Chapter 67 Fei (Exposure Warning) But he knew it too late, Fei had already...
Bo Bei is missing.
Shi Yu didn't feel anything was wrong when they left the amusement park that day, but Bo Bei didn't come home until 10 o'clock in the evening without any prior explanation. The text messages lay alone in the dialog box, and the phone was always turned off when he called.
Shi Yu originally thought that his brother had to work overtime because of a new activity, but the constant loss of contact made him feel uneasy, so he asked Chen Que.
The brief silence on the other end of the call didn't catch Shi Yu's attention. A few seconds later, Shen Que said that the studio had closed long ago, and Bai Bei might have gone out for dinner with his colleagues.
Shi Yu agreed. He hung up the call and logged back into the social app, frowning as he looked at the contact interface that still had no reply.
For some reason, he always thought of the fireworks display at the last moment of the carnival, the blurry figure hidden in the smoke, and Fei's silent farewell before leaving.
Unfortunately, there was still no news the next day.
Shi Yu didn't think it was a prank. He reported the situation to the police and provided detailed information after the auxiliary police from the nearby police station came to his door. It was only possible to report a missing adult to the police after 24 days, and it would take 48 hours for a case to be filed.
On the fifth day after the case was successfully filed, Shi Yu received a call from Xie Jianshan.
"I saw your case at the police station. Bai Bei is missing?" Xie Jianshan didn't sound particularly surprised. He paused subtly before continuing, "Do you have time to meet? I've asked you to deliver something to me."
"I have some guesses about Bo Bei's whereabouts, but I'm not sure if they're entirely correct."
Of course Shi Yu would not refuse. The situation was urgent, and it was rare that he had fewer classes today and had plenty of time, so they made an appointment in the afternoon.
"Fei hasn't appeared in the field of ghost stories these days." Xie Jianshan got straight to the point. "And when we were in Plock before, he took the initiative to reveal something to me. He said he would disappear for a while, so I think he has left."
"What a coincidence, isn't it? Fei and Bai Bei have both disappeared in this period of time." Xie Jianshan said as he took out a box of exquisite texture and opened it. The clear jade ring was quietly placed on the soft velvet pad.
Xie Jianshan returned the jade ring to its rightful owner. He later added, "He didn't tell me who I should give it to, but he said I would find out soon. The answer was obvious."
Shi Yu did not reply. His blank mind made it difficult for him to process Xie Jianshan's words. He looked away slowly, as if he could not understand what the person in front of him was saying.
He remembered again the goodbye that Fei said when he turned around under the illumination of the dazzling fireworks.
Shi Yu stared at the jade ring in the box, and he finally remembered why he felt it looked familiar... This was a gift his mother gave to Bai Bei three years ago. After his parents had an accident, he had never seen his brother wear this ring again.
Xie Jianshan saw his reaction and knew that Shi Yu must have guessed the answer. He sighed, "Before we met you, Fei never had much communication with us. Although I had some doubts at that time, I wasn't sure."
Now he was sure that it was indeed because of Shi Yu, but he knew it too late, Fei would never appear again.
Shi Yu was silent for a long time. After an unknown amount of time had passed, he suddenly spoke again, his voice strangely difficult: "Before he left...did he tell you how long he would be gone?"
"...He said about three years." Xie Jianshan felt a little reluctant. Leaving without saying goodbye was too cruel to Shi Yu. He didn't even know that the man was his brother, but even if he knew, he might be even more worried.
Shi Yu didn't understand why Bai Bei kept it a secret from him. Was it because he was afraid that he would worry, or was it because of the things in the ghost story game?
As an outsider, Xie Jianshan saw things clearly. Shi Yu didn't want to make his brother worry, and Bai Bei was the same. In a sense, they were really alike.
"He asked me to take good care of you before he left." Xie Jianshan would naturally keep his promise. He looked at Shi Yu, and his words of comfort seemed particularly pale at this moment. In the end, he just said, "If there is anything you need, we will do our best to help."
Shi Yu nodded, put away the box containing the jade ring, and left after finishing the conversation.
During the few days that Bai Bei was away, Chen Que came to see him almost every day, naturally taking on the responsibility of looking after his brother. After talking with Xie Jianshan, Shi Yu suddenly noticed something out of place.
Shen Que never asked him anything about Bo Bei's disappearance, as if he had expected it.
...Chen Que has been silently reminding him.
When Shi Yu returned home, he pushed open the door and heard a familiar voice. Chen Que asked him why he came back so late. The young man walked closer and said that it was nothing. There was no abnormality in his calm tone.
Chen Que smiled and looked up to ask Shi Yu if he had any other plans at school that evening, but a black key engraved with familiar letters caught his eye. The young man's hands were trembling slightly, and his eyes were a little wet. He refused to believe it but had to admit it.
However, his tone was calm as if no such incident had happened: "He gave me this before he left."
Shi Yu didn't say it explicitly, but he also peeled off the obvious window paper. Shen definitely understood what he meant. He was talking about Fei, but also Bai Bei. He knew about this matter.
Shen Que did not interrupt, but just listened to him continue: “My brother… apart from the gift from my mother, the only thing he left behind was this key. The function of the key should not be as simple as I originally thought.”
"The first thing that comes to mind is this." Shi Yu paused, calming his emotions and suppressing his sobs, trying to speak clearly and calmly. "That strange game, I guess you must have needed a login medium to enter the game before."
Shen Que did not deny it. He nodded, took the key from Shi Yu's hand, and opened the game panel in front of him. Only players can open the panel through the login program, whether it is their own or other players'.
Shen Que didn't bother looking at the data displayed on the panel. He returned the key to Shi Yu and said, "We call this transparent screen a panel. It can store a lot of things. Bo Bei's props are also in it. He probably wants to leave them for you to use."
A translucent electronic screen was suspended in the air. Shi Yu clicked on the word "items" written in the top column, and was dazzled by all kinds of strange and bizarre props.
In the front grid of the first row, the letter written in black on white paper was particularly eye-catching. Shi Yu's fingertips paused above it, and when he pressed it with trembling hands, the piece of paper appeared in his hand.
Shi Yu unfolded the letter. The paper left by Bai Bei explained everything clearly, including the specific reason and estimated time of his departure. The props in the panel were indeed left for him.
There was no mention of where he would go.
"...Is the place my brother is going to the world of ghost stories?" Shi Yu spoke again with difficulty. He really hoped that Shen Que would deny him, but what he got was still recognition.
Shi Yu didn't know what to say anymore. He opened and closed his lips several times but no sound came out. He knew very little about the other world. He only knew that it was filled with countless strange stories and did not allow humans to exist.
How could he not know why Bai Bei chose to go there, and why he tried so hard to stop the invasion of ghost stories and deal with the ghost stories that were coming in advance? He knew that his brother did it for him.
Seeing Shi Yu's self-blame and sadness on his face, almost crying, Shen Que secretly said that it was not good. His brain worked quickly and finally came up with a suitable comfort, but he was not sure how to say it directly, "If it's your brother, it might not be dangerous for him."
Even though Chen Que had tried his best to stop Bo Bei, he couldn't stop this guy either. Moreover, based on his understanding of his friend, his return to that world might be no different from the real world, and those ghost stories might not be enough for him to entertain himself.
"Actually, Bo Bei..." Shen Que considered his words for a long moment before saying, "He's not a complete human being."
Shi Yu was stunned by Shen Que's sudden words. He asked confusedly, "Why are you scolding my brother all of a sudden?"
Shen Que: “…I didn’t scold him, literally.”
"What I want to say is that Bai Bei is different from us. You have lived with him for so long, you must know him better than me." Chen Que did not hide it anymore. There was no need to explain it in such detail. Shi Yu could react on his own.
Bo Bei's abnormal behavior in the past had nothing to do with normal humans.
Shi Yu was silent for a while, and finally said, "I understand."
He muttered to himself, "Brother will always find a way, so he will definitely come back safely. I just need to trust him...right?"
—
On the other side, Bai Bei, who was being missed by his younger brother, was playing a two-player online game with someone.
It was a game he had played before, and the texture of the controller in his hand was almost the same as the real one. He sat on the soft carpet, and the big screen not far away was displaying the game interface. He was so relaxed as if he was on vacation somewhere.
Rather than a world of ghost stories filled with all kinds of monsters.
However, this scene was only in the building where he was, and outside was just a deserted open space.
This building is also a ghost story. After all, only ghost stories can exist in the world itself. Although the things in the room are not ghost stories, they are all products of Novi. The rules he possesses are creation.
"This level is so difficult... I lost again!" A slightly immature voice complained, and the boy sitting next to Bai Bei fell backwards to the ground, his face revealed in his sight.
It's a face similar to Kashiwa Beijiqi.
To be precise, it was Bai Bei in his youth, who looked young and clean.
When Bai Bei just returned to the Surveillance Bureau, he didn't expect to meet a guy who looked so much like him. What's more, this guy said something shocking, saying that he was his system right away.
Bai Bei tilted his head to stare at it, then casually picked up an unopened bag of potato chips from the side and threw it at it. "What the hell are you? Weren't you created by Novi? Why do you look like me in your physical form?"
"This is the twelfth time you've asked this question." The system naturally took the potato chips, unwrapped them, and handed them to Bai Bei. After the other people took out a few slices, it began to eat. "I don't know either. It's useless to ask me. Only Novi knows this."
Bai Bei: "He didn't tell me."
System: "Then I have no choice... Start another game?"
Bo Bei: "I don't want to play anymore. I want to find Novi."
The system responded with an "Oh" and finished eating the potato chips. Seeing that Bai Bei was about to leave the room, its body became increasingly transparent until it disappeared. Then it returned to Bai Bei's mind: [Just now, Shi Yu knew that you were Fei.]
"Well, has he talked to Shen Que?" Bai Bei was already accustomed to the system's daily switching state, so he wasn't frightened. "He knows about the panel issue, right?"
[Yes, I saw the letter as well.]
The system flipped through the comics with great interest. The comments and the forum were just as exciting as Shi Yu's facial expressions. [The fact that you are Fei is really frightening everyone to death.]
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The author has something to say: Baibei: I haven’t been back for a long time. I’m going back to my other happy hometown to stay for a while. Take a vacation, gogogo!
Others: (worried) (terrified) (explosive noise)
The system has a lot to do with Bobei, so I'll explain in advance that they're not brothers or sisters or anything like that! Damn, why do I have to wait another day? I really want to update earlier, but my hand speed won't allow it (I'm so anxious that I'm kicking my legs)
As usual! The next chapter begins with a billion-point barrage crit.
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