Chapter 73: Elder Hank

New York is an international metropolis, as evident from its magnificent airport buildings and the constant flow of people coming and going.
Long Tian looked around the airport, casting flirtatious glances at the beautiful women passing by.
“Look at that one… what a great figure…”
“That doll-like face is so cute…”
“That girl with big blue eyes is flirting with me…”
“And then there’s that blonde beauty…”
“…”
“Boss, at this pace, it will take us two hours to get out of the airport. Haven’t you noticed how crowded it is here—comparable to the Spring Festival travel rush back home?” Ye Feng grabbed Long Tian’s wrist and pulled him toward the exit.
“It’s a bit crowded, but it’s still much better than the Spring Festival rush. There are beautiful women here… and the order is also much better… Although I’ve never left City H during the Spring Festival rush, I have no idea what it’s like…” Long Tian was pulled forward reluctantly by Ye Feng. “Compared to City H, this place is practically a paradise…”
“Alright, if you need anything, let’s find a place to stay first. You can get some Special-Service to satisfy your physical needs. I think you seem a bit hungry and thirsty today… you know, I mean in that sense…” Ye Feng stopped and turned his head to pull Long Tian’s attention back to himself, who was whistling at a beautiful woman not far away.
In the elevator of the Hilton Hotel, Long Tian, carrying his suitcase, couldn’t help asking, “Why are we staying on the 19th floor? Don’t you think the second floor would be better? From the second floor, we can see many girls from above… you know…”
“Because the 19th floor allows us to avoid obstructing buildings and see our team’s base in New York,” Ye Feng said expressionlessly. “You can buy a telescope—everything will be clearly visible from the 19th floor! And no one will notice!”
“Good idea!” Long Tian smirked, wanting to say something in protest, but ultimately stayed silent.
Upon reaching the 19th floor, Ye Feng dragged his suitcase to his room. He opened the door, hung his coat on the hook by the door, and set down the suitcase. Then he went to the balcony, took out a long telescope and a tripod from the storage space, and set up the telescope on the balcony. He then aimed the lens at a place not far away.

Through the telescope, looking through the house with curtains and windows pulled back, Ye Feng saw that there were people in the team’s base. He adjusted the direction and looked toward the entrance. The door was wide open, and several guards stood there.

“Are they people sent by the Hunter Organization to investigate?” Ye Feng knew that those who dared to search around their base so brazenly must be those investigating this case.

He turned the lens again to look at the people in the room. One of them was standing with his hands on his hips, giving orders to the others. Ye Feng adjusted the lens to get a clearer view, but suddenly that person turned his head and looked in his direction, his gaze cold and fierce.

“Did he see me?” Ye Feng was startled and immediately turned his gaze away from the telescope.

“You guy actually brought a telescope! You’re really well-prepared…” Long Tian silently appeared behind Ye Feng at that moment. “Let me take a look!”

He brought his right eye close to the telescope. After a while, a smile appeared on Long Tian’s lips. “I didn’t expect that on my first day in New York, I’d meet such an interesting guy…”

“That person seems to be able to see us…” Ye Feng frowned slightly.

“That’s right. I thought experts at the Golden Core stage were rare worldwide. Who would have thought I’d meet one on my first day in New York? And he’s a bearded uncle… From the look of him, he seems to be the leader of that group. Is that house your base here?” Long Tian looked up at Ye Feng.

“That’s right!” Ye Feng nodded.

“They must be from the Hunter Organization’s investigation department! Showing up at your base so brazenly and carefreely…” Long Tian laughed. “How about we go say hello?”

……

Hank had been a senior in the Hunter Organization for nearly a hundred years, even though he looked to be in his early forties. His naturally curly brown hair was a bit messy and untidy, and his black eyes shone with an intimidating glow that made it hard to look directly at them. His beard made him look rugged, yet not sloppy, adding to his masculine aura. With a strong build and a height of nearly 1.9 meters, he could drive countless little girls who admired uncles crazy.

But right now, he lacked his usual confidence and composure, replaced instead by a hint of confusion and worry. His eyes, which could see through everything, failed to give him answers this time; instead, they only brought more doubts.

On the balcony of a room at the Hilton Hotel not far from there, he was pretty sure he saw that new member of the Judgment Squad—the Chinese man, Ye Feng. According to the information he had, Ye Feng should still be in China dealing with his personal affairs, but he was certain what he saw wasn’t an illusion. What shocked him even more was that Ye Feng was with a Golden Core-level expert—a Golden Core-level expert from ancient China. This made him, who had been convinced that the Judgment Squad had been targeted in a revenge attack, start to doubt his assumptions. “Why is Ye Feng here? Could he have heard about what’s going on here?” Hank wondered. “Kevin, I want to check their last call records and times now!” “Elder Second, ever since I took on this case the day before yesterday, I’ve been trying to crack their accounts and passwords. But that Chinese guy, Yi, is extremely skilled—he encrypted everyone in their team’s accounts and passwords using a special method. I still haven’t found a way in,” Kevin said helplessly, shaking his head. “You’re the super administrator of the Hunters’ official website. Why can’t you just view their accounts and passwords? Weren’t you always able to do that before?” Hank frowned. “Other teams can, but that Chinese guy, Yi, separated their team’s accounts and passwords in some way outside our website. I don’t see any messages or alerts when they log in, and with that method, he must be able to access S-level missions. I don’t know how he does it, but undeniably, he’s a genius! If he’s still alive, I really hope to meet him…” Kevin’s expression showed a hint of regret. At that moment, Hank suddenly turned toward the door. “No need to bother anymore—the accounts and passwords have come to us on their own! I’m going out for a moment!” “What?” Kevin raised his head in confusion, but Hank had already disappeared. Outside the base, Long Tian stared intently at the man opposite him, who was slightly taller than himself, his gaze filled with a hint of excitement. Hank, on the other hand, felt something completely different. He watched the young man in front of him warily, sensing that something was brewing within him. From the man’s expression, he could tell that the man seemed excited and eager to fight when he saw him, which puzzled Hank, as he was certain he had never met this man before.

“Hey, Long Ge, it’s impolite to stare at this uncle like that!” Ye Feng suddenly spoke up to remind him.
“Oh, my apologies. I’m a bit excited!” Long Tian laughed. “My name is Long Tian. May I ask, do you want to fight me?”
“Fight?” Hank was a bit confused. “Why?”
“Let me explain!” Ye Feng pushed Long Tian aside and stepped forward. “It’s like this: this guy has never seen someone as strong as him at the Golden Core stage before, so he wants to challenge you. But you don’t need to pay any attention to his unreasonable request, because we’re here for other matters that require your help.”
“He’s meeting a Golden Core stage warrior for the first time?” Hank finally understood why Long Tian had reacted that way when he saw him, while he, who was used to Golden Core stage warriors, hadn’t noticed anything. He also understood why he had received such a seemingly nonsensical challenge.
“Are you Ye Feng?” Hank awkwardly changed the subject. “I saw you on the balcony with a telescope just now…”
“William and the others encountered trouble. I came back to figure out what happened and avenge them!” Ye Feng explained. “As for the telescope, it was to keep a safe distance. I wanted to see what was going on here. I didn’t expect you to be able to see us.”
“I’m Hank, the second elder of the Special Incidents Investigation Team. My eyes are a bit special…” Hank nodded at Ye Feng. “If you don’t mind, could you log in to your hunter account? We’d like to see the last time and content of your communications. I think it might help our investigation.”
“No problem!” Ye Feng nodded and followed Hank into the base. Left behind, Long Tian put his hands in his pockets and followed the two into the house with a somewhat helpless expression.
After entering the account details, Ye Feng opened his inbox and outbox.
“November 3rd? The sender is Kelly?” Hank looked at the last message Kelly sent to Ye Feng.
He turned to look at Ye Feng and Long Tian. “William and the others died around 10 p.m. on November 2nd!”
“That means Kelly wasn’t killed on the spot!” Ye Feng immediately realized what this meant.
“She told you to run away, which means your enemy is very strong—so strong that she thought you couldn’t match them.” Hank looked at Ye Feng. “William and the others were killed in one strike, which also means the enemy’s strength is at least at the Condensed Core stage or higher! Why did you come back?”

“I must know who the killer is, and I’ll kill him with my own hands!” Ye Feng clenched his fists. “Before that, I also need to find Kelly and find out exactly what happened!”
“I hope she’s still alive! Although she wasn’t killed on the spot, with that guy’s strength, once he finds her, there’s no way she’ll survive. We’ve already checked William and the others’ bodies—the guy didn’t leave any room for error. I wonder if you’ve recently crossed paths with someone you shouldn’t have,” Hank suddenly asked.
“I’ve been in China handling my own affairs lately, so I’m not sure if they’ve taken on any other missions. I wasn’t involved, and there are no records related to this on my hunter account,” Ye Feng shook his head.
“What about the other people’s accounts and passwords? Do you remember them?” Hank pressed on.
“The website administrator should know that!” Ye Feng frowned slightly, looking at Hank with suspicion.
“That’s true under normal circumstances, but that Chinese guy, Yi Fan, tampered with your accounts and passwords, making it impossible for me to see anything,” Kevin interjected upon hearing the question.
“Who is he?” Ye Feng turned to Hank.
“He’s our top-level network engineer!” Hank introduced.
“Okay, but I only remember Yi Fan’s account; I don’t remember the password! I don’t know the accounts and passwords of the others!” Ye Feng looked at Kevin. “Is it possible?”
“If you can give me the account, I should be able to crack the password within an hour!” Kevin nodded.
“Then let’s get started and see what’s happened lately!” Hank also became excited, somewhat looking forward to what would happen next.
The usually unruly Long Tian also quietly fell silent, sitting calmly on the sofa, staring at the computer screen, lost in thought…