"Back then, my dad must have been standing right here, looking in this direction. But how, exactly, did those people take him away?" Ye Chen pondered.

"The sky was quite dark at that time, and it was a rainy and overcast day, so under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for anyone to be around that area."

Looking ahead, all he could see was a vast expanse of seawater, with nothing of value in sight.

Ye Chen continued searching around, pacing forward to see if there was any temporary shelter or hiding place nearby.

As he approached the area, Ye Chen suddenly discovered a recessed cave underneath the glass curtain wall.

Ye Chen was momentarily stunned. The cave was incredibly inconspicuous at its current location, usually going unnoticed unless someone purposely went out of their way to find it.

"Yaru, take a look over there."

Talking as he went, he pointed in that direction, while Lin Yaru was lost in a whirlwind of memories about the past.

After hearing his suggestion, Lin Yaru turned and saw that there was indeed a cave entrance, through which one could pass, but what lay inside remained unknown.

"Why is there a cave here?"

"I'm not sure. Did you notice it back in the day?"

"No, because my dad always had me play around here, and even later on, he forbade me from coming near here. I never went over to that area, let alone knew there was a cave."

"Let's go. Let's take a look at the cave. Plus, judging by the cave's natural environment, I feel it definitely wasn't formed within the last decade or two. I reckon it has been here for a very long time."

They spoke as they moved towards the cave, and upon reaching its entrance, Ye Chen was certain he felt a draft of cold wind blowing through from inside. Peering in, the cave was pitch dark.

"There's no danger if we enter now, right?"

Lin Yaru asked, slightly worried. Ye Chen just nodded lightly. Truthfully, he had no idea if there were any dangers lurking inside the cave.

Even so, given that the cave is so close to the glass curtain wall above, any dangers would have likely been discovered by now.

"If it were truly dangerous, the cave would have been sealed off. I assume that this is simply a natural cave without any inherent dangers."

"You should be fine. Wait here at the entrance for me. Remember, do not leave without my permission. I will check if the environment inside is safe first before calling you to follow. Understood?"

"Okay, I get it. Be very careful, and remember, if you spot anything amiss, make sure to retreat immediately. After all, this isn't a place where we're supposed to stay for long."

"Alright, I understand. Don't worry, I'll be careful. Just wait here for a moment."

With that said, Ye Chen nodded and proceeded to enter the cave.

Fortunately, he had brought a powerful flashlight with him. Stepping inside, he found himself enveloped by darkness.

Then, he turned on the flashlight and shone it inside. From this point of view, the cave wasn't very big, with bare stone walls all around.

The ground was uneven with rugged rocks that made it very uncomfortable to walk on.

He continued forward and didn't have to walk far before realizing the path ahead was blocked. Touching the surface, he found that the way was completely sealed off.

Given the wear of the seawater, the cave would be highly damp if inhabited.

Looking around, the cave was just as benign as he had imagined.

"Alright, come on in."

Ye Chen called out loudly to the outside. Lin Yaru had been anxious all the while but relaxed at the sound of his voice and entered.

Once inside, Lin Yaru glanced around. From this vantage point, there didn't seem to be much of interest to attend to, although the rocks illuminated by the flashlight were wet from the dripping water.

"It seems to be just a rocky cave, with nothing on the ground worth noting."

"I think so too, which is why I feel there's nothing here worth investigating. By the way, when you realized he was missing, where did you start searching, and did you cover this area nearby?"

"After we discovered my father's disappearance, my grandfather was extremely anxious. He had a large number of people dispatched, and the entire dock was sealed off. After all, that dock was our property. But strangely, even after searching for 24 hours, even over two days and nights, we didn't find anything suspicious."

"So you're saying that the consensus was that it was impossible for him to have left this area, except perhaps through the water, is that right?"

"Exactly, which is why everyone believed he must have fallen into the sea. Only being swept away by the sea would mean we could find no trace of him."

"If that's the case, could there be a possibility that at that time, your father never left this area at all, but was hidden in this cave until you gave up your search, and then someone took him out from here? What do you say to that possibility?"

Ye Chen boldly put forth his hypothesis, and Lin Yaru suddenly froze before turning to look at him.

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