"Lin is dead."
Accompanying the trembling words was Lin unblinking corpse.
"Noooooo!"
The scream was swallowed by the endless wind and snow, disappearing into the black night sky.
It all traced back to one day prior.
…
An unknown cabin, PM 8:30, heavy snow.
"Sorry, I'm late."
The warm wooden door was pushed open from the inside, and a woman with wine-red hair wearing an apron appeared in the light, smiling gracefully, "Not at all, you're right on time."
Outside the door were a man with long black hair and a woman with long green hair.
Mobius raised an eyebrow and complained to Lin, poking his waist with her finger, "I told you to set off earlier, but this guy kept dragging his feet, honestly…"
Lin covered his head and sighed helplessly, but he didn't refute Mobius's comment.
"Heh heh… you two look even more in love after getting married." Eden chuckled, watching their interaction, her gaze lingering for a moment on the rings on their left ring fingers.
"Who's in love with him? He's annoying. If he hadn't suddenly proposed and I hadn't agreed without thinking…" Mobius stomped her foot resentfully. Lin smile grew even more helpless, but it was clear that neither of them had many complaints about the marriage, and Mobius was only feigning indignation, showing no sign of regret.
Lin asked Eden, "How many people have arrived?"
"Only Su hasn't arrived yet. It's a bit strange; Su usually comes early…"
Eden looked outside at the increasingly heavy snow with confusion and worry. Their monthly gatherings often encountered rain and snow in the winter. This year's snow was exceptionally heavy, threatening to turn into a blizzard. If Su didn't hurry, the journey might become dangerous.
"Did you call him?" Lin and Mobius entered the house, and he took off his snow-soaked jacket.
"Yes… but Su didn't answer."
"That's a bit of a problem…" Lin expression was also not good. "Let's wait a little longer. If Su still hasn't arrived, we'll go out and look for him."
As for calling the police?
This area was quite remote. It was a villa built on private land bought by Eden. Coupled with the blizzard, even the police would take a long time to find the place. Calling them was only an option in dire necessity.
Moreover…
Lin took out his phone and looked at the poor signal strength.
Caused by the blizzard, perhaps…
Entering the living room, they found their friends had all arrived.
A total of thirteen people, plus Su who hadn't arrived, made fourteen in total.
"Lin Brother, Sister Snake, you're here?" Pardo, bundled tightly in a mascot costume, lay on the floor and waved at Lin and Mobius.
Elysia, chewing on chips, smiled and waved, "Oh, look, it's Lin and Mobius! I thought you two were too busy being lovey-dovey at home to come out."
Everyone else also greeted them, mostly congratulating them on their marriage. Even Mobius, who had seen much of the world, was a little shy now, hiding behind Lin with a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Then the only one left is Su," Kevin, who was playing PS5 with Kalpas using the TV, put down the controller and said with a strange tone.
Lin noticed that Kevin's tone seemed a bit off. He had Mobius sit with Elysia and the others, then took the empty seat next to Kevin and asked, "Kevin, didn't you usually come with Su? Why are you here first today?"
"He said he had an emergency patient needing surgery today, so he'd be a little late and told me to go ahead. I wonder if the surgery went smoothly." Kevin said nonchalantly, "I called him two hours ago, and he said he was already on his way. He should have arrived by now."
Lin brows furrowed and then smoothed out, "Then let's wait a little longer."
With the arrival of Lin and Mobius, the atmosphere in the room gradually warmed up. Eden served some pre-prepared snacks and treats, and everyone sat together happily, talking about the events of the month, and importantly, teasing the newly married Mobius. However, Mobius, having recovered, retorted with a barrage of sarcastic remarks, leaving them unable to get the better of her.
But as the hour hand passed eleven, Lin grew uneasy.
Su still hadn't arrived.
"Does anyone have a signal on their phone? Try calling Su." Lin looked at the stunned crowd, and at his prompting, they too realized that something might have happened to Su.
They all took out their phones, but under the worsening blizzard, the signal was as weak as a candle in a storm.
"There's a landline phone inside," Eden was quick to react and immediately turned to walk towards the landline phone near the entrance of the main hall.
After everyone held their breath and waited for forty seconds, Eden turned back, her grim expression making everyone's heart sink.
"Kevin, Kalpas, and I will go out to search. Eden, call the police. Everyone else stay inside the house."
The three oldest men present immediately got up without hesitation. Kosma seemed to want to follow, but Kalpas yelled at him, "Kid, you stay here. Take good care of Griseo, understood?"
"I… alright." Kosma realized they needed a man here, so he sat down glumly.
"Put on your jackets and non-slip shoes. We'll search along the road first."
…
Lin and the others shone their flashlights, braving the heavy rain and snow in the terrible weather, searching the dark mountain road in a circle, but they couldn't find a single trace. The overly fierce natural weather covered up any human tracks. Even the tire marks left upon arrival had vanished.
What was worse, the blizzard showed no sign of stopping. In this situation, even if they called the police, they probably wouldn't be able to reach them.
They couldn't go any further. Continuing to walk might risk being blown off the cliff, and their fingers were already frozen stiff.
"Damn it! This cursed weather!" Kalpas was so angry he almost threw his flashlight away.
"Kalpas, keep your voice down," Kevin quickly stopped him from shouting in such weather.
"Curse it… If that guy Su got into a car accident and is waiting for us to save him now, then wouldn't it…"
At that moment, Lin silently squatted down. This action caught the attention of Kevin and Kalpas.
"What is this…"
Lin rummaged through the snow and found something.
A mobile phone.
"…If I remember correctly, this is Su's phone." Lin looked at the phone in his hand, its screen cracked from being dropped on the ground, and turned to look grimly at the two behind him.
Then, he looked down at the bottomless abyss at their feet.