ebookland Chapter 335 The New Generation
Chapter 335 The New Generation
Yan Xun's words made his fiancée fall into deep thought. After thinking carefully for a while, she told Yan Xun, "In the week before he disappeared, he often had nightmares."
She looked at Yan Xun uncertainly, "Is this considered a special action?"
“Of course,” Yan Xun said. “Many people have said that they received inspiration in their dreams.”
Yan Xun's affirmative answer prompted her to continue, "Last month, he locked himself in his study, saying he lacked inspiration."
“But in the days before he disappeared, he was sometimes excited and sometimes terrified, and he lost his appetite for the foods he used to like.” She added to Yan Xun, “Oh, and he also vomited frequently.”
“We all heard him vomiting,” she told Yan Xun.
This is very similar to Koy's symptoms, Yan Xun thought.
Did he say anything when he was excited and apprehensive?
“He said he had received endless inspiration and divine revelation,” she said. “But soon he would become depressed and say that this was punishment.”
What does "punishment" refer to?
His fiancée shook her head. "I don't know."
"It's just that his emotions kept switching between them."
Yan Xun thought that if this were a normal copy, he could give a scientific explanation, but this copy had "mysterious phenomena," so he could only explain it as being possessed by an evil spirit.
"...Now that I think about it, maybe it's related to his pregnancy?" the fiancée said uncertainly.
"When he disappeared, there were no reports of men getting pregnant in the city."
“He must have thought something strange had happened to him and was worried that I would show any unusual emotions, so he kept it from me.” She said, a slightly pained expression on her face. “He should have told me and my brother.”
"Brother?"
The fiancée was surprised to find that Yan Xun had no idea who her brother was.
“Conrad,” Levy began, “her brother is Conrad.”
No wonder she was so agitated when she suspected her fiancé's friend was involved, Yan Xun thought.
“Yes.” His fiancée nodded. “If he discusses this with us, we won’t find it strange, nor will we look at him with any odd eyes.”
At that time, Conrad had not yet grown wings, and there were no winged people or pregnant women in the city. Yan Xun did not know whether to marvel at the greatness of love or something else, so he could only remain silent.
“That’s strange,” Yan Xun said again. “If your fiancé doesn’t know any other friends, why would he be gathered in the forest with people?”
How did they communicate?
"Are you planning to go somewhere together?"
"Or are you planning to spend your whole life in the forest?"
“Perhaps the tents are occupied by other pregnant women,” the fiancée said. “They came into the forest because they were worried about being stared at.”
“After all, the only place to hide outside the city is that forest that few people go to.” She glanced at Levi. “If it weren’t for finding him, I wouldn’t have thought there was a farm on the edge of the forest.”
“It is indeed a bit remote,” Levy said.
"Did you see a cornfield before you went to the farm?" Yan Xun asked again.
“You mean the one with the scarecrow?” she asked. “I met the owners of the house next to the cornfield; they were a very kind old couple.” She said nostalgically, “I’ll visit them again if I have the time.”
"That's a pity," Yan Xun said.
His fiancée looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“The husband of that elderly couple is dead,” he told his fiancée.
"How could that be?" she asked instinctively.
“He grew wings,” Yan Xun said. “Just like your brother, but unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to have made it.”
“We were originally planning to contact Conrad,” he told her. “Could you please pass on the message?”
“We suspect his wife also grew wings and came to the city.” He looked at his fiancée. “Perhaps your brother has some news?”
“I have heard that the New Generation is willing to accept those who have been given a new life, and also willing to accept those who want to follow this religion.”
She looked a little hesitant, glancing back and forth between Yan Xun and Levi, before finally relenting, "I will help you with the introductions."
"But he may not have time to see you."
“Ever since he grew wings and the news of establishing a new sect came out, he has received far too much criticism,” she said to Yan Xun and the other man. “But now that you’ve discovered…”
"I think I can give it a try."
She asked them to leave their address, and if possible, she would have the maid deliver invitations to them.
"Then please deliver it to this factory." Yan Xun gave the address of the Koi factory.
She had obviously heard of that factory; she looked Yan Xun up and down, seemingly wondering about his connection to that organization.
Yan Xun knew he couldn't get any more information from her, so he and Levi got up to say goodbye.
The maid came to see the two off.
"Are they very close?" Yan Xun noticed some photos of the two of them together in the corridor.
“Of course,” the maid said. “They love each other deeply.”
Yan Xun remained noncommittal, simply shrugged, and left the house with Levi.
This street was noticeably quieter than their neighborhood. "You didn't tell her about your office," Levy began. "What were you worried about?"
“Obviously,” Yan Xun said.
They had moved far from the house and reached the riverbank. They walked along the path by the river. "I suspect there's more to that man's death than meets the eye."
Realizing the ambiguity in his statement, he added, "What I mean is, perhaps his pregnancy is not a coincidence."
"Why?" Levi asked.
“At first, she acted as if she knew nothing, neither that her fiancé was hiding in that forest nor that he was pregnant,” Yan Xun said. “But when we mentioned those tents, she could say without hesitation that those tents belonged to those who had suddenly become pregnant.”
"She had no idea that countless similar corpses had appeared outside the farm, all with their stomachs opened and their contents spilling out."
"Before we mentioned the pregnancy, she immediately concluded that her fiancé had no friends and it was impossible for him to have made an appointment to leave with someone; his behavior was unpredictable."
"But when we mentioned her fiancé's pregnancy and brought up the surrounding tents again, her first reaction was that those tents belonged to people who, like her fiancé, had suddenly become pregnant."
"Why not someone who likes camping in the forest?"
"Or perhaps they're doing field research or hunting?"
Yan Xun said, "She knew there was a forest outside the city that few people went to, but she didn't know there was a farm there."
Yan Xun even suspected that she was the one who revealed to her fiancé the information about the forest outside the city that was suitable for Tibetans.
“They entered the forest from another entrance, but soon discovered that there was another farm on the other side of the forest,” Yan Xun said. “She may have been to that tent and campsite, and after learning from her fiancé that there was a farm on the other side, she came here specifically to look for it.”
"To show that you have no idea your fiancé is missing."
Yan Xun thought for a moment, "She probably isn't sure what will happen after she gets pregnant. If her fiancé doesn't die in the forest, she has other backup plans."
"So that's why you didn't tell her where the office was?" Levi asked.
“It’s just for verification,” Yan Xun said. “The best-case scenario, of course, is that she is innocent and that she helped us contact Conrad through the factory.”
“In the worst-case scenario, she still found out the office address without me giving her the exact address,” Yan Xun told Levy. “That only means she used other methods to investigate us.”
The factory they visited belonged to the Koi organization. She knew who the factory belonged to just by hearing the name, so she wasn't some pampered young lady confined to her home.
"Are you trying to use this to intimidate her or Conrad?"
"Let them know that you have someone backing you up?" Levi asked curiously.
"It was just a small precautionary measure," Yan Xun said.
"If everything goes well, that would be great."
Later that day, Yan Xun received a message from Koy.
They said they had found the daughter of the elderly couple next to the cornfield, and that she lived not far from their neighborhood.
Coy was no longer as dejected as he had been on the farm. "Maybe we'll find Liam soon."
Yan Xun looked at the simple map in the other person's hand and talked to him about the factory, asking him to keep an eye out for news.
"Did you go to find the man in the tent's fiancée?" Koy asked curiously.
"Yes," Yan Xun said.
He had no intention of hiding anything.
“Her brother is Conrad,” Coy exclaimed incredulously.
"Do you know him?" Yan Xun asked.
Koy quickly waved his hand, "Of course not."
“I’m just a nobody,” he told Yan Xun. “I couldn’t possibly know Conrad.”
"But I have heard some rumors about him?"
"Rumors?"
"Rumor has it that he's ruthless in business and has practically monopolized the slaughterhouse business in the city and several nearby areas," he told Yan Xun. "The slaughterhouse where Liam's brother works belongs to the Conrad family."
"Three years ago, a major accident occurred at that slaughterhouse."
Yan Xun gave him a look that said he was willing to hear more.
“You know how dangerous it is to work in a slaughterhouse.” He held out his hand. “The workers’ hands often get ulcers.”
“The environment is terrible. Even just passing by the slaughterhouse, you can smell the stench,” he told Yan Xun. “They live far away from the slaughterhouse, though.” He muttered a few words.
“He has a manor on the outskirts of the city, where he usually lives.”
"Security there is very tight, and it is very difficult for anyone, whether a reporter or anyone else, to get in."
"Besides, all the reporters in the city are his friends." Coy seemed extremely dissatisfied with Conrad, his words full of complaints.
Yan Xun tapped his fingers on the table a few times. "Get to the point."
Koy looked at Yan Xun reproachfully, "That's the point."
“Conrad is such a despicable, shameless, and vile man,” he told Yan Xun. “Three years ago, Liam’s brother had just entered that slaughterhouse.”
He went to work with his father.
"His father is missing a few fingers, which he says was due to improper operation."
“That slaughterhouse also produces canned meat…” He paused for a moment, “Three years ago, several workers fell into the meat mixer or grinder. I don’t know what that machine is called, but it’s the machine they use to grind up scraps.”
"...No work has stopped?" Yan Xun couldn't help but ask.
“Of course not,” Koy said.
"What about the stuff that's been mixed?"
“Continue production,” Koy said.
"I wonder whose table it ended up on after it was canned," Koy said with a lingering fear. "Luckily, I didn't eat any canned meat during that time."
Seeing the obvious disapproval and intolerance on Yan Xun's face, Coy said to him, "Conrad is a cunning and difficult person."
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to get in touch with him.”
“You don’t need to investigate his sect,” he whispered. “I don’t think that sect is up to any good.”
Yan Xun naturally understood this, but since a sect related to angels had appeared in the city, and the beliefs it displayed were similar to those of the fleshy spheres, he couldn't help but investigate.
He thanked Koy for his kindness and asked him to keep an eye on things at the factory.
At this time, Coy was unaware of their suspicions about Conrad's sister. If he had known, he would probably have asked Yan Xun to ask his boss for help.
Back in the city, Koy obviously had other things to do, and the investigation fell to Yan Xun.
Levy indicated that he could also go along.
With the hand-drawn map provided by Koy, they quickly found the old couple's daughter's house.
It was an apartment building very similar to Liam's house.
"I heard she lives in the attic." Yan Xun looked up at the house.
"attic?"
"The attic isn't very big, but I heard the rent is low," Yan Xun said, leading Levi to the apartment building.
As they entered, the man downstairs, who was smoking a cigarette, glanced at them a few more times.
Then he nodded to them.
Yan Xun initially thought he was the owner or manager of the apartment building, but when he saw that the other man's gaze was fixed on Levi, he realized that he must be a member of the Koi organization.
Levi didn't react much; he followed Yan Xun up the wooden stairs.
After walking down three floors, Yan Xun whispered, "You know him?"
“Him?” Levy shook his head. “I don’t know him.”
“But I recognize the tattoo on his neck,” Levy said.
"A tear and a dagger, that's our symbol."
Yan Xun glanced at Levi a few more times upon hearing this.
"Are you looking for the tattoos on my body?" Levi asked.
Yan Xun nodded.
“Where you can’t see me,” Levy said softly.
"Are you curious?" he asked Yan Xun.
“I’m only curious about what I can see,” Yan Xun said, walking ahead. “If it’s not a place I can see, I choose not to look.”
Levi smiled and didn't continue the conversation; clearly, the area where his tattoo was located was not suitable for Yan Xun to see.
The attic is above the 6th floor.
Climbing the narrow staircase that could only accommodate one person at a time, Yan Xun saw the small door to the attic.
He knocked on the attic door, and soon Yan Xun heard footsteps. Then the door opened, and a somewhat thin girl with freckles on her face appeared in front of the two of them. She had ginger-yellow hair.
Seeing Yan Xun and Levi standing a few flights of stairs below, she looked puzzled.
Hello...?
"Are you here to look at this house?"