Desolate Wilderness

After reaching a slightly more bustling street, Ling Yun hailed another taxi. This time, he had learned his lesson—before opening the door, he carefully examined the driver to ensure he was a normal person. The driver, bewildered, couldn't fathom why this student-like teenager seemed so fixated on his appearance.

As for the corpse and that inexplicable taxi, Ling Yun had no time to concern himself with them. They would be discovered by passersby come morning. Right now, he had far more pressing matters to attend to.

Fifteen minutes later, the taxi pulled up at the main entrance of the Imperial Garden. As soon as Ling Yun stepped out, he saw Zhang Yunfeng running toward him.

"Why are you so late? I've been waiting forever," Zhang Yunfeng complained.

"Ran into some trouble on the way—there was an accident ahead, and traffic was backed up for a while," Ling Yun replied vaguely. He couldn't possibly tell Zhang Yunfeng about the eerie experience of a corpse driving a taxi. Zhang Yunfeng was an ordinary person, and such a revelation would be too absurd to believe.

"Traffic jam? At this hour?" Zhang Yunfeng muttered, but he didn't dwell on it. "Come on, let's go in. Should we go straight to Ling Ling's house and speak with her parents?"

"No need for that yet. If they haven't even noticed their daughter's disappearance all night, they're unlikely to provide useful information. Besides, we're not here for condolences," Ling Yun said as they walked. "You said Ling Ling vanished from her bedroom, and her entire window was shattered?"

"Yeah, that's what they reported on the news. They even showed footage. Her family lives on the 18th floor of Building C. How could a living person just disappear into thin air? The police searched a hundred meters around the building but found no trace of her. They've already ruled out suicide," Zhang Yunfeng replied, his brows furrowed as he analyzed the situation.

"Even if it were suicide, there'd be no reason to smash an entire window. Let's check the area beneath her bedroom window," Ling Yun decided.

The two teenagers entered the Imperial Garden through the 24-hour security gate, navigating a winding pathway lit by knee-high lamps. After turning a couple of corners, they arrived at Building C. It wasn't even 9 PM yet, and most apartments were still brightly illuminated. Standing before the towering 24-story residential complex, both boys came to a halt.

Ling Yun had never visited the Imperial Garden before, but he knew it was one of the most luxurious residential communities in Tongjiang City. Only the city's elite and wealthy could afford to live here. The extravagant facilities and meticulously designed landscape made that evident. He had always known that Li Ling Ling's family was well-off, but he hadn't expected them to be this wealthy.

Zhang Yunfeng, on the other hand, was unfazed—he had been to Ling Ling's house countless times while pursuing her and knew his way around effortlessly. He squinted at the darkened window on the 18th floor and pointed.

"That's Ling Ling's bedroom window. We're standing directly beneath it. If she fell from up there, her body should have landed right in front of us."

Ling Yun looked up at the window, his enhanced vision allowing him to see with perfect clarity even in the dark. His far-sight, night vision, and x-ray perception had all evolved rapidly. He could tell that only the frame of the window remained—its plastic steel panes had vanished completely. Given how little time had passed since Ling Ling's disappearance, her parents likely hadn't had the chance to repair the shattered window.

From this angle, he couldn't see inside the bedroom. He lowered his gaze to the pristine red-and-white tiled pavement beneath their feet. The estate's property management was meticulous—any shards of glass from the broken window had long been cleaned up. The ground appeared spotless, yet Ling Yun noticed tiny fragments of glass lodged in the gaps between the tiles.

"What are you looking at? I don't see anything," Zhang Yunfeng asked curiously, watching him inspect the ground.

"Nothing," Ling Yun replied, shaking his head. "There's no bloodstain. Ling Ling didn't fall—she vanished directly from her room."

They exchanged uneasy glances, feeling increasingly lost. The situation was just as baffling as the news reports had described—there was no trace, no clue. A living girl had simply disappeared from her home, leaving nothing behind except a shattered window. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, even they would have found it hard to believe.

"Could she have been abducted by aliens?" Zhang Yunfeng muttered, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "What else could possibly snatch someone straight from their bedroom?"

A thought flickered in Ling Yun's mind. He suddenly recalled the moment in the haunted taxi when he had used his psychic force to halt the car. Just then, he had sensed a faint, almost imperceptible energy lingering on the corpse—a fluctuation eerily similar to his own psychic field, yet subtly different.

Could my psychic force allow me to perceive things beyond ordinary sight?

His intuition told him that his unique ability wasn't limited to just telekinesis. His heightened perception, his ability to sense energies—perhaps they were all connected to his psychic field.

Closing his eyes, Ling Yun extended his telekinetic force upward along the building's exterior wall. In an instant, it reached Ling Ling's shattered window and slipped into her room. His acute perception immediately detected a familiar presence—the lingering aura of Ling Ling herself.

Excitement surged within him. He had just discovered another use for his psychic abilities. Just as every person had unique fingerprints, they also emitted distinct auras. Though Ling Ling was no longer in the room, her presence remained embedded in the space, captured by Ling Yun's extrasensory perception.

If he could follow the trail of her aura, he could uncover where she had gone.

Like a stream of quicksilver, his psychic field spread through the air, searching. Within the bedroom, Ling Ling's presence was strong, a testament to her long-term residence. But the moment the energy extended beyond the window, her aura became faint, almost imperceptible. Even as he pushed his powers to their limit, he could only barely discern a fragile, thread-like trail extending from the window—leading north, into the darkness beyond his reach.

"Boss, what are you doing? This is no time for meditation! What's our next move?" Zhang Yunfeng asked anxiously, watching Ling Yun stand still with his eyes closed.

Ling Yun opened his eyes.

"Yunfeng, I've found a clue," he said. "I think I can find Ling Ling."

"Really?" Zhang Yunfeng was overjoyed. "Boss, you're incredible! Even the police couldn't find any clues. How did you do it? There's no time to lose—let's go find Lingling now!"

"No. You can't come with me." Ling Yun's expression turned uncharacteristically solemn. He had discovered that the trace of Lingling's presence remained suspended in midair, implying that she had vanished while airborne. She had no wings, so how could she possibly fly? There was only one explanation—something had taken her from her bedroom.

The police and Zhang Yunfeng, being ordinary people, naturally couldn't fathom the existence of a force capable of snatching someone from a high-rise building. That was why they were utterly baffled. But Ling Yun was different. His possession of supernatural abilities had already set him apart from the realm of ordinary mortals. Even before arriving at the Imperial Garden, he had encountered the eerie sight of a corpse driving a taxi. If the dead could be manipulated to operate a vehicle, what other unfathomable things could not occur?

He refused to let Zhang Yunfeng accompany him in the search for Lingling because this ordeal had already transcended the bounds of worldly logic. Zhang Yunfeng's presence would be of no help—on the contrary, he would be a burden. Even Ling Yun himself felt a deep sense of unease. Could his half-developed powers truly stand against an unknown and terrifying force?

But he had no choice. The kind-hearted young man had already regarded Lingling as one of his dearest friends. How could he stand idly by while she was in danger?

Zhang Yunfeng shot Ling Yun a fervent look. "Why won't you let me come? Give me a reason."

"It's too dangerous," Ling Yun replied gravely. The truth was, he had no idea where Lingling had been taken, nor was he certain he could continue tracking her fading aura. It had been a full day since her disappearance, and her presence in the air was already exceedingly faint. If she had vanished on the ground instead, amidst the hustle and bustle of countless pedestrians, her trace would have long since been erased.

"And you're not afraid of danger?" Zhang Yunfeng countered. "Besides, how do you even know where to find her?"

Ling Yun sighed. This was not something he could easily explain to Zhang Yunfeng. Was he supposed to reveal the existence of his supernatural abilities? After a brief moment of contemplation, he bent down and picked up a discarded brick from the ground. "Yunfeng, this is a brick. Do you think you can break it with your fist?"

"Boss, are you out of your mind? That's a brick, not some piece of foam! How could I possibly break it?" Zhang Yunfeng exclaimed, startled and confused.

"Watch closely." Ling Yun's voice was calm as he held the brick flat in one hand and clenched the other into a fist. With a forceful strike, a dull thud resonated in the air, and the brick instantly shattered into several pieces, which he then casually tossed aside.

"Boss, you really do know martial arts! This must be iron-body kung fu, right? D*mn, you're amazing! No wonder you healed so quickly the last time we fought. You've been pretending to be weak all this time! You've got to teach me!" Zhang Yunfeng gasped in astonishment, his face brimming with admiration.

"Yunfeng, what I'm trying to say is that I have the strength to go alone. If I run into danger, I can protect myself. But you're different. No matter how good you are at fighting, you're still just an ordinary person. If you come with me, I'd have to look out for you as well." Ling Yun ignored his wild assumptions and patiently explained.

"I get it now, Boss. If I go with you, I'll only get in the way. Alright, I'll head home. But promise me—you have to let me know as soon as you find Lingling," Zhang Yunfeng said, his tone now serious.

"Be careful, Boss," he added as he turned to leave. "You and Lingling are my best friends. I don't want anything to happen to either of you." Even as he walked away, he continued muttering his concerns, revealing his genuine worry.

Ling Yun watched Zhang Yunfeng's retreating figure in silence, his heart swelling with warmth. Over the past month, the three of them had grown unexpectedly close. Despite Zhang Yunfeng's flaws—his tendency to bully others and his impulsive nature—his sincerity was undeniable. His loyalty and friendship had an infectious quality, making it impossible not to be moved by his genuine nature.

Reattuning his mind, Ling Yun once again locked onto the faint traces of Lingling's aura lingering in the air. Without hesitation, he set off northward. Though her presence was fragile and intermittent, it still formed a discernible trail in the sky.

Thanks to his awakened abilities, his speed was now extraordinary. Even on foot, he moved with an agility that rivaled the swiftness of a racing car.

Half an hour later, Ling Yun found himself far beyond the city limits, standing in the midst of a vast, desolate wilderness.