Chapter 1: The Disappearance Plot

Su Yu carried the food box and walked further and further away from the path, casually responding to System 537.

After his parents disappeared and his uncle Su Hengyuan became the head of the family, he and his sister moved to a more secluded courtyard.

System 537's voice was anxious and desperate; it never expected that its first host would be such a difficult character.

The host seemed quite agreeable when the contract was signed. But now that the story is about to unfold, he's still acting so unhurriedly.

Su Yu couldn't help but sigh:

The thirteen-year-old boy stopped in front of the courtyard, raised his hand, and pushed open the wooden door.

"Ah Yao, your brother is back."

Su Yu smiled gently and, as if anticipating this, opened her arms and caught the small cannonball that rushed into her arms.

The girl, around seven years old, looked up and a big smile appeared on her delicate, round face. Anyone who saw her could see her undisguised joy and excitement.

Su Yu held Su Yao's hand with one hand and carried a food box with the other as they walked towards the table and chairs in the main room, occasionally echoing Su Yao's excited sharing of the day.

The interior decoration was simple, seemingly reflecting the owner's poverty, but it was kept very clean.

Of course, Su Yu collected all the property left by Su Hengqing and Mu Wei, and he and Su Yao each put half of it in the storage ring left to them by their parents.

It must be said that his parents are indeed capable; such a ten-cubic-meter spatial ring is rare in the lower spirit realm.

But since there are no adults around, it's best to keep a low profile to avoid being watched.

While pondering the matters following her parents' disappearance, Su Yu didn't forget to talk to Su Yao.

The two's joy had nothing to do with the system. 537 looked at the scene of the two siblings' deep affection with a pained expression. Damn it, it didn't realize that Su Yu was actually a sister-complex kid before signing the contract. Now he's not even willing to follow the plot!

System 537's voice was mournful and apprehensive, truly worried about its first achievement in system life.

According to the experience of our predecessors, following the plot exactly is the safest way to help the small world come true.

Su Yu answered in her heart, looking at Su Yao with gentle eyes.

537 responded instinctively and skillfully used the system's recording function to take a picture.

After taking the photos, I suddenly realized, oh no, I've developed this habit over the years. Although, the young female lead and the host are indeed very cute.

Besides the female lead that the host was supposed to film, it had also secretly filmed quite a few of the host's own photos, but it was still too afraid to let the host know.

After Su Yu knew the filming was finished, he focused on looking at his younger sister a little longer. After all, he wouldn't see her for a long time after today, and even though he knew Su Yao was the female lead of this world, he couldn't help but worry.

For the next ten years or so, Su Yao will remain childlike until her other half, who was a mercenary in the modern world, returns, and she will officially begin her journey in this world.

And he, Su Yu, is the female lead's brother who disappeared while searching for his missing parents.

It is said that this secret realm was visited by his parents before their disappearance, and it was also the trigger for his disappearance this time.

As the sun rose higher, Su Yu told Su Yao that she was going to the Misty Forest Secret Realm.

The little girl's reluctance was almost overflowing from her eyes, but she obediently replied, "Okay, brother, you have to come back soon this time too."

Su Yu, suppressing her conscience, promised to return soon.

"Oh, right." Su Yu took out an exquisite dagger from his pocket, unsheathed it and showed it to the still bewildered Su Yao. It was a special weapon that he had tricked... no, exchanged for from the system. He had one pair, and he kept the other one for himself.

"Here you go. You usually hide it in your boots. If anyone bullies you while your brother is away, just chop them up."

"Also, brother, I don't think the fiancé that your parents arranged for you is any good. Don't have too much contact with him."

He muttered to himself, "Why bother with this arranged marriage? I'll call it off when I come back as an adult."

"Did you remember, Yao?"

The little girl blinked her big, bright eyes and answered in a clear voice, "I remember!"

Su Yu patted her head with relief.

She told her who she could contact if she encountered any problems while she was away, and coaxed the reluctant girl to take a nap. Only then did Su Yu breathe a sigh of relief.

In the original storyline, all the seniors who had good intentions towards Su Yao had already sent gifts and paid their respects, and were willing to look after Su Yao after he left. As for the others who might cause trouble...

He needs to warn them before he can leave with peace of mind.

Although his family was weakened after his parents disappeared, and his uncle, with whom he had a bad relationship, became the clan leader, he was the only junior in the Su family of his age to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining. The Su family would not do anything to him, and even placed high hopes on him.

Let them know that if Su Yao is bullied, he will retaliate when he returns.

This time is different from before; he'll be gone for too long, so we'll have to be ruthless.

So the next day, the Su family's usually mischievous boys inexplicably started avoiding people, and when they were occasionally discovered, they were crying out in pain.

When asked, they stammered and only said it was their own problem.

Let's leave those aside for now.

Su Yu beat up the person and ran away, quickly catching up with the Su family's secret realm exploration team.

The elders are already reading out the routine rules.

"Once you enter the secret realm, you are solely responsible for your own life and death!"

"It's all the same old routine, I won't say much more, I look forward to your triumphant return!"

After saying a few words, the team leader, Elder Su Mingshang, stopped paying attention to the young man who was excitedly rushing towards the black vortex.

Although this secret realm is not considered high-risk, it is known for its strangeness. If you are careful, there will be no danger, but if you take the risk to explore the unknown, the number of people lost by each side will be considerable. Su Yu and Su Yao's parents were just one of those who disappeared in the secret realm.

Su Mingshang looked at Su Yu beside him, who was about to enter, with mixed feelings. He thought that Su Yu's parents were probably dead, so he should not enter the secret realm and should save his own life. With his talent, the Su family would not treat him badly.

But now that Su Hengyuan has become the head of the family, and the exploration team was joined by Su Yu voluntarily, he, as a marginal elder and an old man whose breakthrough is uncertain, really can't do anything.

Su Yu keenly noticed Su Mingshang's gaze and, remembering the elder's consistently friendly attitude, said in a low voice, "Even if I can't find my parents, I still want to see if there are any spiritual objects in the secret realm that can heal my sister's missing soul."

Su Mingshang sighed, stroked his white beard, and secretly slipped a string of small bells into Su Yu's arms when no one was looking.

Su Yu's eyes widened in surprise: "Elder..."

Su Mingshang mouthed a "shh" sign and transmitted his voice to Su Yu: "I can only block three attacks from early-stage Golden Core cultivators at most. Consider it a loan. Come back alive and pay me back."

"It's okay if you can't pay it back, as long as you're alive."

In the lower spirit realm, where spiritual energy is scarce, a high-grade yellow-rank magic weapon is already difficult for Su Yu to obtain at this stage.

Knowing it was the elder's good intention, Su Yu nodded solemnly and followed the crowd into the secret realm, only saying to 537 in her mind:

[Can't I just not disappear?]

[I already said no, no, this is an important plot point, it can't be changed!]

"Wouldn't that hurt the old man's feelings?" Su Yu replied.

537 felt looked down upon.

This piqued Su Yu's interest:

Su Yu slowed his pace. He had already entered the secret realm, but unfortunately, he had separated from the main group.

He was transported to a strange, dark jungle where there were no sounds of birds or beasts, only the rustling of the wind through the leaves and the crunching of dry leaves underfoot.

However, Xiao Qi's voice still kept his mind buzzing.

537 thought for a moment and said:

Su Yu was amused by Xiao Qi's indignant and aggrieved boyish voice, and chimed in:

He didn't know where he stepped, but the sensation was the same as before. Yet, beneath the withered leaves, a faint black mist slowly rose and swirled around him.

Su Yu jumped back warily. Logically, there should have been solid ground beneath her feet, but suddenly the ground gave way to emptiness. A flash of dark light appeared before her eyes, and she plummeted rapidly into the darkness.

Is it a teleportation array? Can't the system scan the surrounding environment? Why didn't it detect it?

Su Yu's expression was blank.

Xiao Qi's hesitant voice echoed in Su Yu's mind, accompanied by the whistling wind as she fell.

Su Yu opened her mouth to speak, but a mouthful of cold air rushed in, so she could only shout in her mind:

Xiaoqi, with a start, quickly explained in a rapid-fire voice:

Su Yu closed her eyes tightly in despair. The little system was easy to fool, but it wasn't very reliable!

He didn't see the black mist surrounding him almost joyfully; he only felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier as he plummeted into the near-bottomless abyss.