The room was sterile, cold, and oppressive. The walls, a dull grey, reflected the grim tension in the air. Ye Xiu sat at the edge of his chair, arms crossed, as the police officer across the table thumbed through his notes. Beside him, Liu Hao shifted uncomfortably, while the rest of the Excellent Era team sat silently, waiting for their turn. Their faces were drawn, tired from the constant barrage of questions.
They had been there for hours, recounting the events of the summit and the last time any of them had seen Sun Xiang. The pressure was palpable, and though none of them were directly accused, the weight of suspicion hung over them like a dark cloud.
The officer finally looked up, his eyes sharp. "Mr. Ye, I need you to go over what happened after the summit. You mentioned a brief interaction with the missing player—Sun Xiang. Can you describe it again?"
Ye Xiu sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It wasn't much. We exchanged a few words about the upcoming matches. He seemed distracted like his mind was somewhere else, but we didn't talk long. I didn't think anything of it at the time."
The officer scribbled something down. "And you're sure that was the last time you saw him?"
"Yes," Ye Xiu replied firmly. "After that, I went back to my room, and that's when I got the phone call."
The officer paused, leaning forward. "This phone call... it came from an unknown number, correct?"
Ye Xiu nodded. "Yes. I didn't recognize the voice, and the call itself was strange—there was this screeching noise, and then it cut off. I ignored it at first, but it happened again. Then, the next day, I found a parcel on my bed with a note telling me to meet someone."
"Did you meet them?" the officer asked, his tone sharpening.
"No," Ye Xiu replied. "I didn't follow through. I didn't trust it."
The officer studied Ye Xiu for a moment, his expression unreadable. "This could be important. You need to tell us if anything like this happens again."
"I will," Ye Xiu said, his voice calm but guarded.
The questions dragged on, each player from Excellent Era going through their version of the night's events. By the time the team was finally released from the investigation room, exhaustion weighed heavily on them.
As they walked out of the building, Ye Xiu glanced to the side and froze. Walking down the hall, escorted by officers, was Blue Rain's team—Huang Shaotian at the front. His usually energetic and talkative demeanour was gone, replaced by a strained look, his face pale and his shoulders tense. He seemed to avoid eye contact with anyone as they passed.
Ye Xiu frowned, an uneasy feeling gnawing at the back of his mind. Something was off. Huang Shaotian wasn't one to lose his composure easily, yet there was something in his eyes—something that screamed worry.
"What's up with him?" Liu Hao asked quietly, noticing the same thing.
"I'm not sure," Ye Xiu replied, still watching Huang Shaotian as he disappeared into the investigation room with the rest of his team. "But it's not like him to look that shaken."
"Think he knows something?" Liu Hao ventured, his voice low.
Ye Xiu didn't answer. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but the uneasy feeling refused to go away. Shaking his head, he brushed it off for now. They had enough to worry about without adding more speculation to the pile.
Later that evening, Excellent Era gathered at the conference hall. The tension from the day's interrogation still clung to them, but there was no time to rest. The World Invitational was nearing, and they needed to focus. Yet, despite their best efforts, the team found it nearly impossible to concentrate. The looming mystery of Sun Xiang's disappearance had cast a long shadow over their preparations.
Ye Xiu stood at the head of the table, trying to keep the team on track. "Look, I know things are chaotic right now, but we can't let this derail us. The Invitational is just around the corner. We need to stay sharp."
"Easier said than done," one of the team members muttered. "How are we supposed to focus when we don't even know what's happening with Sun Xiang?"
"We're all in the dark," Ye Xiu said, his tone firm but understanding. "But we can't let that stop us. The police are investigating, and we'll find out what happened. Right now, we need to keep our heads in the game."
Just as Ye Xiu finished speaking, the doors to the conference room swung open, and a company representative entered, his face grim. The room fell silent as all eyes turned to him.
"There's been a development," the representative said, his voice tight. "The police have found a lead."
A ripple of unease swept through the room. Ye Xiu's heart skipped a beat, his mind racing.
"What kind of lead?" Liu Hao asked, his voice hesitant.
The representative hesitated, as if unsure how to proceed. "It's still under investigation, but… they've found something near the last known location of Sun Xiang. It's too early to say for sure, but it might be connected to his disappearance."
The room went deathly quiet, the weight of the words sinking in. Ye Xiu felt a cold knot form in his stomach.
"What did they find?" Ye Xiu asked, his voice steady despite the growing tension.
The representative shook his head. "I don't have all the details yet. The police are keeping it under wraps until they confirm more. But there's something else…"
He paused, the room hanging on his every word.
"The news just broke—another player is missing."
Gasps echoed throughout the hall, panic setting in. The team members exchanged shocked glances, disbelief painted on their faces. Ye Xiu's grip on the table tightened, his mind spinning. Another player?
"Who?" Liu Hao asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
The representative hesitated again, as if reluctant to reveal the truth. "Zhang Xinjie, from Tyranny."
Ye Xiu's blood ran cold. Zhang Xinjie—another prominent player from one of their top rival teams, now vanished without a trace.
The room descended into chaos. Whispers and frantic conversations broke out as the team tried to make sense of the situation. First Sun Xiang, now Zhang Xinjie? What was happening? Why were the top players suddenly disappearing?
Ye Xiu stood still amidst the commotion, his mind churning with possibilities. This wasn't just a coincidence. There was something far more sinister at play here. But what?
As the room swirled with confusion and fear, Ye Xiu's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, his heart racing when he saw the same unknown number flashing on the screen.
His hand shook slightly as he stared at it, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. With a deep breath, he hit answer.
For a moment, there was silence. Then, the same eerie screeching noise filled his ears, followed by a low, unfamiliar voice.
"If you want to know the truth, meet me. You're running out of time."
The line went dead.
Ye Xiu lowered the phone slowly, his heart pounding in his chest. Everything was spiralling out of control, and now he was more entangled in this mystery than ever. As he looked around the room, seeing the panic and fear in his teammates' eyes, one thing became clear: nothing would ever be the same again.
And whatever was coming next was about to change everything.