Chapter 107: The Puzzle

The Silver Wing once again surged forward, this time departing from the main city, heading towards Yang City.

Ye Bai, Yao Ling, and Cao Xiaoseng sat alone in the carriage. It was rare for anyone to leave their hometown—only students from the four great academies frequently traveled between the three cities, quelling small outbreaks of mutated beasts.

At the rear of Ye Bai’s carriage sat another small group. Whether they were bound for a nearby guard station or Yang City was unclear, but fewer than ten of them sat together, carrying large bundles. Seven or eight burly men surrounded a few well-fed gentlemen, heavily guarded and watching Ye Bai’s group warily.

“Merchants,” Ye Bai observed immediately. Those in the middle were merchants, accompanied by flashy but ineffective bodyguards. A carriage that could seat over a hundred held barely a dozen passengers.

The Silver Wing sped along the road to Yang City. Partway through, the small group in the rear compartment disembarked, leaving only Ye Bai and the merchants awaiting the Silver Wing’s arrival at the final stop, Yang City.

Upon arrival, the merchant convoy quickly disembarked and disappeared into the city.

“We’ll head to the Information Management Center first. I still have some questions for them,” Ye Bai said, stepping onto Yang City’s soil without pause and heading straight to their destination.

The architectural style of Yang City bore some resemblance to the guard stations in the radiation zones. Upon entering the city, the warning towers around Yang City came into view.

Ye Bai presented his identification from Purple Star Academy. After verification, he was allowed entry into the tower.

“Who was the person that discovered the problem at the Sable District guard station?” Ye Bai asked, a question he hadn’t found answers to in his materials and one that lingered in his mind.

They had not gone directly to the city lord’s mansion because, as outsiders, such confidential places were off-limits. Ye Bai trusted that the lord of Yang City had already arranged everything, awaiting their arrival.

“Are they all dead?” The reply was not unexpected.

“And the scene? The bodies? Was there no identification of what mutated beast was involved? Surely the corpses would provide clues,” Ye Bai pressed, unwilling to believe that even if the informants were dead, traces must remain. Mutated beasts rarely hid their kills entirely; even if devoured, there would be marks.

“That’s what I want to know too,” the tower guard admitted. “Those sent to the Sable District guard station seemed to be on a sightseeing trip. Except for an empty station, there was nothing to report. The city’s information monitoring center tracked the coordinates via the neural brain, but after investigators arrived, no trace was found.”

Ye Bai’s expression darkened upon hearing this. The situation was complicated. He thanked the tower guards and said, “Then we’ll head to the Sable District to examine the situation firsthand.”

The Sable District was not far from Yang City. The three of them reached the vicinity of the troubled guard station in under three hours on foot.

“Where do you think the missing people went?” Yao Ling looked at the deserted station, puzzled.

“This incident at the Sable District guard station might not have been caused by animal-type mutated beasts,” Cao Xiaoseng said, his usual lazy demeanor replaced by sharp intelligence only during missions.

“Oh? Is that so? Then we’ll just have to go inside and see. But I don’t think this task will be easily accomplished,” Ye Bai responded.

The three had already investigated the spot where the black-clad man vanished and found no traces, just as the Yang City locals had said—like they had vanished into thin air.

Bloodstains remained on the doorframe of the guard station, exactly as shown in the photo, but with a stronger metallic scent.

“Looks like they were made by fingers rubbing against the frame—someone tried to escape but was suddenly grabbed from behind and dragged back inside, leaving these marks,” Yao Ling stepped forward and compared the dried bloodstains with her fingers. “It should be an adult male. The finger width and strength here are clearly larger than a female’s.”

Yao Ling came from a family versed in medicine and easily identified the traces on the doorframe.

The three entered the guard station. The items that once lined the streets remained untouched, just abandoned.

“Let’s split up. Contact me through the neural brain if anything happens,” Ye Bai instructed.

Though not large, the guard station was too vast for the three of them to comb through quickly.

Ye Bai ventured deeper inside, Yao Ling searched nearby houses for clues, and Cao Xiaoseng stared blankly at the street stalls without touching anything.

Less than a week had passed since the people vanished. Walking through the station, Ye Bai could still feel echoes of the once-bustling streets. A gentle breeze stirred the wind chimes hanging at the entrance of a quaint baby clothing shop, ringing softly.

Ye Bai pushed open the shop door, greeted by a refreshing fragrance. On the baby racks were scattered colorful clothes on both vintage and modern cribs. It appeared the residents had left in haste, not yet having time to tidy up, rather than having disappeared entirely.

Further inside, the shopkeeper’s bed was left with a corner of the quilt turned back, as if they had just gotten up for something.

No clues were found; everything was too clean. From the shop to the sleeping area, no footprints, fur, or bloodstains appeared.

Ye Bai sat on the bed, pondering what kind of mutated beast or person could have caused everyone to vanish. He now suspected a sudden attack by a Fallen, who used some hallucinogenic drug to transfer all the people overnight for experimentation.

Before him lay a fog of uncertainty—no clues at all. He wanted to move forward through the mist to uncover the hidden truth but felt as though he was going in circles, more confused than ever.

Cao Xiaoseng walked along the street, careful not to touch anything, only approaching shops, inspecting closely before moving on.

Passing a weapon shop’s stall, his eyes flickered strangely. He bent down, picked up something scattered among the weapons, held it up to the sunlight for inspection, then pocketed it and continued.

Yao Ling’s experience mirrored Ye Bai’s. Everywhere felt eerie, but no useful clues emerged. She had checked several houses, finding no signs of beast attacks or blood—everyone seemed to have simply left, contradicting Yang City’s claim of deaths.

By the time the three reached the end of the guard station, they had searched all likely places for clues. Ye Bai was first to arrive at the street’s end, waiting for the others. Soon, Cao Xiaoseng and Yao Ling appeared.

“Any luck?” Ye Bai asked.

Yao Ling shook her head silently, and Cao Xiaoseng said nothing.

“Since we found nothing, let’s return to Yang City for now. We’ll come back tomorrow to see if anything new arises,” Ye Bai decided.

They had left Green Forest Main City that morning, rushed through Yang City without stopping, and spent the entire day at the guard station. Instead of uncovering clues, the mystery deepened.

From the photos, the three had assumed a mutated beast had silently killed everyone, but no damage was found anywhere except the bloodstains at the station entrance. Ye Bai almost wanted to say the station had been abandoned long ago.

A day passed with no discoveries. The atmosphere among the trio grew heavy as they exited the guard station and headed back toward Yang City.

“Do you think those three from Purple Star Academy found anything at the guard station?” a guard at the watchtower whispered to his companion.

The other shook his head. “I doubt it. When this info first came out, many went to check the Sable District guard station but found no abnormalities.”

Suddenly, one lowered his head, shuffled closer, and whispered, “I heard the Sable District guard station is a haunted place now. Nothing happens during the day, but at night, demons, ghosts, even corpses roam.”

“What!” The first guard was startled, shouting loudly.

“Keep your voice down.” The other smacked his forehead and stepped away, resuming his watch.

“Who are they?” The guard who had just returned to his post noticed Ye Bai’s group walking toward Yang City.

He added, “Looks like they found nothing either—wouldn’t look so grim otherwise.”

Back in the city, the trio found a place to stay, grabbed a simple meal, and gathered to discuss the mission.

“Do you think the entire disappearance at the guard station could have been caused by the Fallen?” Ye Bai asked.

Each sat on one side of the table. Although Yang City claimed everyone was dead, anyone with eyes knew better—there was no trace left of over three hundred people, not a small number by any means.

“It’s unlikely,” Yao Ling said. “Though the Fallen can make people vanish like evaporation, what would they gain? The small sable? A Fallen capable of getting here wouldn’t bother with such a petty prize. Besides, the main city guards against Fallen as fiercely as against major-level mutated beast invasions. Usually, powerful Fallen wouldn’t come here.”

Having lived in the main city since childhood, Yao Ling understood the threat of the Fallen better than most. A growing-level Fallen could cause more harm than a major-level mutated beast.

“So what do you think?” Ye Bai asked her.

“I don’t know,” Yao Ling answered. “But Ling’er senses it might be some unknown or rare mutated beast attacking the station. We just haven’t found it yet.” She dismissed the Fallen theory.

Only Cao Xiaoseng remained silent. The two looked to him.

After a moment, Cao Xiaoseng reached into his pocket and pulled out a purple fur.

“What’s this?” Yao Ling took the purple fur from his hand and examined it, then said, “It should be sable fur.”

“I found it at the stall. Given how precious the small sable is, it shouldn’t have lost fur there. I can’t say what it is exactly, but it’s probably not the Fallen. If nothing unexpected happens, we might know more by tomorrow,” Cao Xiaoseng said, then left to his room.

Ye Bai and Yao Ling, left with no leads, grew even more confused after hearing Cao Xiaoseng’s words. They could only wait for his answer tomorrow.