The fourth floor of the Qingshan Sanatorium.
At this moment, "Lyu Huan" was holding the skeletal pair, one in each hand, lifting them as easily as if they were little chicks. His tone was playful yet cold. "You don't even have names, only numbers. How truly pitiful..."
"For a charitable organization to produce transcendents like you, what kind of conspiracy are you actually plotting?"
Meanwhile, the Director lying on the floor thought he had found an opportunity. His lips moved slightly as he attempted to secretly modify the rules and lift the lockdown on the three special wards.
However, the moment he opened his mouth, before he could even utter a single syllable, a dense series of thuds erupted in his mind, like the high-frequency striking of a wooden fish.
The Director's eyes instantly lost focus. He lost consciousness entirely and slumped to the floor.
"Lyu Huan" didn't even turn his head, merely saying nonchalantly, "Disobedient little thing. You're quiet now."
His attention returned to the skeletal pair in his hands, his tone turning gentle. "I know you're unwilling to betray your organization. I won't make things difficult for you. I'll just see for myself what kind of shameful secrets are hidden in your heads..."
The faces of the skeletal pair changed drastically. We can talk! We really can!
But "Lyu Huan" gave them no chance to speak or struggle. His hands covered their skull caps, and a surge of golden light suddenly emerged, forcefully invading their brains.
However, the instant the golden light touched their core consciousness—
As if triggering some sort of restriction, countless twisted, pitch-black chain-like patterns suddenly surfaced on their skin!
Bang! Bang!
Two muffled explosions rang out almost simultaneously. The skeletal pair had actually self-destructed!
The flesh and bone fragments seemed to be mixed with some foul curse, splattering all over "Lyu Huan"!
"Lyu Huan" tilted his head slightly and reached out to gently flick away a small piece of flesh from his cheek, his lips curling into a compassionate smile.
He slowly turned around and looked at the group of people behind him who were already scared out of their wits.
"Cap... Captain..." Zhao Huaisha's voice trembled, and the others were even more pale. They wanted to turn and run, but an invisible force bound them, forcing them to watch the terrifying scene.
"You've clearly realized something is wrong with me, yet you're still willing to call me captain?" Lyu Huan's eyes were compassionate in a way that was bone-chilling.
"Are you clinging to some unrealistic fantasy? Fantasizing that I am still your Captain Lyu?"
Zhao Huaisha's face was as white as paper. She did indeed still harbor a glimmer of hope—perhaps Captain Lyu had suddenly obtained a powerful new strength, or perhaps this was just a combat method they didn't understand... Even though the probability was minuscule, she couldn't help but hope.
Now, that final hope was cruelly punctured.
"What did you do to Captain Lyu?" Zhao Huaisha's terror transformed into anger as she questioned him fiercely.
"Why so fierce? Young people have too much internal heat. You should have some loofah soup to cool down," the fake Lyu Huan said in a slow, measured tone.
The others frantically signaled Zhao Huaisha with their eyes to shut up and not provoke this terrifying being.
But the thought of Lyu Huan's unknown fate left Zhao Huaisha consumed with anxiety, and she couldn't care about the danger.
She wanted to say more, but in the next second—
The scene before her eyes spun. The gloomy, dilapidated fourth floor of the sanatorium vanished instantly.
In its place was a misty, ethereal mountainside.
The air was bone-chillingly cold, carrying a scent that was a mix of sandalwood and decay.
Looking up, a colossal Black Guanyin statue stood at the mountain's peak, reaching toward the sky!
The statue was covered in cracks, looking as though it might collapse at any moment, yet its downcast eyes radiated a sense of divinity, looking down upon all living beings with pity and compassion.
Surrounding the mountainside were countless monks sitting on the ground. Some had long since turned into white skeletons; some were highly decomposed, emitting a strong stench; and a few appeared to be living humans, but their eyes were hollow, as if their souls had been extracted.
Regardless of their form, all the monks were doing the same thing—endlessly striking the wooden fish in their hands while murmuring sutras. Their voices layered upon each other, converging into a grand, sinister, and resplendent divine sound:
"Put down the butcher's knife and become a..."
"The sea of suffering is boundless; turn back and find the shore."
The chanting drilled into the minds of Zhao Huaisha and the others, frantically tearing at their consciousness, making their heads spin until their awareness almost dissipated.
"Th-that's Captain Lyu!" Zhao Huaisha's sharp eyes spotted a very familiar figure among the group of numbly chanting monks.
It appeared to be the real Lyu Huan.
But he was now dressed as a monk, his head clean-shaven and wearing monastic robes. His face carried the same piety as the other monks as he struck a wooden fish and chanted the sinister scriptures.
"What is this place? What exactly happened!" Zhao Huaisha wanted to rush toward Lyu Huan, but she heard a shrill warning from a teammate behind her:
"Cover your ears! Don't listen! Quick..."
The voice cut off abruptly.
Zhao Huaisha turned her head and saw the most terrifying sight of her life—
The fear, struggle, and despair on her teammates' faces were fading at a visible rate, transforming into extreme, fanatical piety!
Their uniforms were covered by gray monastic robes that appeared out of thin air.
Their hair fell out in clumps, but instead of vanishing when it hit the ground, it twisted and deformed, turning into ancient-looking wooden fish.
Then, they slowly sat down where they were and joined the ranks of the monks, striking the wooden fish while chanting:
"Put down the butcher's knife and become a..."
"The sea of suffering is boundless; turn back and find the shore."
Thud, thud, thud...
The sound of the wooden fish and the chanting grew louder, threatening to drag all living creatures into this eternal Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Zhao Huaisha stood isolated, and boundless fear completely submerged her.
She felt her own will being rapidly assimilated, her fear disappearing and turning into piety.
...
A few minutes later.
Lyu Huan, the special investigator from headquarters, led her subordinates as they withdrew from the Qingshan Sanatorium one after another.
Zhao Huaisha reported the results of the mission: the operation had failed. The supernatural entities in the Qingshan Sanatorium were too powerful to defeat.
On the return journey, Lyu Huan closed her eyes to rest in the car. She had likely figured out the general sequence of events.
Discovery of the Otherworld → a key leading to the Otherworld → the news leaked → various forces fighting for the key → the key was completely lost, its whereabouts unknown.
She wasn't very interested in the "key" or anything like it. She was more concerned with... where exactly the original information about the Otherworld had come from.
Rate on N.U.
