Yan Yi relaxed when she saw Lin Ye. "Senior Brother, what are you doing here?"
Lin Ye's expression shifted slightly. "I was just passing by."
"What about you? What are you doing here? I thought your family didn't live around North Bank."
Yan Yi's expression shifted slightly as well.
"It's nothing. I heard from my father that there was an explosion here twenty years ago, but they never found the cause, so I came to take a look."
Lin Ye was taken aback. "An explosion twenty years ago? You're investigating it?"
He remembered that Yan Yi was only eighteen.
Yan Yi tilted her head. "Senior Brother, don't you know my dad works for the Police Department? And you even asked me that day why people from the Police Department had gone to the boxing hall."
Lin Ye gave an awkward smile. "I was just asking offhand, and you told me."
Yan Yi gave him an exasperated look. "So, Senior Brother, do you want to come with me? The person who provided the lead lives on the next street."
"Sure."
Lin Ye agreed.
The walls of the Dark Street in "Flowing Shadow: Dark Predator" bore large patches of fire damage.
Moreover, the urban legend of the Dark Predator had first appeared around twenty years ago. Could it be connected to the explosion from that time?
But twenty years had already passed. Why had they only picked up the investigation again now?
Could it have something to do with the cultists who had appeared recently?
Several West Continent-style villas stood beside a tree-lined path.
Compared to Huadu Music Mansion, this place was much quieter. There wasn't a soul in sight.
"I didn't expect to find a place like this on North Bank, too."
Lin Ye looked around as he spoke.
The economy of Coast City's North Bank was far behind that of South Bank, so a cluster of villas of this caliber seemed out of place here.
Yan Yi smiled. "North Bank only fell behind over the past few decades because the port was shut down. It used to be quite prosperous."
After walking a short while, the two of them arrived at a villa.
"Knock, knock."
Yan Yi stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Creak~~~" The villa door opened, revealing a voluptuous figure.
She had delicate features and looked to be in her early thirties. She wore nothing but a simple black skirt that hugged her figure perfectly.
"Miss Yan, I've been expecting you. Oh? And who is this?"
The beautiful woman smiled, her voice carrying a seductive lilt.
Yan Yi's expression turned serious as she looked at Lin Ye.
"Senior Brother Lin, this is Madam Zhu."
Lin Ye nodded and looked at Madam Zhu. "Hello, Madam."
Madam Zhu covered her mouth and giggled. "Calling me 'Madam' makes me sound old. I wouldn't mind if you called me Sister Zhu."
A few seconds passed. When neither of them reacted, her smile stiffened.
"Come on in and have a seat. Would you like black tea or green tea?"
"Just kidding. I only have coffee."
Once they were seated in the living room, Madam Zhu brought over an unfamiliar set of tools and began grinding coffee beans.
"Come to think of it, it's been twenty years. I never expected anyone to still remember."
Madam Zhu turned the stone grinder unhurriedly as she described what she had seen back then.
"That night, I vaguely heard a woman screaming, along with a child crying."
"Then there was an explosion, and the windows in my shop shattered."
"I was afraid something else might happen, so I hurried out through the back door. That's when I happened to see a group of mysterious people leaving."
"It's frightening when I think about it. They almost found me."
Madam Zhu ground the beans with a cheerful smile. Their fragrance wafted through the room, and she showed no sign of nervousness.
Yan Yi looked somewhat anxious. "A group of mysterious people? Why didn't you mention them in your statement back then?"
"Nobody asked me. They called me in to assist with the investigation that day, but before they even questioned me, they told me I could leave."
Madam Zhu cheerfully picked up a small brush and swept the coffee grounds into a glass container.
Yan Yi lowered her head, her expression unreadable.
After a while, she looked up. "Sorry for the trouble, Madam Zhu."
With that, she turned to Lin Ye. "Senior Brother, let's go."
Lin Ye raised a hand slightly to signal for her to wait, then looked at Madam Zhu.
"Madam Zhu, I remember there are rumors of a Dark Predator around here. Do you know if they started before or after the explosion?"
Yan Yi looked at Lin Ye in confusion, but didn't ask anything.
Madam Zhu stopped what she was doing and looked at Lin Ye, pretending to think.
"It must have been not long after the explosion. It was a frightening time. Nobody dared go out at night."
Lin Ye's eyes shifted slightly. "I see. Thanks for the trouble. We should be going."
"Aw~~ I just ground it. Have a cup before you leave~"
After they left Madam Zhu's place, Yan Yi kept her head down and didn't speak.
Lin Ye looked at her. "Why are you investigating this?"
The Police Department had already called her in to assist with the investigation, yet they'd let her go without even questioning her. The force behind that group of mysterious people was clearly no ordinary one.
After twenty years, it would be difficult to investigate any further.
Yan Yi stopped. After a few seconds of silence, she touched the scar on her neck and sighed.
"I suspect the people who injured my father belong to the same force as those behind the explosion."
"My father was in charge of the city's missing-person cases. He later discovered that the disappearances were closely connected to this explosion, and might have been the work of the same organization."
"But soon after, a group of mysterious people showed up and injured my father. They warned him to stop investigating the explosion."
"That's why I wanted to find out more."
As she spoke, she took a thumb-sized silver badge from her pocket. A relief of a moon wheel was engraved on its surface.
"This was torn off one of them the day my father was injured. One like it was listed among the evidence from the explosion, but it later went missing."
Lin Ye looked at the badge. It was made of silver and bore no distinctive markings. It was probably some kind of standardized badge.
But anyone who could make standardized badges out of a precious metal like silver had to be powerful.
"Their organization may be very influential. If you keep investigating, you'll have to do it discreetly."
"They may find out you came to Madam Zhu for information, too."
He knew about the missing-person cases, but they had taken place on South Bank.
He'd heard that nearly twenty people had gone missing, and the case had caused a huge stir. Some people said it was connected to the cultists who had recently entered the country.
But Yan Yi's father had been fine while investigating the disappearances. It was only after he became involved in this explosion that something had happened to him.
Clearly, the trouble behind the explosion was considerable—worse than the missing-person cases.
The attack on Yan Yi's father might have been a warning. Next time, they might try to kill him.
Yan Yi pressed her lips together. "I was already planning to stop investigating after asking my questions today."
"My father's injuries aren't too serious. He'll be fine after resting in the hospital for two months. It could've been worse."
Lin Ye nodded. He could see that Yan Yi was feeling down.
"When you aren't strong enough, keeping a low profile isn't something to be ashamed of."
"It's unwise to let a moment's impulsiveness ruin your chances of solving a problem when you could have succeeded."
"Sometimes, stepping back isn't running away. It's making sure you can claim the final victory."
Yan Yi lifted her eyes slightly and looked at Lin Ye, the streetlights reflected in her dark pupils.
"I understand, Senior Brother."
Outside the residential complex, Yan Yi stood by the car. "Senior Brother, shall I drive you back?"
Lin Ye shook his head. "No need. Be careful on the way."
After Yan Yi left, he summoned the Monument.
[Reach 50% exploration of "Flowing Shadow: Dark Predator" (30%)]
The exploration progress had jumped straight to 30%.
This meant the explosion had a lot to do with how "Flowing Shadow: Dark Predator" had come into being.
It was even possible that the explosion itself had been the original event behind it.
"Explosion... mysterious people... Moon Wheel Silver Badge... missing-person cases... Altar... cult..."
A week later, at the Whale-Kill Boxing Hall.
"Thud!"
"331 kg."
"Thud!"
"332 kg."
"Thud!"
"331 kg."
Looking at the readings on the punching power tester, Lin Ye calmly unwound the wraps from his hands.
Behind him, Yan Yi had paused while wrapping her hands, stunned.
Punching power above 330 kg—almost as much as her father had managed at his peak.
And her father had been stuck at the third level for over twenty years. He was a veteran among veteran third-level experts.
Although Spirit Thread Fist was less effective for body tempering, leaving her father on the weaker side among third-level fighters, his combat experience was certainly not lacking. If he hadn't been held back by the limitations of his family's martial art, he might have reached the fourth or even fifth level long ago.
Her father had talent. He'd just taken the wrong path at the start.
On the other side, Lei Long was dumbfounded too. He couldn't help swallowing.
Yan Yi might only know that it was impressive for Lin Ye to reach this level as a second-level fighter.
But he was the only one who understood just how impressive it was.
Probably only the Hall Master's three personal disciples had talent like this.
He shook his head. No, he couldn't count Senior Sister.
Senior Sister was simply too far beyond the norm to be classified as a genius. Only Proud Moon could describe her.
He stepped forward, smiling.
"Lin, your punching power meets the standard. Would you like to apply to take the boxing hall's formal disciple assessment?"
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