The authorities acted swiftly.
On June 12th, while the tense atmosphere of the college entrance examination had not yet dissipated, the No. 1 Meeting Room of the Jiangcheng Municipal Public Security Department was already fully prepared.
The curtains were drawn tight, and four armed police officers stood guard at the door, loaded with live ammunition.
A red sign with the word “Top Secret” was posted on the wall, and the conference table was packed with people.
They ranged from provincial department leaders and core members of the special investigation team to military combat staff, special investigation commissioners sent by the central government, and several gray-haired experts in folklore and psychology.
The scope of the attendees was incredibly broad.
It included representatives from the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Joint Staff Department, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the National Health Commission.
There were also officials in charge of seven key provinces and municipalities across the country, along with specially invited top experts in physics, folklore, medicine, and sociology.
In front of everyone lay a confidential document sealed in manila paper, the seal stamped with a bright red official chop.
Presiding over the meeting was Lin Zhenghong, a special commissioner sent by the central government. In his fifties, wearing a dark jacket, he had a calm and steady expression.
He had flown in in the middle of the night and had headed straight to the scene at Jiangcheng University upon landing.
...
The first item on the agenda was an internal commendation ceremony.
There were no flowers, no applause, and certainly no media coverage.
The Deputy Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission stood up, holding a tray lined with red silk that held medals and commendation certificates.
“With the approval of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, commendations are hereby awarded to the units and individuals who performed meritoriously in handling the three supernatural incidents.”
Her voice was steady, every word clear and precise.
“The Jiangcheng Municipal Public Security Bureau is awarded a collective Second-Class Merit; Comrade Chen Xi is awarded an individual Second-Class Merit.
The Taiping Cemetery Incident Handling Task Force and the Route 404 Bus Incident Aftermath Group are each awarded a collective Third-Class Merit.”
Chen Xi took a step forward, stood at attention, and saluted.
The commendation ceremony lasted only five minutes.
Everyone knew this was not a post-war celebration, but a pre-war mobilization.
According to their projections, the speed at which Instances appeared would only increase.
The time left for them to prepare was running out.
...
“Now that everyone is here, let us begin the meeting.”
Lin Zhenghong's voice was not loud. “First, I would like to ask Comrade Chen Xi, the leader of the Special Task Force, to brief us on the details of the ‘June 9th Supernatural Incident’ at Jiangcheng University.”
Chen Xi stood up and saluted.
She wore her training uniform, and though there were dark circles under her eyes, her posture remained straight and upright.
The projection screen in the hall lit up, displaying a satellite map of Jiangcheng University as the first slide, with three check-in points circled in red.
“Leaders, experts, I am Chen Xi from the Municipal Bureau's Criminal Investigation Detachment.”
Her speaking pace was steady and her logic was clear.
“As of 4:50 AM today, of the ten missing persons involved in this incident, seven have survived, and three are temporarily presumed dead, pending confirmation.
The individuals pending confirmation are: Fang Wei, a student from the Jiangcheng University School of Physical Education; Luo Yiming, a student from the School of Economics; and Zhou Shengsheng, a student from the School of Computer Science.”
“All seven survivors have been sent to designated hospitals for treatment and psychological intervention. Other than stress-induced injuries, their physical conditions show no major abnormalities.
Among them, four individuals returned in the first batch, having completed the check-in quest at the artificial lake.
Three individuals returned in the second batch, having completed the Restroom Ghost Story check-in quest.”
“According to the survivors' statements, this incident was an independent supernatural Instance named 《Campus Ghost Stories》, which is a rule-based Instance.
The time limit for the quest was seventy-two hours, with a total of three check-in points inside the Instance. Violating the rules triggers a death penalty.
Physical ghosts and monsters exist within the Instance, capable of inflicting real harm on the human body.
There is a class awakening mechanism. Currently, 3.5 cases of class awakening have been confirmed: Architect, Butcher, Clay Sculptor, and Constable.”
She paused and switched to the next slide, which showed the appraisal department's testing report on the items brought back:
“The survivors brought back a total of eleven supernatural items. Our colleagues in the technical department obtained consent to take samples and conduct appraisals.
These include the Water Ghost's Embroidered Shoe, Corpse Oil Candle, riverbed silt, and red and green toilet paper—
Testing shows that all items contain unknown energy radiation, and some possess clear supernatural effects:
For instance, once the 【Corpse Oil Candle】 is lit, biological outlines invisible to the naked eye and instruments can be observed in the laboratory.
【Rouge Mud】 applying externally can accelerate wound healing.
As for the 【Never-Ending Toilet Paper】, pulling on it continuously for eight hours failed to deplete it.
Currently, harmless evidence like gold ingots has been returned, while all supernatural items have been sealed and are temporarily kept by the appraisal department.”
This was the first time supernatural items had appeared in Huaxia.
Thus, before the nature of the Instances could be confirmed, the authorities absolutely did not want any supernatural items leaking out.
These items seemed harmless, but no one could guarantee it.
Were they aggressive?
Would someone use supernatural items to harm society?
Even setting aside ordinary people, take Zhao Weilai and the others who obtained items and skills in the first batch.
Possessing supernatural items was like a child carrying gold through a bustling market, inviting trouble.
...
...
Chen Xi's briefing lasted a full half hour.
It covered everything from Instance rules, monster characteristics, and player statuses to item testing and the residual energy data provided by the appraisal department.
No detail was spared, and everything was logically structured.
After Chen Xi sat down, silence fell over the room.
Lin Zhenghong looked around the room. “Everyone, speak your minds. This is already the third confirmed supernatural incident in Jiangcheng within a single month.
The Hongguang Community living corpse incident, the Route 404 Bus, Taiping Cemetery... and now Jiangcheng University. Each time, the commotion is greater, and each time, more people die.
If we cannot find a way to deal with this, a major disaster will strike next time.”
The meeting room was dead quiet.
“Commissioner Lin.”
The captain of the Provincial Department's Criminal Investigation Corps was the first to speak:
“We have compiled the background information of the players from the two incident sites... and so far, we have found no commonalities.
Their ages, professions, personalities, and family backgrounds are all different.”
“Same on our end,” the military combat staff officer agreed. “We compared the times, locations, and weather of the three special incidents, but found no clear patterns.
The only similarity is that ghost stories about Taiping Cemetery and Jiangcheng University have been circulating online.”
“First, let me explain two core definitions. We have detected a new energy unit, ‘Lingzi’.”
Chief Li of the appraisal department picked up a laser pointer and switched slides. “The living corpse case in the west of the city is currently the earliest traceable physical supernatural incident.
There were no traces of an Instance at the scene; it was a simple case of a corpse reanimating and attacking people.
The expert panel estimates that this might be a ‘pre-threshold precursor’ before an Instance erupts. In other words, when the regional energy concentration accumulates to about 10 Lingzi, it will trigger scattered supernatural phenomena.
Only when it breaks through 40 Lingzi will a structurally complete Instance form.”
“Second, ‘aberration’.”
He switched to the next slide. Two medical photographs watermarked with classification levels appeared on the screen, accompanied by extensive test data:
“This refers to a state where the direct death rules were not triggered, but the individual was eroded by the Instance's energy, resulting in irreversible, non-human physiological changes. Currently, there are two such cases.”
The first case is Lin Hao, a survivor of the Taiping Cemetery Instance.
The photo was divided into left and right panels. The left showed the appearance of his neck:
The skin on the front of his neck bulged in a purplish-black mass, and within an area about twelve centimeters in diameter, intestinal tissue had penetrated the subcutaneous layer and was growing outward.
On the right was the pathological biopsy report, showing that the ectopic tissue possessed human intestinal epithelial structures, capable of absorption and secretion, but could not be surgically removed. If excised, this umbilical cord-like growth would regenerate in the same spot.
“Lin Hao, male, 25 years old. Background check: During his school years, he was involved in school bullying that drove a student to drop out due to depression.
In 202*, he forced his pregnant girlfriend to undergo an abortion through violence and coercion. The woman suffered from post-surgery depression and attempted suicide. He has three administrative detention records and seven civil disputes.”
The second case is Wang Lei, another survivor of the Taiping Cemetery Instance.
The photo showed that the left side of his body, from his cheek down to his waist and abdomen, had completely turned into paper-mâché.
His skin was no longer a soft tissue structure, but layers of pasted paper.
“Wang Lei, male, 26 years old, unemployed. Background check: Long-term street pickpocketing and electric scooter theft. In 201*, he was sentenced to six months in prison for theft. Since his release, he has been summoned by police eleven times, with three confirmed cases of theft.”
Chief Li put down his laser pointer and added the control group data:
“In contrast, we have the class awakeners from the two Instances.
Su Ya from the Taiping Cemetery Instance is twenty-two years old, a college student with no disciplinary record. She cleared the Instance with zero rule violations, passing safely, and awakened the ‘Architect’ class.
Zhang Dong, fifty-eight years old, a construction tower crane operator with thirty-two years of accident-free service.”
“In the Jiangcheng University Instance, Zhao Weilai, who awakened the Butcher class, frequently participated in volunteer activities during her school years and once rescued a drowning child.
Survivor Ding Feifan is a municipal-level outstanding counselor who has sponsored impoverished students multiple times.
Weng Yang once bravely fought off a thief and received a commendation for acting courageously. Tan Moli and Fu Qinqin have no criminal records. None of the seven survivors have any record of major misconduct.”
After the data was presented, the meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.
At this moment, an intellectual elderly professor sitting at the table pushed up her glasses.
She was Professor Zhang of folklore from Beijing University. Though her hair was gray, she was still elegant, an expert specially invited by the central government.
“Let me say a few words.”
Professor Zhang spoke slowly, but with a refined tone. “Our team has compiled all the survivors' statements. Aside from the rules of the two Instances, we have also discovered something very interesting.”
Everyone's eyes focused on her.
“The difficulty of the Instances seems to be somewhat tailored to the individual.”
Professor Zhang flipped through her notebook. “Taking Taiping Cemetery as an example, we investigated the background of the only deceased, Zhang Chao.
Zhang Chao, born in September 199*, was investigated by public security organs as a minor for suspected intentional homicide.
But because he was under fourteen at the time, he could not be referred to the procuratorate for prosecution, nor could he be sentenced.
Therefore, after a specialized assessment, the public security organ proposed juvenile rehabilitation, which was approved by the provincial public security organ, and he was sent to a juvenile reformatory or a specialized correctional facility.”
Chen Xi had some recollection of this case.
Frowning, she flipped through the materials and found that it was indeed a case her instructor had taught during her time at the police academy.
—The case of a certain minor named Zhang, under the age of fourteen, who pushed a five-year-old child off the roof of a residential building, resulting in a fatal fall.
Suddenly, a thought struck her.
Zhang Chao's death inside the Instance was also being shattered to pieces from a fall.
Could it be a coincidence?
...
...
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