After bidding farewell to his wife, Lin Yue boarded a ship and sailed down the Yangtze River. He disembarked near the Dabie Mountains and searched the area for some time before finally finding a place inhabited solely by women. It was a vast mountainous region with rugged terrain, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter.
Lin Yue had barely found the place when he was discovered. Soon, figures leaped down from the mountains – several agile female evolved individuals, armed with various weapons, and even submachine guns. Their eyes held deep suspicion.
"I'm from Yuzhou. I wish to see your leader," Lin Yue said quickly.
"Since you're from Yuzhou, hand over all your weapons. I'll escort you to see the leader," one of the female evolved individuals stated.
Lin Yue rummaged through his belongings and finally produced a fruit knife, handing it over. "This is my weapon!"
"Who are you trying to fool? Do you think we're easy to deceive? Yuzhou is thousands of miles away from here. You expect us to believe you crossed such a vast distance with just a small fruit knife?" someone exclaimed, clearly agitated upon seeing the fruit knife Lin Yue produced.
"There's no point in lying to you. I'm an ability user, and I rarely rely on weapons when I act. I only carry this fruit knife for eating, which is why I have it on me," Lin Yue explained earnestly.
Upon hearing this explanation, the women understood that he was no weakling. Ability users were incredibly powerful, and crossing thousands of miles was quite feasible for them.
"In that case, follow us. But remember not to wander around carelessly. This is a place for women only, and I fear you might see things you shouldn't," the female evolved individual warned. She then collected the fruit knife and led Lin Yue up the mountain.
A large area within these mountains served as their living space. Numerous crops were cultivated here, and wind turbines dotted the mountainsides. It was a veritable paradise, a haven where a community of women lived in peace, detached from worldly conflicts and external disputes.
"Are all the residents here women? Are there truly no men at all? Would even young boys be driven away?" Lin Yue couldn't help but ask as they proceeded.
"Does that even need to be asked? Everyone who resides here is female. No men are taken in because all the women here have been harmed by men. Whenever chaos erupts, it's the women who suffer the most. Many here have been exploited, bullied, and even treated as slaves. No men are welcome here. It's only out of respect for Shen Feng that we're allowing you in," one of the women replied to Lin Yue.
Lin Yue fell silent upon hearing this. Mu Ying had once been a top-tier ability user, capable of escaping even when pursued by Gong Changfa, the captain of the Heavenly Selection Bureau. She was truly capable of killing. Although she had lived in seclusion in the mountains for years, her aversion to men remained intense.
Only Shen Feng could converse with Mu Ying at length; anyone else would have been driven away long ago.
Soon, Lin Yue was led into a large wooden house situated beside a waterfall. Living in this house meant being constantly serenaded by the roaring water. On either side of the wooden house hung a couplet: "Hiding in a small building, I am at peace; let spring, summer, autumn, and winter be as they may."
"Oh, Mr. Lu Xun's poem," Lin Yue exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the couplet, realizing the resident was a cultured individual.
The door opened, and Mu Ying, her face scarred, emerged. Hearing that Lin Yue was from Yuzhou, she asked, "Has Shen Feng encountered something he cannot resolve, that he would send you to find me?"
Lin Yue lowered his voice and said, "This matter is not convenient for public discussion. Shall we find a secluded spot to talk?"
Mu Ying nodded in agreement. "Then let's talk on the mountaintop. The wind is strong up there, and usually, no one can overhear our conversation."
The two then proceeded to the mountaintop. Lin Yue recounted the events that had transpired. Upon learning about the situation, Mu Ying couldn't help but frown. "I have heard of an organization that frequently hunts ability users, but I never imagined they would target Shen Feng's parents."
"That's why Madam asked me to come, hoping to enlist the help of Zheng Xiqing here. It's said her ability can help me locate the enemy's stronghold," Lin Yue quickly stated.
Mu Ying nodded. "This is certainly not a problem. However, I'd like to know how you plan to find these people. They've remained hidden for so many years; finding them won't be easy."
Lin Yue replied, "I've actually been contemplating this. The Tianya Alliance often hunts down isolated ability users and usually succeeds. If they didn't have a mature intelligence network, they wouldn't be able to accomplish this. Therefore, they must have their informants in many cities. Only with a sufficient number of informants can they know the movements of these ability users at crucial moments. I plan to stake out a few cities. If I can find a few informants, the rest will be much simpler."
"If you choose that path, the result will likely be twice the effort for half the reward. However, some of the women here do have information about the Tianya Alliance," Mu Ying said unhurriedly.
"If that's true, then please share this vital information with me! I would be immensely grateful!" Lin Yue said immediately.
Mu Ying continued, "I'll take you to meet them. They'll explain why your approach would be inefficient. Here, I can gather a lot of important information from across the land. It's unavoidable, really, as many of my members come from the pleasure quarters."
The reason Mu Ying possessed so much intelligence was that many of her subordinates had escaped from the pleasure quarters and sought refuge with her in the Dabie Mountains. Such entertainment venues were the best places to gather information, and many women learned the truth from their patrons. After all, with beauty in their arms and a bit of alcohol, people tended to spill everything.
Mu Ying led Lin Yue to several women who had learned about the Tianya Alliance from their clients. One of them said, "I once served an informant of the Tianya Alliance. According to him, this organization uses carrier pigeons to transmit messages, not even mobile phones. That's why almost no one knows the location of their headquarters."
"Transmitting messages with pigeons? I've never heard of such a thing," Lin Yue murmured, nodding to himself. He had thought such methods were mere fabrications from books, but it turned out to be real.
"The management of this organization is extremely strict. Many core members have their families kept in a specific location, so they are very cautious when outside and dare not expose the organization. If they reveal the organization's location or any other important information, their families will be killed!" another woman stated seriously.
"The management is extremely strict, and internal members absolutely dare not leak information. Therefore, when important figures are captured, their first instinct is to commit suicide by poison, giving no opportunity for others to extract information," Lin Yue realized, finding the situation increasingly troublesome.
"I also heard from another patron that this organization has many dealings with the outside world. One of their most important transactions is the sale of ability users' heads to whoever has the money!" another woman said cautiously.
"Judging from what you've said, this organization is entirely a killer organization. They'll take any mission as long as they're paid," Lin Yue analyzed.
Afterward, Lin Yue asked a few more crucial questions. Once he received the answers, he prepared to leave. He now had a general understanding of the organization and needed to find a way to track them.
"Lin Yue, this is Zheng Xiqing. She has no combat ability and was even bullied by thugs before. You must protect her when you're out in the field!" Mu Ying said solemnly, bringing Zheng Xiqing over at that moment.
"Don't worry, I will protect her!" Lin Yue promised immediately.
Having found an ability user who could help him locate the enemy, Lin Yue was eager to leave. After all, men were not welcome here, and not even a boy could be found. However, just then, Mu Ying suddenly asked, "How are the City Lord's children growing?"
"The City Lord's children are all healthy. The boys are lively, and the girls are intelligent," Lin Yue replied promptly. Although he didn't know why she was asking, he answered truthfully.
Later, on the road, Lin Yue understood why Zheng Xiqing could help. Zheng Xiqing's ability was to control surrounding light elements and recreate scenes that had previously occurred in a certain place. This meant that if an ability user was assassinated in a specific area, Zheng Xiqing could recreate what happened there.
Lin Yue, not forgetting his wife's instructions, immediately headed to Jinling and requested assistance from Ke Yiming. Upon hearing that Shen Feng's parents had been kidnapped, Ke Yiming agreed to help without hesitation, mobilizing Jinling's forces to search for clues related to the Tianya Alliance.
Lin Yue continued to Meizhou. Wang Aoye of Meizhou often did business with Shen Feng and naturally offered his help. Wang Aoye's intelligence network in the southeastern region was formidable. Within two days, they confirmed that the Tianya Alliance's headquarters was located in the border region between Xiang Province and Gan Province.
At this moment, the importance of connections became evident. Shen Feng was not one to make enemies, so many were willing to help him when he needed it.
Lin Yue's investigation was progressing smoothly. With another half a month, he was confident he could locate the Tianya Alliance's stronghold.
However, at this very moment, Yuzhou received a letter. The letter was unsigned, containing only a few lines of text and several photographs. These photos showed Shen Feng's family members, his parents and sister, eating in a room. The letter contained a few simple sentences.
"Please send one ability user from Yuzhou to Hengshan for a transaction. We will exchange ten evolution crystals for the safety of Shen Feng's family. The transaction will take place in five days. Be sure to be present! If even one extra person arrives, or if no one shows up, we will kill them."
It was clear that the Tianya Alliance was extorting Yuzhou. This was a blatant demand for an exorbitant price, asking for ten evolution crystals. Each evolution crystal was incredibly precious, enough to train twenty ability users. The demand for ten was undoubtedly the highest ransom case since the apocalypse.
"These scoundrels are calculating everything precisely. Shen Feng only brought back thirteen evolution crystals from his trip. This ransom will take away all the fruits of Shen Feng's labor," Chang Jianyi gritted his teeth in anger upon learning the amount of the ransom.
However, facing the enemy's demands, Chang Jianyi dared not take it lightly and prepared to proceed with the transaction. Judging from the photos, Shen Feng's family members appeared to be unharmed.