Cave Refuge

The entire scam that had conned countless officials and nobility in Pengcheng was exposed by the new captain of the transport plane.

When those people realized they had been deceived, and went to find the so-called big shot from Kyoto, only then did they discover that this big shot had vanished without a trace.

Not only that, but all the so-called ’pre-war reserve military supplies’ he had collected during this time had also disappeared without a trace.

It was at this moment that those involved in the so-called ’expansion and pioneering’ operation realized they had been hoodwinked.

Although Ye Liuyun was relieved that he had heeded the advice of Master Ye, Robinson William, and Dong Tianyu, and hadn’t invested much, he did indeed suffer some losses after the swindler absconded.

Originally, after a period of searching throughout the city, the two were not caught in Pengcheng, so everyone thought they had left Pengcheng. Although helpless, with no people to capture and no goods to be found, they could only accept their bad luck.

This matter seemed unrelated to the hostess on the stage, even though the lead swindler’s secretary, who was always by his side, was also a woman; there was a clear gap between the two, both in terms of physique and temperament.

However, Ye Liuyun suddenly remembered something; the lead swindler’s secretary seemed to know the hostess on the stage. Not just acquaintances, it appeared they had multiple private interactions.

Ye Liuyun had originally had someone follow her to trace the newly discovered lead to the fraudsters, but after a long period of surveillance, it was unclear if the other party was just too cautious or had realized they were being followed.

She had actually caught the person Ye Liuyun had arranged to follow her, and directly sent them to the Patrol Office.

The person tasked with the surveillance had only received a fee for investigation, so naturally, they would not keep secrets for Ye Liuyun under pressure. Once caught, they gave up Ye Liuyun right away.

When Ye Liuyun was brought into the Patrol Office and faced her tearful countenance, he knew he had fallen into her trap, and that making any further arguments would be futile.

So he simply admitted defeat, paid a substantial amount in compensation, and settled the matter.

Ye Liuyun never expected that someone he had initially thought to be just a lackey would now stand proudly on the stage as a hostess, representing Pengcheng, holding up nutritional supplements.

Although Ye Liuyun had admitted defeat in the Patrol Office, he couldn’t let go of his resentment upon returning home. But since he had just left the Patrol Office and it wasn’t the right time for revenge, he had to search for opportunities in secret.

Furthermore, after going back, Ye Liuyun went over the recent events in detail. Although he found no concrete evidence of wrongdoing, when he analyzed everything, he discovered many abnormalities.

While these issues might not seem significant on their own, if someone knowledgeable listed them out and compared them anew, some connections could be found.

Since he lacked solid evidence, Ye Liuyun didn’t share this with anyone else, but his facial expression changed dramatically when he saw her standing on the stage.

Seeing the puzzled looks on the faces of those beside him, Ye Liuyun briefly told them what had happened.

Including Dong Tianyu, everyone who heard about Ye Liuyun’s experience showed disdain.

In response to the contempt from those around him, Ye Liuyun felt somewhat aggrieved. But when he heard Gordon say, "When you found a problem initially, you should have just tied them up and taken them to a secret base for interrogation, then none of this mess would have occurred."

After Gordon finished speaking, what surprised Ye Liuyun was that everyone, including Dong Tianyu, did not find Gordon’s suggestion odd. Instead, they looked impressed.

At this moment, the indignation in Ye Liuyun’s face gradually turned into a speechless expression.

"Zachary, I still don’t quite understand Gordon and the others, but based on what I know about you, what Gordon said just now shouldn’t fit with your character. Why would you agree with such an approach?"

Upon hearing Ye Liuyun say this about Zachary, the others also turned their gazes toward Zachary’s face.

At that moment, Zachary, on hearing Ye Liuyun’s scepticism, didn’t rush to refute it but instead asked a question that had nothing to do with their earlier conversation, "Do you remember what Nameless Mountain’s nickname is?"

When Zachary mentioned this, Ye Liuyun suddenly remembered that there was a time when Nameless Mountain was known as the "Hell Palace of the Northern Mountain."

No matter from which direction one ascended the mountain, stepping into the northern region would result in fatal attacks. As far as Ye Liuyun knew, the number of martial artists who died on the north side of Nameless Mountain was not insignificant.

At this thought, Ye Liuyun suddenly realized that the Zachary he remembered as very amiable was actually not the type to show mercy.

With that thought, Ye Liuyun no longer dwelled on the issue and instead directly asked Zachary, "You still haven’t told me how you know her."

"Actually, I wouldn’t say I know her. It’s just that when I was at Moon Bay Camp, she suddenly knocked on my car door, wanting to come in and said she needed to talk to me. Thinking it was another delivery sent my way, and wary of it being ’tainted’ as many could have had a taste, I didn’t open the door and just turned her away."

Hearing what Zachary said, Yara glanced at Zachary, then toward the hostess on the stage, and with a tinge of regret said, "I didn’t think you still had a thing for purity. At this time, don’t think too much about it, it’s not like you’re getting married, just having a bit of fun. As a martial artist of the Inner Breath Realm, you’re not afraid of catching a disease, are you?"

Watching as the auction ended and the lady with the slender waist descended the steps, despite the restraint of her clothing, the subtle rises and falls still made Yara somewhat long for her. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

At this point, it was unclear whether Yara was joking or not when she suddenly said to Ye Liuyun, "Shall I find her and ask for you?"

Hearing Yara say this, everyone looked at her with surprise.

Noticing the gazes of the others, Yara said somewhat sheepishly, "I’m just trying to help out a friend, purely doing a favor, don’t get the wrong idea."

Hearing Yara say this, Zachary and the others collectively responded with a knowing ’oh.’

Ye Liuyun didn’t care whether Yara was truly joking or if she had another ulterior motive. In fact, after being counselled by his family, the loss of those items, though painful to Ye Liuyun, was not crippling.

Ye Liuyun didn’t know whether Yara was after the person or the resources they had deceitfully obtained from others, but anyway, as long as Yara made things difficult for them and could come up with a result that Ye Liuyun could accept, he wasn’t too concerned about the fate of that hostess.

"I don’t want her or those items. I only want the con artist who deceived most of Pengcheng’s people. As for the secretary, her appearance and demeanor are very distinct, not unsightly, rather quite majestic.

"Have you seen the Amazon Warriors in the American comics before the catastrophe? Unlike the fragile girls we usually see, the secretary, though slender in clothes, one could tell from her exposed areas not only her rugged demeanor but that her physical condition wasn’t weak either—definitely a martial artist."

Not sure if it was because she hadn’t seen the person herself, Yara wasn’t interested in the secretary Ye Liuyun spoke of. However, since the secretary was an additional catch in apprehending the scam mastermind, Yara might not be interested, but she didn’t mind catching one more person.

Only when Butterfly disappeared from Yara’s view did she drop that infatuated expression, turning serious and determined to say to Ye Liuyun, "Leave it to me. After today comes a five-day period for free trade. I’ll have this sorted out within five days."

Hearing Yara say this, Zachary suddenly remembered something he noticed when scanning on the transport aircraft, and immediately said to Yara, "I suspect she didn’t come here alone; she likely has accomplices who accompanied her to Kyoto, so be careful when investigating people who frequently appear around her. You might discover some unexpected gains."

On hearing Zachary’s words, Yara promptly replied, "Don’t worry, if we weren’t in Kyoto, she would have been appearing before us tonight."