A Manual for Surviving a Weird World

Chapter 403 Emergency Contacts
Ning Zhe frequently switched between the identities of Van Dyke and Yu Ziqian, gathering information through different channels, and the results he obtained were surprisingly consistent:
"Lan Shiwen has disappeared. No one knows where he went. The Yundu authorities are also trying to find out where he is."

...the investigation even extended to Ning Zhe himself.

"So this is an Ascended Being with the ability to return from death? Even more slippery than I imagined." Ning Zhe turned off his phone. Lan Shiwen's disappearance was actually a good thing for him. If he couldn't find Lan Shiwen, it meant that Fenwu probably couldn't find him either.

“…But just waiting like this isn’t a solution; we have to do something.” Ning Zhe stood up, picked up his coat, and put it on. “Auntie, come with me.”

"Okay." Feng Yushu quickly followed in his footsteps: "What are we going to do?"

No matter what I do, I feel at ease as long as I'm with him.

"Let's go find out where Lan Shiwen is hiding." Ning Zhe turned the doorknob and walked out of the room.

In a guest room on the first floor of the consulate, Bai Zhi and Plumeria sat side by side on the bed, curiously looking at Yin Lishang, who was lying unconscious on the bed.

"Poor child." Bai Zhi looked at the IV needles inserted into the little girl's body and the gauze on her face after the necrotic tissue was removed, and felt a deep empathy for her, after all, her own health was not very good either.

"It's just a human skin shed by a ghost, what's there to pity about..." Plumeria's eyes were cold. After Ning Zhe's explanation, she already knew about the existence of the ghost fetus. Whether it was Yin Lishang on the bed or Bai Zhi under the bed, they were nothing more than vengeful ghosts wearing human skin.

“Um… Miss Promelia, right? May I call you that?” Bai Zhi suddenly turned her head and asked in her still somewhat broken European language.

“You can speak Chinese, I understand you,” Plumeria replied in equally broken Chinese.

“That’s wonderful.” Bai Zhi smiled happily. “Miss Promelia, I have a question for you.”

"You said."

"Hmm... let me organize my thoughts." Bai Zhi frowned as if in thought, her gaze sweeping over Plumeria as she carefully considered her words before speaking:

“When you first appeared outside the quarantine zone of Yanglao Village, after you had just gotten off that strange old man’s boat, I was very afraid of you.”

"Afraid of me?" Plumeria frowned, somewhat puzzled. Did she look that scary?

“It’s not that I’m afraid of you, it’s more like I’m afraid of something about you, or some kind of ghost—after all, you’re an Ascended One.” Bai Zhi shook her head and said, “I felt a familiar aura about you, so familiar that it was terrifying. So the first time I saw you, I was so scared that I couldn’t even speak.”

A thought struck Plumeria, and she roughly guessed what Bai Zhi was afraid of.

“But later, after you came out of the quarantine zone in Yanglao Village with Ning Zhe, that familiar feeling disappeared. Even when you and I were sitting in the same car, I wasn’t scared anymore.” Bai Zhi said, her curious gaze fixed on the girl’s fair and smooth face, as delicate as a peeled boiled egg.

“I want to know what exactly happened? Did you leave something in the quarantine area?” Bai Zhi asked.

"No comment." Plumeria glanced at her coldly; she had nothing to say to a ghost.

"Oh..." Bai Zhi looked regretful and lowered her head dejectedly.

As they were talking, Ning Zhe arrived at the foot of a high-end residential building in the new city of Yundu. Feng Yushu followed closely behind him, somewhat reserved, and the two entered the elevator together.

"Lan Shiwen lives in a place like this?" Looking at the constantly changing floor numbers on the elevator, Feng Yushu said with some surprise, "Given his status, I thought he would live in a luxury villa or a private island."

“Xiao Lan isn’t that kind of person. He likes being around people, he likes to mingle with ordinary people, and he lives a simple, ordinary life,” Ning Zhe said casually. “It makes him feel alive.” A strange quirk, but understandable.

With a ding, the elevator arrived. The two stepped out of the elevator one after the other and entered the corridor. Ning Zhe, familiar with the way, arrived at a simple brown wooden door and gently rang the doorbell.

After a while, the door opened.

Appearing behind the door was a young girl with her hair in a bun, wearing loose loungewear, and with dark circles under her eyes from staying up all night. She was Lan Shiwen's girlfriend, An Xiaoyu.

"...Are you here to see Shiwen too?" An Xiaoyu asked calmly. It seemed that quite a few people had come to her lately asking her questions.

"You guessed right, but unfortunately there's no reward." Ning Zhe shrugged, looking completely nonchalant. "Judging from your expression, are we going to have to leave empty-handed?"

Since the Yunzhou officials couldn't get any answers, Ning Zhe figured he probably wouldn't be able to find anything out either.

“…Since you’re already here, why don’t you come in and have a cup of tea?” An Xiaoyu sighed, opened the door fully, and gestured for them to enter.

Ning Zhe naturally wouldn't refuse, and he and Feng Yushu changed their shoes and entered the room one after the other.

An Xiaoyu poured a cup of tea for both of them and said wearily, "Let me briefly tell you what happened when Shiwen last met me before he left. I think you'll want to hear it."

It seems quite a few people have come today. Ning Zhe picked up his teacup and took a sip: "I'd like to hear the details."

"The last time I saw Shiwen was this morning. I was doing practice problems at home when he suddenly came home and said he had something to tell me..."

An Xiaoyu's tone was calm, clearly indicating that this wasn't the first time she'd said this, and it sounded almost like she was reciting a memorized script: "Shiwen said he'd be leaving for a while and told me to be prepared to live alone for a period of time. If anyone comes looking for news about him, just answer truthfully and don't overthink it. Also, if you encounter any trouble, you can call this number..."

As she spoke, An Xiaoyu pointed to a memo posted on the wall next to her, on which was written a phone number.

Ning Zhe glanced at it and chuckled: "This is my number."

To be precise, it's Yu Ziqian's number.

"Yours?" An Xiaoyu was a little surprised: "Call me and let me see."

Ning Zhe immediately did as instructed. An Xiaoyu looked at the caller ID on the screen and finally confirmed that he was telling the truth. She became even more puzzled: "So even you don't know where Shiwen went? He clearly told me to call you when I was in trouble?"

"Of course I don't know, I'm afraid no one in the whole world knows." Ning Zhe shrugged helplessly.

Just then, a crisp doorbell rang from the entrance hall.

"Someone's here again..." An Xiaoyu sighed, got up and hurriedly ran to the door, peeking out through the peephole.

Ning Zhe and Feng Yushu were still sitting at the dining table when suddenly a scream came from the doorway.

"Ghost!"

(End of this chapter)