“Roar! Roar!”

　　A deafening roar pierced through Ning Yuchen’s end of the phone.

　　Most would not have understood what the beast on the other end was saying, but Chen Xiaobei did.

　　It said, “What a lousy toy! It rang so suddenly it nearly scared me to death!”

　　“Who are you? Why do you have Ning Yuchen’s phone?” Chen Xiaobei asked in Zoolingualism.

　　In Northern Wilderness Starfield, mankind and beasts were mortal enemies. Whenever they would meet, it would be a battle till death.

　　One could only imagine the terrifying consequences when Ning Yuchen’s phone ended up in the hands of a Demonic Beast.

　　But Chen Xiaobei did not expect the beast to know what a phone is. It had probably accidentally pressed the receive button and did not put the phone next to its ears, thus the reason why it did not hear Chen Xiaobei’s question.

　　To make matters worse, the Demonic Beast was so freaked out by the ringing phone that it fell into a fit.

　　“Stupid toy! I’m going to stomp you to death!”

　　Bam!

　　Chen Xiaobei could hear the phone being hung up.

　　Clearly, the Demonic Beast had destroyed Ning Yuchen’s phone.

　　“Old Wang! I have to go! You can practice with A.I first, I’ll help you with the internet when I come back!” Chen Xiaobei instructed, and then rushed out of the secret space.

　　Chen Xiaobei then called Liu Chen.

　　“Zhufeng? Why… Why are you calling?” Liu Chen picked up the phone immediately. She sounded really upset.

　　Chen Xiaobei could imagine just how distraught and sallow she looked.

　　Something definitely happened.

　　“Did something happen to Bro Ning?” Chen Xiaobei asked.

　　“How did you know that?”

　　“That’s not important! Tell me! What happened? Quickly!” Chen Xiaobei urged.

　　“Three days ago, our team entered the Zachara Grand Canyon to investigate. The canyon had been pretty quiet for some time. But that very day, we were suddenly attacked by a group of Demonic Beasts!” Liu Chen sounded devastated. “Captain Ning… He wanted to protect me and Hu Ben, so he used himself as bait to draw the Demonic Beasts away. We have then lost contact with him for three days and three nights. He has not been picking up his phone.”

　　“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!” Chen Xiaobei nearly yelled into the earpiece.

　　Three days and three nights!

　　If Ning Yuchen had fallen into the hands of the Demonic Beasts, there would be nothing left of him by now.

　　“You are merely a green-horned zero-star Black-steel. What good would it be to tell you? I chose not to tell you as I didn’t want another person to suffer.” Liu Chen said.

　　“Don’t assume that zero-star Black-steels are not soldiers too. I am coming now! As long as there’s hope, I will find Bro Ning!”

　　Chen Xiaobei’s tone was firm.

　　“Don’t come here! There are Demonic Beast activities in the canyon again. What would happen if we lost you too… Sob sob sob…”

　　Liu Chen burst into tears.

　　“Hey… don’t cry, it’s not over yet. Have a little hope. Who knows, your hope might come true!” Chen Xiaobei said, as he stepped onto the Somersault Cloud, and steered it towards the Zachara Grand Canyon.

　　Zachara Grand Canyon, 2nd Regiment station.

　　Chen Xiaobei met Hu Ben and Liu Chen privately.

　　Hu Ben had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked very lethargic. He had not slept for three days.

　　Liu Chen’s eyes were swollen and red. She must have been crying a lot these three days.

　　“Tell me everything in detail!” Chen Xiaobei dove right into business.

　　Hu Ben pointed to the map he brought with him and said, “The other day while we out on duty, we met a horde of Demonic Beasts by this little lake. We split up with our captain at this point, about a few hundred meters west of the lake. After it happened, throughout these three days, the regiment had sent three times the number of our usual investigation team to search for captain; even Commanding Officer Hao Yue went on the search himself but they found nothing. Not a single trace. After so long, I’m afraid that captain is dead!”

　　Chen Xiaobei’s brows furrowed.

　　Liu Chen crinkled her nose as a large droplet of tear trickled down her cheek.

　　“Stop crying. We don’t know whether he is dead or not. Have some faith!” Chen Xiaobei said. “Go back to your camp! I will head to find Bro Ning now!”

　　“No way! Your cultivation is too low. Sending you into the canyon is no different from pushing you off a building,” Liu Chen sniffed.

　　Hu Ben shared the same sentiments and tried to advice Chen Xiaobei against it. “Zhufeng! I know that you see Captain like your brother! But everywhere in the canyon is a danger zone. Should anything happen to you, Captain will be devastated and so will we!”

　　“Don’t worry, I’m not as weak as you think I am.” Chen Xiaobei said, and then turned to leave.

　　“Stay put here!” Liu Chen went after him, but Hu Ben grabbed her by the arm.

　　“Liu Chen, don’t.” Hu Ban said.

　　“Why are you stopping me and not Zhufeng? Do you want to see him kill himself?” Liu Chen protested.

　　Hu Ben replied, “Zhufeng’s got a strong ego. The more you say he is weak, the more he’s gonna want to prove himself! The more you advice against it, the more he will go!”

　　“That’s exactly why I’m worried about him! So should I just hold back from advising him and watch him die?”

　　“You idiot. Have you forgotten that there are Northern Wilderness soldiers keeping guard at every entrance of the canyon? They won’t allow Zhufeng in!”

　　“Ahh… you’re right. I almost forgot!” Liu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. “Who knew that someone as stoned as you is quite attentive!”

　　“Without Captain around, I have to step up and protect this brother of ours. I won’t just step aside and watch him risk his life.” Hu Ben said, dismal.

　　“Mmm…” Liu Chen bit her lip, and began to tear up again.

　　Hu Ben and Liu Chen truly believed that Ning Yuchen was gone. There was no way he could ever be found, thus that was why they were so distraught.

　　On the other side of the canyon, Chen Xiaobei saw that there was a soldier guarding the entrance.

　　But their cultivations were not enough to stop Chen Xiaobei.

　　He sped past them; and all the soldiers could feel was a strong gush of wind. He was so agile that they could not even see his shadow.

　　Once he inside the canyon, Chen Xiaobei immediately headed to the spot where Ning Yuchen split up with his team.

　　Chen Xiaobei could not find any leads after searching everywhere thoroughly. He could not even find the smashed up phone.

　　“It looks like Bro Ning dropped his phone elsewhere. This canyon is huge. It’s going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Where should I start?”

　　Chen Xiaobei rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

　　It has been three days since Ning Yuchen went missing, and he was still not found.

　　It really was going to be a very difficult task.

　　Swoosh!

　　Suddenly, a white shadow appeared from among the thicket of trees and gushed towards Chen Xiaobei at lightning speed!