The Villa

39.Missing

　　Yes, Bai was gone.

　　Early that morning, Ning and Liu knocked on her door, but there was no response.

　　They found it strange, assuming she might have woken up early for breakfast.

　　But when they arrived at the canteen, there was no sign of her.

　　Ning inquired with the canteen staff, but the old man serving food hadn't seen her either.

　　A sense of unease crept into their hearts.

　　 They rushed back to the guesthouse and to Bai's door.

　　Ning gently tried the doorknob, and to his surprise, the door swung open.

　　The room was empty.

　　A faint trace of Bai's shampoo lingered in the air.

　　"This is bad..." Liu muttered.

　　"Could she have run into a ghost last night?"

　　Ning scanned the room, his expression grave.

　　"There are no signs of struggle, no signs of resistance. And she took her backpack. Judging from these details, she must have left on her own accord..."

　　Liu frowned. "Left on her own?"

　　"Yes," Ning confirmed.

　　"Bai is not impulsive. For her to make the risky decision to leave alone, she must have discovered something extremely important last night!"

　　Ning's heart sank.

　　He could tell from the state of the room that Bai had left voluntarily, but he couldn't be sure if she was still alive.

　　After all, this village was shrouded in an unsettling aura of dread.

　　Especially the back mountain behind the forest in front of the guesthouse.

　　They hadn't been there yet.

　　They had a hunch that the place was a forbidden zone within this Blood Gate, far more dangerous than the other attractions!

　　Venturing into that area could lead to unforeseen and perilous consequences!

　　"Bro, where do you think she could have gone?" Liu asked, his voice edged with worry.

　　Ning shook his head.

　　He couldn't fathom what Bai might have seen that would compel her, always cautious and level-headed, to take such a risk.

　　"Let's wait a little longer. We still have time. Don't panic."

　　"The most important thing now is to stay calm. If we panic, we're more likely to make mistakes!"

　　Liu nodded in agreement.

　　However, they waited the entire day.

　　Even as night fell once more, Bai remained missing.

　　This time, it wasn't just Liu who was getting anxious.

　　The other three were starting to worry as well.

　　"What? Bai is missing too?" The bespectacled man was stunned.

　　That morning, they had also discovered that someone was missing from their team.

　　—Luo.

　　She had disappeared sometime during the night.

　　However, Ning and Liu had been preoccupied with Bai's disappearance and were unaware of Luo's absence.