580: How is the event in Chapter 575 going?

"Do you have her personal contact information?"

Teacher Wang paused for a moment, seemingly looking through his address book.

"Yes, yes, let me check... Ah, found it. Li Jing's number is 139xxxxxxxx. Give her a call and try; maybe the signal is bad in the park and she didn't see the WeChat message."

"Thank you."

Shen Yan hung up the phone and immediately entered the number, dialing it.

What came through the receiver was the cold, automated female voice.

"Hello, the number you have dialed is switched off."

Things were starting to feel wrong.

A mother separated from her child during a parent-child activity, and her phone was off.

This was not normal.

Youyou and Anqi were still quietly sharing a strawberry cake, completely unaware of the adults' world.

Shen Yan stood up and walked to the side.

He did not choose to call the police.

Without concrete information, rashly reporting it would only cause unnecessary panic and might even affect the park's normal operation.

He had his own way of handling things.

He opened his phone's contact list and found a name.

Chen Guangke.

The call was answered instantly.

"Brother Yan! How is it? Was the parent-child activity smooth? Are you thinking I should airdrop a perfect score trophy over to you?"

Chen Guangke's voice carried his usual teasing tone.

Shen Yan ignored his joke, his tone as calm as still water.

"Guang Ke, do me a favor."

"I am at Cuifeng Mountain Forest Park."

Chen Guangke immediately dropped his playful demeanor.

He knew that when Shen Yan spoke in this tone, it meant the matter was serious.

"Tell me, Brother Yan."

"Hack into the security surveillance system of Cuifeng Mountain Forest Park."

Shen Yan's words made Chen Guangke gasp audibly on the other end of the line.

"Hack the park surveillance? Brother Yan, what is this... have you triggered another hidden quest?"

"A child's mother is missing, and her phone is off."

"Name: Li Jing. Around thirty years old, long hair, wearing a white dress. Last seen location should be near the restrooms at the West Gate entrance, about half an hour ago."

Shen Yan spoke slowly, but every word carried an undeniable sense of command.

"I need you to find her location immediately."

"Understood! Give me five minutes!"

Chen Guangke didn't waste any more time with pleasantries and started working immediately.

This was the tacit understanding between them.

Shen Yan hung up and dialed another number.

"Tian Dun Security Center?"

A sharp and capable voice answered.

"Boss."

"Dispatch a small team, six people, plainclothes. Get to all the entrances and exits of Cuifeng Mountain Forest Park immediately."

"The target is a woman named Li Jing. I will send you her photo and information right away."

"Remember, do not alert any tourists or the park management. Proceed quietly."

"Yes!"

Two phone calls, taking barely a minute.

An invisible net had silently spread out, centered on this oak grove.

This was Shen Yan's style of operation.

Inactive, he was still; once he moved, it was like a thunderclap.

He walked back to the picnic blanket and crouched down again.

"Anqi."

He looked at the little girl.

"Think carefully again. Before your mother went to the restroom, did she say anything else?"

"Or, did she mention where she planned to go next?"

His voice held a guiding power, urging Anqi to try hard to recall.

The little girl tilted her head, tapping her chin with her finger.

"Mom said..."

"She said she saw a shop selling pinwheels at the entrance."

"She said I forgot my little pinwheel at home, and she would buy me one after she went to the restroom."

A key clue emerged.

The small shop at the West Gate entrance.

The park map in Shen Yan's mind instantly became clear.

The restroom and the small shop were in two slightly different directions.

If a mother was in a hurry to buy a toy for her child, it was possible she took the wrong path at a fork.

Just as he was about to move with the two children, his phone vibrated.

It was Chen Guangke.

"Brother Yan, found her!"

"West Gate Entrance surveillance camera number two caught the target twenty-two minutes ago."

"She did go to the small shop and bought a rainbow pinwheel."

Chen Guangke's voice held a trace of excitement.

"And then? Where did she go?" Shen Yan pressed.

"The trouble is right here," Chen Guangke's tone grew serious, "After buying the item, she seemed to ask a park staff member for directions... and then... she walked out of the camera's range."

"The angle of that camera was tricky; it only shows her walking in the direction of the small path to the south."

"I checked the park map; that path leads to Lover's Lake, a place where very few families with parent-child activities go."

Shen Yan's gaze shifted to the 'Lover's Lake' area marked on the map.

The woods there were dense, with numerous branching paths, making it very easy for someone unfamiliar with the area to get lost.

He put away his phone, having made a decision.

He could not wait any longer.

He quickly packed up the items in the picnic basket, his movements efficient.

"Youyou, Anqi, we have a new mission."

He looked at the two small faces, his tone relaxed, as if announcing a fun game.

"Mission codename: Find the Pinwheel Fairy."

"Now, we are going out to find the mother who bought Anqi a beautiful pinwheel."

"Okay!" Youyou immediately responded, taking Anqi's hand.

Shen Yan took one small girl in each hand and strode towards the small southern path Chen Guangke had mentioned.

His steps were steady.

Even in an unfamiliar forest, he was like the most experienced hunter.

Just as they turned onto that secluded path, a figure came stumbling out from around the corner in the woods ahead.

It was a woman wearing a white dress.

Her hair was somewhat messy, her face covered in anxiety and sweat, but in her hand, she tightly clutched a rainbow pinwheel spinning in the wind.

"Anqi!"

The woman's voice was choked with tears, full of the ecstasy of finding what was lost.

Anqi suddenly looked up.

"Mom!"

She let go of Shen Yan's hand and, like a little bird, threw herself into the woman's embrace.

Mother and daughter held each other tightly, Li Jing's shoulders trembling slightly from the relief of surviving a disaster.

Shen Yan watched the scene without speaking.

The matter was resolved.

He took Youyou's hand and prepared to leave the small grove.

His mission was only to accompany his daughter for the parent-child activity.

"Sir, please wait!"

An urgent voice called from behind.

Li Jing let go of her daughter and quickly caught up, blocking Shen Yan's path.

Tear tracks still marked her cheeks, and her breathing was unsteady, but her eyes were filled with sincere gratitude.

"Just now... thank you so much for earlier."

"My name is Li Jing, and this is my daughter, Anqi."

She pulled Anqi's hand and introduced them formally.

"If it weren't for you, I really don't know what I would have done..."

Shen Yan's expression didn't change much.

"It was nothing."