The Case of the Missing Sora
Shu frowned.
"Does Natasha know about this?" he asked.
"Teacher doesn't know… Sora is helping us keep it a secret…" Lyle replied confidently, then, seeing Shu's serious expression, faltered. "You… you're not going to tell, are you?"
"…" Shu glanced back, then smiled. "Don't worry, I won't." You practically just gave me a [Prayer].
He turned his attention back to the "case." In a global disaster like this, separation from loved ones was almost inevitable. In fact, Lyle and the others were lucky Little Tian hadn't become a zombie or a Honkai beast.
Most people had perished in the initial eruption. And in ARC City, not even zombies remained…
But this disappearance happened on the seventh day.
"Lyle, are you sure Little Tian disappeared on December 7th?" Shu asked, pointing to the date circled in red.
Lyle nodded firmly. "I'm sure! It was the sixth day after Teacher brought us to the Nest. Little Tian was gone when we woke up!"
Shu's frown deepened. Vanished without a trace… He shook his head. There wasn't enough information.
He followed a prominent red arrow leading to the next set of photos.
Three pictures of the same messy bed. An empty bed, a discarded blanket, and a disturbingly large bloodstain on the rumpled sheets. It looked like a murder scene.
The three different angles showcased the photographer's skill. And these were film photos…
"You have a camera?" Shu asked, surprised. He turned to see Lyle shoveling food into his mouth.
Shu: "..."
"It was Robot Mark II…" Lyle mumbled, swallowing his food. "Sora used her Robot Mark II to take the pictures!"
Robot Mark II has a camera function? Wait, wasn't Robot Mark II lost outside? Shu distinctly remembered finding it and bringing it back. How could Lyle and the others have used it inside the Nest to take these pictures? Did it sprout legs and wander off on its own?
He glanced at Lyle, who seemed oblivious to the discrepancy, then returned to the clues on the whiteboard.
The next photo was unsettling. A hunched figure, strangely familiar. The protruding spine, like a stegosaurus…
Isn't that the old man who was looking for Robot Mark II?! Shu's eyes widened, and he glanced at Kiana.
Kiana blinked, pointed at herself, then at the photo, her expression shifting from confusion to understanding, then finally to a nod. At least she's not completely clueless…
But Shu's confusion intensified. According to the old man, he was from here… and now he was part of the investigation…
Wait a minute… Shu recalled the simulation he'd run based on the dust in the city. Natural decomposition, accompanied by rapid aging…
Could Little Tian be the old man with three left hands?! That was his first instinct. He took a deep breath and moved on to the next clue.
This time, it wasn't a photo, but a note. Shu squinted, leaning closer to decipher the shaky handwriting.
[I don't want to! I hate that old man! He has three left hands! It's scary, so scary!!
He's going to take me! He's going to take me away from here!!
Help me, help me! Sora, Lyle, Adam, Teacher! Save me!!
I don't want to be taken!
I don't want—]
The note ended abruptly, the last stroke a long, frantic scribble that nearly tore through the paper. The few lines, filled with terror, covered the entire page.
And just like that, Shu's theory was shattered.
The old man wasn't Little Tian. On the contrary, he seemed to be the one who took Little Tian. But then why was he looking for Robot Mark II? And why was Robot Mark II…
His carefully constructed theory crumbled. He felt lost.
But there were more clues. Pushing aside his confusion, he focused on the last two items.
Another photo taken inside the Nest, this time of the door marked "No Entry." And two neatly written notes pinned beside it, a welcome contrast to the frantic scrawl of the previous message.
[The infirmary hides a child-eating demon!
There were over a hundred kids here, all the same age. Teacher brought back so many! I'm good at math! I know!
But only a few stayed outside. Two out of every three disappeared!
Every time Teacher brought back more kids, she made us go to our rooms. We wouldn't see them until the next day, and then there would be two new friends.
It's not normal, not normal at all. Where do they go?
We, the Sky Bunnies Squad, risked our lives to obtain these photos using Sora's Robot Mark II—]
Shu turned to the last photo, the final clue.
The angle was unusual, taken from beside the generator, capturing most of the Nest. Natasha was still wearing her cloak, and the door marked "No Entry" was open.
A tall figure was visible inside the doorway. The photo was blurry, but even squinting, Shu could make out a man in a white lab coat, wearing glasses. He was stepping aside, allowing Natasha to pass.
And Natasha was holding the hand of a small child.
But as Shu focused on the child, his blood ran cold. The child was holding Natasha's hand, but what it was standing on… were also hands!! Like a small ape, its hands and feet had long, slender fingers!