Unfortunately, just as he glimpsed the name, his body was ensnared by Jia Yunlian's Thorn Whip.
"Stop, if you continue... Brother Duan Chen, even you, I wouldn't hesitate to take your life here."
"Murdering a state official carries legal responsibility, you know."
"A thief who steals a lady's secrets isn't protected by the law." Jia Yunlian's vine whip tightened its grip.
Duan Chen shrugged, ceased his mind-reading, and smiled cordially, "I was just worried about you. If you want to stay, be my guest."
Jia Yunlian's red lips curved into a faint smile, and she retracted her long whip.
"Brother Duan Chen, we'll meet again soon~"
"Alright."
Duan Chen didn't hesitate, his figure a blur.
Before leaving, Duan Chen looked back at Jia Yunlian. For some reason, he had a fleeting premonition that this parting would be their last.
She, however, remained calm, waved at him, and smiled as she bid him farewell.
This was starkly different from her usual explosive and fierce demeanor.
Duan Chen stepped into the mirror, the name he had just read still echoing in his mind: [Niya].
Jia Yunlian's form blurred behind the mirror, her smile fading, her eyes filled with coldness and eeriness.
Upon returning to land, Duan Chen immediately contacted Xiao Li, instructing her to halt all current work and thoroughly investigate the name [Niya].
Two days later, Duan Chen received Xiao Li's report—
"Brother Chen, I found the person you asked me to investigate. You really won't believe the results."
On the other end of the phone, Xiao Li's voice was heavy.
"Speak."
Duan Chen paused his work, habitually pulling out a small notebook to record.
"[Niya]—Jia Yunlian's illegitimate son, five years old, lives with his maternal grandmother in the affluent district at number 66. The father's identity is unknown... Brother Chen, you're investigating a child?"
Xiao Li instinctively found it hard to believe Duan Chen would be investigating a five-year-old.
Of course, Duan Chen was also somewhat surprised.
So Jia Yunlian, that intimidating tigress everyone feared, who acted coy and flirtatious in front of him, actually had a child?!
"Is the information accurate?" Duan Chen still asked.
"Yes," Xiao Li replied softly.
"And has this child lost his memory? Gone missing?" Duan Chen had a bad feeling.
"There are reports that he's been unwell with a fever and hasn't been to kindergarten for a week. You suspect he's been replaced by a sea monster? Impossible. Although Jia Yunlian is rarely home, besides his grandmother, Niya has two nannies and a personal spirit hunter providing 24-hour care. If anything were to happen to him, there would be no way to keep it quiet."
That's truly strange. If the child named Niya is fine, why is Jia Yunlian so insistent on staying in Mirror City, with her mind filled with this name?
Years of experience as a secret agent told Duan Chen that Jia Yunlian's refusal to leave Mirror City was definitely connected to this illegitimate son, but he lacked evidence for now.
"I want the child's recent movement records."
"The Red Sun Kindergarten has his latest attendance records. The school says Niya has recovered and is attending normally today."
"Are there any peculiarities in his interactions with teachers and classmates?"
"Everything is normal."
That was truly odd, and Duan Chen's doubts grew.
"But there's something very strange, I don't know if it's a coincidence," Xiao Li hesitated. "Do you remember the little boy from Sacred Heart Hospital?"
"Yes, the one who controlled the exploding toy duck. It was quite tricky at the time. His name was [Zhong Naonao], if I recall correctly."
"That's right, Zhong Naonao. He's five years old, also a student at Red Sun Kindergarten, and he's in the same class as Niya."
"That's too much of a coincidence."
Duan Chen narrowed his eyes. "Zhong Naonao was hospitalized with pneumonia caused by the flu, and Niya also missed a week of kindergarten citing discomfort from a fever."
"Germs spread easily among children. If one child in a class gets sick, it often infects half the class. That's quite normal."
Duan Chen's mind conjured the image of the blood-stained glass ball with its sinister number [5].
"Find me a reason, I need to visit Red Sun Kindergarten in person," Duan Chen said.
Xiao Li sounded surprised. "A five-year-old child, Brother Chen, aren't you...?"
"Better safe than sorry. If sea monsters target young children, it could lead to a chain reaction affecting families, creating a terrifying cycle of mutation. Even with incomplete clues, it's worth the trip."
Xiao Li immediately became serious. "Yes! Brother Chen, you're right. I was careless."
Without any concrete evidence, even the official Spirit Hunter Guild couldn't interrogate a five-year-old kindergarten student.
"I heard there are fire drills being conducted in various places. We'll use that as an excuse. Have the security department cooperate."
"Yes, sir!" Xiao Li hung up and immediately went to work.
Soon, progress was made.
Thinking he was going to meet a child, Duan Chen specially picked out an Ultraman mask from a toy store as a gift.
Red Sun Kindergarten, a semi-closed boarding aristocratic kindergarten built only six years ago.
Located in the southern suburbs of Su City, it was nestled beside mountains and water, in a quiet environment. Despite being far from residential areas, many parents still chose to send their children here.
Most of these parents were wealthy, or were power users. By sending their children here, they only needed to pick them up weekly or monthly, greatly alleviating the problem of parents being too busy to care for their children.
It prided itself on top-tier resources and often organized group activities, aiming to cultivate elites for the new era, with the slogan: "Compete, starting from infancy."
Duan Chen drove his Maserati down a country road, the hum of the engine blending with Jay Chou's "Qi Xiang." In no time, he saw a luxurious building towering amidst the mountains and wilderness.
Outside the kindergarten gate was a field of red flowers, small, nameless red wildflowers blooming wantonly, a striking and beautiful sight.
Duan Chen found the scene beautiful, yet it evoked an inexplicable feeling...
It was as if he had seen this scene before.
Children seemed to be running among the wildflowers, holding bouquets of them high, fiery red, as if grasping fire in their hands.
Duan Chen paused, then blinked. When he came to his senses, the flower field was silent; there were no children running around.
He didn't overthink it, assuming he was just too tired lately.
At that moment, the sharp iron gate swung open outwards. Duan Chen drove his supercar in, and a fair-skinned, beautiful teacher named Xiao Mei came to greet him.
Hearing that the police department would be cooperating, she was surprised and excited to find not a logistics officer, but a high-level secret agent from the Spirit Hunter Guild.
Her eyes lit up when she saw the multi-million dollar supercar. Then, when she saw Duan Chen step out of the car in his custom suit, remove his sunglasses, and offer her a sunny, handsome smile, her heart skipped a beat.
They say police officers are the finest men chosen by the state; this saying proved to be true indeed!