Where's Ying Yue?

He knocked on her door gently. "Ying Yue, it's me." There was no reply. He knocked again, hitting his knuckles on the door a bit stronger than the last time. "Ying Yue."

He frowned and stared at the lock on the door. Unlike the other apartments on this floor that utilized a keycard system, hers had a fingerprint input and a keypad for a password. He blew out a breath of frustration. This was no doubt the work of Juyan.

It seems the master keycard from the front desk wasn't going to work.

He knocked again, banging the door with his fist repeatedly. "Ying Yue, open up!"

A couple of the neighbors opened their doors and sent him accusing glances. He ignored all of them.

He stood there for some time; however, there was no movement behind the door, alarming Fei Huangjin of the fact that she was most likely not at home. After all, she had always been sensitive to sounds. Also, she was a spy; if she was home, she was bound to wake up after a few knocks. He muttered a few curses under his breath and pulled out his phone as he made his way down the building.

There was no other choice but to call the boss at Juyan.

The man picked up after a few rings and Fei Huangjin didn't wait for a greeting from the other end of the line. "It's me." Dragon Club occasionally asked help from Juyan. He was no stranger to the man who ran it.

Big Boss narrowed his eyes. He was in the middle of a briefing with other agents when the call came in. And although it didn't surprise him that CEO Fei would eventually contact him soon enough, he was skeptical with the man's reason for calling him at that moment. He stepped out of the room, calmly shoving one hand into his pocket. "CEO Fei. What do you need?"

"Where's Ying Yue?"

The question threw Big Boss out of the loop, and his feet moved on their own as he reflexively headed to the tech room. He had a bad feeling about this. "Did something happen?"

"She asked for leave."

Leave? Why would she ask for leave? Unless…

Big Boss hurried inside the tech room, and he barked orders for the tech team to locate Ying Yue's tracker. The other man on the line was becoming increasingly impatient with each passing second, and he got into his car with a slam of the door.

Finally, her tracker lit up on the large screen, indicating that she was at the apartment. Big Boss sighed in relief, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. "She's just in her apartment."

"She's not. I was there."

Fei Huangjin dropped the call, and the tech room of Juyan was caught in an uproar.

"Hack into the building. Get me the surveillance videos. I need all of you to find shadow fox." Big Boss could feel a raging headache about to commence. He shouldn't have pushed her to give up on the clue. Now she was going off on her own to figure it out. "No one's going home until one of you finds her."

Leaving her tracker… Really, what was that girl thinking?

"Where's Mo Yiling? Get him down here."

"Yes, Big Boss."

"Call Xi Shenghui. Tell him to head to Juyan now." He leaned over a desk and punched it hard, leaving a small dent in the otherwise pristine oakwood.

***

"I need a team to track down Ying Yue. Find out if Jade Circle has anything to do with her disappearance." Fei Huangjin took off his suit, throwing it at Guan Ting as he marched along the hallways of the Dragon Club base.

"She disappeared?" The name made Guan Ting grimace as he recalled his encounter with the woman. That annoying woman almost broke his nose. Thankfully, the swelling had subsided overnight and the infirmary only prescribed him with painkillers.

Fei Huangjin didn't say a thing as both men arrived at the surveillance room.

He seated himself while Guan Ting took over the operation, ordering everyone to review the videos of the train stations, bus stops, and anything they could get their hands on. They scanned faces of every female that looked close to Ying Yue. It went on for almost an hour before he approached the silent and stoic man hesitantly.

"Boss. Although our surveillance system is extensive, it doesn't compare to that of Juyan. I suggest we ask their help--"

"I've already called them." His clipped reply only meant one thing: the girl had yet to be found.

Guan Ting couldn't help noting that the normally unreadable expression that Fei Huangjin donned was now tampered with a hint of exhaustion and distress. His arms were crossed over his chest as he pretended to study the simultaneous videos flashing on the large screen upfront.

"Then boss, I suggest you head back. I'll manage it from here and call you if anything comes up."

For a moment, both of them were silent. The tension lines on Fei Huangjin's face never eased.

It wasn't until a while later that the man stood up and left the room.