Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Chapter 14 Doubt

This was the first time Li Yelai had ever worn a suit. His already handsome face, paired with the sharp black suit, made him look refined and charming.

At home, even Li Yunyan, who never says nice things, gave a positive evaluation: "As expected of my brother, his looks are second only to mine."

But this handsome guy, holding up a huge black parasol, looks rather odd.

This caused passersby who wanted to strike up a conversation to back down.

Upon seeing this strange attire, the old butler was filled with utter astonishment.

But he was very professional and almost immediately regained his composure.

He said gently, "Detective Zhou, your companion's attire is quite peculiar."

The detective noticed the fleeting expression on the butler's face and, while keeping an eye on things, guessed what Li Yelai was thinking.

This guy is planning to bring his psionic weapons in with him!
So the detective promptly made up a story: "He's a bit fussy and can't stand being in the sun. You've met psionicists before, so you should know that everyone's situation is different."

Upon hearing this, Li Yelai could only nod: "Indeed, I'm being pretentious!"

The old butler smiled and nodded, seemingly agreeing with their assessment. After all, psychics were known to be susceptible to curses.

He then invited Li Yelai and the detective to get into his car, and personally took off Li Yelai's umbrella as he got in.

The black sedan then sped along, quickly passing through the old town and the surrounding area. As dusk fell, it arrived at the new town.

The eastern part of the border city is divided into four districts.

From the outside in, they are the old city, the surrounding city, the new city, and the upper city.

Li Yelai lived in the old city area closest to the high walls. He could only afford the rent there.

After becoming a psionicist and joining the official organization, his goal is to buy a house in the surrounding city. He has already saved 1/20 of that amount.

The new urban area is far from the high walls, with mountains and water, but it is not desolate.

Unlike the high-rise buildings of the Upper East Side, this area boasts beautiful scenery and is a favorite among the wealthy. Therefore, most of the buildings here are manors or villas. Some are even relics from the pre-apocalyptic era.

Li Yelai didn't even dare to think about the housing prices here. They were at least seven figures in Giant City Currency.

Actually, surviving in a giant city isn't difficult. The challenge lies in improving one's quality of life.

Like Li Yelai before him, although life was tough, he could still rely on his parents' inheritance and his own hard work to support his younger sister's education, rent, and daily expenses.

But saving any money is quite difficult, let alone buying a house or a car.

Soon, the vehicle drove into a rather large estate and came to a smooth stop in front of a three-story Gothic mansion. Several other vehicles were already parked around it, mostly sedans, with a few sports cars. Clearly, there were many guests, and all of them were wealthy.

Seeing this, Li Yelai couldn't help but complain in his heart, "It can only be driven within the giant city; it will be damaged if it goes outside the city!"

This is the location for this 'side job'.

It is said to be a building from the pre-apocalyptic era, and its annual maintenance and repair costs are in the six figures.

No wonder they can hire psychics at high prices.

Thinking to himself, Li Yelai, holding his large black umbrella, checked the jet axe hidden under his suit behind him before getting out of the car with the detective.

"The banquet has already begun. Please go and have something to eat. Today is the patriarch's birthday, and there are many guests. The patriarch will probably be able to see you later." The old butler smiled and said, "This is also an opportunity for you two."

"Okay, thank you. We'll do it ourselves, you can go ahead with your work," the detective replied with a smile.

Then, he pulled Li Yelai into the lobby on the first floor and leaned Li Yelai's black umbrella against the wall.

"What opportunity does he mean?" Li Yelai did not refuse. A banquet was being held in the hall, and the guests were dressed in their finest clothes, clinking glasses and making a lively scene. He was indeed quite conspicuous carrying a black umbrella.

"Oh, he means that the people who can come here are all of high status. If we're planning to take on private jobs, these people are all potential clients," the detective explained.

"Understood." Li Yelai nodded. Then, imitating the detective, he picked up a plate and went to the long table to get some food. He listened as the detective explained the case.

"This patriarch's name is Wang De, and he was once a prominent figure in the giant city. He was originally born a scavenger."

"A scavenger? He actually managed to do this?" Li Yelai was somewhat surprised.

Scavengers, as the name suggests, are a group of people who leave the big city and search for valuables in abandoned cities in the wilderness.

Due to the sudden arrival of the calamity, many people in the cities were swallowed up by the disastrous fog. The entire city was transformed into a no-man's-land. The wealth within became the target of scavengers.

Many scavengers follow one after another in order to find valuable treasures and thus make a fortune.

But the wilderness is not safe; leaving the great city is tantamount to leaving civilized society.

Dangerous wild beasts, ferocious bandits, or even scavenging teammates with ulterior motives could all pose a danger!

Those who are unlucky may even be swallowed up by the occasional shifting fog of disaster.

Now that Li Yelai has learned the truth about the calamity, he knows that scavengers may encounter those victims or monsters from the virtual realm.

Therefore, scavengers face significant risks.

Of these, very few people actually manage to earn high returns and turn their lives around.

It seems that this employer is one of them.

To achieve this level of success, one has to admit that one has very good luck.

Li Yelai was replaced as a scavenger. Heh, Li Yelai wasn't surprised at all when the disaster fog suddenly appeared on his face.

Luck, luck!
Li Yelai looked on with envy and reached for a piece of roasted meat, but someone else snatched it away first. Li Yelai only caught a glimpse of the other person's slender arm out of the corner of his eye.

Li Yelai didn't pay attention and instead picked up a chicken leg.

The detective continued, "He was very lucky. With the resources and some technological blueprints he brought back, he achieved a promotion in one fell swoop. Afterward, he settled in Border City No. 3 and started a business. From then on, he developed rapidly and became one of the wealthiest merchants in the border city, and his family also expanded and became very large."

The chicken leg that Li Ye had his eye on was snatched away by someone else, so he had to move a few steps to grab the steak.

“But all of this seems to have changed. Since ten years ago, every year around this time, which is around the end of September, their family members would…” The detective gestured to Li Yelai.

Li Yelai, whose steak had been snatched away again, finally looked up.

He then saw a short-haired girl in a dark red strapless evening dress standing next to him, holding a steak between her legs.

The gown accentuated her stunning figure, making her bare shoulders and arms appear even whiter against the backdrop of the dress. The sheer fabric of the skirt concealed her legs. Her delicate face, adorned with light makeup, now carried a hint of mockery.

"You've finally looked up," the girl laughed, handing her plate to Li Yelai. "How many times do I have to snatch it from you before you realize it?"

Li Yelai looked the girl over for a while before recognizing her as cheese.

Cheese always wore oversized hoodies, which she said was to make her look thinner.

At this moment, dressed in an evening gown, she exuded a stunning charm. Many male guests' eyes lingered on her from time to time.

The contrast was so striking that Li Yelai almost didn't recognize him.

"What are you doing here?" Li Yelai asked, somewhat surprised. Didn't Cheese say before that he wasn't planning on taking on side jobs?

"My uncle has business dealings here, so he brought me here for a free meal." Cheese looked Li Yelai up and down, nodding in approval: "You look pretty handsome."

Li Yelai then retorted, "No wonder you looked like a rich woman admiring male models before. So you really are a rich woman, huh?"

Cheese lifted her skirt, revealing her calves, and said, "Now you know, do you want to cling to my coattails?"

At this moment, a middle-aged man approached and asked, "Xiaoya, is this your friend?"

As he spoke, he looked Li Yelai and the detective up and down, and finally looked at Li Yelai with a scrutinizing gaze.

This must be Cheese's uncle.

“He’s my colleague, and this is my teammate,” Cheese said calmly. The middle-aged man’s expression changed slightly, clearly understanding what “colleague” meant.

A look of sadness crossed his face: "Teammate, come visit me sometime."

Cheese suddenly seemed to remember something and immediately said to the middle-aged man, "Uncle, quickly park our car further away."

The middle-aged man was taken aback: "What? It'll be stolen?"

Cheese replied with a serious expression, "It'll explode!"

So, the middle-aged man, filled with suspicion and uncertainty, quickly left the hall.

Li Yelai fell silent for a moment. He sensed that the cheese was a metaphorical reference!
unacceptable!

"Ahem!" Cheese changed the subject: "I didn't expect your side hustles were actually here. Where were we?"

"Do you want to participate in the case?" the detective asked.

“No, but I’m going to listen.” Cheese replied, “I really didn’t know there was such a thing inside the Wang Group.”

“Alright.” The detective nodded, glancing around to make sure no one was approaching before whispering, “Since ten years ago, every year in late September, a member of this family has inevitably died.”

“Every year? Then why didn’t they try to call the police?” Li Yelai asked while eating barbecue.

“Yes, but we had no leads.” The detective shook his head. “The killer left no clues. And many cases seemed more like accidents. A car with the handbrake off lost control and ran someone over; an icicle smashed through someone’s skull; an elevator suddenly collapsed as it was going up.”

"This is somewhat similar to my bad luck." Li Yelai frowned. If that's the case, was it misfortune that killed them?
"But they did find the killer, but they couldn't catch him no matter what they did."

"They haven't contacted the Disaster Management Department?" Cheese replied, taking a sip of juice.

“No, they seem to have some kind of secret they don’t want the outside world to know,” the detective said. “And now, it’s been ten years. Few of their important family members remain. In order to find the real culprit as soon as possible, they’ve finally decided to hire a psychic.”

Cheese nodded slightly. In the homes of the wealthy, there are often things that cannot be seen by others. Rather than having the processing department handle it directly, hiring a psionicist privately is more confidential.

However, if they come into contact with forbidden items, psychics, or related events, even if it's a private hiring, the authorities will find out.

Li Yelai then asked, "So our mission is actually to find and capture the killer before they act?"

“If we can solve this problem, they’re willing to pay more. If we fail, our members die, and we don’t catch anyone, then we’ll only get the deposit, which is 100,000 Giant City Coins.” The detective replied, “It’s possible they’ve also hired other wild psychics.”

"The deposit is quite generous," Li Yelai nodded.

"Did they reveal any of their hidden secrets to you?" Cheese asked.

“No, but I learned something from my conversations with those family members. It’s said that their family’s rapid rise to prominence was due to the help they received from someone. The two sides reached some kind of agreement. But after the family rose to power, they unilaterally broke the agreement. I suspect that person is retaliating against them.” The detective continued, “Furthermore, based on the old butler’s expression when he first looked at Night General, the other person might have some similarities to Night General.”

As he spoke, he explained the fleeting look that had crossed the old butler's face earlier.

As a detective, his professional skills are commendable.

"Me?" Li Yelai pondered, "Does it refer to that black umbrella?"

“Yes, my analysis shows that the person who made the deal with the old patriarch was also carrying a black umbrella or some other type of umbrella.” The detective nodded. “Therefore, we need to keep an eye out for people carrying umbrellas around us.”

“Currently, there are still five important members of the family. The killer’s target is one of them.” As he spoke, the detective pointed to a middle-aged man in the distance.

The man was dressed smartly, with a rosy complexion, showing no signs of being chased. He was even drinking and clinking glasses with several people.

“That’s Wang De’s second son,” the detective said. “In fact, he’s the one who has benefited the most from all of this. His brother, the eldest son, went missing in the wilderness a few years ago, and when he was found, he was only half a body. The rest of the capable ones are almost all gone. Once Wang De himself dies, he will be the heir to the family throne.”

“Oh, then it could also be an internal family struggle,” Cheese replied. “That’s one possibility, isn’t it?”

“Indeed, so apart from Wang De himself, the other four are all suspects.” The detective responded, “I even think there is more than one murderer.”

"Suddenly it went from suspense to palace intrigue, and you can fight it all!" Cheese complained.

At this moment, the middle-aged man seemed to notice Li Yelai and the others, or rather, he noticed the cheese?
Anyway, his eyes lit up, and he walked over with a smile, holding the drinks.

"Holy crap, is the classic pickup line about to begin?" Li Yelai chuckled.

Cheese laughed: "He's bisexual, are you sure you're here to see me?"

Cheese isn't afraid of being approached; as a whispered path, she only needs one sentence to make the other person run naked on the spot.

Li Yelai's smile froze instantly.

Because the middle-aged man was raising his glass to him from afar, saying, "Young man, you..."

However, the next second, a subtle sensation suddenly came from above.

The two bodyguards behind the middle-aged man stiffened, while Li Yelai slightly raised his head.

Then they saw the antique chandelier on the ceiling suddenly fall down towards the middle-aged man!
'Damn, this feels so familiar.'

(End of this chapter)