Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Xilun stood up and walked to the side of the ship to look into the distance.

The dock was bustling with people, and huge cranes were loading and unloading heavy cargo. The air was filled with a strong smell of the sea and the acrid smell of burning coal.

At the very front of the pier stood a burly man with a black visor over his left eye.

With his exceptional eyesight, Siron immediately recognized him as Balk, the manager of the ocean terminal.

The thin man standing next to him, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, was his deputy, Kurt.

As soon as he stepped off the ship, Balk's fierce face immediately broke into an incredibly enthusiastic smile.

He strode forward, opening his arms as if he were seeing an old friend he hadn't seen for many years.

"Yuri! My old friend, it's been so long since I've seen you!" Balk's voice boomed like thunder.

As he spoke, he turned to his men behind him and loudly ordered:

"Go and thoroughly clean our Brotherhood friends' ship, inside and out!"

"Not a single barnacle or seaweed clinging to the bottom of the boat can be left!"

Yuri was taken aback by Balk's sudden enthusiasm, then waved his hand and said:

"There's no need to go to such trouble, Balk."

"The main reason we're here is to take one person with us. We'll leave after we complete the formalities."

Balk's expression turned serious, and he said with utmost earnestness:

"Hey! What's wrong? Can't we sit down in the office and talk about it slowly?"

Listen to me now! Come on, let me show you our newly acquired steam crane facilities at the dock.

"Stay for lunch in a bit! We also have a delicious afternoon tea that you're sure to enjoy!"

Yuri hesitated for a moment.

He glanced at Celen beside him, thinking that since Finn was at the dock, it didn't seem to matter whether it was a moment earlier or later, so he prepared to nod in agreement.

Just then, a tall and upright young figure stepped out from behind Yuri.

It was Xilun.

He looked directly into Balk's single eye, his tone calm yet undeniably firm, and asked, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Balk?"

The smile on Balk's face vanished instantly.

He glanced down at Xiren, noticing that he was just a young follower behind Yuri, and his eyes immediately revealed a hint of impoliteness and contempt.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Balk asked gruffly.

Ignoring the other party's rude attitude, Xilun calmly stated:

"I want to see my friend Finn, can I do it now?"

Balk frowned impatiently, raising his voice slightly:

"As I just said, we can talk about anything when we get to the office! This is private reception time, no business!"

Xilun's eyes turned slightly cold, but he still controlled his emotions and said in a deep voice:

"Mr. Balk, I mean no harm, but I haven't seen my friend in a long time."

I wrote him a letter a few days ago, but he didn't reply.

I've heard he's involved in an extremely dangerous whaling operation, and I must confirm his safety immediately. I would be grateful if Mr. Balk could do me this favor.

Normally, faced with such a trivial request, Balk might have readily agreed to it to save face.

But now, Finn isn't at the dock at all, so where would he hand over anyone?

To cover up his guilty conscience, Balk feigned anger.

He suddenly raised his voice and shouted, pointing at Xilen's nose:

"Are all members of the fraternity so rude?!"

I treated you with such respect, providing you with the best hospitality, and even had my crew wash your ship!

I never expected you to be so ungrateful!

He snorted coldly, a fierce glint appearing in his single eye:

"Let me tell you, even if Finn is your friend, he is now a crew member under contract with our ocean-going terminal!"

I will absolutely not allow him to leave his post before the work is finished! You'd better wait patiently!

Despite being bombarded with this barrage of criticism, Xilun's expression remained unchanged.

He gave the enraged Balk a deep look, his keen intuition allowing him to detect a hint of weakness beneath the surface of the man's fierce demeanor.

He did not continue arguing, but slowly lowered his head and nodded slightly, saying:

"Alright. I trust Mr. Balk's reputation and will follow his instructions."

I believe Mr. Balk will eventually give us a satisfactory explanation.

Balk snorted coldly, turned his head away and ignored Xiren, continuing to enthusiastically pull Yuri deeper into the dock.

Xilun followed quietly behind, his hands in his coat pockets, but the muscles in his fingertips were already slightly tense.

A chilling glint flashed in his deep eyes.

……

The interior structure of the ocean-going terminal resembles a colossal steel monster, with its skeleton formed by a complex network of pipes and roaring steam engines.

Led by his deputy Kurt, Siron and Yuri gave a cursory tour of the newly built storage area and mechanical cranes.

Throughout the entire process, Siron remained silent. His deep eyes, like a sophisticated scanner, silently observed the dockworkers' expressions, the distribution of armed guards, and the lingering tension in the air.

Around noon, the three were led to a luxurious restaurant on the top floor of the dock administration building.

The restaurant was decorated in an extremely luxurious style, with huge crystal chandeliers casting a soft light, and long oak tables piled high with golden-brown roasted turkeys, thick-cut steaks dripping with blood, and expensive wines.

However, when they sat down at the table, Yuri stopped fiddling with his napkin.

He looked around, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"Mr. Kurt."

Yuri looked at his deputy, who had been standing respectfully to the side, and asked with a hint of doubt, "Excuse me, where is Mr. Balk?"

Since this is a gathering of guests, it seems rather unreasonable for him, as the host, not to attend.

Kurt adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and smiled without changing his expression:

"Governor Yuri, I am truly sorry."

Mr. Balk received an urgent cargo dispatch document and is currently extremely busy.

He specifically instructed me to make sure you two were well taken care of, and asked that you not mind his absence.

Yuri nodded slightly; though he was shrewd, he was not stupid.

The stark contrast between Balk's enthusiasm at the dock and his current avoidance made him instinctively sense something unusual.

"Since Mr. Balk is busy with official business, we won't bother him any longer."

Yuri put down his napkin, leaned forward slightly, and his eyes sharpened:

"Let's finish the formalities for Fein as soon as possible."

"Hand them over to us, and we'll leave immediately."

Kurt's smile froze for a moment. He gave a slight bow, his tone still polite but clearly conveying a sense of refusal:

"This matter... I'm afraid only Mr. Balk can discuss it with you in person."

I'm just a deputy; I don't have the authority to handle changes to personnel contracts.

Yuri was taken aback, and his face immediately darkened.

"It's just a contract change for a low-level whaler; we already agreed on that in a letter a few days ago!"

Yuri's voice rose a few decibels, carrying the authority of a superior, "Since only Balk can handle this, why didn't he hand the person over sooner?"

Instead, they're keeping us here? We can't even find him. What kind of tricks are you Ocean Terminal playing?

A bead of sweat appeared on Kurt's forehead, but he maintained his composure and replied perfunctorily:

"I am not clear about these specific details either, Governor Yuri."

Please wait patiently a little longer, nothing will happen.

He adjusted his glasses, trying to hide the panic in his eyes.

Siren, who had been silent all along, finally raised his head. His hawk-like eyes were fixed on Kurt, and his voice was icy cold:

"Has something happened to Finn?"

Kurt was startled by the sudden question and instinctively took a half step back.

He waved his hand hastily, then forced himself to regain his composure and chuckled dryly:

"Sir, there is no such situation as you described."

However, there were indeed some minor issues with the handover procedures, requiring Mr. Balk's personal signature for confirmation...

"I want to see Mr. Balk."

Xilun interrupted him directly, his tone firm and unyielding, "Or, let me see someone who can solve the problem right now."

Kurt gritted his teeth and answered with a forced smile:

"No comment. Please enjoy your meal here and be patient."

Looking at the flickering eyes behind Kurt's glasses, Xilen had already made up her mind.

He was certain that his deputy knew something.

The other party went to great lengths to keep them in the restaurant, clearly concealing an extremely bad truth.

This stirred up a strong sense of worry and anger within Xilun.

In this cold and cruel world, there are few people he cares about.

Aside from his mentor's kindness, Finn was one of the few friends he truly cared about.

Even though he had long since repaid the few shillings that Finn had lent him to save his life, he had never forgotten the friendship they had shared in the slums.

Xilun slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and the "Great Sea Whale Guiding Technique" within his body began to operate unconsciously, with an extremely dangerous aura spreading from his body.

"In that case, I can only conclude that my friend Finn has had a serious accident, or may even be dead."

Siren's voice was terrifyingly low, "And you, you've been deliberately deceiving me. Isn't that right?"

Kurt felt the overwhelming sense of oppression, and even breathing became difficult.

He shook his head noncommittally, his voice trembling slightly:

"Please...please don't think that way. Lord Balk is indeed busy..."

Siren ignored his lying deputy.

He turned his head and looked at Yuri sitting opposite him.

"Lord Yuri."

Xilun's eyes regained their calm, but beneath that calm lay a volcano about to erupt.

"I have heard that my teacher, Lord Lund, has a very familiar friend here."

May I pass this on to that lady?

Upon hearing this, Yuri instantly understood Xilun's intention.

This suggests they're planning to bypass Balk and use their connections at higher levels to exert pressure.

He nodded thoughtfully, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes:

"You can give it a try. I've heard that Director Sarah is very kind and especially friendly to Your Excellency the Knight."

"Out of respect for Lord Lund, she might be willing to meet with you and seek justice for you."

Xilun nodded slightly and stood up without hesitation, pushing back his chair.

He walked to the restaurant entrance, tore down a building layout map of the Ocean Terminal Administration Building from the wall, examined it carefully, and quickly located the director's lounge area.

Then, he strode out the door.

Yuri immediately stood up and followed closely behind.

Kurt watched the two figures disappear into the distance, his brows furrowed tightly.

He had overheard their conversation and was filled with confusion.

The young man named Xilun kept saying that he had a teacher, and that this teacher seemed to have a lot of influence at the ocean pier.

"Who exactly is this teacher? Could he be some important figure?" Kurt wondered to himself.

He wanted to ask, but the two men in front of him, Siren and Yuri, were walking very fast, giving him no chance to interrupt.

Because Balk had given him a strict order to keep a close watch on the two men, Kurt had no choice but to grit his teeth and jog behind them.

"Mr. Yuri! Mr. Siren!"

Kurt called out breathlessly from behind, "Please don't wander around! There are many classified areas on the dock."

Please go back to your room and rest well. Lord Balk will arrange everything soon!

The two ignored him and hurried along the red-carpeted corridor.

As they were talking, Kurt suddenly paused.

He looked closely and realized that the two were heading towards the quiet area at the very end of the corridor.

When Kurt saw the two stop in front of a double mahogany door carved with intricate violet patterns, his face turned deathly pale.

"No! Stop right now!"

Kurt rushed forward like a madman, spreading his arms wide to block the two of them, his expression one of extreme terror.

"Please do not disturb! This is the highest-level directors' lounge at the ocean terminal!"

Behind this door is Ms. Sarah's room!

Kurt's voice became shrill with extreme fear. "Although she is usually gentle, she absolutely cannot tolerate anyone disturbing her afternoon nap!"

If we disturb Lady Sarah, it would be a capital offense that even Lord Balk could not bear!

Xilun looked down at Kurt, who was covered in sweat, with a cold gaze.

"Alright," Siren said calmly. "Since Ms. Sarah is resting, we, as her juniors, will naturally not be impolite."

We can wait here for her to wake up.

After saying that, Xilun walked straight to a velvet sofa next to the corridor and sat down with proper posture.

Yuri also sat down next to him without any hesitation.

The two stood like statues, not uttering a single sound, yet their attitudes were so resolute that there was no room for negotiation.

Xilun closed his eyes and secretly circulated his qi and blood.

The talent "Far-reaching Listening" is activated instantly.

His auditory perception, like an invisible tentacle, penetrated the heavy mahogany door.

Amidst the extremely subtle ambient noise, he faintly caught a light and long breath.

The breathing was long and powerful, as if it contained a unique rhythm that resonated with heaven and earth.

Just by listening to her breathing, Xiren could tell that the woman behind the door was incredibly powerful, perhaps even on par with his mentor, Lund.

Kurt was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, watching the two who were determined to stay there.

He lowered his voice, almost pleading, and said:

"Please, I'm begging you, please leave!"

What if Sarah, the director, wakes up and gets angry midway through?

As for your friend's matter, Mr. Balk has really done his best, it just takes time..."

"Please don't disturb me, sir."

Xilun didn't even open his eyes, his voice as cold as ice, "Since you've kept this from me, I naturally have my own ways of finding out the truth."