Chapter 201
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Chapter 201: The Disappearance Case in the Secret Room
As night fell, after half an afternoon of strength training, the five members of the Nian team finally returned to their lounge.
It was indeed time to rest, as both their bodies and Lin Qingliu’s spirit seemed to show signs of weariness.
Though the five individuals’ bodies appeared the same as ordinary people, they were essentially made of paper, and some parts had developed barely noticeable tears.
As for Lin Qingliu, after manipulating five identities and playing cyber-gym all afternoon, he could see weight plates whenever he closed his eyes.
However, for Lin Qingliu, rest was essential, but for the five paper figures…
It was time for them to "rest" too.
The expressions on Nian and the others’ faces became stiff, their bodies began to move mechanically, completely lacking the vitality typical of normal humans.
The five entered and exited, cleaning every trace in their team’s lounge, striving to restore it to a spotless condition.
An hour later, after tidying everything up, they removed the medals they had just earned that morning and placed them on the table, then stepped in neat formation into—
The shower room.
“Splash~”
The shower was turned on to its maximum, a thin white fog enveloping the bathroom.
The five men in jackets stood in place, seemingly enjoying the warm water cascading down.
On closer inspection, the jackets were continuously softening and fading, and they slowly transformed into slimy creatures crawling around as if after a hot, humid rain.
In the grayish mist, their bodies silently disintegrated into tiny paper fragments, mixing with the tinted dirty water that gradually flowed into the drain.
All sounds in the bathroom faded away, leaving only the sound of rushing water.
This remaining background noise completely ceased when a hand pressed on the shower switch.
The hand, appearing out of nowhere, emerged from the wall, turned off the shower, and then withdrew.
After that, a head peeked out from the wall, glancing at the disappearing water on the floor, nodding in satisfaction:
“Good, nothing has been left behind.”
Lin Qingliu walked out from the other side of the wall, confirming for the second time that nothing was amiss. He picked up two large stacks of books and vanished from the room.
At this moment, the sixth squad lounge looked bright and clean, with everything arranged so neatly that it seemed uninhabited.
The bathroom door was locked from the inside, and the lounge door was also locked.
This was the last puzzle left by Lin Qingliu—a case of disappearance in a secret room within a world of superpowers.
With the help of the Dimensional Shift and Leap abilities, two spatial powers Lin Qingliu particularly favored, he easily carried the two stacks of books back to his underground space, placing them with three others.
A family must be orderly.
An orderly drowning in an endless dream.
The time for Wang Xiao and the others to explore outside the city was drawing near; Lin Qingliu had to make something happen with these five scarecrows.
—
Meanwhile, a few blocks away, at the headquarters of the superpowered individuals, downstairs from the sixth lounge.
“Holy crap!”
Fresnel clutched a towel to cover himself and leaped out of the bathroom.
Half of his head was smeared with white shampoo foam, while the other half dripped with water from his tangled golden hair.
The three female team members in the lounge immediately averted their eyes, turning their gazes elsewhere, leaving only Wang Xiao, who watched helplessly as Fresnel’s towel threatened to slip.
“So, was there a ghost in the bathroom?”
“Worse than a ghost.”
“Oh?”
“The drains spewed out paper!”
Fresnel briefly explained the situation before realizing how indecent he must have looked.
He hurried back into the bathroom, stepping over the baffling mess of paper pulp to hastily put on some clothes.
Team 25 lingered outside the bathroom for a while, caught between suspicion and confusion…
Glancing at the clock, Fresnel wiped the water dripping from his head:
“It’s getting late. Let’s report this during training tomorrow morning.”
—
The next morning at ten o’clock, in the training grounds.
“No one showed up?”
“No, none of the sixth squad came.”
The lead coach in charge of special training for superpowered individuals felt the scars on his face twitch at the corners of his mouth.
Beneath his icy, intimidating expression, the man couldn’t help but feel puzzled:
“Though they are unprecedented returnees, they shouldn’t be this careless.
“From the looks of it, they probably overindulged; I don’t know where they got the alcohol…
“I hope they can pull themselves together soon and not waste their talents and reputation.”
With that thought, he turned to the somewhat timid statistician:
“It might be a hangover; try knocking again in three hours.”
“Understood.”
Three hours later, the statistician heading to the sixth squad’s lounge encountered another middle-aged man at the door, looking visibly anxious.
The middle-aged man stood hunched over, exuding a subservient air to anyone he met.
His face was etched with distress as he dabbed at the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve.
“Who are you?”
“I’m an aide to Councilman Bordeaux… here to… find Mr. Vine.”
Hearing this, the statistician suddenly understood.
Though Vine’s identity wasn’t widely publicized, it wasn’t exactly a secret either.
Superpowered individuals were rare, but council members were even rarer.
Only the top five superhero teams might have the chance to meet a council member.
As for someone wanting to meet them at any time, that privilege likely belonged only to the five members of the first team.
“Is there no response from inside?”
“No.”
Though the statistician frowned slightly, he felt unqualified to criticize the five heroes given his position.
In the end, he suppressed his dissatisfaction and asked the anxious middle-aged man:
“How long have you been knocking?”
The middle-aged man glanced at his watch and replied:
“Two hours.”
“…Unbelievable.”
The statistician was at a loss for words. He approached the lounge door and knocked harder, while the middle-aged man added his knocks in rhythm beside him.
Their knocking grew in intensity, soon turning into a percussive symphony that echoed down the corridor.
After ten minutes passed, the statistician’s anxiety deepened.
He instructed the middle-aged man to wait while he turned to report the situation up the chain.
The five members of the Nian team, as the first batch of returnees, were among the most important individuals in Hope City, second only to the council members and a few irreplaceable superpowered individuals.
As soon as their absence was noted that morning, the chief instructor had reported the situation.
Quickly, the ongoing training was halted.
Twenty-five superpowered individuals stood ready, completely blocking the corridor.
Soon, the chief instructor and a pale-faced young man walked side by side, both wearing serious expressions.
