Blind Spot
Chapter 210 - 198 Yunshan 2

Chapter 210: 198 Yunshan 2

Yunshan County, three o’clock in the morning.

In a residential area located in the suburbs.

Yingdong Residential Area, Building 11, Unit 3, Second floor, Room 202.

A ten-year-old boy nestled alone in his bed, breathing steadily, half of his face concealed under a black and white striped thin quilt.

He was sleeping soundly.

Through a gap in the curtains, a beam of light from a distant building shone in.

The light fell on the quilt covering him.

It made the scene appear even more tranquil and peaceful.

Thump, thump, thump.

Suddenly.

In the silent bedroom, with no traffic or barking dogs and cats.

The door, was gently knocked.

The boy didn’t wake up; he simply frowned slightly, turned over, and continued to sleep.

Thump, thump, thump.

The knocking sound rose again.

In such a quiet night, the sound seemed extremely clear.

This time, the boy slowly opened his eyes. He turned his head in a daze and looked around.

Thump, thump, thump.

The third time, the knocking sound rose again.

"Dad? Mom?" The boy heard it very clearly this time.

He slowly propped himself up with his hands, half-sitting on the bed. He thought it was his parents calling him.

He got out of bed and put on his slippers.

The boy walked to the door of the room.

Thump, thump, thump.

Once more, the door was knocked upon.

The sound was clear and rhythmic.

The boy reached out, grasped the doorknob, gently twisted it, and pulled the door open.

Outside the door.

It wasn’t his father, nor his mother.

Instead, it was a person entirely enshrouded in a thick black coat.

Coat, hat, scarf, this person even wore gloves and glasses, covering every inch of skin with clothing.

The person was roughly one meter eighty tall, even the face outside the glasses was wrapped in black cloth.

He looked down, watching the boy who was looking up.

He raised a finger to his lips and made a ’shush’ gesture.

The boy blinked, watching him. Inexplicably calm, as if he knew this strangely dressed person before him.

"Come..." The stranger uttered a sound hoarsely.

Then he turned and walked towards the living room door.

The boy paused for a moment, then followed quietly, walking with the stranger towards the living room door.

The two of them, one after the other, opened the house door and walked into the dim stairway.

Gradually disappearing into the depths of the night.

*

*

*

The next day.

Yunshan County, at the highway exit.

A silver minivan was coming down the highway exit, gradually slowing down, ready to pass through the toll station.

The side of the minivan was written in black paint: Mingyuan.

This was a company car for Mingyuan Company’s centralized procurement.

Inside the car.

Li Chengyi and the others, who had already returned to their normal states, were each sitting in their assigned seats.

Some were daydreaming, looking at the roadside scenery through the windows.

Some were scrolling through their phones.

Others were dozing off, complete with the sound of snoring.

No one was in the driver’s seat—the car was fully autonomous, controlled by Rainbow Candy’s AI, Rose.

"Eh?" Suddenly, Rainbow Candy, who was on her phone, exclaimed in surprise.

"Everybody wake up," she raised her voice.

"What’s up?" Da Xiong turned his gaze back from the window.

Xiao Zhong lightly patted Dragon Gate Crane, who was sound asleep, and looked towards Rainbow Candy.

Li Chengyi, who was also resting with his eyes closed, opened them upon hearing the sound and looked her way.

"What’s the matter, Tang Tang?"

Rainbow Candy saw everyone’s attention was on her, and she shook her phone.

"I’ve shared it in the group, take a look. This is a piece of news that just came out. The timing is roughly when we left Yunshan County," she explained.

Everyone quickly pulled out their phones, some putting on AR glasses to check the news.

In the shared group, a news flash had been added by now.

Clicking on the flash would automatically redirect to another link.

Li Chengyi clicked through to the page.

The first thing he saw was a large headline in red print.

’Serial Mysterious Disappearances of Children at Night in Yunshan County.’

Beneath it was the detailed content.

’The new Director of Public Safety has mobilized all officers, retrieving distributed surveillance footage all over, in full pursuit of the culprit! A gang’s traces have now been found.’

Beneath that were photos of each missing child, their names, and the dates they disappeared.

The rows were all in order.

There were also images of anxious parents in front of the Public Safety Bureau, holding signs urging for a quick investigation.

"I meticulously checked the surveillance footage from just before several of the children went missing. Their parents, for the sake of their children’s safety, had the habit of installing cameras overlooking their kids’ beds," Rainbow Candy said solemnly on the side.

"I’ll share it with you all to see."

Quickly, three video files were shared to everyone’s phone group.

Li Chengyi opened the first one.

A little boy with curly blond hair was in a white nightgown, suddenly sitting up in the middle of the night.

"Who’s there?"

He asked.

But the only voice in the room was his own.

Quiet and eerie.

"Dad?" the boy asked again.

Then, in the surveillance, he could be seen rolling out of bed, putting on shoes, and leaving the range of the camera, heading toward the door of the room.

Immediately after came the sound of the door opening.

He walked out.

Then there was silence.

The video abruptly ended.

Li Chengyi watched the other two videos in turn, similar to the first.

All of them were of children suddenly waking in the night, then getting out of bed, opening the door, and leaving.

"There must be something that’s waking them, and then leading them to open the door," Rainbow Candy said gravely, "It might be some sound that attracts them, a sound that can’t be recorded by surveillance. It could also be a sound we can’t hear."

"I used technology to analyze these three clips and found no traces on other sound wave frequency bands.

So I lean towards it being a sound that can’t be recorded by the cameras."

"It could also be some psychological suggestion, changes in halo, symbols—all of that could do the trick," Da Xiong added, "There are classifications in medical hypnosis, powerful psychologists who can achieve this. They could use the identity of someone the child knows, plus the familiar home environment when they’re just waking up, which is familiar and won’t raise their defenses. A hypnotist could easily take advantage."

"Hypnosis is that powerful?" Xiao Zhong said.

"There are many prerequisites. It’s not that easy. But if combined with technological means, disguise, and cooperation, then it’s troublesome," Da Xiong explained.

"What about the timing? Have you noticed anything about the timing?" Rainbow Candy said.

"Yes, the timing is too coincidental," Li Chengyi nodded, "I’ve mentioned before, the entire Yunshan County could be a huge Blind Spot. Under such an assumption, Yunshan County could also have certain peculiarities in reality."

"The timing is so coincidental that it makes me wonder whether these disappearances are the sequelae from us previously taking and using the Blue Book of Wishes?" Rainbow Candy frowned.

"Anyway, we’re going to be here for a long time, trying to enter the Yunshan Blind Spot. If there’s spare time, everyone can pay attention," Li Chengyi said.

"Alright!"

Everyone responded in unison.

"I’ve already distributed about 1,400 surveillance drones all around Yunshan.

Rose is helping me monitor them at all times; any abnormalities will be reported to me immediately.

There are also emergency plans in place; Xiao Zhong and I are prepared. If any of you need help after leaving the Blind Spot, drones will detect you right away and spider robots will rapidly approach to assist."

"I’ve got the medical personnel ready too," Da Xiong said gravely, "I’ve temporarily initiated a famous doctors’ visit to the countryside in Yunshan County, mobilizing eighty doctors from all specialties within the group. All sorts of medications are fully prepared!"

"I’ve transferred manpower to guard the key paths to the entrances and exits. Two hundred armed with knives, and thirteen with guns ready for ambush. I’ll ensure immediate support upon command!" Dragon Gate Crane continued.

"What good are those people of yours? They’re just idle riffraff. Completely undisciplined," Rainbow Candy frowned.

"Isn’t it all about showing strength in numbers?" Dragon Gate Crane said sheepishly, "Besides, some things still need people to do them; doctors, nurses, and a few security guards ultimately aren’t convenient."

His family was mixed up in those kinds of things, and he always wanted to prove his worth and usefulness; otherwise, he felt he might be marginalized from the team...

"Be careful now, once we pass this toll station, we might enter the range of the Yunshan Blind Spot," Li Chengyi said, picking up his backpack from the adjacent seat and unzipping it to take out several bundles he had pre-packed.

He distributed the parcels to everyone.

"This is to save your lives. You’ve been taught how to use it before we set off—very simple, only the materials need to be replaced with those in these packets."

"Brother Cheng... you’re not joking, right? Those divine mumblings really work?" Dragon Gate Crane expressed skepticism.

"If it really comes down to it, use it," Li Chengyi replied.

"This is really..." Dragon Gate Crane was speechless. Taking the dark plastic packet in hand, he always felt his team was drifting towards some bizarre direction...

Soon, the bus arrived at the toll booth.

AI Rose began paying automatically.

In a short while, the barrier lifted, and the bus continued on.

"Remember, if you get in, hide immediately to avoid conflict and investigate the situation," Li Chengyi instructed.

"From now on, I could enter at any moment, and then you might have to face different environments on your own. Given Flash Appearance, it won’t last long, so our goal is to gather as much intelligence as possible to prepare for the subsequent search for the Book of Record."

"After coming out, report back to me; we can make side sketches to form a complete map," Rainbow Candy said.

"Understood!"

The rest voiced their agreement.

"Well then, I wish you all a triumphant start,"

Li Chengyi extended his hand.

The others placed their hands on top of his.

They lifted them high and then thrust down hard.

Suddenly Li Chengyi felt his hand lighten.

His vision blurred for a moment, and the others who stood by his side vanished in the blink of an eye.

He was left standing alone in the aisle of the bus.

The bus slowed down gradually and came to a stop.

Outside the window, without notice, a thick white fog had rolled in.

The road was no longer visible, with only the faint sight of dark vehicles nearby discernable.

’It’s here... So fast!’ Li Chengyi took a deep breath and looked around.

Without any hesitation, he walked to the bus door, opened it, and stepped out.

"Yserine, are you there?"

No answer.

Li Chengyi gazed into the dense white fog before him and stepped forward, walking into the thick mist step by step.