A terrible cat meow came from outside the window. A rush like a sound, a tight sound like a sound. The voice echoed through the empty room like a baby's cry, more like a female ghost asking for her life. Shen Mingde couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine, he pulled the quilt up, retracted the foot that had slipped out of the quilt, and hid his right hand stretched out on the edge of the bed into the quilt. The lurking elves clearly had no intention of sparing him, poking their heads out of the shadows and silently through the streets, gathering on the open lawn. Sometimes they talk to each other, whispering about the horrific secrets that preceded the appearance of humanity, and sometimes they sit and crouch, waiting for ancient revelations that have long been forgotten by humans. The cold moonlight is an ally of the elves of the shadows, hypnotizing humanity and leaving the world shrouded in darkness to their rule. The moonlight lengthened their shadows, and their sharp ears were as sharp as bayonets and intertwined in a few points that could be found irregularly. The intertwined shadows rapidly expanded until they enveloped the entire lawn.

At this moment, the silence was broken by a long cry like a baby's cry, followed by one, two, countless roars. The things roared and danced. The huge bonfires around them burned brightly, but they couldn't illuminate their shadow-like bodies. Shen Mingde was behind them, and he saw those things dancing with their teeth and claws, slowly beating slowly within the ring of the bonfire with neat steps. Arms raised into the night sky, claws like hooks, flailing wildly. Their waists are as if they are not supported by bones and can be twisted at will. Suddenly, they turned their heads to look at Shen Mingde. He felt a tingling in his chest, so heavy that his lungs couldn't expand, like he was being wrapped around a python. The creatures had hideous faces, smiling mouths and sharp canine teeth. Shen Mingde felt more and more unable to breathe, he suddenly opened his eyes, waved his hands to his chest, and made a parry posture. In an instant, a black shadow quickly jumped off the bed, and there seemed to be an afterimage behind it. Shen Mingde turned his head to look at the whereabouts of the black shadow. On the windowsill not far away, he met a pair of yellow apricot eyes. The rising sun reflected the silhouette of the thing through the curtains, and the little thing began to comb the hair on its paws in an elegant posture, and it turned out to be "Nini". Shen Mingde calmed down, got up, and pulled up his pajamas from the chair at hand. With a click, a book titled "The Secret History of Indigenous Religious Rituals in Southern Africa" fell to the floor. He didn't notice, or didn't pay attention to it at all, put on his pajamas and walked straight into the bathroom.

Shen Mingde groggily walked down the narrow staircase, casually flipping through the information on his mobile phone on the way. There was a piece sent by Zhou Tengfei in the middle of the night last night. There is only a strange string of numbers "9950.". Shen Mingde didn't understand what it meant, but it was probably a mistake. He casually placed his phone on the worktop in the open kitchen and prepared a simple breakfast for himself.

In the company, Shen Mingde returned to the office after a regular morning meeting on May 18. He seemed a little bored, and couldn't help but ponder. The company's affairs are normal, and the administration has not received any requests for leave. Could it be that Zhou Tengfei and Yang Chuan haven't appeared yet, and the phone is either unanswered or can't be reached? It's not like their style. Shen Mingde looked blankly at the empty computer screen desktop. He suddenly remembered the characters like "23333333~" in the video barrage, and a set of numbers like "886", which was popular on the Internet a long time ago. Could it be that the mobile phone message "9950." Is this string of numbers Zhou Tengfei calling for help? Isn't that the meaning of "995" "help me?" And the "0." I guess it was made by mistake in a hurry. He immediately called the personnel department and asked them to immediately inquire about Zhou Tengfei and Yang Chuan's emergency contacts at the company level, and called the emergency contacts to inquire about the status of the two of them. Then, Shen Mingde leaned his back against the back of the boss's chair, fingers facing each other, staring at the phone on the desk.

Moments later, the theory of "Murphy's Law" was once again tested. Last night, Zhou Tengfei did not go home. Yang Chuan still follows the principle of "visiting his father on weekends and calling only when he has something", so his father has not seen him recently, nor has he received a call from him. Shen Mingde quickly sorted out the incident on a sticky note, and then reported to the police. He followed the prompts on the sticky notes and explained them in chronological order. Since the matter is not clear at present, it can only be characterized as "lost contact", and at the same time, the lost contact time has not exceeded 24 hours since the last call. However, it is inferred from Zhou's last phone call that there may have been a conflict with nearby villagers before they went missing, which made the police more concerned. After answering a series of questions, the police reminded Shen Mingde to keep trying to contact the "missing" person, and the two sides hung up the phone. He arranged for the administration department to contact Zhou Tengfei and Yang Chuan every half hour, and then left the company to go about his own business.

When Shen Mingde returned to the company again, just as the company had informed him just now, a man and a woman were already waiting for him in the reception room. Through the glass wall of the reception room, it can be seen that the woman has a beautiful face, which first attracted Shen Mingde's attention. She should be Xiao Jing, Zhou Tengfei's wife. She wore a camel-colored knit top and jeans, simple and quiet. At this time, she was sitting quietly, biting her lower lip and looking down at the table. But the slowly rotating paper cup in her hand made Shen Mingde feel that she was a little nervous or anxious. Beyond the small white round table, the sturdy man who was pacing back and forth at the door of the reception room with his arms around his chest opposite Xiao Jing was Yang Chuan's father, Yang Guangcheng. He looked to be in his 50s with broad shoulders and a broad back. Although the body is higher than life, it gives people the impression of a "giant". The hair was neatly groomed, apparently dyed black, with only the sideburns a little grayish. The man had a wide nose and a wide mouth, and the beard on his chin was cleanly shaved. His body was slightly fat, but his slightly protruding belly and the blue-black security uniform made Shen Mingde feel that he was as powerful as a black bear. Shen Mingde shook hands with the two after entering the reception room. The three of them did not make introductions or greetings, and apparently, they had already guessed each other's identities.

Shen Mingde sat down on an empty seat at the round table opposite the doorway, forming a triangle around the table with the other two. He recounted what had happened. After finishing, he looked at Xiao Jing on his left. However, I saw that Xiao Jing still didn't change much, and just put the paper cup on the table. But Yang Guangcheng on the right hand side was relatively excited. He bowed slightly, turning the plastic chair that was originally facing Xiao Jing's direction towards Shen Mingde. Suddenly, the reception room resounded with the heart-rending screech of metal scraping against the floor tiles. His whole body confronted Shen Mingde, giving people a strong sense of oppression. then used an unhappy tone to accuse Shen Mingde of still not taking a more proactive way to find the whereabouts of the two, and believed that Shen Mingde should be responsible for the incident. Shen Mingde did not avoid Yang Guangcheng's gaze, but remained silent and stared at him. He didn't get angry at this rude behavior. It's just that Yang Chuan and his father are really very different. Yang Chuan, who recently graduated from college, has a somewhat introverted personality, although he also talks and laughs with familiar colleagues, but in the company, he never shows off. He will never take over the work in front of everyone, but will do the work in hand to perfection. Up to now, Yang Chuan's contribution has been made to many of the company's projects, from graphic design, to field trips, to photography and framing, and even to copywriting. At the same time, he also has a bit of an artist-like temperament, a little sensitive, and even a little neurotic. Once, because of a colleague's unintentional words, Yang Chuan thought that his design was not done well, and personally ran to Shen Mingde's office to apologize to him. And the man in front of him, in his demeanor and words, all revealed a kind of strength and thick lines.

And the woman next to her, Xiao Jing and Zhou Tengfei's are also in stark contrast. Shen Mingde couldn't help but think of Zhou Tengfei at this time. They had known each other for almost the same year as the company had existed. They once negotiated the company's first business together, got a loan together, and survived all kinds of difficulties in entrepreneurship together. The boy's temper is like fire, and his deeds are like the wind. I remember one time, the kid rushed into the office, and Shen Mingde felt a strong air flow rushing towards him. After Zhou Tengfei quickly reported to Shen Mingde, he turned around abruptly and left the office like a gust of wind, blowing a few pages of documents on the edge of the desk to the ground. However, Zhou Tengfei is by no means a reckless man, his outstanding ability and unique ideas have made him more and more a talent that Shen Mingde relies on. If it weren't for Shen Mingde's reason telling him: there can't be a "No. 2 person" in the company, which will destroy the flat management model. He had already promoted Zhou Tengfei to his vice president. If Zhou Tengfei is like wind and fire, that woman is like a lake. She was calm, peaceful, and felt bottomless. This is the first official meeting between Shen Mingde and Xiao Jing in so many years. Although Shen Mingde also sincerely invited Zhou Tengfei and his wife to attend the company's party or travel, they were all rejected by Xiao Jing through Zhou Tengfei. After that, due to Zhou Tengfei's reluctance to mix work and life, Shen Mingde did not insist on inviting Xiao Jing again. Even if she met the two of them once in a while, Xiao Jing would politely nod to Shen Mingde, or leave alone to make room for the two of them to discuss work. It's not so much that Xiao Jing behaves like a shy child, but in fact, this is the wisdom of a mature woman. Shen Mingde still couldn't guess what Xiao Jing was thinking? The action of biting his lip seemed to be nervous, perhaps restraining himself from losing his temper in front of others. Since they met, Xiao Jing had only said the word "hello", and her silence made Shen Mingde feel more and more mysterious.

A polite knock on the door interrupted Yang Guangcheng's gushing rebuke and terminated Shen Mingde's thoughts. A girl in a gray-blue uniform walked into the reception room and whispered a call from the police station in front of Shen Mingde. After Shen Mingde signaled that he was sorry, he got up and prepared to leave the room. At this time, Yang Guangcheng suddenly looked a little cramped, he licked his dry lips, and then drank the water in the paper cup. Just as Shen Mingde stepped out of the door, he heard Xiao Jing say "Uncle Yang" in a timid but determined tone. Shen Mingde turned his head and looked at Xiao Jing squarely. The two smiled a little awkwardly. It wasn't until Shen Mingde left the reception room that he saw Xiao Jing talking to Yang Guangcheng slowly and methodically through the glass door.