After some time had passed since the witch incident, Jason hadn't been seen by Cathy, Royce, or Sofia. They had searched for him, but eventually gave up. However, in their hearts, Jason was still a vital figure in their new lives.
Since he couldn't be found, life had to go on. Cathy and Royce could continue going to school, but Sofia couldn't. She no longer had enrollment and couldn't greet her familiar classmates and friends like before.
She had realized that desperately trying to prove herself as the old Sofia would only backfire. So she decided to do nothing and not argue. She didn't even bother with the formalities of withdrawing from school and simply returned home. She had a decision to make, she needed to find someone.
She didn't tell anyone, not even Cathy and Royce, about who she was searching for. Now she only had these two as her friends, and if Jason were still here, he would count too.
On a sunny morning, Sofia handed her house keys to Cathy and Royce, got into an off-road vehicle, carrying a small bag, and waved goodbye to them. She didn't know how to begin her search. It was just going from one place to another, from one state to another.
It seemed meaningless, but it held great significance.
Meanwhile, Jason had not left Los Angeles. He had been staying in the small cabin deep in the jungle. The blood and gruesome reminders of the previous events had been cleaned up. This place provided Jason with a tranquil environment.
Jason had some knowledge of medieval witchcraft from Europe, so he could decipher the texts in the scrolls. After a few days, he had finished reading all of them and gained a basic understanding of black magic. However, he would never use it since it went against the natural order of things, as even Taoism saw it as unacceptable. Nonetheless, he now had better ways to deal with black magic if he were to encounter it in the future.
Because Jason didn't know what else existed in this world. He didn't know if there were things that would be difficult for him to handle or things more powerful than him. What he had to do was constantly improve himself to face more complex situations.
When he emerged from the jungle, he turned on his phone.
As soon as the phone was on, a series of missed call notifications and text messages appeared. Many of them were from Cathy, Royce, and Sofia.
He first dialed Cathy's number, hearing her anxious voice say, "Thank God, you finally called back. Sofia is gone. She left several days ago to find someone. I've already canceled our lease and moved into her villa."
Jason returned to Sofia's villa and indeed found Cathy and Royce there.
"I can still call her a few more times, but most of the time, it either doesn't go through or no one answers," Cathy said worriedly to Jason. "Why don't you try talking to her?" She led Jason into the house and onto the sofa in the living room. "I don't think she'll be back anytime soon."
"Without her degree, without her friends, and even without her driver's license, who knows if she'll be stopped by the police while on the road," Royce added with concern. "Maybe we really should find her and bring her back."
"Then call her again. If no one answers after three attempts, we'll come up with a plan," Jason gestured to Cathy.
Cathy shook her head with a bitter smile and dialed Sofia's number again. This time, the call went through, but no one answered. The ringing stopped. Jason furrowed his brow. He looked at Cathy and said, "Something's off. Did you notice the difference?"
"What difference?" Royce paused for a moment, then Cathy frowned, glanced at her phone, and nodded, her voice trembling slightly. "This time, the call connected three to four seconds faster than the previous two times. Someone deliberately hung up the call."
Realizing this, Cathy suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "Oh no, she must... Oh my God, how could this happen? Mr. Jason, what do we do? What do we do?"
Royce also understood immediately and was stunned. He stared at Jason and said loudly, "Oh my God, Mr. Jason, what do we do now?"
Both of them looked at Jason, hoping he would come up with a solution. Jason had become their backbone in times like these.
Jason also furrowed his brows, addressing them saying, "Don't worry, maybe she's driving and can't answer her phone. Don't always assume the worst. By the way, did she leave any of her belongings here? Grab anything, ideally something like her hair. I could use it."
"Alright, I'll go to her room and look around." Cathy immediately stood up. Although Jason's words were somewhat reassuring, she still sought peace of mind. She believed Jason had his reasons, and all she needed to do was follow his directions. She then headed to Sofia's room.
In a matter of minutes, Cathy returned with a few strands of hair. Handing them to Jason, she asked, "Is this enough?"
"That's all I need. Even a single strand would suffice!" Jason nodded, bending the hairs in his hand a few times, before suddenly flicking them into the air. The hair transformed into a stream of light that shot up towards the sky, disappearing in an instant.
This magical act left Cathy and Royce in awe. Everything that had happened these past few days had made them question their understanding of this world, which was supposed to follow Einstein's laws of physics.
"With this, I can track her down. Don't worry, leave this matter to me. I have some questions, and the answers may be with her or her parents." Jason nodded at them, "Alright, I should get going." With that, he stood up to leave.
"Mr. Jason, wait!" Cathy quickly walked over to a nearby table and grabbed a set of car keys, "Take these with you, they might come in handy." She thought his car was even worse than her used one.
"No, I have my own car." Jason shook his head and smiled at her, "You keep it!"
Cathy wanted to say something more, but Jason cut her off. He made a pause gesture and headed out. His car was still parked outside on the street.
After waving goodbye, he walked over to his beat-up car and drove off.
Watching Jason's car disappear down the road, Cathy and Royce both sighed. They stood side by side, their hands held tightly together. Their life was hard-earned and they would cherish it. Even though they were worried about Sofia, they knew that with Jason on the case, everything would be resolved.
After Jason had driven away, a beam of white light suddenly appeared in front of him, transforming into a bird that flew ahead of his car.
Jason stepped on the gas, following the bird down the winding road. Sofia had many mysteries surrounding her. Perhaps the parents she had never met held the answers he was seeking.
The road ahead was winding and hilly. Looking out into the distance, a layer of clouds was gathering over the road, as if about to descend.
Rain was on its way!