The morning sun streamed through the window, casting warm rays across the floor of Ye Xiu's room. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, feeling the remnants of last night's unsettling events still lingering in his mind. The cryptic note and strange phone call had kept him tossing and turning all night.
He stood up, hoping a shower and some fresh air would help clear his head. But the moment he stepped out of his room, he was met with an overwhelming sound—a cacophony of voices echoing down the hall. Something was wrong.
Ye Xiu furrowed his brows and made his way down the corridor, following the noise. As he turned the corner towards the main hall of the camp base, he found a scene of chaos. Players, staff, and managers were gathered in clusters, talking in hushed but frantic voices. Some were pacing back and forth, others had their phones pressed to their ears, clearly alarmed.
"What the hell is going on?" Ye Xiu muttered to himself, quickening his pace.
Suddenly, his foot slipped slightly, and he looked down to find his path blocked by the hurried movements of people rushing past. He steadied himself just as Liu Hao appeared beside him, his face pale with a mixture of shock and confusion.
"Ye Xiu, you're not going to believe this…" Liu Hao's voice was strained. "It's… it's Sun Xiang from Blue Rain."
Ye Xiu's heart skipped a beat. Blue Rain? They were one of Excellent Era's fiercest rivals. Sun Xiang was their vice-captain, known for his fierce gameplay and cold demeanour on the field. But why was everyone in such a panic?
"What happened to him?" Ye Xiu asked, his voice low, his mind racing with possibilities.
Liu Hao shook his head, his voice trembling. "He's gone. Sun Xiang… he's missing. Nobody knows where he is."
For a moment, Ye Xiu's mind went blank. The room seemed to spin as the weight of Liu Hao's words sank in. Missing? How could someone as prominent and well-guarded as Sun Xiang just vanish?
"When did this happen?" Ye Xiu asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Late last night, probably." Liu Hao said. "After the summit. He was seen leaving with a few of his teammates, but they said he went off on his own after a while. Nobody's heard from him since."
The summit. The night of the seminar that had brought together all the top teams from around China. The same night Ye Xiu had received that strange phone call and the mysterious parcel had appeared in his room. He swallowed hard, a creeping sense of dread settling in his gut.
"Everyone's in panic mode," Liu Hao continued. "All the teams have been called in for an emergency meeting. The companies are involved, the sponsors are furious, and the police are already investigating. They're questioning everyone who was at the summit last night."
The air in the room felt heavy, thick with tension. Ye Xiu scanned the faces of the players around him—members from teams like Tyranny, Blue Rain, and Tiny Herb—everyone was on edge. It was as if the ground beneath them had shifted, and no one knew what to expect next.
"Why would Sun Xiang just disappear?" Ye Xiu muttered to himself, lost in thought.
Liu Hao shook his head, his voice lowering. "That's what everyone's trying to figure out. They're saying it's possible foul play. He was seen leaving the hotel, but after that… nothing. The police think someone might have been following him."
Ye Xiu's mind raced as he recalled his brief encounter with Sun Xiang at the summit. They had exchanged a few words, nothing more than casual talk about the upcoming international matches. Sun Xiang had seemed… distracted, but Ye Xiu hadn't thought much of it at the time.
But now, looking back, something felt off. The timing, the phone calls, the parcel—everything seemed connected. He remembered the eerie tone of the voice on the other end of the call, the screeching noise, and the cryptic note.
Could this have something to do with Sun Xiang's disappearance?
Liu Hao seemed to notice Ye Xiu's silence, watching him with growing concern. "Ye Xiu, you're not thinking… this is related to that call you got, are you?"
Ye Xiu didn't answer right away. His thoughts were a tangled web of suspicion, fear, and uncertainty. Everything pointed to the possibility that he was somehow caught up in something far bigger than he had realized.
"I don't know," Ye Xiu finally said, his voice tight. "But the night I got that call was probably the same night Sun Xiang went missing. And now this…" He glanced at Liu Hao, a flicker of worry crossing his usually calm face. "It's too much of a coincidence."
Liu Hao's face went pale, and he glanced around nervously as if expecting someone to overhear them. "What are you saying? You think someone's targeting us?"
"I don't know yet," Ye Xiu replied, running a hand through his hair. "But I think we need to be careful. If someone could make a player like Sun Xiang disappear, then we're all at risk."
Before Liu Hao could respond, a voice boomed over the camp's intercom system, calling all the teams to gather in the main hall for a meeting with their respective sponsors and managers. The gravity of the situation hung in the air like a dark cloud, suffocating and inescapable.
As Ye Xiu and Liu Hao made their way to the meeting, Ye Xiu couldn't shake the nagging feeling that the phone call, the parcel, and Sun Xiang's disappearance were all pieces of the same puzzle. But who was behind it? And what did they want?
The meeting room was packed with players and team officials, all of them tense and anxious. Representatives from major companies like Samsara and Tyranny were there, along with managers from Blue Rain and Tiny Herb. The atmosphere was thick with suspicion as whispers circulated about Sun Xiang's sudden disappearance.
The police had already started investigating everyone who had attended the summit. They questioned players, staff, and anyone who might have seen or interacted with Sun Xiang in the hours before he vanished. Theories swirled, ranging from foul play to a personal vendetta.
Ye Xiu could feel the weight of the police's gaze on him as they conducted their investigation. He had nothing to hide, but the timing of everything was too eerie to ignore. And then there was the phone call.
As the meeting droned on, filled with reassurances from team sponsors and nervous questions from players, Ye Xiu's mind drifted back to that night. The strange voice on the other end of the call. The screeching noise. The letter.
Suddenly, a thought hit him—what if Sun Xiang wasn't the only target? What if whoever was behind this had a larger plan in motion, and Sun Xiang was just the beginning?
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Whoever was behind the phone calls knew something. They were watching, waiting. But for what?
As the meeting drew to a close, Ye Xiu exchanged a tense glance with Liu Hao. There were too many unanswered questions, too many pieces of the puzzle missing. But one thing was certain—something sinister was unfolding, and Ye Xiu was right in the middle of it.
"Be careful, Ye Xiu," Liu Hao said quietly as they left the meeting. "This is bigger than just a missing player."
Ye Xiu nodded, his mind racing. He had faced countless battles in Glory, but this was different. This was real. And for the first time, Ye Xiu wasn't sure who his enemy was.
But one thing was clear: the game wasn't over yet. And whoever was behind this wouldn't stop until they had what they wanted.
The question was, what did they want from Ye Xiu? And how far were they willing to go to get it?