To be fair, Ming Yuexin didn't seem quite as unforgivable as she appeared.
Setting the facts aside, the main thing was... she had given Lin Mo far too much.
So much that, at some point, he had even reached the stage where he couldn't bring himself to hate her anymore.
Honestly, who could refuse someone who could casually throw hundreds of millions at them without even blinking?
Of course, there was another reason Lin Mo had asked Ning Fei to investigate Ling Xue.
'Ming Yuexin said last night that once I become stronger, she wants to borrow my strength to help her deal with an enemy.'
'What kind of enemy could even Ming Yuexin be unable to handle? In reality, she's from one of the three great families in the capital, and in Divine Oracle, she's the guild leader of a guild with tens of thousands of members.'
Thinking back to his previous life, it seemed like there had been signs all along.
After Divine Oracle descended in his previous life, Ming Yuexin led the Divine Nation Guild through countless obstacles and eventually became one of the top three guilds on the national server.
Her status and influence were practically on the same level as the number one female ruler of the Dragon Nation server at the time, [Xiyue], Ning Xi.
Yet despite being someone who stood at the top in everyone else's eyes, someone who seemed to have everything she wanted, no one had ever seen a smile on Ming Yuexin's face.
The image she always gave people was one of gloom and cold detachment.
She looked glamorous on the outside but lived like a puppet.
Yet nobody knew why she was like that.
Now that he thought about it.
'Could all of this be related to that "enemy"?'
'Was Ming Yuexin being controlled in my previous life?'
'Did everything she do, was carried out under orders?'
'What kind of person can control Ming Yuexin?'
All these questions left Lin Mo both puzzled and curious.
He could only hope Ning Fei's investigation would provide some answers.
The facts proved that Ling Xue really was unusual.
When investigating Zhao Lingyun, Director Zhang, Gao Han, and the others before, it hadn't even taken a minute.
This time, however, Ning Fei remained silent for a long while.
Lin Mo wasn't in a hurry.
He continued focusing on clearing the Yama Hall with Ning Xi.
The Evil Ghosts only had 12,000 attack power.
Even with the 5,000 armor penetration granted by King Chujiang's aura, they still couldn't break through Strong-Maned Pig's defenses.
Wearing a full Tier-5 Peerless Bloodbath Set, and under the effect of [Bloody Battle], Strong-Maned Pig possessed a massive 28,990 physical defense and 50% armor penetration resistance.
Even if dozens of Evil Ghosts attacked him at the same time, there was no problem at all.
Lin Mo and Ning Xi didn't need to worry about anything behind him. They only needed to unleash their firepower and maximize their damage output.
Wave after wave of Evil Ghosts were slaughtered.
In less than an hour, the progress bar reached 100%.
Compared to yesterday, when it had taken them most of the day just to clear the Fourth Hall, this was the difference that strength made.
[Ding~ Congratulations on clearing the Fifth Hall of Yama Hall: King Yama Hall. The Sixth Hall: King Biancheng Hall has been unlocked!]
As the system notification sounded, the teleportation array leading to the Sixth Hall activated.
Without hesitation, Lin Mo and Ning Xi stepped into it and moved from the Fifth Hall to the Sixth Hall.
———
The monsters in the Sixth Hall became even stronger, Level 64 Hell Hounds.
On top of the previous five aura effects, a new King Biancheng Aura was activated: Increase all monster damage by 50%.
This aura was powerful but Strong-Maned Pig didn't care in the slightest.
Forget a 50% damage increase. Even if their damage increased 500 times, if they couldn't break his defense, they still couldn't hurt him.
After all, these Level 64 Hell Hounds only had 13,000 attack power.
How were they supposed to deal with Strong-Maned Pig's nearly 30,000 defense?
Though these Hell Hounds did have quite a few heads.
Lin Mo and Ning Xi simultaneously raised their Genesis World · Wrath of Thunder and Heaven-Defying Demon Staff.
And continued farming.
[Ding~ Killed Level 64 Hell Hound. EXP +585,000!]
[Ding~ Killed Level 64 Hell Hound. EXP +585,000!]
The challenge progress bar rose.
The experience bar rose.
The Divine Artifact Nirvana luck value rose.
The enhancement progress of the Divine Artifact Black Dragon Emperor Ring rose.
Everything that could increase was increasing rapidly.
Before long, Golden light fell around him as Lin Mo advanced to Level 59.
Just as Lin Mo focused on rushing toward the Sixth Hall's boss and quickly pushing the challenge progress bar, a reply finally arrived from Ning Fei regarding Ling Xue.
["I found it, brother-in-law."]
["But for some reason, I couldn't find any information about Ling Xue before she was eight years old. I could only find records after that age, so the information is a bit vague, and... pretty tragic."]
Ning Fei sent: ["According to what I found, Ling Xue is currently twenty-one years old."]
["When she was eight, her biological parents, who strongly favored boys over girls, tried to sell her to human traffickers. Fortunately, two boys named Zhao Jun and He Xiao happened to see it and called the police, rescuing her from the traffickers in time."]
["Ling Xue's parents were sentenced to life imprisonment for participating in child trafficking. After that, she lived with her maternal uncle, Chen Feng."]
["Because she was beautiful and had an outstanding presence, she was signed by a talent agency as a child star at the age of nine."]
["Using the money Ling Xue earned from commercial performances and advertisements, Chen Feng started a company. Within just two years, it became a publicly listed company, and in its third year, it entered the Fortune Global 500."]
["For the sake of company interests, on the night of Ling Xue's sixteenth birthday party, Chen Feng deliberately got her drunk and tried to sell her to one of the company's clients. During her resistance, Ling Xue jumped from the third floor and suffered serious injuries."]
["Afterward, Chen Feng and the other man were sentenced to five years in prison for molestation and intentional injury."]
["As Chen Feng's only relative and because she possessed valid proof of investment in the company, after Chen Feng was imprisoned, Ling Xue legally inherited his company with the free assistance of a female lawyer named Shen Qing. That company is now the Ling Group."]
["Oh, right. That lawyer Shen Qing also has a daughter named Lin Miaomiao."]
At nine years old, most kids were still playing marbles, collecting cards, and watching GG Bond.
At nine, Ling Xue had already become a star, and the money she earned was supporting an entire company.
There was no denying it.
No wonder Ling Xue was so outstanding now.
At the same time, Lin Mo was somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected the seemingly glamorous Ming Yuexin to have such a dark past.
'No wonder Ming Yuexin always acted like she didn't acknowledge any family ties in my previous life.'
After all, she was sold by her biological parents at eight.
And almost harmed by her own uncle at sixteen.
Anyone who went through that would find it impossible to trust people around them again.
That was why the Ming Yuexin of his previous life only cared about using people and had no emotional attachments. It all stemmed from what she experienced when she was young.
Lin Mo actually found himself beginning to understand Ming Yuexin.
'Wait!'
'It seems I noticed something important in Ning Fei's report!'
'Ming Yuexin is twenty-one now. She was harmed by Chen Feng when she was sixteen, and afterward he was sentenced to five years in prison. Five years have passed exactly as of now.'
'Could the enemy she mentioned be her uncle Chen Feng, who has just finished serving his sentence?'
'If my guess is correct and Ming Yuexin was controlled in the previous life, then the person manipulating her behind the scenes was also her uncle Chen Feng?'
'But how could a former convict who just got out of prison, with no power or influence, possibly threaten Ming Yuexin?'
The more Lin Mo thought about it, the more curious he became.
'Looks like things are starting to get interesting.'
Looking at it this way, perhaps it wasn't entirely a bad thing that last night's plan to join forces with the Chaotic World and Blood Dance Guilds against Divine Nation had failed.
Because, if everything Ming Yuexin did in the previous life had been under someone else's control and orders, then it was understandable.
In that case, the truly hateful person wasn't Ming Yuexin, but the one hiding behind the curtain.
If Lin Mo destroyed Divine Nation and ruined Ming Yuexin, he might actually become a knife in that person's hand.
'Based on what Ming Yuexin said, this person is definitely not ordinary and should be extremely powerful.'
'It looks like I need to keep getting stronger too.'
Turning his focus back to the present, working together with Ning Xi, they killed Hell Hounds and pushed the challenge progress to 99%.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the ground shook violently.
A powerful force was about to emerge from the hall ahead.
Seeing this, Lin Mo's eyes lit up.
"The boss is finally here."
[T/N: Thank God, for once I can peacefully read a story knowing MC isn't a total dumbfack.]