476: Chapter 471 Young Master Turns into a Bastard?

Thinking of this, Chen Guangke asked no more questions.

He stood up and patted Shen Yan on the shoulder.

"Fine."

He pursed his lips and teased his brother.

"Then be careful, just don't get yourself lost."

"Otherwise, the few hundred of us will truly be left with nothing to eat."

Shen Yan looked at him, a hint of warmth flashing in his eyes.

"Don't worry."

The phone rang; it was Liu Hui calling.

Chen Guangke wisely waved his hand, turned, and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Silence returned to the office.

Shen Yan picked up the phone, his voice instantly softening considerably.

"Hello, Huihui."

"Are you about to leave? Youyou said she misses you."

On the other end of the line came Liu Hui's gentle voice, mixed with the milky voice of his daughter calling out.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

Shen Yan's heart completely melted at that moment.

"Yeah, I’m heading to the airport now."

"I'll be back as soon as I finish things."

"It will be very quick."

He hung up the phone.

Shen Yan tossed his phone casually onto the desk.

The small bit of softness that had risen from the bottom of his heart was instantly suppressed, solidifying back into ice.

He stood up and picked up the coat draped over the back of the chair.

Without any lingering hesitation, he walked straight out of the office.

Outside the door, Chen Guangke hadn't gone far; he was leaning against the wall, as if waiting for him.

Seeing Shen Yan come out, he didn't ask any more questions, just walked forward and gave Shen Yan a hard punch on the shoulder.

"Go early and return early."

"Mm."

Shen Yan nodded, stretched out his long legs, and walked toward the elevator.

His departing figure was resolute, without any sign of lingering attachment.

After more than ten hours of flight,

Crossing the dividing line between day and night,

When the wheels of the gulfstream g65 smoothly touched the runway of St. Lodo International Airport, it was already early morning there.

The sunlight was dazzling.

The air was filled with a unique scent mixing salty sea breeze and vegetation.

Shen Yan walked out of the VIP passage. Standing next to a black Ford F-150 pickup truck that had been waiting there, was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes.

"Mr. Shen."

The young man handed over a set of keys and a manila envelope.

"The car is full of gas. Inside are the local phone card, cash, and an unregistered credit card you requested."

"I know."

Shen Yan took the items, pulled open the car door, and got in.

The young man didn't say another word, turned around, and melted back into the crowd.

This was Ning Ke's arrangement.

Efficient, precise, and never asking unnecessary questions.

Shen Yan started the car, and the rugged engine let out a low roar.

He didn't immediately drive toward the southern suburbs indicated by the system coordinates.

Instead, he cruised slowly through the city.

Outside the car window, St. Lodo looked like a giant pond into which a stone had been thrown, with ripples named "desire" spreading everywhere.

In coffee shops, convenience stores on every street corner, the same news was being broadcast on almost all public television screens.

"The Hosen Family offers a ten-million-dollar reward for the missing youngest son—Kevin Hossen."

The blond youth in the photo was smiling brightly, his eyes as clear as the sky over California.

Shen Yan drove past a neighborhood park.

Several homeless men were gathered, pointing at a newspaper, looking excited, as if that huge bounty was already tucked into their ragged pockets.

He then drove past an upscale community.

Several well-dressed men were leaning against a sports car, talking in low voices, their gazes sharply scanning every young person passing by, like falcons searching for prey.

The entire St. Lodo had gone mad.

Three hundred million US dollars.

This astronomical fortune was enough to make anyone abandon reason.

The carpet search covered almost every corner of the city.

Every dirty corner of the slums was turned upside down.

Abandoned factory warehouses were stormed by wave after wave of people; they even seemed eager to pry open rat holes.

Even in the most exclusive clubs and hotels, countless eyes were secretly peering.

They assumed that the fallen young master was either hiding in the dirtiest place or concealed in the most dangerous place.

Conventional thinking limited everyone's imagination.

A faint, almost imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of Shen Yan's mouth.

He turned the car and drove away from the hustle and bustle, heading toward the southern suburbs of the city.

The further south he drove, the more desolate the scenery became.

Tall buildings were replaced by low bungalows, and then even the bungalows gradually disappeared.

In their place were endless ranches and rolling hills.

A winding asphalt road snaked through the withered grass like a lonely black snake.

On both sides of the road, one could occasionally see a few isolated farmhouses.

Some hills had only one family.

For others, one had to cross several hills to see another wisp of smoke from cooking fires.

This place seemed like a corner forgotten by the world.

No one would ever think that the Hossen Family's young master would hide here.

Shen Yan stopped the car at a fork in the road and turned off the engine.

The red dot on the system map was within this vast area ahead, but the range was large, not precise down to a specific building.

The rest of the way would have to be covered on foot.

He took a backpack from the back seat, slung it over his shoulder, locked the car door, and plunged into the scorching sunlight.

The mountain path was rugged.

Underfoot were gravel and cracked earth.

In the air, apart from the sound of the wind, there was only the monotonous chirping of cicadas.

Shen Yan had lost count of how many hills he had crossed.

From landing to now, he had barely rested.

The fatigue from the time difference and the exhaustion from the long journey made his body begin to protest.

Sweat soaked his T-shirt, sticking tightly to his back, unbearably clammy.

His throat felt as if it were on fire.

He unscrewed his water bottle and drank the remaining little bit of water in one gulp.

A feeling of exhaustion surged over him in waves.

Shen Yan leaned against a dead tree, regulating his breathing.

He looked up, squinting toward the distance.

There was another hill.

On the slope, there was a solitary wooden cabin.

It looked no different from the ones he had passed before.

But he knew that was the place.

Because a faint, suppressed sound of arguing was drifting toward him on the wind.

The sound was distant and unclear.

But the violence and fear contained within it were exceptionally distinct.

Shen Yan straightened up, threw the empty water bottle into his backpack, and started walking toward the wooden cabin.

The closer he got, the clearer the sound became.

"You useless thing! Eating my food! Drinking my water! And you still dare to steal money?"

It was a man's rough roar, mixed with a heavy accent.

"I didn't! I really didn't!"

Another voice, choked with tears and not yet fully rid of childishness, was clearly a boy's voice.

Slap!

A crisp sound, like a belt whipping flesh, rang out.

Immediately following was the boy's suppressed cry of pain.

"You still dare to argue! Did that money grow legs and run away? You little bastard who is full of lies!"