Translator: CinderTL
Jiang Cheng quietly circled behind the Activity Center and peered through the familiar glass window. After confirming that everything was clear, he turned to Shen Mengyun and whispered, "Miss Shen, don't worry. I'll cover your back."
Shen Mengyun paused, startled by his words. But meeting Jiang Cheng's reassuring gaze, she nodded and followed his instructions.
Once Shen Mengyun had entered, Jiang Cheng resumed his position outside the window, calmly observing for thirty seconds. Only after confirming that the women's restroom was free of ambush did he carefully slip inside.
Landing silently, he tiptoed to Shen Mengyun's side, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Miss Shen, you're safe now." He paused, his eyes hardening with determination. "I've got your back."
"We... we should hurry and rescue them," Shen Mengyun murmured, slightly averting her face from Jiang Cheng's closeness, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
"Miss Shen, you're too kind."
Having learned from their previous experience, the pair moved swiftly this time. They followed the same old staircase they had used earlier, traversed the narrow corridor, and arrived at the warehouse door.
The wooden door stood slightly ajar, the Lifeline Note they had torn off earlier still clinging to its surface, concealing the knife marks beneath.
As they approached, the chilling sensation of being watched vanished. Shen Mengyun had been right: the stalking ghost had indeed shifted its attention to Wang Qi and Gao Yan.
Gently pushing open the gate, they cautiously stepped inside, their flashlight beams sweeping across the warehouse, leaving no corner untouched, not even the ceiling.
"Mr. Jiang," Shen Mengyun said suddenly, stopping. "Look over there!"
Following her pointed finger, Jiang Cheng spotted an open bag beneath a metal rack, surrounded by scattered items. An old wooden chair stood beside the rack.
Approaching, they recognized the bag they had found earlier. It appeared someone had taken it down from the top of the rack. Lacking the height, they had used the chair to reach it.
"It must be Wang Qi and Gao Yan," Shen Mengyun whispered, the deduction obvious.
"Looks like they ran into trouble," Jiang Cheng observed, noting the discarded shoes and lab coat. His voice sharpened with concern as he surveyed the surrounding darkness. "Otherwise, they would have packed everything up neatly before leaving. This mess is unlike them."
"What should we do now?" Shen Mengyun asked.
After a moment's hesitation, Jiang Cheng answered reluctantly, "We didn't encounter them on the way here, and we haven't heard any sounds. I fear they're trapped again, just like last time. Searching for them now might not only be futile but would also endanger you, Miss Shen."
As he spoke, Jiang Cheng crouched down and began examining the items scattered on the ground with practiced ease. "Let's look for clues first. Maybe we can break this ghost wall."
Shen Mengyun turned to stare at the pitch-black gate, resigned to praying for their safety.
Jiang Cheng quickly located the pair of running shoes. He picked them up, checked the size, and his gaze sharpened. Just as he suspected, they were size 38. He hadn't misremembered.
According to their earlier deductions, these shoes belonged to Xiaolin, the missing girl whose body they had discovered at dawn.
Jiang Cheng slowly stood up, his expression grave and slightly bewildered. Shen Mengyun, standing beside him, could clearly sense a shift in his demeanor.
"What is it, Mr. Jiang?" she whispered. "Is there something wrong with these shoes?"
After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Cheng's first words stunned her. "These shoes don't belong to Xiaolin at all."
He raised his head, his gaze sweeping to the back of the warehouse. "Now I understand why no one at Jiangtan University, except Yuan Xiaoyi, recognizes or has even heard of the missing girls. It's because they never existed in the first place."
"Look closely at the shoe size," Jiang Cheng said, handing the shoes to Shen Mengyun.
"Size 38," Shen Mengyun murmured, her expression slightly dazed. It was a common shoe size for women, and she didn't think anything of it.
"Do you remember what Xiaolin looked like?" Jiang Cheng continued. "When I first saw her body, something felt off. Later, I realized she was significantly taller than the average woman."
"My first thought was that, based on her height and build, she couldn't possibly be the owner of these size 38 running shoes we found in the warehouse."
"Sure enough, when I checked the shoes on the body, they were size 40."
"This size 38 pair must belong to a smaller, more petite woman." Jiang Cheng glanced at Shen Mengyun, as if subtly hinting at something.
Shen Mengyun's face paled. "It's Yuan Xiaoyi!" she blurted out.
"Mm," Jiang Cheng sighed. "I think you're right."
"But we did find the bodies of Xiaolin and Xiaoting, Mr. Jiang. You saw them yourself!" Shen Mengyun insisted, seeking confirmation.
"I did see them, but only within the Urban Legends world," Jiang Cheng replied smoothly, as if he'd already pieced together the connection. "When that world vanished and we returned to reality, their bodies disappeared too."
The sudden influx of information overwhelmed Shen Mengyun, leaving her disoriented and her mind in turmoil.
Her subconscious told her that Jiang Cheng was telling the truth, but she couldn't immediately grasp the implications, which frustrated her.
"So... Wang Qi and Gao Yan came here to verify this as well?" Shen Mengyun pressed.
"Wang Qi did. He also examined Xiaolin's shoes, and I suspect he noticed the same anomalies," Jiang Cheng replied calmly. "As for Gao Yan, don't overestimate him."
"I think Wang Qi brought him along merely as insurance."
Shen Mengyun wasn't a novice; she easily grasped Jiang Cheng's unspoken implications and believed Wang Qi capable of such calculation.
"What's this..." Shen Mengyun's peripheral vision caught a faint glint of light. Though barely perceptible, it hadn't escaped her notice.
She quickly approached the chair, moved it aside, and discovered a broken smartphone underneath.
The black, matte-finish phone had a shattered case and screen.
"This is Gao Yan's phone," Shen Mengyun recognized it instantly.
"It seems they encountered an unexpected incident while investigating these things," Jiang Cheng observed.
Shen Mengyun nodded, understanding Jiang Cheng's subtle implication. Judging by the state of Gao Yan's phone, his chances of survival seemed slim.
"Hmm?" Jiang Cheng muttered, lowering his head and pacing back and forth as if searching for something.
Shen Mengyun frowned. "What are you looking for?"
Jiang Cheng stopped. "The notebook is missing."
Five items corresponded to the five missing girls. The sneakers, lab coat, swimming goggles, and other items were all present, but the notebook was gone.
"Could Wang Qi and his group have taken it?" Shen Mengyun suddenly had a premonition that the attack on Gao Yan and the others might be connected to the missing notebook.
(End of the Chapter)
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