Chapter Seventy-Six: Strange Phenomena

Hearing that Li Mingbo had mobilized the Falcons, the male assistant, though unaware of Pei Xi and Ke Bei’s backgrounds, understood the urgency of the matter. Within five minutes, the helicopter was in position and all members of the Falcons were ready, waiting only for Li Mingbo’s command.

Li Mingbo’s office was at the top floor, and above it lay a vast helicopter landing pad. Several helicopters were poised for departure. Li Mingbo took Pei Xi aboard his own aircraft, while the remaining Falcons boarded the other three helicopters.

As Pei Xi passed by the Falcons, she noticed they all carried weapons, immediately raising her guard. If such things were discovered, they'd be prosecuted—yet these men brandished their arms openly, seemingly unconcerned about being seen.

Li Mingbo ushered Pei Xi onto his private helicopter. After the captain locked in the coordinates Pei Xi had provided, Li Mingbo’s expression remained unchanged. The captain, too, appeared indifferent, as though he had simply marked a location without further thought.

Helicopters moved far faster than cars. The four helicopters departed together, swiftly arriving at the place Pei Xi had described.

“Boss, we’ve arrived, but…” The captain glanced at their position. Dawn was approaching, and from the helicopter, the ground was clearly visible through binoculars.

The location was correct, but there was nothing there—aside from a few ruined buildings, the area was empty. Li Mingbo and the captain observed through their binoculars for some time, but saw not a single soul.

“Miss Pei Xi, are you sure this is the location you gave us?” Li Mingbo’s gaze toward Pei Xi changed imperceptibly.

The place seemed long abandoned, perhaps simply left unattended due to its remote nature and the absence of anyone to clear the debris.

The scene contrasted sharply with Pei Xi’s earlier description. Yet, judging by the area and the dilapidated structures, it might once have been a factory.

Pei Xi was unsure what Li Mingbo meant, so she took the binoculars from him and looked for herself.

“Impossible. The location can’t be wrong. Ke Bei and I have been here before. At the time, the walls were intact—how could they have crumbled in the blink of an eye?” Pei Xi was certain they hadn’t come to the wrong place, but she could offer no reasonable explanation for the collapsed walls.

When she and Ke Bei had visited, they saw only the exterior walls. They’d guessed the inner buildings weren’t very tall. From outside the two- or three-meter-high walls, nothing within was visible, suggesting the buildings inside were not much higher.

But Pei Xi and Ke Bei’s assumptions had proved wrong. The insect had seen a structure inside that was as tall as a two-story building. Now, however, it was nothing more than a decaying skeleton.

“Mr. Li, I’m certain this is the place Ke Bei and I visited together, but I can’t explain how it suddenly became like this. I think it’s very likely the two of them are in danger. Could you let me down? I want to see for myself what’s happened.” Pei Xi’s anxiety deepened at the sight before her.

Li Mingbo didn’t respond, but pointed downward. They were hovering at about a hundred meters above ground, and following his gesture, Pei Xi saw that the other three helicopters’ teams had already landed during their conversation.

Their movements marked them as well-trained soldiers, which surprised Pei Xi.

Altogether, there were ten men, all outfitted in professional combat gear. The factory was in ruins, but its main gate remained tightly shut, secured with an electronic lock.

Yet they didn’t need to enter through the gate. They simply stepped over the collapsed sections of the wall.

The ten men split into two groups, approaching the factory from different directions to encircle it. Though the binoculars revealed no one inside, they stayed vigilant, following the original plan.

If Li Mingbo had allowed it, Pei Xi would have liked to join them.

Both groups swiftly and carefully searched the entire factory, but found no one. Having eliminated any danger, they reported everything to Li Mingbo via their radios.

Only then did Li Mingbo instruct the captain to land the helicopter on a nearby open patch. By rights, this area was on the outskirts of the city—one would expect development here, given its surroundings.

But it remained undeveloped, resulting in vast open spaces perfect for landing helicopters.

Pei Xi, once on the ground, rushed inside without hesitation. Li Mingbo, meanwhile, took out his phone, found Ke Bei’s number, and dialed.

A familiar female voice came from within, but no one answered.

A shadow crossed Li Mingbo’s face, and he looked at Pei Xi with suspicion.

This girl—when she told him her name, Li Mingbo had already known who she was. He might not know Pei Xi well, but Ke Bei was not unfamiliar to him. He knew the sort of work Ke Bei did, so when her phone went unanswered, he grew uneasy.

Ke Bei’s professional habits meant her phone was always on, with strong signal everywhere. There had never been a time when she was unreachable.

Pei Xi hadn’t noticed Li Mingbo making the call; her mind was fixed on the safety of her friends. The scene before her confirmed that Fang Yuan and Ke Bei must have encountered trouble.

She and Ke Bei had been discovered just outside the gate, never getting a chance to see inside.

Now, she saw several bungalow-like structures within, all collapsed. Judging from the area covered by the debris, each building was roughly sixty to seventy square meters in size.

Moreover, Pei Xi noticed a lot of water stains in front of one collapsed house.

“Mr. Li, please come over and look at these water marks,” Pei Xi called out without turning. “Look, the entire factory has water stains only here—there’s been no rain today. And if you look closely, there’s still some moisture left on the ground, which proves someone was here recently.”