Archive Contamination

The room here is small, filled with various instruments and cabinets.

The middle-aged man walked to the center of the room, where a silver-white disc was placed.

The disc is about half a meter in diameter and its surface is covered with complex runes. In the center is a crescent-shaped groove.

Moon Disk.

A special identity verification device for the Night Watcher.

The middle-aged man placed the badge into the groove.

The runes glowed with a faint silver light.

The disc began to rotate slowly, emitting a soft humming sound.

About ten seconds later, a roll of paper was ejected from a small opening at the edge of the disc.

The middle-aged man picked it up and unfolded it.

The top few lines are very clear:

Name: Lu Yuan

Number: West-02137

Date of employment: Imperial Calendar 1127

Professional skills: Basic Medical, Potion Studies, Forbidden Studies

But further down...

The "Owned Base" field is empty.

The "Task Log" is also empty.

The middle-aged man frowned, put the badge back on the disc, and checked it again.

The result was the same.

"How could this be?" The middle-aged man frowned as he looked at the file in front of him. "No, I'll go ask again."

He took the badge out, turned around, and walked out of the room.

"Your badge."

The middle-aged man returned the badge to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan took it and pinned it back to his chest.

"I have a few questions for you." The middle-aged man looked at him.

Which outpost did you come from?

Lu Yuan opened his mouth, but then thoughts of Grim Port came to mind.

Lu Yuan felt as if something was blocking his throat.

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, Lu Yuan couldn't utter a single word.

The middle-aged man looked at Lu Yuan with a suspicious expression.

What missions have you performed before?

Lu Yuan still couldn't say it.

The middle-aged man's brows furrowed even more deeply.

"Come with me."

He turned and walked deeper into the corridor.

Lu Yuan followed.

A small room.

A table, a few chairs, and an oil lamp hanging on the wall.

"Wait here."

The door closed.

Lu Yuan sat down in the chair with a somewhat helpless expression.

This was somewhat expected.

We'll just have to wait and see.

At the end of the corridor, a middle-aged man knocked on a door.

"Come in."

In the office, a tall man in his thirties sat by the window with a gold badge on his chest.

Hogger.

Captain of the Third Squad of the Bronze City Night Watcher.

"What's up?"

The middle-aged man walked to the table and handed over the paper.

"A new employee just arrived. The badge is fine, but the file is incomplete."

Hogger took the paper and glanced at it.

It has a name, a number, and skills.

Location: Blank.

Task log, blank.

"Hmm? Could it be that the new employee files haven't been filed yet? Go get the paper files."

"Good."

The Archive Room are located on the basement floor.

As the middle-aged man placed the badge into the lion's mouth, the heavy bronze gate slowly opened with a series of clicks.

The first thing you see is rows of cabinets, categorized by letters and numbers.

He found the cabinet in the west wing and opened the drawer.

My fingers traced rows of file folders.

West-02110... West-02115... are all there.

West-02118... empty.

The middle-aged man frowned.

He sped up and flipped backward.

Large gaps.

Occasionally, a few files lie there all alone.

West-02123, Valentin.

West-02128, Alice.

West-02137, Lu Yuan.

The middle-aged man pulled out the three files and flipped through them again.

Up to West-02150, it was all empty.

A middle-aged man stood in the Archive Room, looking at the rows of empty seats.

My back feels a little cold.

The Imperial ranks are assigned according to the order of entry into the ranks.

Each number corresponds to a Night Watcher.

It's impossible for such a large number of vacancies to exist.

Has something happened?

Listening to the middle-aged man's explanation, Hogger looked at the three files on the table and remained silent for a long time.

Are you sure?

"Confirmed." The middle-aged man nodded. "Of the thirty-odd file numbers in the range from West-02118 to West-02150, only these three remain."

He paused.

"The rest are all empty. I have no file retrieval records here."

Hogger opened the three files.

Valentin.

Name, number, and skills are clearly stated.

Location: Blank.

Task log, blank.

Alice.

Same.

The name, ID number, and skills are there; everything else is blank.

Lu Yuan.

Same here.

Three files, the same problem.

"What is the connection between these three people?" Hogger asked.

"I don't know." The middle-aged man shook his head. "There's no record of their relationship in the files. But their numbers are in the same range, so they should be from the same base."

"The same base..."

Hogger murmured, repeating.

He looked at the blank "originating location" column on the three files.

The same base.

But what's the name of that outpost? And where is it?

Why is there no record of this in the archives?

"Unless there's a problem with the Empire's records management," the middle-aged man tentatively said.

"Impossible." Hogger shook his head decisively. "The files have multiple backups; it's impossible for them to fail simultaneously."

"So someone tampered with it?"

"Who has this ability?" Hogger retorted. "More than thirty files vanished into thin air, without leaving a trace. Even we ourselves don't know who those numbers correspond to."

He paused for a moment.

"Think carefully, do you remember the section between west-02118 and west-02150?"

The middle-aged man paused for a moment.

He recalled carefully.

Those numbers... those people...

My mind went completely blank.

"No." He slowly shook his head. "I don't remember these numbers corresponding to anyone."

"I don't remember either," Hogger's voice was low, "But the numbering is real; it was assigned uniformly by the Empire."

What does this mean?

"That means those people really did exist." Hogger stared at the three files. "But now, apart from those three, everyone else... has vanished."

Even the memories have disappeared.

Silence fell over the room.

This is not a problem with the documentation system.

It's not as simple as someone tampering with it.

"What did he say?" Hogger asked, breaking the silence.

"I was asked two questions, and I couldn't answer either of them," the middle-aged man said.

Hogger stood up.

"Let's go see him."

With the sound of footsteps, the door was pushed open.

Lu Yuan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them.

Hogger walked in, followed by the middle-aged man from before.

It's at the captain level.

Lu Yuan noticed the gold badge on his chest.

Hogger sat down across the table.

"My name is Hogger, captain of the Third Squad."

He placed three files on the table.

There's a problem with your file.

Lu Yuan looked down.

Three files.

His, and two others.

At the edge of vision, grayish-white text quietly emerged:

[Passive Skill: The Hidden Witness, Resisting External Interference]

What he saw was very clear.

My own profile:

Location: Grim Port.

Mission Log: Waterworks Contamination Incident, Kill of the Baron Thorn, Deep Sea Church Attack...

The other two:

Port Valentin, Grim Port.

Grim Port Alice Grimm.

Each and every one of them, clearly and distinctly.

But he knew that Hogger was seeing nothing.

"The assigned base is empty, and the mission log is empty too." Hogger stared at him, his gaze serious. "All three files are the same."

He pushed the stack of files forward.

"There's one more thing. The files for the thirty-odd numbers adjacent to yours have all disappeared. Only the three of you remain."

Lu Yuan's expression remained unchanged, but his fingers gripping the chair tightened slightly.

He understood.

Those missing numbers correspond to the Night Watcher of Grim Port.

Old Morgan., Hans, Mary...

Their files, along with their very existence, were erased.

Only the files of three people remain.

Valentin, Alice, him.

Because they survived.

"So I need you to tell me." Hogger's voice turned serious. "Where did you come from? Which outpost were you at before? Do you know those two people? What happened to those missing files?"

Lu Yuan opened his mouth.

He wanted to say something.

That port.

That sea.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make a sound.

Lu Yuan tried a different approach.

Instead of mentioning place names, just directions.

East.

Coastal.

But he still couldn't utter a single word.

Lu Yuan tried gesturing with his hands.

The finger had just been raised when it froze in mid-air.

The silence lasted a long time.

"I don't know?" Hogger asked, looking at the somewhat dejected man in front of him.

Lu Yuan remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

Hogger stared at him for a while.

Examine, question, be vigilant.

Finally, he looked away.

"The base's Formation isn't reacting to you, which means you haven't been Contamination." He leaned back in his chair. "But your file is missing crucial information, and you yourself can't explain your origins... It also involves the disappearance of a large number of files."

He tapped on the table.

This matter must be reported.

He flipped through the files.

"Basic Medical, Potion Studies... perfect timing, there's been some trouble in the city lately, and we're short-staffed in logistics."

He closed the file.

"Go help with logistics first. Your accommodation is in the dormitory area behind the base."

He stood up and walked to the door.

"If you remember anything, feel free to come find me anytime."

Lu Yuan nodded.

"Good."

Deep within the stronghold, in a room without windows.

Hogger pushed open the door and went in.

An elderly man with gray hair was already inside, wearing a dark gray uniform with a gold stripe on his badge.

Klaus, Deputy Chief of the Night Watcher Branch in Bronze City.

"How's the situation?"

"The person is fine." Hogger sat down. "The badge is normal, the person is mentally stable, and there are no signs of Contamination."

"Where are the files?"

"Incomplete. The name, ID, and skills are there, but the affiliated base and mission logs are all blank."

Hogger placed the three files on the table.

"And he wasn't the only one."

Klaus picked up the files and began to look through them one by one.

Valentin.

Alice.

Lu Yuan.

The same problem.

"Anything else?"

"The interval between West-02118 and West-02150," Hogger's tone turned grave. "Of the more than thirty consecutive numbers, only these three files remain. The rest have all vanished."

Klaus stopped and looked up.

"Disappear?"

"Completely vanished," Hogger continued gravely. "Unless we can be certain those numbers weren't issued, but you know that's almost impossible."

He paused.

"But after all, none of us can remember what those people were called."

Klaus remained silent for a long time.

"This can't be a problem with the records system."

"I know."

"Who has access to the Archive Room? And can they do a large-scale replacement?"

"Not many."

"Then go check it out," Klaus continued.

"Besides that, what else do you think?"

Hogger shook his head.

"I don't know," he continued, "But the fact that these three people's numbers are in the same range means they came from the same base. The disappearance of more than thirty numbers means that almost everyone at that base was wiped out, or their documents were replaced."

He looked at the three files.

"But three are still missing."

"And where is that base? What's it called? What happened there?"

Hogger spread his hands.

"There's no record of it. Not even in our memories."

Klaus closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

A long time.

"Report this matter." He opened his eyes, his tone heavy. "Three files, the missing number range, all anomalies—report everything to Headquarters."

He stood up.

"Let Headquarters investigate."

What about the other three?

"Let them move around normally first," the old man said.

He then stood up and walked towards the door.

Where are the other two?

"We don't know, the mission is completely vague, we can't even pinpoint the area," Hogger continued.

"If we want to find it, we'll have to involve the Pathfinder the way."

"Okay, report it. Let Headquarters investigate as well."

Klaus stopped at the door.

"There's one more thing."

He didn't turn around.

"The recent missing persons cases in the city... keep an eye out for any connections."

"People from a mysterious base appeared out of nowhere, and then disappearances began to occur throughout the city."

"The timing is too perfect."