Chapter 79: The Sound of an Explosion

Although he knew the man was telling the truth, Yan Jing had to admit that the truth was sometimes very unpleasant to hear.

"Have a seat, gentlemen. Only a fool turns down business,"

Yan Jing said with a smile.

"Xiao Mei, serve these two gentlemen a glass of mouthwash. Xiao Yan, play 'Today I'm Going to Marry You'."

He stepped behind the bar.

"The usual two special Whiskey Sours?"

The man with the vacant stare nodded.

"Hold the 'dizzy'."

The two drinks were ready in no time, and Yan Jing personally served them.

"I am truly sorry for disrupting your business, sir."

The kind-faced man looked quite ashamed as he spoke.

"It's fine, sir. Business is slow right now anyway, so I'm just counting on you two to help keep up appearances."

At that, the kind-faced man finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The man with the vacant stare took a sip of his drink and smacked his lips.

"Have you considered opening a branch? You could come to Virtue Bridge, and I'll help promote you."

The kind-faced man nodded.

"Yes, I can help too. Your drinks are excellent, sir."

Yan Jing laughed.

"I don't even know if I'll make it out of here alive, so I'm not thinking that far ahead. Besides... my two employees are part of the reason the drinks are so good, and I can't exactly take them with me."

He smiled and pointed at a rather embarrassed One-Eye and Rose.

"There's no need to be so pessimistic."

The man with the vacant stare waved his hand. "The elder visiting from Virtue Bridge this time is from this guy's lineage here. That elder loves to meddle, and he's already out searching for the killer. It should be resolved very soon."

"That's right."

The kind-faced man smiled. "Elder Kindness has always been very kind. He will definitely solve the problem."

Just as he expected, Virtue Bridge was here too.

Yan Jing mentally tallied the factions attending the banquet at the Tower.

Virtue Bridge, Amusement Park, Dandelion Manor, and Sleepland, plus the Tower itself. These alone accounted for more than half of Old Sin City.

Moreover, there were probably others he didn't even know about yet.

"Gentlemen, is this Elder Kindness very strong?"

Yan Jing asked.

When it came to sudden emergencies like this, he naturally hoped for a swift and proper resolution.

The kind-faced man took a sip of his drink and chuckled.

"Although Elder Kindness's strength doesn't stand out much among the elders, a large part of that is simply because he's so kind. He voluntarily yielded many resources and opportunities to the others."

"Furthermore, he is the most amiable of them all. He doesn't put on any airs..."

After listening to the man ramble on, Yan Jing came to a conclusion.

Elder Kindness was the weakest elder from Virtue Bridge.

This wasn't exactly surprising. Kind people were often in a weaker position.

Especially in the Inner World, which had hardly any rules or order to speak of.

This gave him a faint premonition of disaster. He used his walkie-talkie to notify the others to stay safe and make themselves scarce if they spotted any important figures.

The group waited like this for several dozen minutes.

"BOOM!!!"

A massive explosion rumbled up from below.

The people inside the bar exchanged glances.

"They must have found the culprit."

The man with the vacant stare took a sip of his drink and said,

"A final, desperate struggle."

Was it really that simple?

Highly skeptical, Yan Jing walked toward the restroom, preparing to use the walkie-talkie to check on Chen Nian and Old Master Liu down on the first floor.

But when he pressed the button and sent a message, no one on the channel answered.

Yan Jing's heart immediately sank.

Just as he was about to head down to the first floor to check on the situation, the wind chimes at the entrance rang once more.

He looked up and saw Tiger, clad in his staff uniform, panting heavily.

"Mr. Yi Ji!"

Tiger let out a long sigh of relief upon seeing Yan Jing, though the panic on his face remained obvious. "May I come in?"

"Come in, Mr. Tiger."

Yan Jing said, "You aren't here to hide from the bomb too, are you?"

Tiger nodded vigorously.

"Yes, yes, and I have news."

Yan Jing nodded.

"Then come in and have a seat, though I was just about to head out."

The kind-faced man looked at the deeply shaken Tiger and offered some comfort.

"Relax, sir. Elder Kindness from Virtue Bridge is handling the matter. It should be resolved very soon."

Unexpectedly, Tiger's eyes widened at the man's words. "The elder from Virtue Bridge?"

"You don't mean... the one who just got blown up, do you?"

?!?!?!

Those words shocked everyone present.

"Where did the explosion happen?"

Yan Jing demanded.

"At... at the entrance to the main reception hall..."

As soon as Tiger spoke, a blur flashed past his eyes. Yan Jing had already vanished.

Before he could even react, two more blurs flashed past.

Both the man with the vacant stare and the kind-faced man sprinted outside.

"W-Why did everyone leave?" he muttered with a grimace.

He had come here specifically to cling to Yan Jing, but now the man was gone.

"Forget it."

He dashed out the door as well, running in the direction Yan Jing had left.

"Mr. Yi Ji, wait for me!!"

Nothing in this place was secure; clinging to that man was his safest bet.

He would never forget the sight of Yan Jing single-handedly turning the tide in the Amusement Park:

Standing in the center of the battlefield with a gun in his right hand, the enemy leader's corpse lying at his feet. Both his hands were stained with blood, yet his eyes were as calm as if he had just gone for a walk.

After Tiger left, One-Eye and Rose looked at each other.

"What do we do now?"

Rose sat on a table, looking down with a sigh. "The boss is gone."

"..."

Hearing no response, she looked up.

"Why aren't you saying anything—"

She stared blankly at One-Eye, who was already standing by the door.

"You're going to follow them?"

One-Eye nodded. Even though his voice was still childish, his expression was entirely mature.

"Following him offers the highest probability of survival."

With that, One-Eye left as well.

This left a dumbfounded Rose staring at the empty bar.

For some inexplicable reason, the place suddenly felt eerie.

Especially the unlit storefronts beyond the glass—the darkness seemed to be spreading.

Shivering, she stood up and chased after One-Eye.

"Xiao Yan, wait for me!"

...

Inside the stairwell, Yan Jing gripped the walkie-talkie tightly, his expression solemn.

He sprinted all the way down to the first floor.

The walkie-talkie had crackled to life just a moment ago.

Mantou and Chen Nian both said the explosion had thrown everything into chaos, so they hadn't heard him immediately.

Only Old Liu hadn't replied.

Everyone had agreed to rush over to the main reception hall.

Frowning deeply, he pushed his speed to the absolute limit. He was nothing but a dark blur weaving through the chaotic crowd.

The people around him only felt a gust of wind brush past. When they turned to look, they saw nothing, leaving them utterly baffled.

Finally, Yan Jing spotted the gold-trimmed doors of the main reception hall.

The entrance was already in total chaos.

The red carpet had been blown into shredded strips, leaving a sizable crater in the ground. Blood splattered everywhere, from the doorframe to several meters beyond the doors, and severed limbs were scattered about.

But there was no sign of Old Liu.

He didn't see Chen Nian or Mantou either. Clearly, Yan Jing was the first of their group to arrive.

"Old Liu—"

Just as Yan Jing was about to shout, a hand reached out from the crowd and grabbed his arm. An immense force yanked him straight into a corner of the hall.

"Shh! Shh! Shh!"

Old Master Liu, who appeared completely unharmed, pressed an index finger to his lips, signaling for Yan Jing to keep his voice down.

Without waiting for Yan Jing to speak, he whispered, "I saw him!!!"

Under Yan Jing's bewildered gaze, he muttered, "I saw the person with the bomb!"