Chapter 113: The Second Maturity of Adulthood

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While waiting, Jin Yinghui pulled open a drawer and rummaged through it noisily. After quite some time, he finally found something and placed it on the table, sliding it gently over to Ye Chen. Ye Chen picked it up and saw it was an old model communicator. The identity information on the back had been scratched off, but faintly, the character for “Mansion” remained discernible. He raised an eyebrow, then looked up at Jin Yinghui, who had his eyes closed, pretending nothing had happened.

...You old fox, you really had a trick up your sleeve, operating so wildly!

In fact, with his official researcher status, Ye Chen could have received such a device at the Supernatural Mansion as well, but he saw no need for it. Did he want one for work contact and another for secret side affairs?! When Ye Chen first met this old fellow, he was already managing this mission dispatch office. Back then, Ye Chen never bothered to inquire about Jin Yinghui’s past. Life was pushing him to earn money, and age was teaching him how to behave, so now he had no interest in gossip. Everyone has their stories; it's just a matter of whether they want to share them.

One thing was clear: Team Leader Dai probably knew Jin Yinghui better, or at least knew more about his past. Unfortunately, without the identity marker on the communicator, it was just a communicator now.

At that moment, the door creaked open, and Zhou Peng entered, wearing a baseball cap. He was the “reinforcement” the two had been waiting for.

“Old man, why the rush to call me over? Treating me to dinner?” Zhou Peng teased with a bright smile.

Jin Yinghui pushed a paper toward him and said, “Help take a look and translate it. If it’s done, dinner’s on. Ye Chen will pay.”

Zhou Peng unfolded the paper and joked, “Old man, no manners at all...” His words abruptly stopped. As he began to read the translation, his expression changed in a fascinating way—first delight, then shock and confusion, and by the end, his brow furrowed deeply as he fell into thought.

Watching Zhou Peng’s changing expression, Ye Chen mused silently: as expected, not from the same family or household, calling him here was absolutely right.

Zhou Peng’s professional instincts kicked in. He lowered his cap to shade his eyes and said, “I won’t summarize for you; I’ll just read through the whole thing. Judge for yourselves.”

The paper roughly stated:

A mass disappearance of children occurred at a farm outside the city, totaling ten children. As of the report date, none have been found. The farm has twenty households, fifteen with children. On the day of the disappearance, children from five households, all over ten years old, were helping with farm work in the fields. The remaining children, all nine years old or younger, vanished.

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According to the recollection of an elderly woman bedridden with illness, on that day, a nine-year-old child brought the others to her house to invite her granddaughter out to play. They said they were going to a small stream outside the farm to fish and barbecue.

However, when the adults searched by the stream later, they found no trace of the children or any signs of fishing or barbecue. The children likely ventured deep into the wilderness, making search efforts extremely difficult, with no results so far.

After finishing the reading, Jin Yinghui asked, “Let me interrupt—why do you think it’s a stream and not a river?”

“A river has six curves, twisting and turning.”

“And a lake?”

“Add a circle.”

“What about a trough? Is it framed?”

“Yes, but it’s just a single curve.”

“Damn... I’ve wasted my time learning this.”

Ye Chen mulled over the words carefully, seeming to hit upon something. He looked at Zhou Peng, who only lowered his cap further in response. Ye Chen then turned his gaze to Jin Yinghui.

“Do you smell something?”

Previously annoyed, Jin Yinghui was now fully engaged, feeling a strong sense of participation. He pretended to analyze profoundly:

“Hm... that nine-year-old child is lying—an untrustworthy kid.”

“And then? Anyone would know the kid isn’t telling the truth.”

“Could it be... that the child is an accomplice? Deliberately misleading the adults to buy time?” came the voice beneath the cap.

An accomplice child? That’s quite a wild theory!

Ye Chen reminded, “Boss Zhou, flip it over and check the back. Team Leader Dai left it for me.”

“I don’t get why they have to be so stingy.”

“That’s exactly it. It means Dai Guangjun and Gong Xiao are determined to tie themselves together,” Jin Yinghui boasted, analyzing his area of expertise.

“Do you need me to do anything?” Zhou Peng turned his cap around, revealing his full expression.

Ye Chen nodded gratefully. He knew this friend’s temperament well. If Zhou Peng wanted to stay uninvolved, he’d hide his face in shadows and provide minimal help. But now that he was openly showing his face, it meant he was ready to fully commit.

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“The marinated egg girl in the residential area—no need to check on her; we already handled it yesterday. The two cases in the market district are up to you two. Zhou, you’re the veteran; just guide the old man.”

“The other two cases in the residential area, I’ll handle myself.”

Zhou Peng didn’t ask why they were chosen as helpers instead of his own team. Sharp-eyed, he had already noticed a detail: the communicator Ye Chen was fiddling with was no longer the patrol mansion’s but the old model Jin Yinghui had.

He understood!

...

Chen Bingfeng and Xu Fan patrolled the streets listlessly. Even when a well-formed young lady passed by, Xu Fan seemed too downcast to stare openly, though he did steal a few glances.

The two finally sat down at a small noodle stall beside Ye Shanshan’s stand and ordered their usual bowls.

Their neighbor Ye Shanshan enthusiastically served them a dish.

“You know, why Team Leader Dai suspended Ye Chen’s post but still let him investigate alone? Doesn’t make sense!” Xu Moyu whispered his puzzlement.

Chen Ma seriously speculated, “Because he’s been at the mansion the shortest time, basically a wild child. And this time, only an unrestrained wild child can handle it well.

“I don’t know why the higher-ups gave such an order, but for people like us with deep marks on us, we probably wouldn’t be able to move freely.

“So...”

Xu Moyu paused his noodles and looked seriously at his old comrade.

“So, I still want to help him! The outer city is our home; I don’t want him to face danger alone.

“Besides, not to bring up old stories, but the last time he helped me rescue you was exhilarating to remember.”

Slurp... slurp... gulp... ha!

“Grandma, the money’s on the table! Including the debt from before, you count if it’s right.”

Chen Ma looked at Xu Moyu, who had paid proactively, thinking:

The book was right—maturity in a man doesn’t come overnight but happens when someone leads him back to the right path.

The tall and thin Chen Ma stood up from the small stool, tidied her uniform seriously, and said, “Let’s go together!”

The elderly woman selling noodles watched the tall and short, thin and plump figures leave and said with relief,

“After all these years eating an old lady’s noodles, children, you’ve finally grown up.”