The clown quickly stripped down to his bare skin, while the woman deliberately acted shy, making alluring gestures on the bed but refusing to remove her clothes. Noticing that the clown still had makeup on his face, she was displeased and asked him to go to the bathroom and wash it off—otherwise, it would stick to her soon. The clown refused and simply launched himself at her. At that moment, Qin, the young man from outside, moved. He had just watched a live-action action film earlier and didn’t want to see another one. Due to the special nature of his mission, he had instructed Isabella to hide on the roof of the building across the way, so as not to witness anything inappropriate—what if she ended up with needle marks? A spell of immobilization slipped through the window and instantly rendered the two combatants, who were about to engage in a fierce confrontation, unable to control their bodies. The spell didn’t impair their thoughts, and the clown’s heart immediately leapt into his throat—he knew this time he had definitely encountered a true master. Qin Feng opened the window and stepped inside, delivering a sharp blow to the woman's nape; she would not wake up for at least until morning. As for the clown, he was kicked hard to the floor beneath the bed, then drenched head to toe with a bucket of icy water. The purpose was twofold: first, to help the other quickly break free from the immobilizing spell, and second, to wash off the paint on his face—since he had now made his appearance, what reason remained for him to hide any further? Yet the single bucket of water fell short of achieving the desired effect, so it was repeated. With several more buckets poured over him, not only did the paint vanish clean, but even the padding used to shape his facial features came loose and fell away. Ma Zhifei, a shrewd man, realized from the very first bucket of water that his identity had been revealed—his opponent had clearly come prepared. Though his body gradually regained sensation, he felt no urge to resist. First, I didn't even have any weapons at hand to resist. Second, I simply wasn't up to the task. "Then tell me, why did you choose to stay in this country?" asked Qin Dashi. Ma Zhifei was straightforward in his response. "The conditions here are not great, and there are frequent political upheavals and uprisings, but precisely because of that, it's safer. Also, this is a paradise for consumption—once you spend a modest amount, you can enjoy an exceptional level of comfort!" Qin Feng then asked his second question: "What is your exact relationship with the Guan family? What kind of collaborations have you had?" "By the Guan family, you mean Guan Li-jie, right?" he shrugged. "Actually, we don't have a particularly close relationship. Back then, when he needed intelligence on the head of state of a European country, he reached out to me. As for what happened afterward, it should be easy to find out—do you have your smartphone? Just go online and check the news from the date of XX month, XX year, and you'll see." Qi Da Shao didn’t mind if he played tricks, because first, it would be a waste of effort, and second, it would only lead to unnecessary hardships. He opened his phone and quickly found the top news story from that day: the head of state’s motorcade in Europe had been involved in a car accident, sustaining only minor injuries. It was reportedly linked to a certain European organization, and the head of state had announced he would suspend all cooperation with them and instead pursue partnerships with a major Chinese enterprise. That very enterprise—was quietly controlled by Guan’s family. Now the connection made sense. “And there’s more,” Qi Feng asked, “you and he must have had cooperation beyond this one instance, right?” Ma Zhifei’s expression changed—he felt it was time to negotiate. If he kept answering without pushing, he would surely be out of options. Moreover, the information he had to offer, though clearly valuable, didn’t seem to be particularly valued by the other party. Of course, he knew well that if he chose not to cooperate, he would die sooner. "Mr. Ma, I can tell you everything I know, but what benefit can I expect from this?" Ma Zhifei smiled. "How about this—tell me your identity first, so I can selectively share with you only the information that interests you!" "Ah, you're just trying to extract information from me, are you? Give up on that then." Qin the Young stepped on Ma's shoulder with force, saying, "I'm not interested in anything else—only in the Guan family. If you can satisfy me, I'll consider giving you a chance at survival. As for the messy things you know, I have absolutely no interest whatsoever. So don't even think of trading information for favors!" "Ma Zhifei cried out in pain, calling out, 'In fact, I've worked with Gu before—three years ago, to counter his political rivals, he asked me to leak information to a third party, and even fabricated rumors claiming that if this person took office, it would be detrimental to that third party nation. The third party believed him and sent assassins; the person eventually died in a car accident. In reality, the assassins merely wanted to cover their tracks. Gu's move was simply to strengthen his own position. After that person's death, Gu not only gained an opportunity but also secured quiet backing from the third party!' Qin Feng said coldly, 'Stop playing games with me—what's the third party? What's so interesting about all this? Just tell me, which country is this third party?' " "Ma Zhifei still wouldn't give up negotiating, saying, 'As long as you promise to set me free, I'll tell you everything. Otherwise, I'll never speak a word—don't doubt it. I'm a spy by training, and those so-called harsh treatments mean nothing to me!' 'Well, it depends on how much value your intelligence adds to my bargaining chips,' Qin Feng said coldly. Ma Zhifei smiled and replied, 'You can clearly see that you're not on good terms with the Guan family. Otherwise, why would you go so far as to gather evidence against them? I can guarantee you this intelligence is powerful enough to send someone to their death—and one that will never allow them to recover!' 'Alright,' Qin Feng said seriously, 'as long as what you say isn't just empty boasting, I'll release you.' Ma Zhifei was overjoyed inside—now it seemed his life was truly in play. He took a deep breath and said, "The so-called third party is actually the United States. You should know that over the years, the U.S. has treated the Chinese nation as its number one adversary. They pay close attention to not only who succeeds as leader, but also the character and approach of each candidate!" Qin Feng furrowed his brows: "So your point is, if the U.S. discovers that our new leader's policies and methods will affect their interests, they will take action, is that right?" Ma Zhifei nodded: "That's the consistent approach of the Americans. They establish advocates around the world and control the lifelines of many smaller nations. Of course, this doesn't work well against major powers, so they resort to other strategies." Qin Feng smiled—never expected Ma to be such a person. Once he's made himself aware of this matter, there's no way he'll have a good outcome. Ma Zhifei glanced around thoughtfully and said, "May I now be excused?"