Sister Xiaoyu slowly stepped forward, unclasped the small photo locket from her neck, and gently placed it in Xiao Shu's hand. She smiled faintly at him and said, "I initially thought he was just momentarily missing, but after seeing everything that has happened around us, and your silence regarding his situation, I surmise he must have run into trouble."

Hearing this, Xiao Shu lowered his head and gently opened the photo locket. Inside lay a picture of Xiaoyu’s family. It was evident Xiaoyu was still very young then, held by her mother, while her sister leaned charmingly against their father—a picture of perfect domestic bliss. Yet, now they were scattered across the ends of the earth.

"If you find him, give him this locket. It has photos of our mother and father. The last time he spoke to me, he mentioned Mother was still alive, so Father is likely gone. But no matter what, our family will never truly separate. Even if Father is beneath the earth, he waits for us to reunite with him. We must live well, until Death takes us each away, so we can meet Father there." As she spoke, two streams of hot tears traced paths down the sister's cheeks. Though she didn't know the true extent of Xiaoyu's predicament, her intuition screamed that the most crucial thing right now was to let her younger brother feel the warmth of family; kinship was what truly mattered to him.

"Mhm, understood!" Xiao Shu nodded. Earlier, during his skirmish with the girl in black, his jacket had been slashed by her scythe. Upon returning to the shelter, Old He had found him a replacement coat. Now, he tucked the pendant deep into the inner pocket of the coat, placing it as close to his heart as possible. He lightly patted the fabric over it and smiled again at Xiaoyu's sister. He turned, stepped over the mounds of debris, and left the shelter heading in the direction of Qinxin Park. As he walked, he mulled over the events of the last two days, sifting through his memories for any thread that might lead back to Xiaoyu.

The first place worth investigating was the clinic. He had a strong premonition that he would encounter the person he longed for there; even staking out the location might yield results. But he didn't want to go there. Even if he met her, the outcome, he suspected, would be nothing but sorrow. It was just like that old saying: remembrance is better than reunion. Since circumstances had irrecoverably changed, it was better to forge ahead. Let the past remain the past.

The second place worth checking was the Gold Street. Greed always drew desperate people there, eager to sift through the rubble for discarded trinkets of silver and gold. The Corpse-Walkers, like the girl in black, were more inclined to strike lethally when others reached out their avaricious hands. This offered them a strange, shallow balm for their murderous acts, a seemingly justifiable reason for their violence. Xiao Shu had witnessed commoners being killed twice before, both times in environments teeming with robbers, thieves, and greedy small-time citizens—the Corpse-Walkers' favorite prey.

Lost in these thoughts, Xiao Shu found himself unconsciously standing on Gold Street. The pooled blood from recent slaughter still stained the ground, its color deepening from fresh crimson to a dull, oxidized black-red.

He found a shadowed corner and quietly melted into the darkness, settling in for a patient vigil, waiting for his target to appear.

Human avarice is endless. Despite the scavenger elder, the man with glasses, the woman in red, and the flat-topped youth having met their demise here only two or three hours prior—and their bodies having been cleared away less than half an hour ago—new treasure seekers were already treading the path of ruin, scrabbling through the mounds of wreckage for an unexpected prize. This time, Xiao Shu didn't wander aimlessly as he had before. Instead, he stayed hidden in the shadows, his eyes scanning every movement like those of a hawk.