Four Great Inspectors; The Hundred-Day Oath!

So he had spent half the day wandering across a corpse, even attending an auction inside its mouth? The squirming tremors he had felt in the auction house were simply the vibrations of an oral cavity? If that mouth ever snapped shut, everyone inside would be ground into "delicious" mincemeat... —Finely diced minced meat, without a single tooth-cracking bone shard left in it. Such an unimaginable truth left Bai Zhou dazed and trembling with lingering dread. At this moment, words could scarcely convey even a fraction of the terror he had just witnessed. The bluish-black humanoid being had merely lain there. Bai Zhou's gaze had been unable to take in its full form or its finer details, and it bore him no malice whatsoever. Yet that mere fleeting glimpse had thrown Bai Zhou's mind into utter chaos. The crimson characters that had bored directly into his brain to run rampant had nearly driven him to faint from sheer agony. *Light, too, has weight. I caught it, and can fly no more.* What did those words mean? Echoes rang ceaselessly in his ears, and upon closer listening, every one was a looping whisper of that single sentence. Very little sanity remained within Bai Zhou... Fortunately, at the critical juncture, Bai Zhou decisively invoked the power of the character "Soothe." A clear, cooling current calmed his brain, and the whispers by his ears gradually faded away. —Bai Zhou had at last avoided degenerating into a mindless, foolish cat. As for the top-down perspective of the bluish-black titan, he had reason to believe that anyone escaping the ghost market right now could see it. Undoubtedly, however, the dying words and the visions that followed were exclusively for Bai Zhou. Though gazing upon those last words had nearly cost Bai Zhou his sanity, misfortune had brought a blessing in disguise: he had witnessed the terrifying truth behind the scenes. From beginning to end, there had never been a so-called "No. 66 Moon Lane ghost market"— There was only "No. 66 Ghost Corpse." Yet for reasons unknown, as time went by, its hair had evolved into trees and woods, its skeleton into buildings, with flesh as soil and desire as shade— Giving rise to a ghost market. It quietly nestled in a corner of Reflected Tinghai. Catalog Number C-66. It sounded both familiar and alien. It was identical to the naming convention the Special Control Bureau used for Black Boxes. Yet the most formidable Black Box Bai Zhou had ever seen was merely the E-class Black Box borrowed by the Special Control Bureau from the Louvre in the Western Federation. And this one was a "C"! Moreover, its designation was short and distinct. Could it be... that the ghost market was actually a special containment for the titan, and the space hidden in the shadows behind the wall was some kind of "Black Chamber"? Hard to say! The kitten's head shook twice. What puzzled him even more was... Since it was a "ghost," where did the "corpse" come from? The two characters were inherently contradictory. Furthermore, if it was a dead "corpse," how could it revive so easily? Just what state was it in? Perhaps Bai Zhou had misheard... Maybe the name following C-66 wasn't "Ghost Corpse," but something else entirely? All manner of doubts piled up in Bai Zhou's mind. "...Forget it." Bai Zhou soon pursed his lips, his expression turning solemn as he forced himself to stop dwelling on it. The more he thought, the more curious he became. Curiosity killed the cat! *Patter, patter...* A flurry of footsteps approached. Disheveled, cloaked figures burst out from the wall one after another. "What was that just now?" "A titan—where did a titan come from?" "Silence! Not another word!" Even after fleeing the ghost market, their nerves were frayed and their terror unabated. Without pausing, they scattered quickly and fled the alleyway. "..." Squatting atop the wall, the black cat melted into the night. No one paid him any mind. Swishing his tail, his eerie green feline eyes quietly looked down upon the fleeing crowd. Sure enough, just as Bai Zhou had expected, they had seen that titan too. Yet who could say... Whether being "seen" by people was also a deliberate act on the corpse's part? The thought sent chills down one's spine. From here on, perhaps under the interference of certain forces, the fortunate survivors would keep their mouths tightly shut. And on certain covert planes, a few new rumors regarding the ghost market would begin to circulate, Adding further mystique to the ghost market. Incidents like this were surely not a one-off. —The many past rumors about the ghost market, along with the untouchable rules of the auction house, had likely originated this way. Sighing softly, Bai Zhou took one last look at the gray wall steadily vomiting people out. Every single person who managed to escape was hurrying away without exception. Yet far more people remained trapped in the ghost market, unable to flee. Though everything here was tranquil and as quiet as usual, No one knew what stage the cataclysm behind the wall had reached by now... That apocalyptic scene had made it seem as if the very sky were crashing down. No one understood this better than Bai Zhou, who hailed from Wancheng. The end of the world was something he knew intimately. Wasn't there a joke? If tomorrow were the apocalypse, why would someone want to commit suicide today? Wouldn't that be foolish? The punchline was: to claim a spot in heaven first. Although, after his world ended, Bai Zhou had clearly not been taken to any heaven. Instead, he had arrived in this Blue Star hell, far more sinister than the "simple and rustic" Wancheng... However, unlike the neglected, forsaken Wancheng— Due to the auction, many of Tinghai's high-ranking elites had gathered here. Their influence spanned multiple fields, and they held pivotal statuses in both the mystic world and the surface world. If these prominent figures were all wiped out, it would trigger an unimaginable earthquake across all of Tinghai. The power structure of the mystic world would undergo a massive reshuffle. Who could have thought that the root of all this was merely a tiny bottle of... "Tears of the Moon Goddess." Bai Zhou wore an odd expression. Although everything that followed had nothing to do with him, he still couldn't help but hope that these people would survive. Otherwise, Bai Zhou would genuinely start to suspect that someone had placed a jinx's curse on him. Folklore held that seeing a crow boded great ill. Bai Zhou wasn't entirely sure if Crow possessed that level of ill-omened influence, but looking at it now... She might not even match him. Birds of a feather really did flock together. "..." While fretting and doubting himself, the stealthy figure of the black cat bounded along the eaves of the wall. Like splashed ink flowing across rice paper, the silent dark shadow fled the area. Ever since acquiring the incarnation of the spirit cat, Bai Zhou had begun to understand why Crow preferred unconventional paths. It was discreet, safe, and vastly quicker. A straight line was the shortest distance between two points; leaping across walls and scaling windows felt just like walking on flat ground! Compared to being confined to stairs and sidewalks, this mode of travel was undeniably faster. Yet what Bai Zhou failed to realize was... Every facet of his existence as an Extraordinary had already been profoundly and subtly shaped by Crow, a teacher who had set quite the questionable example. When the upper beam was crooked, the lower ones would lean—it was simply the way of things. Suddenly— As if sensing something, Bai Zhou snapped his head up toward the sky. *Hum...* A blood moon hung high above. A streak of silver-white light swept across the air, sharp enough to seem to slice through the moonlight. Was that a... Broom? His green vertical pupils widened in bewilderment, and Bai Zhou froze in place. Looking closely, he realized it wasn't quite an ordinary broom, but rather a broom-shaped silhouette pieced together from densely packed blades. The bloody moonlight refracted off the delicate silver blades, spreading an overwhelming murderous aura across the heavens. And standing atop this razor-sharp broom— Was a figure of ambiguous gender, hands clasped behind their back. A wide-sleeved robe of ghastly white flapped loudly in the wind. The pale, archaic garments looked as if meant for a funeral, while the tall white hat atop their head exuded an ominous dread from every angle. Paired with that stiff, tall physique, the newcomer looked even less like a living human... A pitch-black metal mask covered their face—grotesque and archaic, with upturned brows and curved lips resembling a sinister black smiley face, forming a stark contrast with the tall white hat. Hanging from a red cord around their neck was a pendant of deep emerald jade, trembling gently as wisps of foggy mist swirled frantically within it. A smiling black mask, white robes, green jade. Brimming with an eerie chill, yet striding beneath the moon with effortless elegance, exuding suffocating oppression. *Rustle, rustle...* The fluttering figure dove straight toward the wall of No. 66 Moon Lane. As their robes billowed, vast drifts of ash-like flakes resembling joss paper fluttered downward. These scraps melted upon hitting the ground, vanishing without a trace. A closer inspection revealed they truly were akin to funerary paper money, yet each scrap was inscribed with occult incantations of unknown purpose. As the figure swept over Bai Zhou's head, they seemed to cast an offhand glance downward— It was merely a single glance, yet it made Bai Zhou feel as though he had plunged into an icy cavern. His blood seemed to freeze, sending stabbing pain through him like ice picks driving into his marrow. Every biological instinct screamed that this person was exceedingly dangerous—an alarm so shrill it shot straight into his brain. Fortunately... That aloof, downward gaze quickly shifted elsewhere, allowing Bai Zhou to return to normal. Bai Zhou hurried away. In the instant he cast a backward glance, he saw the figure plunge into the shadows of the wall, flying into the ghost market against the tide of fleeing people. Who was that... Bai Zhou still felt a lingering chill. An Extraordinary who could fly. In Tinghai, aside from Crow, this seemed to be the first time Bai Zhou had encountered someone capable of flight. —The Gem Witch didn't count; she cheated with grappling hooks. That glance, which had nearly suffocated Bai Zhou... had actually just been a standard sweep of the ground, casually brushing over him. Had the figure noticed him? Had they... seen through his disguise? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. Regardless, Bai Zhou likely wasn't significant enough to warrant their attention. Because quite clearly, the figure had come for the riot in the ghost market. "Is that... it couldn't be, right?" "That person from the Statute Hall?" As he fled along the rooftops, Bai Zhou caught the panicked gasps of the people fleeing below on the ground. His ears pricked up, eavesdropping in secret. Though they babble-shouted over one another in frantic confusion, Bai Zhou still pieced together the newcomer's identity. One of the Four Great Inspectors from Tinghai City's most authoritative, most terrifying organization—the Statute Hall. Even the highest commander of the Special Control Bureau was merely equal to them in rank. A true behemoth standing at the absolute pinnacle of Tinghai City's mystic world. Their strength was immeasurably profound. "Thank goodness, it's the Statute Hall! We're saved!" "With that venerable lord taking charge, nothing will go wrong with the ghost market." The crowd was invigorated. Yet some were puzzled: "Still, how did they arrive so quickly?" "Why this particular lord? For an incident like this, I thought someone from another agency would handle it." "Lately, it shouldn't be this lord's turn on duty at the Statute Hall, should it?" "Maybe they just happened to be nearby?" "..." Quietly committing this information to memory, Bai Zhou, keeping his deeds and identity deeply concealed, lowered his head slightly and quietly slipped away. The surroundings grew increasingly desolate, everything returning to the overarching theme of the Reflected Ruin Realm: cloaked in shadow and eerily quiet. The apocalyptic scene from earlier felt like a disjointed dream. Though the bizarre sights before his eyes were hardly any more normal than a dream... Mist still veiled the streets, and something seemed to whisper in the shadows along both sides of the road. Yet when he strained his ears, the sound vanished, as if it were merely an auditory hallucination. Bai Zhou felt it was a pity that the time was currently 35:00, not 36:00. Even though he had been running about for quite a while, he still couldn't leave the Reflected Ruin Realm just yet. Still, an hour would pass quickly. With what he needed firmly in hand, Bai Zhou was eager to return, drink the potion, and make a full recovery. When that time came, many difficulties could be resolved with ease, and this chapter of his life spent fleeing from pursuers would enter a brand-new phase... Just as he was mulling this over, the black cat slipping along the roadside ran into an "old acquaintance" who had fled here from the ghost market. "How did the ghost market suddenly turn into this... Unlucky! So damned unlucky!" "Where on earth did that brat run off to? Did he die inside?" "He'd better not let me catch him, or I'm shoving his head up his own ass!" A truly brutal torture. The speaker was cloaked and behaving suspiciously, muttering a non-stop stream of curses under her breath. Yet her black high heels, combined with a sweet voice that clashed terribly with her venomous words, gave Bai Zhou a jolt. He recognized her at a single glance. —Oh no! The Gem Witch! Taking advantage of the witch's distraction, the sneaky black cat promptly turned tail. Creeping stealthily, he made a hasty retreat in the opposite direction. Having narrowly escaped the tiger's jaws, the cat turned a street corner. The towering skyscrapers lining both sides gave way to noticeably older buildings. ...So old that Bai Zhou had rarely seen the likes of them in reality. The fog gradually thinned, and street lamps cast dappled pools of light on the damp asphalt road. The low-profile black cat padded *patter-patter* down the safest spot in the middle of the street, quietly counting down the time until his return. A barber's rotating tricolor pole was emblazoned with the words "Hair & Beauty." Its glass door stood ajar, the dim yellow light inside spilling out alongside the neon hum of the pole to bathe the black cat. On the second-floor balcony's clothesline, a white dress shirt swayed in the breeze, casting a shadow on the ground that looked like the stiff silhouette of a hanged man. The door of a dilapidated bookstore was half-shut, piles upon piles of secondhand books heaped up like small hills inside. Sitting right at the top was a flashy, colorful piece of "pulp fiction" clearly meant to distract from studying. Faintly visible on the cover were words like "Rebirth" and "Campus Belle." In the sealed sewers, shadows flickered from time to time; judging by their massive size, they were definitely not rats. In the distance, the colossal smokestack of an abandoned factory tilted at a forty-five-degree angle, resting in silent stillness amid the night. ...These were things unseen in the developed metropolis of Tinghai in the year 2030. They were pieces of a "dead" past that the city had left behind in the march of progress. *Tap, tap...* The leisurely black cat paused and strolled along the way. Driven by curiosity, he observed all these novel sights with cautious vigilance. Occasionally, passing by the green trash cans along the street, He would see them let out an *awoo*, roaring awake as they transformed into mimic chests. Then, the black cat, who had intentionally provoked them awake, would nimbly dodge out of the way with consummate agility. Once he had sprinted into the distance, the crafty cat would turn back, sit down on the ground, and narrow his eyes to enjoy the sight of the mimic chests rattling and wobbling in place with frustrated indignation. Bai Zhou's adventure? Cross that out. —This was a black cat's adventure in the Reflected World! Before long, the black cat passed by a stationery shop whose signboard was hanging by a thread. It was called a stationery shop, but its double doors were draped densely with spicy strips and snacks like vines heavy with grapes. Treats like "Shiitake Beef Jerky" and "South City Roast Duck"... A dazzling array of snacks far more comprehensive than any of the stationery. Next door to the stationery shop was a large iron gate, hanging half-open. Behind the gate, a crowd of figures stood ramrod-straight in the mist. They stood in immaculate order, their formation more rigid and disciplined than a game of Tetris. Sounds drifted out from within— "Born with talent, winning the future! Hundred-day oath, seize the glory!" "Strive for a hundred days! Fight to the finish for the High School Entrance Exam!" "I will get into a key high school! I will get into a key high school!" "As long as studying won't kill you, study until you drop dead!" "..." So this was a school. Everyone was dressed in blue-and-white school uniforms, pumping their fists in the air and screaming their oaths at the top of their lungs. They seemed to have been taking this oath here for a very, very long time. The shouting had never ceased, leaving every voice hoarse and raspy. The oath surged forth like a torrent, gradually parting the fog and revealing their figures. Abruptly... The chanting snapped to a dead halt. In the very next instant— Standing in immaculate formation on the sports field, Hundreds of heads suddenly swiveled ninety degrees in unison— And stared at Bai Zhou outside the iron gate. On every single head, every single face was devoid of features. There were only uniform, heavy dark circles under the eyes, accompanied by identical crew cuts for the boys and short bobs for the girls. Hundreds of pairs of hollow, pupil-less eye sockets silently watched Bai Zhou. "...?" *Why are you looking at me?* Passing outside the iron gate, the black cat Bai Zhou felt his heart skip a beat. He intended to leave immediately, but in that split second, he noticed that the school uniforms looked strikingly familiar. He had seen them before. Because the lettering and style of the blue-and-white uniforms worn by these "faceless people"... Were clearly identical to the ones in the graduation photo sitting in Fang Xiaoxia's bedroom... Exactly the same!