The last thing Li Feng felt was his body floating weightlessly into the air. As the world spun around him, he saw two beams of light cutting through the darkness.
Then Li Feng felt himself slam heavily into the ground.
He barely felt any pain, however, because his eyes were already slowly closing, and his consciousness sank into its final slumber.
Whether billions of years had passed or only an instant, Li Feng suddenly regained consciousness.
His whole body felt ice-cold, and an uncomfortable pressure weighed on his chest.
"Ugh... huff, huff, huff..."
His eyes snapped open. Li Feng bent over, braced his hands on his knees, and began gasping for breath.
Thank goodness. He hadn't died.
But hadn't he been hit and sent flying? Why wasn't he in a hospital? Why was he standing on a street instead?
His confusion didn't last long. The instant he straightened and raised his head, he saw something terrifying.
Not far ahead of him floated a bride in wedding robes.
Yes, floated, with her feet off the ground and two trails of bloody tears running from her eyes.
The Paranormal Entity instantly drove every other thought from Li Feng's mind. He stared ahead in disbelief and abruptly held his breath.
As though noticing his gaze, the bride in scarlet wedding robes floated right up to him in an instant, stopping less than three feet away.
An icy chill washed over him. Li Feng's lips moved slightly, but he couldn't utter a single word. Utter terror filled his heart, leaving his body too rigid to move.
A ghost, a ghost, a ghost...
As he stared at the bride right before him, dressed in scarlet wedding robes, with blood seeping from her pitch-black, hollow eyes...
That was the only thought left in Li Feng's mind. How could he spare a thought for why the collision hadn't killed him or why he had ended up here?
Just as his terror reached its peak and he prepared to scream and run...
The fear within him reached a critical threshold and seemed to suddenly break through some invisible barrier.
Snap!
Dimly, Li Feng seemed to hear something snap inside his mind.
In the next instant, his mind became clear and still. A cool, refreshing power suddenly began circulating through it.
At the same time, a piece of information surfaced naturally in his mind.
Mind Fog could obscure others' vision and conceal his aura from perception.
Following an unconscious instinct, Li Feng willed it into action.
In an instant, that power flowed out of Li Feng's mind and enveloped his entire body before spreading outward from every part of him.
A thin mist wrapped around Li Feng's whole body.
The Wedding-Dress Bride, who had already drifted within a foot of him, froze in place. She looked at Li Feng in confusion—or rather, in the direction where he stood.
Seeing the bride suddenly stop, Li Feng couldn't help holding his breath and focusing all his attention, hoping this Mind Fog really could fool her.
A little while later, after finding nothing more, the Wedding-Dress Bride turned and floated away. Though puzzled by her prey's disappearance, she soon vanished into the distance.
Only then did Li Feng let out a small sigh of relief.
"Phew... phew... she finally left..."
He waited a little longer. Only after confirming that the bride was truly gone did he find the presence of mind to examine his surroundings and consider why he was here.
It was an ordinary city street, dimly lit.
The sun had probably just set, and dusk was closing in. A scattering of streetlights had already come on.
Yet as far as he could see, there wasn't a single person on the entire street besides him.
Beneath the yellowish streetlights, it lay utterly deserted, like a street of ghosts.
As for how he had gotten here...
He remembered being hit by a large vehicle that had gone out of control.
Given the circumstances, he should have been dead or crippled. He might even have ended up in a vegetative state.
But now his body was completely uninjured, and there was no out-of-control vehicle nearby.
Looking down at his unfamiliar yet familiar clothes and his unharmed body, Li Feng had a bold thought.
Could it be... I've transmigrated?
This is my body in this world...
The instant that thought arose, Li Feng felt his mind jolt. A flood of information and memories poured into his head.
After absorbing those memories, Li Feng finally understood his current situation.
Just as he had once fantasized, he really had transmigrated. He had even awakened a special ability: Mind Fog.
His name in this world was also Li Feng.
But after learning about this world, Li Feng suddenly felt that not transmigrating would have been perfectly fine.
At least in his previous world, although he had also been at the bottom of society, he had never lacked food or drink.
Most importantly, he hadn't needed to worry about dying at any moment.
This world was different.
Its overall development was roughly comparable to the 1990s in his previous life.
However, this world was a unified federal nation called the Earthstar Federation, and wealth and technology were distributed extremely unevenly, with enormous disparities.
In some places, the technology even surpassed that of the twenty-first century in his previous world. Some remote regions, meanwhile, were still at the level of World War II, or even further behind.
But none of that was the main issue.
The main issue was that this world contained anomalies, fiends, demons, ghosts, and monsters—and they ran rampant.
A Paranormal Entity was an uncanny phenomenon, a reflection in reality of a powerful being from beyond this world;
Fiends were living or nonliving things transformed through the workings of nature;
A Demon possessed powerful malice and gave rise to boundless Demonic Energy;
Ghosts formed from the obsessions and resentment of living beings at the moment of death;
Monsters arose from strange, uncanny life-forms and events.
Night was when these anomalies, fiends, demons, ghosts, and monsters became active. An ordinary person could be killed by them with just a moment's carelessness.
That was also why there was no one on this street besides Li Feng.
Every evening, everyone hurried home at the first opportunity, shut their doors and windows, and stayed obediently indoors, afraid of falling victim to those Monsters and Demons.
The bride in wedding robes had been one of them.
More precisely, the Wedding-Dress Bride should have been classified as a Paranormal Entity.
Anomalies were more like uncanny illusory phenomena. Unlike other fiends, demons, ghosts, and monsters, they couldn't be killed.
Ordinary methods had no effect on them. They were illusory phenomena, much like mirages.
Naturally, ordinary attacks couldn't affect an illusion. Even if someone possessed a means of killing one, it would only be temporary.
After some time, they would still reappear at random.
Likewise, even a child had a chance of avoiding harm when facing a Paranormal Entity.
After all, it was an illusion. Just as humans couldn't touch or harm it, it couldn't affect humans either.
But anomalies were called anomalies precisely because they weren't that simple.
When facing a Paranormal Entity, interacting with it and establishing some mysterious causal connection would draw it into the same dimension, allowing it to harm humans.
At that point, humans could also harm the Paranormal Entity.
But that was meaningless, because even if they truly destroyed the Paranormal Entity, it would still reappear after some time.
Thus, the best way to deal with the Paranormal Entity was to ignore it, avoiding any interaction or causal connection.
Otherwise, powerful supernatural individuals might be all right.
But ordinary people would have only death awaiting them.
The previous owner of his body, for instance, had panicked upon first seeing the Wedding-Dress Bride and tried to shove her away and flee, only to establish a causal connection with her.
In the end, she had seized and devoured his soul, opening the way for Li Feng's transmigration.
As for why he had still been outside as night approached, when everyone else had already gone home...
Several classmates had gathered to celebrate his acceptance into the Investigation Department, which was why he had returned a little late.
He had thought it wasn't completely dark yet, so he had declined his classmates' invitation to stay and hurried home, emboldened by alcohol.
Ultimately, however, he had still been targeted by a Paranormal Entity. He had died on the street, and Li Feng from another world had seamlessly taken over his body.
After sorting through the broad outlines of his memories, Li Feng immediately took off running toward home.
As Li Feng ran, the Mind Fog around him began to ripple slightly, forming a gently swaying tail of Mist behind him.
From a distance, he looked like a ghost floating swiftly forward.
Perhaps Mind Fog really did possess a powerful concealment effect. For the rest of the journey, Li Feng encountered no other fiends, demons, ghosts, monsters, or anomalies.
Soon, Li Feng reached the entrance to a residential community.
Pine Court Residential Community.
That was the name of the community where Li Feng lived.
After swiping his card and entering, Li Feng breathed a small sigh of relief.
Buildings in this world possessed a special power that could conceal the presence of the living to some extent and ward off incursions by ordinary fiends, demons, ghosts, monsters, and anomalies.
Of course, compared to a fully enclosed room, the community was still somewhat dangerous.
Thus, Li Feng only relaxed a little and didn't slow his steps.
Only after taking the elevator to the fifteenth floor and entering apartment 1501, his home in this world, did Li Feng finally relax completely. Still shaken, he took several deep, heavy breaths.
He had run at least a kilometer or two all the way home, yet his body felt only slightly tired. Li Feng was quite satisfied with his body in this world.
His current body was far, far stronger than the unhealthy one he had possessed in his previous life.
He turned on the light, took off his shoes, and headed straight into the Bedroom, where he lay down on the bed and pulled the covers over himself.
Only now, curled up beneath the covers, did Li Feng feel a little safer.
After lying there for a while and letting his emotions settle, he began sorting through the information in his mind more carefully and exploring Mind Fog's ability and uses in greater depth.
His name in this world was also Li Feng, and he was an orphan here too. His parents had been killed by a Paranormal Entity.
He had just graduated from university this year and passed the entrance examination for the Investigation Department, becoming a trainee Investigator.
The Investigation Department specialized in investigating incidents involving attacks by Monsters and Demons, as well as Paranormal Entity incidents.
Besides the Investigation Department, there was the Response Department, which handled combat and dealt with all manner of fiends, demons, ghosts, monsters, and anomalous events. Its personnel were called Demon-Subduing Guards or Demon Slayers.
The Night Patrol Bureau patrolled at night and eliminated fiends, demons, ghosts, monsters, and anomalies. Its personnel were called Night Patrol Officers.
The three were equal in status; only their responsibilities differed.
That said, the Investigation Department did indeed have the weakest combat strength.
Li Feng had just been accepted by the Investigation Department. Once he reported tomorrow, he would officially become a... trainee Investigator.
He activated Mind Fog again, and a thin, nearly transparent layer of mist enveloped his body.
Upon closer inspection, the Mind Fog was only about a centimeter thick, barely enough to cover him completely.
Then Li Feng went to the bathroom to examine himself in the mirror.
He could clearly see a human-shaped cloud of mist, with his own figure faintly visible inside it.
That sight gave Li Feng a rough understanding of Mind Fog's ability.
Mind Fog wasn't invisible to the outside world. Its ability to obscure vision really meant obscuring vision in the ordinary sense.
Well, being shrouded in mist would obscure someone's view, wouldn't it?
If the mist covered a wide enough area and was dense enough, blocking someone's vision would be easy.
For now, though, with only a thin centimeter of mist, that was rather difficult.
Its main function, and its strongest ability, was still blocking perception.
The Wedding-Dress Bride had turned and left precisely because she could no longer sense his life aura.
By the time he finished sorting through the original owner's memories and roughly figuring out Mind Fog's ability, it was already past ten.
His head felt heavy from using Mind Fog so frequently. Li Feng burrowed beneath the covers and soon fell into a deep sleep.
When Li Feng opened his eyes again, it was already broad daylight outside.
He stared blankly at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling for quite some time before gradually coming to his senses.
This was no longer his original world, but a world inhabited by fiends, demons, ghosts, monsters, and anomalies.
He gazed vacantly out the window. Only when sunlight fell into his eyes and hunger stirred in his stomach did Li Feng suddenly snap fully alert.
"Oh no!"
This is bad, Li Feng thought.
He had almost forgotten that he had to report to the Investigation Department today. He couldn't afford to be late.
He scrambled out of bed, hurriedly dressed and washed, then rushed out the door and downstairs.
Outside the residential community, Li Feng hailed a taxi.
"The Investigation Department at the City Center..."
"Sure thing!"
The driver answered, expertly turned the car around, and headed toward the City Center.
Along the way, the driver glanced at Li Feng and asked with a smile:
"You're heading to the Investigation Department to report for duty, young man, right?"
"Yeah!"
Li Feng nodded, then turned to look out the window.
"Haha, that's wonderful. You must be quite capable, young man..."
Seeing that Li Feng wasn't in much of a mood to talk, the driver offered that smiling remark and tactfully left him alone.
Watching the street scenery race backward outside, Li Feng's gaze grew a little unfocused.
At first glance, it seemed less as though he had transmigrated to another world and more as though he had returned to the 1990s of his previous life.
As the taxi sped onward, they seemed to enter the river of time. The surroundings and buildings began changing rapidly.
The scenery gradually shifted from the eighties and nineties of his previous world into the twenty-first century. By the time they reached the City Center, it looked much like his previous world after 2020.
Seeing all those changes along the way, Li Feng couldn't help clicking his tongue softly in amazement.
This was all within a single city. What about different cities, or the divide between cities and the countryside? The disparity was probably even harder to imagine.
The taxi came to a smooth stop right outside the Investigation Department. After paying and getting out, Li Feng looked at the Investigation Department before him.
An automatic barrier gate stood ahead, with a large sign beside it.
[Earthstar Federation, Shenzhou District, HEB Province, Yuanyang City Investigation Bureau]
Looking at the sign before him, Li Feng slipped into a daze again.
This world truly had many similarities to his previous one, yet things always seemed just a little off.
Shaking his head, Li Feng collected himself and walked briskly toward the side entrance.
After explaining why he was there to the guard, Li Feng headed straight into the Investigation Department.
There was none of that looking down on him, showing off, and getting put in their place.
Yep, Li Feng was certain now. He definitely wasn't the protagonist.
So his guiding principle in this world was to keep a low profile and stay alive.
And being an investigator with the Investigation Department suited his plans perfectly. After all, it was just investigating, not fighting demons, ghosts, and supernatural horrors.
Entering the reception hall, Li Feng swept his gaze around. There weren't many reception windows—just a semicircular service counter directly opposite the entrance.
A pretty staff member in a light blue uniform, around twenty-six or twenty-seven, seemed to have heard him at the entrance and was looking over curiously.
This was rather different from the Investigation Department reception hall he had imagined.
In his previous world, departments like this always had several reception windows lined up in a row.
Still, that suggested there might not be as many Paranormal Entity incidents in this world as he had imagined.
"Whew!"
Li Feng couldn't help feeling a little more reassured.
If that was the case, his safety would be better assured.
He strode over to the service counter and explained why he had come.
"Oh, you're the trainee Investigator coming in to report for duty today...
You're quite early!"
After hearing his explanation, the staff member looked enlightened.
"Heh!"
At her words, Li Feng gave an awkward chuckle.
It was already past eleven, almost noon. He wasn't sure whether she was teasing him.
Granted, he had been told to report at one.
But this was his first day at work.
Who wouldn't arrive as early as they could?
Seemingly oblivious to Li Feng's unease, the staff member smiled warmly and said:
"My name is Li Jie. You can call me Sister Li. What's your name, little brother?"
"Here, fill out this form. Then you can go to the Personnel Office on the second floor and report to Director Zhou Xing..."
As she spoke, Li Jie took a form from a drawer and handed it to Li Feng.
"Heh, Sister Li, I'm Li Feng!"
Li Feng answered as he took the form, though he was muttering to himself inwardly.
Li Jie? Sister Li? What a convenient name.
"Oh, I didn't expect us to share a surname..."
Hearing his reply, Li Jie looked even happier.
Once he had filled out the form, Li Jie led him upstairs to the Personnel Office at the far end of the second floor.
Knock, knock, knock...
"Come in!"
Li Jie knocked, and a voice soon came from inside.
Opening the door, Li Jie smiled at the person inside and said:
"Director Zhou, this is the new recruit reporting for duty today!"
"Oh, is that so? Come right in."
"Go on in, little brother Li Feng! I'll head back now..."
Li Jie smiled and winked at Li Feng, then turned and left.
Li Feng entered the Office of the Personnel Office and immediately received a warm welcome from Director Zhou Xing.
"You're here to report for duty, young man? Come, come sit over here..."
"Huh...?
Oh, all right!"
Somewhat bewildered, Li Feng sat in a chair across from the desk.
He couldn't shake the feeling that everyone in the Investigation Department was far too friendly.
Especially this director of the Personnel Office. Surely this was an extremely important department.
For someone about to start work here, like him, it practically held his future in its hands.
The director's enthusiasm kept making Li Feng feel that something was wrong.
"Here, here, have some tea, young man. Fill out this form!"
Zhou Xing poured a cup of water and pushed it in front of Li Feng, then took out another form and handed it to him.
"Huh? Oh, I'm not thirsty!"
Li Feng didn't pick up the water. Instead, he took the form and began filling it out.
He had only just finished and hadn't even had a chance to check it over when Zhou Xing snatched it away, grabbed the official seal beside him, and stamped it with a sharp smack.
Then Zhou Xing pulled open a drawer and put Li Feng's completed form inside.
He opened another drawer, took out a stack of items, and set them down in front of Li Feng with a thump, saying with a smile:
"From now on, you're a trainee investigator with the Investigation Department!"
"Uh..."
Holding the stack of items, Li Feng still hadn't quite processed what had happened.
Was the Investigation Department really this quick and straightforward?
Wait, wasn't it supposed to be hard to get into departments like this?
Why did Director Zhou Xing here seem so eager?
Still, to be honest, being treated like this made Li Feng secretly pleased.
Perhaps the original owner of this body had some talent he didn't know about. Maybe he was a genius.
Perhaps being transported to this world wouldn't turn out so badly.
Right. Once I get home, I'll have to get a proper feel for things and see whether I have any other special talents.
As for Mind Fog...
That had awakened after he arrived in this world, so presumably it didn't have much to do with the original owner of his body.
Before you continue