Chapter 174: As Far as the Eye Can See

Far below the cable car stretched an endless expanse of river, disappearing into the distance.

If Chang Yu fell from such a height, he would certainly be reduced to a corpse without bones. Even if the tremendous impact did not smash him to pieces, the raging current would swallow him and drag him down into the cold, gloomy depths.

One should never underestimate how hard the surface of the water can be when falling from a great height. Under the force of impact, the instant a human body strikes the water, its surface can become as hard as reinforced concrete.

“Don’t worry. It may be swaying violently, but this thing is actually very safe. Its quality is definitely up to standard.” Katerina suddenly found herself amused.

She was accustomed to Chang Yu’s cynical, carefree side. Seeing him timid and endearingly frightened for once was rather nice.

Instead of looking down on him, she found the sight novel.

It was much like the feeling of suddenly discovering an unknown side of someone you were eager to understand—a pleasant surprise, and rather fascinating.

The next ten-odd minutes passed for Chang Yu in a state of sheer terror.

He was like a nervous, hypersensitive guinea pig. At the slightest disturbance, he panicked as though danger lurked everywhere, his whole body tense.

At last, the cable car reached the ground. Only then did Chang Yu breathe a sigh of relief. Throughout the entire journey, his hands had never once let go of the table in front of him.

With Katerina’s support, he stood up—and only then realized that fright had long since turned his legs to jelly.

He staggered out of the cable car, his face still shining with the joy of someone who had narrowly escaped death.

As for Katerina, she covered her mouth to hide her laughter, occasionally stealing a glance at him.

So a person really could be afraid of heights to this extent, she thought.

“Next time, you could beat me to death and I still wouldn’t ride that cable car again,” Chang Yu told her weakly.

Heaven alone knew how he had survived those ten-odd minutes suspended in midair.

He had felt as if he had died several times over.

Following the crowd of tourists out of the castle, Chang Yu staggered forward and nearly collided head-on with a middle-aged man.

The man radiated confidence and the unmistakable air of someone accustomed to comfort and privilege. He was clearly a person of considerable status.

Everything about him was expensive and impeccably chosen: the clothes he wore, the watch on his wrist, and even the leather briefcase tucked beneath his arm. Together, they proclaimed the luxury and dignity of the upper class.

“I’m sorry. My friend isn’t feeling well,” Katerina apologized to him on Chang Yu’s behalf.

“It’s quite all right,” the man replied with polished courtesy. “We all have times when we feel unwell.”

It was an insignificant incident, and the man did not make an issue of it.

After waving his hand casually, he walked toward the castle behind Chang Yu and Katerina.

From a distance, Chang Yu caught sight of several greeters at the castle entrance bowing respectfully when they saw the man.

“Good day, Chairman,” they said.

For some reason, Chang Yu sensed a faintly incongruous aura emanating from the man.

It was an oppressive, deeply uncomfortable feeling.

It seemed familiar, as though he had encountered it somewhere before, though he could not say where.

“That man seems to have a problem,” Chang Yu said suddenly to Katerina, only after they had walked a considerable distance away.

Katerina froze for a moment. It took her a while to realize whom he meant.

“You mean the man who nearly collided with you just now?” she asked after thinking it over.

“If I’m not mistaken, I sensed the aura of calamity from him. It was faint, but I’m certain I didn’t imagine it.”

Chang Yu was not making a baseless claim.

Ever since drinking the Peach Blossom Brew, his soul force had increased tremendously, and his powers of perception had grown much stronger as well.

He could notice things Katerina could not.

So Chang Yu trusted his own judgment.

“You may have sensed it incorrectly. You were feeling unwell just now, and the dizziness may have caused you to make a false judgment,” Katerina said, only half convinced.

When she had encountered the man face-to-face, she had sensed nothing suspicious about him.

“How much do you know about that man?” Chang Yu asked again.

“Know him? I’ve never even seen him before,” Katerina answered without hesitation.

“But I heard that the cable-car project was contracted by a wealthy businessman from the south, and that he bought both castles.”

“He also invested in many of the amusement projects on Tai Island, creating a stable stream of income.”

“So he has essentially taken over the tourism industry in this part of Tai Island?” Chang Yu tried to make sense of what she was saying. “I heard someone call him Chairman.”

“That wouldn’t be wrong,” Katerina said after a moment’s thought.

“He does quite a business. He must be rich.” Chang Yu understood.

“I noticed the watch on his wrist,” Katerina said.

“It was a Vacheron Constantin worth eight hundred thousand yuan. Anyone who can wear a watch like that is wealthy.”

“We should have Zhen Youcai look into him. Perhaps he’ll find some clue or other.” Unlike Katerina, who was merely speculating, Chang Yu preferred to let the facts speak.

It would only be a casual investigation, after all, and would not take much effort.

He hoped Katerina’s judgment was correct. Chang Yu did not want the man to truly be connected to anything sinister.

“All right.” Katerina did not object. She took out her phone and composed a message to Zhen Youcai.

The message essentially asked him to investigate the chairman of the cable-car company and see whether he had done anything suspicious recently.

The two of them then spent some time together at the polar aquarium, watching all kinds of marine creatures, as well as spectacular performances by beluga whales and sea lions.

At noon, they had a Western meal in a Russian-style town. Later, they wandered for a long time along a quiet path shaded by green trees.

At that moment, the reply Chang Yu had been awaiting finally arrived.

Zhen Youcai was as dependable as ever.

This time, he sent over a very large file containing a detailed record of the middle-aged man’s entire life, from childhood onward.

Wei Junzhi, male, forty-eight years old, from Chaoshan in Guang Province. He had grown up in poverty, and his parents had divorced.

As a teenager, he had come to H City with migrant workers from his village to seek a living, leaving his hometown at a young age.

With his sharp mind and extraordinary courage, he quickly distinguished himself from the other laborers and earned the favor of a benefactor.

After working and struggling for more than a decade, he finally established himself in H City and founded a company that contracted tourism projects.

His rise to wealth had been astonishingly swift. In little more than a decade, he had achieved what three generations of another family might not have managed through their combined efforts.

His entrepreneurial story could have been made into a film and screened for three days and three nights without repeating a single event. It was filled with the grandeur of a hero’s legend.

Any one of his experiences would have been enough for an ordinary person to boast about for the rest of his life.

Yet this formidable figure, a master of the business world with influence in every direction, lived a quiet and secluded life.

He rarely attended the gatherings favored by social celebrities, seldom took part in the charitable activities beloved by the upper classes, and hardly ever contacted those prominent figures.

He rarely appeared on interview programs or in the public eye, which meant that very few people knew who he was.

He usually preferred to live in the castle on Tai Island, leading a discreet life.

He was not the sort of person who sought fame or social influence, nor did he wish to expose himself to the public gaze.

Discretion seemed to be the eternal theme of his life.

“His résumé is impressive and sounds inspiring, but only by ordinary standards,” Katerina commented after reading it.

She had her reasons for saying so. According to the personal file provided by Zhen Youcai, Wei Junzhi was simply an ordinary man.

If one insisted on identifying anything unusual about him, one could only say that he was an ordinary person who was rather wealthy, somewhat solitary, and a little socially anxious. He had no connection whatsoever to calamities or gifted individuals.

“That may not be true.” Chang Yu pointed at Katerina’s phone. “Look here.”

Katerina followed his gaze.

It was a photograph accidentally taken by a drone.

The photograph showed an open area with a castle in the background. Since it had been taken after dark, the image was inevitably rather dim.

Even so, Katerina recognized the castle as the one on Tai Island—the place where Wei Junzhi lived.

Numerous luxury cars were parked in the open space: Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, and Passats. Even the least expensive among them were Land Rovers and Mercedes-Benzes.

“What does that prove?” Chang Yu asked, clearly intending to test her.

Katerina was bewildered. “That Wei Junzhi is very wealthy and owns a lot of luxury cars?”

“Wei Junzhi is a man who likes to keep a low profile. Someone like that certainly wouldn’t buy so many luxury cars merely to show them off. It doesn’t fit his personality. So here’s the question: where did all these cars come from?”

“Perhaps they belong to his friends. Someone like him would naturally associate with people who are either rich or powerful. It would be perfectly normal for them to arrive in luxury cars.”

“But he dislikes socializing. Would someone like that really throw a party with a group of elite friends in the middle of the night?”

Katerina was speechless for a moment, though that did not mean she agreed with Chang Yu.

She felt he was being overly suspicious. To infer a connection between this man and calamities from nothing more than several luxury cars was plainly excessive speculation.

Without more direct and reliable evidence, relying solely on intuition was absurd.

At that very moment, neither of the two people, whose opinions had diverged, noticed that in a room at the very top of the castle, a pair of deep, pitch-black eyes was silently watching them.

Watching their departing figures, the man took out a satellite phone and dialed a number.

“Hello. Is this Si Snake? This is Chen Dragon,” the man said.

“I want you to investigate two people—a man and a woman...”

End of chapter.

Fastest updates available. Remember to bookmark the page, gentlemen and ladies.