Chapter 25: Out of Control (4)

Without any warning, someone vanished.

This undoubtedly cast a shadow of doubt over everyone present.

In the real world, there are many ways to search for a missing person, but within the platform, everyone knew that those who disappeared were unlikely to meet a good end.

“The phone can’t get through...”

Upon hearing this, no one showed any surprise.

Smart devices always failed first inside the platform. Ghosts seemed to possess some special magnetic field, or perhaps it was a necessary mechanism designed to isolate people by cutting off communications.

At times, phones even became a liability. Many chose to enter without any smart devices.

After all, no one wanted their silent phone to suddenly ring while fleeing from a ghost’s pursuit.

“Let’s all search together, but keep a close eye on anyone acting strangely.”

Having reached a Class C instance, it was impossible to just abandon someone who vanished suddenly. The search wasn’t to rescue, but to find clues—determine why the disappearance happened.

“Will you come with us?”

When assigning search areas, Ling Wei suddenly approached.

Jin Zhao glanced sideways at her. She smiled lightly, looking kindly.

But... who could say for sure?

Jin Zhao didn’t refuse. After all, she knew no one here and didn’t think going alone was wise.

After leaving the small courtyard, perhaps to get closer to Jin Zhao, Ling Wei took the initiative to share her analysis.

“So far, if that person didn’t lie, the likely trouble spots are the ancestral hall and the altar.”

“What’s unclear now is why he vanished suddenly—was there a trigger?”

“Our plan is to first rule out the designated spots, then check the ancestral hall, altar, and places Hao Yang Li visited. Do you have any thoughts?”

...That aggressive?

Jin Zhao was absolutely certain someone would keep their distance from those three places.

Still, it was surprising that this girl, who looked several years younger, held such a bold attitude in the face of danger.

Jin Zhao didn’t object. In fact, her approach within “Summoning Ghosts” was hardly cautious either.

The three set off together to the agreed search location. Along the way, Jin Zhao noticed the village felt lifeless.

There were very few pedestrians, almost all elderly. It made sense—why would young people stay in the village?

With no one farming, the fields lay fallow, and many houses looked long abandoned.

Without a doubt, the village was heading toward extinction.

Finally encountering an inhabited house, Ling Wei knocked, but the occupant delayed responding.

“What’s going on?”

She knocked again persistently. Eventually, a woman in her fifties or sixties opened the door.

“Who are you?” Her face was dark, wearing typical rural attire. The exposed skin bore marks of years of labor. Yet her gaze was unusually unfriendly.

Was it because today was a special day?

Ling Wei asked if she had seen Hao Yang Li, while Jin Zhao discreetly observed the room behind the woman.

The lighting was dim, and the door only half-opened, revealing little—but enough for Jin Zhao to sense something amiss.

“...Something’s not right.”

Through the crack, the room appeared neither clean nor tidy. The woman was dressed neatly, her clothes worn but washed clean. Why then was the room so messy?

“No, I haven’t seen him.” The woman answered curtly and shut the door, unwilling to say more.

Ling Wei paused, likely unprepared for such brusque treatment.

But inside the platform, as outsiders, none dared offend the locals before understanding the situation.

Who knew what might happen next?

“Forget it, let’s ask the next house.”

They visited several more empty homes, clearly uninhabited, until they reached one with smoke curling from the courtyard, where an old man was smoking.

“Finally, someone.” Ling Wei sighed. “Why are so few people left in this village?”

“Mountain villages are like this.” Jing Yun Ye explained. “My hometown isn’t much better. Young people leave, the elderly pass away, and the population dwindles.”

Jin Zhao said nothing, only glancing at the courtyard and the moldy, damp firewood piled nearby, silently doubting Ye’s words.

“Grandpa, have you seen this man?” Ling Wei briefly described Hao Yang Li. The old man’s eyes were cloudy, and his hearing poor. After a long pause, he slowly shook his head.

“No, I haven’t.”

Just as Ling Wei was about to leave, the man, who looked over eighty, suddenly looked up.

“...Young lady,” he said.

“What’s your zodiac sign?”

...A strange question.

Ling Wei immediately grew alert. “Grandpa, why do you ask that?”

He held his pipe tightly, staring intently at Ling Wei, as if trying to see her face clearly.

“You look about the same age as my granddaughter. It’s been so long since I last saw her...”

Had she gone away for school?

“Dragon,” Ling Wei answered.

“...Dragon, that doesn’t match.” The old man shook his head, no longer looking at her but turning to Jing Yun Ye and Jin Zhao.

“And you?”

It seemed like casual chatter, but a strange feeling crept into Jin Zhao’s heart. She replied, “I’m a dragon too.”

Though not true, she lied instinctively.

“...Me too.” Jing Yun Ye hesitated, then added the same.

Hearing their answers, the old man’s once kindly expression suddenly darkened.

His cloudy eyes revealed no emotion, but his aged, almost decayed voice dragged out the word:

“Lies!”

Jin Zhao remained calm. “Grandpa, why would we lie? If you don’t believe us, that’s fine. We’re leaving.”

Without another word, she turned and walked out of the courtyard.

Ling Wei and Jing Yun Ye hurried after her. Once they were a little distance away, Ling Wei asked curiously, “Don’t you think the elders here are strange?”

“He asked about our zodiac signs. Does that mean something?”

Jin Zhao frowned deeply. After this investigation, she felt more convinced that this mission was no simple matter. Yet, with so few clues, it was as if she were trapped in a fog, unable to find a way out.