Late at night.

A tiny figure wandered back and forth across the road.

The little girl, Ellie, was hauling a backpack way too huge for her, step by step making her way toward the most upscale villa district in the capital.

At the gate, a few security guards were on duty. Ellie strutted right up to them.

“Hehehe, you guys can’t see me, huh? Bleh bleh bleh…” As she skipped past them, her chubby cheeks puffed up while she made a bunch of goofy faces in their direction.

But the guards just stared straight ahead, completely oblivious to the tiny ghost darting around in front of them.

After playing around for a bit, Ellie quickly got bored. She pouted and wandered deeper into the complex.

“C’mon Ellie, you got this! Let’s go!” She muttered to herself, trying to stay pumped up.

But the backpack on her shoulders kept slipping—it was seriously too heavy.

Frustrated, she plopped it down and stood there, hands on her hips, catching her breath.

She stopped and started like this all the way until she reached her destination—the fanciest, most ridiculously expensive villa in the whole community.

After setting her bag down again, she smoothed out her clothes, put on her brightest, sweetest smile, and knocked on the giant, imposing front door.

Inside the villa’s living room.

James Thompson sat on the couch, while his secretary stood respectfully in front of him, giving a report.

“Mr. Thompson, our team tracked down that Miss Ellie was trafficked to City K three years ago, but we still haven’t pinpointed exactly where.”

James rubbed his temples, exhaustion written all over his face.

“You’ve done well. Go home and rest,” he waved tiredly, dismissing his secretary.

Staring at the photo of his bedridden wife on the wall, his gaze turned heavy. Ever since Ellie vanished, she’s barely gotten out of bed. Lately, things have only gotten worse.

He took a deep breath, voice low and hoarse, almost talking to himself. “Sweetheart, we’ve searched three whole years… where are you, baby girl…”

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock…

As the secretary walked to the door, suddenly remembering something else to report, he paused mid-step.

Just then, he heard a faint and rhythmical knocking sound.

It was so soft that if he hadn’t been standing right there, he probably would’ve missed it.

“Who’d be knocking this late? The doorbell’s right there,” he muttered, already annoyed, and opened the door without thinking much.

Nobody was there.

He frowned, assuming he imagined it, and closed the door again.

Outside, the tiny Ellie: "???"

d

ŐдŐ๑

！！！

Before she even had a chance to step inside, the door slammed shut right in her face.

Totally not giving up, she went back to knocking furiously.

She banged so hard her hand started to hurt, but finally, someone came to open the door again.

Once more, the secretary opened it… and again, saw absolutely nothing.Mishearing once is understandable, but twice in a row? That’s just not adding up. Especially for someone like Secretary Li—he’s only 27 and proud of his sharp hearing.

Thing is, it's already past midnight. Li was so spooked, his face went pale, neck shrunk in like a turtle, and he bolted on the spot.

He was still muttering as he ran: "Buddha, Laozi, Guanyin, Monkey King—please, all you deities, help me out! Ghosts and ghouls, get lost!"

Little Ellie stared blankly as that older guy took off at full speed, chanting like a monk. Then she smacked her forehead. Ugh! Right, I totally forgot I was still in stealth mode. No wonder he didn’t see me!

She glanced back—oh wow. Props to that guy, though—scared out of his wits but still managed to shut the door behind him. Respect.

The doorbell? Yeah, she knew it existed. Problem is... she’s way too tiny to reach the dang thing. No matter how much she jumped, she couldn’t touch it.

Talk about frustrating!

Ellie was exhausted, absolutely beat. But she still lifted her chubby little hand, ready to knock for the third time.

"Hey, you! Who are you?" boomed a voice from behind, just as she raised her fist. A blinding flashlight beam hit her square in the face.

In seconds, she was scooped up like a plush toy and whisked off to the security room. Of course, the giant backpack trailing behind her came along for the ride.

The security office was bright and bustling. A few guards formed a circle around a chair, on which sat the adorable, pink-cheeked Ellie.

Her arms were full of snacks. She had a strawberry lollipop in her mouth and a fistful of sunflower seeds in her hands, munching away like a pro.

The lollipop didn’t slow her down a bit—she chatted up a storm while cracking seeds with lightning speed.

"You’re saying you’re here to find your family?"

"You mean the Thompsons?"

"Kiddo, did some adult put you up to this? The Thompsons really did lose a daughter, yeah. But over the past three years? I’ve seen hundreds of folks drag kids here pretending to be long-lost relatives."

"But sending someone as tiny as you all by yourself? That’s a first. And I gotta say, you’re the absolute cutest I’ve seen."

As one of them talked, he slipped her another bag of tomato-flavored chips.

"No lie! My name’s Ellie Thompson. I’m being totally straight here—scout’s honor!"

Pouting, Ellie puffed out her cheeks and hopped off the chair. She slung her chunky backpack over, huffed, and squatted down, digging around like she was on a treasure hunt.

The guards all leaned in, curious about what this tiny creature could possibly be rummaging for.

"Found it! Found it!"

She stood back up after a minute, brandishing a wrinkled sketch paper with triumphant pride.

"I met this nice lady who paints on the street earlier today, and I asked her for a blank sheet. Then I drew my daddy and mommy on it!"

The guards all crowded in close to get a better look...

And what they saw next was...