54: Chapter 54 A Confused Future

"Xiao Yan! I'm back! Let's hurry and find Hu Wang to discuss an escape plan; it seems you've been targeted by the Mayor!"

Qian Mo pushed open the door and hurriedly spoke into the house.

He had returned via the "one-on-one" express line, not letting any of the Mayor's people drive him.

Because he left in such a rush, he had even forgotten to turn on his phone.

It wasn't until he was almost at his doorstep that he remembered.

But to his surprise, as his voice faded, the familiar response did not ring out as it usually did.

His white wolf didn't peek her head out from the sofa to glance at him as she usually did, nor did she continue to doze off with a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.

There were no signs of a struggle inside, and the entire house was deathly silent.

"Xiao Yan? Xiao Yan? Are you asleep?"

Qian Mo could feel that he was the only one breathing in the room, but deep down, he still held onto a glimmer of hope.

Maybe she was just sleeping too soundly...

Pushing open the bedroom door, Qian Mo looked at the empty room, his heart sinking.

The wrinkles on Xing Yaoyan's small bed were traces of her sleeping, which indicated that she must have left suddenly.

"Beep beep~"

His phone, which he had just turned on, suddenly vibrated.

Qian Mo took a look; the caller was Xiao Meng.

"Hello."

"Qian Mo! What happened over there? Where is Little Xiao Yan? I've called her several times and couldn't get through, and when I called you, it said your phone was off!"

"Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai, don't be anxious..."

The voices of Xiao Meng and Hu Wang came from the other end of the line.

"I... I can't find her either..."

Qian Mo's voice trembled; he was trying his hardest to force himself to calm down.

He didn't ask why Xing Yaoyan had a phone, nor did he ask why Hu Wang called her Little Xiao Yan.

He only wanted to know one thing—why she had left him.

"..."

After hearing his words, the other end of the line went instantly quiet.

After a long silence.

"What happened on your end?"

Hu Wang's steady voice rang out.

"I received a message from the Mayor yesterday..."

Qian Mo recounted everything he had just experienced in minute detail.

"Hmm... Is it possible that the Mayor was the one behind this..."

As a Reincarnation fox demon, based on his experience, he immediately pointed the finger of suspicion at the highly suspicious Mayor.

"But he clearly promised me that if I gave Xiao Yan to him, he would give me a few more days to say goodbye..."

"Is it possible he was just misleading you..."

"But he is, after all, the Mayor; his word is law..."

"Qian Mo! How did you suddenly become so naive!"

Hearing the young man's naive statement, Hu Wang roared in frustration.

"Think about it yourself; if the Mayor really wanted to commend you personally, why didn't he invite Yun Lan and Xiao Meng along too, instead of just inviting you alone!"

"Thud!"

Hu Wang's words instantly caused a massive uproar in Qian Mo's heart.

"Right... that's right! It must be him... it must be him!!!"

A thick Killing Intent permeated his entire body.

Qian Mo wished he could go back immediately, hold a blade to Leng You's neck again, and force him to return the family member he cared about so deeply.

"Calm down, Qian Mo! This is just a guess; you can't jump to conclusions yet!"

"Besides, even if you rush over there, not to mention whether you can even win with your current strength as a Tier 1 Esper, even if you could, how can you ensure Xing Yaoyan's safety?"

Qian Mo's agitated heart gradually calmed down under Hu Wang's cool analysis.

He took a deep breath.

It was shameful to say, but in his past life, he was known as a "killing machine," yet now he lost his composure whenever it concerned Xing Yaoyan.

"Ensure her safety... That's right! I still have the System!"

Qian Mo slapped his forehead.

He remembered that he could actually use the System to check Xiao Yan's status.

If she was unconscious, seriously injured, or weak, he could basically determine that it was the Mayor's doing. Furthermore, he might even be able to pinpoint her location directly through the System!

Thinking of this, Qian Mo hurriedly summoned the System.

"System, can you see Xiao Yan's current status?"

[Ding! The host cannot view information about characters unrelated to them.]

"Unrelated? System, what do you mean? Isn't she my family?!"

[Ding! That was in the past, Host. Now, you have no relationship with her whatsoever.]

"What!"

Qian Mo hurriedly brought up his personal attribute panel and scrolled down to the "Spirit Pet" section.

The name "Xing Yaoyan" had quietly vanished, leaving behind a pale "None."

[Ding! Hint: If a Spirit Pet dies, it will display "Deceased" after the name. The current situation indicates that the Spirit Pet no longer recognizes the Host. Your identities have now become "Strangers."]

"Strangers? Why!"

"Qian Mo, what are you saying? What strangers?" Hu Wang's puzzled voice rang out.

The young man was clearly so shocked by the System's words that he had forgotten he was still on the phone, accidentally blurting out his inner thoughts.

"Why! Why? Why..."

Qian Mo felt his heart being severely wrenched.

"Hello? Hello? Qian Mo! What's wrong?! Calm down, calm down, there must still be a way!"

Hu Wang knew Qian Mo's current state all too well; the despair in his self-talk was exactly like his own from before.

But back then, he had Xing Yaoyan and Qian Mo to help him through the crisis, so what about Qian Mo now...

On the other end of the phone, only the young man's hollow, whispered muttering remained; it seemed he couldn't hear anything else now.

"Qian Mo! Just wait at home; Xiao Meng and I are coming over right away..."

"Beep beep~"

The call ended.

Qian Mo stared at the phone in front of him with dull eyes, his thumb resting powerlessly on the screen.

He recalled his meeting with Xing Yaoyan, and remembered every little detail of their life together.

Scenes of the past flashed rapidly through his mind, finally freezing on the moment they had promised to climb to the peak together.

He still remembered Xing Yaoyan at that time, eyes slightly narrowed, head held high. Although she had an arrogant look, the smile that inadvertently appeared at the corner of her mouth revealed her true feelings at the time: She genuinely hoped that he could walk side-by-side with her into the future.

In his past life, he was a ruthless blade for the organization, a person who didn't care about the future at all.

From beginning to end, the only time he experienced intense emotional fluctuations was right before he died, when he killed the only person who had ever cared for him.

Now that he had been Rebirth into this world and had undergone Fusion with the original owner's memories, he possessed the seven emotions and six desires of a normal person, experiencing feelings he had never felt in his past life.

Coupled with the assistance of the Golden Finger that was the System, he had originally thought he could continue on so smoothly.

Taking out the people he disliked, making all sorts of interesting friends, and... keeping her by his side forever.

'Xing Yaoyan' was also her name in Qian Mo's past life; it was originally just a warning to himself, but now he understood: He had long since been living in the present. The white wolf was not a substitute he used to compensate for the guilt he felt towards her in his past life; she was simply herself, the first family member in the true sense of the word in this world...

But... she had left now...

Qian Mo was a person who valued results.

Regardless of the process he didn't understand in between, he only knew that his relationship with Xing Yaoyan was now merely that of strangers...

Thinking of this, the young man leaned against the wall and slumped down powerlessly.

He felt infinitely lost about the future...