Early morning, King's District.
A tower rose from the ground, standing tall between heaven and earth. Its design resembled the king piece in Western chess, shaped like an equilateral triangle, with a giant prism at the top shaped like a four-leaf clover. As the landmark building of the King's District, it was extremely striking.
From any street in the King's District, one could look up and see its towering presence.
At six o'clock, it began to operate with a low rumble that drowned out the whistling of the cold wind. The giant prism at the top lit up, flashing red at a fixed frequency amidst the gray gloom.
[Today is October 10th, Year 532 of the New Era Calendar, marking the 120th anniversary of the end of the Company-Church War. Every year on this day, we deeply mourn the initial practitioners. It was they who liberated the suffering masses of the Star of Art from the ideological oppression of the Church and promoted the spirit of art and humanism. Their thoughts and spirit are like brilliant stars, illuminating the path ahead of us.]
[The Universal Heavy Industries research press conference will be held at 8:00 AM today. Mr. Ayin of the Winter family will announce the research and development plan for Universal Heavy Industries for the next twenty years, as well as the "Tenglong" series of military armor recently developed in collaboration with Kowloon Information Enterprise.]
[The pollution fluctuation that broke out a week ago at the Dream of the Black Swan apartments in the Queen's District has been confirmed as a disaster-level urban eldritch creature—the Dye Assassin. Currently, there have been no reports of subsequent attacks. Citizens are requested to conduct themselves with integrity and seek help from the nearest tuner immediately when encountering danger.]
On the streets, people watched the new day's city news through the curtain, while the honking of float-cars echoed overhead.
Yellow and black caution tape cordoned off the entire street, with peacekeepers maintaining order at the scene.
Several float-cars were parked in front of a family inn. From time to time, pale-faced members of the association ran out of the inn's main door. As if they had seen a scene that caused extreme physiological discomfort, they covered their mouths and leaned against the wall to dry heave as soon as they emerged.
"What happened this time?" someone asked.
"I have some leaked inside information; this time it's related to the Ascetic Sect," someone nearby said mysteriously.
"The Ascetic Sect?"
The gathered crowd's expressions changed one after another.
Everyone knew those people were madmen who would stop at nothing for their so-called art, occasionally launching various terrorist attacks.
Blood bathtubs, blooming red roses, subway bombings, blood eagle sculptures—these terrifying events were all related to them. They advocated for gore, horror, and violence, and their internal brainwashing capabilities were extremely strong. No one knew if the person passing by them, or even an acquaintance or friend, might be one of them.
"No, no, no, it wasn't the Ascetic Sect launching an attack this time, but rather two ascetics who were attacked..."
That person paused mid-sentence and looked up to meet a pair of cold eyes.
"Maliciously spreading negative comments and inciting public opinion... I can arrest you right now. If you like the Ascetic Sect so much, would you like to spend a few days with them at the tuner's office?" The handcuffs in Bai Nian'an's hand clinked crisply.
Seeing that person vanish into the crowd as if escaping, Bai Nian'an sighed softly.
She didn't have time to bother with such minor illegal incidents. Rather, as long as it wasn't something touching the red line, she couldn't be bothered to care.
It had been less than a week since the association assigned her to investigate the Dream of the Black Swan apartments. Now, a similar psychic wave had broken out on this street located in the eastern part of the King's District, bordering the Queen's District. The frequency was very close to the last one, but far less intense.
The Dye Thief had been renamed the "Dye Assassin" after being assessed as a disaster-level urban eldritch creature by the association.
Had the Dye Assassin reappeared after a week?
She didn't quite understand why the association had specifically named her to come here this time, and the superiors' attitude had been extremely firm.
Bai Nian'an lifted the caution tape, put on her gloves, and looked toward the inn ahead. Pale-faced association members were still constantly running out of the main entrance.
A young staff member passed by her, covering his mouth with misty eyes. "Sister Bai..."
Her gaze darkened. She gave a slight nod and walked into the inn.
The interior decoration of the inn was extremely luxurious, with a heavy color palette expressing bold and passionate emotions. The furnishings featured large-scale carvings, gold leaf and lacquer, intricate patterns, and were magnificent yet flamboyant—a typical Baroque style.
Most of the rooms in the inn were sealed off with caution tape, and most of the civilians had already been evacuated.
Two tuners stood before a room door. They looked much more normal, unlike those members of the Eye Association who hadn't seen much of the world.
Upon seeing the young woman's arrival, they nodded.
"Investigator Bai, the victims this time are two ascetics."
Ascetics were upper-level members of the Ascetic Sect who called themselves maintainers of the new order and practitioners of ascetic art. Even their clothing was modeled after the design of the tuners.
Bai Nian'an brushed her hand over her eyes, which took on a clear, bright color.
The two tuners nodded and pushed open the room door.
The light in the room was very dim, and the melodious sound of a piano played. As soon as she entered the room, she smelled a thick scent of decay, like the smell of rotting mushrooms.
Stepping onto the carpet of the room, a squelching sound came from beneath her feet, followed by a wet noise.
Countless spore-like gray dust particles floated in the air, limiting visibility to within a few meters.
Mist-like mycelium drifted in the air along with the gray dust, connecting in large patches like a dense spider web. These mycelia were scattered throughout the room—on the foyer, the floor, and the living room ceiling. It was only then that she noticed the "carpet" she was stepping on was actually a gray-white skin covered in decaying mycelium, with the blood vessels and veins clearly visible.
"Cough, cough."
The gray dust entered her lungs, causing a sudden itch in her throat and making her dry cough.
She waved her hands, swatting away the web-like mycelium floating and tangling in the air around her.
If it weren't for the light still shining in from the hallway behind her, she would have thought she had accidentally entered the depths of a large spider nest.
On the ceiling, a figure missing its skin hung suspended in mid-air, wrapped in a gray-white cocoon. From time to time, a viscous liquid stained with gray-white mycelium dripped from the gaps in the white cocoon. Drip, drop—it struck the piano below, producing a beautiful and pleasant melody.
His exposed muscles were not blood-red, as if all the blood had been completely drained by the mycelium on his body, leaving only a dull gray that reminded one of meat boiled in a pot.
Bai Nian'an looked at the figure on the bed, also wrapped into a white cocoon by mycelium. What last burst from the man's eyes was not despair, but a suppressed frenzy, as if he had seen something that gave him a sense of ultimate beauty.
The gray-white dust danced and drifted. The entire small room seemed isolated from the outside world—lifeless, pale, and withered.
Bai Nian'an sighed.
She knew why the association had specifically assigned her.
In this situation, only her ability could reveal exactly what had happened in this room previously.
Within three hours after a person's death, the drifting soul's will is in its weakest state, at the boundary between dissipating into the afterlife and lingering in the world.
Only at this time could she peer into the soul realm and activate her mental reconstruction ability.
Bai Nian'an raised her hand. A brilliant light shone in her eyes as her mental perception expanded, covering the entire room.
"Beginning profiling."
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