Otherworldly Affairs Office

As they listened to the sound of Mei Simiao scolding his subordinates outside the office, Gu Shenghui and Yu Zhongmin exchanged glances without saying a word, though curiosity rose in their hearts about what could have made him so furious.

After about ten minutes, the office door was pushed open, and the figure of Yuan Shaoqing was nowhere to be seen. Mei Simiao, with a sullen face holding a document folder, walked to the desk, looked at the two men, and sighed, "Fu Rui has disappeared!"

"Who?" Yu Zhongmin frowned, not immediately recalling who this person was, and asked in return.

Gu Shenghui's expression changed as he sharply asked, "What did you say! Disappeared? What do you mean! Dead? Ran away? What about the person responsible for surveillance!"

It was only then that Yu Zhongmin remembered who this person was, and he nodded in sudden realization, saying, "You mean Fu Rui, the strange, powerless leader from the Central Plains Region under Shen Yu, didn't the Hall already upgrade her surveillance level? How could she just disappear!"

In the face of his colleagues' questioning, Mei Simiao remained expressionless. When he heard this news from Yuan Shaoqing, he was equally enraged, but after listening to Yuan Shaoqing's report, he also knew that this matter couldn't be entirely blamed on his subordinates because it was simply beyond belief.

Thinking of this, he candidly explained to the two, "I admit we have made mistakes in our work. You could say that every aspect of Fu Rui's life has been under our surveillance during this period, but just last night, under the surveillance of all our personnel, she vanished without a trace right in her own bed!"

"What kind of statement is 'vanished of her own accord'?" Gu Shenghui asked, frowning with considerable dissatisfaction.

Mei Simiao didn't say much but took out his phone, opened the video Yuan Shaoqing had just sent, and placed it on the table, saying, "This is the video within two minutes before and after Fu Rui disappeared last night."

Gu Shenghui and Yu Zhongmin immediately gathered around to watch. In the center of the video lay Fu Rui, sound asleep under the thin quilt, her graceful figure fully revealed, with a face that remained sweet and lovely even without makeup, proving to the two that she was indeed Fu Rui.

However, Gu and Yu weren't in the mood to admire this alluring image of a sleeping beauty. In the video, Fu Rui was breathing evenly, lying honestly on the bed like any normal person's sleep, with nothing unusual until one minute and twenty seconds in, when a sudden change occurred. In the video, Fu Rui seemed to want to change her sleeping position, flipping over while grabbing the edge of the quilt.

But in that single turn, when the quilt completely covered her body, the next second after she was lazily sleeping on the bed, Fu Rui vanished without a trace, and the unsupported sheet gently fell, wrinkled and flattened on the empty bed.

It was like watching a mage's trick of making a person disappear, leaving the two stunned. They hurriedly replayed the video over and over but still couldn't find any flaws. Gu Shenghui shook his head, put down the phone, and looked up, asking, "Could it be spatial abilities? That's such a rare power."

"But the problem lies there. We didn't fail to take precautions. The Hall rented two houses above and below hers at a high price, setting up Arrays there. If she used her abilities indoors, it should have triggered the Arrays and been locked onto by us. But during the time she disappeared, these two Arrays didn't react at all!"

"Less than five minutes after she disappeared, our surveillance personnel had arrived at the scene. After testing, there wasn't a trace of any residual internal source deployment on-site. If she really used her abilities, it would be impossible not to leave any traces. But without using her abilities, how could all this be done?"

Listening to Mei Simiao's account, Gu Shenghui fell into contemplation. What he said was correct; whenever an ability user exercised their powers, traces would be left in the air, even for Pei Yan, who possesses an origin. But without abilities, how did she disappear? Could it be that there are indeed other mysterious powers in this world besides us?

"Issue a co-investigation notice! Whether she's an ability user or not, unless she has left this world, she will eventually surface! As soon as she shows up, detain her first!" Gu Shenghui made up his mind after prolonged thought.

Hearing this, Yu Zhongmin repeatedly watched the video, closed it, and sneered, "On what charges? She is currently innocent. Are you going to detain someone just with this video? Once detained, what then? Within forty-eight hours, we'd have to release her, putting us in a more passive position!"

"Old Yu, you know what the situation is now! Her disappearance at such a critical point can't be a coincidence…"

Before Gu Shenghui could finish, Yu Zhongmin raised his hand to interrupt him, "Old Gu, I know you think I disagree with you, but regarding the issue of maintaining public safety, we stand together. Precisely because of this, I must remind you, no matter how suspicious Fu Rui may be, she appears to be an ordinary citizen. You're aware of how sensitive higher-ups are about us interfering in ordinary affairs. I don't want you to make a mistake here."

Gu Shenghui was silenced by Yu Zhongmin's retort; he was right. The Otherworldly Investigation Hall seemed to wield considerable power, but it was heavily restricted. Their jurisdiction was strictly confined to handling matters related to otherworldly realms and ability users.

Since the era of the Investigation Bureau, higher-ups have strictly prohibited ability users from interfering in societal events or unjustifiably interfering with ordinary people's lives. This is why those in the Hall prefer to risk their lives going out on assignments rather than stay in the relatively safe Three Pristine Department, because each time they return, they must write lengthy reports detailing whose memory they altered, why, and whether it was necessary.

In conclusion, no matter how powerful and glamorous ability users may appear, they are still outsiders to mainstream society. The country strives to maintain the safety of an environment for over a billion people, and they are just one part of it. Fu Rui's status as an ordinary citizen now becomes her greatest shield.

"Detain her! Old Gu is right, it's not like before. If we keep hesitating, the opportunity will pass! The people were lost on my watch, so if any issues arise, I take full responsibility! I'll go write a report to the higher-ups now!" Mei Simiao declared resolutely, pocketing his phone from the table.

"I'm the Head of the Ability Affairs Department, and Fu Rui's case is within my jurisdiction. You can't shoulder this burden alone; I will also submit a report to the top!"

"Enough with the melodrama here, one person can file the report! Since you two have already made up your minds, let Old Mei file the report. The three of us can sign it together then!" Yu Zhongmin saw that the two had united and, if he continued to stand aloof, he would be left out. After these words, he tapped the table and continued, "Since we're issuing a co-investigation notice, let's include Fu Rui with those two mysterious individuals. Prioritize the two out-of-bounds individuals for now!"