Void Jigsaw Puzzle

"What? They are missing?" Old man Liu couldn't help but shout after hearing the news Guo Ling and Fan Ting brought back from Heyao.

"Keep your voice down! The kid is still watching cartoons inside." Fan Ting put her index finger to her lips and made a "hush" gesture.

Guo Ling immediately dragged him to another meeting room nearby and quickly explained the situation to him.

"That's the situation. I still find it hard to understand, but my intuition tells me that they are not missing or dead, we just lost them."

Although Old Man Liu usually looks nonchalant and lacks the steadiness and dignity of an old man, and has recently been despised by the proprietress of Xiandele, Guo Ling knows that this old man still has some ideas when encountering big things.

What's more, Zhong Chenmu hasn't come back yet, and there's no one else to discuss with.

After listening to Guo Ling's description, Liu Zhongju did not answer immediately, but walked around the conference room several times with his arms folded.

Suddenly, he slapped his head and said, "I know!"

Guo Ling was startled and asked, "Know what?"

"Xiao Tong's parents are probably in grave danger..." Old Man Liu lowered his voice and said, "The two young men that Fan Ting's former boss mentioned just now are most likely the 'Silicon Clan' that Xiao Zhong mentioned last time... If before today I still had doubts about what happened to Zhu Tong's parents, now I am completely certain of this."

Old man Liu's face flushed red, and although he spoke in a low voice, the excitement in his tone could not be concealed no matter what.

Guo Ling stared at Old Man Liu's expression, trying to understand the tone of his voice, his brain working rapidly.

He was not stupid, and after a moment, he figured out the whole story.

"I understand now! Captain Zhong said the Silicon Clan is invisible and can only rely on possessing other clans to complete their own reproduction and development, while also invading other clans and even exterminating them. This kind of possession is like a virus infection; as long as the conditions are met, it can be completed. Initially, they possessed Zhu Tong's parents, but for some reason, they still kept the habit of buying breakfast at Xiandele, which led to us discovering and tracking them. They didn't want to be caught, so they targeted the two young people who were preparing to participate in the 'whitewater rafting' project in the river and jumped into the river with them. In the process, they possessed them and abandoned the child's parents..."

Old Man Liu nodded approvingly. "He's quite quick on his feet, despite his age. That's right, that's why the two young men, after entering the Heyao Massage Parlor from the riverbed, didn't stay long before leaving through the store entrance on Riverside Road."

"So, what we can be sure of now is that two Silicon Clan 'people' have invaded our Wuming City and possessed two young people, one wearing red and the other wearing blue. Zhu Tong's parents, who were the first to be possessed by them, have fallen into the river and are nowhere to be found. They are probably in great danger..." Guo Ling concluded with a frown.

He and Old Man Liu both gasped.

If this inference is true, how can we face Zhu Tong's clear eyes full of expectation?

The two were looking at each other in the conference room when the door was pushed open.

Zhu Tong rushed in from outside, glanced inside the room, then stared at Old Man Liu and shouted, "Grandpa Liu, there was an old man in that cartoon just now who looked like you! Hahahaha! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Her eyes were filled with joy, and the smile on her face lit up the entire room.

Old Man Liu felt his heart pounding. He tried to control his expression and pulled the corners of his mouth upwards. "Really? Then I'd really like to take a closer look. They didn't even pay me for the use of their portrait!"

"Yeah, come and see!"

Zhu Tong happily rushed to Old Man Liu, grabbed his hand and pulled him out.

Old Liu had no choice but to follow her out and invite Fan Ting in.

Looking at the backs of Old Man Liu and Zhu Tong, Guo Ling smiled bitterly and shook his head.

At this time, when he saw Fan Ting coming in, he motioned her to close the door, and then quickly told her the inference he and Old Man Liu had just made.

Fan Ting opened her beautiful eyes wide and her expression froze for a few seconds.

"Isn't this too... coincidental? They just happened to transfer from the little boy's parents to the two customers who participated in the 'whitewater rafting' project at Sister Dong's store?"

These were the first words she uttered after she recovered from the shock.

Before this, she still held a glimmer of hope. After all, Dong Xingwen had a wide range of contacts, and if he was willing to help look for him, maybe she could find Zhu Tong's parents soon.

Guo Ling spread his hands and replied softly, "Besides this possibility, are there any others? I can't think of any."

"There's a flaw in your theory. The child's parents haven't been found. If they're still missing, you want to see them. If they're dead, you want to see their bodies..." Fan Ting paused for a moment, then continued with difficulty, "If they've always been missing, your theory won't be completely consistent."

Guo Ling supported his chin with his hand and nodded slightly.

"Why hasn't Captain Zhong returned yet? I think we should discuss this with him as soon as possible. He's sure to have some good ideas."

Zhong Chenmu sneezed several times in succession.

As soon as he came out of the house, a cold wind blew and he quickly wrapped his clothes tightly.

A day had passed since the unpleasant conversation with Mr. Liang and Pierce at Leyou Mansion. He did not return to Linjiang Building, but stayed at home, racking his brains to think of a strategy.

Because he could not accept Pierce's plan that seemed to offer the "least sacrifice" no matter what.

Without even thinking of any other solutions, he directly decided from a God's perspective that seven people could be sacrificed, completely disregarding the feelings of these seven people. How is he any different from the initiator of this so-called "reunification" game?

Now that he had a preliminary idea, he decided to go back to the team and discuss it with them as soon as possible.

While waiting for the bus, he sent a message to Guo Ling.

A moment later, he received a reply: "Waiting for you."

It's as if they are guarding their phones.

Zhong Chenmu smiled and looked around boredly before the bus arrived.

At this moment, he suddenly noticed two objects floating down the river not far from the bus stop. From a distance, they didn't seem real, but he felt something was strange. Normally, water flows from upstream to downstream, and so do objects on the river, but these two objects were floating upstream.

This was accompanied by exclamations from the downstream shore.

"There's a body in the river! Someone's dead!"

Hearing this, Zhong Chenmu's pupils suddenly constricted. He didn't bother to wait for the bus, but rushed to the river bank from the bus stop beside the riverside road in a few steps, looking over with wide eyes.

The water was flowing very fast, but the two objects were also moving upstream at high speed. The floating objects that were only the size of a mobile phone just now were now only tens of meters away from him.

He finally saw clearly that they were indeed two floating corpses.

Judging from their body shape and clothing, they are a man and a woman.

The ominous premonition that Zhong Chenmu had just felt in his heart now surged up like a tide, occupying his entire brain.