Painted Realm

A sudden commotion at the other end of the corridor interrupted the conversation between Yue Shi and Xin Yanzheng.

A young assistant investigator rushed over, his face deathly pale. Ignoring the presence of an outsider like Yue Shi, he said urgently, "Mr. Xin, this is bad! We just received an emergency report. Investigator Su has been ambushed. There was a violent explosion at the scene, and her death has been confirmed! The team members assisting in the search for the source of the curse also suffered heavy casualties!"

The news struck like a bolt of lightning.

Xin Yanzheng's expression froze and then shattered piece by piece. His body swayed, and all color drained from his face.

Yue Shi stood to the side, silently admiring the fascinating shifts in Xin Yanzheng's expression. Deep within his eyes, a faint glimmer of light flickered.

"Was it that lady who controlled spider silk who was killed? Truly a shame. Please accept my condolences."

Yue Shi's tone carried just the right amount of sorrow and regret, as if he were genuinely pained by the loss of a colleague.

But to Xin Yanzheng's ears, these words were another thunderclap, instantly jolting him out of the shock and grief of Su Jinglu's death.

He stood rooted to the spot, an indescribable chill climbing up his spine.

Fragments of memories he had deliberately suppressed, carrying the stale scent of blood, surged violently in his mind.

"Your mother has passed away. Truly a shame. Please accept my condolences."

The exact same tone.

The pacing between words, and even the rising inflection at the end, were identical.

For a moment, he almost thought the person from his past was standing right beside him.

Xin Yanzheng slowly turned his head, staring at Yue Shi's face. He scanned every inch of it as if searching for something.

The appearance, voice, and build of the man before him were all completely unfamiliar.

But in that instant, the superficial sadness and calculated regret on Yue Shi's face—tinged with three parts affectation, three parts hypocrisy, and four parts indifference—bore a striking resemblance to the silhouette in his memories!

He felt as if he had been transported back to that gray morning many years ago. His mother had just passed away, and someone had used that same wretched acting to perform a show of fake sympathy, saying those exact words to him...

"Is something wrong?" Yue Shi asked with a look of slight confusion and concern.

The sense of familiarity that had made Xin Yanzheng's skin crawl receded like a tide, vanishing without a trace.

Yue Shi's expression was calm. Everything that had just happened seemed as though it were merely an illusion brought on by Xin Yanzheng's overwhelming grief.

Xin Yanzheng snapped back to reality, forcibly suppressing the shock and suspicion churning in his heart to calm his chaotic emotions.

He took a deep breath. No longer able to maintain the polite facade, he said stiffly, "It's nothing. An emergency has occurred at the bureau, and it's not convenient to continue hosting you. I will arrange for someone to take you back to your residence immediately."

"I understand. I won't disturb you further then. Please take care of yourself." Yue Shi complied readily, nodding politely before turning to leave.

Because of the serious supernatural incident, the original hotel was clearly no longer suitable.

The Chijing City Investigation Bureau moved Yue Shi to another hotel, also located in the city center, and sent him there in a private car.

Upon entering the new hotel room, the first thing Yue Shi did was activate his Insight vision, meticulously scanning the entire space to ensure there were no hidden surveillance devices or anomalies.

The room was "clean."

He locked the door behind him. When he turned around, the begonia hairpin was already in his hand.

However, he only toyed with it casually, feeling the fine texture of the petals with his fingertips. There was little enthusiasm in his eyes; instead, he looked somewhat bored.

Then, he tossed it aside.

Yet, the hairpin did not hit the floor.

The air beside Yue Shi's hand rippled with an almost imperceptible spatial tremor, and the hairpin vanished instantly.

This was precisely the new ability he had stayed up all night grinding for before leaving Amber City.

【Painted Realm】

【A World Unto Itself】

【Folding Reality, Constructing Foreign Domains】

【“My territory, my rules.”】

【Can stably create and maintain one or more independent, small extra-dimensional spaces. These spaces are completely under the user's control, with entry points that can be set at will. It can also perform limited interference with existing physical space, creating small-scale spatial distortions and directional confusion.】

The most basic application of this ability was for storage, perfectly replacing all physical containers to store large quantities of supplies without their weight affecting reality.

He could also hide himself within the extra-dimensional space to seek refuge, hide perfectly, or evade lethal attacks.

Yue Shi was still trying to develop other uses for Painted Realm, such as creating spatial traps...

The appearance of Painted Realm significantly enhanced Yue Shi's survivability, mobility, and strategic reserves.

With Ghost, an assistant who could manipulate information, Yue Shi finally had the confidence to step into the unfamiliar Chijing City.

As long as he wished, he could create many extra-dimensional spaces and set the entry points on his personal belongings.

When he came to Chijing City, he had only brought one briefcase. Inside were two changes of clothes to deceive others.

All important items were placed in the extra-dimensional space. Besides supernatural objects, the space held plenty of clothes, food, water, daily necessities, spare electronic devices, power banks, and firearms obtained through various channels.

In short, he was fully prepared to leave the city and travel alone through the Chaos Zone.

At that moment, the phone screen in his pocket vibrated slightly.

Ghost said in text form, "I didn't expect you to have such a useful supernatural object. That short sword is truly incredible. I don't have any combat foundation myself, but when I possessed the doll and picked it up, it was as if I were a natural-born martial artist. I became a martial arts master instantly."

Yue Shi picked up the phone and said, "That's a supernatural object I collected by chance. It's quite useful, but it has side effects."

Ghost's text continued to appear: "Side effects? I can indeed feel them. After using it just once, some abnormal information structures have mixed into my body."

Yue Shi nodded. "Yes. Using that blade for too long is addictive, and you'll gradually be dominated by the blade's own combat instincts. That's why I rarely use it. Besides, I don't need to rely on it to increase my combat power anymore."

Ghost said, "Then that blade, along with the matchbox and the Bomb Paintbrush, have all been stuffed into the doll's body according to the plan and thrown far away. Do you intend to just discard them and not want them back?"

"How could that be? Even with side effects, those are real supernatural objects and valuable assets. How could I just throw them away?" Yue Shi said.

Ghost asked, "Then you want to..."

"Those things are now blatant murder weapons. Leaving them outside is a perfect chance to test the capabilities of the Chijing City Investigation Bureau and see if they have anyone skilled in tracking origins," Yue Shi analyzed calmly.

"When we leave this city, it won't be too late to find an opportunity to take them back."

Of course, there was one thing Yue Shi didn't say. These things were either stolen or given to him by Ghost; he wouldn't feel much pain even if they were truly lost.

Ghost didn't continue that topic and switched to something else.

"I thought you would keep Su Jinglu alive. Perhaps you could have interrogated some useful information out of her."

Yue Shi shook his head, his tone indifferent. "There was no need for that."

He didn't explain much.

The Spider Sense ability was still too troublesome. He wasn't sure if his killing intent or malice could be detected by Su Jinglu's warning system while he was hidden.

Since there was uncertainty, he should directly eliminate the potential trouble and risk.

Information could be gathered through many channels; he didn't need Su Jinglu for that.

Ghost said, "You've encountered so much excitement on your first day in Chijing City. What do you plan to do next? Continue waiting to perform the transport mission, or..."

Yue Shi looked out at the city's night view and said, "Naturally, I'll take the initiative to stir things up. I don't like passively waiting for others to make a move before finding a way to counter. It's better to keep the initiative in my own hands."

Ghost seemed to have some concerns. "Actively stir things up? Chijing City is a large city with deep heritage. Acting rashly could easily backfire."

"Don't worry." Yue Shi's gaze pierced through layers of buildings, looking in a certain direction.

"This city already harbors a massive hidden threat. I... I just want to be a good person and help them... detonate that threat ahead of schedule."