Why did he disappear?

“Recording initiated, code name 34. The Dream Gate investigation results have been authorized for entry by the Highest Personnel Department.

The real-time census system shows that there has been no surge in missing persons across the city.

The personnel movements within the Dream Protection Bureau have been tallied, and deviations have been corrected.

Current missing persons: Uncle Shui, Feng.”

As the cold electronic voice finished its broadcast, Haidier, sitting before the computer, clutched the hem of her skirt.

She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she replayed the experience in her mind.

If she had discovered the other intruder just a bit sooner, she wouldn’t have let the Dream Gate open.

Or, if her methods had been more ruthless, she might have stopped the gate’s activation.

However, Haidier wasn’t the only one lost in such self-reflection.

Xu Xiaoyu wandered blankly from the basement to the upper hall.

The hall was now filled with more team members, most of whom had been injured while rescuing others.

Medical staff were busy using various means to treat them.

A team member with a bandaged arm in a splint saw Xu Xiaoyu and quickly spoke to a nearby doctor.

“Doctor Daoyan, please bandage that young member first! My injury can wait a bit longer.”

“How can it wait! It’s almost done.”

Daoyan prioritized finishing the bandage for the person in front of him before hurrying over to Xu Xiaoyu.

Xu Xiaoyu kept her head down, her staff stained with blood over more than half its length.

She seemed oblivious to the pain, her mind wandering somewhere far away.

“Little girl, lift your arm a bit.”

Daoyan took out a talisman from his medical kit, but Xu Xiaoyu remained unresponsive, her eyes filled with a desolate blankness.

“Hey! Then hold on, I need to disinfect it.”

Doctor Daoyan took out a bottle of povidone-iodine spray and pressed it several times against her wound.

Ssh! Ssh!

The moment the iodine touched the wound, even though it wasn’t as irritating as alcohol, Xu Xiaoyu still felt a sharp sting.

She knit her brows, suddenly becoming aware of Doctor Daoyan in front of her.

“Hiss—”

As the stinging sensation intensified, Xu Xiaoyu finally couldn’t help but make a sound.

“Just bear with it, little girl.”

Doctor Daoyan held the talisman in his hand, chanting a spell under his breath.

A yellow flame immediately flickered on the runes, and seeing his chance, Daoyan slapped the talisman onto Xu Xiaoyu’s arm.

“Wah!”

Xu Xiaoyu let out a small cry.

She felt as if her arm was on fire, a spicy pain like being sprayed with chili water.

Yet, there was also a strange itchiness, like a feather brushing against her skin.

“All done.”

Daoyan let go, and Xu Xiaoyu turned to look at her arm, seeing the yellow glowing talisman now soaked with blood.

“Peel it off in fifteen minutes. Make sure to get plenty of nutrition when you get back. Drink this sugar water right away to prevent low blood sugar.”

Doctor Daoyan pulled a bottle of sugar water from his kit and handed it to her.

By the time Xu Xiaoyu looked at the bottle cap, Daoyan had already left, busy treating someone else.

‘I forgot to say thank you.’

Xu Xiaoyu finally regained her senses as she recalled the scene from not long ago.

Weijiu had taken her place and was dragged into the Dream Gate.

And Uncle Shui, in an attempt to save her, had also fallen into the trap of the Dream Gate.

What happened to them? How was she supposed to explain Weijiu’s disappearance to her brother?

What should she do if her brother kept questioning her?

Xu Xiaoyu felt a splitting headache, likely a sign that Doctor Daoyan’s warning about low blood sugar from blood loss was coming true.

‘What should I do? What on earth should I do?’

Xu Xiaoyu drank the sugar water and closed her eyes, waiting for the symptoms to subside.

She didn’t know where Weijiu got the courage to save her.

That brave movement of reaching out her arms… why did it look so much like someone she knew?

A deep thumping in her heart and a surge of unease flooded Xu Xiaoyu’s mind.

She felt an urgent need to go home immediately; something was wrong at home.

Ten minutes later, Xu Xiaoyu arrived at the counter.

Duyun, with his drooping fox ears and tail, saw her and immediately asked.

“Xiaoyu, do you need help?”

“I want to go home, is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“Eh? You don’t need me to stay and help?”

Xu Xiaoyu was a bit confused; the Dream Protection Bureau should be in desperate need of personnel right now.

“No need. The Director is preparing to mobilize personnel from higher levels to decipher and research the newly opened Dream Gate and find Uncle Shui and Feng… Don’t worry too much, a way will be found to solve everything.”

Duyun’s voice naturally lowered as he spoke, but seeing the child-like Xu Xiaoyu in front of him, he couldn’t help but cover his face in self-reproach.

No one was without sorrow.

Knowing the situation, Xu Xiaoyu turned toward the teleportation pad.

In the instant she transferred to the front gate, she took in everything and everyone in the hall.

Their sighs of sorrow, their silence after the panic, and her own wandering confusion.

Icy blue snowflakes were left behind by the sign for Orange Purpose Co., Ltd. as Xu Xiaoyu flew toward home.

There was no sun today; the weather was gloomy.

As usual, she changed out of her combat gear in a hidden corner.

Xu Xiaoyu changed back into her JK uniform, but when she reached her front door, she hesitated to knock.

Creak.

The door unexpectedly swung outward.

Xu Xiaoyu thought it was her brother, but it turned out the balcony window wasn’t closed, and neither was the door.

“Big brother?”

Xu Xiaoyu called out from the doorway, but the only response was the whistling wind and the silence of the room.

‘Is he still sleeping? Should I wait a bit before telling him about Weijiu? What kind of excuse should I make?’

Xu Xiaoyu thought as she opened the door, but the empty bed told her one thing clearly: her brother, Xu Feng, was not home.

Where was he?

Xu Xiaoyu dialed his number, but she only heard the electronic voice saying the phone was powered off.

“Big brother? Big brother! Brother!”

Sensing something was wrong, Xu Xiaoyu shouted, but from the bedroom to the balcony, there was no sign of that familiar figure in the small space.

Xu Xiaoyu dashed out the door again.

She searched every place where her brother lived his life, sweating profusely until the sky turned dark and rain began to fall.

Drip, drop!

The rain pitter-pattered against the awnings.

Xu Xiaoyu stood in front of the beef noodle shop her brother had visited a few days ago, dialing the number one last time with a shred of hope.

“The number you have dialed is powered off…”

The heartless voice shattered Xu Xiaoyu’s expectations.

She suddenly realized a terrifyingly coincidental thing had happened.

Why was the team member with Weijiu named Feng? Did she really have no connection to her brother?

Why did her brother disappear right after she vanished into the Dream Gate?

Xu Xiaoyu recalled her brother’s casual question from before.

‘Xiaoyu, if I turned into a girl, what would you do?’

What did his awkward expression mean back then? Why did the look in his eyes seem like he was stating a fact?

Xu Xiaoyu felt her body go weak, nearly collapsing on the spot.

‘Is Weijiu actually my brother? No, aren’t they two different people?’

Xu Xiaoyu looked up at the dark clouds.

The rain grew heavier, drum-like splashes hitting the ground, while her heart was as tangled as a mess of hemp.

“Big brother, where are you?”

The faint question was answered only by the falling rain.