Chapter 34: The Disappearance Case

Nightshade glanced at Tang Yan and noticed her pale cheeks tinged with a faint flush. "It's fine—go in first."

Tang Yan didn’t know what to say. She just felt that Nightshade’s symptoms were starting to resemble something… familiar.

Alone in another room, Nightshade pulled out the inhibitor she’d already prepared. “Damn it—getting worse, more frequent.” Just now, during their kiss, she’d felt an undeniable surge of desire, a dark impulse rising in her chest: the urge to make Tang Yan cry—hard.

Tang Yan waited alone in the room for a long time without seeing Nightshade return. “Guess he’s not coming back,” she sighed. Then drowsiness crept over her. She lay down and fell asleep.

In the dead of night, after calming down for hours, Nightshade finally entered the room. There, lying peacefully in bed, was Tang Yan’s sweet, sleeping face. Nightshade stepped beside the bed, leaned down slightly, and gently kissed her forehead before climbing into bed herself.

The next morning, Nightshade and Tang Yan arrived on the resort island. “Sunrise,” Nightshade said, voice low and sharp, “this place is full of all kinds of people—except me. Don’t trust anyone but me.”

Tang Yan nodded silently and followed him into his villa. “You’re not… some rich kid, are you? You’ve got *serious* money.”

“Renting,” Nightshade replied coldly.

The villa stood at the island’s center—and highest point. With the island itself small, standing on the rooftop with specialized equipment allowed them to scan nearly every corner of the territory. A single vantage point could cover almost everything.

Thinking this through, Tang Yan voiced her idea. Nightshade smiled. “Go check the attic yourself.”

He led her up to the rooftop chamber. It was sparse—just one massive, expensive telescope, its long barrel stretching like a silent sentinel.

“Ah,” Tang Yan said, eyes lighting up. “So you’d already figured it out. Then why didn’t the others catch anything?”

“It’s like nothing human did it,” Nightshade murmured. “No trace. No shadow. The telescope saw nothing. Even when we caught movement at night and snapped photos—still nothing. Not even a silhouette.”

Tang Yan frowned. “Impossible. Could they be using some kind of illusion?”

“I considered that,” Nightshade said. “But I think the culprit wore a light-absorbing suit. When light hits it, most of it gets sucked in. So the telescope receives almost no reflection. That’s why we see nothing.”

Tang Yan paused, deep in thought. “But if they’re carrying someone, the suit would have to wrap both of them tightly. That’d severely limit movement. We could set up a two-pronged ambush.”

Nightshade looked at her, a slow smirk curling at the corner of his lips. “Sunrise… your mind’s sharper than I thought. But here’s the twist—*even with a double ambush*, we still found zero traces.”

“Then… that’s impossible,” Tang Yan whispered, stepping closer to the telescope. She’d never handled such advanced, high-end gear before.

Curious, yet awkward, she turned to Nightshade. “Uh… I don’t really know how to work this thing. Can you show me?”

Nightshade stepped forward. “Come here.”

Tang Yan moved toward him, standing right in front of the eyepiece. He came up behind her, took her hand, and guided her fingers across the controls.

Within minutes, she had it down. Nightshade watched from beside her. “Keep observing. I’ll go make breakfast.”

“Okay,” Tang Yan said, completely absorbed—her focus as intense as when she’d first learned computer programming as a kid.

This time, Nightshade didn’t serve carp. Instead, he cooked dishes they’d never tried before. “Sunrise, breakfast is ready.”

He approached and froze mid-step. Tang Yan was dismantling the telescope.

“Sunrise… what are you doing?” he asked, confused.

She kept working, explaining as she went. “Nightshade, this telescope’s been tampered with. Someone messed with it.”

Nightshade stepped beside her, studying the pieces. “Hmm? How’d you figure it out?”

Carefully, Tang Yan continued disassembling. “I was scanning the surroundings. Every time I passed through a 45-degree angle, the image tilted slightly—and started moving. At first, I thought I was imagining it. But I tried again. And again. Then, at exactly 135 degrees—the static image *came alive*. Turned into animation. And the lighting dimmed drastically. It looked exactly like a nighttime view.”

Nightshade stared, stunned. He hadn’t noticed a single flaw—yet Tang Yan had spotted it instantly. “Sunrise… your instincts are unreal.”

Tang Yan lifted her nose proudly. “Told you. So? You, the new guy—ready to admit defeat?”

“Break it down,” Nightshade said, standing up. “I’ll reassemble it later. Time to eat.”

His gaze drifted to the scattered parts on the floor—his expression unreadable.

*When was it tampered with?* he wondered silently.

After breakfast, with nothing else to do, Tang Yan decided to watch how Nightshade managed to claim the top spot in the hacking world in just one year.

First, he climbed back to the attic and reassembled the telescope. Less than two hours later, it was fully operational. Tang Yan was shocked—she’d spent the entire morning just taking it apart.

Then, he moved to the living room, sat on the sofa, and opened a book.

“Nightshade,” Tang Yan said, eyeing the book. “You don’t have anything else to do?”

“That task?” He sipped his coffee. “Not urgent. Wait till tonight.”

She sat beside him. “How’d you take down the number one hacker?”

He glanced at her, then slowly closed the book. Leaned in. A dangerous smile curled at his lips. “Because… I’m naturally gifted.”

Tang Yan froze. Then rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. “Seriously? *Psycho.*”

She stood up, ready to head out.

“You going out?” Nightshade called after her. “Be careful. Don’t mess up my mission.”

Tang Yan waved dismissively. “Got it.”

The island wasn’t crowded, but the tourist zones were surprisingly lush. Tang Yan wandered onto the streets. Most people stayed indoors. From a few locals, she heard the story: the strange disappearances had started last month.

It was the island’s annual grand gala—a single night, dozens of young women vanished without a trace.