Reception room.
The conversation continued.
After a moment of thought, Xiao Mengyu asked:
"You are a disciple of the Shen Family, have you ever made enemies with other clan young masters in the past?"
"No," Shen Ye said with a firm tone.
"I am aware your parents have distanced themselves from the core of Shen Family's power, and I know you rarely go back, but during those few days you spent at the Shen Family during the New Year, did you offend anyone?"
Xiao Mengyu pressed on relentlessly.
"I've never been one to fight with others for anything—so I'm sure I haven't offended anyone, and every time I returned, I got along with everyone quite well," Shen Ye replied.
He suddenly sighed.
"What does that sigh mean? What are you thinking about?" Xiao Mengyu asked, extremely perceptive.
"Qian Rushan once told me something—'Beware of those with ulterior motives, they are more to be feared than monsters'."
"So I was thinking, maybe I feel I don't have any conflicts with others, but that doesn't necessarily mean they feel the same."
Shen Ye spoke his mind.
Xiao Mengyu thought for a moment and nodded.
At that moment, she noticed Shen Ye's tension, and she glanced at the bartender who was staring intently at her.
—It seemed she had inadvertently released a bit of her killing intent.
This was impolite.
She relaxed her eyebrows, which were softly curved like distant mountains, took her hand off her sword hilt, and gently placed her hands in front of her, her voice softened:
"My apologies, I got a bit emotional."
The killing intent completely retracted.
"What you just said makes sense."
"I realize now, ordinary people couldn't possibly place an order on the Assassins Alliance's commission platform to hire an assassin to kill someone."
"I will investigate those you've come across in the Shen Family."
"If you have any news on this side, please keep in touch with me."
Shen Ye said, "Okay."
Xiao Mengyu took out her phone, and they exchanged contact information.
Their talk had concluded.
Shen Ye stood up to escort Xiao Mengyu to the elevator.
Xiao Mengyu suddenly remembered something, stopped in her tracks, and said:
"Oh right, there's one more thing."
"Please speak," Shen Ye responded.
"In case you do find the person behind this, please don't give up on investigating just because they possess great strength or wield extensive influence."
"You can find me at any time."
She flicked her sword with a flourish and 'clang' sheathed it back.
Shen Ye only saw a blur and didn't catch anything clearly.
Ding.
The elevator arrived.
"Then, let's stay in touch," Xiao Mengyu said with a slight bow.
"Ah, okay," Shen Ye responded.
The elevator doors closed.
She was gone.
—But what had she just cut?
Shen Ye turned to look.
Somehow, the reception room that was empty just a moment ago was now full of people.
He had no idea where these people had been hiding just now.
They were crammed together, standing in front of the large, bright floor-to-ceiling window, all looking up outside.
What were they looking at?
Curious, Shen Ye followed everyone's gaze.
He saw a blurry sword shadow hundreds of meters long appeared in the clear blue sky above the city.
—Was that her doing?
That was too—
"Terrifying."
Someone behind him remarked.
Shen Ye turned around and saw Qian Rushan standing there, arms crossed, with a look that was both envious and fearful.
...
A few minutes later.
The professionals in the reception room had dispersed.
"I asked her specifically when she came," Qian Rushan sat across the table, speaking in the tone of a big brother.
"What did you ask her?" Shen Ye inquired.
"Whether she would make a move against you," Qian Rushan said.
"What did she say?" Shen Ye asked.
"She said that since the brother had given you the password, he obviously hoped you would live well, and she would naturally honor her brother's wish."
Qian Rushan shrugged and continued, "She also said you are a victim too and that she would not make things difficult for you."
"That's reasonably sensible," Shen Ye said with a sigh of relief.
"She is the most outstanding scion of the Luo family's generation and can be considered a prodigy among the big clans," Qian Rushan said.
"Is she still studying, or is she working now?" Shen Ye inquired.
Qian Rushan's expression suddenly turned a bit strange.
"She is also in high school this year, probably in the same grade as you."
"What?" Shen Ye exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah, scions of the noble families often have secret inheritances and start training from a young age. They far surpass ordinary peers in 'Comprehension' and 'Resonance'."
"As for her, she just graduated from middle school and is about to enter the first year of high school, she should be in the same batch of examinees as you."
Qian Rushan finished speaking and stealthily glanced at Shen Ye.
That girl was too outstanding.
The gap between people was so great that seeing that giant sword shadow had struck him quite hard, let alone Shen Ye, a peer.
"Don't be disheartened. After all, there's a chasm-like gap between scions and normal students," Qian Rushan consoled.
"I couldn't be happier," Shen Ye shrugged and said: "Now she's on my side. Once I find the mastermind behind this, she can help."
"That's true," Qian Rushan nodded.
"I didn't sleep well last night, I'm going back to catch up on some sleep, we can talk more later," Shen Ye said as he stood up and stretched.
"Go then, I'll arrange for a few teachers to speak with you about the exam details tomorrow," Shen Ye was told.
"Thank you very much."
Shen Ye returned to his dormitory.
He really lay down on the bed and slept until noon before waking up.
After taking a cold shower, the tiredness and fatigue from staying up all night washed away.
Shen Ye, refreshed and energized, sat on the couch and began to focus his mind, reviewing all recent events.
The appearance of Xiao Mengyu meant that the situation had escalated to its most dangerous level.
If the enemy really was a scion of a noble family—
He was acutely aware of just how fatal that could be.
The noble families.
These were the beings at the very top echelons of human civilization.
With an offhand amount of money, the other party could employ the services of the Assassins Alliance, easily buying his life.
Who could it be?
Could it truly be someone he had met in his childhood?
That was too far-fetched.
But he still needed to be careful and verify everything.
Shen Ye closed his eyes, immersing himself in his memories, going over everything he had experienced and every person he had seen over the past decades.
Regrettably, he found nothing.
Memories of his childhood were now blurred.
All he could recall now was playing with other kids his age after visiting his grandparents' house during the New Year.
The original Shen Ye was a person who cared much for others' feelings.
He shouldn't have offended anyone, right?
As for recent events, had he overlooked anything?
That day, he had gone to the hospital to visit Chen Haoyu, who had left for treatment, so he waited in his ward.
With the middle school exams approaching, he took out his books and reviewed while he waited.
The room darkened.
At the time, he thought it was a power outage, or perhaps Chen Haoyu's treatment was over, and he subconsciously looked up towards the door.
The door opened.
An empty hospital bed slid down the hallway.
That eerie, long-haired woman crawled out from under the bed.
Strange—
When the curse took effect, wasn't there anyone else around?
In such a large hospital, surely there must have been people on duty in the inpatient department.
Shen Ye's eyes snapped open suddenly.
...No, that's not right!
In his memory, there was a scream of extreme terror coming from the corridor!
Who had witnessed this scene?
In the past few days, since he had just arrived in this world, everything was still unfamiliar, his body was weak, and the police were investigating, so he hadn't paid much attention to it.
But now, re-examining everything—
That scream indicated there was a witness.
What did the witness know?
Luo Feichuan was already dead, and the murderer had been punished; the case had been closed.
So, no one would be investigating the witness anymore, right?
Shen Ye slowly stood up.
No, this wouldn't do.
This matter was related to his safety; he had to investigate it himself.
But what right did he have to investigate?
—Luo Feichuan, such an outstanding person, was dead.
Without even graduating from middle school, he couldn't even fully perform the "Moonlight Deer Step" movement technique used by Elven Soldiers.
No attack skills.
He only had a gun in his hand.
Was he supposed to engage in a shootout?
Sorry, he hadn't learned to shoot either.
Shen Ye sat down slowly, regaining his composure.
He unlocked his phone and found Xiao Mengyu's contact to relay the matter of the witness.
Xiao Mengyu replied promptly:
"I'll look into it immediately, wait for my message."
—That was more like it.
Why risk himself when there was a Great Swordsman available?
But he did need to learn some attack moves as soon as possible.
After all, it's not every time that a Great Swordsman will come to his aid.
In the end, one must rely on oneself!
"Hey, Great Skeleton, do you have any Nightmare Crystals left—the ones with skills?" Shen Ye asked.
Sometimes you can rely on the Undead!
"I only have Necromancer skills here; you're not an undead, and you lack the power of Soulfire, you can't use them," the Great Skeleton responded.
"Didn't you give me a 'Moonlight Deer Step' before?"
"That was accidentally found."
Shen Ye fell into thought.
Could it be that he would only have a chance to learn attack moves after entering high school?
He couldn't wait that long.
—He couldn't just run every time there was an assassination attempt.
It seemed he would need to go to the Nightmare World to get some Nightmare Crystals.
The Nightmare World...
He had already obtained an Evaluation Entry today, but he could still re-enter the door again.
—Entering the door again on the same day wouldn't grant an Evaluation Entry, but he could do something else.
Like searching for Nightmare Crystals.
In that case, he should make another trip!
Shen Ye made up his mind.
(Thank you to the Alliance Hierarch, Big Pineapple Small Apple, for your reward. I've added more words for you, thank you boss!)