Badge

A-Lin’s expression changed instantly, transforming him from a harmless-looking young man into someone faintly ferocious.

“Why are you asking about my father?”

Chen Miemie didn’t answer directly. Instead, he took a badge from his pocket and gently placed it on the front desk.

The badge landed on the wooden counter with a dull thud.

A-Lin’s pupils widened. He recognized the badge at a glance.

“How is that possible?” he blurted out. “Where did you get it?”

Chen Miemie didn’t beat around the bush. “Near the fissure at the bottom of Sea Ridge.”

A-Lin picked up the badge and examined it carefully. There were indeed traces of algae along the edges of the unusually textured badge, clearly indicating that it had been submerged for a long time.

“The fissure at Sea Ridge? The Tidal Palace’s announcement didn’t mention anything about this!” A-Lin murmured to himself.

Chen Miemie said nothing.

It was perfectly normal for the Tidal Palace’s official announcements not to disclose every detail to the public.

A-Lin gradually regained his composure.

“Chen Miemie, I want to know more. Please tell me what happened.”

“Of course. That’s why I came to see you.”

A-Lin led Chen Miemie to his private lounge.

This was Chen Miemie’s first time entering A-Lin’s personal room.

It looked unremarkable from the outside, but the interior was surprisingly spacious, arranged like a two-bedroom apartment with a living room. The walls and ceiling were covered in grass, and countless tiny points of light flickered across it like phosphorescence.

All kinds of minerals were scattered across the floor in colorful heaps, with various grinding tools placed around them.

The room clearly saw few visitors. There wasn’t even a sofa or coffee table for receiving guests.

A-Lin brought Chen Miemie a small stone stool.

After closing the door, the two of them sat down and began to talk.

“All right, it’s safer to talk here. You’ve been to the fissure beneath Sea Ridge?” A-Lin asked urgently.

“No. Miss Bo asked me to investigate the cause of her father’s death. This badge was the clue she gave me.”

“Miss Bo? So that was what she came to see you about last time?”

“Yes. The reward she offered convinced me, so I agreed.”

A-Lin quickly understood the situation. “Can I join the investigation?”

“You? At a time like this, getting involved isn’t a good idea for an ordinary Mystic like you. My suggestion is that you simply provide me with information. If I uncover anything related to you, I’ll share it with you.”

“I’m not afraid! I have some strength too.”

Chen Miemie glanced up at the glowing specks around them.

“A-Lin, in front of a major power, your fireflies are far too faint.”

A-Lin opened his mouth, but no words came out.

A wave of dejection washed over him. He was exceptionally talented and could be considered powerful—but only compared with people his own age. He was still too young to rank among the city’s top experts.

Besides, no matter how strong he was, he was still an unaffiliated individual. Even someone much stronger than him, like the Dentist, had to rely on or attach himself to a major organization.

Just like the badge before them: although it was closely connected to him, he didn’t even have the right to know about it.

“All right. I’ll tell you everything I know, as long as you can uncover the truth.”

Chen Miemie nodded. “Once I find it, I won’t hide anything from you. Now, tell me about your father and the badge.”

“My father’s codename was Badge. He was a level-five [Mystic]. From childhood, he followed Mr. Bo, the former chairwoman of the Black Tide Chamber of Commerce, and eventually rose to become one of the chamber’s top five administrators.

“His [Mystery] allowed him to conjure different badges out of thin air. The kind of badge he produced was random and beyond his control, and each badge had a different effect. Since there were so many possible types, every badge he produced was different.

“Six years ago, my father went out to sea with Chairwoman Bo. The two of them disappeared somewhere in the ocean.”

Chen Miemie raised a question. “Does every badge he produces have an effect? This one doesn’t seem to.”

“Badges have no effect in anyone else’s hands. They only work when worn on my father’s chest.”

“In other words, aside from your father, no one can use this badge—or even know exactly what it does?”

“That’s right. All I know is that this badge is abnormal.”

“What do you mean?”

“My father could have only one badge at a time. Once he produced a new one, the previous badge would disappear. So whenever he got a useful badge, he would keep it for a long time.

“I remember it clearly. Before that voyage, he had already kept a badge that could significantly increase his combat power for more than half a year. He even said that he could use it for the rest of his life.

“Something must have happened at sea that forced him to produce a new badge.”

Chen Miemie interrupted him.

“I find that a little strange.

“You said your father had no control over the badges he produced. Even if he encountered an emergency at sea and created a new one, it would all depend on luck. How could he know the new badge would be useful? What if it was even worse than the one he already had?”

“You’re right. My father thought the same way. He never gambled and didn’t like leaving things to chance.

“But that only proves how desperate their situation must have been. They had no choice but to try everything.

“All of my father’s [Mystery] was concentrated in a tiny badge. He wasn’t a top-tier expert, but if a badge had a powerful enough effect, it could allow him to unleash power far beyond his [Mystery] rank.”

“Far beyond it? Can you give me an example, A-Lin?”

“Let me think. Yes, I have one.

“When I was very young, he once produced a [Novice’s Badge]. It had the image of a book on it. After putting it on, his speed at learning knowledge or skills increased by 300 percent. The price was that he needed a corresponding amount of extra sleep. He would sleep for two or three days at a time. Apparently, his brain became overloaded and needed to shut down for forced rest.

“There was another time when I was absolutely terrified.

“He produced a badge called [Second Heart], with the image of a heart on it. After putting it on, it was as if a fruit had grown inside his chest—a second heart appeared. According to him, it gave him an extra life, tremendous strength, and immunity to pain. The drawback was that it could only be used for seven minutes. If he exceeded the limit, he would die without fail.

“With his level of [Mystery], those things should have been completely beyond his capabilities.”

Chen Miemie quickly extracted the useful information.

“A-Lin, may I assume that the image on a badge is directly related to its effect?”

“Yes. This badge bears the image of a crystal, something like a block of ice. Its effect is probably related to that.”

“If your father was dissatisfied with a badge’s effect, how long was the cooldown before he could produce another one?”

“At his level-five [Mystery], the official claim was six hours, but I know the truth was that he only needed one hour.

“In other words, if he wasn’t caught in an unexpected disaster at sea and had enough time to prepare, then this badge was most likely one he deliberately kept. At the time, he must have thought it was the most useful one.”

“Do you know why they went to sea that year?”

A-Lin shook his head. “We live by the sea, so going out on the water was perfectly ordinary. Even my father considered it a routine trip at the time. He didn’t even pack any substantial luggage.”

Chen Miemie nodded.

“That matches what Bo Yunjian told me. She also said that, before they set sail, none of them felt they had any particularly important objective.

“I’m not very familiar with the [Black Tide Chamber of Commerce’s] usual sailing practices. Why would an ordinary voyage require two such high-ranking figures as the former Chairwoman Bo and your father? Was that the norm, or was it unusual?”

“There weren’t just two of them. Back then, the ship carried nearly all the senior members of the [Black Tide Chamber of Commerce]. As far as their partners at sea were concerned, gathering everyone they could trust and rely on was standard practice.”

“Nearly?”

“Yes. The only exception was someone in poor physical condition who had no combat ability—the Chamber’s second-in-command, [Chess Sage] Old Ge.”

“Old Ge didn’t go out to sea with them every time?”

“He rarely accompanied the ships. His abilities were mainly in commercial operations. I hear he was also prone to seasickness.”

Chen Miemie asked his final question.

“A-Lin, given your father’s old connections, why didn’t you join the [Black Tide Chamber of Commerce]?”

A-Lin fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

“My father disappeared without warning, and my mother fell ill and died not long afterward. The sea offers not only resources and romance, but endless danger as well. Every time someone sets sail, their family is left worrying themselves sick. I didn’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps.”

Chen Miemie rose, signaling that tonight’s conversation was over.

He paused briefly at the door.

“A-Lin, that was your first lie tonight. Has anyone ever told you that you’re not very good at saying things you don’t mean?”