"Ah——"

"Ah——"

Two shrill screams rang out, followed by the complete shattering of the skulls of two thugs, cracks spreading from their heads down their spines to their entire bodies.

Crackling sounds continued, and the shock of the force rendered the thugs' bones to dust, leaving them limp on the ground.

This palm strike contained Lin Hai's extreme fury, its power was terrifyingly immense.

One of the thugs, at the brink of death, had his arm pulled by the force, and a small ring with intertwined red and green colors flew towards the steel refining furnace.

"Ring?!"

Lin Hai instantly recalled that this was one of the gifts he'd given to Little Scorpion, buried along with the Tomb of Honor; the small ring carried his longing and deep love, it could not be damaged.

His entire body's Gang Qi ran wildly in an instant, whooshing as he chased after it.

Plop——

In the end, he was a step too late.

The ring slipped through his fingers into the melted iron water, akin to lava, splashing sparks in all directions.

"No!" Lin Hai's eyes nearly split with desperation, almost without hesitation, he circulated the Gang Qi around his palms in an instant, projecting it as he thrust his palm into the scorching melted iron water, so hot that it could reduce bones to nothing.

Although he knew that the ring would almost certainly melt away the moment it fell in, Lin Hai didn't hesitate, perhaps this was the kind of hopeful mindset someone held when faced with their most cherished object.

"It didn't melt!"

Lin Hai suddenly felt something at his fingertips and immediately retracted his arm swiftly.

Now, the skin on his arm was cracked, even the Gang Qi could barely withstand the erosion of such high temperatures.

If he had been even a few seconds slower, Lin Hai's arm would have been completely unsalvageable.

He opened his palm, and the hot ring lay quietly at the center, remarkably undamaged.

What a magical ring!

He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, this ring was the most precious thing between him and Little Scorpion.

At this moment, he resembled a pure child who desperately wanted to protect his most beloved treasure, careful and cautious, fearful that a single mistake would lead to the loss of his cherished object.

Lin Hai looked closely; perhaps due to the heat, the ring had turned a deep black with regular red patterns intertwined.

Upon close observation, these interwoven red patterns formed two characters in seal script.

These two characters were easily recognizable as "Butterfly King".

"Butterfly King? What does that mean?"

Lin Hai had never imagined that this small ring had such miraculous and unique properties.

Just the fact that it continued to exist in temperatures that could easily melt steel indicated it was very special.

This ring had been on his neck since his earliest memories began, around the age of four or five, when he was wandering the streets, with a red silk-like cord attached.

Lin Hai had always believed that since the ring had always been with him, it must be connected to his origins, but he had never been able to find any clues.

It wasn't until later, in the military, when he met Little Scorpion, and the two fell in love, that Lin Hai gave this little ring, which had been with him for many years, as a token of engagement to Little Scorpion.

Based on the material, this ring should not be made of jade but resembles something closer to animal bone.

What specific animal it comes from, Lin Hai cannot discern, nor could he understand what kind of animal bone could withstand high temperatures without melding or showing any damage.

Unexpectedly, today, he seemingly stumbled upon the secret of the ring.

But what on earth does "Butterfly King" mean?

"Butterfly King? Could it be a code name for a Super Expert?" Lin Hai shook his head, uncertain, as he had never heard of any Super Expert known as the Butterfly King in the international underground world.

"Or could my father have also been an Expert known as Butterfly King back in the day? But it seems that in the past hundred years of history, there has never been a Super Expert called Butterfly King..."

Lin Hai shook his head again, dismissing his previous thought: "Perhaps my father was not some Super Expert, and Butterfly King was just his code name, not very famous."

"After I get back, I'll immediately share this clue with Judge, starting the investigation from anything related to the words 'Butterfly King', hoping he can uncover who my parents really are."

A flicker of hope rose from the bottom of Lin Hai's heart. For many years, his soul was filled with an inexplicable loneliness; a loneliness that stemmed from never having experienced his parents' love, which also forced him to forge a strong character.

"Something's not right!"

Lin Hai took another look at the words "Butterfly King" and noticed a new problem.

"The character for 'butterfly' seems to contain an innate charm and tenderness, with graceful and elegant strokes, arousing a sense of pity and adoration, likely from the hand of an exquisitely gentle woman."

"But the character for 'king' is carved like with a knife, reminiscent of iron-clad troops, rich with a powerful and aggressive intent, starkly different from the softness of 'butterfly'. Surely, a person who could write like this is extraordinary, with an overwhelmingly domineering personality, prone to killing at the slightest disagreement, supremely powerful."

Lin Hai shook his head again: "These two characters were not carved by the same person!"

This discovery overturned his previous thoughts.

"Butterfly and King are different, surely not a single person's title, and the handwriting could be from a man and a woman, respectively."

"Butterfly is a woman, King is a man!"

Lin Hai decided, once he returned, to ask Judge to collect a list of all experts known by titles containing the words "butterfly" and "king".

If Butterfly and King represented his parents, being able to carve on the Finger Bone Ring which even high temperatures couldn't damage, it meant his parents were truly extraordinary.

Putting aside this thought for the moment, Lin Hai looked at the clothes scattered across the floor, once belonging to Little Scorpion, his resolute face struggling to mask sorrowful hues.

"Back then I was poor, and you were foolish, following me, a worthless man. Even when it was time to leave, I never bought you a single decent piece of clothing..."

Lin Hai picked up a patch-laden plaid dress from the ground, he remembered how he used to love watching Little Scorpion wearing it, dancing joyfully on the sunlit lawn.

"I'm such a failure, that big explosion left me unconscious, and I couldn't even find your remains, causing you to be denied a peaceful rest. Today, I almost failed to protect your keepsakes; you won't blame me, right?"

Carefully, Lin Hai collected each keepsake one by one, raising them to his lips to gently blow away the dust clinging to them, and when he couldn't hold back the tears, he quickly turned away, afraid they would fall on these "precious" clothes.

Finally, having rewrapped the cloth bundle, the ground at Lin Hai's feet was already soaked with tears.

Tears soaked the ground, a heart in silent agony, leaving behind resentment, futile grief.

Wiping away the tears, Lin Hai regained his usual indifference; those who need to be killed are still alive, and he, he has no right to indulge his sorrow at this moment.

Creak—

The factory gate was suddenly pushed open, the noise reaching Lin Hai's ears.

He immediately looked over to see a pretty face.

Nangong Sanba's pretty face was deathly pale, fixated upon the corpse on the ground, then in disbelief at Lin Hai, her mouth forming an "O" shape.

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