The chief's office.
Luo Feichuan pointed at the person in the photograph, listening to the commotion outside as he continued speaking to Shen Ye:
"According to the experts in the Forensics Department, this person seemed to be trying to activate something."
"Shen Ye, were you carrying anything that day that you didn't normally carry?"
Activate something...
Shen Ye's heart skipped a beat.
The Cursed Sculpture of the King of the Myriad-Fallen Evil Ghosts!
The sculpture had reportedly ended millions of lives. If that tall, thin man had really activated it, then Luo Feichuan had already found the murderer!
Shen Ye looked at the unfamiliar face in the photograph and searched his memories hard, but ultimately found nothing.
The Cursed Sculpture had already disintegrated into dust.
The trail had gone cold.
Unless Chief Luo could find that person.
Until then, he absolutely could not reveal anything about the sculpture, or he would only bring trouble upon himself.
-Over the long course of history, millions of people died from the sculpture's curse.
Why were you the one who didn't die?
What made you different?
"Sir, everything was the same as usual. Nothing was different."
Shen Ye said.
"And you didn't feel anything like suffocation, loss of control, or loss of consciousness?"
"No."
"Strange..."
Luo Feichuan pondered, his thoughts unknown.
Shen Ye felt a little nervous.
Inexplicably nervous.
Ever since entering this office, something had seemed a little off about him.
-as though something felt awkward deep inside.
Strange.
Far too strange.
It felt as if something were hidden all around him, and all he needed to do was call out-
And something unprecedented would happen.
Across the desk, the expression on Luo Feichuan's face began to shift.
Shen Ye suddenly spoke. "I remember!"
Just as the words left his mouth, he saw Luo Feichuan lower the arm he had just raised.
"What do you remember?" Luo Feichuan asked.
-What was he raising his hand to do just now?
Why did it look a little like he was about to strike?
Shen Ye suppressed his unease and said with a composed expression:
"I did bring a bouquet for a friend. Also, I think my schoolbag was open-"
"I clearly remember zipping it up when school ended."
Luo Feichuan listened quietly and frowned.
These were all perfectly ordinary things, but-
"Did you check your schoolbag?" he asked.
Shen Ye's heart sank.
For some reason, he felt that Luo Feichuan seemed to know something.
-All the more reason not to volunteer anything.
"No. I really should have checked my bag," Shen Ye said with a sigh.
Luo Feichuan lowered his head, seemingly thinking about something.
Shen Ye was filled with apprehension.
The last time they met, the chief hadn't looked or acted like this.
Was something weighing on his mind?
Or did he suspect I'd done something bad?
No, I had to be careful.
Shen Ye put his Attribute Points straight into Agility.
If anything went wrong, he would have to flee immediately.
Though he might not get away.
No.
The man was a genuine police chief. Every one of his attributes completely outclassed mine.
There was no way I'd escape.
To stay alive... I couldn't worry about all that...
Shen Ye gently raised one heel.
This was so he could open a Gate in the floor at any moment.
If anything went wrong, he would stamp his foot, kick the Gate straight open, and fall through.
Perhaps I could escape?
Ring, ring-
The office phone on the desk suddenly rang.
The ringing broke the nearly frozen atmosphere and startled both people on either side of the desk.
"Chief, your phone. Should I step outside?" Shen Ye asked.
"No need-hello?"
Luo Feichuan picked up the phone, but kept his eyes fixed on Shen Ye.
Shen Ye could only remain seated.
"Luo Feichuan, you're about to die," a deep voice sounded over the phone.
Luo Feichuan raised an eyebrow.
Shen Ye was surprised as well.
What was going on?
"Who is this?" Luo Feichuan asked.
"You should know who I am," the person on the other end said.
Luo Feichuan fell silent for several seconds before saying, "Whatever it is, we can talk later. I promise I'll give you an answer. I'm busy right now."
"An answer? You're about to die. That's the answer I want," the person continued.
Luo Feichuan straightened and pressed a button on the desk.
The door opened silently. Several police officers, their expressions serious once more, filed in, immediately opened the laptops they carried, and rapidly typed out line after line of commands.
A satellite map quickly appeared on the laptop screen.
A red arrow appeared on the map, rapidly passing through tightly packed skyscrapers, crisscrossing roads, and countless crowds, jumping wildly among the rapidly flashing scenes.
-they seemed to be tracing the call.
The officers held their breath and waited.
Shen Ye looked at them, then at Luo Feichuan.
Chief Luo tapped the desk lightly with his fingers, looking somewhat impatient.
At that moment, the voice on the phone spoke again, leisurely and self-satisfied:
"Your public record is just a skin you wear. In fact-"
Every scene on the computer screen vanished except the last.
In that final scene, the red arrow pointed at a man wearing brightly colored pajamas.
-not the tall, thin man wearing light brown aviator sunglasses.
Shen Ye couldn't help sighing.
Chief Luo was helping me track down the murderer, but now it looked as though Chief Luo had run into some trouble of his own.
And Chief Luo seemed very strange.
This office felt extremely strange to him as well.
Shen Ye felt enveloped in a fog. Not only did he know nothing, but he could also be in danger at any moment.
On the screen, the man in pajamas leaned against a lamppost, talking on the phone while smoking.
Behind him was a row of shops selling various goods. Across the road he faced stood a familiar-looking building.
Shen Ye's eyes suddenly widened.
The Police Station!
-At this very moment, this man was standing on the street opposite the Police Station!
How dare he come to the Police Station's doorstep to provoke a chief!
An invisible ripple emerged from the void and swiftly swept over their bodies like a gust of wind, finally locking onto Luo Feichuan.
What was this?
Could this be the Spellcraft Supervisor Qian had mentioned?
While Shen Ye was still wondering, Luo Feichuan slammed the desk and roared:
"Damn it!"
Luo Feichuan sprang from his chair like a great eagle spreading its wings, crossed dozens of meters in an instant, and burst through the glass with a crash.
Only then did the voice in the receiver finish speaking:
"You slaughtered many members of our Church. Now I'm going to avenge them."
Bang.
A gunshot sounded outside.
The officers in the room rushed out after him.
Shen Ye slowly stood and tilted his head to listen.
That gunshot sounded wrong.
The gunshot was exceptionally clear and carried far, far away, even producing a slow, lingering echo.
There was actually an echo.
In this city that was like a forest of steel, a gunshot actually produced an echo like that?
The lights in the room suddenly turned blood red.
A shrill electronic alarm rose, ringing throughout the Police Station.
A female voice came over the loudspeaker:
"Alert!"
"Attacker detected."
"The attacker has infiltrated the Police Station. Noncombatants, please find a safe place to hide."
Shen Ye slowly walked to the window and looked outside.
Outside was the sea.
The bustling, prosperous city had vanished, replaced by a vast, boundless sea.
The seawater was black, like an abyss with no bottom in sight.
Cold rain was falling over the sea, mingling with fierce winds as it lashed Shen Ye's face.
It really was the ocean!
Shen Ye looked toward the distant horizon, and many news reports surfaced in his memory.
-in this world, some things or people would always suddenly disappear.
Half a year ago.
An island nation in the Western Ocean had encountered an anomaly. The entire island had disappeared and had yet to return.
That was an extreme example.
There were other cases, too, such as a car passing through fog and returning intact, but with its occupants gone.
-reports like these frequently appeared in the news.
Shen Ye gazed at the sea in bewilderment.
For ordinary people, news reports were the best channel for obtaining information.
But.
Watching the news alone could never reveal the truth of the world.
Shen Ye stood before the shattered window and swept his gaze downward.
This was an island.
Besides the Police Station, on the other side stood seven or eight crooked gravestones before graves, forming a tiny cemetery.
The island was only this large, with room for just a Police Station and a cemetery.
Beyond it lay an endless expanse of black sea.
The shrill alarm abruptly stopped.
Luo Feichuan stood on the beach, holstered his pistol, and drew a black dagger.
Opposite him, the man in brightly colored pajamas also slowly drew a long staff.
The two faced off.
The next instant.
Several police officers rushed out through the main entrance and shouted to Luo Feichuan:
"Boss-"
Before they could finish, Luo Feichuan, the man in pajamas, the island, and the vast sea all vanished.
The city reappeared before everyone's eyes.
-They were back!
Except for Luo Feichuan, everyone, along with the Police Station itself, had returned to the main world!
Inside the Police Station.
Piercing alarms blared everywhere.
Everyone was in chaos.
Upstairs, in the chief's office.
Shen Ye withdrew his gaze and sank into thought.
He had thought the Police Station was the safest place, but who could have known some madman would take the chief head-on?
The Church...
Who knew which Church it was.
Suddenly.
That strange feeling welled up in Shen Ye's heart again.
The entire Police Station had lost power.
The emergency lighting was too faint, leaving the room dim.
He stood by the window, his expression growing increasingly puzzled.
There was something-
Something lingered hazily in his mind, but no matter what he did, he could not remember it.
The feeling was deeply uncomfortable.
-What was it?
Somewhat troubled, Shen Ye could not help murmuring to himself:
"What's wrong with me? Is this office haunted?"
No sooner had he spoken than lines of glowing text formed on his retinas.
"Your Undead innate ability: Dark Whisper has been activated." "Once you have voiced your question, with the corpse here as the anchor, that soul must return to his body and answer your question." "If he does not answer, he will never be able to rest in peace."
With the corpse as the anchor...
Shen Ye suddenly caught on, disbelief crossing his face.
Here.
In Luo Feichuan's office.
-There was a corpse?
Suddenly, a voice rang out:
"Thank you, Shen Ye."
"Who's there?" Shen Ye spun around and looked into the dark room.
"I never thought I could return to my body and use this shell, which has yet to rot, to come and answer your question."
That voice was so familiar-
Goosebumps immediately rose all over Shen Ye, and a chill shot up his spine to his forehead.
"Chief Luo, is that you?"
Shen Ye asked tentatively.
His gaze settled lightly on the large office cabinet in the corner.