Chapter 63: The Task Must Be Completed

Chapter 63: The Task Must Be Completed

Ye Man got up from bed and sat still for a few minutes, hoping his hearing was just dull from sleep or that Brother Tong was reconnecting after a disconnection.

Once he realized there was only suffocating silence around him, Ye Man gasped for breath, and a thought struck him.

—Brother Tong had disappeared.

From one day onward, the voice that had been echoing in his mind suddenly went silent. As this realization became clearer, he started feeling nauseous as his chest tightened.

"Brother Tong? Are you there?" He called out a few more times.

Still no response.

Ye Man squeezed his palm, thinking maybe the signal was weak, or Brother Tong was busy with other matters and couldn’t spare the time.

He tried to comfort himself, holding the blanket and lying back down on the bed, pretending he hadn't just woken up in the middle of the night, hoping to sleep till dawn and wake up to everything back to normal. Brother Tong would start chattering with him again.

But the eerie silence and pitch darkness were too much to bear. There was no movement at all. Alone in bed, even his small bedroom felt scary.

Five minutes later, Ye Man reluctantly got out of bed, dragging the blanket, and squeezed himself into the closet.

He closed the closet door, squeezed into a corner, and sighed heavily.

"If Brother Tong doesn't come back, I'm not coming out," he muttered, leaning into the closet corner.

He wanted to teach Brother Tong a lesson for leaving without a word. If it didn't give him extra points, forget about him coming out!

Ye Man wasn't about to admit he'd woken up in the middle of the night and caught the system off-duty, ready to pin it all on the system.

Now in the closet, surely he could sleep, right?

Ye Man realized he was actually suffering from insomnia.

This had never happened before. The trick that had always worked before had failed him for the first time.

He kept checking his phone, listening to the clock, and endured till dawn, feeling half out of his mind.

Half-asleep, Ye Man heard knocking, jolted awake, and instinctively looked for a hiding spot, but there was none.

As the closet door opened, he braced himself, ready to cry over what was coming. Light flooded in, and he heard his name being called in a panic.

"Xiao Man! Big brother... he's here! He's fine!"

...

By ten, Ye Man hadn't come down, and the Chi Family figured he'd stayed up late and needed more sleep.

By twelve, still no one had come down, so Grandma Chi knocked on his door, wanting him to eat something before going back to sleep. There was no response from the room, perhaps he was sleeping too soundly to hear.

After another half hour, a second knock, still no response.

This time, Chi Jue was called. Chi Jue knocked hard, raised his voice and called out twice, but there was still no movement in the room. Turning the handle, the door was locked.

"Maybe he's sleeping too soundly," Chi Jue said, comforting the worried grandma, but he felt something was not right.

Soon, the whole family knew. Chi Yan had someone bring the room key, and upon opening the door, Ye Man was not in bed. The bathroom, toilet, and wardrobe were all empty, and the family panicked.

How could someone just vanish from their room like that?

The room was on the second floor, not too high, and a young, strong lad might be able to climb out of the window. However, Ye Man clearly didn't fit this description; he couldn't even see, so how could he manage such a feat?

A group of people searched around the house, and finally, Chi Jue looked towards the waist-high storage cabinet beneath the bookshelf.

It seemed a little crazy to think this way, but given Xiao Man's size... with a squeeze, perhaps he could fit.

He walked over and yanked open the cabinet door, from which a small, rolled-up corner of a blanket fell out.

Chi Jue held his breath tightly; a pale-skinned, black-haired boy was curled up inside, like a still, frozen painting.

He caught the other's collapsing body and quickly informed the others—they had found him.

Chi Yan came over and saw the scene as well, his breath also freezing for a moment.

He crouched down, lifted the boy out of the cabinet, glanced at Chi Jue, who immediately nodded and hurried out to contact a doctor.

"Xiao Man," Chi Yan called softly, "tell me what's wrong."

Ye Man was actually awake; he was just groggy from staying up all night and quickly realized he was at the Chi family's old house. The situation he had been guarding against couldn't possibly happen here.

Hearing familiar voices and knowing who had come, he relaxed.

His appearance still tugged at the hearts of those around him.

Even though Ye Man said he was fine, just hadn't slept well last night, the family still called the family doctor to check on him, confirming that nothing was seriously wrong.

Ye Man leaned on Chi Yan, somewhat embarrassed as his grandmother spoon-fed him chicken soup, secretly tugging at Chi Yan's sleeve, hoping he could think of a way out!

He really had just stayed up all night, pulled an all-nighter—there was no need to make such a big deal out of it!

"Let me do it, grandma," Chi Yan, perhaps misunderstanding his gesture, took the soup from his grandmother and started feeding him himself.

Rather than making a fuss, it was better to finish it quickly. Ye Man stopped struggling and went along with Chi Yan's actions, finishing the entire bowl of soup.

Admittedly, the hot soup eased his twisted stomach, making him feel much better. As his body warmed up, the fatigue from the all-nighter set in, and Ye Man began to doze off.

The elders of the Chi family wanted to ask him what had happened, why he had gone into the cabinet, if something had gone wrong, why he hadn't called for help.

Chi Yan signaled the others to hold off, gently stroking his brother's head: "If you're tired, take a nap. When you wake up, it'll be time to eat."

Ye Man didn't have the energy to think too much, nodded weakly, and added, "I'll crash on the sofa, not going back to my room."

"Okay."

Grandpa Chi was about to speak when Grandma Chi pinched him, silencing him manually. Qin Fangrui looked around, grabbed a woolen blanket and a pillow, quickly arranged them on the sofa, and as Ye Man lay down, he sank into a warm, soft cocoon.

He nuzzled into the blanket someone had draped over him, unconsciously frowning, a shadow trembling restlessly under his eyelids, the blue veins visible beneath his cold, pale skin, looking worn out and lonely.

"Brother Tong?"

"..."

Brother Tong was really gone.

...

By the time he woke up, it was already evening.

Ye Man still felt heavy, his reactions slow, his mind a jumbled mess.

Chi Yan stayed by his side, muttering something, but he didn't quite catch it.

Ye Man was lost in thought.

In fact, there had been signs for a while before. After the last mission failed, his connection with the system had been spotty.

It was only logical.

He clasped his hands together.

The system was there to assist him in becoming a villainous side character, to maintain the relationship between the protagonist and the love interest. With Ye Man's continuous mission failures and no progress in the relationship between Chi Jue and Meng Yao, the system naturally had no reason to stay. It would be disappointed, abandon him, and leave him—it was only a matter of time.

Ye Man sank deeper into his thoughts.

He told himself not to panic yet—there was still time to do something to get Brother Tong back.

Missions kept failing, one after another...

...If he could just complete one mission and get the plot back on track, wouldn't Brother Tong have to return and keep helping him?

Ye Man's heart raced.

He racked his brain to recall what the system had told him. Where was the next mission node? What was it? What should he do?

Countless conversations flashed through his mind, and Ye Man broke into a sweat from thinking so hard.

"...Meng Yao used someone else as a mouthpiece to invite Chi Jue to Svalbard to see the aurora. They hit a snowstorm, and what was supposed to be a week-long vacation stretched into half a month..."

"Chi Jue, Meng Yao, and a bunch of you rich second-generation kids were all there. After your previous disruptions, Chi Jue and Meng Yao slowly opened up to each other and grew closer. You watched their growing closeness with jealousy eating away at you..."

"...You secretly cut the power to the villa, using the excuse of being afraid of the dark, planning to lock yourself in a room with Meng Yao."

But not only did you accidentally lock Chi Jue and Meng Yao together, you were also discovered by the other rich kids. They saw through your malicious intent and locked you in the attic instead.

Alone in the cold and dark, you listened to the terrifying sound of the snowstorm outside the attic window, locked up there for an entire night. No matter how much you cried and screamed, no one came to your rescue. When they finally let you out in the morning...

Ye Man didn't dwell on the rest.

He only focused on the key points: go to Svalbard, cut the villa's power, and get locked in the attic for a night.

"Xiao Man, eat something first," Chi Jue said, scooping some food and crouching in front of him, speaking gently.

Chi Jue noticed Ye Man's pale face and distant expression, unsure of what was on his mind. That look made Chi Jue's heart pound uncontrollably.

After calling him repeatedly without a response, Chi Jue nearly decided to take him to the hospital. Chi Yan, after a moment's thought, also reached out to a well-known psychologist.

But just as Chi Jue stood up, Ye Man grabbed his arm.

Finally, a reaction!

Chi Jue turned back, overjoyed, as Ye Man asked him seriously, "Do you have any plans to go on a vacation recently?"

Chi Jue was stunned. "No, I don't."

"...!"

Ye Man pursed his lips, tears welling up in his eyes. "N-no plans?"

Chi Jue gasped, quickly crouching back down, sweating anxiously. "Yes! Where? Where do you want to go?" "It's not about where I want to go, it's about where you want to go..."

"Yes, it's me who wants to go," Chi Jue changed his tune, but he was immediately dumbfounded, "Where do I want to go—!"

Where does he want me to go?

Xiao Man's voice broke as he said, "Svalbard..."

"Oh right, Svalbard, I want to go to Svalbard—" Chi Jue widened his bloodshot eyes and called out to Brother Tong: "Brother Tong!"

Brother Tong took out his phone: "I'll ask Xiao Li to book the tickets, Svalbard... it's in the Arctic."

Chi Jue was speechless: "..."

Chi Yan frowned at the reply message: "There's a snowstorm expected in three days, not sure how long it will last. We need to leave while the weather is good. Give me some time to sort out a few issues."

Seeing Xiao Man's nervous expression, Brother Tong softened his tone: "Relax, there's no problem Brother Tong can't solve."

Xiao Man sniffled, nodding vigorously.

Chi Jue also breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately, Xiao Man couldn't help but ask: "Meng Yao... isn't going?"

Chi Jue's eyes widened again: "Yes, he is! He's going!"

After replying, he massaged his temples.

Wait, what does Meng Yao have to do with this? Why would Xiao Man mention him?

Glancing at Xiao Man, the boy finally relaxed his tense body. Chi Jue swallowed the words he originally wanted to say.

Clenching his teeth, he dialed Meng Yao's number.

After calling for a long time, no one answered. He reached out to a few mutual friends.

Chi Jue was hit with some bad news: Meng Yao had been confined by his mother.

Chi Jue, teeth clenched, looked painfully at Xiao Man: "Xiao Man, Meng Yao, is it absolutely necessary for him to go..."

Xiao Man replied in a muffled voice: "...He must go."

"Alright, you wait," Chi Jue, with a calm demeanor, rolled up his sleeves, "I'll go to the Meng family and kidnap Meng Yao. Wait for me, Brother Tong will be back soon."

A cold gleam flickered in his eyes.

To Svalbard, he's going, willing or not!

Xiao Man looked puzzled: "What?"

Wait, is kidnapping really necessary? Something's not right with this plot!

Xiao Man stopped Chi Jue and learned Meng Yao was confined by his family.

Wuwu... Brother Tong...

How could this be? Is there really no hope?

Xiao Man, feeling utterly drained, slumped down momentarily.

Suddenly recalling something, he hastily grabbed his phone to make a call.

Xiao Man believed he had handled it well. He was deeply upset, frightened, and anxious, but he strove to remain calm and rational, successfully devising a solution.

When the call connected, Ye Man recognized the familiar voice of a man and called out, "Ricardo..."

The person on the other end's breathing hitched for a moment.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Meng Yao... he's been detained. He can't go to Svalbard with us..." Ye Man said in a downcast tone.

"You want Meng Yao to accompany you to Svalbard?" Xu Huaiting figured out what he meant from his broken sentences.

It came out of nowhere, with no explanation, not even why he wanted Meng Yao to go to Svalbard—just that one sentence.

But Xu Huaiting didn't ask further, just said, "I thought it was something big. Who said Meng Yao isn't going?"

Ye Man: "Will he go?"

Xu Huaiting laughed, "Of course."

"Don't cry."