Chapter 442: The Gods |
In the archives of the Weird Investigation Bureau, there exists the following record:
At 6:00 PM on the evening of May 10, 2014, a group of climbers filed a report with the Shangri-La Public Security Bureau. They claimed to have spotted a suspicious man and woman at the mountain's summit. The couple had seemingly appeared out of thin air at the highest peak of the snow mountain, as no one had seen them during the ascent. They carried no climbing gear and were dressed in attire suitable for late spring or early summer.
The guide mentioned that the couple might be connected to local legends of snow demons. The Shangri-La Public Security Bureau, staffed mostly by locals, took the guide's report very seriously and immediately forwarded it to the higher-ups at the Weird Investigation Bureau.
When the Weird Investigation Bureau's helicopter reached the summit, they found only a woman in shock from hypothermia. Her face was faintly recognizable as Chu Yining, a player confirmed to have died during the Twilight of the Gods event in the Sunset Ruins. While unconscious, the woman repeatedly mentioned names such as "Qi Si," "Fu Jue," and "Xiao Fengchao."
Of these names, "Fu Jue" had already inherited the resources of "Lin Jue" and joined the upper echelons of the Weird Investigation Bureau. "Xiao Fengchao" was a former peripheral member of the Ark Guild and was currently organizing the establishment of the Listening Wind Guild. "Qi Si's" identity remained unknown at the time, and Fu Jue advocated for adding him to a strictly monitored database for future observation.
After Chu Yining regained consciousness, she repeatedly demanded to speak with Fu Jue. Surveillance footage shows her speaking rapidly, conveying a large amount of information. Unfortunately, none of her words could be recognized or understood. Analysis concluded that the Weird Game's information-blocking mechanism was in effect. The information she provided likely pertained to the very foundation of the game; if deciphered, it could solve everything. Regrettably, with the Bureau's existing technology, it was impossible to extract any meaningful data.
Subsequent psychological evaluation revealed that Chu Yining's corruption level had surged to over 30% in a short period, classifying her as "Dangerous." In August of the same year, Fu Jue approved her transfer to the fifth sub-level of the Beidu Weird Investigation Bureau for containment.
On July 11, 2025, Xiao Fengchao, now the leader of the Listening Wind Guild, went missing after entering an instance. On May 10 of the following year, another climber reported seeing a crazed man at the summit who demanded that he contact an organization called the "Weird Investigation Bureau."
Upon receiving the news, Fu Jue personally led a team of investigators to the Shangri-La snow mountain, where he identified the man as Xiao Fengchao, who had been missing for nearly a year. Xiao Fengchao exhibited the same symptoms as Chu Yining, desperately trying to convey information to Fu Jue, but his words were completely indecipherable.
After returning to the real world, Fu Jue made no public statement on the matter. It wasn't until a decade later, when the secrets of that day were revealed, that it became known Fu Jue had received his first prophecy from the Babylon Tower: "Beware of a person named Qi Si, born in 2014."
...
May 11, 2035. Beidu.
In the days following the end of the Final Instance, in this region far from Jiang City, the supernatural frenzy that had raged uncontrollably finally subsided. The occasional ghosts and urban legends that tried to stir up trouble were swiftly suppressed by experienced investigators. The situation was gradually brought under control, casualties dropped sharply, and some departments had already begun post-war recovery efforts.
Beidu looked as if a colossal excavator had plowed through it from one end to the other. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but the pulverized rubble of courtyard homes and the skeletal remains of collapsed skyscrapers. Buildings that once scraped the sky were now just twisted steel frames, with mountains of fractured concrete and shattered glass blocking the once-wide streets.
The dead that had crawled from the earth had retreated, leaving behind massive fissures that snaked across the city's fabric like hideous scars. A thick, acrid stench of decay filled the air. Uncollected limbs and body parts, left to decompose in the less-than-cool temperatures, underwent chemical reactions, and freshly formed pus trickled across the ground.
The setting sun, red as blood, weakly painted the shattered city skyline, casting the shadow of an old locust tree hung with corpses.
Standing for centuries, the locust tree had witnessed countless changes, loves, and grievances. Tens of thousands of heartbroken men and women had ended their lives on its branches, their resentment coalescing into a spiritual entity. Now, as the city expanded, unfamiliar avenues replaced the old alleyways, and one by one, the old trees were cut down. It watched this, felt a kinship with the fallen, and thrashed its branches in fury.
It hated the humans who had hanged themselves from it, forcing it to gain sentience, heavy with their resentment. It hated the construction crews who had felled its brethren and now dared to try and cut it down. It hated everything, and it would use the power of the Weird Game to punish this city that had forgotten its past...
"Keep up! Over here! Didn't expect this tree to become a problem too, causing trouble at a time like this." A middle-aged investigator, jogging over with a backpack full of various artifacts, pulled a paper talisman from his pocket and slapped it onto the trunk. Instantly, the locust tree fell deathly still, becoming indistinguishable from any ordinary tree.
The middle-aged investigator turned to the younger one beside him. "Later," he said, "get some people to cut this tree down and transport it back to the Bureau for containment."
The young investigator nodded in acknowledgment, and the older one hurried off to the next location.
Soon, clerks from the Urban Planning Bureau were called in to handle the tree. These people had just survived a cataclysm that had completely upended their worldview. Still reeling from the shock, they were suddenly filled with awe for the mysterious Weird Investigation Bureau, believing its agents to be masters of arcane arts who could save their lives in a crisis. Their respect for the investigators bordered on excessive as they deftly bundled the tree with hemp ropes and loaded it onto a truck.
The section chief in charge looked the old locust tree up and down—it was so thick it would take three people to encircle it—and turned to the investigator with a beaming smile. "Are you cutting this tree down to make peach-wood swords? I've heard you people are incredibly skilled. One wave of a peach-wood sword, and all the demons and ghosts run away."
"We're not Taoist priests, so we wouldn't know how to use a peach-wood sword even if we had one," the investigator explained wearily, glancing at the now docile locust tree. "And this tree can't be used for lumber. It's a sentient supernatural entity. Our captain just subdued it half an hour ago..."
The clerks: "..."
Everyone immediately recoiled. The few men who had carried the tree looked horrified, unsure whether to stay or flee. They could only watch as the investigator got into the passenger seat and gave some instructions to the driver. Only after the truck's exhaust fumes vanished down the road did they look at each other and begin to whisper amongst themselves.
"Should we go to a temple to pray and wash away the bad luck? At the very least, we should get some exorcism talismans..."
"Useless! My cousin told me the Buddhist temples and Taoist monasteries near him are all haunted. At night, the statues of Buddha and the Three Pure Ones open their eyes and smile at people..."
"Exactly! It'd be better to just go sit by the entrance of the Weird Investigation Bureau. Maybe we can absorb some of their protective aura so the supernatural stuff won't dare come near us."
Scenes like this were playing out all over the city. The existence of the Weird Investigation Bureau was now public knowledge. After a week of terror, the survivors clung to it like a lifeline, using their rudimentary understanding of gods and demons to explain the sudden appearance of this new department. Most people lacked any firm religious convictions; their simple pragmatism allowed them to believe in both Buddhism and Taoism simultaneously, and now it allowed them to believe the Bureau could save them. Moreover, unlike those religions, the Bureau had the official backing of the Federation, which undoubtedly cloaked it in an extra layer of authority.
Ordinarily, citizens might complain about or question the Federation, but in a crisis like this, no one believed such a behemoth would risk its public credibility on a joke.
The investigator sat in the truck, enduring the driver's barrage of questions. In the course of their conversation, the driver expressed his hope of sending his wife and children to the Weird Investigation Bureau for shelter.
The investigator had to expend considerable energy explaining that the Bureau was not a shelter. On the contrary, because its fifth sub-level contained a massive number of supernatural entities, it was actually more dangerous than the outside world. They were stationed there only out of a sense of duty.
The driver was clearly unconvinced. The investigator talked until he was blue in the face, but to little effect. Eventually, he ran out of things to say.
Over the past few days, the upper echelons of the Weird Investigation Bureau had died in droves. From the long-retired Councilor Brooke Hayes to the various district representatives still active in the Weird Game, it had to be said that they had truly honored their promise to "lead from the front," whether willingly or not.
A large number of influential positions were left vacant. Investigators who were originally in the middle ranks quickly seized power, and most of them were followers of Fu Jue. The underlying motive was blatantly obvious, but no one could find conclusive evidence. And with disaster looming, no one had the courage to pull Fu Jue down from his position and take on the immense pressure themselves.
Everyone understood that Fu Jue was reckless enough to do anything. The day this was all over would be the day he died. No matter what trouble a dying man stirred up, he was ultimately just paving the way for someone else.
The truck left the city limits and drove deep into the lush, forested mountains, finally stopping before a silver-white building.
Many military trucks were already parked here, their beds filled with iron boxes wrapped in black cloth. But there were even more civilian trucks of various sizes and models, clearly requisitioned on a temporary basis. The items they carried were often hastily bundled with hemp rope or stuffed into burlap sacks. There were simply too many supernatural entities to contain, and not enough time or energy for proper sealing.
Armed personnel in black uniforms emerged from the building to help carry the locust tree from the truck into an elevator. As a witness to the entity's subjugation, the investigator naturally accompanied them.
As the elevator descended, the temperature grew increasingly cold and sinister. The combination of an environment long deprived of sunlight and the resentment emanating from the supernatural entities created a bone-chilling cold that permeated everything. A thick layer of white frost condensed on the metal walls of the elevator, evoking scenes of an arctic apocalypse.
The long, narrow corridor twisted like an intestine. Overhead, a series of lights switched on one after another, following their footsteps and casting a cold, white glow. On either side, the tightly sealed doors of containment cells resembled refrigerated morgue drawers. Only the occasional wails and roars that erupted from within proved that the beings inside were still alive.
Following standard procedure, the group quickly moved the locust tree into an empty containment cell, locked the door, and entered the relevant information.
Suddenly, a gentle female voice came from the adjacent cell. "I'm sorry to bother you. I'm Chu Yining. I need to see Fu Jue. I have something important to tell him..."
The investigator knew of Chu Yining. She was one of the very first players to enter the Weird Game and one of the founders of the Weird Investigation Bureau. Unfortunately, she had suffered severe contamination during the Twilight of the Gods twenty-two years ago and was now forced to live out the rest of her days in a containment cell.
Since she remained calm and lucid most of the time, and because she was an influential figure in her own right, everyone at the Bureau treated her with a fair amount of courtesy, doing their best to meet her requests.
But now was absolutely not the time.
The investigator sighed. "Senior Chu, the Director has been in Shangri-La ever since he entered the Final Instance on May fifth. I don't think he'll be back anytime soon. Besides, it's absolute chaos out there. He's got his hands full just managing the situation... If you have a message, you can tell me, and I'll write it up in a report for him."
Out of courtesy, the investigator pressed a button on the cell's steel door. The wall facing the corridor instantly became transparent, allowing a clear view in both directions.
Sitting inside the cell was a woman with graying hair. Chu Yining, now in her early fifties, was no longer young, and the less-than-ideal conditions of the containment cell had made her appear even older than her years.
Manuscript pages covered in black ink were piled high around her. The Bureau had never bothered to collect them for research, so the stacks had only grown, the earlier ones neatly arranged, the later ones simply tossed on the floor.
For years, Chu Yining had tried to record the information she wanted to convey, but the words she wrote always devolved into useless, garbled text. The Bureau never expected any useful clues from her; giving her paper and pen was merely a way to keep her occupied and prevent her from causing trouble out of boredom.
Eventually, Chu Yining seemed to realize this as well. She stopped trying to write about the Weird Game and instead began drawing incomprehensible mind maps and sometimes writing essays. Her demeanor lost its frantic edge, leaving only a sense of peace.
Hearing the investigator's reply, Chu Yining fell silent for a few seconds as if in thought. After a moment, her eyes crinkled into a kind and gentle smile. "Alright," she said. "I'll tell you. Please, you must relay this to Fu Jue exactly as I say it."
She paused, then her mouth began to move, forming words with extreme speed, but no sound came out. She froze for a moment, apparently surprised that even this information was being blocked by the Weird Game. But she quickly accepted it, giving a wry smile. "There are some things I still can't explain in detail," she said. "I can only say this:
"I have thought about this for twenty-two years, and I finally understand His plan. All of humanity is on His chessboard. Even human ingenuity is just another part of the god's design...
"Because I died, I came back. Xiao Fengchao also returned after he died. It will be the same for the others... including Qi Si. We cannot let *Him* return. I don't know what it would trigger, but it is never wrong to believe in the unconditional malice of a god.
"Please, tell Fu Jue: Whatever happens, do not kill Qi Si. Never, ever."