"Sir, that shot just now was aimed at you," Greenfield's subordinate whispered as a reminder.

Greenfield didn't respond to him but instead looked up at Qi Yun, "Mr. Qi, there must be some misunderstanding here, please allow me to make a call."

The door of the cabin had already been closed, cutting off the outside view, and Qi Yun sat back down in the chair.

He actually also suspected that the gunman wasn't directed by Greenfield. It's simple logic; if something happened to him, the other party would also have to face the consequences.

These big shots cherish their lives and likely wouldn't take such a risk.

Yet despite this, Qi Yun still didn't agree to the other party's request, just glanced at him sidelong, "Wait till the gunman is captured."

Greenfield's face stiffened, and he didn't insist further.

At this moment, any explanation seemed pale and weak; Qi Yun not taking direct action towards him already counted as very rational.

Qi Yun lit a cigarette to calm his nerves, then nodded towards Xiao Wu, who understood and withdrew the gun aimed at Greenfield's head.

Greenfield breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't a good feeling to have one's life in someone else's hands.

He expressed his thanks, stood up, and sat down opposite Qi Yun.

At this moment, a shout came through Kubi's walkie-talkie, accompanied by the sound of rifle fire.

After listening to it, Kubi said to Qi Yun, "The gunman has been blocked at the eastern checkpoint!"

Qi Yun squinted his eyes, "Don't kill him, hand him over to my people."

"Okay." Kubi nodded, picked up the walkie-talkie, and instructed his men to cease fire.

About ten minutes later, the door of the cabin was pushed open, and Brother Quan and An Zai brought in a bloodied white man.

This guy's hands seemed to have been dislocated, dangling powerlessly, and his nasal bone was broken, looking like he'd already been beaten up.

Brother Quan kicked the back of the man's knee, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

Qi Yun stood up, looked down at him, and said nothing.

In this situation, knowing he was going to die, this guy still had a look of defiance on his face, even with a hint of provocation and mockery in his eyes as he looked at Qi Yun.

"I can see you're not afraid to die, but you should know, sometimes, living is more painful than dying."

The man's eyes flickered slightly, but he kept his mouth shut.

Seeing this, An Zai struck him on the mouth with the gun, the guy's head tilted from the hit but then stubbornly turned back, spitting out a mouthful of bloody froth and teeth, still with disdain in his eyes.

"Damn, you like acting tough, huh?"

An Zai gave a cruel smile and asked Qi Yun, "Boss, let me handle him."

Qi Yun didn't answer immediately but glanced at Greenfield, "Do you know him?"

Greenfield hurriedly shook his head, distancing himself, "I don't know him, I've never seen him."

Qi Yun didn't pay any more attention to him, just gestured to An Zai, "Take him outside, don't kill him."

"Understood." An Zai replied with a grim smile, dragging the man away by the collar of his neck.

Outside the cabin soon came a series of muffled grunts, followed by an eerie, rhythmic sound of something being pounded and crushed, interspersed with An Zai's trash talk.

After torturing him for a while, the gunman seemed to be unable to hold on, letting out intermittent cries of pain.

Yet he still didn't beg for mercy; he was definitely a tough one.

Greenfield listening on the side turned pale, swallowing nervously, a bit panicked.

If the gunman then falsely accused him of being the instigator, how well could he be off?

While he was well-versed in the cruelty of political struggles, this kind of physical torture was beyond his psychological endurance.

Qi Yun seemed as if he didn't hear the noise from outside, just calmly smoked, showing no mercy to someone who wanted his life.

After about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, the noise outside stopped.

The cabin door was pushed open, An Zai walked in, blood splattered on his hands and face.

"He talked, saying his name is Sharp, an assassin from the dark web. Someone placed an order for this guy's life," An Zai said, nodding towards Greenfield.

"His movements were also provided by the employer; the killer followed all the way from Washington to here."

"I checked his phone, this guy is an A-level killer on the dark web, and the platform has chat logs of him and the employer. He shouldn't be lying."

At this, Greenfield inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up suddenly, asking the key question, "Was the employer's identity mentioned?"

An Zai glanced at his boss, and seeing Qi Yun had no objections, he answered indifferently, "No."

On the dark web, employer information is often encrypted, and for some tasks with payment made upfront to the platform, the employer doesn't even have to provide real information.

So it's likely impossible to trace the employer.

However, Greenfield already had a suspect in mind; he just needed concrete evidence.

He didn't ask more, took a deep breath, and slowly sat back down.

Qi Yun extinguished his cigarette and gestured to An Zai, "Bury him."

An Zai turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Qi Yun said nothing more, just stared at Greenfield, making it clear he expected an explanation.

Although it wasn't meant to kill him, this setup had drawn him in.

If that shot had killed Greenfield, he likely would have been dragged down with him, unable to clear his name, and most likely becoming America's most wanted.