Long River Eternity

Wei Wu walked to the door and frowned slightly as he said, "Isn't the East District quite far? Do you want to go back and say hello to Xianxian?"

"Forget it, just go ahead and don't disturb them from practicing." Lin Ding shook his head and said.

"Then how do we go now? Take the bus?" Wei Wu looked around, trying to find a nearby bus stop.

"No, that's too slow." Lin Ding thought for a moment, a flash of inspiration in his eyes. "I heard the owner of the late-night snack shop yesterday say that there are special cars in the city called taxis that can quickly take people to their destinations. It's a unique mode of transportation in Zhongzhou City, but the price is a bit high."

As he was looking around, his eyes suddenly lit up. A car was approaching in the distance, with a "Vacant" sign hanging under the windshield. It looked exactly like the taxi his boss had described. He excitedly raised his hand and waved, and to his surprise, the car stopped in front of them.

The two quickly jumped into the car. Lin Ding handed the address the guard had given him to the driver and told him his destination. The driver looked at the address, started the car, and said with a smile, "Oh, to the East District? It's quite far. You don't look like locals. The East District was recently invaded by monsters and has been severely damaged. There's nothing much to see."

"Well, we are from Nanzhou and came here specifically to look for someone." Lin Ding replied

"I remember the place you mentioned was severely damaged when the monsters invaded. I'm afraid we may not be able to find anyone there." The driver reminded, with a hint of worry in his tone.

"We just want to find a reporter and ask him for clues about the person we are looking for," Lin Ding explained.

"Oh." The driver nodded.

At this time, Wei Wu interrupted and asked, "Brother, how much do you charge for this car?"

"The first five kilometers are 10 yuan, and after that, each kilometer is 5 yuan. Your trip will probably cost more than 100 yuan." The driver replied.

"It's really not cheap." Wei Wu said with concern.

"Of course, this is a unique treatment for Zhongzhou City! In other places, only leaders are qualified to ride in this kind of car. Ordinary people can only squeeze into the bus. Some small cities don't even have buses. Zhongzhou City has such a large flow of people, so they specially opened a taxi business." The driver said proudly, as if he was proud of the prosperity of his hometown.

As the group chatted, the car slowly drove into the East District. The scenery along the way began to desolate. Pedestrians were few and far between, and workers were busy repairing damaged houses. While the surroundings weren't completely ruined, they showed obvious signs of damage. The exterior walls of the buildings were covered in claw marks left by demonic beasts, a chilling sight.

There were still many bloodstains on the road that had not been cleaned up. When passing a square, one could even see several piles of monster corpses piled together. The remaining terrifying aura made people feel frightened.

As we got closer to our destination, the city became more and more dilapidated. Several buildings were left with only half of their buildings standing alone. The road was covered with deep footprints, and the speed of the car slowed down significantly.

Another ten minutes passed, and the road ahead was completely impassable. The driver said helplessly, "Sorry, we can only drive here. The road ahead is too badly damaged and the car can't pass. Just follow this road for a few hundred meters and you will reach your destination."

Lin Ding thanked him, paid the fare, and then he and Wei Wu got out of the car and headed towards their destination. They were near the edge of Zhongzhou City, and the surrounding area was practically in ruins. He imagined how horrifying the invasion must have been. A heavy feeling welled up in his heart, and Lin Ding silently prayed that they could find the reporter and get some useful information.

Wei Wu looked at the scene before him, which was empty except for the construction and cleaning workers, and saw no passersby or residents. He frowned and said, "It's become like this. Even the locals can't find the address, right?"

Lin Ding looked around, then smiled and said, "The purpose of our coming here is to find Chu Tianxiao. It doesn't matter whether we can find the address or not."

After saying that, he walked in one direction. Not far away, there was a young man in a black windbreaker, rummaging through the ruins. Although he was as dusty and dirty as the surrounding workers, a closer look revealed that he had fair skin, a thin figure, and a strong scholarly air. He was very different from the surrounding workers.

Lin Ding walked up to the man and said with a smile, "Hello. You must be reporter Chu Tianxiaochu, right?"

Chu Tianxiao originally thought that the person who came in front of him was just a worker working nearby. When he heard someone calling his name, he looked up.

Chu Tianxiao looked at Lin Ding and the other two with suspicion. After confirming that he didn't know them, he asked, "Who are you?"

"I am the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lin Tiansheng. I saw your report in the last issue of Zhongzhou Monthly, so I came to you to ask about my parents' disappearance." Lin Ding said straight to the point.

When Chu Tianxiao heard that Lin Ding was Lin Tiansheng's son, he showed a suspicious and cautious expression and asked, "You said you are Dr. Lin's son? How do you prove it?"

Lin Ding was stunned by Chu Tianxiao's question, and then asked in disbelief: "I came to find my parents, and I still need to prove that I am their son? How do you want me to prove it?"

Chu Tianxiao sneered disdainfully, "Recently, many people have come to me, claiming to be relatives of Dr. Lin and his wife. Other relatives are fine, but you actually claim to be their son. As far as I know, their son is currently attending school in the distant Nanshan City. Due to physical issues, his cultivation level is low. Furthermore, with Dr. Lin's income, it would be difficult for him to afford the travel expenses from Nanshan City to Zhongzhou City. Tell me, if you are their son, how did you end up here?"

Hearing Chu Tianxiao say that many people have been pretending to be relatives of his parents recently, Lin Ding couldn't help but feel even more anxious, thinking that there must be other hidden reasons behind his parents' disappearance.

But after listening to Chu Tianxiao's reasoning, Lin Ding was speechless, because there was nothing wrong with what he said. Under normal circumstances, it was indeed impossible for him to appear in Zhongzhou City, but telling about all the coincidences along the way might make people think that he was lying. Moreover, it contained too many secrets that could not be told to outsiders and could not be said at all.

Originally, he thought that by finding Chu Tianxiao, he could get some clues about his parents' disappearance, but he didn't expect Chu Tianxiao to be so cautious. This made Lin Ding stand there for a while, not knowing what to do.

Lin Ding fumbled around for a while, then pulled out his bus ticket and said, "Look, this is the ticket we took from Nanzhou City. It proves that I came from Nanzhou, right?"

Chu Tianxiao sneered: "I can pick up ten or eight tickets like this on the ground at the train station. What does that mean?"

Lin Ding choked for a moment, then took out his ID card and student ID card and said, "Does this prove my identity?"

Chu Tianxiao looked at it and said, "I haven't seen a student ID card from Nanshan City, so who knows if it's real or fake? As for the ID card, it's not difficult to make a fake one."

Wei Wu was the first to lose patience. With one punch, he smashed the remaining half of the wall beside him into pieces. Then he grabbed Chu Tianxiao by the collar and lifted him up in front of him like a chicken, saying viciously, "No, no, no. This is the first time I've heard of someone claiming a father and needing proof. Tell me how you can prove that Lin Ding is Uncle Lin's son."

Chu Tianxiao was held high in the air by Wei Wuju, showing no fear at all. He spread his hands and said, "I don't care. As long as you can provide evidence that can convince me, I will believe you. Also, this is Zhongzhou City. Even Tianquan Realm warriors don't dare to take action in the city. Don't be impulsive when you are young."

As expected of a reporter, just a few words made Wei Wu clench his fists and stare blankly, with no way out.

"Wei Wu, put reporter Chu down. He did nothing wrong. I'll think of another way." Lin Ding said. He knew that Chu Tianxiao was being so cautious because he was protecting his parents and he had done nothing wrong. It was just that this method gave him a headache.

At this moment, Yang An's voice rang in Lin Ding's mind: "Put your finger between his eyebrows. I have a way."

Lin Ding was delighted when he heard Yang An's words. If Yang An was willing to make a move, then there would definitely be no problem. At this moment, Wei Wu had just put Chu Tianxiao back on the ground. Lin Ding came in front of Chu Tianxiao and raised his finger to point at his brow. Chu Tianxiao saw Lin Ding's hand pointing at his brow, thinking that Lin Ding really dared to make a move, and subconsciously tried to dodge. However, the moment the finger touched his brow, Chu Tianxiao froze in his place.

A few seconds later, Yang An's voice sounded again: "Okay."

Lin Ding withdrew his finger, and Chu Tianxiao also came back to his senses at the same time. He looked at Lin Ding in surprise: "Are you really Dr. Lin's son? What did you do to me just now?"