"So you can't contact him at all?" Alice asked Ryder, talking about Shu.

"I can't. It's like he has gone underground. It's either that, or he is avoiding me," Ryder replied. This also gave him a thought. Could it be that his number was blocked? That could be why his calls weren't getting connected. 

Even though it was an unlikely case, he still needed to make sure.

Just to make sure that this wasn't true, he told Alice to call herself. "Can you try calling from your phone? Maybe it's a problem with my number."

"Alright." Alice nodded her head, intending to try.

Shu was like a brother to her. She was also concerned about him and wished to help in any way or shape she could.

She dialed Shu's number.

After a moment of silence, she also shook her head lightly. "It's not getting connected. His number is out of reach."

"Just where the heck did he go. He said it was going to be a one-day thing, but it's been way longer. Not only did he not go back home, but he isn't available to contact either," 

He took a deep breath and tried to calm his mind, which was filled with bad thoughts about what could be happening.

Even after trying, he wasn't able to calm down. The negative thoughts were only increasing in his head. Could it be that something happened to Shu?

With so much in his head, he couldn't relax.

"Alice, I think I need to go to his headquarters myself and check things out. I can't calm down without knowing what is happening."

"Right. His safety is more important. Let me come with you," Alice chimed in.

"There's no need for that. I'm only going to talk to those people. I should be enough for that. As for you, how about you travel this place without me for now?" Ryder replied, rejecting her offer.

"How can I do it alone. It's not important. I only wanted to come here with you. We can come again next time when we are sure that brother Shu is safe. If you don't want to take me with you, that's fine as well. I can just wait in the hotel," Alice refused to stay behind as well.

"You don't have to do that. Just see all the rides, so you know which are better ones. Next time we come, you can show me around as well. Also, you paid for both of us. Don't waste money," Ryder let out as he chuckled. He patted her head.

"Don't worry. He must have gone to some other meeting that low-ranking receptionists don't know about. That place must not have a good reception. It's nothing serious..don't stress yourself and see this place to its fullest," He comforted her as he played things down.

"Go on all the rides and send me pics. If I saw you being lazy, I wouldn't come here with you next time," he let out.

"But..."

"No buts! I don't want to hear any excuses," Ryder let out as he saw Alice trying to refuse.

"Now I'm bailing out. Have fun. Call me if you face any problems. I'll be right here! Bye now."

He finished hastily before he ran away, not giving her the chance to give an excuse. 

"Sigh, he is always like that," Alice muttered as she watched Ryder run away. She wanted to leave as well, but his words echoed in her head. If she left without spending the day here, he was going to be annoyed. He would never come back here with her then. She couldn't go back if she wished to come here with him.

She breathed in a mouthful of breath before she breathed out with a sigh. She turned back and started walking inside the facility.

Ryder stepped out of the place and booked a cab that was supposed to take him to the headquarters of the Dream Corporation, which was also in this city, along with the headquarters of many other top organizations.

The headquarters of the Dream Corporation was in a block of the city which was called the Dream Park, named after the Dream Corporation.

Dream Corporation owned three multistorey buildings in the Dream Park. The rest of the area contained other assets like trees and recreational spaces where the employees could relax. There were many restaurants that were allowed to operate in the Dream Park as well. 

The cab stopped in front of one such restaurant. Ryder stepped out of the cab and paid the driver. 

Ryder stood on the street and saw three tall buildings in front of him. He wondered which building he was supposed to enter. He knew these three were owned by Dream Corporation, but where actually did the higher-ups stay?

All three of these probably had an incharge, but he decided to enter the building, which seemed to be the tallest in this area. 

He climbed the stairs of the building to reach the entrance. As soon as he reached there, the door opened automatically. 

He stepped inside and the building and walked over to the receptionist.

"Excuse me."

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"I am your Schumacher Maxwell's friend. He had told me to come here to meet your executives for an important deal. Are they here?" Ryder asked. 

"What is your name? Do you have an appointment?" The Receptionist inquired. 

"Did your heads don't tell you? How about you contact them? Tell them Mr. Flynn is here. They must be upstairs, right?" Ryder let out, casually. 

"Yeah. They are in a meeting. Were you supposed to be in that meeting as well? I was not informed about it," the receptionist asked.

She was aware of a meeting that was taking place upstairs. Ryder's excuse coincidentally matched the situation, making her believe that it was possible. She still needed to make sure before having him escorted there.

" Do one thing. Is Alem in the meeting? Call him and tell him that I'm here to talk. He will handle the rest," Ryder replied as he named Alem.

Alem was none other than the Non Executive Director of the Defence Technology Branch of Dream Corporation. He was overall fifth in the dream corporation in terms of a hierarchy of authority.

Excluding Shu, there were three more people more influential than him. He was the closest to Shu, though. Ryder had met him before and also taken his help. He believed that the guy would certainly be willing to talk to him.

"Ah, he is in the meeting. I am sorry, but I really can't disturb them in meetings. I can only do that if you give me any concrete proof that you were supposed to attend that meeting as well. Since I wasn't given any other instructions, I can't help you more," the receptionist shook her head as she started typing something in her computer to check something.

After some time, she shook her head. "As expected, your name isn't here. I'm sorry, but you must wait until the meeting is over. You can't attend. I can try something if you can get someone in higher-ups to contact me to verify what you're saying."

"It's better for you to wait, in my opinion. The meeting would be over in a few minutes anyway," she continued right when Ryder was about to try something.

"Fine. Contact Alem after the meeting is over. I can at least talk to him," Ryder let out as he rolled his eyes. He walked back and sat on the guest sofa.

If anyone could answer him about where Shu was, it was Alem. The only problem was that he didn't have Alem's number, but that problem was solved as well since Alem was here and he could be contacted through the desk. 

Ryder sat on the sofa like a king as he started waiting for the girl to inform him that she had contacted Alem.

He kept observing her, trying to see when she would call and when the meeting got over. 

It was after ten minutes that he finally saw her pick up the landline and call someone.

She said a few things before she nodded her head. She put the phone down.

"Mr. Flynn!" She called out to Ryder.

Ryder stood up and approached the girl.

"Alem, Sir recognized you. He told me to bring you to him. Just wait for a few seconds. I'll arrange for someone to take you to him," the girl told Ryder before she called another number. A servant soon came to them.

"Follow him. He will take you to Alem, Sir," the girl said to Ryder. 

Ryder followed the servant, who took him inside a lift. The lift stopped on the thirty-fifth floor where Alem's office was.

"This is his room," the servant informed Ryder before he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

A voice came from inside.

"Sir, I brought Mr. Flynn."

"Oh, good. The door is open. Send him in."

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