Sacrifice and Fire

Thick, billowing smoke soon rose into the sky; one didn't need to check the monitors to see it from the car windows.

The faces of the Bureau of Occult Investigation members turned grim.

Zhao Keke couldn't help but curse in anger, "Has that Wang Chuang gone insane? There are thousands of people inside the Diamond Building. If this fire spreads, how many will die?"

"If he wants thousands to die, that might be his exact goal." It was Old Chen who spoke, his eyes filled with piercing murderous intent.

Fire is merciless; every second of delay could mean countless lives lost.

Ultimately, Zhou Xu made a calm and decisive command.

"Immediately notify the fire, medical, law enforcement, and traffic departments. Have them assist the Bureau of Occult Investigation in handling this emergency. Also, request support from our superiors—get us a player with 'Exploration' or 'Tracking' abilities. We must find Wang Chuang in the shortest time possible, no matter what."

"Understood, I'll notify the departments."

Old Chen ran out at top speed. The Bureau of Occult Investigation held significant privileges, allowing them to coordinate with various departments without going through standard bureaucratic procedures, which made their efficiency quite high.

But having superiors send a player with 'Exploration' or 'Tracking' abilities?

Zhao Keke didn't act immediately; instead, she looked troubled. "Chief Zhou, players with 'Exploration' or 'Tracking' skills are too rare. There are only five or six in Kyoto right now, and they are all on secret missions. I'm afraid our superiors won't agree."

"We don't have the luxury of worrying about that now..."

Zhou Xu suddenly erupted. "There are thousands of people in the Diamond Building. If we don't find Wang Chuang in a minute, their lives are at risk. Can any mission be more urgent than thousands of human lives? Make the call now. If the superiors refuse, tell them to talk to me."

The call was connected quickly.

When the superior heard Zhou Xu requesting support from 'Exploration' or 'Tracking' players, they also felt conflicted, as those members were all executing secret missions—some tracking vicious players, others searching for out-of-control Old Day Items.

But upon hearing that this involved the safety of thousands of civilians, the superior realized the gravity of the situation and promised that support would arrive within five minutes.

Five minutes later, A helicopter appeared as promised above the Diamond Plaza.

"Huh? Is something burning? Why is there such a strong smell of smoke?" Yang Qizhou frowned slightly, his heart growing vigilant.

This was a moment fraught with crisis. With World of Weirdness players active in the building, and according to the original fate line, Sister Xin and Little Bean were highly likely to die here. Therefore, he had to remain on guard against any unusual signs.

Yang Qizhou moved closer to the mother and daughter, ready to intervene if a disaster struck.

But just then, Terrified screams erupted at the animation expo.

"Fire!"

This immediately caused a significant commotion at the scene. Sister Xin and Ding Xiaolan looked out the window and saw the billowing smoke rising.

However, the building's security staff had conducted numerous fire drills and possessed the necessary experience. They stepped forward to calm the crowd, preventing a stampede and preparing to organize the evacuation through the fire exits.

But this orderly scene didn't last long before it was shattered by a sudden piece of news.

"Which bastard locked the fire exits?"

"What? The fire exits are locked?"

"What about the B and C emergency exits? Hurry, organize everyone to go that way!"

"It's no use! The B and C fire exits are locked too, and someone has bolted steel plates over them. There's no way to break through with brute force."

"Damn it!"

"Quick, turn on the fire pumps to extinguish the fire!"

"Manager, there's no water! Not a drop! Someone must have shut off the main water valve."

The temperature in the venue had already begun to rise. Although there were no open flames yet, it was clear that the fire was not far from reaching them.

Did Wang Chuang do this?

Yang Qizhou thought of the familiar figure he had seen earlier, his eyes turning icy. He hadn't expected this bastard to be so insane as to use everyone at the expo as a sacrifice just to eliminate the negative effects of the Broken Statue of the Abyss Old God.

The crow on the back of his hand blinked. When Yang Qizhou saw Wang Chuang and faced the choice of whether to pursue him, a save point had already been generated.

He was currently pondering whether to reload and eliminate this menace.

"The holder of the Old Day Item 'Broken Statue of the Abyss Old God' escaped from the Bureau of Occult Investigation and, to offset the negative effects, prepared to carry out a mass slaughter, in which Sister Xin and Little Bean died."

"Everything is very logical."

"So logical that I have to conclude this Wang Chuang is the culprit behind the deaths of Sister Xin and Little Bean. As long as I eliminate him, the mother and daughter can turn misfortune into luck."

"But there is one thing that remains unclear."

"As the official organization handling all events related to the World of Weirdness, the place where the Bureau of Occult Investigation holds 'criminal players' must have extremely strict security measures, perhaps even possessing 'weird' powers."

"Under such tight security, did Wang Chuang really escape on his own?"

"If someone helped him escape..."

"Then who is this person, and what is their goal?"

Yang Qizhou ultimately suppressed the urge to use the Doom-Bringing Raven; he couldn't shake the feeling that today's events were not that simple. "Wang Chuang" was merely a puppet pushed to the forefront, with the true mastermind lurking in the shadows.

He decided to observe a little longer.

After all, he still had two chances to rewind time today; if he truly guessed wrong, it wouldn't be too late to use the Doom-Bringing Raven's ability then.

At this moment, the scene was in absolute chaos; some were irritable, some were desperate, some were frantic, and others were weeping...

It didn't take long for thick, black smoke to surge into the venue.

Some were choked to tears, some were coughing violently, and others were wailing in despair, though fortunately, there were no casualties yet.

"Mom, I'm scared."

Little Bean clung tightly to his mother, tears streaming down his face from the smoke, his voice thick with sobs.

Zhao Xin also held her daughter tightly, soothing her incessantly, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Mommy is still here; I won't let Little Lan come to any harm."

Yang Qizhou was nearby and naturally saw the mother and daughter huddled together.

He knew he could wait no longer.

In a fire, those who actually burn to death are in the minority; the truly lethal factors are the series of effects brought on by thick smoke, such as oxygen deprivation, respiratory tract burns, and smoke inhalation poisoning.

Now that the black smoke had rushed into the Animation Expo, people were starting to cough violently; if he dragged this out any longer, someone would inevitably lose their life.

"Wang Chuang, you bastard, forcing my hand like this. When I find you again, I'll have to slaughter you and feed you to my two Root-Court Hounds."

Yang Qizhou muttered to himself as he took out a treasure shimmering with silver light.

Silver Relic (Epic):...

Active Effect: Can manipulate the weather.