Chapter 52: Yan Yongbo (Part 1/2) (2/2)
Luo Nan’s eyebrows creased slightly. His pace paused a bit, then he increased in speed as he walked directly over.
He saw who the other two people besides his aunt and uncle were sitting down. One was the lawyer he had seen on that day. Another was a man who looked to be around thirty years old. He had a handsome appearance and seemed to be laughing, but the creases on his face made it obvious that he maintained a serious expression all year round, causing his smile to appear stiff and distorted. He also gave off a bit of an inexplicable cold air.
But what gave one the deepest impression was located near the rim of this man’s eyes. It was an abnormal appearance of the color of blood entwining with tendons and muscles. It made a stark and demonic contrast with his smile.
That’s right. This man’s eyes were crimson red.
As the distance drew closer, Luo Nan drew a step closer to confirming that the atmosphere in the booth was absolutely abnormal. Uncle’s expression was calm and Aunt’s expression was a deep as water. Neither spoke a word, there was no trace of happiness of a reunion between old friends.
That red-eyed man was also silent. The voice that came out of the booth was the elitist accent of Lawyer Zhu:
“I am temporarily unable to explain the intentions behind Mr. Yan’s last minute proposal to transfer. However, with my professional foresight, I believe that there are many mechanisms at play……”
Luo Nan and Mo Peng already walked right outside the booth at this time. The dark-skinned bodyguard had stared at Luo Nan all this time. Luo Nan didn’t feel much from this openly cold gaze, but Mo Peng could no longer take it.
“I say that there’s something wrong with this atmosphere……”
The red eyed male saw them at this time. He waved his hand, indicating to Lawyer Zhu to stop. His gaze turned and fell directly onto Luo Nan’s face. He paused a bit but took the initiative to stand up and crack a smile.
This smile was extremely grotesque.
His lips were opened wide and the two corners of his mouth were deliberately tightened up to affect the muscles of his cheeks. His eyes didn’t squint from this smile but instead enlarged. The crimson red corner of his eyes trembled slightly. That bizarre distorting of his face was indescribable.
“This must be Luo Nan. I remember the last time I met you, you just came out of the womb 8 . You weren’t even as big as a hand. And so you’ve grown up……”
“YAN YONGBO9!”
Luo Shuqing had slammed the table with a bang! Her voice had never been this furious and intense.
The entire restaurant went quiet. The customers further away all turned their heads around to look.
The server made his way over in a hurry, wishing to find out what was going on.
And this also drew the attention of Lang Ding’s group, who had just entered the large hall and were looking around. They first saw the familiar dark-skinned bodyguard without noticing anything else.
“Hey! They’re here.”
The group came over with their curiosity. Lang Ding, who lead the way, first saw the situation within the booth. His gaze flitted across from Luo Nan’s face and fell onto the red-eyed man’s face.
His expression changed colors in an instant. He cried: “Yan…… Professor Yan?”
The members of the Construction Society’s committee followed behind him. Some were at a loss, some were stupefied. But all those who were able to recognize this face had this thought run secretly in their mind:
This financial backer…… his schemes run so deep!
1. Li Xuecheng (李学成, literally Li Excel at Learning) being choked. Luo Nan sent Li Xuecheng a hypnotic suggestion to stop breathing when Li Xuecheng had destroyed his flexible e-ink screen on the warship in Chapter 9.2.
2. Liu Tao (刘陶, literally Liu Pottery). Liu Tao was introduced in Chapter 13.1 and was an exposition tool to describe the Darksider life form.
3. The Construction Society getting the financial backing of the Rainbow Fund. The Construction Society and the Mystic Arts Research Society are the two major societies bidding for the assets of the Order Club. The Construction Society received the financial backing of the Rainbow Fund, which will tilt the scales more towards them. Described in Chapter 32.1.
4. Li Xuecheng's attempted revenge. Li Xuecheng hired a group of thugs to go beat up Luo Nan, streaming it live after he kidnapped Lian Yu (Chapter 19.2) to watch the result together. Luo Nan gets saved by a mysterious person who runs off chasing the thugs (Chapter 20.1-2). Luo NanHe meets this person, Xue Lei, later on, and they become friends.
5. Xie Junping (谢俊平, literally Xie Handsome Peaceful) sending Li Xuecheng to the hospital. Xie Junping rescues Lian Yu and beats up Li Xuecheng in Chapter 20.2.
6. Lang Ding (郎鼎, literally Lang Cauldron). Lang Ding is the chairman of the Construction Society and was introduced in Chapter 32.1.
7. Dark-skinned Man, aka Hei Lianpi (黑脸皮 literally, Dark/Hei Skinned Face). Luo Nan encountered this Burner the first time back on the Warship (Chapter 16.1). Luo Nan meets this person again at Gear in Chapter 32.1 with the lawyer of the Rainbow Fund. His full name was given in that chapter. He was first mentioned in the story as Old Hei in Chapter 12.2 and was seen working under Yan Yongbo on the Warship.
8. Luo Nan (罗南, literally Luo South) coming out of the womb. In Chapter 31.2, Luo Nan describes how his mother had suffered a fatal injury in his grandfather's laboratory out in the wilderness due to some sort of attack/chaos that happened. She removed Luo Nan from her womb and placed him in a life-sustainment pod to save him. The fact that Yan Yongbo was there to witness this implies that he was involved with the chaos that happened in the lab.
9. Yan Yongbo (严永博, literally Yan Always Rich). Yan Yongbo was first introduced at the end of Chapter 11.1. He is the son of Yan Hong and was also a professor at Acumen College like his father. He voluntarily retired in the year 2090 for some unknown reason. He is also the Burner from Quantum Corporation who assisted He Yueyin in killing the burning wraith on the warship.