150: The time is not right

Old Ghost snorted heavily, no longer bothering with Li Mo, and turned to loudly issue commands to the black market members who had miraculously survived and were now timidly gathering around.

"Are you all dead?! What are you standing there for?!"

"Get your tools moving! Clear the rubble! Gather all usable supplies together!"

"Before dark, I want to see this place restored to its original state! Do you hear me?!"

His voice was loud, filled with an unquestionable authority.

Those black market old timers, usually unruly, were now more docile than sheep, each busily starting to work without delay.

The entire scene instantly became orderly.

Lin Yu watched all of this quietly.

Watching the roaring, energetic Old Ghost, like an old lion, commanding everything.

He saw that loyalty.

And beneath that loyalty, he saw something even deeper.

Cowardice.

Yes, it was cowardice.

A dream he had longed for decades, an obsession that had sustained him through countless dark years.

When this dream was within reach, he retreated.

He dared not go.

He dared not knock on the door of a home now occupied by strangers.

He dared not face the son who might no longer recognize him, or even hate him.

He was afraid of seeing the unfamiliar happiness on his wife's face.

He was even more afraid of seeing the contempt in his son's eyes.

How could decades of separation, decades of emptiness, be filled?

With a simple "I'm back"?

Or with his indelible black market aura and the embarrassment of empty hands?

So, he preferred to use the grandest reason, absolute loyalty to his boss, to cover up his inner fear.

He threw himself into the busiest work, using roars and commands to fill the heart being gnawed by fear.

This was a form of escape.

An escape that even he, perhaps, was unwilling to admit.

Lin Yu did not expose it.

Some scars can only heal on their own.

Any external intervention might cause them to fester even more completely.

Just then, a steady engine sound approached from afar.

A black, understated yet sleek business car silently pulled up at the edge of the ruins.

The car door slid open, and a man in a crisp suit and gold-rimmed glasses quickly stepped out.

He showed no surprise at the tragic scene before him, merely hurried to Wang Han, bowing slightly.

"Chairman, Young Miss, the car is ready."

It was Wang Han's assistant.

Tianqing Group's people had arrived.

Lin Yu stepped forward, walking towards the father and daughter who were still in shock.

His steps crunched on the gravel; this time, he made no effort to muffle the sound, letting out a rustling noise.

Wang Han's body stiffened again.

He held his daughter and slowly turned around, his elegant face showing extreme complexity of emotions.

"Uncle."

Lin Yu stopped in front of them and spoke calmly.

"In Linzhou, if you ever encounter something you can't resolve, or if someone unknowingly offends you..."

"Come find me anytime."

"As your nephew, it's my undeniable duty."

His words were plain.

Yet they were like a thunderclap, exploding in Wang Han's mind.

Exactly the same.

Almost identical to the words he had spoken to Lin Yu just a few hours ago, patting his shoulder.

"Xiao Yu, if anything ever happens, just tell your uncle."

"As long as your uncle is in Linzhou, no one will dare bully you."

Then and there.

Here and now.

The balance of power had completely shifted.

Wang Han opened his mouth, his throat feeling as if it were stuffed with cotton, unable to utter a single word.

How should he respond?

Say "Okay"?

How could he dare?

The scenes of destruction just now, the bloodied business titan Li Mo kneeling on the ground, the resurrected Contract Master Seventh Master... all of it clearly told him that his nephew stood at a height he completely failed to comprehend, even imagine.

This favor, he could not accept.

Nor could he repay it.

He suddenly, completely understood Lin Yu's father, his old friend.

They had grown up together, practically brothers, yet when it came to asking for help with such a small matter, his friend had been as awkward as a stranger.

He had even concocted a strange notion that "if I help this time, we'll be even forever."

At the time, he had thought his old friend was too formal, too stubborn.

Now he understood.

When the gap between two people is so vast it forms an insurmountable chasm, that once-equal friendship is no longer pure.

Every request for help is a drain.

Every act of kindness is a severance.

Could he, Wang Han, still comfortably accept Lin Yu's help as an "uncle"?

If in the future, he truly hit rock bottom, and Lin Yu, out of their uncle-nephew bond, helped him with an immense favor...

What then?

Would he still have the face to claim seniority and appear before Lin Yu again?

Wang Han didn't know.

He truly didn't know.

Seeing Wang Han's uneasy face, Lin Yu said nothing more.

He flipped his wrist, and a storage bracelet shimmering with metallic luster appeared in his hand.

"Uncle, take this."

He directly placed the bracelet onto Wang Han's wrist.

"Inside are some basic potions, and also some Life Serum. You and Qingxuan can use them when needed, just consider it a small token from your nephew."

Wang Han subconsciously wanted to refuse.

"Xiao Yu, this... this is too valuable! I can't..."

"Just take it."

Lin Yu's actions were beyond dispute.

"To me, it's nothing."

That one sentence blocked all of Wang Han's words of refusal in his throat.

Yes.

To him, it was nothing.

As his mental power sank into the bracelet, Wang Han took just one look, and his heart suddenly constricted.

Strength, Agility, Constitution, Spirit—four types of top-tier perfect potions, each piled like a mountain.

And beside those mountains of potions, neatly stacked, were tens of thousands of glowing Life Serums.

Wang Han's breathing instantly hitched.

He sharply looked up at Lin Yu.

This gift was even heavier than the promise just made.

So heavy that it was enough to crush the last thin thread of their uncle-nephew relationship.

"Chairman?"

The assistant whispered a reminder from the side.

Wang Han then awoke as if from a dream. He took one last look at Lin Yu, a look filled with gratitude, shock, bewilderment, but more than anything, an inexpressible sense of distance.

"Xiao Yu, you... take care."

In the end, he could only utter this dry sentence.

Then, he helped his still-sobbing daughter, guided by the assistant, quickly walk towards the car.

As if fleeing.

Lin Yu stood still, watching the black business car silently start, arc away, and disappear into the hazy horizon.

His gaze returned to the bustling ruins.

Falling upon the back of the Old Ghost, who was still using roars to conceal something.

Uncle Wang Han's awkwardness and distance.

Old Ghost's fear and evasion.

Two completely different manifestations, yet their core pointed to the same thing.

A thought surfaced in Lin Yu's mind.

If even the well-traveled Wang Han reacted this way...

What about his own parents?

What about his sister, Lin Yao?

They were just ordinary citizens, living their entire lives in the sunlight, not even knowing what the black market was.

If they had seen that scene just now...

Seen him conjure lightning with a flick of his finger, seen the dead brought back to life, seen the helmsman of a business empire prostrate like a dog at his feet...

What would they think?

Would they not feel pride, not feel excitement?

Would they only feel fear?

He had always thought that becoming stronger was to better protect his family.

Now it seemed that sometimes, ignorance was the best protection for them.

At least, the time wasn't right yet...