Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Whereabouts Unknown

The other villagers quickly heard the commotion and hurried over.

By the time the village chief was alerted and ran over with others, the thatched cottage had already been burnt down to its frame.

“How, how could this happen?!” the village chief stood in place, nearly fainting from shock, “Quick, go put out the fire!”

Everyone scurried about in a hectic effort to extinguish the flames.

The cottage was situated a good distance from the water source, and it was quite difficult to fetch and carry the water.

It took a dozen people a fair amount of effort to finally put out the fire.

The village chief was also exhausted, but he still didn’t forget to grab a young man who had just run out of the fire scene and asked, “Where are the people? Did you see anyone?”

The young man shook his head, “No, I didn’t see a single soul.”

“How could this be?”

But before long, shouts from others came from the nearby woods.

“Village chief, we’ve found someone! Jiang Yan is here!”

At this, the village chief rushed over, and upon seeing Jiang Yan bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound, he nearly blacked out again.

“Quick, call an ambulance, notify the police too, hurry!”

Soon, the quiet little mountain village was filled with the sound of several police sirens.

However, because the village had lost both electricity and internet connectivity, it was still quite a struggle for them to get there.

Fortunately, the bullet didn’t hit any of Jiang Yan’s vital parts, and he had only fallen into a coma due to excessive blood loss.

On the other hand, Chen Xing, who had chased after them to the edge of a cliff, cursed in anger upon seeing the empty ledge.

“Damn it! Those two really had guts!”

After spitefully firing two shots down the cliff, Chen Xing turned around only to see a circle of armed police closing in.

“Drop your weapon!” came the shouted commands.

Chen Xing scoffed coldly in response.

“It seems I cannot escape my fate today.”

“But I’ve already taken my revenge; I have no regrets. You lot won’t get a damn thing from me!”

With those words, he pulled out a sharp knife from his chest and thrust it into his own throat.

…

At one in the morning, the police of the Southwest Region released a notice.

Southwest Police V: After diligent efforts, the previously fugitive poacher Chen has been successfully captured. Unfortunately, during the police operation, Chen committed suicide out of fear of his crimes. His accomplice has been sent to court for trial. During the operation, a total of one person was seriously injured, and two others are missing, with local police and villagers actively searching.

This poaching case had already garnered considerable social attention from the start, and now the new updates shot to the top of trending searches as soon as they were released.

[Good riddance, that fugitive is finally caught, got what he deserved, hunting so many protected animals secretly!]

[Hard work for the police comrades, and the injured people too. I also hope the remaining two missing individuals can be found safely.]

[Oh my god, to think that one person was injured and two went missing just to catch this guy. It’s tragic.]

[What the heck, are some people saying that the two missing individuals are Daniu and Jiang Li?!]

[???? Don’t believe or spread rumors. Until evidence is found, some of you really need to stop being ridiculous.]

But this comment still caught the attention of the majority of netizens, who flocked to Weibo to verify the claim.

At first, nearly everyone treated it as a joke by detractors, but as time ticked by, many began to sense something was amiss.

[Something’s not right, it’s already six in the morning, and there’s still no activity in the Shanbian Live Room?]

[Right, shouldn’t both Jiang Yan and Jiang Li have already been on a plane by now? Why isn’t there a live broadcast reporting on their itinerary?]

[Could that rumor be true? It’s too frightening.]

“Sisters, I have a bold guess, could it be that Chen wants revenge, so he made Zhao Lang and Jiang Li who exposed their crimes disappear…”

This speculation sent shivers down everyone’s spines and in no time, everyone flooded Flash Change’s official Weibo page, with the fans of Jiang Li and Jiang Yan also demanding an explanation.

How could two perfectly fine, live humans just vanish while shooting a variety show?

Shen Lan’s Weibo comment section was also overrun.

She was still in a meeting early in the morning when He Wen burst in with a laptop.

“Sister, it seems like something’s happened…”

Looking at the comments online, Shen Lan immediately called Jiang Lijiang and Jiang Yan.

Without exception, all of them showed as switched off.

It was then that she truly panicked and hastily dismissed the meeting to call Director Sun over.

Director Sun was in the same boat as her.

— They couldn’t reach anyone in Chixia Village.

Half an hour later, they received a call from the police.

“…Mr. Jiang is already being resuscitated in the hospital, but we still haven’t found Miss Jiang and Mr. Zhao. However, rest assured that we will do our utmost in the search and rescue to ensure their safety!”

Shen Lan felt somewhat dazed.

How could such a thing happen out of the blue…

Director Sun was also at a loss, “Mr. Shen, what do we do now? The posts online have blown up; if we don’t make a statement soon, they will probably come looking for us here.”

Shen Lan took a sip of water to steady her nerves.

“Don’t panic just yet, you go back and issue a notice first, don’t make it obvious to avoid unnecessary panic, I need to rush home right now.”

With such a huge incident, it was certain that her home was in utter chaos.

Director Sun, understanding the gravity of the situation, nodded and arranged for a car to take Shen Lan back home.

Before she reached the living room, Shen Lan heard intermittent sobs and instantly felt a tightness in her chest.

“How could such a thing have happened? How can someone just disappear all of a sudden?”

“Madam, don’t worry too much, not finding them might mean they are safe for now, given how smart the young miss is.”

“Alas, if something truly happens, how could I face Minghai…”

Shen Lan felt unwell and slowed her pace as she walked in.

“Sister-in-law…”

Lin Manru saw her and quickly wiped away her tears before approaching.

“Xiao Lan, why have you come back?”

Shen Lan moved her lips, “Sister-in-law, I already know about what happened in Chixia Village, I’m sorry… I was the one who arranged for them to go there, and now that this has happened, I take full responsibility.”

Lin Manru’s tears fell again, “How can you be blamed for this? The real blame lies with that criminal, so cold-hearted and cruel.”

Shen Lan supported her and led her to the sofa.

“Sister-in-law, don’t be too sad, given the situation, if you become so devastated that you end up in the hospital, what would happen to our family?”

“Yes, you’re right.” Lin Manru wiped her tears and tried to compose herself.

“So, what do you plan to do next?”

Shen Lan’s question undoubtedly hit the nail on the head, and Lin Manru quickly took hold of her hand, “I’m planning to rush to Chixia Village immediately, I’ve already booked the plane ticket, and my luggage is almost packed.”

Shen Lan pondered for a moment.

“Alright, I’ll go with you.”

“I want to go too!” A childish voice suddenly interjected.