Madam Zhu, Moon Wheel Silver Badge

Yan Yi relaxed after seeing it was Lin Ye. "Senior brother, why are you here?"

Lin Ye's expression shifted slightly. "Just passing by."

"What about you? Why are you here? I recall your home isn't on this side of the North Bank, is it?"

Yan Yi's expression shifted as well.

"It's nothing. I heard from my father that an explosion occurred here twenty years ago, but the cause was never found, so I came to take a look."

Lin Ye was stunned upon hearing this. "An explosion from twenty years ago? You're investigating it?"

He remembered that Yan Yi was only eighteen, right?

Yan Yi tilted her head. "Senior brother, didn't you know my father works for the Police Department? And yet, you asked me that day why people from the Police Department went to the boxing gym?"

Lin Ye gave an awkward smile. "I was just asking casually that day, and you happened to say it."

Yan Yi rolled her eyes, feeling speechless. "Then, senior brother, would you like to accompany me? The person who can provide clues is on the next street over."

"Sure."

Lin Ye agreed.

There were large burn marks on the walls of the Dark Street inside the Flowing Shadow Predator.

Furthermore, the urban legend of the Dark Predator also appeared around twenty years ago; could it be related to this explosion from two decades ago?

But it had already been twenty years, so why pick it up again now?

Could it be related to the recent cultists?

Beside a tree-lined path, several villas in the West Continent style were situated.

Compared to the Huadu Music Mansion, this place seemed much quieter; not a single person could be seen.

"I didn't expect a place like this to exist on the North Bank."

Lin Ye looked around as he spoke.

The economy of the North Bank in Coast City was far inferior to the South Bank, and a villa complex of this caliber appearing here seemed quite abrupt.

Yan Yi smiled. "The North Bank only declined in the last few decades because the port closed; it was actually very prosperous in the past."

After walking for a short while, the two arrived in front of a villa.

"Knock, knock."

Yan Yi stepped forward to knock on the door.

"Creak—" The villa door opened, and a voluptuous figure appeared.

She had a beautiful face and looked to be just over thirty, wearing a simple black hip-hugging skirt that outlined her figure perfectly.

"Miss Yan, I've been waiting for a long time. Oh? And who is this?"

The beautiful woman spoke with a smile, her voice carrying a seductive quality.

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 chuckled. "Calling me Madam just makes me sound old. I wouldn't mind if you called me Sister Zhu."

After a few seconds, her smile stiffened as she looked at the two, who showed no reaction.

"Come in and sit down. Would you like black tea or green tea?"

"I'm just kidding, there's only coffee."

Walking into the living room to sit, Madam Zhu brought out a set of unfamiliar tools to grind coffee beans.

"Come to think of it, it has been twenty years. I didn't expect anyone to still remember it now."

Madam Zhu slowly turned the stone mill, recounting the scene she had witnessed back then.

"That night, I vaguely heard a woman's scream and a child's crying."

"Then there was an explosion, and the glass in my shop shattered."

"I was afraid of more trouble back then, so I quickly left through the back door, and as it happened, I saw a group of mysterious people leaving."

"It was truly terrifying; they almost discovered me."

Madam Zhu laughed heartily while grinding the stone mill, the aroma wafting out; one couldn't detect a hint of nervousness in her.

Yan Yi's expression was somewhat urgent. "A group of mysterious people? Why didn't you mention that in the case files from back then?"

"No one asked me at the time, did they? They had me go over to assist with the investigation, but before they even asked anything, they told me to leave."

Madam Zhu chuckled as she picked up a small brush to sweep the coffee grounds into a glass container.

Yan Yi lowered her head, her expression unreadable.

After a while, she looked up, "Sorry to trouble you, Madam Zhu."

Having said that, she looked at Lin Ye, "Senior brother, let's go."

Lin Ye raised his hand slightly, signaling her to wait a moment, then looked at Madam Zhu.

"Madam Zhu, I recall there being rumors of a Dark Predator in this vicinity. Do you happen to know if these rumors surfaced before or after the bombing?"

Yan Yi looked at Lin Ye with confusion upon hearing this, but she did not ask any questions.

Madam Zhu stopped what she was doing and looked at Lin Ye, appearing to be in deep thought.

"It must have been shortly after the bombing occurred. That period was quite terrifying; no one dared to go out at night."

Lin Ye's gaze flickered upon hearing this, "I see. Thank you for the trouble, we shall take our leave now."

"Eh~~ It's freshly ground, why not have a cup before you go~"

After leaving Madam Zhu's place, Yan Yi kept her head down and remained silent.

Lin Ye looked at her, "Why are you investigating this?"

They had already been summoned by the Police Department to assist in the investigation, only to be released before even being questioned; the power behind that group of mysterious individuals was clearly not simple.

Twenty years later, it was actually very difficult to continue the investigation.

Yan Yi stopped in her tracks, touched the scar on her neck after a few seconds of silence, and sighed.

"I suspect that the people who injured my father belong to the same faction as those behind the bombing."

"My father was previously in charge of the city's missing persons cases, and later discovered that the disappearances were closely linked to this bombing, possibly originating from the same organization."

"But soon after, a group of mysterious people appeared, injured my father, and warned him not to investigate this bombing any further."

"That is why I wanted to learn more."

As she spoke, she took a thumb-sized silver badge from her pocket, which featured a relief of a moon wheel on its surface.

"This was torn off one of them on the day my father was injured. There was once a badge like this among the evidence for the bombing, but it later went missing."

Lin Ye looked at the badge. It was made of silver and lacked any special markings, making it highly likely to be some form of standard-issue badge.

However, anyone capable of using a precious metal like silver to create standard-issue badges certainly had a significant background.

"Their influence is likely vast. If you intend to continue the investigation, you cannot keep it in the open."

"The fact that you came to ask Madam Zhu about the situation might already be known to them."

He knew about the missing persons cases, though they had occurred on the South Bank.

It was said that nearly twenty people had gone missing, causing a major stir, with some claiming it was related to the entry of cultists this time.

But Yan Yi's father had been fine while investigating the missing persons cases; it was only when he became involved with this bombing that an accident occurred.

It was obvious that the trouble behind this bombing was immense, far greater than the trouble surrounding the missing persons cases.

Injuring Yan Yi's father this time was likely just a warning; next time, they might go for the kill.

Yan Yi pressed her lips together, "I had originally intended to stop investigating after asking today."

"My father's injuries aren't too severe; he will recover after two months of rest in the hospital. It's not that bad."

Lin Ye nodded, noticing Yan Yi's low spirits.

"When your strength is insufficient, temporarily avoiding the edge of the blade is not a shameful thing."

"To have the opportunity to solve a problem but fail due to a moment of impulse—that is what is unwise."

"Sometimes, retreating is not an act of cowardice, but a way to ensure you can secure the final victory."

Yan Yi lifted her eyes slightly to look at Lin Ye, her black pupils reflecting the streetlights.

"I understand, senior brother."

After exiting the residential complex, Yan Yi stood in front of her car, "Senior brother, shall I drive you back?"

Lin Ye shook his head, "No need, stay safe on the road."

After Yan Yi left, he summoned the Monument.

[Exploration of "Flowing Shadow · Dark Predator" has reached over 50% (30%)]

The exploration progress had climbed directly to 30%.

This indicated that the formation of "Flowing Shadow · Dark Predator" was deeply connected to this bombing.

It was even possible that this bombing was the prototype event for its formation.

"Bombing... mysterious people... Moon Wheel Silver Badge... missing persons cases... Altar... cult..."

*

*

*

One week later, the Whale-Kill Boxing Hall lobby.

"Bang!"

"331kg."

"Bang!"

"332kg."

"Bang!"

"331kg."

Looking at the data on the punch force tester in front of him, Lin Ye gently unwound the hand wraps from his hands.

Behind him, Yan Yi, who was in the middle of wrapping her own hands, was somewhat stunned.

A punch force exceeding 330kg was almost catching up to her father's peak performance.

Yet her father had been stuck at the third level for over twenty years; he was a veteran among veterans of the third-level experts.

Although the body-tempering effects of the Spirit Thread Fist were somewhat inferior, causing her father's strength to be considered mediocre among those at the third level.

His combat experience was definitely not lacking, and if it weren't for the shackles of their family's martial arts, he might have already broken through to the fourth or even fifth level!

Her father's talent wasn't actually bad; he had just started down the wrong path.

On the other side, Lei Long was also a bit dazed and couldn't help but swallow hard.

Yan Yi might only know that Lin Ye reaching this point at the second level was impressive.

But only he understood exactly how impressive this level of talent truly was.

He estimated that only the three direct disciples of the Hall Master could possess such talent.

He shook his head; he couldn't count the Senior Sister.

The Senior Sister was simply too far beyond the norm; she could no longer be categorized as a mere genius, as only the term Proud Moon could describe her.

Taking a few steps forward, a smile appeared on his face.

"Student Lin, your punch force level has already met the standard. Would you like to apply for the official disciple examination of the martial arts hall?"