Chapter 105: Searching

During the three days Yang Yi disappeared, the outside world was frantically searching for her.

The capital of Britain was already a wasteland, yet around the giant crater at the epicenter of the nuclear explosion, crowds clad in tightly sealed protective suits were gathered; surveillance equipment was installed on the distant broken walls and ruins.

June in London had already begun to heat up; sunlight shone upon this desolate, ruined wasteland. Everywhere one looked was scorched black earth, lifeless and gloomy, like the soil after the apocalypse.

Feng Liancheng had rushed over on the second day after the nuclear explosion. At this moment, while cooperating with experts to detect spatial fluctuations in the area, he coldly watched those people wandering through the ruins.

"Tell me, how many spies and agents sent by various countries are here, and how many are ordinary people who came voluntarily out of gratitude to search for Yang Yi?" Wei Chang'an asked with a sneer, glancing sideways at those people.

"Ninety-nine percent are people with ulterior motives," Feng Liancheng said. He typed a string of characters into the computer. "One could even say one hundred percent."

Everyone wore thick nuclear radiation protective suits; only the face masks were transparent. The temperature in London in June had already risen, and combined with the weight of the protective suits, ordinary people really could not endure for long. Having learned lessons from epidemic prevention not long ago, the Xia Nation had installed temperature control equipment in the protective suits, making preparations for long-term stationing.

These agents and spies from various countries endured the threat of nuclear radiation; their work was truly "diligent and responsible."

"People still alive in London are fleeing as fast as they can; where would they stay to help us search for Yang Yi?" Zhang Zhang Ningning also said. After witnessing the madness and collapse of the British people as the altar descended, she seemed to have grown up all at once.

"Professor Zhang, what are the detection results?" Director Zhou asked again. His tone was very weary, yet he had never lost hope.

Professor Zhang was a top expert in domestic spatial research, enjoying a renowned reputation worldwide. The fact that the state sent him this time was enough to show the organization's high regard for Yang Yi.

And the figures of agents and spies wandering all over the ruins were enough to show the attention various countries in the world paid to Yang Yi.

Professor Zhang sighed and helplessly shook his head: "The spatial fluctuations have not changed much."

The "Sky Altar Incident" shocked the whole world. If the Misty Town or Fire Demon S-class events only affected one city, merely causing various countries to list Yang Yi as a key focus of attention, then since Yang Yi saved a nation—the only person so far capable of destroying the mad rituals of the cultists—she had officially become the weapon that every nation on Earth wanted most, without exception.

Ignoring the opposition of the British military, the domestic side dispatched a thousand-person force, including the most well-trained special commando units and search teams, to search the ruins of the British capital for traces of Yang Yi. Currently, these thousand people carried small instruments, scattered throughout the capital, constantly monitoring and collecting information and abnormal fluctuations in their vicinity.

Feng Liancheng spoke in a low voice: "After the Sky Altar, the spies hidden domestically have almost gone mad. Spies have risked their lives to infiltrate the hotel Yang Yi stayed at, the house she rented, and even our Awakened dormitory, all just to obtain her DNA..."

"They can even conduct human experiments; cloning humans is naturally already within their plans," Wei Chang'an sneered.

Zhang Zhang Ningning was after all a girl, with a more delicate heart; she quickly said, "What about her family?"

Feng Liancheng shrugged. "When she was saving people on the beach, they were secretly protected."

Chen Chen Yushu frowned. "Then last time her family came to the capital..."

"We are protecting them secretly, not interfering with their freedom," Feng Liancheng said, then pouted. "With family like this, it is actually better to monitor them..."

Wei Chang'an and the others silently nodded.

They were talking about these miscellaneous trivial matters, just daring not to touch on the real question: Can Yang Yi return? Will she—will she be dead? Are all their current actions just futile efforts?...

As if immersing themselves in busyness could truly find her.

Just as everyone's mood was heavy, suddenly a shouting sound was heard from a distance. In this low-spirited atmosphere, this noise was particularly noticeable.

The Xia Nation's expert team and instruments were here; special forces surrounded a large area as a temporary stationing point, with guards at the entrances and exits. The noise came from the entrance guards.

Zhang Zhang Ningning's attention was drawn because she heard a voice she could never have imagined hearing here.

"Chris? He actually came here?" Zhang Zhang Ningning was extremely surprised and unconsciously shouted, quickly walking over there.

Feng Liancheng was also very surprised and followed.

A tall figure wearing the largest white protective suit was anxiously communicating with the guards. Whether he spoke Chinese or Arcanum, the guards strictly adhered to their duties, allowing no unrelated persons to enter.

He looked as if he was about to lose his sanity; if not for another person behind him holding him tightly, he might have charged in regardless of the gun in the guard's hand.

"Chris? Why are you here?"

Zhang Zhang Ningning had once thought that after seeing him, she would be too excited to speak. However, at this moment, her heart only beat slightly faster; a heavier worry pressed on her heart, and even the sudden appearance of the idol she had liked for eight years before her did not reduce it much.

"You know me? Perfect. Where is Yang Yi? Is there any news of her?" He was extremely delighted, grabbing Zhang Zhang Ningning like a person falling off a cliff grabbing a vine on the cliff wall.

His brown hair was wet; sweat kept flowing down. His face was completely wet, and he looked as if he had just been pulled out of water. His blue eyes stared unblinkingly at Zhang Zhang Ningning, ignoring the sweat flowing into his eyes.

He seemed trapped in a swamp, as if the words from Zhang Zhang Ningning's mouth were a branch reaching out to him.

Zhang Zhang Ningning was shocked by his appearance and was momentarily speechless.

She could not bear to speak that answer.

"We currently have no news of her," Feng Liancheng said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Please return first, Mr. Norton, and do not disturb our work. Rest assured, we are more anxious than anyone else to find her!"

Chris let go of Zhang Zhang Ningning and looked at Feng Liancheng with excitement: "Mr. Feng, you know me. You know our... our relationship. Please tell me news of Yang Yi... I will not leak it out, I swear! I swear to God! I swear to my mother! Please tell me, as long as I know she is safe and sound, I will leave immediately..." He had finally met someone he knew, so excited that he spoke incoherently.

Feng Liancheng was also shaken, yet he shook his head and said sarcastically, "Mr. Norton, look at all these people around you. How many spies and agents from other countries are hidden among them?" He pointed to the figures wandering around. "If we really had any news, it would not be hidden from anyone."

Chris's lips trembled a few times, and he despondently let go of his hand.

Feng Liancheng turned and left. Zhang Zhang Ningning hesitated for a moment, then also left following his footsteps.

John stepped forward and patted Chris's shoulder. "Come on, Chris, you cannot stay here forever. The nuclear radiation here is too dangerous! Moreover, your whereabouts will be exposed. Besides, I have already lied to your mother several times... Even if you don't care about anything else, you must think of your mother who is worried about you..." He racked his brains to persuade him to return.

Chris did not speak for a long while. When John pulled him again, he finally raised his head. John saw his gaze gradually become firm from behind the mask.

"I am going to find her! I will turn over the ruins of this city until there is news of her!"