Game Invasion: A new term for each level

Abnormal Phenomena Management Bureau

Xu Qinglan stood alone in the spacious and simple room. It was unusually empty, with nothing but a table in front of her.

She was a bit far from the table, and the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling window in front of her was dazzling and bright, casting a long shadow.

She is reporting last night's events to the head of the operations department.

In Beicheng, no team leader could report directly to the section chief, except for Xu Qinglan.

"The operation lasted 4 hours and 18 minutes. The giant tree has been confirmed to be destroyed. The cause of its appearance has been determined: someone was corrupted, and an unrecorded Abyss term appeared! The owner of the Abyss term has now disappeared and cannot be traced."

The tablet on the table in front of me flickered on and off, and a voice that had been altered came out.

"As usual, initiate the covert investigation procedures in the North City and report to the Central City."

Xu Qinglan understood that this was almost useless; the Abyss entries were bizarre and strange, and could not be deduced using common sense.

Whether you can catch the tail depends on luck.

"I heard your third team recently recruited a new member with a purple-tier attribute?"

Xu Qinglan said indifferently, "It's just luck."

"If he can emerge from the [castle], he can grow into a pillar of the Administration Bureau."

She didn't speak, but was thinking about Yang Hui's future plans in the Administration Bureau. Even if she left, Yang Hui couldn't be bullied.

But Yang Hui needs to keep a low profile for now, waiting to make a name for himself at the Potential Annual Summit!

The voiceprint on the tablet rose and fell: "Xu Qinglan, your family misses you very much. Come back to Central City when you have time. They've been calling me."

Xu Qinglan took a deep breath and said, "I will go back, but not now."

She understood that once she went back, she would never be able to leave the central city again. The matter in the northern city had not yet been resolved, and that was her only purpose in staying here.

The section chief didn't say much; he was just a mouthpiece, seemingly not caring at all whether Xu Qinglan went back or not.

"Is there anything else?"

The section chief's voice was mechanical, but the last two words were spoken in a childlike tone.

Xu Qinglan said calmly, "I request access to the top-secret archives in Beicheng to examine all clues related to the Abyss that have ever appeared in Beicheng."

Yang Ning's case file was also classified as top secret.

The section chief was silent for a few seconds before saying, "After the Abyss entry appeared, we were just going through the motions. There's no way we could actually find their whereabouts. They're even more well hidden than the Truth Seekers. Even if you find them and push them too far, Beicheng won't be able to bear the consequences."

"The stability of the northern city is the most important thing."

His voice echoed in the empty room.

"At least the Seeking Truth Society has something to offer. If you want to get things done, why not try to do something in that direction?"

The tablet flickered a few times and then went dark.

She was left alone in the empty room. The sunlight on her did not feel warm; instead, it felt icy cold.

Xu Qinglan knew, of course, that investigating the Abyss entry was like looking for a needle in a haystack; she was just using this as a pretext to try and get into the top-secret archives.

However, the section chief brushed it off and steered the issue toward the Truth-Seeking Society.

The followers of the Truth Seeking Society are everywhere. From elderly people at breakfast stalls to beggars on the street, and even white-collar workers and real estate bosses, they may all be among them.

These people are usually harmless, and may even be the pillars of the North City, but their stance on the same issue may suddenly change.

Their roots have already spread to the heart of Beicheng, and they are difficult to eradicate. The fact that the section chief brought up the topic at the Truth-Seeking Conference was itself a signal.

This was to make Xu Qinglan waste her energy on these meaningless things.

Anyone could easily pin the blame on the Truth-Seeking Society.

She walked out in silence.

Although Xu Qinglan didn't have much time left, she could only wait for an opportunity.

------------

Ye Qing returned home in the early hours of the morning.

She was completely naked, standing in the filthy mud, the dim light reflecting off her skin, making it appear dazzlingly white.

Her memory seemed to be malfunctioning; besides being alive, the only thing she remembered was Yang Hui.

In her mind, to survive, one needs to find a stable place to live.

Ye Qing forgot where her home was and wandered around the tenement building.

She was supposed to have a place to live, but she couldn't remember.

suddenly!

She sniffed the air, then started walking.

Ye Qing turned left and right in the complicated and narrow alley. The alley was quiet in the dead of night, and she was all alone.

She climbed the stairs of a tenement building. The dimly lit stairwell was filled with dusty cardboard boxes, and the motion-activated lights were intermittent.

Ye Qing felt like she was walking through a maze, but she always stayed focused on one direction.

Finally, she stood in front of a metal security door on the sixth floor.

It's hidden in an inconspicuous spot in the stairwell; this is the only apartment on this floor.

Several patches of green paint had peeled off the tin door, revealing the rust underneath. A couplet from a few years ago was pasted on the door, along with a Chinese knot that looked old and worn.

Ye Qing pushed it, but it wouldn't open. She thought for a moment, then aimed her finger at the keyhole, and her fingertip silently transformed into tiny branches and crawled inside.

With a gentle turn, the door opened.

Ye Qing first stepped halfway inside, and after confirming for a moment, she could smell a rotten odor. She then turned around and closed the metal security door.

The interior is compact, old but clean, with yellowed but clean sofa cushions and creaking wooden floors.

The leftover food was covered with a dark-colored gauze on the table, but it was already moldy and covered in mildew.

Ye Qing walked to a bedside. The old man on the bed had a face full of wrinkles and had already stopped breathing. His face was calm but with a hint of pain.

The elderly person died of natural causes.

He had been dead for some time, and no one cared or discovered it.

The elderly person has difficulty walking, and the floors are complex and high up; it might take several hours to go down once.

He may have gone to bed early as usual after an ordinary dinner, and spent the last second of his life breathing.

Ye Qing remained expressionless, but a deep sorrow welled up within her, and two lines of clear tears slid down her cheeks.

She was saddened by the old man's death, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"Everyone should try to survive, even if it means living like a cockroach or a rat."

Ye Qing faced the first ray of morning sunlight through the window, her legs spread out to the sides, her buttocks on the ground, her eyes closed as she greeted the sunlight.

The warm sunlight shone on her, and sparse tree roots and branches, with emerald green leaves, extended from her skin, spreading over the old woman's body as if it were newly born, completely enveloping it.

The putrid smell was reduced to a minimum, slowing down the process of rotting and decay.

This was all Ye Qing could do. She didn't have any ulterior motive; she just subconsciously felt that she should do it.

The chirping of baby birds could be heard outside the window, and the aroma of steamed buns from breakfast vendors wafted from the street. Electrical wires crisscrossed haphazardly between the tenement buildings.

Yang Hui ran here in his sneakers and, as usual, bought breakfast for three people from the breakfast stall.

As usual, he carried breakfast back to the office.

Pei Feng lay on the sofa like a dead dog, catching up on sleep, while Yan Yiming curled up to the side playing games.

Today is the last day; tomorrow we're going to the castle.

The three of them ate breakfast together. Yang Hui didn't tell Pei Feng and Yan Yiming about it; he couldn't possibly die in this kind of dungeon.