Chapter 313: Deceived

Just as Gu Yang hung up the receiver, the lights suddenly went out, plunging the entire room into instant darkness where one could not see even their own hand in front of their face.

"A power outage, really?"

Gu Yang felt that Auntie Wang truly had a knack for divine foresight.

Fumbling around, he reached for the kerosene lamp sitting beside him.

A moment later, a faint glow flickered to life.

Though the light was weak, it was enough for Gu Yang to see his surroundings.

Since the power was out, he could only stop working.

It had indeed been a busy day, and only now did he realize he was famished.

He decided to clock out and find something to eat, but when he stepped out of the office carrying the kerosene lamp, he froze instantly.

The familiar publishing house had completely changed its appearance. Not only were the buildings and the courtyard gone, but it had instead turned into a dense and eerie forest.

Gu Yang's breath hitched, and goosebumps erupted all over his body.

At this moment, he even suspected whether he had lost his mind.

He turned to go back to the office, but behind him was nothing but emptiness; there was no trace of the room left.

Even for someone as bold as Gu Yang, encountering such a situation caused a sudden cold sweat to break out.

How could this be happening?

He stood rooted to the spot, unable to move forward or retreat.

The entire space was so silent that even the sound of his own breathing was clearly audible.

If he hadn't been holding a kerosene lamp, he feared he would have fallen even deeper into terror.

"Is anyone there?"

Forcing himself to calm down, he attempted to speak.

His voice was extremely strained due to tension.

Aside from a deathly silence, there was no response.

Having experienced the events of these past few days, he reached two conclusions after a brief moment of composure.

Either he had been brought into this eerie space by some kind of power, or he was currently dreaming.

Of course, if it was a dream, it must have been artificially induced.

He did not sit idly by waiting for death; instead, he mustered all his strength and began to walk.

What exactly was in here, and what was the purpose of the person who had plunged him into this predicament? He would have to walk forward to find out.

***

The Publishing House.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Su Yan had already opened the door.

Ma Chulong and Ma Chulan followed closely behind.

Looking at the tightly closed gates, the three of them walked forward in unison.

The door was not locked, so they pushed it open and entered directly.

However, inside and outside the courtyard, every single room was pitch black; clearly, no one was inside.

Su Yan ran straight toward Gu Yang's office.

The siblings followed close behind.

But then, the situation they feared most occurred.

The office was empty. Ma Chulong was the first to take out a fire striker, but before he could light it, Ma Chulan had already found the light switch.

With a *click*, the light from the filament illuminated the entire office.

If it were just a matter of no one being there, Su Yan might not have been overly worried, but at this moment, the telephone receiver on the desk had not been placed back properly; it had fallen onto the floor.

If nothing had happened to Gu Yang, such a situation would have been absolutely impossible.

Ma Chulong stepped forward quickly, picked up the receiver, and listened to the sound inside.

A few seconds later, he shook his head at Su Yan in disappointment; clearly, he had found nothing.

Su Yan's expression was as cold as ice.

Ma Chulan analyzed, "The gates were closed when we came in. Is it possible the person hasn't left yet?"

Ma Chulong made a quick decision. "Let's search separately."

The three of them took responsibility for three different directions.

The publishing house was neither large nor small, and the three of them moved quite rapidly; it took only about ten minutes to clear the entire area.

"Nothing," Ma Chulan said, looking at Su Yan uneasily.

Liu Yiyi moved too fast. Had she immediately launched an action against Gu Yang right after escaping?

"You guys..." Su Yan suddenly spoke, her low voice heavily suppressing her emotions, "Have you noticed that something about this place seems... different?"

Her words caused the siblings to snap to attention simultaneously.

"You discovered something, didn't you?" Ma Chulong immediately reached this conclusion, waiting urgently for her to continue.

Su Yan's eyes, hidden beneath the black cloth, fell upon the entire courtyard of the publishing house. She indeed had an indescribable feeling, one she didn't know how to put into words.

Something was wrong. It was definitely wrong!

"Even if Liu Yiyi truly hates Gu Yang and me that much, she has already been captured once. If you were her, would you take such a huge risk just for revenge?"

She suddenly changed the subject.

The siblings looked at each other, thinking seriously and gravely.

"Didn't you say before that Liu Yiyi needs Brother Gu's essence to maintain her youth?" Ma Chulan approached it from a woman's perspective; it wasn't impossible that someone would risk their life for beauty.

Su Yan countered, "But even if it wasn't Gu Yang, anyone else would suffice."

While Gu Yang was more precious than others, anyone with even a bit of sense should know how to weigh the pros and cons.

Ma Chulan fell silent.

Ma Chulong picked up the thread, "If it were me, I wouldn't. At least not under these circumstances. I would flee first, go far away, and only plan my next move once I was certain of my safety."

It was as if Su Yan had been waiting for this exact answer.

It seemed she wasn't the only one thinking this way.

"Could it be that Liu Yiyi didn't come to seek revenge on Brother Gu?"

Since both the eldest brother and Su Yan thought so, Ma Chulan naturally believed their analysis.

If that were the case, then Brother Gu was safe, which was for the best.

However, instead of relaxing, Su Yan's expression grew even more solemn.

That meant Liu Yiyi had a reason even more important—something more important than her own life.

She almost immediately determined that Liu Yiyi must be hiding something regarding Gu Yang. Recalling how she had used a talisman to interrogate Liu Yiyi, and how Liu Yiyi had confessed everything because she couldn't bear the pain, she hadn't expected that even she had been deceived by that woman.

At this thought, the energy within Su Yan's eyes suddenly surged and churned.

At this moment, even Ma Chulong and Ma Chulan could feel the hostility emanating from Su Yan; the atmospheric pressure around them rose abruptly.

"Su Yan, don't be anxious. The more it's like this, the calmer you must be. Let's go check Gu Yang's dormitory; maybe he has already gone back there?"

A fine layer of cold sweat broke out on Ma Chulong's forehead. For the first time, he felt an incredibly direct sense of terror coming from Su Yan; he had no choice but to try and soothe her emotions as quickly as possible.

As for Ma Chulan, she couldn't even speak. This terrifying sense of oppression was something even her father had never possessed.

Although she knew Su Yan was very powerful, she had never imagined she would be powerful to this extent.

Su Yan did not speak. Just as the three of them walked out of the publishing house gates, a car happened to pull up in front of them.

The arrivals were Du Jinsong, Zhang Ximing, and Tian Wei, who immediately got out of the car upon seeing Su Yan and the others.

The first thing Du Jinsong said was, "Have you seen Chief Editor Gu?"

He didn't even need Su Yan to answer; he could already find the answer in her grim expression.

"How did Liu Yiyi escape?" Su Yan asked, ignoring his question and interrogating him with a sharp tone.

(End of Chapter)