The Old Clock Tower stood behind the old shopping street in the city center.
That district had been closed for years. Dust coated the shops' rolling shutters, their signs had faded, and a few broken plastic crates sat outside. The clock tower stood between two old buildings, its exterior made of dark red brick. The wall coating had cracked, and a little dry grass grew in the gaps between the bricks. The clock face had stopped at 1:17 a.m., its hands crooked, as though no one had touched them for years.
The Special Investigation Bureau's vehicles stopped at the street entrance.
When Lu Wenchuan got out, he first glanced at the top of the clock tower.
A faint golden light flashed behind the clock face, then vanished.
Xu Zhihan got out after him, his coat draped over his shoulders. Song Zhixia had sealed the Bell Seal he held in a transparent box. His face was still pale, but his gaze was clear as he scanned the clock tower from its base to its highest point.
Song Zhixia stood beside the vehicle, holding a detector.
"Before you two go in, listen to the rules again."
Lu Wenchuan said quietly, "I'm listening."
Xu Zhihan said nothing.
Song Zhixia looked at him. "You listen too."
Xu Zhihan said coolly, "I'm listening."
Song Zhixia raised the detector in front of them.
"The Old Clock Tower has already overlapped with the Oracle Tower's second entrance. You may encounter temporal displacement or memory replays inside. Once you're in, don't immediately believe anything said by familiar faces, dead people, or people from old cases who appear. Each round is three minutes. Once a round is up, you must retreat outside the door. Xu Zhihan, you must not initiate fusion with the fourth Fragment. Lu Wenchuan, you must