The Chief’s Office.
Luo Feichuan pointed to the figure in the photograph, listening intently to the sounds outside while continuing his conversation with Shen Ye.
“According to the forensic experts, they believe this person seems to be attempting to activate something.”
Shen Ye’s heart skipped a beat.
Activate something…
The cursed sculpture of the King of Fallen Evil Spirits!
It was said this sculpture had claimed millions of lives. If the tall, thin man in the photo was indeed responsible for activating it, then Luo Feichuan might already have found the culprit!
Shen Ye stared at the unfamiliar face in the photograph, trying to recall anything from memory but ultimately came up empty.
The cursed sculpture had already turned to dust.
The trail was cold.
Unless Chief Luo managed to track down that man, Shen Ye couldn’t risk revealing anything about the sculpture—doing so would only invite unnecessary trouble.
Across the long tides of history, millions had died from the sculpture’s curse.
Why didn’t you? What makes you different?
“Chief, I acted as I normally would that day—nothing unusual.”
Shen Ye answered calmly.
“You didn’t experience any suffocation, loss of control, or unconsciousness?”
“None at all.”
“Strange…”
Luo Feichuan muttered, his thoughts seemingly elsewhere.
A subtle tension began to gnaw at Shen Ye.
Ever since entering this office, something felt…off.
—Like there was a vague unease lurking, a sense of something being subtly amiss.
The sensation wasn’t overt, but it clung persistently, like an itch he couldn’t scratch.
As if something unseen surrounded him, waiting for just the right moment to—
Unsettling. Too unsettling.
Across the desk, Luo Feichuan’s expression began to shift.
Suddenly, Shen Ye broke the silence. “I remember now!”
The moment he spoke, he noticed Luo Feichuan’s raised hand slowly lowering again.
“What did you remember?” Luo Feichuan asked.
—Just now, had he been about to do something? Why did it feel like he was preparing to strike?
Suppressing his unease, Shen Ye responded with a steady voice:
“I had brought a bouquet to give to a friend, and I remember my backpack was left unzipped for a bit—”
“I distinctly recall zipping it up after school.”
Luo Feichuan listened quietly, his brow furrowing slightly.
These were mundane details, yet—
“Did you ever check your bag?” he asked.
Shen Ye’s heart sank.
For some reason, it felt like Luo Feichuan knew more than he let on.
—Which made it even more critical to stay silent about the sculpture.
“I didn’t check, but I probably should have,” Shen Ye replied with a sigh.
Luo Feichuan lowered his head, lost in thought.
Shen Ye’s unease deepened.
The last time they met, this police chief had not seemed so enigmatic.
Was something weighing on his mind? Or did he suspect Shen Ye of something?
I need to be careful.
Shen Ye silently allocated his stat points to agility.
If anything went wrong, he needed to be ready to escape.
Although he knew his chances of succeeding were slim.
No.
His opponent was a real police chief, leagues above him in every way.
There was no way he could outrun him.
For survival…he couldn’t afford hesitation.
Shen Ye gently lifted one foot, prepared to open a portal beneath him at a moment’s notice.
If anything went wrong, he could stomp down and create an exit, disappearing instantly.
Maybe, just maybe, he could escape.
Suddenly, the office phone rang.
The piercing sound shattered the tense atmosphere, startling everyone.
“Chief, it’s your phone. Should I step out?” Shen Ye asked.
“No need. Hello?”
Luo Feichuan answered the call, his gaze still fixed on Shen Ye.
Shen Ye had no choice but to remain seated.
“You’re about to die, Luo Feichuan.”
The voice on the other end was low and menacing.
Luo Feichuan’s eyebrows twitched.
Shen Ye froze in shock.
What’s going on?
“Who’s this?” Luo Feichuan asked.
“You should know who I am.”
Luo Feichuan paused for several seconds before replying, “If you have something to say, we can discuss it later. I assure you, I’ll give you an explanation. Right now, I’m busy.”
“An explanation? You’re about to die—that’s the only explanation I need,” the voice continued.
Straightening his posture, Luo Feichuan pressed a button on his desk.
The office door opened without a sound, and several armed officers entered with serious expressions. They quickly set up laptops, typing commands with practiced efficiency.
On the screen, a satellite map appeared.
A red arrow darted across the map, weaving through towering buildings, complex roadways, and bustling crowds.
It was clear they were tracing the call.
The officers watched intently, holding their breath.
Shen Ye glanced between them and Luo Feichuan.
The chief tapped his fingers on the desk, his impatience apparent.
Then, the voice on the phone spoke again, calm and unhurried:
“Your public persona is merely a façade. In truth—”
The computer screens abruptly froze, revealing a final scene.
The red arrow pointed to a man in garish pajamas, standing under a streetlight, smoking a cigarette while making a call.
It wasn’t the tall, thin man with sunglasses.
Shen Ye sighed inwardly.
Chief Luo had been trying to track down his attacker, yet it seemed the chief himself had his own troubles.
And Luo Feichuan’s behavior…
This office’s strange atmosphere…
It all felt deeply unsettling.
On the screen, the pajama-wearing man leaned against the streetlight, surrounded by a row of shops.
Across the street stood a building Shen Ye recognized instantly.
The police station!
This man is right outside the police station!
How could he dare to provoke the chief right at his doorstep?
Suddenly, an invisible ripple of energy emerged from the void, sweeping over everyone in the room like a passing gust of wind.
It ultimately settled on Luo Feichuan.
What was that?
Was this the magic art that Manager Qian mentioned?
Shen Ye was still puzzling over this when he saw Luo Feichuan slam the desk and roar in anger:
“Damn it!”
Luo Feichuan leaped from his chair like a giant eagle spreading its wings. In an instant, he covered a distance of dozens of meters and crashed through the glass with a loud shatter, diving out.
At that moment, the voice on the phone was just finishing its sentence:
“You slaughtered many members of our church. I am here to avenge them.”
Bang.
The sound of gunfire rang out from outside.
The police officers in the room rushed out after him.
Shen Ye slowly stood up, tilting his head to listen.
Something was off about that gunshot.
It was unusually clear, echoing far and wide, with a long and lingering reverberation.
An echo?
In a city of steel and concrete, how could a gunshot have such an echo?
Suddenly, the lights in the room turned blood-red.
A piercing electronic alarm rang, filling the police station with its shrill sound.
A female voice echoed from the speakers:
“Alert!”
“An intruder has been detected.”
“The intruder has breached the police station. Non-combat personnel, please find a secure location to hide.”
Shen Ye walked slowly to the window and looked outside.
What he saw was the sea.
The bustling city had vanished, replaced by an endless expanse of ocean.
The sea was pitch black, like a bottomless abyss, its depths invisible.
Cold rain lashed against the surface, driven by a fierce wind, splashing against Shen Ye’s face.
It was the ocean!
Staring at the distant horizon, Shen Ye’s mind replayed countless news reports he had read.
—There were always reports of people or things mysteriously disappearing from this world.
Half a year ago, an island nation in the Western Ocean experienced an anomaly. The entire island disappeared, and to this day, it hasn’t returned.
That was an extreme case.
Other incidents included cars driving into fog, returning intact but with their passengers missing.
—Such stories frequently appeared in the news.
Shen Ye stared blankly at the sea.
For ordinary people, the news was the best source of information.
But…
Just watching the news couldn’t reveal the true nature of the world.
Shen Ye stood by the shattered window, glancing downward.
This was an island.
Besides the police station, there was a small cemetery with seven or eight crooked headstones standing before the graves.
The island was this small—just big enough for a police station and a tiny graveyard.
Surrounding it was an endless expanse of vast, dark ocean.
The shrill alarm stopped abruptly.
Luo Feichuan was now on the beach. He holstered his pistol and drew a black dagger.
Facing him, the man in the colorful pajamas casually pulled out a staff.
The two squared off.
In the next instant…
Several police officers rushed out of the station and shouted to Luo Feichuan:
“Chief—”
Before they could finish, Luo Feichuan, the man in pajamas, the island, and the vast sea all vanished into thin air.
The city reappeared before everyone’s eyes.
—They were back!
Except for Luo Feichuan, everyone and everything, including the police station, had returned to the main world.
Inside the police station, shrill alarms rang from all directions.
The place was in chaos.
Upstairs, in the chief’s office, Shen Ye withdrew his gaze and fell into deep thought.
He had assumed the police station was the safest place, but who could have expected someone crazy enough to go head-to-head with the chief?
The church…
Which church could it be?
Suddenly.
That strange sensation arose again in Shen Ye’s heart.
The entire police station had lost power.
The emergency lights were too dim, leaving the room murky and shadowy.
Standing by the window, Shen Ye grew increasingly puzzled.
There was something—
Something nagging at the back of his mind, vague and elusive, no matter how hard he tried to grasp it.
It was an infuriating feeling.
—What is it?
Frowning in frustration, Shen Ye muttered to himself:
“What’s wrong with me? Is there a ghost in this office?”
The moment the words left his mouth, glowing text appeared before his eyes:
“Your undead talent: Whisper of the Abyss has been activated.”
“Upon your query, using the corpses present as a medium, the soul tied to the body must return and answer your question.”
“If it refuses to answer, it will never find peace.”
Using a corpse as a medium…
Shen Ye’s face froze, a look of disbelief spreading across it.
Here.
In Luo Feichuan’s office.
—There was a corpse?
Suddenly, a voice spoke:
“Thank you, Shen Ye.”
“Who’s there?” Shen Ye spun around, staring into the darkened room.
“I never thought I’d return to my body and, with its still-intact flesh so I will answer your questions.”
The voice sounded eerily familiar—
A chill ran down Shen Ye’s spine, goosebumps erupting as an icy sensation crept from his back to the top of his head.
“Chief Luo, is that you?”
He cautiously asked, his gaze drifting to the large office cabinet in the corner.
