"Su Xiaoxi!" His voice echoed through the police station lobby.
All eyes turned toward him. Su Xiaoxi's heart skipped a beat—he had come for her, despite his injuries.
Lin Yi strode over and grabbed her wrist. "We need to leave. Now."
"Wait, I'm providing clues..." Su Xiaoxi tried to pull away.
"Not here." Lin Yi lowered his voice, his sharp gaze sweeping over Captain Zhang and the surrounding officers. "It's not safe."
Captain Zhang frowned. "And you are...?"
"Her boyfriend." Lin Yi answered without hesitation, tightening his grip on Su Xiaoxi's hand. "We made a mistake. Sorry for the trouble."
Before the officers could respond, he pulled Su Xiaoxi out of the station. Once outside, she yanked her hand free. "What are you doing? I was about to help them solve the case!"
"There's a mole in the police station." Lin Yi glanced around and pulled her into a blind spot of the surveillance cameras. "I just got word—the mastermind behind the black market bounty is a high-ranking officer."
Su Xiaoxi's eyes widened. "What? But Captain Zhang seemed..."
"Not all cops are untrustworthy, but we can't take the risk." Lin Yi's voice was tense. "002 is waiting for us at the safe house. Let's go back first."
Just then, Su Xiaoxi noticed a figure flash past the alley behind Lin Yi. Instinctively, she grabbed his arm. "Someone's following us!"
Lin Yi didn't turn around. Instead, he quickly shielded Su Xiaoxi with his body, his other hand reaching toward his waist. "Walk slowly toward the subway station. Don't run."
They had only taken a few steps when three men in black closed in from different directions. The leader was the same man who had escaped during the park attack.
"Hand over the photos and evidence," the man sneered. "There's nowhere to run this time."
Lin Yi quickly assessed the situation—he was still injured, they were outnumbered three to one, and they were too close to the police station to risk gunfire. He whispered to Su Xiaoxi, "Remember what I taught you. On three, run to the right."
Su Xiaoxi gave a slight nod, her heart pounding.
"One, two—"
Before he could say "three," Lin Yi struck like lightning—a knifehand strike to the nearest attacker's throat, followed by a kick to another's knee. Su Xiaoxi seized the chance to dash right but was blocked by the third man. Without hesitation, she used the self-defense move Lin Yi had taught her—thumb to the eye, knee to the groin. The man howled in pain and let go.
"Su Xiaoxi, run!" Lin Yi shouted, grappling with the other two.
Su Xiaoxi ran a few steps, then suddenly stopped. No, she couldn't leave him alone again. She turned back and saw that, though Lin Yi was still agile, the pain from his wound was clearly affecting his movements. One of the assailants seized the moment to pull out a dagger, aiming straight for Lin Yi's back.