Irreversible

When Zhao Henxi sent the message, Qu Shiyao was attending an important board meeting.

Place your phone on silent mode on the conference table with the screen facing down.

Fortunately, Su Wanwan had crammed a lot of internal materials before officially taking over the group. Otherwise, Qu Shiyao suspected that she could only rely on her shareholding to pressure the board members with her own abilities rather than winning their trust through her real skills.

Just as Su Wanwan was clearly and logically explaining her points, the system's excited voice rang in Qu Shiyao's mind:

[Host! The number of active fans for our novel has surged to 95,000 after this incident! At this rate, breaking the 100,000 mark is just around the corner! You can be resurrected and go home once the mission is completed!]

[Furthermore, our novel's rating has risen to 9.4! Just a little bit away from 9.5! Once that's achieved, Yi Yu will be safe!]

The system didn't forget what Qu Shiyao cared about most and specifically checked the scoring progress.

However, a strange sense of irritation welled up in Qu Shiyao's heart.

Logically, she should have been happy to hear such good news, but she couldn't calm down; an indescribable sense of unease lingered around her.

The meeting lasted until 6 p.m.

When the meeting ended, Qu Shiyao's mood was not lightened, but rather heavier.

"What's wrong? You don't seem to be doing well." After exchanging professional pleasantries with the directors, Su Wanwan went straight to Qu Shiyao and asked with concern.

"I can't quite put my finger on it..." Qu Shiyao frowned and picked up her phone to unmute it.

The screen lit up and several unread messages immediately popped up. Among them, a message from Yi Yu's friend Zhao Henxi caught her attention.

She glanced at the page briefly, and her expression instantly turned ugly.

After reading the message, her first reaction was to call Yi Yu immediately.

All that came through the receiver was a busy signal indicating no one was answering.

An ominous premonition gradually welled up in my heart.

Yi Yu is in trouble!

"System, locate Yi Yu's position immediately!" Qu Shiyao urgently called out in her mind.

The system also saw that information and, not daring to be negligent, quickly mobilized data monitoring to track it down.

"What happened?" Su Wanwan's expression turned serious when she saw Qu Shiyao's sudden change in expression and the unreachable phone.

"I can't get through to Yi Yu on the phone, I have to go back right now!" Qu Shiyao spoke faster and her movements became noticeably hurried.

"Where are you going? My car is fast, I'll give you a ride!" Without saying a word, Su Wanwan immediately took out her phone and dialed the driver's number.

Qu Shiyao had no time for pleasantries and nodded silently.

[Host! Found it! After leaving school, Yi Yu rode north to Nitan Road and then parked at the entrance to Wanzhi Mountain. The signal is extremely poor in the mountains! His last signal was detected 46 minutes ago; he is still in the mountains.]

The system quickly relayed the information it had tracked to Qu Shiyao.

"Check his phone records and text messages..." Qu Shiyao pursed her lips, then, as if remembering something, added:

"Also, immediately check Si Cheng's recent whereabouts and movements!"

The system reconnected to the entire Skynet data network and began its rapid investigation.

"Wanwan, take me to Wanzhi Mountain!" Qu Shiyao didn't have time to explain where she got the information.

"Okay!" Su Wanwan didn't ask any more questions and nodded immediately after hearing the address.

The two got into the car, and the system's investigation results began to arrive.

[Host, during that time period, Yi Yu's phone received several scheduled text messages from different virtual numbers.] The system paused after reading the content, its tone becoming serious.

The first post included photos of the original owner being bullied and nearly assaulted during high school.

The message threatened him to immediately travel alone to Wanzhi Mountain, emphasizing that his phone was being monitored and that if he informed anyone, the photos would be automatically posted online.

The following messages all instructed him to keep changing the meeting place.

The system was also angry, but it knew its host needed more information, and continued: "Sicheng has been living a very monotonous life these past few days, going between the company, the bar, and his residence. He's heavily intoxicated and behaving erratically."

[His communication records, aside from work-related exchanges and tracking your current situation, show no other unusual activity.]

It thought for a moment and added: "Based on the information we have so far, the threatening messages and leaked photos sent to Yi Yu were most likely not directly ordered by Si Cheng or leaked through him. None of the people he's contacted recently have shown any signs of targeting Yi Yu."

Qu Shiyao's expression was solemn, her mind racing as she carefully investigated everyone who knew about the original owner's past and had a grudge against her or Yi Yu.

If it's the original owner's enemy, could it be someone involved in the incident back then? But the original owner had already left that city, so why would the other party chase after her here and try to kill her?

Besides, most of them have already been sent in, and very few have come out during this time period.

If they came for her, who else but Si Cheng? Who would know about the original owner's shameful past?

She has indeed offended some people, such as those from the CAQ Group who tried to bully her but ended up being taken to the police station for questioning, but they should still be in custody...

With too little information to pinpoint the target, Qu Shiyao's unease grew stronger.

"Can you trace the original address that sent the threatening message?" she pressed.

[It's a scheduled message, originating from a poorly managed, unlicensed internet cafe in the west of the city. That area is a blind spot for surveillance cameras, making it impossible to trace the specific operator.] The system cautiously reported.

Qu Shiyao picked up her phone and carefully read the divination results sent by Zhao Henxi again.

She didn't believe these things at first, but at this moment, a strong intuition told her that Yi Yu was really in trouble.

The car sped along, and by the time it reached the foot of Wanzhi Mountain, it was nearly dusk.

There were few people at the foot of the mountain, with only a handful of tourists going up and down.

After Qu Shiyao got out of the car, her eyes were immediately drawn to an electric bicycle parked on the side of the road.

That belongs to Yi Yu!

She quickly walked over to check and found that the car wasn't locked; it was just parked there carelessly.

"Is it your boyfriend's car?" Su Wanwan followed and saw Qu Shiyao staring at the car, and she understood.

"Hmm..." Qu Shiyao responded and turned to walk quickly along the nearest mountain trail.

Su Wanwan followed closely behind, and the driver parked the car and immediately caught up.

The trees on both sides of the trail are dense and messy, and the ground is covered with fallen leaves and broken branches.

As darkness fell rapidly, the three figures quickly disappeared into the dark forest.

Not far away, a person wearing glasses and carrying a mineral water bottle walked out of the convenience store.

She glanced in the direction where Qu Shiyao and the others had disappeared, a barely perceptible smile curving her lips. She hummed a little tune, hopped on a shared bicycle, and disappeared into the brightly lit traffic in the distance.

Relying on the coordinates of the last agreed location provided by the system, Qu Shiyao arrived at the edge of a cliff.

She stood on the edge of the cliff and looked down. All she could see was a bottomless abyss, shrouded in mist, which made her heart pound.

“Shiyao, he…” Su Wanwan looked at the perilous environment and wanted to comfort her, but saw that Qu Shiyao had already begun to search carefully in the vicinity.

“No…not here…” Qu Shiyao murmured to herself.

She noticed that there were no obvious fresh footprints or signs of struggle on the ground around her, and a terrible guess immediately arose in her mind.

I picked up my phone again and looked at the meeting places that the system had sent me, arranged in chronological order.

These locations, scattered here and there, seemed to be to prevent Yi Yu from following them with his men, but Qu Shiyao sensed something fishy about them.

This is more like a meticulously designed game of toying with the prey!

It is highly likely that Yi Yu will meet with misfortune upon reaching a pre-designated location!

The information that follows is nothing more than a trick by the murderer to confuse the public, buy time, or even lure her here!

A sudden wave of intense dizziness washed over Qu Shiyao, and her head throbbed with pain. Her knuckles, gripping her phone, turned white from the force.

With a soft "crack," she pinched a crack into the edge of the phone screen.

[Host! Calm down! We haven't found Yi Yu yet! We need to find him alive or dead!!!] The system sensed the intense emotional turmoil in Qu Shiyao's mind and hurriedly shouted.

"Shiyao! Calm down! I'll call people to search the mountain right now, maybe there's still hope!" Su Wanwan had never seen Qu Shiyao so distraught before, so she quickly stepped forward to comfort her, but when she tried to take out her phone, she found that there was no signal in the mountains.

Qu Shiyao pressed hard on her throbbing temples, her back almost bending over, her mind a complete mess, unable to make sense of anything.

A strong sense of self-blame welled up inside me.

She knew perfectly well that the rating hadn't reached the safe level of 9.5, so why didn't she have the system dedicate some of its energy to constantly monitoring Yi Yu's safety?

She should have known something bad would happen!

Why……

Is it because I don't care enough?

Haven't we given enough?

In the original novel, the female protagonist jumps into the sea in despair.

This time, Yi Yu...

Jump into the sea!

Qu Shiyao suddenly opened her eyes, a thought flashing through her mind, and she blurted out: "System! Immediately check these locations to see if any of them are near the sea!"

In her desperation, she no longer cared about Su Wanwan being present, nor did she care about the existence of the hidden system.

【Okay!】The system understood that the situation was critical and couldn't worry about anything else.

It quickly compared the coordinates and soon locked onto the only coordinates near the sea, and immediately informed Qu Shiyao.

Upon receiving the location information, Qu Shiyao turned around and ran wildly in the direction indicated by the system without saying a word.

Su Wanwan followed.

When Qu Shiyao reached the high ground overlooking the sea, she was almost completely exhausted.

A wooden railing blocked her way. She staggered a few steps, her gaze suddenly drawn to something hanging on a dead tree branch in front of the railing.

She picked it up; it was an intricately woven safety rope.

[Host...] The system looked at the rope swaying slightly in the twilight, wanting to say something comforting, but it felt like a fishbone stuck in its throat.

Su Wanwan, who was panting as she caught up, saw the safety rope in Qu Shiyao's hand. Her heart sank, and she instantly held her breath, looking nervously at Qu Shiyao.

Qu Shiyao stepped over the low wooden railing and onto a path along the cliff edge that had clearly been trodden recently.

Her figure seemed to overlap with Yi Yu's, who had walked this way before. She followed the path all the way to the end, where there was a steep cliff edge.

Below the cliff, surging waves crashed violently against the rock face, splashing up murky white spray.

Falling into such a place, even with excellent swimming skills, would almost certainly result in certain death due to the icy seawater and powerful undercurrents.

Qu Shiyao stopped at the last moment.

She turned around and glanced at the mountains and forests behind her that had long been swallowed by darkness, then slowly turned back to face the boundless sea, which appeared even deeper and darker against the backdrop of the distant city lights.

She looked down at the messy marks under her feet. One of the footprints had obvious, outward-sliding marks on the edge, clearly left by the person who was pushed and struggled to lose their balance.

She peered forward and looked down at the cliff face below, where a small piece of blue cloth was hanging on a rock protrusion.

She remembered that Yi Yu often wore a coat with the same color and material.

The plot has clearly been forcibly pushed to the finale by someone.

The ending was that one person jumped into the sea, while the other only found some of the other person's belongings...

so……

She was too late...

At this moment, Qu Shiyao stood there quietly, looking at the unfathomable sea below, speechless.

Su Wanwan and the system held their breath the entire time, not daring to make a sound, for fear of agitating Qu Shiyao, whose state was somewhat unstable at the moment, and causing her to do something impulsive.

Time ticked by in a suffocating silence.

"Shi...Shi Yao..." Su Wanwan finally mustered up her courage and cautiously began to speak:

"How about we leave here first and get to a place with a signal? I'll contact someone immediately to come and conduct a diving search and rescue, or expand the search area in the mountains..."

Qu Shiyao moved her head slightly and slowly turned around.

Her face was expressionless, or rather, all her emotions seemed to have shattered under the enormous impact, leaving only an almost numb emptiness.

"Let's go..." Her voice was very soft, as if it might disappear into the sea breeze at any moment.

The system dared not utter a sound, silently and attentively accompanying its host.

As soon as they reached a place with a signal at the foot of the mountain, Su Wanwan immediately began to urgently dispatch manpower.

Qu Shiyao silently sat back in the car, staring blankly out the window, still clutching the purple safety rope in her hand, her knuckles turning white from the force.

After arranging everything, Su Wanwan returned to the car. Looking at Qu Shiyao's expression, she felt a pang of sadness and tried to speak calmly:

"Shiyao, I've already made the arrangements. I believe we'll hear from you soon... very soon. Maybe it'll be Yi Yu..."

"I want to go back and rest..." Qu Shiyao interrupted Su Wanwan's attempt to comfort her softly, her gaze still blankly fixed on a certain spot outside the window.

"It's okay, maybe tomorrow..." Su Wanwan wanted to say something more, but seeing Qu Shiyao's seemingly soulless state, she gradually stopped talking.

She sighed and instructed the driver in front, "Take us back to our apartment."

Back in her familiar apartment, Qu Shiyao walked straight past Yi Yu's closed door and arrived at her own bedroom door.

She opened the door, then turned to Su Wanwan and said in an almost inaudible voice, "Thank you..."

The thank you was spoken so softly, as if it had exhausted her last bit of strength.

Before Su Wanwan could respond, she gently closed the door.

As she passed the balcony, her gaze swept over the pots of sunflowers facing the moonlight.

She stopped, picked up the watering can next to her, mechanically sprayed some water on them, then put the can down and went back to the bedroom.

Before she could even reach the bedside, a strong wave of dizziness and exhaustion washed over her, and her legs gave way, causing her to collapse onto the floor.

【Host! ! ! 】