Chapter 101: Long Time No See
At dinner time, Xiao-ru went up to knock on the door, but there was no response. She opened the door and took one look before rushing to the study. Disregarding etiquette, she burst inside. “Lord! Ma-Madam is gone!”
In the blink of an eye, only a trace of wind remained in the study. Xiao-ru watched as the person before her vanished in an instant. She hurriedly picked up the documents scattered on the floor and followed.
When Ji Shuohan arrived at Ye Zhile’s room, there was only the small cake lying on the floor. There was no sign of the person, but a musk pheromone scent remained in the air. The strength of this scent was that of an Enigma.
At that moment, a nanny delivered a letter to the family eating at the dinner table. Wen Yumiao took it. “What’s this? Whose letter is this?”
“Open it and see,” Ye Junting said. Wen Yumiao opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of photos. After seeing the images, his hand paused, and his eyes filled with disbelief. “This is?”
Ye Zhijin and Ye Zhichen quickly stood up to look. As it turned out, the photos were all candid shots of Ye Zhile.
Ye Zhijin was the first to react. He hurriedly dialed the Shouling-fu. Xiao-ru answered, her voice stuttering so much she could barely be understood. Finally, only one sentence came through: Madam is gone.
“Lele is gone…” Ye Zhijin’s heart tightened. He hung up and grabbed his coat, leaving in a hurry. “I’m going to the Inspection Department.”
“I’m coming too!” Ye Zhichen followed quickly.
Wen Yumiao was lost, looking at Ye Junting. “G-Gone? How could he be gone?”
Ye Junting quickly held him, the most dangerous speculation forming in his mind. Wen Yumiao’s hands were shaking as he flipped through the photos. “Who took these?”
As Wen Yumiao flipped through them, a piece of paper fell out. He hurriedly picked it up and saw a line written on it: Long time no see.
Wen Yumiao froze. His thoughts instantly returned to thirty years ago. Ye Junting also guessed who it was the moment he saw the handwriting, and a trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.
“What do we do?” Wen Yumiao looked up, tears shimmering. “He’s taken Lele.”
Ye Junting held him and stroked his face, saying tenderly, “Don’t worry. I will make sure Lele returns to your side safely.”
Inspection Department———
The monitoring room was cold and silent. Led by Ji Shuohan, the officials of the Inspection Department stood behind him in their formal uniforms, a dense crowd. Everyone looked up at the monitors; the countless squares made one dizzy, yet no one dared to speak.
“Thirty years.” Ji Shuohan spoke, his voice neither cold nor warm. “Since my father took office, the Inspection Department has been tasked with finding clues about pheromone gene modification. Yet today, you still haven’t found a single lead.”
Everyone broke into a cold sweat, none daring to be the first to speak. The responsibility fell on the Minister of the Inspection Department, who said cautiously, “The people in this villainous organization are too cautious. No clues can be found from the missing persons, and they… never return.”
Ji Shuohan gave a light laugh. “You only know how to be anxious when the Imperial Family pressures you. What, is it because they aren’t your children, so you have nothing to fear? The Empire supports you just to have you eat for free.”
Now, the Minister didn’t even dare to breathe loudly, keeping his mouth shut like a quail. Ji Shuohan glanced at him. “I need all surveillance from around 6:00 PM. Don’t miss a single corner. Report immediately once the person is found.”
“Yes!”
Everyone in the monitoring room returned to their positions and began checking the surveillance. Ji Shuohan stared at the large screen, not wanting to miss a single clue.
At this moment, Ye Zhijin and Ye Zhichen arrived in a hurry. Ye Zhijin was panting as he asked, “Any clues?”
“No,” Ji Shuohan said. “The person is an Enigma and can enter and exit any place freely.”
“Then… should we screen the Enigmas in the Empire?” Ye Zhichen asked. There were only a few Enigmas in the Empire; people with such strong pheromones couldn’t be left unmonitored, so they all held high positions. Screening them would be easy.
However, Ji Shuohan shook his head. “No need. The person is a modified Enigma; his pheromones are impure.”
“Who exactly is this?” Ye Zhichen didn’t understand. “If he wants to kidnap people for experiments, why would he think of taking Lele?”
Several people were filled with speculation. Putting aside that Ye Zhile’s identity was well-known, his reputation on the Xingwang was incredibly high. There was a huge crowd shipping his CPs or admiring his looks. He was very eye-catching, and the pheromone gene modification organization wouldn’t risk kidnapping him for experiments.
“The daughter of the Shen family seems to have been caught while outside; from her case, no clues can be seen. It might just be bad luck,” Ye Zhichen said.
“Let’s lead the troops to search first. Waiting like this isn’t a solution,” Ye Zhijin said. His phone rang; it was Ye Junting. “Father.”
Ye Zhijin listened quietly, his eyes suddenly widening. Ji Shuohan and Ye Zhichen looked at him. “Brother, what’s wrong?”
“The person who took Lele is named Shao Mingjue. Have the Inspection Department issue a wanted notice and expand the search area. The person might not even be in the Empire,” Ye Zhijin said hurriedly. “They might be at the border or in a remote, underdeveloped region.”
“No wonder I said the Inspection Department couldn’t find a clue for all those years. The most dangerous place is the safest place. If he’s hiding at the border where war is frequent, who would think of looking there!” Ye Zhichen was dumbfounded.
Upon hearing this, Ji Shuohan immediately ordered, “The Inspection Department is to issue a wanted notice immediately and prioritize screening the suburbs.”
“Yes!”
Ji Shuohan turned. “Have the legion commanders at the border contact me immediately.”
“Yes.” Having heard this, Ye Zhijin hurriedly connected to the Military Department.
“Major Ye, take your troops to screen the Capital first,” Ji Shuohan said.
“Okay.”
Each performing their duties, Ji Shuohan made contact with several border commanders, ordering them to search for suspicious residences and bases in various locations, even uninhabited areas. Ye Zhijin and Ye Zhichen led soldiers to Shao Mingjue’s known residence, but it was empty, and the person had been gone for a long time—even the neighbors couldn’t remember clearly.
Ye Zhile seemed to have vanished into thin air. The Inspection Department searched all surveillance in the Shouling-fu but found no trace of the person who took him.
Cold winds howled, and the lights of the Capital’s night sky were brilliant. Standing on a high building and looking down, the various flickering and moving lights were like an interwoven net, being gathered in bit by bit.
Ji Shuohan stood on the rooftop of a tall building, the cold wind blowing his coat. Beside him stood a Snow Lion.
“Find your pheromones,” Ji Shuohan said.
As soon as his voice fell, the Snow Lion let out a roar and sprinted toward another high building. Ji Shuohan followed the Snow Lion, and the man and beast traversed through the night sky…
As long as Ye Zhile had his pheromone extraction fluid with him, he would definitely find him.
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