Chapter 131: The Investigation

"By the way," Yu Daoqing suddenly clapped her hands, breaking the calm atmosphere. "I almost forgot; we descendants of the Kalan actually maintain contact with one another."

"Oh?" Zhong Yun asked in surprise. "Really?"

Yu Daoqing nodded. "We have even organized a Kalan Alliance, with the goal of revitalizing the Kalan civilization. I am the chapter president for the Omi Star System."

"Wow." Zhong Yun couldn't help but look at her with newfound respect. Coming from a mid-level civilization, the fact that she could become the president for the entire Omi Star System was truly impressive.

One must realize that besides a plethora of veteran mid-level civilizations, the Omi Star System also housed three high-level civilization nations. No matter how you looked at it, Yu Daoqing, hailing from the newly established mid-level civilization of Davo, should not have been qualified.

"Every member of the Kalan Alliance is a descendant of the Kalan. The total membership has now exceeded three million. There are 796,402 in the Omi Star System, and you are number 796,403."

When speaking of the Kalan Alliance, Yu Daoqing’s eyes lit up with excitement; it seemed she poured immense passion into finding her fellow kin.

She spoke incessantly, introducing the situation of the Kalan Alliance, and Zhong Yun listened with great focus.

The Kalan descendants were primarily distributed across the three high-level civilization nations, with a few in some older mid-level ones, though they were rare. Based on what she said, many members of the Kalan Alliance were successful individuals in their respective countries, wielding abundant resources.

The two chatted until quite late. It was only when Zhong Yun’s stomach began to protest that he remembered he hadn't even eaten lunch. Checking the time, he realized it was already evening.

"I have to head back," Zhong Yun said, quickly taking his leave.

"Stay for a meal before you go," Yu Daoqing said, her gaze hopeful.

Zhong Yun knew that if he stayed for this meal, he didn't know how much longer they would end up talking. He could only apologize. "Next time. I promised my parents I’d be home for dinner." With that, he stood up.

"Wait." Yu Daoqing stopped him and picked up the purple crystal ball. "Take this with you. Use it to test if your parents or relatives have awakened."

Zhong Yun had just heard her mention that in the current universe, pure-blooded Kalans were extremely rare. The vast majority of Kalan descendants were of mixed heritage, and not everyone with Kalan blood could become a "descendant" in the true sense.

Because five thousand years had passed, many Kalan bloodlines had become very diluted. The Kalan lineage had become a recessive genetic factor; only a very small portion could awaken and possess the traits of the Kalan people.

When he arrived home, his parents were sitting on the sofa with solemn expressions. "Sorry, I’m late." Zhong Yun changed into clean shoes and walked into the living room.

"Sit down," Zhong Pingjiang said to his son.

"I’m starving, can we eat first?" Zhong Yun rubbed his stomach, looking pitiful.

"Come and sit. I have a few things I want to ask you." Zhong Pingjiang remained unmoved by his plea.

"Fine." Zhong Yun sighed inwardly; he knew it wouldn't be easy to get off the hook. He walked over and sat down opposite his father.

"Where did that money come from?" Zhong Pingjiang got straight to the point.

"If I said I borrowed it, would you believe me?" Zhong Yun countered with a question.

Zhong Pingjiang paused slightly, then shook his head. Naturally, he wouldn't believe that someone would lend his son ten billion; this was ten billion, not one hundred.

"Then if I said I stole it, would you believe me?" Zhong Yun asked again.

Zhong Pingjiang shook his head once more. By the same logic, the difficulty of stealing ten billion was no less than borrowing it.

"Since you don't believe me, why ask?" Zhong Yun blinked innocently.

Zhong Pingjiang stared for a long moment before offering a bitter smile to his wife. "It seems I’ve underestimated our son. He’s much more capable than his old man. Ten billion, just like that—he produced it without a second thought."

Yun Rong was still a bit worried. Her son had produced such a massive sum of money out of thin air; as a mother, how could she not be concerned?

"When I brought out the Nine-Star Companion Moon, the Zhong-style stabilizer, and the Cloud Alloy, you should have realized I wasn't ordinary," Zhong Yun said calmly.

Zhong Pingjiang and Yun Rong exchanged a look. Indeed, they should have noticed their son's extraordinary nature earlier, but as parents, they couldn't help but view him as a child, because his age hadn't yet allowed them to fully let go.

However, having gone through so much, Zhong Pingjiang felt he should no longer treat him like a child. He had a premonition that his son would achieve an incredibly glorious career in the future.

With the ten billion provided by Zhong Yun, overcoming the immediate crisis was no longer an issue. Zhong Pingjiang began to reorganize the company. The fundamental reason the mastermind behind the scenes had succeeded in drawing him into the trap was the management chaos caused by the company's rapid expansion, which had provided an opening.

Zhong Pingjiang would not allow such a thing to happen again. Thus, he became busy once more.

As for the mastermind, Zhong Pingjiang had enough self-awareness not to provoke them actively. As long as he was careful, no matter how powerful the mastermind was, they wouldn't be able to gain much of an advantage.

Zhong Pingjiang might be able to let it go, but that didn't mean Zhong Yun could swallow his pride. Especially after learning the details of the incident, he was instantly incensed. If it hadn't been for his father’s diligence this time, not only would the company be at risk, but his father might have even faced imprisonment.

Just thinking about his father nearly ending up in jail made Zhong Yun's anger flare uncontrollably; this had crossed his bottom line.

Zhong Yun began to investigate the person behind this. His entry point was the large company involved: Mingtan Large Equipment Co., Ltd. This company was very powerful, with last year’s turnover exceeding eighty billion.

Zhong Yun locked his target onto the negotiator from the Mingtan company at the time, Deputy General Manager Fu Yang.

He dispatched a spy robot, "Insect-Bee One," to monitor Fu Yang around the clock. The next step was simply to wait. Unfortunately, there was only one "Insect-Bee One," otherwise, Zhong Yun would have liked to monitor the president of Mingtan Company as well.

Zhong Yun’s daily life continued as usual. Every other day was a day off; he would wander around with Tian Hai and the others during the day, and go on dates with Liu Yunqi in the evening.

After two days, "Insect-Bee One" finally returned some useful information. Last night, Fu Yang met with a mysterious figure in a secluded little restaurant. The mysterious figure wore a hat that obscured their entire face; the intent to hide their identity was obvious.

However, in front of "Insect-Bee One," a hat was useless. It captured the mysterious figure’s face. As soon as Zhong Yun saw it, he recognized the person—he had been present on the day of the signing as part of Fu Yang’s entourage.

Going to such lengths to be mysterious definitely meant something was fishy. Zhong Yun handed the photo to Chen Wen, asking him to help look into this person's background. Among those around him, Chen Wen was the only person he could trust and who also possessed the capability.

The results were very interesting: this mysterious person was actually a member of the Body Arts Association. Not just an ordinary member, but a staff member.

"Did he offend you somewhere?" Chen Wen hesitated, then finally hinted, "If it's not a big deal, it's best not to provoke him. People from the Body Arts Association are not easy to deal with."

Zhong Yun understood Chen Wen’s subtext. The Body Arts Association had great influence, and offending them would be troublesome. Even the Chen family was wary of them.