A gale howled.
Rain poured down in torrents.
Dense sheets of slanting rain pelted the glass with a rapid patter. The splashes blurred the figure inside.
He was a gaunt man in a dark gray coat, with slightly curly hair and regular features. His face was haggard, dark circles weighing heavily beneath his eyes, and bloodshot veins webbing across them.
He stared intently at the electronic clock ahead, counting down along with the digits.
"58, 57..."
It might have been the countdown to his death.
The little Detective Agency was fitted with twenty-eight cameras and more than a hundred hidden traps. He even had a switch clutched in his hand. The moment he pressed it, the bombs he had planted would blow the Detective Agency sky-high.
Click.
Two things appeared in Wu Xian's hands.
Praise the Mysterious Mother. I offer my flesh and bones. Shield my eyes and spare my life. I clap my hands and honor the Lord...
The place made him feel comfortable, at ease, like a wanderer who had struggled for years away from home and finally returned to the land that had raised him, finally able to lay down his burdens.
But today...
A burning stick of incense lay in his left hand, and a booklet in his right. The cover read: "Record of the Devoted."
His cold hand loosened. Wu Xian opened his eyes and looked around.
He was no longer in the Detective Agency.
Before he could make sense of what had happened, a pair of blackened hands reached out from behind and clamped over his eyes. The cold returned.
Wu Xian thrust his hand into the smoke of the True Fire Incantation and pulled out a Yellow Talisman. The other two clouds of smoke vanished.
He had squandered three years on this case, investing nearly everything he had. He had ruined his health, wracked his brain, and exhausted himself.
But all those odd jobs were just to help cover his living expenses. The case he had truly been investigating all along was one commissioned by a mysterious client.
Suddenly, Wu Xian sensed the darkness behind the statue stirring. Pairs of scarlet eyes drew closer, and the Worship God Incense in his hand began burning much faster.
Unlike other detectives, Wu Xian wasn't investigating the case for money. He had no missing relatives, nor was he driven by some grand ideal. He was simply consumed by an irrepressible curiosity and obsession with the Fudi Case.
At last, he could see the answer with his own eyes.
One statue had a body covered in black fur, protruding bone spikes, and a bestial shape. The black horns atop its head had grown into a crown.
He was in an endless Dark Wilderness. Three statues surrounded him. Red candles lit the area before them, illuminating the center. Beyond that, nothing was visible.
The first page of the booklet read: "Devotee Wu Xian, you have arrived in the Blessed Land. Choose a deity to worship. The gods' protection is essential to surviving in the Blessed Land."
There were six more pages in the booklet.
The moment he placed the Worship God Incense in the burner, the other two statues vanished, and the stirring in the darkness ceased. The smoke from the incense formed three Smoke Runes above the altar.
Wu Xian's detective partners had also received similar messages. Most of them had disappeared, while the rest had withdrawn from the investigation.
In truth, this was a premise that nearly every infinite-flow novel ought to have, but most deliberately avoided.
According to the data Wu Xian and his detective partners had gathered, the number of people who disappeared each year because of the Fudi Case was terrifyingly large.
The three statues surely had some significance, but the incense was burning shorter by the second. Wu Xian couldn't afford to spend long pondering, so he placed the Worship God Incense in the burner before the Yellow-robed Statue.
As far as Wu Xian knew, the only people willing to investigate the case were their small, motley detective group, hired for the job.
The cold seeped into Wu Xian's body, leaving him unable even to press the switch. He couldn't help regretting his decision.
One statue was dressed entirely in yellow and wore a Mianliu crown. Only vague shadows marked its hands, feet, and head. Its yellow robe was covered in densely packed clerical-script characters.
The Fudi Case was a massive disappearance case with no known cause. It spanned the globe, involved an enormous number of missing people, and claimed victims at random.
3, 2, 1. The countdown ended.
One statue was assembled from dozens of blue bubbles. A halo shaped like a crown floated above it, and each bubble contained an exquisite Magic Treasure.
"Shit... This is even more outrageous than I thought."
The lights came on. The room was empty, and the Remote Control had fallen beneath the chair.
Wu Xian was about to be "disappeared" as well.
Record of the Devoted: Identification for the Blessed Land's devotees. The holder may enter the Blessed Land.
"The Double Activation Technique needs to be used with another talisman. The Filth Talisman sounds kind of nasty... I'll go with the True Fire Incantation!"
A table stood before each statue. On each table were two red candles and an Incense Burner.
Time was running out.
Worship God Incense: An ordinary stick of incense, used to worship the gods.
Wu Xian's eyes held a trace of fear, but far more excitement and anticipation.
"Let's see how you operate. Hypnosis, drugs, Modified Humans, advanced technology... The most outlandish explanation would be aliens, right?"
Wu Xian didn't know what these talismans were for or what they could do. But he knew he had to make a choice before the Worship God Incense burned out.
With precautions like these, he was confident no one could take him away without a sound.
Unknown Immortal God's Blessing: [One Transforms into Three]—Two additional options are added to the rewards for worshipping a god.
Click!
All the lights went out at once, and the monitors turned to static. The last thing Wu Xian saw was a blackened hand reaching out of the darkness and covering his eyes.
A line of green text appeared on the Blessing page.
Wu Xian was the only one left who had stuck with the investigation.
Double Activation Technique: When you use the next talisman that is not a Double Activation Technique, its number of activations is doubled. Uses remaining: [2/2].
The case was known as the "Fudi Case."
Yesterday at noon, he had received a text message.
Wu Xian pinched the talisman between his fingers, wondering how he was supposed to use the thing.
"I was careless. I should've gotten some Exorcism Talismans or something and stuck them up..."
Please support the book by reading each new chapter as it comes out. If you're enjoying it, I hope you'll try to keep up daily—it really matters to this book.
The man was named Wu Xian, a third-rate private detective. This was his Detective Agency. He often took on odd jobs like investigating affairs, catching mistresses, photographing celebrities, and buying train tickets for people.
Choosing this statue wasn't for any particular reason. It simply looked more human.
"27, 26..."
After he made his choice, the last statue disappeared too.
They were talismans, divine abilities, Magic Treasures, blessings, curses, and miscellaneous items. He looked through them one by one. Only the Blessings and Miscellaneous Items pages contained specific entries.
La la la, a new book! Hope you enjoy it!
Wu Xian held his hand over the Smoke Runes, and information seeped into his mind.
What would happen when the incense burned out?
Wu Xian immediately looked at the three statues.
"Three... Is this the effect of the [One Transforms into Three] blessing? Was there supposed to be only one?"
Somewhere in the distance, Wu Xian heard a faint prayer.
Wu Xian carefully read every word in the booklet. The whole thing felt absurd. After investigating the case for three years, had he really discovered that the truth was supernatural?
But at the same time, he felt a little pleased.
As the investigation went on, Wu Xian's teammates disappeared one after another. The few who remained withdrew from the case in terror, as if they had seen a ghost.
The sender was "Fuyuan City God." The message read: "You will enter the Blessed Land at midnight on February 26. Please prepare in advance."
New books are tough, and mystery novels even tougher. Please don't leave this one sitting unread for too long. Sob, sob.
Many people think the number of deaths doubling each year is enormous.
The Miscellaneous Items page had two entries.
True Fire Incantation: Releases a stream of true fire. Uses remaining: [3/3].
Filth Talisman: Infuses an object with a trace of "filth." Effect lasts until depleted. Can contaminate Magic Treasures and break laws.
Yet what was hard to understand was that despite the vast number of deaths, the world's population structure remained healthy and social order remained stable. There was hardly even any public outcry demanding an investigation.
You can work it out for yourselves. Suppose each instance had only two participants and only one died each time. How many people would have to die to assemble an instance with two veterans who had each survived one instance? What about those with two, three... or even ten instances under their belts?
The answer is exponential growth.
I think the later chapters of this book can offer a solution.
Before you continue