Chapter Thirty-Three: The Disappearance in the Secret Chamber

In a modest apartment, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed sharply. Shortly after, two Watchmen met in the living room, their faces pale, eyes filled with terror.

"We... we couldn't find him."

"I... I'll call the boss," one of the Watchmen stuttered, quickly dialing Huang Wei.

...

Forty minutes later.

Two SUVs screeched to a halt. Ren Ye and Huang Wei rushed out, sprinting toward the apartment building. Moments later, they reached Room 601 on the sixth floor, where six Watchmen stood in the living room, their spirits crushed.

"Where is my father?!"

Ren Ye lunged into the room, grabbing the nearest Watchman by the collar. "Where is he?! Speak!"

The Watchman kept his head down, his voice trembling. "He's gone. Not a single..."

"Bang!"

Before he could finish, Ren Ye shoved him away, his composure shattering. "What the hell are you people paid for? Huh?!"

Huang Wei stepped in immediately to intervene, whispering, "Ren Ye, calm down. Let's hear the situation first."

"Calm down? How can I be calm? It's not your father who vanished, is it?" Ren Ye slapped away Huang Wei's hand, his eyes bloodshot. "What did you promise me? What did you agree to? This is your 'preemptive protection'? This is how a government agency operates? You guys are damn negligent!"

The shouting died away. The room fell silent; all the Watchmen felt a deep sense of guilt and offered no defense.

Watching Ren Ye lose control, Huang Wei tried to steady his own emotions. "Okay, I admit..."

"Admit what? In that interrogation room, what did we say? I gave you my life based on your word, and in the end, you can't even protect my father?" Ren Ye pointed at Huang Wei, trembling with rage. "I told you! Entering this world was my choice. Life and death are matters of fate; no matter the result, I wouldn't blame you. But my family is off-limits! This is...!"

"Ren Ye!"

Huang Wei grabbed his shoulders, roaring, "I promise you, if your father’s life is in danger, I swear on the collective honor of the Watchmen—I will pay with my own life!"

"What use is your oath? What use is your life to me?"

"Then is your anger helping anything? You’ve done this job yourself; you know better than anyone what should be done right now, don't you?!" Huang Wei stared at him. "At the very least, you need to hear the facts, right?"

The shouting ceased, and the room returned to an uneasy silence.

A moment later, the Watchman in charge of guarding Ren Daguо stepped forward. "Something went wrong; it is entirely our fault. I'm sorry... Ren."

After he spoke, the other five guards stood up, bowed their heads toward Ren Ye, and said, "We are sorry. We failed to do our job properly."

Their faces were etched with the exhaustion of an all-night watch, their eyes bloodshot, and they carried the stale scent of sweat from being trapped in a confined space for too long. Yet, there was no resentment in their words or expressions—only profound guilt. Many of these Watchmen didn't know the specifics of Ren Ye's situation or the details of the Qingliang Town Star Gate, but they knew he was a recruit highly valued by both the Shanghai Watchmen organization and the headquarters.

Ren Ye looked at them and saw his former self. His heart was burning with anxiety, but he could no longer bring himself to say anything hurtful.

Huang Wei steadied his nerves and immediately asked the lead officer, "How did this happen? How could the six of you lose track of Ren Daguо without noticing a thing? That's impossible!"

The lead officer looked up, his eyes equally bewildered. "The six of us were split into three groups. One inside the building, one patrolling the perimeter, and one in an apartment we rented across the street, which had a direct line of sight into the living room of 601. Just minutes before you called me to check on Ren Daguо, I saw him and that editor in the living room with my own eyes."

Ren Ye and Huang Wei listened in silence.

"But when I finished your call and walked over from the building across the street, they were both gone. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes," the officer said, his expression one of disbelief. "During that time, the six of us were so close to the target building, yet we didn't sense a single ripple of Star Source energy. It's truly incredible... Even if there were high-level players, Tier 2 or even Tier 3, they couldn't possibly have abducted Ren Daguо from under our noses without using any divine abilities!"

The officer swallowed hard and continued, "And as you can see, there are no signs of a struggle in the room. The door lock was intact before we entered. There are no toxins in the air, and the water and food are normal, which means... no strangers broke in. Even if we assume the worst—that Ren Daguо and the editor were both players who received a sudden Star Gate mission and were teleported away—it would have caused a fluctuation of Star Source energy that we would have detected! But they just... vanished into thin air in this room, leaving no trace behind."

Ren Ye immediately retorted, "Do you have any way to track the target?"

"We do," the officer replied. "Although Little An is a Strength-type player, one of his inherited divine abilities is a hypersensitivity to scent. After we realized they were gone, we had him track them, but the scent trail simply vanished at the trash bin by the stairwell. It wasn't distinct; it was likely left when they took out the trash."

Hearing this, Ren Ye felt both anxious and lost. In the last two days, he had been cramming on the common knowledge of Star Trace Gates and players with Xu Peng. He knew clearly that based on the officer's account... Ren Daguо had effectively vanished from a locked room in a bizarre manner.

Beside him, Huang Wei, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said, "I suspect they weren't taken by the Bell Society."

Just moments ago, colleagues at the Shanghai Watchmen headquarters had confirmed the identities of "Skinny Monkey" and "Fat Dragon." It was certain that the ones causing trouble this time were members of the Bell Society.

Ren Ye looked up at him, shifting into the analytical mindset of a detective. "Are you saying the information from the two crime scenes is completely contradictory?"

Huang Wei nodded, speaking rapidly. "According to Gu Nian's account, four members of the Bell Society appeared at the crime scene at the university town. They chose to use forced abduction, and many of their decisions seemed impulsive—otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to act right in front of the police station. But here, your father and the editor disappeared without leaving a single trace."

"If the Bell Society had the ability to steal people away so silently, why would they bother with a forced abduction in front of the police station? They could have just stolen your sister directly! Furthermore, even if they were operating on two fronts, the timing should have been synchronized. If it weren't, we would have tightened security here the moment we noticed the first incident."

Ren Ye understood what Huang Wei was implying: even if Ren Daguо had disappeared, he might not have fallen into enemy hands.

But even if that were true, could Ren Ye really rest easy?

A living person had just vanished into thin air—and it was his own father! The only person in the world who had raised him!

Ren Ye remained silent for a long time before clenching his fists. "That's just your speculation. What if they chose to operate on two separate lines as a double-insurance policy? The lack of synchronization could be due to an unexpected complication. And what if one of them has a divine ability that you haven't mastered yet? What if the Bell Society hired a very high-level player?"

Huang Wei was left speechless, as the possibilities Ren Ye raised were indeed real.

"No matter who took my father, the ultimate target must be me. He should be safe for now; I'm sure of it," Ren Ye turned to Huang Wei, his logic clear and his tone brooking no argument. "Two things: First, before they contact me, you must find these people from the Bell Society. I have no enemies other than them. Second, if you can't find them, then no matter who threatens me later, I will certainly choose to trade for my father. This matter... no one can stop me. Don't tell me the Qingliang Mansion Star Gate is too critical. First and foremost, I am a son; only after that am I a police officer."

Huang Wei gritted his teeth. "Fine. I respect your choice, but please give me some time."

With that, Old Huang walked into the kitchen, closed the door, and immediately dialed his superior, Yan Duoduo.

...

In Kyoto, inside a bar near the Imperial City.

Yan Duoduo was dressed in a tailored suit, his hair neatly groomed, sitting on a barstool as he patiently awaited a meeting. This meeting was intended to report on Ren Ye's status to headquarters—a rare, face-to-face briefing.

"Ring-ring!"

A phone rang. Yan Duoduo frowned and pulled out his phone. "Hello?"

"Boss, something happened on my end..." Old Huang gritted his teeth and explained the night's events, holding nothing back.

After listening, anger flushed Yan Duoduo's face. "Do you know who I'm here in Kyoto for?!"

"It... it's to report on Ren Ye's situation," Old Huang whispered, his voice barely audible.

"And knowing that, you still managed to lose the person?! Didn't I lend you my people? How did you mess this up?" Even in his intense anger, Yan Duoduo didn't lose his composure, nor did he resort to cursing; his emotions remained remarkably stable. "Go and handle the aftermath immediately! In these extraordinary times, use extraordinary measures. I'll be waiting for your call in twenty-four hours."

"Yes, I understand. I have a lead."

"Don't tell me you have a lead! I want results!" Yan Duoduo hung up with a snap. After a moment of careful thought, he immediately dialed the Shanghai headquarters. "Hello? Dispatch people. Send elites to reinforce the Qingfu District. Also, whatever requests Huang Wei has, you must comply. Yes, city-wide cooperation...!"

After giving his instructions, Yan Duoduo stepped down from the barstool and walked toward a sofa.

"Hey, the top dog of Shanghai, come sit down," a colleague greeted with a smile.

Yan Duoduo ignored him and turned to an old man sitting nearby. "Sir... please cancel my report for tonight. I still have materials to prepare."

The old man nodded slowly. "Very well."

Five minutes later, Yan Duoduo left the bar, his face flushed with irritation.

It wasn't that he didn't want to report; it was just that the protagonist's own father had gone missing. If he reported that, he’d likely be met with a pair of stinging slaps to the face.

...

Shanghai.

Huang Wei took Ren Ye out of the apartment building and climbed into the car. "Our superiors are taking this case very seriously. To find leads faster, we're heading back to the city center to pick up colleagues from the information department, then we're going to meet a member of a very active player organization in Shanghai. They operate in the gray area between black and white, and they are very well-informed."

Ren Ye raised an eyebrow. "What organization?"

"The Fraudulent Chamber of Commerce," Huang Wei said as he started the engine. "Their motto is: the essence of every transaction is a fraud; it only depends on whether your performance is realistic and spectacular enough."