The news of Mu Linjing's disappearance nearly sent Zhan Yichen tumbling into the sea behind him. He gripped Fang Xun's shoulder. "Say that again. Who's missing?"
Fang Xun looked troubled. "Miss Mu is gone. Madam said she went to look for Miss Mu, but found no one at her home, nor at the company. There's no record of her clocking in this morning."
Zhan Yichen hadn't gone to the company today, and Zhan Mohan wasn't paying attention to such details. Both of them had only just learned that Mu Linjing hadn't gone to work at all today.
On one side, Wen Yulan was suspected of falling into the sea, and on the other, Mu Linjing was missing. This put Zhan Yichen in a dilemma. Which one should he prioritize? In the face of life and death, how could there be distinctions between importance and urgency?
Seeing his conflicted expression, Zhan Mohan pulled him further inside the boat. "Fang Xun, take him back and help him look for Miss Mu. I'll lead the search and rescue team here."
Since he couldn't make a decision, he'd push him. In his current state, he wouldn't be able to help here anyway. It was better to have Fang Xun take him back. As for finding Mu Linjing, he probably couldn't rely on Zhan Yichen for that either.
Zhan Yichen knew he was just wasting his time here, so he prepared to leave with Fang Xun.
Logically speaking, this was his biological mother, yet he was leaving first for Zhan Mohan to help search. He seemed rather heartless. But in the current situation, he couldn't spare a thought for what others might think of him. Anyway, he believed Zhan Mohan wouldn't stand by and do nothing, nor would he use this as an excuse for personal revenge.
Just as he stepped onto the boat to return, a team member suddenly shouted, "Mr. Zhan, we've found someone."
Immediately, a crowd gathered. Zhan Yichen hurried back. What they had retrieved was a bodyguard who had been protecting Wen Yulan.
The accident hadn't happened long ago. Although the person had drowned, their features were still recognizable. These were all reliable men personally chosen by Zhan Yichen, and he recognized each one of them.
If one was found, there would be a second. He immediately ordered his men to continue searching in the area where the person had been found, searching deeper.
As expected, within this area, they found the bodies of several bodyguards, all drowned.
Zhan Yichen looked again and again, his eyes bloodshot. "Keep searching! Keep looking! See if there are any more! All of you, go into the water and search!"
He didn't know what he was still hoping for. Was it hoping that no one would be found, so he could fantasize about survivors? Or was it hoping to find something that would calm his anxious heart that had been flustered all day?
The team members looked troubled, hesitating to speak. Zhan Yichen didn't understand and urged them to keep searching.
At this point, only Zhan Mohan dared to speak up. "Yichen, calm down. We've searched this sea area many times. We've gone as deep as we possibly could."
"Then change the equipment and dive deeper!"
Seeing that he had lost his mind, Zhan Mohan had to bring him back to reality. "The water pressure at greater depths is too much even for machines. If someone truly fell to that level, there would be no possibility of survival!"
After hearing this, Zhan Yichen couldn't hold back any longer. He covered his face and cried.
His body convulsed as he lay on the ground, his voice pleading, "Then search again, search again, maybe you can still find someone."
There was nothing Zhan Mohan could do. He could only say to the team members, "Everyone, work hard. Go down one more time and search carefully. We will reward you handsomely when we return."
The search and rescue operation had been going on for a long time, and the team members were exhausted. If Zhan Mohan hadn't spoken, they absolutely wouldn't have agreed, because there was truly nothing left in the depths of the sea.
Of course, when they came up again, they still found nothing. At this point, Zhan Yichen stopped making a fuss and sat quietly on the boat.
With no other findings, they had to pack up and return. Zhan Yichen sat on the ground, ashen-faced, gazing intently at the sea, just as he had when he sent off Wen Yulan that morning.
Seeing this, Zhan Mohan walked up to him and pulled him up forcefully. When the boat docked, he said directly, "Don't forget, Mu Linjing is still missing."
His words immediately reminded Zhan Yichen. That's right, Mu Linjing hadn't been found yet.
After the boat docked, he hurried off and met up with Wei Yumeng.
While they were searching at sea, Wei Yumeng had been investigating herself after discovering Mu Linjing was missing.
"Sister-in-law, have you found anything?"
He arrived in front of Wei Yumeng, panting. Wei Yumeng's eyes were also red. "I haven't found anything yet. I only know she didn't come to the company this morning, but she was at home last night. This means she disappeared somewhere between home and work.
After she said this, Zhan Yichen immediately thought of going to the traffic bureau to retrieve surveillance footage. Wei Yumeng stopped him.
"I already thought of that, but I've checked the surveillance footage and found nothing. Besides, Linjing took a bus to work today, and there are several sections where the cameras can't see."
This was the real reason that troubled Wei Yumeng. She held up four pictures on her laptop and began to analyze them.
"The last picture is of the bus stop near the company. It didn't capture Linjing getting off, so she might have gotten off in those unmonitored sections in the middle. But why would she get off somewhere else?"
In the morning, time was not that ample. Mu Linjing should have taken the bus directly to the stop closest to the company. But why did she get off midway?
This was something Wei Yumeng couldn't figure out. However, looking at Zhan Yichen's current state, the two of them analyzing together wouldn't yield any results.
Fortunately, after Zhan Mohan finished handling the arrangements for the search and rescue team and the drowned bodyguards, he rushed over. After listening to Wei Yumeng's analysis, he decided to investigate the unmonitored road sections.
Zhan Yichen, due to his poor condition, couldn't help at all.
Fortunately, after the persistence of Zhan Mohan and Wei Yumeng, they compared the surveillance footage from the entire route one by one and finally determined the location of Mu Linjing's disappearance.
But it was strange. This place wasn't particularly remote or sparsely populated. She just disappeared, and no one reported it.
Regardless of the reason, they decided to go to that location first, hoping to find some clues.
On the way, Wei Yumeng was at a loss, sighing continuously, her frequency so high that Zhan Mohan couldn't even insert a word of comfort.
Thinking, she suddenly asked, "If someone abducted her, what would they be after?"