Chapter 109: Vanished Without a Trace

The group scattered along the streets and alleys searching, during which Ye Chen also informed Dai Guangjun.

Dai Guangjun immediately issued orders, gathering the entire team, including the three men who were drinking tea around the stove, all joining the search effort.

The search continued late into the night.

But the adorable little Egg Girl seemed to have vanished into thin air somewhere in the outer city, leaving no trace.

Late at night, at the home of Little Braised Egg.

Those who gathered there included Ye Chen, Chen Bingfeng, and two others.

Other team members either continued their night patrols or returned to the headquarters; if there was any news, the group chat would naturally notify everyone.

The atmosphere inside the house was heavy with sorrow.

Little Braised Egg had lost her usual lively spirit, her gaze vacant and listless.

Her mother looked haggard, her hair disheveled, sitting on the edge of the bed, clutching her son tightly as if afraid he would disappear as well.

Her father squatted by the door, back turned to the others, head bowed silently smoking, with a floor scattered in cigarette butts at his feet.

Ye Chen looked at the lone-armed man’s forlorn figure and sighed, then turned to the weary woman and comforted her:

“This matter will be taken seriously by our team.

“Meanwhile, our team leader has already reported to the headquarters; other teams will also assist in the search.

“At the very least, myself and my partners will do everything we can.

“Well... we’ll head back now.”

Thinking that staying here wouldn’t help, it was better to keep roaming the streets, where hope was still alive.

When the group announced their departure, the mother, worried for her daughter’s safety, silently mouthed words of pleading but couldn’t bring herself to speak them aloud.

Only her tearful eyes conveyed her desperate entreaty.

Ye Chen understood the mother’s love and concern and nodded firmly at her.

The man by the door hastily stood aside to let them pass. Lacking the words to express his gratitude, he instead shook each of their hands firmly with his one remaining hand.

In his experience, patrol officers were never this cooperative, nor had he ever seen an entire team come together to help find a missing child.

Not to mention that Ye Chen had just mentioned mobilizing all patrol officers in the headquarters.

In the past, such a thing was unthinkable.

But now, it was happening.

And it was all thanks to the efforts of Ye Chen, the elder brother his son admired so much.

When the man shook hands with Ye Chen for the last time, he immediately felt something unusual in the palm.

Opening his hand, he found a golden stored-value card.

Confused, he asked, “What’s this?”

Ye Chen closed the man’s palm and explained:

“The money on this card belongs to your family.

“The last time Little Braised Egg accidentally picked up a raw stone with innate energy outside the city, I helped sell it when I went to the inner city a few days ago.

“Since Egg is still young and not suited to carry money, it’s better this way—you keep it safe.”

The father recalled the incident vaguely. He remembered Little Braised Egg saying she had found a stone and was almost robbed but was protected by Ye Chen.

As for the term “raw stone with innate energy,” he ignored it, not understanding.

Since it was his family’s property, he pocketed the card without hesitation.

Throughout, Ye Chen never mentioned the amount on the card; the father’s mind was entirely occupied with his daughter, and he failed to notice the card’s golden color.

...

Ye Chen led the group briskly through streets and alleys.

Chen Bingfeng noticed they were heading neither back to the headquarters nor home and asked curiously:

“Where are we going so late at night?”

Ye Chen, voice anxious yet thoughtful, replied:

“To the bar street.”

Xu Fan, walking at the back, caught up excitedly, eyes shining, “Big brother, are you taking us to relax?”

Ye Chen snapped, “We’re going to check the place where Egg Girl first disappeared.”

Damn it, he really wanted to knock on Xu Fan’s head to see if his brains were yellow too... But Ye Chen was in no mood to argue and silently cursed him instead.

“Oh...” Xu Fan’s excitement faded; he slowed down and fell to the rear, following at an easy pace.

Nearby, Qiao Mucao spoke up, “You mentioned Little Braised Egg found a raw stone with innate energy. Did you participate in the continent-wide trade fair when you went to the inner city?

“How much did it sell for? I just caught a glimpse of that stored-value card’s color; gold cards start at 5 million.”

Qiao Mucao knew more about the inner city than most.

As for gossip, it often comes from casual chats.

Ye Chen gestured to him.

“Wow! That’s amazing! Their family’s really landed on their feet. If it weren’t for the missing daughter, they’d probably be celebrating right now.”

Ye Chen suddenly thought of a question and leaned closer, lowering his voice to ask Qiao Mucao:

“What’s your innate energy value? Is it okay to say?”

Qiao Mucao turned to look, no trace of caution in his eyes, only pride and confidence, and he made a gesture in response.

“492? Not bad at all! So... have you ever injected extract from raw stones with innate energy?”

When Ye Chen asked this, his heart was a little uneasy, recalling the process of completing his opportunity mission.

After finishing, he had thought seriously that the extract must have some hidden problem, perhaps even undetected by the Supernatural Headquarters.

Otherwise, the consciousness world wouldn’t have made this choice such an important mission.

So, Ye Chen’s ability to ask this question now showed that he truly regarded Rubber Baldy as an important friend.

Qiao Mucao scoffed:

“I’m not that stupid! Trying to raise myself from D-level to C-level by injections would bankrupt me.

“Occasionally getting one or two injections—what effect could that really have?!

“If I had that kind of spare money, I’d do something better with it.”

Good, poverty has saved you.

...

If there’s one street in the outer city livelier at night than during the day, it’s certainly the bar street.

Conversely, daytime is the quietest time on this street.

According to Little Braised Egg’s description, they had come in the morning.

At that time, most nightlife staff were still wrapped in blankets, dozing soundly.

The group stopped by a broken wall with a gap, bent down, climbed through, and jumped into the wild grass behind.

Little Braised Egg and the others had slipped through here.

Chen Bingfeng asked Qiao Mucao:

“What’s your take?”

Both were veteran patrol officers, experienced and worth discussing things with.

As for Xu Fan, he was habitually ignored during serious discussions.

“I think this street itself is synonymous with danger; anything could happen here.

“But based on what we know, Egg Girl left the bar street on her own; there’s no description of kidnapping.

“So, the real place where she disappeared probably isn’t here,” Qiao Mucao analyzed in one breath.

Chen Bingfeng added:

“Yes, I agree.

“Also, don’t you remember the large-scale child disappearances at the farm outside the city?

“Do you think the two incidents could be connected?”

Ye Chen listened quietly to their analysis, not rushing to speak, but one sentence from Chen Bingfeng sparked a faint inspiration in his mind...