility.

Just as he was about to lash out in irritation, an odd thought flashed through his mind-words from a conversation in the interrogation room a few days ago.

That strange fortune-teller had told him with certainty that his "forehead looked dark," a sign of imminent disaster. He had warned Qiquan to wear a bulletproof vest on his missions in the coming week to ward off misfortune.

And today was exactly one week later.

On a mission to apprehend a ruthless criminal.

With everyone pressing him to wear the vest...

Was this just a coincidence?

Qiquan froze, his retort stuck in his throat.

"Captain? Captain?"

His team called out to him in concern.

"Fine, fine! Quit nagging already!"

Putting on a show of annoyance, Qiquan snatched the vest and quickly put it on.

After fastening it in place with practiced speed, he waved his hand and shouted, "Let's move!"

Meanwhile, at Qianlong Gaming Company.

What was once a thirty-person team had dwindled to just seven, including the company's legal representative.

Everyone else had left, even the cleaning lady, who had quit after finally receiving her long-overdue wages.

"Old Xu, what now? There's not a single cent left in the company's account! We probably can't even pay this month's utility bills!" said a disheveled young man with messy hair.

This nine-member team had been together since their university days, sharing life's ups and downs and often living together.

After graduation, they pooled their resources to start a company, vowing to revive the golden age of online gaming by creating a game that would take the nation by storm.

They even had a name picked out: Reincarnation.

At first, they sustained operations by releasing a few marketable games. But as time went on, their idealistic and proud natures made them disdain churning out games just to make money.

They decided to sell off their previous games in one go and pour all their energy into Reincarnation.

But things didn't go as planned. Their funds ran dry, and with only 45% of the game completed, they could no longer sustain development.

The company was now a shadow of its former self, with just seven remaining team members and no money.

"Do we have any way to raise funds?" Xu Yingjie, the team leader and legal representative, gritted his teeth as he looked at the ceiling.

"What way? I've even sold off my AJ sneakers online, and I still owe thousands in small loans. My phone's about to explode from the constant calls!"

"We've tried every option we could think of. Even if we could scrape some money together, it'd just be a drop in the bucket. The farther we go, the more money we'll need!"

"Why don't we make a few more games to sell?"

"Make what? Don't we need servers? Where's the money for that? And I'd rather starve than make those dumb, low-quality games again!"

"Old Xu, didn't you say you were trying to attract investors? Any progress?"

At last, amidst the chaos, someone addressed the elephant in the room: investment.

Those two words silenced everyone as they turned to Xu Yingjie.

He shook his head bitterly. "No one's willing to invest when they hear we're making an online game. Then I tried suggesting they acquire the company instead, but they looked at me like I was crazy!"

"So it's a dead end? We're just going to disband?" someone asked.

"What else can we do? Our dreams were big, but reality is too harsh. Guess we've finally learned that lesson."

"Fine. Let's just call it quits. We came together as a blazing fire, and we'll scatter like shining stars. With our skills, we can all land high-paying jobs elsewhere."

"Screw that! If I wanted a cushy job, I wouldn't have studied game design in the first place. I got into this field because I wanted to create a game that would bring back the golden age of online gaming. I'd rather starve than make some mindless garbage just to get by!"

The office descended into noisy arguments again.

"Enough! Listen, I'll mortgage the house my mom left me. That should get us another 300,000 to 500,000 yuan. We'll use it to keep going for another month or two. During that time, we'll keep working on Reincarnation while trying to secure investors or sell the company. If we still can't find a way forward, then we'll accept our fate."

Xu Yingjie took a deep breath and stood up.

"Old Xu, that's your mom's house!"

The others exclaimed in unison.

"No choice. You've all given everything for Reincarnation. As the founder of Qianlong Gaming, I have to give my last bit of strength. If we find an investor or get acquired, we might just make a comeback. We all want to leave our mark on the gaming industry, to create a game that defines an era. Reincarnation is our hope. We can't give up until the very end!"

Xu Yingjie's eyes burned with determination.

"And if we fail? You'll lose your house!" someone said.

"Then so be it. Worst case, I'll bunk with you guys. Just save me a spot to sleep, alright?" Xu Yingjie forced a smile.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed through the room.

The seven of them turned to see a man striding in with a calm smile.

It was Ye Chen.