Rotten to the Core

Outside Chijing City, the investigation team dispatched by the Bureau headquarters had arrived.

“The water level has dropped another 3.7 centimeters,” one of the investigators reported.

“Record it,” the team leader said, his expression grave.

“Yes, sir.”

“What is the status of supernatural activity in the surrounding area?” the leader asked another investigator.

“The instruments have only detected a few low-rank aquatic supernatural creatures wandering around.”

“No high-level supernatural creatures have been observed.”

“Tsk, strange,” the leader muttered, a look of confusion crossing his face.

“Boss, is there a problem?”

“It’s too clean,” the leader replied.

“This is an extension of the forbidden zone’s waters. The observation station previously recorded numerous high-level supernatural creatures haunting these waters.”

“Where have all those things that used to lurk here gone?”

One investigator asked, “Do you need us to conduct a deeper investigation?”

The leader shot him a look. “The orders are to observe and record, not to go and die.”

“Maintain your distance, record all data, and then report the situation truthfully. That is all.”

“There is no need to do anything extra.”

The investigator replied with a smile, “Understood!”

The waters of Chijing City were receding, the water level was dropping abnormally, and high-level supernatural creatures had vanished for unknown reasons.

...

Chensha City.

Not long ago, the city center had been submerged.

A mass of seawater had appeared out of thin air, causing heavy casualties and destroying buildings on a massive scale.

Fortunately, the chaos had only lasted for a few minutes.

Unlike Chijing City, it hadn't been completely swallowed up.

The disaster had come abruptly and left just as strangely.

The towering seawater vanished into thin air just as it had appeared, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation.

There were floating corpses of those who had drowned, demolished buildings, and many other sights that were truly shocking to behold.

During the subsequent rescue and repair process, several dark secrets were exposed.

Beneath the ruins of a certain medical beauty center, a large quantity of human skin tissue was discovered, each piece of skin meticulously numbered.

In the warehouse of a certain prosthetic company, an astounding number of unregistered human skeletons were found.

In the drainage system of the city’s central hospital, many unidentified human tissues were flushed out.

There were even skinless corpses lying dead on the streets.

The internet exploded instantly.

This inevitably led many to recall the recent incidents where several strikingly attractive people had suddenly shed their skin in public.

Their beautiful exteriors shattered, revealing the mediocre truth beneath.

“Holy crap, I knew it! Nana was definitely murdered. Poor Nana was set up; someone was singing and dancing while wearing her skin.”

“Is the old hag inside Nana? Or is the skin on the outside Nana? This is a serious question.”

“The more I think about it, the more terrifying it gets. What on earth are these medical beauty companies doing behind the scenes?”

“Where is the Investigation Bureau? Come out and give us an explanation! Where did all this human skin come from?”

“I’m really curious now—what are the fans of these celebrities thinking? Do they like the beautiful exterior or the talented core?”

“Babe upstairs, you're literally killing me. Without the looks, who’s going to care about the inner self? Besides, do they even have talent?”

At the rescue site, an old investigator looked at the fragments of human skin, organs, and specimens being cleared from the ruins, his face turning ashen.

However, the order he received from his superiors was to destroy these things on the spot and leave no trace behind.

‘The situation is even worse than expected. This is an entire industrial chain.’

‘The seawater didn’t just wash away buildings; it washed away the fig leaf covering certain people’s shame.’

Despite his thoughts, the old investigator strictly obeyed his orders and didn't say a single word he shouldn't have.

Old wiring short-circuited, and the warehouse storing the evidence 'accidentally' caught fire, burning everything to ash.

‘This world is truly rotten to the core.’

...

Yujing.

That giant candle had finally gone out.

The candle itself could be considered a supernatural object and had already been transported away by the Bureau headquarters.

The fate awaiting it was to be researched and then stored in the containment vault.

Mr. A's construction company had already begun rebuilding the city.

Although the people around him were all actors, they were indeed individuals with real skills.

And Mr. A himself was an expert in the civil engineering industry.

While the reconstruction of Yujing was in full swing, research on the Longevity Candle was also rapidly underway.

Project Number: Longevity Candle

Project Rank: S

Special Containment Procedures: The Longevity Candle is currently contained within the high-value supernatural object containment vault.

The project must be placed in a specialized inert alloy container, away from open flames and high-intensity energy sources.

Without approval from the High-level Council, any form of ignition testing on the project is strictly prohibited.

All sub-projects derived from the Longevity Candle must be contained independently and adhere to the same safety protocols.

Description: The Longevity Candle is a pale, candle-like object approximately ██ meters tall. Its material is a mixture of unknown organic lipids.

The surface is covered in cracked textures resembling aging human faces, possessing informational hazards; direct observation leads to mental depression and lifespan anxiety.

The core properties of the Longevity Candle manifest after it is ignited, as recorded by professional testers.

Within the range of the eerie green candlelight, all organic and inorganic matter undergoes rapid aging.

The speed of aging is positively correlated with the intensity of the candlelight and the proximity to it.

During testing, one tester located 5 meters from the candlelight completed a natural life cycle within 5 seconds.

Modern alloy structures showed signs of weathering exceeding five hundred years after 30 seconds of continuous exposure.

After the test ignition, the candle could not be extinguished by normal means, and all containment measures failed due to aging.

Enabled 【Data Erasure】 to extinguish the candle once more.

Notably, the Longevity Candle is divisible.

Wax blocks obtained from the main body through physical cutting, or collected melted wax oil, can be reshaped into smaller candles, collectively known as Longevity Candle Sub-entities.

When ignited, these Longevity Candle Sub-entities produce a weakened aging effect.

Currently, headquarters has utilized this trait to distribute some Longevity Candle Sub-entities to specific field teams as a means of suppression against certain supernatural entities.

The use of all Longevity Candle Sub-entities must be documented.

Appendix: It is strictly forbidden to use Longevity Candle Sub-entities for non-mission purposes, especially consumption!

Archivist's Note: A few old-timers at headquarters have privately obtained some small candles; I hope they don't use them for anything strange.

Further research on the Longevity Candle is ongoing. While the effects of lighting it are clear, the effects of eating it still require more test data.

A researcher proposed that the Longevity Candle might be used to develop new types of healing potions, and perhaps even a rejuvenation potion!

“The consumption of project test subjects at the research institute has been particularly high lately; we need replacements urgently.”

“Just file a report. The higher-ups will soon filter a batch of healthy test subjects from the Chaos Zone and send them over.”

Two researchers chatted as they walked after work. One of them suddenly lowered his voice.

“Hey, did you hear? That candle seems to still be alive; it regained consciousness during testing.”

“Shut your mouth! The higher-ups said it's dead—it's a supernatural object, meant only for research.”