Chapter 23: Loss Of Control
Without any omen, someone disappeared.
This undoubtedly cast a layer of doubt over the hearts of everyone present.
In the real world, there are many ways to search for missing people, but inside the platform, everyone knew that the missing person most likely wouldn’t meet a good end.
“The phone call won’t connect.”
When these words came out, everyone showed no surprised expressions.
Smart devices always failed first inside the platform. The ghosts seemed to possess some special magnetic field, or perhaps this was a necessary step, leaving people in an isolated state without communication.
In fact, sometimes mobile phones even became a hindrance, with many people choosing not to bring any smart devices into the instance.
After all, no one wanted their silent mobile phone to suddenly ring while evading the ghosts’ pursuit and kill.
“Let’s all search together, but keep paying attention at all times to whether anyone around shows any abnormalities.”
They had all reached the Class C Instance; it was impossible to just ignore someone who suddenly disappeared. Searching for him wasn’t to save him, but for clues, to find the reason why he disappeared.
“Are you coming with us?”
While assigning search locations, Wei Ling suddenly came over.
Lu Jinzhao glanced sideways at her. She smiled faintly, looking kind-hearted.
But… who knew?
Lu Jinzhao didn’t refuse. After all, she didn’t know anyone and didn’t think going alone was a good idea.
After leaving the small courtyard, probably to get closer to Lu Jinzhao, Wei Ling took the initiative to share her analysis.
“From what we see now, if that person didn’t lie, the problem most likely lies in the ancestral hall and the altar.”
“What we don’t know now is why he suddenly disappeared. Was there some trigger?”
“Our current plan is to first check the assigned locations, then go to the ancestral hall, the altar, and the places Li Haoyang went to. Do you have any thoughts?”
So aggressive?
Lu Jinzhao was 100% sure that some people would stay far away from these three places.
However, it was surprising. This girl, who looked a few years younger than herself, actually had such an aggressive attitude toward danger?
Lu Jinzhao didn’t object. In fact, her actions in [Summon Ghosts] clearly weren’t cautious either.
The three teamed up and headed to the search location agreed upon with the others. Along the way, Lu Jinzhao found that this village was somewhat lifeless.
There were very few pedestrians on the road, almost all old men. It made sense; why would young people stay in the village?
With no one farming, the fields were almost all abandoned. Many houses by the roadside were clearly uninhabited for a long time at a glance.
Undoubtedly, this village was heading toward extinction.
They finally found a house with people, but when Wei Ling knocked on the door, there was no response for a long time.
“What’s the situation?”
She knocked several more times persistently, and finally, a woman who looked fifty or sixty years old opened the door.
“Who are you?” Her complexion was gloomy, she wore the most common clothing for rural women, and her exposed skin bore traces of years of labor. But her gaze at the three was particularly unfriendly.
Was it because today was a special day?
Wei Ling asked her if she had seen any trace of Li Haoyang, while Lu Jinzhao silently observed the room behind the woman at that moment.
The light was dim, and the door was only half open, so not much could be seen, but it was enough for Lu Jinzhao to notice something unusual.
“…Something’s not right.”
The interior of the room, visible only through the door crack, was neither clean nor tidy. Clearly, this woman herself looked neatly dressed; even though her clothes were old, they were washed clean. So why was the inside of the room… so messy?
“Haven’t seen him.” The woman gave a curt reply and immediately shut the door, as if she didn’t want to say more.
Wei Ling was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting such rude treatment.
But… inside the platform, as “outsiders,” before figuring out the situation, no one dared to easily offend the “locals.”
Who knew what might happen later?
“Forget it, let’s ask at the next house.”
They checked several more houses in a row, finding them all empty with no one living there, until they reached a gate and saw an old man smoking in the courtyard.
“Finally saw someone.” Wei Ling sighed: “How is the population of this village so small?”
“Mountain villages are like this.” Ye Jingyun explained: “My hometown is no better than here. All the young people left, the old men died one by one, and naturally the village population dwindled.”
Lu Jinzhao didn’t respond, just looked at this courtyard, then at the firewood piled up to the side, already moldy and damp, and put a question mark in her mind regarding Ye Jingyun’s statement.
“Old man, have you seen this person?” Wei Ling briefly described Li Haoyang’s appearance. The old man’s eyes were cloudy, his ears weren’t working well, and after hearing Wei Ling’s words, he reacted for a long time before slowly shaking his head.
“Never seen him.”
After answering, Wei Ling was about to leave when this eighty-something-year-old old man suddenly looked up: “…Young lady.”
“What zodiac are you?”
A strange question.
Wei Ling immediately became alert: “Old man, why are you asking this?”
The old man held his pipe, his cloudy eyes staring fixedly at Wei Ling, trying to see her appearance clearly: “…You look about the same age as my granddaughter. I haven’t seen her for a long time…”
Did she go outside to study?
“Dragon zodiac.” Wei Ling answered.
“…Dragon zodiac, that doesn’t match.” The old man shook his head, no longer looking at her, but turned to Ye Jingyun and Lu Jinzhao: “What about you two?”
It seemed like casual chat, but a feeling of weirdness arose in Lu Jinzhao’s heart. She replied: “I’m also dragon zodiac.”
Actually not, but instinctively, Lu Jinzhao lied.
“…Me too.” Ye Jingyun hesitated, then followed suit.
Hearing their answers, the old man’s originally amiable expression suddenly darkened.
No emotion was visible in his cloudy eyes, but his aged, almost decaying voice dragged out: “…Lying!”
But Lu Jinzhao calmly said: “Old man, why would we lie to you? If you don’t believe us, forget it. We’re leaving.”
With that, she turned and walked out of the courtyard.
Wei Ling and Ye Jingyun hurriedly followed. After walking a bit farther, Wei Ling asked puzzledly: “Don’t you think the old men here are strange?”
“Him asking our zodiac, does it mean something?”
Lu Jinzhao’s brows were furrowed. After this investigation trip, she increasingly felt that this mission wasn’t simple. But the current clues were still too few, leaving her as if trapped in a fog, unable to find a way out.
