Yin Lin and Jin Luan had actually taken care of some proper business in the afternoon, going to check out the cargo yard.
Jin Luan needed to rely on her Perception ability, so Yin Lin didn’t let her go home, forcibly dragging her along to work.
No mana was sensed at the cargo yard; the place was completely normal.
Jin Luan seemed a bit suspicious of Yin Lin’s earlier explanation. She spent a long time looking around the yard, not leaving.
Yin Lin had claimed she sensed mana while passing by and thought it was a Demonic Creature.
But that faint aura… it didn’t seem like a Demonic Creature at all. Could Yin Lin have misperceived it?
Jin Luan vaguely felt the little one was lying.
She glanced sideways at her, secretly observing. She always felt the silver-haired girl wore many little expressions, giving off a somewhat guilty vibe.
“Are you sure you’re not hiding something from me? Did you really sense those Magical Materials here?”
“Huh?” Yin Lin was a bit surprised at first and hurried to answer.
Jin Luan questioned her again, her tone stern.
“Yes, I sensed them right here.”
Jin Luan: “Then where were these Magical Materials transported to the yard from?”
Yin Lin: “That… I don’t know. I’m not the great detective Yin Lin, how would I know so much? Don’t make things difficult for me.”
She felt more and more that the silver-haired girl was problematic, that things weren’t that simple.
Jin Luan remembered the incident at the hot pot restaurant earlier and couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.
She quietly flew behind Yin Lin, raised her hand, and grabbed Yin Lin’s side waist hard.
The sudden attack gave Yin Lin a huge fright, followed immediately by an extremely sensitive tickling sensation. Her side waist was far too sensitive; she couldn’t withstand Jin Luan’s random groping at all.
She hurriedly rode her Wand away, with Jin Luan in hot pursuit, using her superior flying skills to fiercely harass Yin Lin.
From both sides of her waist to her armpits, Jin Luan’s technique grew more skilled, her fingers more nimble. Yin Lin was laughing until tears came out.
“Stop! I’m going to—”
“I’m angry! No… don’t! I’m going to—”
Jin Luan still didn’t let up, tickling even more fiercely. She clamped her legs around Yin Lin’s legs, clinging to her petite body like a Tentacle Monster.
Then she applied increasingly masterful tickling techniques, making Yin Lin laugh until snot and drool came out, completely uncontrollable.
Ten minutes later, the playful scuffle that should have ended found the two of them lying flat on the grass of a small dirt slope, gazing up at the sky, enjoying a quiet, peaceful moment.
Yin Lin, still panting, lifted her foot and kicked Jin Luan beside her.
Jin Luan also lifted her foot and kicked back.
Yin Lin increased her force and kicked back again, then braced for Jin Luan’s counterattack.
This time, Jin Luan didn’t kick back. Instead, she pressed forward, pinning Yin Lin down, grabbing her hands and forcibly pressing them above her head.
“Let’s see you get handsy—Round two, begin!”
Jin Luan tickled her armpits fiercely again, making Yin Lin struggle incessantly, but her strength was no match for Jin Luan’s.
Yin Lin truly had no way to control this body’s sensitivity; she was too afraid of being tickled.
After round two ended, Yin Lin didn’t dare play anymore; she was thoroughly subdued.
She wiped her drool, still panting heavily.
Seeing the silver-haired girl had calmed down, Jin Luan began to talk about serious matters.
“What really happened with the cargo yard?”
Realizing Jin Luan was genuinely suspicious, Yin Lin had no choice but to reveal part of the truth.
“Diamond once said that humanity’s lifeline is industry, so I had a sudden idea to go take a look underground.”
“Diamond again?”
Jin Luan found it a bit surprising but didn’t dwell on it, continuing to listen.
Yin Lin told her about some of the things she saw underground—the mana she sensed at the rubber factory, and the shooting incident that happened underground.
She then said she tracked those mana-infused rubber materials all the way to the underground Distribution Center. After checking some information, she realized the center above should be a cargo yard.
Hearing this, Jin Luan frowned the whole time.
“And then came the cargo yard and hot pot restaurant incidents, right? Promise me you won’t sneak off and do such dangerous things alone in the future, okay?”
Yin Lin, of course, didn’t agree, not even wanting to lie to her.
Jin Luan continued, “What you’re facing isn’t just Demonic Creatures, but also the Star Summoning Society and the Human Alliance. Moreover, underground operations are our weakness; our flying abilities are hard to utilize there. Please, never do this again in the future.”
Yin Lin still didn’t agree. She already knew all that.
But she was a mature, independent “old man,” unaccustomed to operating in groups. She was long used to acting alone and didn’t see a problem with it.
She also didn’t truly consider the “secret investigator” as her real identity; most of the time, she still thought of herself as a man. When thinking of the consequences of failure, she only associated them with the consequences a man should bear.
However, Yin Lin could still tell that Jin Luan was genuinely worried about her.
She replied, “In the future, I’ll try my best to share information with everyone.”
Jin Luan grew a bit angry.
“No, that’s not what I mean. What I care about isn’t the information, it’s you!”
Her voice grew louder.
“I don’t want you doing these things alone. No matter how important these things are, even if they might save many people, protect Yiri City, protect humanity… all of that… is no longer the most important thing.”
Yin Lin didn’t reply, lowering her head, somewhat unable to understand Jin Luan’s intention.
This kind of delicate emotion was something she never felt in her usual interactions with Huang Yijun and Qian Dehao.
After years with those old friends, their daily interactions were all laughter and jokes, eating, drinking, and having fun together. They never said such mushy things.
The two continued sitting on the grass. No one spoke further, probably feeling the atmosphere was already thick enough and shouldn’t be intensified.
After resting a while, the two started moving again, monitoring the cargo yard. They still didn’t see the so-called old man and woman.
So they followed the company name and address, finding that ocean freight trading company. It occupied the fifth floor of a five-story building.
They flew to the outside of the windows and peered in but saw no one.
Then they landed on the rooftop, planning to walk down.
Jin Luan quietly asked, “Do you sense anything? Any trace of mana?”
Yin Lin shook her head.
“It’s very calm here. No trace of mana, nor any Absorption Barrier masking mana.”
They had only taken a few steps down from the rooftop when they heard the sound of someone talking.
It was a woman’s voice, seemingly on a phone call.
She just kept responding, “Mhm, okay, understood.”
It was impossible to know what was being said on the other end.
After hanging up, the woman moved quickly. The urgent sound of high heels walking rapidly was clearly audible.
“Pack up. Clean out the important stuff immediately. We leave this place in ten minutes!”
Her voice was also urgent.
They had clearly received the news, probably aware something had happened at the hot pot restaurant.
And this timing was actually still early; there was still some time before the formal search of the hot pot restaurant would begin.
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