Chapter 108: Collective Disappearance

The group basked in the warm winter sun, sipping tea and eating sweet and sour wild berries.

Ye Chen felt as though it had been a long time since he had enjoyed such a leisurely moment with friends.

When the conversation turned to any interesting happenings at the mansion recently, Ye Chen distinctly noticed that the three people beside him all froze momentarily, even the chatterbox Qiao Mucao fell silent.

“What’s wrong?” Ye Chen asked, puzzled.

Chen Bingfeng closed his book and began to explain:

“There hasn’t been much going on at the mansion lately, but something has happened outside the city.”

Ye Chen poured himself another cup of tea, sipping it attentively as he listened.

“There are quite a few farms around the capital, right?”

Ye Chen nodded in understanding, having grown up on a farm himself, taken in by the Ye family. He had no memory of his own parents. Ye Shanshan’s grandparents had told him he was found one day in June, abandoned in the fields by someone heartless. The elderly couple, kind-hearted and unwilling to let the frail child starve, took him in. Since they were illiterate, they gave him a name rather casually, perhaps seeing him as insignificant as dust on the ground, hence the name Ye Chen. Ye Chen regarded these two elders as his true family until their passing, after which he took Ye Shanshan to the city to seek a livelihood.

He vaguely remembered, as a boy, chasing sand rats and poking into snake holes with friends in the fields, roasting their finds over a fire. It was around then that he dreamed of becoming a wilderness hunter when he grew up.

Noticing Ye Chen’s distant gaze, Chen Bingfeng paused briefly.

“Oh, nothing. Just memories from childhood. Go on.”

Chen Bingfeng continued:

“Recently, one of the farms has had a string of mysterious disappearances involving many children.”

“It’s a fairly large farm, and after searching for a long time with no results, the families grew desperate and sent someone to the mansion for help.”

Ye Chen paused from drinking, lifting his head to ask, “Many? How many exactly?”

“Well... almost all the children who weren’t working in the fields have vanished.”

Ye Chen looked at Qiao Mucao, who silently nodded in confirmation.

---

“Which team is handling this case?”

Qiao Mucao explained:

“Team Three is in charge, led by Captain Big Horn.

“This farm is located to the north of the capital.

“Our mansion operates on a regional jurisdiction system: the northern outskirts and surrounding outer areas fall under Team Three’s watch.”

The four of them fell into a quiet silence.

Nearby, the open space grew lively again as children who had finished their snacks climbed out of the pipes and began chasing and playing energetically.

Ye Chen watched the lively, spirited children and stared blankly... Who on earth would do such a wicked thing to harm children?

...

After bidding farewell to his companions, Ye Chen took the initiative to pay the bill and left early, pondering the incident he had just heard about. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

Life on the farms was actually harder than in the outer city; otherwise, he wouldn’t have dreamed of venturing into the capital in the first place. Yet someone had reached out their dark hand to prey on the most vulnerable.

It had to be remembered that 99% of the farm’s crops were transported back to the capital, simply because the land did not belong to the farm inhabitants.

As Ye Chen approached Little Salted Egg’s house, shouts and cries came from inside.

The sobbing seemed to be from Little Salted Egg and a woman.

Curious, Ye Chen knocked on the door.

“Knock knock knock.” Before he could finish the third knock, the door was flung open.

The first thing in sight were Little Salted Egg’s father’s bloodshot eyes... What was going on?

Peering past the man’s shoulder, Ye Chen saw Little Salted Egg kneeling on the floor, sobbing in waves.

The woman beside him was familiar — Little Salted Egg’s mother.

She sat on a chair, face buried in her hands, choking back tears.

“What’s wrong, Salted Egg’s dad? What happened at home?” Ye Chen asked anxiously, sensing something was amiss.

Recognizing a familiar face, the resolute one-armed man wiped away the murky tears from the corners of his eyes and angrily pointed at Little Salted Egg.

“That useless brat. I told him to look after his little sister, but he lost her. Can you believe it...?”

Salted Egg’s mother wanted to speak but was overwhelmed by grief and turned away to sob.

“Don’t get upset yet. Tell me slowly, when did this happen?”

---

Little Salted Egg’s father scolded:

“Salted Egg, why are you still kneeling? Hurry up and tell your big brother Ye Chen. He’s with the patrol division now; maybe he can help us find her.”

Looking at Little Salted Egg with bruises all over his face, Ye Chen guessed he had gotten quite a beating from his father.

According to Salted Egg’s account, this was the story:

Though his father had agreed to him becoming a wilderness hunter, it wasn’t supposed to be now.

At least wait until he was two years older, and in the meantime, learn more skills and knowledge from Master Feng and his father.

But itching for adventure, Salted Egg had made plans with two friends to dig into snake holes in the wild grass behind the bar street.

Ye Chen also remembered this spot—it was where he and Chen Bingfeng had once scaled the wall to track Zhang Jingye.

Snakes were common there, but since they hibernated in winter, it was relatively safe to dig around.

Salted Egg’s parents worked in workshops in the outer city during the day, and used to bring along their little sister, Egglet.

But as she grew older, Egglet found the workshop boring and preferred to stay with Salted Egg.

However, Egglet was afraid of snakes and refused to set foot in the wild grass, waiting instead on the street.

When Salted Egg and his friends returned excitedly with their catch, Egglet was nowhere to be found.

Worried, Salted Egg asked nearby shopkeepers if they had seen his sister. Some said they did see Egglet walking alone past their shops.

But as Salted Egg followed the trail, the clues ran dry.

Gradually, responses became, “No, we haven’t seen her.”

And just like that, in broad daylight, Egglet vanished into the crowd.

Ye Chen understood the gist of the matter and comforted them gently:

“Don’t cry yet. There are two possibilities: one, your sister got lost on the street.

“But children don’t walk far on their own.

“Two, she might have been kidnapped.”

At the mention of kidnapping, Egglet’s mother seemed on the verge of tears again but was held in her husband’s single-armed embrace.

Ye Chen spoke earnestly:

“No matter what, now is not the time to stay home. Act quickly and search separately.

“I’ll contact the mansion and have the patrol team on duty help us look.

“We’ll regroup here later. Hurry... let’s go!”