The plane landed at 10 a.m., having taken off a little past 6. As soon as she stepped out of the cabin, Pang Le couldn’t help but look up at the bright sunlight and take a deep breath, sighing, “Finally back. I’ve never missed Yongquan City’s air this much before. I’ve decided—once I get home, I’m sleeping for two whole days to clear my mind. I’ve been overworking it these past few days, and I can feel it starting to protest.”
Guan Xia found this amusing, while Ji An, though accustomed to Pang Le’s eccentricity, couldn’t resist asking, “How can a brain protest? What does that even look like?”
“Dreams,” Pang Le lamented. “I used to dream about beautiful women, but ever since we came to Fu’an City, all I’ve had are nightmares about murders. Last night was the worst—I dreamed I met this stunning woman, slender waist, long legs, flawless skin, the whole package. I was so excited I immediately called Guan Xia to come see this goddess. But the moment Guan Xia walked in, just as I was about to introduce them, the woman suddenly turned around and slit another friend’s throat. Blood sprayed everywhere, even hitting my face. I woke up with a jolt, kicking my legs in fright.”
Guan Xia suddenly recalled the previous night. “No wonder you insisted on keeping the bedside lamp on. I thought you were just afraid of sleep paralysis.”
Pang Le shuddered at the memory. “This was way scarier than sleep paralysis.”
As they chatted, the three of them collected their luggage and headed out. Guan Xia had been walking without paying much attention, mentally planning what to eat and how to catch up on sleep once home. But then Pang Le tugged at her sleeve excitedly. “Guan Xia, look—a beauty!”
Following Pang Le’s gaze, Guan Xia spotted a young woman walking toward them about ten meters ahead. She wore a black fish-tail dress with spaghetti straps, revealing slender limbs and delicate collarbones. Her figure was flawless—toned, healthy, and perfectly proportioned, with not an ounce of excess fat. As she briskly pulled her suitcase along, the subtle definition of her muscles was unmistakable. Even Guan Xia, who rarely exercised, could tell this woman worked out. Without even seeing her face, her physique alone marked her as a stunner.
Having spent so much time with Pang Le, Guan Xia had also developed an appreciation for beauty. The two of them stared unabashedly. Ji An, who had just finished a phone call, looked at them in confusion. “What’s going on? What are you two looking at?”
Just as Guan Xia was about to answer, a system interface abruptly popped up without warning.
You are being questioned by the police. Suddenly, you remember—at 10:28 a.m. on June 18th, while leaving the airport with your friends after returning to Yongquan City, you encountered a young woman walking hurriedly, her expression tense. You noticed a wing tattoo above her collarbone and angel-shaped earrings. This immediately reminds you of Lu Manqing, the perpetrator of the unsolved Case 129 who was later silenced. You instinctively sense a hidden connection between the two and decide to inform the police.
The sudden appearance of the system interface was jarring, sending a chill down Guan Xia’s spine. The moment she processed the words, her steps faltered.
Her gaze instinctively shifted to the two details mentioned—the tattoo and the earrings. Sure enough, as the woman drew closer, Guan Xia clearly saw the pair of white wings inked above her collarbone, barely visible against her skin. Without the system’s prompt, she would have missed it entirely. The woman also wore golden angel-shaped earrings. Though not identical to the ones associated with the case, the resemblance was undeniable.
Perhaps because Guan Xia’s stare was too intense, the woman abruptly turned her head as they passed each other. Fortunately, Pang Le’s admiring gaze was just as blatant, and she flashed a bright smile, so the woman didn’t notice anything amiss. She merely returned the smile out of habit before continuing on her way.
Only after the woman was out of sight did Guan Xia snap out of it, belatedly realizing she was drenched in cold sweat.
Pang Le was still lost in admiration, but Ji An, picking up on Guan Xia’s reaction, grew wary. “What’s wrong?”
Guan Xia almost spoke but hesitated, glancing around at the crowded surroundings. She swallowed her words and muttered, “Let’s talk about it later.”
Now both Ji An and Pang Le were frowning. “Alright,” Pang Le agreed nervously. “We’ll talk once we’re in the car.”
But before they could move, Ji An said, “I have an urgent matter. I can’t leave with you—I need to book a ticket and go now.”
Pang Le was stunned, but Guan Xia quickly pieced it together. “Is your friend still missing?”
Ji An scanned their surroundings before guiding them to a quieter corner. Leaning in, she whispered, “Things have taken a turn. Not only is our friend still missing, but another person who came to help search has also disappeared.”
Guan Xia’s eyes widened in shock. The news was so staggering it took her a few seconds to process. “So… because of this case, two of your people have gone missing?”
Pang Le’s expression went blank for a moment before she blurted, “Another one? What kind of case are you working on that’s this dangerous? Was it Lu Tingfeng?”
Guan Xia was equally concerned. Though she and Lu Tingfeng weren’t close—even clashing on some views—he was still Xu Nian’s friend and someone who tirelessly pursued the truth in this case, earning her respect.
Ji An moved even closer, ensuring no passersby could overhear. “No, it was someone with no investigative experience at all. That’s why Lu Tingfeng is so frantic.”
“A civilian?” Guan Xia was surprised before realization dawned. “Like Zhuo Mingyan—a victim’s family member?”
“No, it’s more complicated than that.”
To save time, Ji An quietly explained while booking her ticket on her phone. Only then did Guan Xia and Pang Le understand the full picture.
The situation was indeed quite complicated. The previously missing person and the recently missing individual were a couple. Originally, they had been investigating alongside their friends, but during the process, the man—who had been accompanying his girlfriend to uncover the truth behind the case—had to leave temporarily for two days due to an urgent matter. The group saw him off at the station before continuing their investigation. The couple had agreed that he would call to confirm his safe arrival, but when the time came, the man never called. Worried, the woman tried calling him, only to find that no one answered. Eventually, his phone was turned off entirely. Sensing something was wrong, she immediately contacted the friend who was supposed to pick him up and checked his travel details. To her shock, she discovered he had never boarded the train—he had vanished at the station.
Some time after the man’s disappearance, the woman searching for him also went missing. She disappeared in just the brief ten minutes she was separated from the others. Initially, the group had suspected but couldn’t confirm whether the man’s disappearance was related to the case they were investigating. But now, with the woman’s sudden vanishing, they were certain—both disappearances were connected to the case. It seemed they had gotten too close to the truth, and someone was eliminating them while they were vulnerable, possibly even silencing them permanently.
Ji An spoke calmly, but Guan Xia and Pang Le were horrified. They had thought their own experiences over the past few days were turbulent, but compared to this, theirs paled in comparison.
As they watched Ji An book her flight, Guan Xia and Pang Le grew increasingly uneasy. Before either could voice their concerns, Ji An smiled reassuringly and said, "Don’t worry. When the first person disappeared, we assumed it was an accident, so our investigation took the wrong direction. But now that we understand the cause and effect, we’re much closer to finding them. You two take a couple of days to rest. Wait for my updates—I’ll be back as soon as possible."
With a comforting pat on their shoulders, Ji An strode away without looking back.
The two stood there until her figure disappeared from sight before leaving the airport, their hearts heavy with worry.
The moment they got into the car—before even fastening their seatbelts—Guan Xia couldn’t hold back. "What kind of case is Ji An even investigating? The perpetrator is so ruthless, capable of abducting someone right from a crowded train station. That’s not something one person could pull off alone. Do you think it’s an entire organization?"
Pang Le started the car and turned on the AC but didn’t pull out of the parking lot. The complexity of the situation had left her too unsettled to drive.
After a long silence, her expression shifting several times, Pang Le finally looked at Guan Xia and said, "No wonder Ji An was so adamant about keeping us out of this. With our limited experience, we’d be of little use in a case like this. And more importantly—it’s too dangerous. I’ve been thinking… the perpetrator can’t be just one person. Maybe not even two. If they’re targeting people when they’re alone, that means they’re operating in the shadows while Ji An and the others are exposed. Even if we could help, Ji An would never let us."
Guan Xia had already come to the same conclusion. Though a surge of determination rose in her chest, she stayed silent. She knew her limits.
"I just hope Ji An and the others succeed," Guan Xia murmured after a pause, realizing all they could do now was pray.
Pang Le sighed. "Yeah… that’s all we can do."
After a long moment of gloomy silence, Pang Le suddenly remembered something. "Wait—what were you about to say back at the airport? Did you notice something suspicious again?"
Guan Xia quickly recalled the alert that had popped up on her system interface and explained it in detail.
Pang Le’s already grim expression darkened further. "What kind of day is this? One crisis after another. The case Ji An’s working on involves brutal killers, and now ours might be even worse. What’s your take on this?"
Guan Xia frowned. "I’m worried whether that woman was returning home after committing murder, on her way to kill someone, or if she’s like Feng Xingping—just scouting for new targets." She paused, then added, "If she’s just traveling normally, that’d be ideal. But the way she was hurrying earlier… it looked like she was on a tight schedule."
Pang Le nodded in agreement. "I’d like to believe she’s just traveling, but given how disciplined and physically trained she appears, she doesn’t strike me as the type to rush last-minute for a flight."
"Exactly," Guan Xia said, checking the time on her wrist. "Xu Nian and the others are still in Fu’an City, and there’s time before the flight. I’ll call him and ask if there have been any recent murders in Yongquan City with clean, efficient methods. If not, we’ll have to track that woman—find out her destination and alert local authorities to prevent a potential killing."
As she dialed Xu Nian’s number, Guan Xia couldn’t help but reflect on how, ever since binding with the system, her life had drifted further and further from anything resembling peace.
Xu Nian picked up as quickly as usual, but after hearing Guan Xia’s explanation, he fell uncharacteristically silent before finally responding in a low voice, "I’ll look into it. Wait for my update."
Though he didn’t say it outright, Guan Xia could practically hear his thoughts—he was probably marveling at her uncanny "Conan-esque" ability to stumble into trouble. After all, their last case had wrapped up just last night, and here they were, less than twenty-four hours later, already onto another suspicious individual—one possibly linked to a well-organized criminal group that had left no traces behind, even silencing their own members.
Exhausted from the day’s chaos, her mind numb from the constant upheaval, Guan Xia sighed. Updates might be irregular these next couple of days, but she’d do her best not to take breaks.
Love you all.
