Lost in the Otherworld

White Rabbit wiped her hands clean with a damp tissue, picked up the barbecue fork, and continued grilling the meat for everyone. "Let me make one thing clear first. Although the Gujia Village you visited has boundaries around it, it's not an 'island.' It’s one of the smaller spaces in the underground area beneath Leaving City."

"What’s the difference?" Gaoyang asked.

"The biggest difference is that islands can only be reached via 'official channels,' such as highways, airplanes, or high-speed trains. However, small spaces can be accessed without using official channels. For instance, in our organization, Tengu is an Awakened with spatial abilities. He can temporarily cut through space and take us into the underground Gujia Village."

"I see," Gaoyang thought for a moment and asked, "Why are there two Gujia Villages? One above ground and another hidden below?"

"Good question." White Rabbit gave him a thumbs-up. "Too bad I don't know either."

"..."

"Let’s start from the beginning. Three years ago, our organization obtained the first Rune Circuit—Life. It was the fourth rune discovered by the Awakened so far. It was found in an underground space, quite similar to the current Gujia Village."

"Last spring," White Rabbit glanced at Wu Dahai, casting him a rare look of approval, "I had just used a beauty trap to recruit Wu Dahai into the organization..."

"Aha, you admitted it!" Wu Dahai threw down his chopsticks, "Deceiving an innocent young man like me, don't you feel guilty?"

"Stop interrupting." White Rabbit was unfazed. "At that time, Wu Dahai mentioned the massacre in Gujia Village to me. He suspected it might be related to a Rune Circuit. I did some research, and sure enough, the incident was bizarre. A family of five was slaughtered, and afterward, the entire village disappeared."

"We sent people to investigate the ruins of Gujia Village. Just like you, we were attacked by the Hair Monster and taken to the underground village. But our team was stronger than yours, and the Hair Monster wasn’t a match for us. We drove it away and stayed in the underground Gujia Village for two days. We discovered all the information you did, but the Hair Monster never showed up again."

White Rabbit glanced at Wu Dahai. "We went back a few more times after that, but it was the same. The Hair Monster was cunning, knowing it couldn’t mess with us, so it refused to come out. We’re fairly certain that the Hair Monster is a mutated creature, transformed after devouring the Rune Circuit."

"So, you used us?" Officer Huang smiled bitterly.

"Exactly, it's hard to find the right candidates." White Rabbit winked. "First, these individuals had to be Awakened, but they couldn’t belong to any other organization. We couldn’t trust them otherwise. Ideally, they would be freelancers, completely unaware of the existence of Rune Circuits."

"Freelancers are what we call wild Awakened who aren’t part of any organization," Wu Dahai added.

White Rabbit continued, "These Awakened couldn’t be too strong, or the Hair Monster wouldn’t show itself. But they couldn’t be too weak either, or they’d get killed by the Hair Monster, or worse, the Hair Monster might sense it’s a trap and refuse to take the bait. Finally, there’s one crucial factor..."

White Rabbit gently stroked Qingling’s long, silky black hair. "The target must have a gorgeous head of black hair. The Hair Monster has a strong fixation on that, increasing the chances it’ll take the bait."

"So, you chose the three of us," Officer Huang raised an eyebrow.

"YES!" White Rabbit grinned. "You’re freelancers, strong enough to be perfect bait, and completely unaware of the Rune Circuit’s existence."

"Such a big scam," Officer Huang grumbled.

"Let’s give credit to Wu Dahai!" White Rabbit gave Wu Dahai a thumbs-up again. "He was worried about you, so he insisted you bring more backup. If it weren't for Pang Jun and Wang Zikai, the outcome might have been very different."

"Wicked woman!" Officer Huang gave White Rabbit a respectful look. "I’ll be keeping my distance from you in the future."

"Haha, I only trick outsiders, never my teammates." White Rabbit offered Officer Huang a slice of roasted potato. "We’re teammates now, so take care of me."

"Let’s get back to Gujia Village," Gaoyang urged.

"Alright." White Rabbit nodded. "Based on the information I have, the Gujia Village situation isn’t too complicated. Simply put, years ago, Huazi’s wife—the bride who married into the village—was devoured by a Parasite."