The Dead Sea Secret Scrolls in Hand!

"Black Box Catalog Number F-375611, 'Fragment Echo,' status stable, ready!" Before the densely packed rows of tombstones in the Resting Cemetery, several researchers in white lab coats carefully operated an old, weathered projector mounted on a tripod. A clear projection appeared before everyone's eyes— "Slash!" Accompanied by a low shout, a dazzling screen of light burst across the scene. Even the Major, wearing dark sunglasses, could not help squinting against the piercing glare. As the light slowly dispersed, the image that came into focus revealed Adjutant Han lying on the ground with a severed arm, and... The silhouette of a clean-featured youth. To everyone's utter shock, what the youth held in his hand was not a blade at all, but... A fire poker?! At that point, the projection abruptly ended. "—That kid from Wancheng?" an officer blurted out in disbelief. "How could it be him?!" "Are there any other fragments?" The officer turned to the researchers. The researchers shook their heads one after another. "As you know... the fragments that 'Fragment Echo' can project are entirely uncontrollable." Even as they spoke, the researchers cautiously disassembled the antique projector and packed it back into the Black Box. "Perhaps..." The Major's expression darkened, the gaze behind his dark glasses chillingly cold. "All of our eyes were chewed out by rats." "To think we let someone like that slip right in!" "Could he be from the Blood Worship Cult...?" an officer asked, bewildered. "An Extraordinary this young, starting at Tier 2 at the very least, couldn't possibly be a nobody in the Blood Worship Cult." "Sending a prodigy with hopes of reaching a Tier 6 title to act as an undercover spy? Are they insane!" "Is it some special trial, or has he set his sights on our industry chain?" Hearing this, the Major shook his head. "No. Judging by that pure white holy light alone..." "He is definitely not with the Blood Worship Cult!" Yet the Major did not relax in the slightest. Instead, his expression grew even graver as he murmured in suspicion, "Summoning holy light, wielding an edgeless weapon... this resembles the style of the Sanctuary of Sacred Relics, doesn't it?" "The Sanctuary of Sacred Relics?" The officer froze for a moment, dredging the origins of that name from the depths of his memory before his eyes gradually widened in shock. That name was simply far too ancient. Ancient enough to exist only in the dust-covered depths of old archives or marginal annotations of classified dossiers. Yet their hallmark had indeed been holy light in the left hand and an edgeless weapon in the right... "In historical records, the Sun Knights of the Sanctuary of Sacred Relics bore traits remarkably similar to what that boy displayed," the Major said coldly. "Otherwise, I cannot imagine who else in Tinghai would possess an Extraordinary pathway that channels holy light!" That group of monsters preaching benevolence and mercy had once been the ruling power of Tinghai City's lawful faction in an earlier era. Countless Extraordinary secret societies had been leveled beneath their hands as they acted as a semi-civilian force carrying out the duties of authorities on their own initiative. Yet the era of their prominence lay too far in the past; they had vanished without a trace fifty years ago, before the current Special Control Bureau even existed. "Whether this Bai Zhou is one of them or not... no longer matters." "Even if this so-called Sanctuary of Sacred Relics truly still exists, they're merely relics that were swept into the garbage heap long ago." "Times have changed." The Major pushed up his sunglasses, his tone absolute and unquestionable. "—What matters is that Bai Zhou must die!" "And as soon as possible!" —Because the transaction ledger on Adjutant Han was gone! As the last person to contact Adjutant Han, Bai Zhou was obviously the prime suspect. Not only that, Bai Zhou had escaped through the secret tunnel beneath the Resting Cemetery. Before leaving, every single tombstone showed signs of having been tampered with... —Clearly, Bai Zhou knew far too much. Without needing the Major to spell it out, the officers understood the gravity of the situation, their hearts chilling. "This is a tremendous humiliation, isn't it?" The Major swept his cold gaze over the assembly of officers, rebuking them harshly. "He fooled every single one of us, quietly uncovering many of our secrets..." "Yet we know absolutely nothing about him!" The Major's reprimand forced the officers to hang their heads, none daring to cross him at such a moment. Yet... Hadn't you recruited the kid yourself? Some officers secretly grumbled inward. "Rest assured, sir." At this moment, an officer stepped forward, volunteering himself. "I will personally lead a team to hunt him down, taking the Swordbearer squads with me!" The chill on the Major's face softened slightly. "Very well." "However, that is still not enough." He shook his head. "We must ensure nothing goes amiss..." Abruptly, he turned toward the officer in charge of logistics beside him. "Where was Bai Zhou's dormitory assigned?" The Major asked sharply, "Before I cast an inescapable net over him, I want to know exactly what he did here, and..." "What kind of person he truly is." No one truly understood Bai Zhou. The only person in the base who had known him to any degree was already dead. After all, prior to today, nobody had paid any heed to a minor nobody like Bai Zhou. The last time that name had come up was when Adjutant Han selected Bai Zhou as his "new sheep." —Yet no one could have imagined. The seemingly weak lamb would, in the blink of an eye, transform into a rearing black goat writhing with tentacles... Turning around to devour the shepherd whole. "To ensure a person's death, one must not remain entirely ignorant of him." "Bring the best criminal profilers over. Within half an hour, I want to see Bai Zhou's psychological model!" With a broad sweep of his arm, the Major ordered the logistics supervisor to lead the way. "Take me there!" ... Tinghai City. Bai Zhou blended into the bustling throng of pedestrians. Map in hand, he searched for quite a while before finally pinpointing his current coordinates. Then, he discovered a problem— He only knew that on a map, top was north, bottom south, left west, and right east— He had no idea which way was which in reality. Fortunately, there was Crow. Bai Zhou glanced to his side. The petite Crow was flipping through the ledger as she walked, head bowed in deep concentration, completely unbothered by her surroundings. —So much so that Bai Zhou worried she would smash her forehead straight into a utility pole. "Most of the ledger is encrypted." After a while, Crow snapped the ledger shut with a slap, her expression uncharacteristically icy. "However, I managed to identify several budget appropriation project names." "The Shepherd Project, the Human Material Cultivation Project, the Industrial Park Project, and..." Crow glanced at Bai Zhou, as though weighing her words. "The Wancheng Subject Ward Experiment!" "..." Bai Zhou's heart dropped. His worst fears had come true. The alleys of Corner Street were full of the people who had watched him grow up. Uncle Xiang, and everyone else... what had happened to them now? "As for the so-called 'Industrial Park,' it should be an essential component of their industry chain." "...It's relatively easy for me to move around, and I have a few hunches that I can scout out right now." She looked toward Bai Zhou. "Their pursuers won't catch up anytime soon. You can find a place to grab something to eat first." "Let's meet up later at that Dongxing Road intersection you mentioned." "Alright," Bai Zhou nodded. Eat something? He truly was a bit hungry. But now wasn't the time... Just as he was thinking that, in the blink of an eye, Crow vanished without a trace. Elusiveness had always been her trademark, and now that they were out of the base, she was like a fish returned to the ocean. Still... Bai Zhou scratched his head. A stray tuft of hair on the crown of his head stood straight up like an antenna. Standing before a convenience store along the bustling, brightly lit street, Bai Zhou blinked. Still— How was someone with zero sense of direction supposed to get to Dongxing Road? In the end, Bai Zhou was forced to overcome his social anxiety and introversion, approaching an unfamiliar couple on the street to ask for directions. During the exchange, because the girl's outfit was rather unique, Bai Zhou couldn't help glancing at it a couple extra times out of curiosity. The girl rolled her eyes, yet seemed faintly pleased by her own charm as she tugged at her clothing. After earnestly thanking the kind pair, Bai Zhou departed with his briefcase... Only after Bai Zhou had walked far off did the girl finally notice something, wheeling around to shout at her boyfriend: "—My sweater is inside out! Why didn't you tell me?!" ... "Ouch, so tight." Bai Zhou winced slightly as he hurried along. The dark gold circlet, with twelve sharp thorns painfully digging into his flesh, squeezed his index finger like a ring of briars. —It was, of course, that mysterious Crown of Thorns. Only now, it had temporarily become a "Thorn Ring." Originally, Bai Zhou had intended to take the risk of stealing the crown directly. Yet back in the Black Chamber when he retrieved the crown, the Sea of Ignorance within him had surged, and the luminous glyphs had faintly glowed, drawing a subtle reaction from the crown. —A slight reaction, but not much. Essentially just two perfunctory twitches to acknowledge him. Nothing more. —Even so, it proved Bai Zhou's earlier reasoning had been correct. To resolve the crown's issue, he had to search within those battlefield ruins! Yet just as Bai Zhou fished the crown out of the water tank, lamenting that it was too bulky to conceal easily— The Crown of Thorns suddenly shrank, becoming as small as a ring that clamped tightly onto his index finger. —It could do that? The unexpected mutation left Bai Zhou both startled and delighted. Those twelve echoes of "Acknowledgment denied" never sounded again... Which meant the crown still did not acknowledge Bai Zhou in the slightest. Yet the presence of "Light" seemed to make the "Crown" willing to observe him. Perhaps, in a sense, the presence of "Light"—or rather, Laia's blessing—served as a form of "qualification." Though that "qualification" was exceedingly tiny, barely enough to clear the threshold for observation candidacy. —Even so, Bai Zhou was the sole observation candidate. That was already good enough. The problem was... After wearing it outside, he discovered the ring seemed almost rooted into his flesh, practically impossible to pull off. Unless he was willing to chop off his own finger... Without understanding the crown's precise nature, carrying it on his person made Bai Zhou feel an uneasy dread, like carrying a ticking time bomb. From Crow's puzzled inquiry earlier, he knew— Crow had never witnessed such a thing either. Fortunately, for reasons unknown, Crow had always possessed the standard sealing methods for the Crown of Thorns. She seemed to have a certain degree of familiarity with the crown... but not much. Presumably, she was unaware of the twelve rejections either. A proud individual like her had probably never been denied so many times in her entire life. —This crown definitely had some kind of contrarian personality disorder. It was fortunate it had encountered Bai Zhou, who was thick-skinned and easygoing. Since this involved his own safety, once Crow returned, he would have to question her thoroughly about the crown. Hopefully, he would learn something useful— ... After walking for an hour, Bai Zhou crossed several intersections. Emerging from the bustling commercial districts, the streets grew increasingly desolate, with fewer and fewer pedestrians passing by. The air gradually turned chilly, and even the streetlights grew sparse. Walking along the dark, empty roads, Bai Zhou actually felt less alienated and more at home. The nights in Wancheng were vastly darker than this. It was just that the moon here was far too white, appearing bleak and cold. Not red enough, not festive enough, and therefore not quite something Bai Zhou could get used to. A while later. At two-thirty in the morning, the heat of the day had completely dissipated, and mist began to rise in the distance. The traveler in the deep-night fog finally arrived at his destination. Dongxing Road, at last. This place resembled a remote semi-suburb; not only were the roads uneven and grimy, but the storefronts with signboards along the street were scarce, and none were open. Bai Zhou searched along the roadside for a long while before finally locating the "Yongning Life Care Center." In truth, before this... Bai Zhou had always assumed that this so-called care center was something like a nursing home. Yet what appeared before him was a tightly shut front gate and a black signboard. "This is...?" [Yongning Life Care Center] [Funerals · Cremation · Custom Cemeteries · End-of-Life Stand-Up Comedy Planning] Affixed to the door was an advertising slogan: "Enjoy ultimate eternal peace, customizing the final page of your life!" —Bai Zhou was left dumbfounded. So that was what "eternal peace" meant? And that was what "life care" was about? Eternal peace? Funerals and cremation? Bai Zhou was actually very familiar with this. People from Wancheng understood this better than anyone. "Is this the naming style of Blue Star people?" —No wonder it sat on such a desolate street. Yet this worked to Bai Zhou's advantage. No living soul would come wandering near a funeral home in the dead of night, would they? Amid the swirling mist, Bai Zhou looked around, walked up to the large tree before the entrance, and checked the tree pit. Then, he produced the short black rod... Half a minute later. Bai Zhou genuinely dug up a book from beneath the tree. With two sharp slaps, he dusted off the soil, his spirits instantly lifting. Whoosh... The surrounding air seemed to turn into flowing water, carrying a faint viscous resistance, as though the book itself resisted being lifted. The weighty, arcane tome was not a standard perfect rectangular prism; certain portions were strangely asymmetrical, and gazing upon it for too long induced an uncomfortable sense of spatial distortion. Across its spine ran several thick, dark metal chains that seemed to have grown directly out of its interior. Its cover was made of an uncanny, near-metallic leather of a deathly blue-green hue, casting an eerie luster like abyssal sea waters or aged verdigris beneath the pale moonlight. Etched upon it was a massive, incomprehensible compound sigil. At first glance, it resembled an eye. "..." Accompanied by a rhythmic pulsation akin to breathing, a faint scent of earthy musk and deep-sea sludge of unknown origin drifted from the book. It was as if Bai Zhou hadn't unearthed a book from the dirt— —But rather exhumed a living corpse. Such an artifact should never have been buried haphazardly in a tree pit before a funeral home... It belonged enshrined upon some bizarre, arcane altar, or buried as a taboo within some grand ruin! Without a doubt, the very instant one took hold of it, one could feel the pale, deathly silence and the desolate passage of time washing over them, knowing beyond question that it could never be a forgery. This was the very thing for which the Special Control Bureau, the Blood Worship Cult, and countless others fought to the death... The Dead Sea Secret Scrolls! "Finally, it's mine!" Taking a deep breath beneath the clear moonlight, Bai Zhou opened the cover. The text on the title page met his eyes. It was a florid script nearly resembling symbolic glyphs, one that would not feel out of place in any occult rite. Yet at the very first glance, Bai Zhou's mind shook violently, and distant, reverent whispers akin to sleep-talking resonated in his ears. Then, he inexplicably understood the meaning of the words on the title page, for the text aligned perfectly with the murmurs echoing incessantly in his mind... It read: [Whosoever turns beyond this page must know that 'understanding' is the inception of 'annihilation.'] [This is no realm for fools; this is the crawling truth of all phenomena...] It also read— [The Thousand-Faced Moon awaits you in dreams.]