Chapter Seventy-Seven: Pei Xi Becomes a Detective

It was summer now, and any water spilled on the ground would quickly evaporate, leaving no trace behind. This meant that someone had been here not long ago, yet now not a soul remained. Li Mingbo exchanged a glance with his men from Flying Eagle, and they immediately understood his intent. Retrieving tools from the helicopter, they began to dig through the collapsed buildings.

Half an hour later, most of the debris had been cleared away.

“What’s this? Why are there pools in every room, each as large as the rooms themselves?” Now that daylight had broken, Pei Xi walked around inspecting each area. She found that every cleared spot contained a pool about the size of a room.

Drawing closer to the pools, Pei Xi noticed a faint scent of the sea wafting from them. Having lived by the ocean for some time, she was well acquainted with such smells. There must have been many marine creatures here once; the absence of any foul odor suggested they had all been alive.

Li Mingbo, however, did not spare these matters a thought. He cared only for Ke Bei’s safety—nothing else could hold his attention until Ke Bei was found.

“No one inside?” Li Mingbo asked.

“No one, sir. We haven’t found a single living creature,” answered a man who seemed to be the team leader.

“Miss Pei Xi, I’m afraid we’ll have to leave now. Will you be returning with us or...?” Li Mingbo clearly had no intention of taking Pei Xi back with them, though since her car was still in their possession, he could at least offer her a ride in his private helicopter and have her drive her car home.

“You’re leaving already? We haven’t even found Ke Bei and the others, and you want to leave?” Pei Xi was incredulous at Li Mingbo’s words.

There had clearly been people here moments ago, and Fang Yuan and Ke Bei could very well be in their hands. Li Mingbo was ready to withdraw just because he hadn’t seen anyone—Pei Xi found this unacceptable.

She had no idea what kind of relationship Li Mingbo and Ke Bei had, but remembering the gravity with which Ke Bei had spoken of him, she had assumed they were very close. She never imagined Li Mingbo would treat Ke Bei’s disappearance so carelessly.

“Please don’t misunderstand, Miss Pei Xi. I have no intention of giving up on Ke Bei so easily. It’s just that the people we’re looking for are clearly not here. We’ll search for Ke Bei elsewhere, by other means. Thank you for coming to inform me in time. I’m in a hurry, so if you’re not coming with us, we’ll take our leave.” With that, Li Mingbo showed no sign of lingering.

As he reached his seat, he seemed to remember something and turned back to the still-stunned Pei Xi. “By the way, Miss Pei Xi, you may retrieve your car at any time—the guards won’t trouble you again. I’ve had it repaired for you. Thank you again for risking your safety to bring me news of Ke Bei.” With those words, Li Mingbo boarded the helicopter. The four helicopters roared into the sky before Pei Xi’s eyes and quickly disappeared from sight.

Helicopters were not uncommon in this coastal city, but four at once was a rare sight. Watching them vanish, Pei Xi suddenly remembered she had not yet called Fang Yuan.

She had not dared call earlier, fearing that if Fang Yuan was in danger, her call might alert his captors. But now, with things as they were, there was nothing left to fear. She took out her phone and dialed Fang Yuan’s number.

The call rang for a long time, each beep echoing in her ear, but no one answered.

Imitating scenes she’d seen on television, Pei Xi kept redialing Fang Yuan’s number while covering the receiver with her hand, listening carefully for any vibrations nearby.

Although the factory had few buildings remaining, its grounds were vast. Pei Xi wandered, phone to her ear, listening for any sound.

As she approached the largest pile of rubble, she thought she heard the faint vibration of a phone.

The area had already been excavated; there was nowhere left that could conceal a person or a body. A single glance told her the answer.

Still, Pei Xi took a few more steps forward, and the sound grew clearer.

Yes, it was definitely the vibration of a phone—she was certain she had not imagined it.

Hearing it, Pei Xi dashed toward the source without hesitation. The sound came from a corner of the ruins, a place where no one could possibly be hiding.

Digging through a heap of debris, she finally found a black phone. Its gray casing blended in with the stones, making it difficult to spot.

Pei Xi remembered this phone—Fang Yuan had just bought it, and she had examined it when he showed it off.

Finding Fang Yuan’s phone here meant he had been here. Yet with no sign of him and everything reduced to rubble, Pei Xi’s mind raced through countless imagined scenes of what might have happened.

An explosion? Heavy machinery tearing down the walls? Destroying evidence of a crime?

Every scenario she could think of flashed before her eyes like a film. Her once rosy cheeks turned deathly pale.

As she dwelled on these thoughts, a teardrop the size of a bean rolled down her face.

“Fang Yuan, you can’t just die like this. Though there was nothing between us, you came here because of me. And now I can’t even find your body—this is all my fault, I dragged you into this.” Her tears streamed down uncontrollably, falling like rain.

Though she hadn’t known Fang Yuan long and knew little about him, his actions had shown him to be an upright person. She might not know what her father had done to him, but she could guess.

He had survived her father, only to fall into the hands of these people. All because of her—if she hadn’t called him, Fang Yuan would still be alive and unharmed.

Clutching Fang Yuan’s phone, Pei Xi wept bitterly, her tears falling like petals in a storm.

“Fang Yuan, all I found was your phone—it’s all I have left of you. I’ll keep it safe, as a keepsake. If you have any last wishes, appear to me in a dream. My father always said the dead can visit the living in dreams. Whatever you want, I’ll do it for you. Sob...” Unable to continue, Pei Xi broke down and cried once more.