67: Missing

Back at the Police Station, lengthy paperwork and reports were unavoidable.

Lu Jianchuan, Old Zhang, and the others compressed and polished tonight's bizarre experience into a report Materials that aligned with conventional understanding, focusing on the mass unexplained disturbance and the intervention of special departments, while all supernatural elements were quietly omitted.

Stepping out of the Police Station's gate, the midnight chill hit him, making his cheeks, flushed with fatigue, tingle slightly. He mounted that somewhat old motorcycle; the engine's roar was exceptionally clear in the silent streets, and the streetlights stretched and distorted his shadow, constantly leaving it behind.

The next day was an expected compensatory leave. His body greedily repaired yesterday's wear and tear in deep sleep, but the alertness in his subconscious still caused him to wake up on time according to his usual biological clock. Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

He didn't linger in bed, getting up briskly. A slight noise came from the kitchen as he prepared a solid breakfast for himself—five or six boiled eggs, two large slices of whole-wheat bread spread with thick peanut butter, and a glass of milk with a generous amount of protein powder. He sat at the dining table, swallowing silently and quickly, treating the food purely as fuel to keep his body running.

Changing into a moisture-wicking gray tracksuit, he headed out. The early morning air carried the unique, slightly fishy dampness of the river; breathing it into his lungs was cool and refreshing. He began jogging along the riverbank, his soles rhythmically tapping against the stone pavement with steady "clack-clack" sounds.

He deliberately controlled his breathing rhythm—inhaling every two steps and exhaling every two steps—feeling his chest expand and contract. His calf muscles began to tighten and heat up, and beads of sweat gradually seeped from his temples and back, soaking the collar and back of his tracksuit and sticking to his skin.

After completing his planned five kilometers, he stopped at a small viewing platform extending over the river. With his hands on his knees, he panted heavily, white mist swirling in the cold air. Once his heart rate settled slightly, he began core training on the clean concrete floor of the platform.

Standard and rapid push-ups, body taut in a straight line; with every descent, he felt the full stretch and contraction of his pectorals and triceps. Next were squats until his thighs were parallel to the ground, his quadriceps bearing his body weight with a clear aching sensation. Then came the plank; he supported his entire weight with his forearms, core tight, body motionless, with only the second hand ticking silently in his mind.

Sweat slid down his sideburns and dripped onto the dry ground, leaving a dark spot. He could clearly hear his heavy breathing and the powerful thumping of his heart in his chest.

Finishing a set of high-intensity interval runs, Lu Jianchuan was leaning on his knees by the riverbank to catch his breath, sweat dripping continuously down his jawline. Just then, a crisp female voice, tinged with hesitation and surprise, sounded from behind him to his side:

"O... Officer Lu?"

Lu Jianchuan straightened up at the sound and turned to look. On the sidewalk not far away, a petite figure in a bright yellow food delivery uniform and a helmet was straddling an electric bike, propped up by one foot. She took off her helmet, revealing a delicate but tired face; it was none other than Lin Wan, the artist who had fainted in the small park a few days ago.

Looking at Lu Jianchuan's sweat-soaked tracksuit and somewhat bedraggled appearance, she gave a slightly embarrassed smile. "It really is you? I was passing by just now and thought the back looked a bit like you, but I wasn't sure... Are you exercising?"

Lu Jianchuan hadn't expected to run into her here either, especially in such casual attire. He straightened up, wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, and nodded. "Yeah, it's my day off, just going for a run." His gaze lingered for a moment on her eye-catching delivery uniform, his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible concern. "Are you... starting to deliver food?"

A flash of embarrassment crossed Lin Wan's face, but it was quickly covered by a bright smile. "Yeah! A girl's gotta eat." She patted the insulated box on the back of her electric bike. "Commissions for illustrations haven't been going well lately, so there's no income. Just waiting around isn't an option. I happened to see the delivery station was hiring and the hours are flexible, so I'm doing this for now. At least I can earn enough for rent and food."

Her tone was very frank, without much of a complaining air, more like stating a fact. Her eyes held a kind of resilience tempered by life.

"That's good. There's no shame in working for yourself," Lu Jianchuan said, both to her and as a kind of self-admonition. He remembered the days when he had just graduated and was working odd jobs while trying to pass the civil service exam.

"Right? I think so too!" Lin Wan's smile brightened, seemingly happy to have received validation. "It's just that I've only started, so I'm not familiar with the routes yet and keep taking the long way." She checked the time on her phone, a hint of anxiety appearing on her face. "Oh, Officer Lu, I have an order that's about to time out. I have to go now!"

"Okay, stay safe," Lu Jianchuan urged.

"I will! Thanks, Officer Lu! You too... keep up the good work!" Lin Wan put her helmet back on and waved vigorously at him. Then she twisted the throttle, and that bright yellow figure merged into the early morning traffic, quickly disappearing at the intersection.

Lu Jianchuan stood there, watching that direction for a few seconds until a cold breeze blew, bringing a chill to his body that was still warm from exercise.

He withdrew his gaze and refocused his attention on his training.

He took a deep breath and began running again.

The morning passed smoothly with trivial matters like handling neighborhood disputes and checking floating population information. As the lunch break approached, the atmosphere in the Police Station took on a hint of unusual gravity.

The chance encounter during his morning exercise was like a small interlude, not causing much of a ripple in Lu Jianchuan's busy life. The next day, his leave ended, and he returned to the Police Station on time, changed into his police uniform, and threw himself back into daily police work.

Several colleagues from the Criminal Investigation Team were gathered in a corner of the office, talking in low voices with furrowed brows. Lu Jianchuan passed by with his water cup and faintly heard a few keywords.

"...Old Liu and Little Zhou went out to investigate yesterday afternoon. They agreed to come back and summarize the situation in the evening, but we haven't been able to contact them until now."

"What about their phones?"

"At first, they were out of the service area. From the middle of the night, they've been completely turned off."

"What's the situation with the missing person? The one who does live streams?"

"Right, a streamer with the online handle 'Audacious,' real name Zhao Peng. He specializes in going to various rumored haunted or remote places for adventure live streams to attract attention. His last stream was in the West Mountain area. The signal was intermittent, and the footage seemed to show the entrance of an abandoned mine shaft, and then there was no news from him."

"Old Liu and the others went to the West Mountain area to conduct door-to-door inquiries based on the background of his last stream and the area where his phone signal disappeared..."

"Two experienced veteran criminal police officers, plus a streamer familiar with the outdoors—all three missing together over there? This is definitely not normal..."

The voices were kept very low, but that sense of unease was like a cold snake, quietly coiling around Lu Jianchuan's heart.

It wasn't a simple accident. First, a thrill-seeking supernatural streamer, followed by two colleagues ordered to investigate—all had gone missing one after another in the West Mountain area.