Luo Hai immediately snapped back into work mode, his sharp gaze cutting through the glass. In less than half a second, he locked onto the man entering the optic shop.
That face wasn’t unfamiliar—it was the same man who had been in the clothing mall yesterday, the one talking to Alin.
The man seemed completely unaware of any danger and walked straight into the optic shop. Sunlight illuminated his shoulders, making him clearly visible from the café, but from his perspective, it would be difficult to notice the officers watching him.
Luo Hai’s gaze remained fixed on him until he disappeared behind the antique wooden door.
A little over ten minutes later, a young woman appeared. She walked hurriedly, her expression tense, and just like the man before her, she entered the optic shop and never came out.
Over the next hour, more and more people entered the shop—some were complete strangers, while others had very familiar faces.
Alin, Dandan, and several suspects who were closely associated with the two Omegas mentioned in Colin’s report all entered the optic shop.
“How many people so far?” Luo Hai asked in a low voice.
“Thirteen people have gone in and haven’t come out,” Fanny responded quietly.
Luo Hai nodded and picked up the walkie-talkie. “Colin, what’s your status?”
As planned, Colin was stationed at a distant vantage point, observing the scene with binoculars.
His voice soon came through. “Nothing unusual to report. Everyone went into the optic shop, and I haven’t seen anyone else arrive.”
Fanny instinctively rested her hand on the holster at her waist. “Should we move in now?”
Luo Hai remained silent for a moment before answering, “Wait a little longer.”
The officers in the café suppressed their impatience, forcing themselves to continue waiting.
Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen. Soon, some officers grew restless.
“Prosecutor Luo Hai, can we move in now? No one else is going inside.”
“Yeah, they’ve been in there for a while. If we don’t act now, we might miss our window.”
“No. Wait a little longer,” Luo Hai ordered calmly.
His memory was sharp—especially when it came to reports he had read.
And he distinctly remembered that there was still one face from Colin’s report that had yet to appear.
Just as the frustration among the officers reached its peak, Colin’s voice came through the walkie-talkie again. “Boss, there’s one more! He’s heading toward the optic shop now!”
As soon as Colin finished speaking, every officer in the café became alert, all eyes fixed on the optic shop’s entrance.
Finally, the last suspect came into view, disappearing behind the optic shop’s walls.
Luo Hai placed his coffee cup on the table, his gaze locked onto the spot where the man had vanished. He spoke calmly.
“Move in.”
Fanny led the charge out of the café, the tall Alpha officers surging forward like a storm from behind Luo Hai.
In an instant, the café was empty except for Luo Hai, who sat in the sudden quiet. From outside, he could hear gasps from startled pedestrians, the optic shop owner’s panicked stammering, Fanny’s firm commands, and the synchronized footsteps of officers storming into the hidden passageway.
Only the café owner remained inside, leisurely wiping a clean glass.
“So, Clotho’s optic shop is shutting down?” he mused.
“Most likely,” Luo Hai replied.
The owner sighed softly. “His optic shop’s been next to mine for over a decade. What a shame.”
…..
The operation went even more smoothly than Luo Hai had expected. A total of 14 Omega members of the Lightwing Society were captured.
Their ages varied—some were young, barely in their twenties, while others, like Alin, had been marked for years and already had several children.
But they all had one thing in common: when the officers stormed the passageway to arrest them, none of them resisted or tried to escape. They simply raised their arms in silent surrender.
No matter what the officers asked, they remained silent—not uttering a single syllable.
Like a row of lifeless, soulless dolls.
“Again, huh.”
As Luo Hai watched the arrested Omegas, Fanny sighed behind him. “It’s always the same. The Lightwing members we caught before were just like this. From the moment they were arrested, they turned mute, refusing to say another word until their deaths.”
“…Yeah,” Luo Hai said flatly. “Even the prosecution couldn’t get them to say a word, no matter what methods they tried.”
But that didn’t matter. This time, he was fully prepared. The raid had been a complete success.
People could stay silent. But other things could speak.
Luo Hai waved his hand, signaling the officers to take the Omegas away.
Like obedient lambs, the Omegas filed out of the passageway in silence. Luo Hai, meanwhile, turned his attention to the secret room’s interior. The Lightwing Society’s hideout was even more basic than he had expected—there wasn’t even a computer, just an old conference table, several bookshelves, a few chairs, and scattered notebooks.
Just then, Fanny’s voice came from behind him.
“Oh? Hey, kid, what are you doing here? The officers are working—go play somewhere else.”
Luo Hai turned around and saw the little girl in the red cotton jacket, the one he had met in the café earlier. She stood near the passageway entrance, biting her lip, her face on the verge of tears.
“What’s wrong?” Luo Hai walked over. “Still lost? Didn’t find the tourist center?”
The girl looked up at him, her confused eyes tinged with fear.
“Why did you take my mom away?”
Luo Hai froze. The other officers fell silent as well.
“You’re a good person,” the girl said, her voice trembling. “You gave me candy and helped me find my mom.”
“But why did you take her away?” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Did my mom do something bad?”
The secret room fell deathly quiet. Only the little girl’s clear, innocent voice echoed within.
Fanny was the first to react. She patted a nearby officer on the shoulder. “Take her outside. This isn’t a place for kids.”
Luo Hai watched in silence as the officer led the girl away.
If she had cried and struggled, it might have made things easier for the people in the room. But she didn’t. She was far too well-behaved.
From start to finish, she didn’t resist at all. She simply lowered her head and let the officer take her wherever they wanted.
The sun was hidden behind thickening clouds, leaving the windowless passageway in darkness—like a shadow cast over the city that would never see the light.
With all 14 Lightwing Society members in custody, the prosecution conducted a full search and seizure of the Clotho optic shop.
This time, the criminals had no chance to hide critical information or evidence. The prosecution not only discovered more member lists and the locations of other hideouts, but they also found detailed plans for the group’s next terrorist attack.
The success of this raid was unprecedented.
Not only had they arrested numerous terrorists, but they had also obtained crucial intelligence—enough to completely shift the prosecution’s previous disadvantage and put them ahead.
If they made full use of this information, wiping out the entire Lightwing Society was now just within reach.
By the time the search of the optic shop concluded, it was already past five in the afternoon.
The sun had sunk westward, its blood-red light filtering through the treetops and reflecting off the goddess statue, illuminating the fountain.
Throughout the day, more coins had gathered at the bottom of the pool. Tiny wishes shimmered in the rippling water, yet no one was there to grant them.
The officers chatted excitedly about the case, discussing the possibility that their months-long investigation into Lightwing might soon be concluded. Fanny sipped her coffee while going over the details of the operation with Colin.
Luo Hai walked at the back, glancing at his phone. The screen remained unchanged—a simple, clean wallpaper.
Normally, within an hour of leaving home, Eugene would have flooded his screen with messages. Asking if he was busy, what he wanted for dinner, or—if he was really bored—giving live updates on their apartment complex: which neighbor’s cat had fought with which neighbor’s dog, whose balcony had a swallow nesting on it, or which cloud in the sky looked like something delicious.
But that day, all day long, there had been nothing. No messages. No calls. Nothing at all.
Eugene was smart. He must have sensed something was wrong from the moment Luo Hai left the apartment that morning without a word.
So what had he been doing all day to pass the time?
The setting sun cast a golden glow over Luo Hai’s hair, making his eyelashes appear even longer than usual.
“…Eugene Oddis is nothing,” a police officer scoffed. “Back in my hometown, a guy like him wouldn’t even be able to get a wife. An Alpha hanging around with Omegas all day—shameless!”
“He should’ve been executed ages ago,” another officer chimed in. “Once we take down that pathetic organization of his, we won’t need to keep him around anymore!”
At the intersection, Luo Hai stopped and took out his car keys. “Thanks for today, everyone. I’m heading back now. If you need anything, you can find me in my office tomorrow morning.”
The officers immediately straightened up and saluted him. “Prosecutor Luo Hai, thank you for your hard work!”
Luo Hai got into the car. Just as he was about to close the door, Fanny called out to him.
“Uh… are you okay?”
Luo Hai looked up at her through the window, his expression calm. “What do you mean?”
The utter lack of emotion in his voice made Fanny hesitate. The words she wanted to say caught in her throat, and she could only shake her head.
Luo Hai rolled up the window. The car drove off, disappearing down the golden-leaf-covered road.
