Joshua stared intently at himself. Perhaps only in dreams would he not be afraid of scenes like this.

But just then, "he" suddenly turned his head and looked at him.

"Are you sick too?" Joshua heard him ask.

Joshua stared blankly at himself and instinctively shook his head. But before he could speak, he saw himself run toward him, his hood slipping back. In an instant, everything around them abruptly vanished, the space turning into light that wrapped around them—there were only the two of them left.

Joshua saw him smile faintly. "Lying. Your body is covered in injuries. Don’t worry—my ability hurts a little, but it heals very quickly."

As he spoke, he reached out. Joshua blinked in a daze and instinctively raised his own hand as well. But before their hands could touch, a violent gust suddenly swept Joshua away. He only felt everything before his eyes plunge into darkness in an instant, his whole body becoming so heavy that he couldn’t move at all.

After a long while, he was finally able to open his eyes. However, everything before him was still somewhat blurred and indistinct.

Soon after, his ears began to catch sounds as well. The first thing that reached him was the sound of a heart monitor beside him. In the next instant, the beeping suddenly grew shrill, as if warning of something. The stark white ceiling in his vision made Joshua’s pupils tremble uncontrollably.

He wanted to run, but he couldn’t. His body had no strength at all. He couldn’t even move a single finger. All he could do was stare wide-eyed as tears streamed down endlessly. The sound grew more and more piercing, followed by hurried footsteps, but Joshua could barely perceive anything anymore.

Given Joshua’s condition, the doctors could only quickly administer a dose of sedatives. It was only after some time that his heart rate returned to an acceptable range, though it was still somewhat unstable.

The doctor could only say, "This can’t go on. It would be best to remove the patient from the environment that triggers his fear. In addition, the family should seek psychological consultation and treatment."

"He won’t say anything at all." Luther gently brushed back Joshua’s hair, wiped away the tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes, and said softly.

Hearing this, the doctor couldn’t say anything more. This kind of issue required the patient’s cooperation. If the patient was unwilling, there truly was no way to force it—sometimes doing so would only make things worse.

Joshua didn’t want to speak. That must mean it was a secret. Louis couldn’t help recalling Joshua mentioning another world, a world where they were also Joshua’s family. Had something happened there?

Just then, the door to the hospital room was suddenly knocked on. Everyone looked over and saw a young man with a rather disreputable appearance standing there. Louis couldn’t help becoming a little wary, but Henry spoke up, "Nine."

So he was someone they knew?

Nine ignored everyone else and simply walked forward, saying, "I’m here to take Joshua home."

Louis frowned. "Who are you to—"

Before he could finish, Nine said, "I’m Joshua’s guardian and also his emergency contact. Is there a problem?"

Louis instinctively looked toward Henry, only to see Henry nod.

At that moment, Luther’s phone suddenly rang. Seeing the number flashing on the screen, he frowned, but still stepped aside to take the call. He returned very quickly, his expression far from pleasant.

He walked over, kissed Joshua on the forehead, then left in a hurry, saying, "Make sure you take good care of him. I’ll be back soon!"

The series of actions was smooth and natural, without the slightest hesitation.

It wasn’t until Luther had disappeared from sight that Louis finally reacted. "What the hell was that kid just doing?!"

Nine, his expression also unpleasant, rubbed Joshua’s forehead.

The chaos had already begun—it was just that it was still hidden beneath the undercurrents.

Nine successfully brought Joshua back to the castle, yet his heart was still uneasy about the crack that had managed to evade him.

Clearly, it was just a little short...

He gently wiped Joshua’s hands with a warm towel, his gaze icy. Clearly, they were just a little bit away from freedom—so where exactly was that thing hiding?

Meanwhile, Luther rushed back home for one reason only: the last heir of the Vermillion family had finally gone missing, and that position had now fallen squarely onto his head. Given the current situation, it was very possible that the next person to disappear would be him. That was why he had been urgently summoned back this time—to put preventive measures in place. Moreover, he had heard that a special department would be sent down from above.

Who knew what kind of damn department it was. If those people were really that capable, things wouldn’t have reached the point where there was still no clue at all.

Luther returned home in a foul mood. The others usually found his attitude irritating, but now no one said anything—every single one of them looked extremely grave.

"Luther, sit down. Guests will be arriving soon."

Amid a sea of beautiful women, Luther was almost the only man present. It was because he had earned his aunt’s trust. All the official heirs were already dead, and now that position had landed on him. If he didn’t die, there would inevitably be a lot of rumors.

But anyone with a brain knew that Luther, who had been drifting around outside as an idol, really didn’t have the mindset to fight over things like this.

He said nothing and simply sat there in silence, looking noticeably more composed than usual.

"I only have ten minutes. If that so-called department doesn’t show up within ten minutes, I’m leaving." The moment he spoke, that air of composure almost instantly vanished.

"This is a matter of life and death, Luther. How can you talk like that?" his aunt said.

This time, Luther could only fall silent.

However, it didn’t take long for those people to arrive. They truly hadn’t been kept waiting.

A group of people dressed head to toe in black—agent-style outfits—fully equipped, as if they weren’t stepping into the Vermillion family estate but into the heart of some battlefield.

They put forward a request to speak with Luther alone.

The Vermillion household was already in a state that couldn’t get any worse. The others had no choice but to agree.

In an instant, the vast hall was left with only Luther and that group of people.

One of them, who looked like the team leader, sat down across from Luther and spoke directly. "Hello. You can call me S. I’m from a special task force that specializes in investigating supernatural incidents..."

Luther raised a hand. "Never heard of this organization. And what you mean is... supernatural incidents?"

S nodded. "You haven’t heard of us because we’re not allowed to appear publicly. This organization is secret. But this time, we suspect that the series of disappearances is related to supernatural events that have run through human history."

After a brief pause, S continued, "Every day, many people in this world go missing without reason. In fact, we’ve found the source of these disappearances. They’re cracks believed to lead to other worlds. From there emerge many strange creatures—creatures you might see in movies. People usually call them zombies."

Luther still found it hard to believe. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "And you stop them?"

S shook his head. "No. Fortunately, we’re not alone. We discovered that whenever such cracks are exposed, another source of energy fills the gap." He slid an image forward. All that could be seen were faint, indistinct streaks of light. "If any zombies accidentally escape from a crack, they’ll be quickly eliminated. Even so, we don’t dare let our guard down. We’ve been monitoring places where cracks might appear, in case of the worst-case scenario."

As he spoke, he lifted his gaze to meet Luther’s. "And right now, that worst-case scenario is unfolding. We suspect that a crack is hidden within the Vermillion family."

"A hidden crack within the Vermillion family? So that’s why people have been disappearing one after another? But why the Vermillions? I don’t see anything special about this place compared to anywhere else," Luther couldn’t help saying.

S nodded. "In truth, we haven’t been able to detect any crack at all. It’s just that the unusually high number of disappearances led us to draw that conclusion for the time being. For now, the Vermillion estate will be temporarily sealed off, and we also hope you can cooperate with us."

Luther frowned. "Cooperate?"

"That’s right."

In the end, Luther’s way of cooperating was to carry a tracking device on his person, while continuing his activities outside as usual.

However, S clearly explained everything only to Luther. To the others, the reason given was rather vague. But with things having reached this point, all they could do was leave temporarily and accept full protection from the professional military forces.