As Yang Ying and Katerina were deep in conversation, the communicator on the table began to ring incessantly.

"Damn it, who is bothering me this late to ruin my good mood?" Yang Ying stood up, radiating killing intent. It was nearly midnight; normal people should already be asleep.

Katerina laughed softly. She propped herself up, sitting on the mat like a mermaid, and said to Yang Ying, "Sir, you should answer it. Someone calling this late might have something important."

Yang Ying nodded and gestured at the control panel on the wall, making the simulated starlit sky vanish, restoring the white wall surface.

He walked to the desk and looked at the communicator, which displayed Randolph's name.

"Why would he contact me so late?" Yang Ying mused for a moment, then pressed the answer key.

The holographic screen flickered open, and an image of Randolph in his military uniform appeared. "You're still awake this late?"

"And you aren't either, old man," Yang Ying replied dryly. "What business brings you to me at this hour?"

Randolph coughed twice and said, "Here's the situation: I've received some troubling news that needs immediate attention, or it could lead to chaos. Since it involves the Asteroid Belt, I wanted to get your initial thoughts."

"Go on," Yang Ying said, picking up a nearby chair and sitting down.

Randolph adopted a mysterious expression. "First, have you ever heard of the City of Sin?"

"Eden City? Of course, I know it," Yang Ying affirmed.

It was the most prosperous and most wicked of all the pirate strongholds. There, for the right price, one could obtain depravities unavailable anywhere else. Human evil imagination reached its zenith there. Almost any unimaginable crime could be discovered within its walls; it could practically be compiled into an encyclopedia of vice!

Having lived in the Asteroid Belt for so long, Yang Ying was intimately familiar with the legends surrounding the City of Sin.

"This happened recently," Randolph shrugged. "You know what sort of people frequent the City of Sin. To call them merely wealthy would be an understatement."

Yang Ying mentally reviewed the characteristics of the City of Sin and asked, "Did those moneybags get into trouble?"

Randolph let out a cold chuckle, his tone impossible to read as either pleased or distressed. "Not long ago, several wealthy merchant families reported missing relatives to the police. After investigation, it was determined that the missing individuals had likely all gone to the City of Sin and never returned."

"Perhaps they just couldn't bear to leave," Yang Ying remarked, never having thought highly of those who frequented the City of Sin.

Randolph snorted. "That was the initial assumption. However, some of them had agreed on a return date with their families before leaving for the City of Sin, but they missed the deadline. That’s when their families raised the alarm."

He held up one finger. "If it were just one family, you could dismiss it. But when several families report the same anomaly, it becomes suspicious."

Yang Ying nodded. "So they're acting strangely—how does that involve me?"

Randolph sighed. "Because the issue originates in the City of Sin—pirate territory—which is currently controlled by Helas. We have to suspect that those pleasure-seekers have been abducted by Helas and lost their freedom, or perhaps something far worse has happened."

Yang Ying frowned. "Your military even handles the affairs of these criminals?"

The City of Sin was infamous for its corruption and the decadent pleasures that saturated it. Few who entered ever emerged entirely clean. This was why Yang Ying referred to them as 'sinners,' a term Randolph did not dispute.

"Setting aside their crimes for a moment, the important fact is that their families possess immense power and wide-reaching influence. United, they can exert tremendous pressure. Furthermore, those who have spoken up are only a minority; many families are still trying to keep the scandal quiet or haven't even realized there's a problem yet. They are all potential liabilities," Randolph said slowly.

"Family influence, huh?" Yang Ying murmured to himself.

Randolph continued, "The current problem is that these families have allied and are pressuring the government to order the military to send people in and retrieve their missing kin."

"What was that 'far worse' scenario you mentioned?" Yang Ying inquired.

"According to intelligence, Helas arrived in the Asteroid Belt before making his move. This suggests the Ape Cult might have occupied the City of Sin long ago, and the disappearances are only a recent development," Randolph paused. "You know the Ape Cult specializes in brainwashing. We have no idea how many people who entered the City of Sin previously have already been subjected to their methods."

Yang Ying shook his head. "As far as I know, brainwashing techniques cannot be deployed so widely. The spell itself demands a high toll on the caster. Those Ape Emissaries can only use it once or twice a day. Master-level experts manage anywhere from five or six uses down to a few, depending on their strength."

The current Yang Ying was no newcomer fumbling in the dark; he was well-versed in the intricacies of the World of Thought Power and its major players. With access to knowledge from people like David, who understood both the Psionic Temples and the Ape Cult, learning about brainwashing techniques was simple.

"But even those few times are enough," Randolph argued. "There’s a certain Gold-Inlaid Diamond Mask sold in the City of Sin—it acts as an entry ticket, selling for one hundred million each. Anyone who can afford such a mask is capable of causing significant trouble for humanity at a critical moment. Every single person who gets brainwashed is a scenario we absolutely want to avoid."

"You want my advice? I suggest finding those who might have been brainwashed and sending Psions to check them. As for those who are lost in the City of Sin, let them fend for themselves," Yang Ying stated with clear distaste.

"Actually," Randolph managed a wry smile, "besides advice, I was hoping you could lend a hand. Help us locate that City of Sin."

"Not a chance," Yang Ying refused immediately.

"Just consider it a favor to me, alright?" Randolph pressed on with a sincere tone. "The pressure I'm under is immense!"

"What about the Psionic Temple? The Intelligence Department? If you need to find the City of Sin, surely it shouldn't fall to my mercenary group!" Yang Ying exclaimed.

Randolph continued his strained smile. "I asked Master Garcia and the Paladin Saint Lados; they are both occupied recently. I know Master Garcia's situation—it's a secret mission assigned by the Psionic Temple and the military, so he genuinely can't get away. As for Saint Lados, he's probably just using an excuse. He has no desire to enter the City of Sin to rescue a bunch of villains. And Master Merlin? I didn't even bother asking him; he has to guard the Ceres Base against a potential incursion by Helas. After all, this is humanity's closest forward base; if Helas destroys it, the implications would be catastrophic."

"As for the Intelligence Department," Randolph shrugged, "they've been searching for the City of Sin for years without a single lead. How could I possibly entrust this task to them?"

"If the Intelligence Department hasn't found it after years, how could I possibly succeed?" Yang Ying remained stubbornly resistant.

"It doesn't matter if you can't find it. Just treat it as a favor and try to look, won't you?" Randolph's expression was earnest and pleading. "If you truly can't locate it, at least I'll have a justifiable excuse."

Yang Ying studied Randolph closely for a few moments.

"What is it?" Randolph felt a prickle on his skin under Yang Ying's intense gaze.

"Nothing," Yang Ying shook his head. "Are the families of those sinners related to you by blood?"

"Are you insulting me now?" Randolph instantly bristled with anger. "If the relatives of those sinners were related to me, wouldn't that mean I'm related to those sinners too? While I, Randolph, might not be some pillar of society, if a disgraced member appeared in my family, I'd sooner have them eliminated!"

Yang Ying nodded. "Since there are no familial ties, why are you so insistent on this matter?"

Randolph thought for a moment, then sighed. "Never mind, I might as well tell you. This involves an old friend of mine. He had only one son, and he was a late-in-life child, doted upon excessively. Unfortunately, that brat fell in with a circle of spoiled heirs, stole money from the company a few days ago to buy a silver mask, went to the City of Sin, and never returned."

"You are quite loyal to your old friend," Yang Ying remarked with a heavy sigh.

Randolph gasped slightly. "Thirty years ago, I fought alongside him on the front lines, defending the Dual King Star line against the Ape War. I saved his life several times, and he saved mine just as often. We forged a deep bond. I continued my career in the military, while he retired to business, achieving considerable success by now. This is his only son. Even if the boy is worthless, I can't just stand by and watch his lineage end, can you understand that?"

Randolph looked utterly imploring, speaking with true sincerity. "Please, I'm begging you!"

Yang Ying, by nature, yielded more to soft persuasion than to hard demands. Seeing Randolph reduced to this state, he considered it, then nodded. "Fine. I'll have someone look into it."

"Thank you, consider this a debt owed," Randolph was overjoyed.

"Wait for my news," Yang Ying said, then cut the connection.

Katerina, who had witnessed the entire exchange outside the camera's view, rose from where she sat the moment the communication ended and walked behind Yang Ying, placing her hands gently on his shoulders.

Yang Ying didn't turn around. "Was I right to agree?"

Katerina spoke softly. "If everything in the world could be separated into right and wrong, there wouldn't be so many conflicts."

Hearing this, Yang Ying smiled. "Indeed. The world is too complex for two simple words like 'right' and 'wrong' to encompass everything. All I can do is what I believe must be done."

Yang Ying placed one hand over Katerina's hands on his shoulders, and with the other, touched the communicator panel, saying, "Connect me to Kalia."