Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 58 The Night Before the Storm

Bai Yu's face turned ashen in an instant, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He clenched his teeth tightly, enduring the excruciating pain.

"Bai language!"

Lu Yueqi quickly noticed his unusual behavior. She rushed to his side, supported his trembling body, and her voice was filled with panic and worry.

"Old Bai!" Mo Fei reacted immediately, his burly body instantly blocking Bai Yu's way, trying to shield him from the malicious prying from the unknown dimension with his own body.

An Mu strode up to Bai Yu and grabbed his right hand. When he saw the "Eye of the Vortex," which resembled a living tattoo radiating an ominous black light, his heart sank.

"It... is calling you?" Anmu's voice was filled with a deep sense of powerlessness.

“No… it’s not a summoning.” Bai Yu raised his head with difficulty, his eyes somewhat unfocused due to pain, yet flashing with a calm analytical light. “It’s… ‘locating’. It has completely locked onto the ‘coordinates’ of our world through me. ‘Eden’… is just the first stepping stone for its arrival.”

Bai Yu's words caused everyone present to involuntarily gasp.

"Immediately seal off headquarters! Take Bai Yu to the 'Fountain of Stillness' for the highest level of mental isolation!" An Mu gave the order almost instinctively.

His only thought now is to sever the link between "Tower" and Baiyu at all costs and protect his team members.

“It’s too late, Captain.” Bai Yu shook his head. He endured the excruciating pain and gently pushed away Lu Yueqi’s hand that was supporting him, trying to stand up straight. “Locking me up now is like blinding yourself. The ‘Tower’ is here, there’s no escaping it. The only thing we can do now is to figure out what it wants to do before it completely ‘establishes itself’.”

He turned his gaze to the enormous holographic projection, his voice weak yet unusually firm: "We must go to 'Eden'."

"No!" An Mu immediately objected, his voice resolute. "Your physical condition simply doesn't allow you to participate in any more missions! Let alone face enemies of this level! This is an order!"

“Captain, this isn’t a matter of orders,” Bai Yu said, meeting An Mu’s almost fiery gaze. “It’s a matter of logic. The Tower’s target is me. The reason it chose ‘Eden’ as its landing point is likely because it deciphered from my fragmented memories the special significance of that place for our entire Bureau of Investigation. It’s using this method to force me to go there.”

"If I don't go, it might remain dormant for a while. But next time, it might not strike from an isolated island, but from any massive metropolis. What will we have to pay then?"

Bai Yu's words steered the conversation toward a more important issue.

Yes, if the "Tower" were to descend upon the city center, what level of disaster would it be? The memory prison at Anling Mental Hospital was already enough to nearly wipe out the entire team. And that might just be the tip of the iceberg of the "Tower."

The conference room fell into a deathly silence, with only the hum of the instruments breaking the silence.

"...I agree with Bai Yu's opinion."

A calm voice broke the silence.

Lan Ce adjusted his glasses.

He slowly walked to the holographic projection, his hands flying across the virtual keyboard. Soon, a detailed structural diagram of "Eden" and a document marked "Top Secret" appeared before everyone.

“According to the ‘Genesis’ file, which we just retrieved from the lowest level of the headquarters database and which was personally sealed by the first Director Adam White,” Lancer’s voice was tinged with shock, “‘Eden’… was not simply a secluded place. It was actually the Bureau’s first, or rather, only secret laboratory used to study ‘extradimensional existence’.”

"What?" Mo Fei exclaimed in disbelief.

“The files mention that the first director, in his later years, seemed to have somehow become aware of the 'Tower's' existence. He didn't choose to passively defend himself, but instead tried to actively 'understand' it, and even… 'utilize' it.” Lanze’s speech quickened. “He built a device called the 'Cradle' underground in the 'Garden of Eden.' It was a huge 'reverse mental interference field,' which he tried to use to capture and analyze the faint information flow that the 'Tower' projected into our world. He… wanted to find a way for us to fight against the 'Tower.'”

“But… judging from the current results, he has clearly failed.” A bitter smile appeared on Lanze’s face as he said helplessly, “The power of ‘The Tower’ far exceeded his imagination. Not only did he fail, but his audacious research also turned ‘Eden’ into a ‘weak point’ closely linked to ‘The Tower’. That’s why ‘The Tower’ chose to descend there. Because it smelled the scent of its own kind.”

Lan Ce glanced at Bai Yu, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "So, Bai Yu is right. We have to go. Not only do we have to go, but we also have to restart that device called 'Cradle' before the 'Tower's' arrival is completely complete. That's the only weapon the first Director left us... And the 'key' to activate it..."

All eyes turned to Bai Yu.

"...is a powerful dreamer who can resonate with the 'Tower'."

A moment of silence fell over everyone.

An Mu's body swayed slightly. Even his steely will felt a profound sense of powerlessness at that moment. It turned out that all of this had been destined decades ago. They were like a group of puppets pulled by the threads of fate, and no matter how much they struggled, they were ultimately destined to walk onto the stage that had already been written.

He slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the helplessness and worry in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by a resolute determination like burning one's boats.

"Lan Ce, immediately plan the shortest possible entry route! Mo Fei, go to the armory and bring out all our resources! Lu Yueqi, take charge of Bai Yu's personal medical support!"

"This time, what we face... could be the beginning of war, or it could be our end..."

"All personnel prepare! Destination: Eden!" ...

Half an hour later, on the helipad at the top floor of the Bureau of Investigation headquarters.

A state-of-the-art vertical takeoff and landing assault transport aircraft, entirely black and with a futuristic design, had completed all takeoff preparations amidst a massive roar of its engines.

The five members of the team, fully armed, boarded the transport plane one by one.

Bai Yu's body remained weak, and the burning pain from the "Tower" showed no signs of abating; in fact, it intensified. With each step he took, he felt as if his soul was being licked inch by inch by an invisible flame. Yet, he persevered, refusing any assistance, and walked step by step into the cabin, finally settling into his seat.

Lu Yueqi sat down next to him, carrying a silver-white metal medical kit in her hand, which contained various high-concentration soul stabilizers and emergency medicines that Dr. Lin Lan had prepared for Bai Yu.

She didn't speak, but stared intently at him with her bright eyes, the worry and determination in her gaze more powerful than any words.

"Old Bai, hang in there." Mo Fei walked over, patted Bai Yu's shoulder heavily, and then shoved a huge silver pistol with complex runes engraved on its barrel into his hand. "This is the latest prototype of the 'Concept Breaker' that Dr. Lin and his team rushed to make based on the principles of the 'Holy Nail'. Although it doesn't have many bullets, it's said to be able to cause conceptual 'damage' to beings like the 'Tower'. Use it to save your life in a critical moment."

Bai Yu took the heavy pistol and nodded to Mo Fei.

"All personnel are in position, requesting takeoff!" An Mu said in a deep voice into the communicator from the co-pilot's seat.

"Clearance for takeoff. Best wishes for your... military success."

Dr. Lin Lan's tired and worried voice came through the communicator.

"boom--!"

With a deafening roar, the transport plane slowly took off, then accelerated rapidly, transforming into a black streak of light as it resolutely hurtled towards the distant sea shrouded in endless storms.

A heavy silence fell over the cabin. Everyone knew what they were about to face on this trip.

Bai Yu leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, trying to combat the increasingly intense burning sensation through meditation.

However, the will from the "Tower" kept echoing in his mind.

"bring it on……"

"Back to...my embrace..."

He felt his consciousness being pulled outward by a tremendous force, as if it were trying to break free from his weary body and plunge into the embrace of that black giant tower.

Just as his will was about to waver, a warm, soft hand suddenly covered the back of his tightly clenched hand.

It's Lu Yueqi.

She didn't speak, but simply wrapped her hand tightly around his.

With her "deep cold" power, filled with "tranquility" and "protection," it flowed into his sea of ​​souls like a clear stream through the contact of their skin.

The burning sensation was miraculously relieved somewhat by this gentle, cold soothing touch.

Bai Yu slowly opened her eyes, looking at the girl beside her with some surprise.

Lu Yueqi's cheeks flushed slightly, and she avoided his gaze somewhat shyly, but she did not loosen her grip on his hand at all.

"I..." she whispered, "I don't know if it will help... I just want to... help you share some of the burden..."

Bai Yu smiled as she looked at her eyelashes, which were trembling slightly with nervousness.

He didn't speak again, but slowly relaxed his tense body, letting the gentle chill soothe the wounds in his soul little by little.

This may just be a drop in the ocean.

But on the eve of this doomed storm, having such readily available warmth by your side is perhaps... enough.

(End of this chapter)