Chapter 177: Du Du and Jiang Xingliu Side Story (5)

Chapter 177: Du Du and Jiang Xingliu Side Story (5)

When Lu Qingwan got up the next day to call Du Du for breakfast, she found that Du Du was no longer in his room.

Since returning to the capital, Du Du had rarely gone out to socialize. After twelve years, this place had become very unfamiliar to him, whether it was friends or anything else.

Moreover, apart from Jiang Xingliu, nothing else could pique his interest, so he had almost never gone out alone.

Lu Qingwan's first instinct was to call Du Du's communicator.

But she found that Du Du's communicator was already turned off, and she couldn't reach him at all.

She panicked and immediately clicked on Jiang Xingliu's contact.

Jiang Xingliu quickly accepted the communication request, and when his clear voice came through, Lu Qingwan felt like she had found a lifeline and hurriedly said, "Xingliu, could you please help me find Du Du?"

There was a sound of something falling on Jiang Xingliu's side, but he didn't have time to deal with it. He asked, his voice low and serious, "What happened?"

"Du Du is missing..." Lu Qingwan said while trembling, searching Du Du's desk for any clues. "After you left yesterday, Du Du stayed in his room. He was fine during dinner last night, but when I went to his room this morning, he was gone!"

Jiang Xingliu replied sharply, "I'll be there right away. Don't disconnect the communication. Send me the surveillance authorization for the Yuan family villa, and see if there are any clues in the room. Did he take anything with him?"

Lu Qingwan choked back tears and said, "His suitcase is gone, and a few of his frequently worn clothes are missing from the closet... Did he run away from home?"

"That at least proves he left on his own," Jiang Xingliu said. "It shouldn't be an accident. I'll find him."

After saying that, Jiang Xingliu used the empire's highest-level access to trace Du Du's whereabouts before his disappearance.

He checked the Yuan family villa's surveillance footage and found that Du Du had left with his suitcase in the early hours of the morning. There was no sign of anyone else around. Jiang Xingliu frowned and quickly checked Du Du's messages on his light brain.

The light brain’s tracking was disabled a few hundred meters after leaving the Yuan family, and it couldn't be tracked.

Before that, Du Du had browsed information about Planet 091 on the star network through his light brain.

Jiang Xingliu had some impression of this planet. It was famous for its primitive forest tourist attractions, with remnants of ancient Earth's forests preserved there. He had visited once while searching for medicinal plants.

The outer areas of the forest were normal tourist spots, with quite a few visitors and complete security measures. However, the central area was a genuine ancient Earth forest, full of unknown dangers.

Fortunately, no tourists were allowed to enter that area, and there were 24-hour patrols. Ordinary tourists absolutely couldn't get in.

Jiang Xingliu dropped everything and immediately took a star flight to Planet 091.

Then, in the visitor log for the park, he saw the name of young master Yuan Jibai.

The Planet 091 manager knew Jiang Xingliu well, as this place had many plants. Jiang Xingliu had found a significant portion of the plants he needed for his prescriptions here, and he had even spent three months in the forest’s central area.

The entire area was quickly sealed off and evacuated. After sending all the tourists away, a large-scale, thorough search began, but Du Du was nowhere to be found.

The Planet 091 manager, seeing Jiang Xingliu's grim expression, was sweating profusely. "This shouldn't be happening. We have surveillance covering every area. How could someone just disappear?"

Jiang Xingliu directly ordered, "Check the surveillance blind spots."

"Our security measures are very thorough. Those blind spots are usually guarded," the manager murmured. "Unless this young master knows how to become invisible, there's no way he could escape the surveillance and the guards' sight."

Jiang Xingliu glared at him. "I didn't ask you to analyze how he disappeared. I want to find him. Do you understand?"

The Planet 091 manager wiped the sweat from his forehead. "If he’s not in the tourist area, then he must be in..."

The forest’s central area.

Jiang Xingliu’s hand instinctively clenched. He stood up and spoke hoarsely, "Use the terrain scanner, drones, and thermal imaging devices. Go in and find him!"

The 091 manager quickly replied, "Yes, yes..."

But everyone knew these tools weren’t very effective. Most search devices rely on infrared technology, but besides human bodies, certain animals that also emit thermal infrared rays can be detected.

And the plant and animal life here are endless.

Searching for someone there is like finding a needle in a forest. Moreover, the forest is full of dangers. If someone went in, they’d need serious skills to make it out. Even if found, they’d likely be nothing but bones.

Jiang Xingliu ventured into the jungle himself, armed with a locator. The main team combed the area from the outside, while he quickly penetrated deep into the heart of the forest.

The towering trees around him swallowed all the light.

Suddenly, he remembered when he and Du Du were kidnapped as kids.

He’d escaped, just like now, in near-total darkness, only repeated tree trunks in sight. He ran as hard as he could, the wind wailing like ghosts in his ears.

Jiang Xingliu’s heart felt like it was breaking.

Childhood guilt and worry blended with his current emotions, giving him a sense of being in a different world.

Until a flicker of firelight broke through the darkness.

Jiang Xingliu wasn’t just wandering around. The dense jungle always leaves traces, though they are hard to distinguish, and one might occasionally take the wrong path.

But at least luck was on his side.

He ran toward the firelight, but when he reached it, there was no one—just a solitary flame.

The flame was still burning, but there was nothing left around by anyone.

This is a forest. If Du Du had left on his own, he’d have put out the fire.

But now the fire was still burning, and there was no one around. Something must have forced him to leave in a hurry.

Jiang Xingliu followed the trail of trampled bushes and soon heard a wolf howl.

He ran in that direction and quickly saw Du Du holding a torch, confronting a pack of wolves.

His face was smeared with mud, his clothes torn by the bushes, hanging in strips on his body. A white bandage was wrapped around his arm, seeping with a bit of red blood.

Jiang Xingliu loaded his small particle gun and quickly aimed at the alpha wolf in the pack.

The alpha wolf fell instantly.

Wolf packs are intelligent and highly social animals. Their actions are directed by the alpha wolf. After the alpha wolf is killed, they will consider the action a failure and, to reduce the pack's losses, will abandon the action.

Seeing the alpha wolf dead, the surrounding wolves began to retreat and soon disappeared completely.

Du Du froze as Jiang Xingliu stormed toward him, his face furious.

All the frustration and exhaustion of the past few days hit him at once. He sat down, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed.

Jiang Xingliu originally wanted to scold him, but seeing him like this, he couldn’t bear to speak. He walked over and wiped his tears, "Alright, don’t cry. It’s okay now. I’m here."

Du Du pouted and hugged Jiang Xingliu’s neck tightly, "I’m sorry."

Jiang Xingliu scooped him up, holding him close.

Du Du clung to Jiang Xingliu like a little backpack, choking back sobs, unable to speak.

Jiang Xingliu carried him, slowly walking out: "You're so timid, how could you even think of running away from home? Huh?"

"I didn't run away from home!" Du Du pursed his lips: "I left a note for my mom, I just came for a simple trip!"

"Then how did you end up in here?"

"How was I supposed to know? I just met a few tourists on the road, and they said it was okay to come in here." Du Du felt utterly wronged: "I was walking alone and got lost, then the further I went, the more wrong it felt. I realized I’d accidentally wandered into a restricted area."

Jiang Xingliu narrowed his eyes.

Those tourists seemed pretty suspicious. We’ll have to look into them when we get back.

"Waaahhh."

"Still crying." Jiang Xingliu said helplessly: "I’m here now, so stop crying."

"Why were you so harsh just now? I’m already in such a bad spot, why are you still being mean to me—"

Jiang Xingliu felt wronged: "I wasn't being mean."

"Yes, you were! When you saw me, you looked so angry, waaah—"

Jiang Xingliu held him tighter: "Okay, okay, my bad. I'll apologize to Du Du, okay?"

"Liar." Du Du leaned on him, even more aggrieved: "You’re just good at sweet-talking me, liar. Why didn’t you wait until I was dead to show up?"

Jiang Xingliu didn't know whether to coax him or not. He carried him the whole way, quietly listening to his whining.

It felt like they were suddenly back in their younger days. He loved Du Du’s occasional bratty tantrums and was happy to indulge him. Back then, the little guy was always trailing after him, calling "Jiang Xingliu, Jiang Xingliu."

After a few words, Du Du’s mouth went dry, and he couldn't speak anymore, only mumbling with his mouth shut.

Jiang Xingliu saw his severely chapped lips and said helplessly: "You’re still bawling even in this state."

"I’ll cry if I feel like it!" Du Du kicked him with his foot: "Mind your own business!"

Jiang Xingliu adjusted his hold, then tilted his head and covered the chattering little mouth.

His dry lips were covered.

Du Du instantly froze. He blinked his eyes, his mind blank.

Despite all the drama between him and Jiang Xingliu, such intimate contact was still a first.

"Fool, open your mouth." Jiang Xingliu's low, hoarse voice carried a hint of amusement.

Du Du instinctively followed Jiang Xingliu's words.

Later, he didn't know how, but his mind was filled only with Jiang Xingliu's face.

Blood surged into his lips, and he quickly pulled back, wanting to see if he had bitten Jiang Xingliu.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Xingliu pressed the back of his head, slowly transferring the metallic-tasting blood over.

After who knows how long, Du Du was breathing lightly, released by Jiang Xingliu.

Jiang Xingliu's tone was light and gentle, and Du Du was inexplicably soothed.

"Let's go, I'll take you home."

He leaned on Jiang Xingliu's shoulder and whispered, "I'm terrible."

Jiang Xingliu held him and asked, "Why are you saying that all of a sudden?"

Du Du buried his head in Jiang Xingliu's neck and shook his head, "I'm just terrible."

He was obviously a coward, obviously lacking courage, yet he always subconsciously relied on Jiang Xingliu.

Jiang Xingliu smiled, "Well, that works out, I'm not exactly a good person either."

Du Du's energy was already quite depleted, and now that he finally relaxed, sleepiness quickly took over. His eyelids were heavy, but he eventually fell asleep in Jiang Xingliu's arms.