Happy New Year everyone!
Xue Yan coughed a few times and slowly recounted what had happened.
From the moment Elder Xue disappeared and Xue Yan sought Li Wei's help, everyone gradually became captivated by the stories Xue Yan told.
During this time, several police cars arrived after being called by diners. At first, they were shouting and trying to see who dared to cause trouble in public. However, when they saw the sports car parked at the entrance and the license plate of the military SUV that Xue Yan had driven, they decided to wait and see.
There are some people in this world who are not to be trifled with by a few lowly police officers.
Inside the steamed bun shop, Xue Yan's face was still somewhat pale, but she still spoke slowly.
"Li Wei and I entered the black fog not entirely unprepared. He told me that he had previously investigated this black fog that appeared in the real world and had found some clues. However, what we encountered in the black fog was far beyond his expectations..."
What exactly happened to you?
Upon hearing this question, Xue Yan's face turned noticeably paler. She seemed to be recalling something terrifying, her eyes filled with horror.
"An angel... we've encountered an angel!"
Angel?
What are angels? They are religious beings that represent holiness, goodness, God's messengers, ministering spirits, and believers sent to serve and worship God.
Luo Cheng and Chen Dali looked helpless. How could this be?
Xue Yan must have misread it.
This isn't a religious story. Everyone knows that the angels and birdmen in Western mythology are all lies. Not to mention Luo Cheng, a retired soldier, even Chen Dali, a laborer who carries sandbags all day, would scoff at those Western stories meant to fool children.
On the contrary, Zheng Yutong looked very serious.
"An angel? And then, how... how did he... die?"
Xue Yan's hands trembled slightly. "After that, the angels started attacking us. Li Wei told me to retreat immediately, and he was responsible for delaying the angels."
"Then what?"
"I don't know. I was bumped into by an angel and immediately passed out. After I got up, I just ran towards the way back. I don't remember how long I ran. When I regained consciousness, I was already on a helicopter."
"Oh, by the way, in the black fog, Li Wei handed me his phone and a USB drive. He seemed to have discovered something, so he was very excited. All the way here, the phrase I heard him say the most was, 'So that's how it is!' But when I asked him, he didn't say anything."
Handing a large stack of papers to Zheng Yutong, Xue Yan continued, "I've printed out all the information inside. To get you here as quickly as possible, I used his phone to call you. I'm so sorry... If it weren't for me, this wouldn't have happened!"
Zheng Yutong had already taken the documents and started reviewing them.
She was probably the one who knew Li Wei best among them. Li Wei always liked to write down things and questions, down to the smallest detail. But Zheng Yutong never expected him to be this 'meticulous'.
The materials were mostly miscellaneous historical anecdotes and strange tales. Clearly, this person had started collecting related information after entering Shadow Street, just like the paper she was reading right now.
"The package, wrapped in Yellow Paper, is normal; it's just ordinary cardboard packaging. The program on the CD only ran once and then disappeared, as if it vanished. But I know it must be hidden on the computer. Most of the games I've experienced are installed on my computer, meaning the games the reincarnator experienced, at least the Initial Trial missions, must be game programs installed on his own computer..."
"... The image on the CD, after some investigation, is an illustration from the religious secretary's 'Doomsday Theory,' depicting a battle between angels and demons? Could such a thing really exist? Who knows? At least it would appear in the game world. However, angels are 'spirits' who serve the gods, while demons represent fear and destruction. What is the connection between the two? Why would it appear on a CD sent from Shadow Street?"
The appendix contains dozens of pages of book summaries on religion, angels and demons, and apocalyptic theories, all of which could potentially be connected to Shadow Street.
There were even some drawings that were obviously copies. Zheng Yutong could tell at a glance that they were drafts of the buildings in Shadow Street, copies of the Shadow Guard, and even the cobblestone pavement paving the alleys of Shadow Street, all with detailed analysis.
Take the paving stones, for example. The document states in small print. "Based on the samples I collected, I consulted experts from several mineral research institutes in the city and some antique dealers, and none of them had ever seen stones of this texture before... Could it really be something from another dimension?"
Most of the materials were marked with big question marks, indicating that Li Wei himself had not figured out the answers to these questions, and had only provided answers to a very small portion of them.
Among them, the most question marks are about the mysterious black mist, the Shadow Corpse Demon, and the village isolated in the real world.
"... The black mist clearly originates from Shadow Street. Does this mean there's a passage between the real world and Shadow Street? Perhaps the countdown represents the time when this passage will fully open. If that's the case, not only mortals, but even reincarnators below Rank B will perish..."
"... I received a call from Xue Yan. It turns out she's Elder Xue's granddaughter. I never imagined my mistake would put Elder Xue in danger... I'm culpable. Both morally and logically, I should help her, even though I know the chances of Elder Xue surviving are incredibly slim... And last time we entered the black fog, we didn't find that 'passage.' This time, perhaps it's an opportunity..."
Zheng Yutong flipped through the pages quickly without making a sound, and an eerie silence fell over the steamed bun shop.
Luo Cheng, Chen Dali, and Nina were all staring at the documents, their mouths agape, unsure of what to say.
But Li Wei's records don't stop there.
"The doomsday theories online are definitely not unfounded. That website called 'Dark Apocalypse' seems ordinary, but I can't find its server address. This is simply impossible. Unless the government's internet monitoring department is completely incompetent, it's impossible to explain why there's no record of this website in their database..."
"That poster called 'An Hei' definitely knows about the existence of Reincarnators, and I shouldn't be the first Reincarnator he's contacted. What exactly are those photos he has? Are they related to the Black Mist? Even most Reincarnators don't know this. How did An Hei connect the two?"
"Let's go help Xue Yan first, and then try our best to get back and capture 'An Hei'. I have a feeling that only by capturing this person can I solve my doubts!"
After a long while, Zheng Yutong finally let out a sigh of relief and said, "Li Wei discovered a website called 'Dark Apocalypse,' where someone posted a thread about reincarnators. He has already set up a trap for that poster. Since Li Wei is not here, we have to complete this task for him. Presumably, this is why he handed the USB drive to Xue Yan at the last moment!"
"Also, that guy Li Wei won't die so easily!"
The others naturally agreed with Zheng Yutong's decision. As reincarnators, they couldn't remain indifferent to such matters. Besides, Li Wei was their benefactor; although they didn't have a particularly deep relationship, did that matter?
Even if you've only met once, as long as you click, you're friends. And since you're friends, there's nothing more to say, just lend a hand!
With Xue Yan's help, they quickly found the address where Li Wei had set up the 'bait'.
In Zheng Yutong's view, Li Wei's "scheme" was already quite ingenious. First, he modified and set up a fake user on the access service provider's server, where hackers could query user information and addresses. The IP address used by this user was the bait that Li Wei threw out.
If the other party is a top-tier hacker, they can easily find this disguised IP address. Their next step would then be to locate the person using that IP address and their exact location.
This refers to the home address registered with the internet service provider.
This address is the very place where Li Wei planned to capture 'An Hei'. At this moment, two 'hunters' have already arrived here, waiting for the bait to be caught.
The agreed time was 3 p. m.
"If the other party is a true expert, they will definitely fall into my trap and will absolutely visit that fake address before 3 o'clock!"
This is what Li Wei wrote confidently in the document.
Of course, Li Wei might have miscalculated.
Therefore, Zheng Yutong asked Luo Cheng and Chen Dali to wait at the pre-arranged shopping mall, while she and Xue Yan, disguised as hunters, waited at the fake address for the other party to take the bait.
As for Nina, the computer expert, she went to Li Wei's residence as instructed by Zheng Yutong to check his computer for any clues worth noting. At this time, no place where clues might exist could be overlooked.
During this time, Xue Yan received a phone call from the lieutenant colonel guarding Black Mist Village. On the phone, the rough-mannered soldier was extremely excited.
After Xue Yan clearly heard what was said on the other end of the phone, her expression changed several times.
"What's wrong?" Zheng Yutong didn't know what had happened; Xue Yan rarely showed this kind of expression.
But what the other person said next made Zheng Yutong show the same expression.
"That village... the village that Li Wei and I entered, the black mist that shrouded it... it dissipated two minutes ago!"
(Sorry for posting late today! Tomorrow is the new year, An Hei I wish everyone a Happy New Year and a prosperous new year. Also, there's something else I'd like to remind you of... <Shadow Street> will be available for purchase at midnight tomorrow. An Hei 'm asking for a small monthly pass and a small subscription. If you subscribe, An Hei be very happy!)