James Bolton speculated: “On the other hand, Ethan Brooks... If The Brooks Family doesn’t protect Samuel Brooks, then he is the only male descendant of Charles Brooks’s branch, and his importance is far beyond what Grace Brooks can compare to. No matter what their motives are, the higher-ups of The Brooks Family would never just stand by and watch him fall into danger and lose his life. Otherwise, that would be a slap in the face for The Brooks Family, and would only make people think The Brooks Family is easy to bully.”

Emily Harris pondered silently, saying nothing.

Since this concerned the young master of The Brooks Family, she naturally had to act with extra caution.

“Rather than believe that someone from The Brooks Family quietly took out Black Triangle Star, I’d rather suspect that Ethan Brooks has a side unknown to others.”

She spoke in a low voice.

In her mind, she couldn’t help but recall the sense of discord and unease she’d felt when she saw Ethan Brooks at the Chihe Mansion.

But she couldn’t quite put her finger on where that feeling came from.

Shaking her head, she decided not to overthink it.

“Under the pretense of protecting Ethan Brooks, send a team to keep an eye on him in secret...”

Emily Harris gave the order.

“Our manpower... has all been borrowed by Consultant Cooper, we’re a bit short-handed...”

James Bolton said, a little troubled.

“Consultant Cooper...”

Emily Harris knew who he meant, and felt a headache coming on.

“The general manager of Longquan Real Estate is not some fringe figure like those in Black Triangle Star. Those rats from the Black Triangle Star’s underworld, if they die, so be it. But Henry Cooper... a successful person with assets worth hundreds of millions, and also with a status in the martial arts world... The pressure from above is intense. Not to mention Consultant Cooper, our Security Bureau will be run off our feet for a while. Inspector Morgan has ordered everyone to fully cooperate with Consultant Cooper.”

James Bolton added another sentence.

Between people, differences in status and position lead to completely different responses from the Security Bureau.

“Forget it, I’ll make time to keep an eye on things myself now and then. Hopefully, I’m just overthinking.”

Emily Harris said.

James Bolton nodded.

……

Early the next morning.

Ethan glanced at the fourteen names in the memo on his phone, along with their sects and addresses, and chose the nearest one first.

Shanlong City.

The city in Tiannan closest to Yunmeng.

Only about sixty kilometers in a straight line.

By car, just over an hour.

The purpose of Ethan’s cultivation was to live a better life.

With hundreds of thousands in cash on him, he wasn’t going to treat himself poorly.

He directly found a taxi and headed for Shanlong City.

On the way to Shanlong City, he also opened his phone to search for videos related to the top martial artist of Shanlong City who had fallen from grace.

……

As the car left Yunmeng City, the tall buildings around gradually became sparse.

After a while, even the number of low-rise buildings dropped off sharply.

Ethan scrolled through videos, learning about Edward Reed’s fighting style, paying no attention to the scenery outside.

But at that moment, the car suddenly stopped.

Ethan looked up.

He saw the taxi driver chatting with two women carrying luggage.

Next to them was a ride-hailing car that had broken down halfway.

The driver bargained with the two, and soon agreed to take them to Shanlong City for fifty yuan each.

During this, he didn’t ask Ethan, the passenger, for his opinion at all.

Considering that everyone has their difficulties when traveling, Ethan didn’t say anything.

The two women put their luggage in the trunk and got in the car.

As soon as they got in, a strong perfume scent filled the air.

Next came a woman who, at first glance, looked quite pretty and fashionable...

But on closer inspection, it was all technology and makeup.

The woman got in, saw Ethan, her eyes lit up slightly, and she greeted him proactively: “Hi, handsome.”

Because the perfume was too strong, Ethan said, “You two sit in the back, I’ll go to the front.”

With that, he opened the car door.

As he did, another young woman happened to come around and was hit by the door.

Before he could say anything, the girl quickly apologized: “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t see you were getting out...”

She spoke as she stepped aside.

Ethan glanced at her.

This girl was at most seventeen or eighteen, a bit thin, her skin somewhat tanned, and she wore no makeup at all. Yet even so, she had a refreshing innocence that caught the eye. “It’s fine.”

Ethan replied, walked around the front of the car, and sat in the passenger seat.

The car continued on.

“Handsome, are you going on a trip? Want to go together?”

In the car, the fashionable woman smiled and tried to chat with Ethan.

But Ethan just replied, “Looking for someone.”

He had no intention of continuing the conversation.

The woman tried to chat a few more times, but seeing his cold attitude, she soon got bored.

She turned to the girl beside her and said, “Sophie, don’t worry, we’re all from Yu Family Village. If I make it big, of course I’ll bring you along. Once we get to the company, you’ll definitely make a lot of money. If you work hard, earning tens of thousands a month won’t be a problem.”

“With my junior high diploma, I don’t dare dream of tens of thousands a month. If I can make five thousand, I’ll be satisfied. That way I can help my mom buy medicine and pay my sister’s tuition.”