024 Serial Disappearance Case

[Your profession "Fighter," Experience +6!]

[Skill "Sandboxing Mastery," Experience +8!]

[Skill "Boxing Minor Achievement," Experience +10!]

[Skill "Jujutsu Beginner," Experience +12!]

The experience gains for today in the Fighter profession flashed before his eyes.

It was noteworthy that after Bai Xiao consecutively unlocked Sandbox, Boxing, Jujutsu, and other professional skills, the experience gain in the Fighter profession indeed accelerated—from the original two points per day to now six or seven.

"My efforts are in the right direction..."

On the bus, Bai Xiao, satisfied, withdrew his gaze and relaxed against the plastic seat, feeling a cool sensation on his back. But the next second, he slightly furrowed his brow, straightened up, and avoided leaning his shoulders against the hard surface.

Just now at the White Bird Martial Arts Hall, sparring with the coach had indeed been satisfying, and it had also more or less tested his own strength. However, once Zhang Hongtao perceived Bai Xiao's true strength, his strikes were not light. Even with the padding of gloves to cushion the blows, several bruises were made.

"Luckily, I prepared some medicinal solutions and ointments in advance, and now they can be put to good use."

At four in the afternoon, in the Sunshine District, inside a rented room with the curtains half open,

a muscular young man, bare-chested, was carefully applying ointment to the bruised areas around his body. In the air, a strong pungent medicinal scent spread, flowing out through a slightly opened window.

Bai Xiao's phone was on the bed, playing soothing music.

He then recalled, in the changing room a while ago, how he had harshly admonished Guo Hao. Guo Hao indeed had talent, but his character was poor.

Guo Hao cared too much about others' eyes, even mistakenly prioritizing others' admiration and praise as the things he truly pursued. You are here to train in martial arts, not to enjoy being surrounded by women!

So-called admiration, so-called worship, so-called throngs of followers—those are just peripheral things you acquire along the path of pursuing martial arts!

When all else is stripped away, these superficial appearances left behind,

What remains in martial arts is the biggest challenge for every learner!

Which is...

Whatever you persist in doing when nobody is watching!

Training in unnoticed corners and making appearances in the spotlight. Doing the right things that others are unwilling to do, this is another explanation of persistence. Bai Xiao believed he could endure solitude better than Guo Hao.

This was the difference between the two men, according to Bai Xiao.

Five minutes later, after applying the ointment, he took out his phone to check messages.

By the bedside, Bai Xiao unplugged the charger and lit up the screen with one hand.

Scrolling through the YY social circle, he swiped past several posts, most of which were friends documenting what they ate today in pictures and text, along with some game achievement screenshots.

Tap, his finger paused.

On the display was a post from Social Me, Brother Dong (Wei Dong).

Yesterday 22:35

Title:

Fame has its pros and cons.

What was, was; what is, is bizarre.

Below was an image of the entrance to a luxurious nightclub.

A young man wearing sunglasses stood leaning against a luxury car, his elbow resting on it, right hand holding a burning cigarette, as he gazed melancholically up at the stars.

Bai Xiao slightly raised his eyebrows, speechless.

Sometimes sudden wealth can make people abstract.

Below the image, there was a long string of lengthy comments.

Sulky Me, Lao Liang: "Are you showing off again?"

Society's Brother Dong: ?

Sulky Me, Lao Liang: ?

Then came a long string of question marks, two guys childishly bickering with each other.

Bai Xiao wanted to post a question mark too, but he didn't want to join the fray, so he just clicked on the image, took a look, and silently liked it.

Wei Dong's dad could be considered a legendary figure—it had taken him just four to five years to become the director of a biopharmaceutical technology company. Somehow, he had produced Wei Dong, this funny and quirky son.

Of course, there was also a possibility that Wei Dong only showed his true self in front of acquaintances and friends. Outside, he might play the role of a rich and handsome playboy, handsome and wealthy.

After all, the views on Wei Dong's Moments were extremely low, which indicated that he only allowed a very few people access to see his posts.

"No idea what kind of company Wei Dong's dad runs…"

"Medical instruments? Or is it specifically for pharmaceutical research?"

Bai Xiao scrolled through his phone for a while, resting, and was about to exit the interface out of sheer boredom when he suddenly saw that someone had shared an official news post about serial disappearances—it was from Huai Shui City.

"The police in Huai Shui City reported that since May 10 of this year, there have been consecutive…"

Beneath that was a bunch of official jargon, followed by several photos of the missing people. Bai Xiao scanned them and found them vaguely familiar. After a moment of recollection, he remembered the missing person notices he had seen before.

"Has disappearing become such a frequent occurrence?"

Bai Xiao frowned slightly, his gaze fell further down, and suddenly his pupils constricted. He saw a man in a floral shirt whom he had beaten up near the Sakura Bird Bar about five or six days ago—that face, the dragon tattoo on his neck, it was identical! The man in the floral shirt had disappeared!

What happened?!

Did I accidentally kill him?

Impossible, I know how to pull my punches, I didn't hit him critically.

Even if he had died, there was a parking lot next to that alley.

People come and go there every day; it's impossible that they wouldn't have discovered his body!

Bai Xiao's brow furrowed deeply, and he felt confused and uneasy.

Although he was reluctant to think about it in that direction, perhaps these so-called disappearances were related to that rushing shadow he had encountered that day in the alley! Bai Xiao admitted that he had been scared that day, somewhat horrified.

The shadow, though human-like, had an eerie, non-human aspect to it.

Its eyes glowing green like a wild beast's were deeply imprinted in his mind.

Bai Xiao snapped back to his senses and immediately started searching online and in local forums, but couldn't find any useful information.

"This shouldn't… come back to me, right?"

Bai Xiao muttered to himself, his expression deep. Fortunately, this parallel universe was not the original world, there were no cameras all over the streets, and the efficiency of various departments was not so high; this aspect was more reminiscent of a certain country in his past life.

"Whatever, it wasn't me who killed him."

"Done is done, not done is not done…"

He quickly turned off his phone screen, planning to start today's extra training.

Perhaps because he had been startled by the news about the series of disappearances just now, Bai Xiao felt a vague sense of unease. To dispel this feeling, he began to furiously practice boxing and jujutsu.

Perspiration was released fully, and his joints cracked loudly.

That sense of fulfillment and immersion made him forget about his unease.

"It's still not enough, I need to be stronger…"