I was a rookie reporter in the 00s

Chapter 362 Looking for Chen Yifeng

The man's eyes fell on the recorder, and he suddenly showed a hint of surprise: "You actually have something like this?"

"This is modern technology, it's beyond your comprehension." Fu Siyuan sneered, "We won't let you hurt more people."

The man suddenly laughed strangely and said, "Do you really think you can stop me?"

At that moment, the basement wall suddenly cracked, and a powerful force surged from the crack, tightly binding the three people. The man slowly walked towards them, his cold eyes revealing a hint of cruelty: "You will become my sacrifice, sleeping forever in my world."

“No!” Zhang Wanqing shouted loudly. She suddenly remembered what Fu Siyuan said about a “pure heart”. She closed her eyes and began to pray: “Please let us find a way to seal it and save this world.”

At the moment she prayed, a warm power surged from her body, tightly surrounding the three of them. The man suddenly screamed, and his body began to tremble, as if bound by some invisible force.

"What kind of power is this?" the man asked in horror.

"This is our strength." Fu Siyuan said loudly, "We won't let you hurt more people."

The man's body gradually became transparent, eventually dissolving into a wisp of smoke and vanishing into thin air. The basement walls began to vibrate, the cracks gradually healing, and everything returned to calm.

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Li Wei walked forward, gently stroked the crystal coffin, and said, "It seems that this sleeper has finally been sealed."

"We have to go back quickly and tell the world the truth," said Zhang Wanqing.

"Wait." Fu Siyuan suddenly pointed at the crystal coffin and said, "Look, there's another line of words on the coffin."

The three of them leaned over to take a look, and saw the words engraved on the coffin: "The sleeper is gone, the truth is revealed. But the power of the taboo remains, and must be protected with a pure heart."

"What does this mean?" Zhang Wanqing asked puzzledly.

"I think this means our mission isn't over yet," Li Wei whispered. "We must not only uncover the truth, but also protect this world and prevent the forbidden power from being awakened again."

"Then we are the new guardians." Fu Siyuan smiled slightly, "It seems that our 'Iron Triangle' has a new mission."

After sealing the sleeper, the three realized that although Chen Yifeng was cursed and turned into a black robe, he was still the key to unlocking everything. They must find him as soon as possible and try to save him to prevent him from continuing to hurt more innocent people.

"We have to find Chen Yifeng quickly." Li Wei's tone was firm and urgent. "He might still be in that abandoned factory, or he might have gone somewhere else."

Fu Siyuan nodded, flipped open the notes in his hand, and said, "According to the clues Chen Yifeng left behind, he seems to have been looking for some way to lift the curse. Perhaps he is in some danger now."

"Then we have to hurry." Zhang Wanqing added, "The missing persons may also be trapped in the ruins, or taken away by Chen Yifeng to other places."

The three quickly returned to the abandoned factory, hoping to find more clues. The interior was pitch black, lit only by moonlight filtering through the shattered windows. They carefully made their way through the ruins, arriving at the spot where they had encountered the black-robed figure. However, the place was deserted, a scene of devastation.

"He may have sensed our approach." Li Wei whispered, "We need to expand the search area."

Fu Siyuan suddenly stopped and pointed at a set of footprints on the ground and said, "Look, there are footprints here. They should be left by Chen Yifeng. Let's follow them."

The three followed the footprints until they reached the factory's back door. Outside was a deserted path lined with weeds. As they continued along the path, they suddenly heard a faint groaning sound in the distance.

"Someone!" Zhang Wanqing immediately became alert. The three of them quickened their pace and headed towards the sound. Soon, they came to a forest and saw a figure huddled under a tree.

"Chen Yifeng!" Li Wei called out softly. As they approached, they saw Chen Yifeng leaning against a tree trunk, his body covered in wounds and his eyes blurry.

"How... did you find me?" Chen Yifeng's voice was weak and tired.

"We've been looking for you." Zhang Wanqing squatted down and said softly, "Do you know where the missing people are?"

Chen Yifeng shook his head slightly and said, "I... I can't remember clearly. I was just looking for a way to lift the curse, but I was getting more and more lost. I had already gone astray, but who knew I would suddenly return to normal, but I can't remember what happened before."

"That's because we defeated the Curse. Haha... Don't worry, we will help you." Li Wei comforted him, "You should take a rest first. We have to find the missing people quickly."

At this moment, a low roar suddenly came from the depths of the woods, as if something was approaching. Chen Yifeng's face turned pale in an instant, and he said in horror: "Run, that's the power of the curse!"

"Don't be afraid, we won't abandon you." Fu Siyuan quickly took out a rope from his backpack, tied Chen Yifeng to himself, and said, "We have to face this together."

The four of them ran along the woods and soon came to a hidden cave entrance. The cave entrance was covered by vines and weeds. If it weren't for Chen Yifeng's guidance, they would never have found it.

"This is where I first discovered the missing people." Chen Yifeng said breathlessly, "They are all trapped inside."

"Then we have to hurry in." Li Wei picked up his flashlight and walked into the cave first. The cave was cold and damp, and the air was filled with a foul odor. They walked along the cave wall and soon came to a huge basement.

In the center of the basement stood a massive stone platform, upon which were placed various strange symbols and offerings. Surrounding the platform lay several unconscious people—the very ones who had disappeared.

"They're still alive!" Zhang Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief and immediately went forward to check. "They're just bound by some force, maybe a curse."

"This is the power of the curse." Chen Yifeng whispered, "I tried to use these symbols to lift the curse, but it made the situation worse."

"Now is not the time to assign blame," Li Wei interrupted. "We must untie the ropes and rescue these people as quickly as possible."

Fu Siyuan carefully examined the symbols on the stone platform and suddenly found a familiar pattern—the eye pattern they had seen in the ruins. He immediately said, "These symbols are exactly the same as the ones in the ruins. Perhaps they are the key to unlocking the bondage."

"We have to try." Zhang Wanqing pulled a notebook from her backpack, which contained clues they had found in the ruins. She compared the symbols and began to try to untie the restraints.