Chapter 193: Wenxuan Club
Following the coordinates on his phone, Lin Ye quickly found the two students and the several men in black suits following them.
"Can I ask what business you have with my students?"
Since they were on a public street with many pedestrians around, Lin Ye didn't immediately resort to violence.
"Kid, get lost if you don't want to die! Our boss needs to talk with them!"
Slap!
One of the black-suited men stepped forward to push Lin Ye away, but instead got slapped to the ground by Lin Ye.
Lin Ye didn't use spiritual energy, and even held back to only twenty percent of his strength—otherwise the man's head would have spun at least two and a half times on his neck.
"You bastard!"
Seeing Lin Ye take action, the other black-suited men surrounded him.
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! One slap per person—Lin Ye wasn't about to go easy on them.
At that moment, a sleazy-looking old man emerged from the crowd of onlookers. He cautiously approached Lin Ye and said:
"You must be a teacher from the Academy, right? So young and accomplished! I'm an executive from the Wenxuan Society. Our chairman has some questions for your students—could you please have them come with us? Matters need to be resolved eventually, and you can't protect them forever. Besides, our society has several spiritual energy users, and our chairman is acquainted with several captains from the Precinct."
The old man maintained a friendly smile, but the threat behind his words was unmistakable.
"See that coffee shop over there? I'm giving your chairman ten minutes. If he doesn't show up, I'll kill you first, then go kill him. Understood?"
Lin Ye grabbed the old man by his hair, pulling him close and forcing him to make eye contact.
"Understood! I'll notify the chairman immediately!"
The old man's eyes widened, his previous composure gone. As a seasoned member of the society, he had met many people, and he knew clearly that Lin Ye wasn't bluffing—he genuinely intended to kill him.
"Let's go, we'll get something to eat at the coffee shop. I've never been to one before. Girls your age probably like this kind of place, right?"
Lin Ye hadn't chosen randomly. If he were alone, he would have picked an old noodle shop by the roadside rather than this trendy coffee shop.
"Yes, I've been a few times with friends and taken photos."
Li Shiyan wasn't particularly interested in coffee shops, but as part of socializing, she could perfectly blend into friendly atmospheres.
"I've never been to a coffee shop either. I'm too intimidated to approach places that look this fancy."
Song Qian gripped Li Shiyan's clothing. She had always been a coward; if she hadn't met Li Shiyan, she might not have dared to resist those cultists.
"That's perfect then—we can try it out together."
Lin Ye glanced at the old man who was making a phone call. The old man dutifully followed behind Lin Ye.
The coffee shop was quiet, with only two tables occupied.
The shop owner was a tall, beautiful woman with striking looks. There were no other staff—just the owner herself.
"I'll have a strawberry cheesecake and your best coffee, plus a takeaway portion of your most recommended snack."
Lin Ye glanced at the menu and ordered casually.
Li Shiyan also ordered cake and coffee, while Song Qian chose a cream puff with soda combo.
Before their orders arrived completely, a black luxury sedan pulled up outside the coffee shop. A distinguished-looking middle-aged man entered, followed by two burly bald bodyguards.
Both bodyguards were low-level spiritual energy users.
The old man sitting next to Lin Ye hurriedly stood up and offered his seat to the newcomer.
"I'm Zhao Wenxuan, chairman of the Wenxuan Society. You must be Mr. Lin from the Academy?"
Zhao Wenxuan was very polite. While he could handle two Academy students without backgrounds, dealing with an Academy teacher was considerably more difficult.
"Get to the point. I'm busy."
At this distance, Lin Ye could blow his head off in just one second.
"It's like this—the child of one of my friends is also an Academy student. He's gone missing, and you seem to have some information. I hope you can tell me what you know."
Zhao Wenxuan spoke earnestly to Li Shiyan.
"That friend of yours who isn't missing—wouldn't happen to be yourself, would it?"
Lin Ye interjected, then proceeded to tell Zhao Wenxuan everything they had discovered.
This wasn't because Lin Ye particularly trusted Zhao Wenxuan—it was a simple test. He would judge Zhao Wenxuan's connection to the cult based on changes in his expression and eyes, which would determine how to deal with the Wenxuan Society.
"...I see."
After hearing Lin Ye's account, Zhao Wenxuan closed his eyes in pain. The missing student was his illegitimate child. He wasn't actually close to the boy—they only met occasionally for meals, and the child was usually cared for by nannies. But ultimately, it was still his child.
"You don't need to grieve too much. There's still a possibility that student is alive. I haven't figured out the cultists' objectives yet, but after I handle a few more cult strongholds, I might find clues about that student."
Lin Ye slowly ate his strawberry cheesecake while only taking one sip of the owner's special blend coffee. He didn't really understand the appeal of coffee drinking.
"What do you need me to do?"
Zhao Wenxuan immediately asked.
"Help me find those massage parlors that might be cult strongholds. I also need a car and a driver who knows the roads well. Additionally, get me a batch of silenced spiritual energy firearms."
Lin Ye didn't hold back, stating his requirements directly.
"The first parts are no problem, but spiritual energy firearms are difficult to obtain—they tend to attract attention from the Precinct. I can get you two silenced spiritual energy pistols, but it's best not to use them."
Zhao Wenxuan was going all out. This wasn't just for his son—it was also because he didn't want to live in the same city as cultists.
Actually, some lower-level members of the Wenxuan Society had also gone missing, but since they were from the bottom rungs of society and occasionally disappeared anyway, nobody had paid much attention. However, connecting this with Lin Ye's information, Zhao Wenxuan immediately realized those people had probably been taken by the cultists.
"Good. I'm giving you ten minutes. In ten minutes, I need to be in a car heading to the next massage parlor."
Lin Ye had no intention of cooperating with incompetent teammates—that would be too much of a waste of time.
"No problem."
Zhao Wenxuan made several phone calls. Five minutes later, a black sports car stopped outside the coffee shop.
Lin Ye got into the car with the two students. The driver was a young man in his twenties with a crew cut.
Without waiting for Lin Ye to speak, the young man handed him a box, then drove toward the nearest suspicious massage parlor.
The box contained two silenced spiritual energy pistols and four magazines, each loaded with 18 spiritual energy bullets.
After placing the pistols and magazines within easy reach, Lin Ye took out his phone and quietly studied the city map.
In just five minutes, the sports car stopped outside a massage parlor.
"Wait in the car for me. I'll be back soon."
Lin Ye got out and entered the massage parlor. The moment he stepped inside, he smelled that thick, cloying fragrance.
"That's right, this is the smell."
Lin Ye turned and closed the shop door behind him.