“Where’s Wu Xiaomi? Have you seen Wu Xiaomi?”
Bai Xiaozhi looked around anxiously.
But there was no trace of Wu Xiaomi.
Panic, unease.
A kind of restlessness she had never experienced before.
Could it be that she didn’t make it back?
Died during the mission?
“I didn’t see her,” Lulutina climbed up to the rooftop and scanned the crowd with binoculars, “We all returned to the spots where we left. If Xiaomi-jie came back, she should’ve landed the same way.”
The words cut like a knife.
If that was really the case, then Wu Xiaomi must already be…
“No. Even if she died, her body would have been transported back,” Bai Xiaozhi shook her head, “I don’t believe she’d vanish without a trace. Who could do that to her…”
“You never know. There are plenty of psychos out there. Maybe she ran into a crowd,” Lulutina muttered, “Ah, I’m just talking nonsense.”
Even if they didn’t want to admit it—
Right now, that seemed like the most plausible explanation.
Otherwise, how could there not be even a speck of remains?
“Come on, let’s ask the people from Xinhuo.”
Xinhuo’s base was close by, just a two-minute walk.
But for Bai Xiaozhi, those two minutes felt excruciatingly long.
She didn’t understand what was happening to her.
They had only met twice—why was she so worried about her safety?
“We’re here.”
The gates of Xinhuo’s base were open since the return had just happened.
There was only a high surrounding wall, and inside it was empty—no modern buildings.
Instead, yurts were scattered across the playground, serving as makeshift dwellings.
Kang Jie was standing at the entrance, openly discussing something with Ah Lei.
“Your idea of an association isn’t bad, but have you considered… in a world this chaotic, would people really want the so-called ‘high-level players’ to protect them?”
“They’d naturally be wary that these ‘heroes’ might exploit their property,” Kang Jie nodded, “But as long as we prove ourselves—”
“That’s the issue. We urgently need to show results, a big achievement! Something newsworthy! So people can see that your ‘Hero Association’ isn’t just some shady scam from an anime!”
“We’ll have to start organizing patrols soon,” Kang Jie sighed. “If the leaders of the major raiding groups would join us, that would be ideal.”
“I can join, temporarily.”
Bai Xiaozhi slapped her hand on the table.
“In return, tell me where did Wu Xiaomi go?”
“Wu Xiaomi?”
Their expressions turned strange.
“She should’ve returned already. Before the return… she was right next to me, gnawing on a chicken leg,” Kang Jie said.
She returned?
Not chewed up and digested by that ogre?
“What’s wrong?” Kang Jie’s expression turned serious. “Did something happen to Wu Xiaomi?”
“She’s missing,” Bai Xiaozhi said flatly. “She didn’t return to her original spot.”
“Left behind in the original world? Or a teleportation error? I’ve never heard of anything like that…”
“Staying in the original world is fine. But if it was a teleportation error, and she ended up in the hands of some scum—”
No need to say it. Everyone could imagine how that story would go.
It would never get past censorship.
Silence.
The three of them frowned, trying to come up with a solution.
“Have you heard of the Syndicate?” Ah Lei suddenly asked.
Syndicate?
“The term ‘Syndicate’ is a French loanword, originally referring to a type of monopolistic organization,” Ah Lei explained.
“Syndicat, yeah, I’ve heard of it,” Bai Xiaozhi nodded.
“Exactly. Later, the term was adopted by black markets and became a code word for underground dealings,” Ah Lei said with a nod. “Before the catastrophe, I was investigating a group of Syndicate members. According to the ‘same-location teleportation rule,’ they should be somewhere nearby too.”
“Same-location teleportation rule?”
“Heh, it’s a term from the strategy and comment forums. It means, ‘The coordinates people were at before the catastrophe are the same ones they get teleported to in this milky-white world’…
Put simply, if you were together before, you’ll still be together after.”
“Oh.” Clearly, when it came to forum slang, Kang Jie wasn’t as well-versed as Ah Lei.
“Look,” Ah Lei summoned her accessory’s holographic interface. “Lately, there’ve been quite a few reports of Syndicate members abducting girls. Some even recorded video evidence.”
“How bold.”
“Yeah. There’s no law here. No one to punish them. Those traffickers don’t even bother hiding—they just grab people in broad daylight,” Ah Lei sighed. “The videos have been trending lately. Everyone’s on edge.
Anyone with even a bit of good looks, regardless of gender, doesn’t dare go out anymore, day or night.”
“What you’re saying is…”
“Any illegal trade has to go through the Syndicate. If Wu Xiaomi ended up in the hands of bad people, there’s a high chance the Syndicate would be involved at some point.”
As Ah Lei spoke, he wisely adjusted his glasses. “If we want to find Wu Xiaomi, we can start by investigating the Syndicate.
And if we can eliminate the Syndicate’s presence here… it would also boost the reputation of the ‘Hero Association’!”
“Forget the reputation for now. Our priority is to ensure Wu Xiaomi’s safety.”
“We can start by looking into the video evidence.”
Ah Lei’s mind was surprisingly sharp—his deductions clear and precise, like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.
He opened one of the videos.
The kidnappers in the footage had their faces covered, but their eyes, the series they used, and their weapons still revealed certain identifiers.
“If we just begin investigating the videos taken around this area… we’ll definitely—”
Ah Lei was mid-analysis.
Suddenly, a notification popped up on his screen.
[Notification: Your comment “Step on me, big sis!” has a new reply.]
[“Nanalia” replied: Sick freak.]
(Another update coming at 7 p.m. It’s the start of the month—please vote like crazy…)