Hmmm...
Old Gia thought of something else that made his eyes flicker.
"Grandmaster... A strange case has appeared abroad... Grandmaster, it's too weird."
"Oh?" Dorian was intrigued, listening with a lazy glint.
"Yes, Grandmaster... It concerns a missing group that lost connection during a live broadcast."
Old Gia recalled the mysterious man's face in the live broadcast.
His presence alone sent waves that chilled his spine.
He felt it was best for the Grandmaster to investigate the cause since he couldn't tell what they were up against if there was indeed an evil hand in this.
If they should go, this was also the first time they would be leaving the country's shores to investigate cases abroad.
The people were missing, and those abroad searched for their bodies crazily.
What's more, one of the missing people happens to be the child of an insanely wealthy family whom Old Gia had heard about.
How interesting...
Dorian tapped his fingers playfully.
Wasn't this the perfect chance to spread their influence and complete his missions from the system?
"Bring it."
"Right away, Grandmaster!" Old Gia quickly took out a flash drive from his pockets.
His subordinates had organized all videos in files on the drive.
As he said, the case was such big international news, including the disappearance of that wealthy man's only daughter.
Even Mercenaries were called in to help look for her. The wealthy man wasn't putting all his eggs in one basket by relying on the police alone.
Foriegn detectives and others were alerted. There was a fat ransom money too hard to miss.
As for the videos, each missing streamer had their own private live broadcast channel. So he had to watch everyone's videos to accurately depict what happened.
Since there were so many, Dorian had Bewoh plug the flash drive into the laptop, and everyone gathered to watch. And on the side, Butler Sheng brought tea for them.
The doors were shut, and the volume raised louder than usual.
Alright.
Click.
The video broadcast belonging to the streamer named Chris began playing.
Right off the bat, their talk about spending the night in a desolate grave ground was already a red flag.
What's wrong with kids nowadays?
The elders felt these groups were pushing their luck. Even if there was any evil entity close by, they should fear criminals and other dangers.
Why do such a dangerous dare because of online fame? So what if their fans requested it?
Unless they went under the protection of others, they should never take such risks.
What if they wake up with a missing kidney or eye? Or better still, what if they wake up trafficked to a faraway place?
Too dangerous!
.
Dorian thinned his eyes, staring at the screen intently.
He watched them trail across the forest path until they reached the river.
"Wait." Dorian's words echoed. "Go back."
Go back? Was there something they missed?
Bewoh did as Dorian instructed. And the video was played back, but slower than before.
Eh?
In mortal ears, one can only hear the wind gently rustling across the grass and leaves.
Everything seemed ordinary. But just then, they heard a strange growl that appeared for a few milliseconds before vanishing.
It sounded like several fingernails excitedly clipping in the wind.
Already, everyone's face was cold. Sure enough, their disappearance wasn't ordinary.
The gang crossed the stream, heading for the narrow valley path ahead.
Up ahead, there were several hills that hid the main hill at the center quite nicely.
Dorian's eyes glowed, noticing the positions at which the hills stood. It wasn't natural.
They watched the group reach the hill at the center. There was a long, narrow, and creepy staircase leading to the top. And scattered in every corner were frogs that cracked and hopped mysteriously across the scene.
"Frogs here?" Why only on this hill?
The elders all questioned the scene, agreeing to the words from the missing streamers.
Look! Even the streamer called Jenet, questioned the strangeness of the scene.
Sadly, they still threw caution to the wind, ascending the stairway despite all the warnings they saw.
.
"Grandmaster... That's him!"
Oh?
Dorian and everyone else watched the strange shadowy silhouette slowly descend toward the advancing bunch.
The man was dawned in old clothing worn by people several years before now.
The 17th century? Very old foreign attire.
Everyone had unsettling thoughts, hoping their imaginations were wrong.
And then... The man's words caused an explosion in their minds.
Then with the eerie slashed wound across his face, he smiled slyly, telling the tale surrounding the grave site.
[People say when the moon reaches a certain peak every 100 years, escaping the grave site becomes impossible. And tonight happens to be that night. But the grave site will never take people away without their permission... So are you sure you want to go in?]
Everyone's face lost color.
No! Don't answer!
The man's last words weren't per se a question but a trick! And now that they replied, agreeing to go to the grave site, then their fate was already sealed.
This man was the grave site's true keeper.
No...
Can they be sure he was even a man?
They went through all the videos, having an overall understanding of what happened.
For sure, the group began losing signal at the bottom of the hill. And after ascending, though their live broadcast still went on, it wasn't as clear as before.
Things continued as so even after they broke into the building on the hill... Until suddenly, their videos all went static at the same time.
ZZZZZZZ~~~~
The static was all they could see and hear.
The end.
No one knows what happened to them. And now, the entire Vardos Country is looking for them.
.
The academy elders fell into momentary silence. For sure, their disappearance wasn't ordinary.
Dorian slowly took a sip of tea, looking at the massive clock on the wall.
9:15 A.M.
"Elder Hou, Haru, and Endo... Get ready."
They leave at 5.
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