“Oh, officer, you must help ! Please find her! My daughter has an event this Sunday…”
As soon as she stepped out of the car, Zuo Jiangqin clung to the police, her desperation tinged with urgency.
The officer leading the search, Captain Edo, adjusted his cap with the Kirin emblem of the Jinghe District precinct. He shot Zuo Jiangqin a glance, his voice firm but controlled.
“Mrs. Zuo, your priority shouldn’t be her event. If we can’t find her, nothing else matters. And you said it yourself—your daughter ran away from ho, correct?”
“I…”
The blunt remark left Zuo Jiangqin montarily speechless.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Zuo. We’ll do everything we can to find her, I promise. Please stay calm,” Edo assured her, his tone professional yet detached.
His colleagues dispersed, so heading for campus security, others toward the teachers’ offices. anwhile, Edo pressed the Bluetooth earpiece in his ear.
“Light, any updates on the surveillance?”
“Yes, Captain Edo. We’ve checked all footage from the villa area between 5 PM and 7 PM yesterday—no sign of her leaving.”
Edo frowned, his mind racing.
“Keep checking later hours and flag any blind spots in the cara coverage.”
“Got it. But, Captain, given what Mrs. Zuo told us, I don’t think the school is a likely lead. Apparently, she hardly ever shows up.”
“True… But after searching all night, we’re running out of options. Mrs. Zuo is withholding information, drip-feeding us one nugget at a ti. It’s exhausting.”
Edo sighed but kept his frustration contained.
“By the way, Captain, she did ntion this morning that her daughter might have run away because of a classmate—soone nad Yan Huan.”
“Yan Huan…” Edo muttered under his breath. He glanced back at Zuo Jiangqin, who was nervously fiddling with her designer handbag.
“She seems more worried about the Sunday event than anything else. I’m guessing the penalty fees for missing it are steep.”
“Oh, absolutely.”
Edo was about to leave the conversation there and start looking for Yan Huan when Light chid in again.
“Captain, another update: Bai Yi’s ID wasn’t used to check into any hotels last night. If she didn’t spend the night under a bridge sowhere…”
“She’s got sowhere else to stay,” Edo concluded grimly.
Turning to Zuo Jiangqin, he asked, “Mrs. Zuo, does your daughter have anywhere else she might stay? Friends, acquaintances—anyone in Linn who could offer her a place?”
Zuo Jiangqin froze, then smacked her forehead as if struck by sudden realization.
“She has this… girlfriend. She’s older—has a place in Jinghe District. But I cut off their friendship ages ago; that woman’s covered in tattoos and absolutely untrustworthy. I didn’t want her corrupting my daughter. But, well… who knows if they’re still in touch?”
Edo rubbed his temples in disbelief.
“And you didn’t think to ntion this earlier because…?”
“I just… forgot, okay?” Zuo Jiangqin said, flustered. “That woman’s no good, I told my daughter to stop seeing her!”
Edo’s patience was hanging by a thread. He muttered a silent prayer for his sanity.
“Fine. Call her. Now.”
“I… I don’t have her number. Let
call Bai Yi’s manager and see if they know…”
Suppressing the urge to groan, Edo nodded and gestured for her to get back into the car.
“We’ll keep looking in the anti.”
As Zuo Jiangqin dialed, Edo called his team back to regroup. Within minutes, the flashing lights and wailing sirens of the police cars were leaving the campus as swiftly as they had arrived, leaving the students bewildered.
Among those watching the commotion was Yan Huan, arriving late to the scene.
He had hoped to glean so insight into the situation but was left empty-handed as the cars disappeared from view.
Though outwardly calm, Yan Huan’s thoughts churned.
It’s better if the police don’t find anything. If they dig too deep into the anomalies caused by the Modifiers, it could spiral into sothing uncontrollable.
He couldn’t afford Bai Yi’s Modifier becoming fully exposed. Unlike the others, her Modifier left physical traces—like the paint on his desk and the marks on Zhou Bin’s face.
One or two incidents might slip under the radar, but more? People will start asking questions.
Taking a deep breath, Yan Huan composed himself as a familiar voice called out.
“Yan Huan!”
Turning, he saw Uncle He, one of the school’s security guards, walking toward him from the gatehouse.
“Oh, Uncle He. What’s going on?”
“They were looking for a student nad Bai Yi—said she ran away from ho and might have co here. They even ntioned you by na. What did they want with you?”
“?” Yan Huan feigned surprise, shaking his head. “I was just curious, but I didn’t get to speak with them. They left before I could ask.”
Uncle He sighed. “What a ss. I hope nothing bad happens to her. She’s just a kid, after all.”
As the guard walked away, Yan Huan’s sharp instincts kicked in. He turned slightly, sensing eyes on him.
Scanning the campus, all he saw were the curious stares of fellow students. Shrugging it off, he headed back toward the teaching building.
But hidden in the shadows of a secluded corner, Bai Yi remained unseen.
Dressed in her full disguise—fisherman’s hat, sunglasses, and mask—she clutched the enchanted watch tightly, her heart racing.
Thump… thump… thump…
For the first ti, she felt the genuine fear of being caught.
Her Modifier was powerful, but the possibility of being exposed on surveillance caras terrified her. If soone pieced it all together, she’d be treated as a freak—or worse.
“Drip… drip… tick… tock…”
The familiar sound of her watch’s mystical ticking filled her ears.
Accumulated Usage Ti: 3 Minutes Remaining
Bai Yi scowled at the watch, frustrated by its limitations.
Only ten minutes a day? Even if it rolls over, it’s still too short!
As if in response to her growing resentnt, the air around her seed to freeze.
Congratulations! Your watch has leveled up!
Level: 1 → 2
Daily Usage Ti: Increased to 20 Minutes
New Feature: “Invisible World Adjustnt”
This feature automatically rectifies inconsistencies caused by the watch’s effects, including anomalies detected by caras, phones, or other recording devices. However, human and animal perception remains unaffected. Please proceed cautiously to avoid exposing the watch’s existence.
Bai Yi’s eyes widened as she read the update.
Twenty minutes? Finally…
She didn’t speak, her expression hidden behind her mask. But her grip on the watch tightened, betraying the storm brewing inside her.
Later that evening, Yan Huan exited the locker room, having changed out of his volleyball uniform. He grabbed a bottle of sports drink from a vending machine, sipping it as he headed back to his classroom.
The hallway was quiet, bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun. Shadows stretched along the walls, save for one odd figure—a semi-transparent girl standing motionless in the corridor.
Wait a second…
Yan Huan nearly choked on his drink, swallowing hard to maintain his composure. Activating his perfect expression managent, he walked past her as though he hadn’t noticed.
The girl’s gaze followed him, unrelenting. Her Modifier’s extended duration didn’t go unnoticed by Yan Huan.
Wasn’t it supposed to last only fifteen minutes? What’s going on with her Modifier?
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