Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Chapter 1301 Investigation

This unknown made Lin Yi feel uncomfortable, like walking in the dark and feeling something following behind you. You turn around and see nothing, but you know in your heart that something is there.

Lin Yi stood at the entrance of the jewelry store, watching the men in black suits stuff the last batch of square-dancing aunties into the van.

The sound of car doors closing echoed in the twilight, engines started, and the convoy drove along the street into the distance, their taillights leaving two dark red streaks in the twilight.

Peacock did not follow the convoy. She stood on the sidewalk across the street, her hands hanging at her sides, her gaze shifting back and forth between Lin Yi and Su Xiao.

Her lips moved a few times, as if she was organizing her thoughts, or as if she was hesitating whether to speak.

Lin Yi glanced at her, then turned and walked into the jewelry store.

Peacock took a deep breath, clearing the jumbled thoughts from her mind, then stepped across the street and stopped in front of the jewelry store.

She didn't dare to go in. Since Su Xiao hadn't told her to go in, she wasn't qualified to cross that threshold.

Bubuwang crawled out from behind the counter, squatted by the door, tilted his head to look at the peacock, then yawned, rested his chin on the threshold, and half-opened his eyes.

Peacock stood at the doorway, from which she could see Lin Yi sitting on a chair in the rest area, and Su Xiao standing behind the counter. On the coffee table between them was a pot of freshly brewed tea, with steam rising from the spout and forming a thin wisp of white smoke under the light.

Lin Yi picked up his teacup and took a sip. Su Xiao came out from behind the counter and sat down opposite Lin Yi.

He picked up the teapot and refilled Lin Yi's cup with water, then poured himself a cup as well.

Lin Yi gently rubbed his fingers along the rim of the teacup before taking his phone out of his pocket.

He opened his contact list, swiped his finger across the screen, found Yan Chen's name, and directly typed a text message and sent it.

The message was very short, just a few words: "Help me find someone."

He added a brief description and then clicked send.

The status of the text message changed from being sent to delivered, and then a few seconds later it changed to read.

The reply came quickly; Yan Chen only replied with two words: "Received."

Lin Yi didn't stop; he continued scrolling down the contact list and found the God Emperor's name.

He didn't send a text message; instead, he dialed the number directly.

The phone was answered after ringing twice, and the Emperor's voice came through the receiver with a hint of surprise.

"Doctor, what's the matter with me at this hour?"

"Help me find someone."

Lin Yi sent the same message, and the God Emperor didn't ask any questions, only saying "okay".

Next came representatives from various chambers of commerce, as well as Gulu and others from the guild.

He sent out text messages one by one, all with the same message—help me find someone.

The list of recipients was very long, and included some representatives whose names he himself could not quite remember.

He didn't care whether those people would reply or whether they were willing to help.

All he had to do was send out the message and let people know that he was looking for this person's whereabouts.

As for what they think and do, that's their business.

After sending the text message, Lin Yi put his phone on the coffee table, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

The tea had cooled down a bit, and the aroma of Tieguanyin was much weaker than when it was hot, with a slightly bitter taste.

About ten minutes later, Lin Yi's phone vibrated.

He picked it up and glanced at it; it was Yan Chen's reply.

"We have news. Blackblood has already set off."

After reading the message, Lin Yi put his phone back on the coffee table.

Sending out Black Blood indicates that Yan Chen has prioritized this person to the highest level.

The second reply came even faster; it was from the God Emperor, consisting of only one sentence: "We have already sent people to investigate."

Lin Yi didn't reply, but simply flipped his phone over and placed it face down on the coffee table.

Peacock was still standing at the door, her phone vibrating incessantly as messages poured in from her subordinates, each reporting the same thing—someone was inquiring about the thief's whereabouts, and those people were no ordinary individuals.

As she looked at the reports, cold sweat poured down her back.

The names that appeared in the text messages were all people she didn't want to provoke.

Peacock put her phone in her pocket, her fingers trembling, not from fear, but because she had finally realized something—Lin Yi's connections in the real world were far more terrifying than she had imagined.

Lin Yi was unwilling to take action before, not because he lacked the ability, but because he was too lazy to do so.

But things are different now. Someone is testing his limits, and he has turned this area upside down with just a slight move.

Peacock understood that since the person behind the thief dared to test Lin Yi in this way, it couldn't have been just to see how Lin Yi would respond; he must have a backup plan.

Peacock was unsure what the backup plan was, nor whether she could handle it.

But she was certain of one thing—if that person really dared to show up in Guangming City, Lin Yi and Su Xiao would definitely not stand idly by.

She dared not imagine what the city would become by then.

Within half an hour of sending the text message, messages began to come back one after another.

The first to make progress were the Chamber of Commerce's spies. These people had been operating in the underworld for many years, with eyes and ears everywhere, from high-end hotels to slums, from commercial centers to industrial zones. There was no place they couldn't get into.

Someone spotted a young man matching the description near an abandoned warehouse in the east of the city. He was thin, wearing a dark hoodie and a hat, and acting suspiciously.

After spotting the target, the Chamber of Commerce's spies did not alert the enemy; they simply followed from a distance while transmitting the location information back.

Yan Chen was at Mingmen's base when he received the message.

His phone vibrated, he picked it up, glanced at it, and then stood up from his chair.

The clown squatted on the chair, arms wrapped around his knees, his face covered in thick white paint, with two exaggerated red lines drawn at the corners of his mouth. He looked at Yan Chen's suddenly serious face and tilted his head.

"what happened?"

"Found it." Yan Chen put his phone in his pocket, turned and walked towards the door. "Call Black Blood, let's go."

The clown jumped off the chair and stepped barefoot onto the cold floor.

"Finally, I can move around a bit."

The three of them didn't bring anyone else, not because they didn't want to, but because they didn't need to.

The rules of Mingmen are very simple: if something can be handled by one person, never send two people; if something can be handled by three people, never use the entire organization.

It's not because they don't have enough manpower, but because having too many people would be a hindrance.

Yan Chen drove a black SUV through the streets at night.

Outside the car window, the city at night unfolded: neon lights flickered in the darkness, pedestrians hurried by, and traffic flowed endlessly—everything seemed normal.

Apart from the sound of the steering wheel turning and the deep rumble of the engine, there was no other sound in the car.

The clown crouched in the back seat, his arms wrapped around his knees, his chin resting on them. His face, covered in paint, flickered in and out of focus in the light from the car window, making him look like a corpse that had just crawled out of a grave.

Black Blood leaned back in the passenger seat, his right hand resting on the edge of the window, his fingers rhythmically tapping on the door panel, producing a dull thud.

The car stopped in an abandoned warehouse area in the east of the city.

This area was the industrial center of Guangming City more than a decade ago. Later, the factories moved away, leaving only dilapidated factory buildings and mountains of waste.

Most of the streetlights were out, with only a few still barely working, emitting a dim yellow light that cast faint patches of light on the ground.

The Chamber of Commerce's scout stood in the shadows of an abandoned factory building. When he saw Yan Chen's car stop, he stepped out of the shadows and quickly walked to the car window.

He bent down and lowered his voice.

"The person was inside, and never came out."

Yan Chen nodded, opened the car door, and got out.

He stood at the entrance of the abandoned factory, glancing up at the three-story building. Large sections of the exterior paint had peeled off, revealing the dark gray brickwork beneath. Most of the windows were shattered, and the few remaining panes were riddled with cracks, reflecting shimmering light under the lamplight.

The gate was made of sheet metal, covered in rust. The lock on the gate had been pried open, and the latch was hanging crookedly on the door latch.

Yan Chen pushed open the iron gate, and the rusty hinges emitted a piercing creak that echoed in the empty factory.

The factory was larger than he had expected, and the floor was made of cement, covered with a thick layer of dust.

Several abandoned machines lay scattered in a corner, covered in dust and cobwebs.

The lighting system had long been broken, with only the streetlights shining through the broken windows casting dim patches of light on the ground.

No one is on the first floor.

Yan Chen's boots made a dull sound as they stepped on the cement floor.

His gaze swept over the abandoned machines and finally landed at the far end of the first floor.

There was an iron staircase leading to the second floor, with rusty handrails and a layer of dust on the steps.

Black Blood followed behind Yan Chen, his footsteps even lighter than Yan Chen's. Clown walked at the back, his bare feet making no sound on the cement ground.

The three of them went up the stairs to the second floor.

The layout of the second floor was similar to that of the first floor: spacious, dilapidated, and covered in dust.

But there were some extra things on the second floor. In the corner were several sleeping bags, their zippers open, and no one was inside. Next to them were several empty instant noodle containers and a few mineral water bottles.

There were signs that someone had been on the second floor, but the person was no longer there.

Yan Chen squatted down and touched the inside of the sleeping bag with his hand; it felt icy cold.

He touched the edge of the instant noodle cup again; his fingers were covered in a layer of oil that had dried and was no longer sticky.

The person is gone; they left at least two hours ago.

"They got away." Yan Chen stood up and dusted off his hands. "Keep searching."

The three of them went up to the third floor. The third floor was smaller than the first and second floors, but it was more spacious.

There was nothing on the ground except dust, not even footprints.

Yan Chen stood by the window on the third floor, from which he could see the street outside.

Hei Xue raised his head and looked at Yan Chen, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

"He can't go far."

The three turned and went downstairs. The black SUV started up again in the night, and the roar of the engine echoed in the empty street.

The message reached the Chamber of Commerce's spies' terminals at the same time the SUV drove out of the abandoned warehouse area; someone had spotted the thief near an old residential area in the south of the city.

Yan Chen turned the car around, floored the accelerator, and the SUV left a black trail on the night street.

The old residential area in the south of the city is the last shantytown in Guangming City that has not been demolished. Most of the buildings here are brick-concrete structures from the 1970s and 1980s, and the paint on the exterior walls has long been peeling off.

The power lines crisscross overhead, forming a vast net, while the narrow, winding streets resemble a complex maze.

The thief was clever; he chose this area as his hiding place because he knew it had many alleys and forks in the road, making it easy for strangers to get lost.

But he underestimated the extent of the Chamber of Commerce's influence in the city.

The Chamber of Commerce also has spies in this area, and more than one.

Yan Chen parked the car outside the residential area, and the three of them walked in.

There were no streetlights in the streets and alleys; only the faint light shining from the windows of the houses cast blurry patches of light on the ground.

The air was filled with a damp, musty smell, and the cement road underfoot was uneven and covered with a thin layer of sewage.

The three walked deeper into the alley, the clown's pace quickening and his smile growing wider.

At the entrance of a six-story residential building, the clown stopped and looked up at the dark stairwell.

"On top."

Yan Chen nodded and walked into the stairwell first.

There were no lights in the stairwell; one could only discern directions by the faint light filtering through the gaps in the stairs.

The paint on the wall has peeled off in large areas, revealing the gray-black cement underneath.

The steps of the staircase have been worn smooth and shiny by the years, and they make a soft rustling sound when you step on them.

The sixth floor, the top floor.

There were four households in the corridor. The doors of three households were tightly closed, their iron gates covered in rust. Only the door of one household was ajar, with dim light shining through the crack.

Yan Chen walked to the door, didn't knock, and pushed it open to go inside.

Behind the door is a small room, about thirty square meters.

The floor was cement, without any tiles. Several woven bags and cardboard boxes were piled up in the corner, and a layer of newspaper was pasted on the window glass, completely blocking out the light.

There was only one cot in the room, covered with a thin mattress, and a person was sitting on the mattress.

The moment that person saw Yan Chen, their pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints.

He sprang up from the cot, kicked off the ground, and shrunk backward, his back hitting the wall with a dull thud.

His mouth opened as if he wanted to shout something, but the sound got stuck before it could even escape his throat.

Because he saw the clown crouching on the shoe rack by the door, his arms wrapped around his knees, his chin resting on his knees, his face covered in paint looking particularly eerie in the dim light.

His mouth parted to reveal two rows of neat teeth, and the red lip paint gleamed dimly under the light.

Yan Chen walked up to that person and looked down at him.

"May I have your name."

The man's throat moved, and his lips trembled several times before he managed to squeeze out a single word.

"Liu... Liu Yang."

Yan Chen looked down at the man and, judging from his clothes, the man's situation was not very good.

The cuffs of the coat were worn out, revealing the cotton wadding inside. There was also a patch on the knee of the pants, with crooked stitches, as if it had been sewn by the wearer himself.

Do you know why we're looking for you?

His voice was forced out of his throat, trembling slightly.

"I...I didn't steal anything. I haven't done anything lately. You must have the wrong person."

Yan Chen didn't answer, but took out his phone from his pocket, flipped to the photo, and pointed the screen at Liu Yang's face.

Do you know this person?

Liu Yang's expression changed instantly as he looked at the photo on the screen.

He had seen this man three days ago in an abandoned warehouse in the east of the city.

That night he spent the night in that abandoned warehouse. He was awakened in the middle of the night by a noise. When he opened his eyes, he saw a man squatting in the corner of the warehouse, holding a plastic bag and filling it with something.

He didn't make a sound, but pretended to be asleep, observing the man's every move through his slits.

The man stayed in the warehouse for less than ten minutes before leaving, locking the warehouse door again before he left.

Liu Yang waited until the sound of the man's footsteps faded away before he dared to get up. He walked to the spot where the man had been squatting and found a crumpled piece of paper on the ground.

The paper had an address written on it, which was the address of Lin Yi's traditional Chinese medicine clinic.

He didn't know why he didn't throw away the note. Maybe it was out of curiosity, maybe it was because he always felt that the person's behavior was a bit off, or maybe it was just because he forgot to throw it away.

The note was still in his pocket, crumpled and with frayed edges. (End of Chapter)