Chapter 249: I will find you

"Achoo!""Achoo!!""A-a-a-choo—!"

A door in the courtyard opened, and Jian Changsheng emerged, rubbing his red nose with a strange expression. "How odd... why can't I stop sneezing these past two days?"

Chu Muyun, who was basking in the sun in the courtyard, glanced at him and spoke unhurriedly, "What's wrong? Did your last injury leave a sequela? Lie down, I'll take a look at you again..."

"No! No need!" Jian Changsheng quickly stepped back. "It shouldn't be that reason... My injury has already healed!"

After several days of recuperation, most of Jian Changsheng's bandages had been removed. Under his terrifying self-healing ability, not even a single scar remained. Chu Muyun's gaze constantly lingered on Jian Changsheng, as if he were examining a live specimen with great interest.

Chu Muyun's gaze made Jian Changsheng a little uneasy. Just as he was about to speak, the courtyard gate swung open, and a figure draped in a blood-stained coat appeared before the two.

"Red Heart, where have you been?" Jian Changsheng asked, surprised by the bloodstains on Chen Ling's clothes.

"Nothing much, just killed someone along the way," Chen Ling walked straight towards the room. "I have to go to work soon; I just came back to change."

Jian Changsheng stared in astonishment at Chen Ling's retreating back, then turned to Chu Muyun and asked, "Elder Chu, why does he have both work and missions every day, while I have nothing?"

Chu Muyun, who was reading a newspaper, didn't even lift his head. "His mission is to gather intelligence, and he found his work himself... If you think you have the ability, you can also try to find ways to gather intelligence for the organization."

Jian Changsheng racked his brain for a long time, unable to think of how he could gather intelligence. When Chen Ling came out after changing, he tentatively asked, "Red Heart, how did you become a reporter? Can you take me with you?"

"..." Chen Ling eyed him. "Although the Guild of Stars headquarters is gone, President Yan Xiang and several of his foreign subordinates are still alive... Are you sure you want to show your face outside?"

Jian Changsheng instantly wilted. He scratched his head, sighing repeatedly, displaying the sorrow and helplessness of a hero with patriotic ambitions born in the wrong era.

"Little Jian, you don't need to show your face outside anymore..." Just then, Chu Muyun suddenly spoke.

Jian Changsheng was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Chu Muyun, with a strange expression, placed the newspaper he was holding on the table. "Your name has already spread throughout Aurora City."

Jian Changsheng picked up the newspaper in a daze. It was an obscure midday paper, but on its front page, a series of bold, black characters read:

"Twilight Society Member Reappears in Aurora City! Spade 6 Unleashes a Bloodbath!"

The moment he saw the headline, Jian Changsheng was stunned. He quickly read on. It was a report about the horrific incident at the Meili Hotel, including a photo taken at the scene. In the picture, over a dozen figures lay in pools of blood, while piles of Spade 6 cards drifted eerily like ghosts in the dim light, incredibly bizarre.

"This... this..." Jian Changsheng finished reading the article, a deep bewilderment in his eyes. "Is his Spade 6 fake, or am I fake... or are all of you fake?"

Jian Changsheng suddenly felt a sense of unreality. He had clearly been recuperating for the past few days, not stepping out of the house, so how could he have "unleashed a bloodbath"? And, frankly, the bizarre and mysterious Spade 6 described in the article looked much more like the real Spade 6 than he did, a resentful idler recuperating at home...

"Of course, the one in the article is fake." Chu Muyun pushed up his glasses and said seriously, "Our Twilight Society is a legitimate organization; we would never use fraudulent tactics like 'one card, multiple uses.'"

"Damn it, who is impersonating me out there?" Jian Changsheng gritted his teeth. "Don't let me catch him, or else..."

Chen Ling, standing beside him, bowed his head, kept his eyes on his nose, and remained silent.

"But setting that aside, the method of scattering playing cards is quite stylish," Jian Changsheng's tone changed. Looking at the photo in the news, he was somewhat intrigued again. "When I find time, I'll buy a few decks of cards too. They might come in handy for future missions."

Chen Ling: ...

Han Meng walked alone through the streets of Aurora City, slowly navigating through the bustling, rushing crowds.

Ever since arriving in Aurora City, Han Meng had spent almost all his time in the Black Prison. With no place to settle and no familiar faces, he felt a faint sense of bewilderment as he walked through this city, countless times larger than District Three.

His gaze fell upon White Dove Square not far away, and he subconsciously walked towards it.

The long bench in front of the fountain, which he had previously shattered, had been restored to its original state. Han Meng sat there alone, watching the passing crowds, silent and still like a statue.

Perhaps due to the cooling weather, there were no kites visible above White Dove Square, and few children around. Han Meng quietly pondered everything that had happened since his arrival in Aurora City, and the name "Lin Yan" lingered persistently in his mind.

"Is it him? Or..."

Han Meng picked up the newspaper, repeatedly reading the report on the second page several times. Then, he suddenly stood up and walked towards the newsstand at the park entrance.

"Hello, I'd like a newspaper."

"Sure thing."

"Not today's."

"Huh?" The newsstand owner was momentarily taken aback. "Then which day's do you want?"

"Where is the Aurora Daily's column? I want to browse it first before deciding."

Guided by the newsstand owner, Han Meng walked directly to a stack of newspapers and flipped through them one by one. His gaze scanned name after name, and in the end, he only pulled out one.

"This one then."

Han Meng held the newspaper in his hand. On the front page was a major news story: "Guild of Stars Annihilated Overnight?"

This was the first news report in all of Aurora Daily's publications from the past year that was penned by "Lin Yan." Han Meng read the article carefully, finally pinpointing its publication date...

Immediately after, as if remembering something else, Han Meng quickly flipped through today's Aurora Daily, especially the article exposing the Guild of Stars' organ trade.

Han Meng's eyes narrowed slightly, and his fingertip paused on a specific column in the photo of the transaction records on the front page... There, a blurred name leaped into his vision.

"Chen Yan."

All the details from the three articles quickly pieced together in Han Meng's mind, and an answer surged into his heart.

Han Meng stood silently in front of the newsstand for a long time. It wasn't until the sun had almost set that he slowly walked away... He casually tossed both newspapers into a roadside trash can, his expression incredibly complex.

"I knew it, you wouldn't die so easily..."

His black enforcer's trench coat swayed gently in the cold wind as Han Meng murmured, "I will find you."