After the lights went out, the room grew gloomy and cold.
The chief's office had originally been spacious, with a set of sofas for visitors in addition to the desk. Honorary banners hung neatly along both walls, and the bright window facing the desk offered a view of the street opposite.
But now, a briny, bloody wind poured through the shattered window, as though recounting the strange scene moments before.
The room was pitch-black, with only the emergency light flashing.
Everything seemed still and eerie.
Shen Ye slowly took two steps back, looking toward the corner behind the desk.
A large, freestanding cabinet stood there with its doors shut.
Cabinets like this were common, around two meters tall, with room inside for all sorts of things, as well as hanging clothes and hats.
The teachers' offices at school had cabinets like this too.
Suddenly.
The voice sounded from inside the cabinet again:
"The hunter was killed by his prey, and that prey even disguised himself as the hunter."
"How tragic."
Shen Ye steadied himself and said, "You mean that Luo Feichuan just now-"
"The first drawer on the left of the desk is unlocked. Open it, and you'll find the truth," the voice continued.
Shen Ye fell silent for a moment.
Should I just go through a police chief's private belongings? What if something goes wrong?
-Is this voice even reliable?
But he could indeed sense that his innate ability, "Dark Whisper," had activated.
It was a very mysterious sensation.
"Dark Whisper" was the foundation of the Undead Race, one of its three oldest inherited innate abilities.
Fine.
I'll take the risk!
Shen Ye stood, walked around behind the desk, and took a napkin from his pocket. Wrapping it around two fingers, he used them to pull open the first drawer on the left.
A pair of light brown aviator sunglasses lay conspicuously inside.
Shen Ye's pupils contracted sharply.
He had seen that photograph.
When Shen Ye had visited Chen Haoyu in the hospital, a very tall, thin man had stood on the rooftop across from the hospital, facing it with his hands pressed together and his mouth open, seemingly reciting something.
That man had been wearing a pair of light brown aviator sunglasses.
-Exactly like these!
Shen Ye briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had regained his composure.
A terrifying truth surfaced in his mind.
Could it be...
He pressed the drawer shut with his napkin-wrapped fingers, turned, and reached the storage cabinet in a few strides, using his fingers to pull it open as well.
A bound corpse stood inside the storage cabinet.
It was Luo Feichuan!
The wounds covering his body were horrifying, but no blood seeped from them. They had clearly been treated by professional means.
"Chief Luo, how were you killed?" Shen Ye asked hoarsely.
"There was a problem with my weapon."
With his eyes shut, the corpse opened his mouth and said, "He's an Assassin, while I'm a Special Forces Warrior with an even split between strength and agility."
"-I need powerful equipment to bring my strength to bear. He only needs to catch me off guard to strike."
"What's his goal?" Shen Ye asked.
"He must be looking for some answer. Otherwise, why go to all the trouble of bringing you to the station under my identity and questioning you in person?" the corpse said with certainty.
Shen Ye's heart jolted.
That's right!
That fake Luo Feichuan had been asking him about the hospital.
Perhaps he had been deeply puzzled-
The King of the Myriad-Fallen Evil Ghosts' Cursed Sculpture had never failed throughout history.
Why had it been ineffective against a fifteen-year-old boy?
He had to figure out what had gone wrong.
Fortunately, a group of police officers had come to report, and Shen Ye had also stalled for a little time. Then-
A madman had come to the Police Station to provoke them.
Everything had been disrupted.
-The killer had never gotten the chance to keep questioning him!
"Chief Luo, the killer impersonating you has now been taken away through Spellcraft by a guy wearing colorful pajamas," Shen Ye said.
"Spellcraft? What Spellcraft?" the corpse asked in confusion.
Shen Ye recounted what had happened.
The corner of the corpse's mouth twitched, actually revealing a hint of mockery:
"The prey disguised himself as the hunter, but he didn't know that even bigger trouble lurked behind the hunter."
"You mean the guy in pajamas is more powerful?" Shen Ye asked.
"That man is the Chief Arbiter of the Silent Church-they're all mentally disturbed lunatics. Not long ago, I inadvertently shot and killed one of their people. Now he's come personally to take revenge on me."
The corpse spoke.
"The Chief Arbiter... thought that killer was you?" Shen Ye asked.
"That's right," the corpse said with relish at the killer's misfortune.
The corpse explained further, "That wasn't Spellcraft just now. It was an 'anomaly.'"
"An anomaly?"
Shen Ye couldn't help repeating it.
This was the first time he had heard such a term, in either his previous life or this one.
"Other worlds suddenly connect to our world, surrounding an area, eroding it, seizing it, or directly taking certain living beings away-"
"These are called 'anomalies.'"
"Beyond those are even more severe situations, known as 'Calamities.'"
"What's a 'Calamity,' then?" Shen Ye couldn't help asking.
"Powerful monsters from other worlds use some method to suddenly descend upon the Main World-"
"This is extremely likely to cause a catastrophe."
"I don't know if you still remember when Jiangnan City was flooded, triggering an earthquake that wiped out the entire city."
"You ordinary people don't know, but that was a typical instance of a 'Calamity' descending."
Shen Ye was left speechless.
That's terrifying...
Wait!
There was a problem here.
"If the killer reveals his true identity, will the Silent Church's Chief Arbiter let him go?" Shen Ye asked.
The corpse said, "The 'anomaly' has already formed. Reversing it is impossible. Besides, the Silent Church is willing to kill all of humanity. That is the will of the master behind them."
"Churches... I've never had any contact with churches," Shen Ye said.
"Don't get involved with any church. The gods of churches are utterly insane, and so are their followers. You must be extremely careful to stay away from them if you want to preserve your soul," the corpse said.
Shen Ye rubbed his temples painfully, forcing himself to calm down.
-Is the adult world this dangerous and complicated?
How am I supposed to survive to adulthood?
"Chief, is there anything else you can help me with?" he asked.
The corpse thought for a moment, then said:
"We don't have much time. We can't chat for too long. We need to hurry."
"Why?" Shen Ye asked.
"If that killer survives the Silent Church's 'anomaly,' he might be back very soon. After all, that 'anomaly' is only the mildest kind, and it has a time limit," the corpse said.
Shen Ye wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He might come back!
In other words, he was still in danger.
-When he had met the killer just now, he had instinctively exercised some caution and hadn't told him what had really happened.
Thank goodness I didn't!
Once the killer got the information he wanted, Shen Ye would no longer be of any use.
He could kill Shen Ye effortlessly.
I was right to stall!
"Can't that Chief Arbiter kill him?" Shen Ye asked.
"In an actual fight, unforeseen changes can arise that no one can predict. Take me, for example-I also happened to arrest some of their followers, and I was preparing to flee back to the World Government Military Fortress and hide for a while," the corpse said.
-Who knew you'd be killed before you even set off?
Shen Ye silently added that thought to himself.
As he conversed with the corpse, he gradually realized something.
He would never get to enjoy the peaceful times of his previous life again.
Countless conflicts and battles kept erupting in this world.
-In this world, if he didn't want others to control his fate, he had to work hard to grow stronger.
The corpse said:
"Remember, you must immediately go to the Third-Floor Weapons Storage Room and enter this password on the silver wall outside it:"
"2EGY-57XC-9Q61-7SKR-81MT-3DPW-76AP-5E2K-99VS."
"There's a special pen there that can write on the wall."
"Report the truth to them, and you can receive protection."
"Time is limited. This is your only way to protect yourself. Go!"
After finishing, the corpse stopped moving.
A line of glowing text appeared on Shen Ye's retina:
"The other party's soul has departed."
Shen Ye stood there for a while, then suddenly said, "I still have something to ask."
A new line of glowing text appeared:
"The other party's soul has returned."
The corpse spoke again:
"I've told you everything I can. What else is there?"
Shen Ye went to the desk and fetched a pen and paper. Resting the paper against his leg, he said:
"That password is too long. I'm only human. I can't remember it."
The corpse had no choice but to repeat it.
Shen Ye wrote it down.
Once the soul saw that he had recorded it in full, he left again.
Holding the paper, Shen Ye read it over several times, still feeling uneasy.
-This password is so long. Should I call him back one more time?
Forget it.
Even with obsessive-compulsive disorder, I shouldn't embarrass myself so readily.
Besides, I'm a "polite person" too.
-If it really is wrong, it won't be too late to call him back then.
Still, he finally understood why the ancient Undead innate ability, "Dark Whisper," had been described that way.
"With a corpse as the medium, the dead must answer your call, climb up from Hell, and truthfully tell you what they know. Only then can their souls find rest."
-If you won't talk, I'll just keep calling you back.
I'll annoy you to death.
And you still expect to rest in peace?