Infinite spooky game

Chapter 442 Gods (XIV) Chu Yining

The following record exists in the archives of the Bureau of Mystery Investigation:
On the evening of May 10, 2014, a mountaineer reported to the Shangri-La Public Security Bureau that he had seen a suspicious man and woman on the mountaintop. He had never seen them on the way, but they suddenly appeared on the highest peak of the snow mountain without any mountaineering equipment and their clothing was in the style of late spring and early summer.

The guide mentioned that the couple was highly likely connected to the local legends of the Snow Demon. The Shangri-La Security Bureau agents, mostly locals, took the guide's report very seriously and immediately transferred it to the higher-level Paranormal Investigation Bureau.

When the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations' helicopter arrived at the mountaintop, they only saw a woman who had gone into shock due to hypothermia. Her face was vaguely recognizable as Chu Yining, who was confirmed to have died in the Sunset Ruins Ragnarok incident. While unconscious, the woman repeatedly mentioned names such as "Qisi," "Fu Jue," and "Xiao Fengchao."

Among them, "Fu Jue" has inherited "Lin Jue's" resources and entered the upper echelons of the Bureau of Investigation; "Xiao Fengchao" is an outer member of the Front Boat Guild and is now organizing the establishment of the Listening Wind Guild; "Qisi's" identity has not yet been determined, and Fu Jue advocates that he be included in a strict monitoring database for further observation.

After Chu Yining awoke, she repeatedly requested to speak with Fu Jue. In the surveillance footage, she spoke rapidly, uttering a large amount of information, but unfortunately, none of her words could be recognized or understood. Analysis revealed that the information blocking mechanism of the eerie game was in effect. The information she provided was likely related to the essence of the eerie game; once deciphered, all problems would be solved. Unfortunately, with the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation's current technology, it was destined that they could not extract any useful information from it.

Subsequent evaluation by a psychologist revealed that Chu Yining's alienation level had surged to over 30% in a short period, placing her in the "dangerous" category. In August of the same year, Fu Jue ordered Chu Yining to be placed in custody on the fifth basement floor of the Beidu Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

On July 11, 2025, Xiao Fengchao, the guild leader of Tingfeng Guild, disappeared unexpectedly after entering a dungeon. On May 10 of the following year, a mountaineer reported seeing a crazy man on the mountaintop who asked him to contact an organization called the "Bureau of Strange Investigations".

After receiving the information, Fu Jue personally led investigators to the Shangri-La Snow Mountain, where they recognized the man as Xiao Fengchao, who had been missing for nearly a year. Xiao Fengchao exhibited the same symptoms as Chu Yining, desperately trying to convey some information to Fu Jue, but all his words were difficult to decipher.

Three days later, he regained his composure and asked to enter the Sunset Ruins with Fu Jue. That day, all the players in the Sunset Ruins witnessed a strange sight: the usually silent Tower of Babylon began to shake violently, and the stone door on the first floor slowly opened. A figure with long hair and a long coat walked into the tower step by step, and the stone door closed behind him.

After returning to reality, Fu Jue did not make any comments on the matter. It was not until ten years later, when the secrets of that time were revealed, that Fu Jue received the first prophecy from the Tower of Babel: Beware of a person named "Qis" who was born in 2014.

……

May 11, 2035, Beidu.

After the final instance ended, in this area far from Jiangcheng, the previously rampant eerie chaos subsided. Occasionally, ghosts and strange tales that tried to cause trouble were suppressed by the investigators with their rich experience. The situation gradually came under control, the number of casualties decreased sharply, and some departments began to carry out post-war recovery work.

The capital city, from top to bottom, looks as if it has been plowed by a giant excavator. Everywhere you look, there are shattered courtyard houses and broken walls left behind after the collapse of high-rise buildings. The once towering buildings are now just twisted steel skeletons, with piles of broken concrete blocks and shattered glass blocking the once wide streets.

The corpses that crawled out of the ground left huge cracks behind, scars that snaked and grotesquely ran through the fabric of the entire city; a heavy, pungent stench permeated the air, and severed limbs that had not been dealt with in time underwent chemical reactions in the not-so-cool temperature, with newly formed pus flowing on the ground.

The setting sun, like blood, weakly painted the fragmented outline of the city, casting the shadow of an old locust tree laden with corpses.

The locust tree, which has stood for thousands of years, has witnessed too many changes and grudges. Countless lovelorn men and women have ended their lives here, their resentment condensing into spirits. Now, with the expansion of the city, unfamiliar streets have replaced the old alleys, and old trees are being cut down one by one. The tree sees this and feels sorry for its kind, angrily waving its branches.

It hates the humans who hanged themselves on it, causing it to gain sentience and harbor deep resentment; it hates those who cut down its kind and even tried to destroy its construction crew; it hates everything and wants to use the power of a bizarre game to punish this city that has no sense of nostalgia...

"Come on, let's get here. I didn't expect this tree to have such power, causing trouble at this crucial moment." A middle-aged investigator jogged over with a backpack full of various magical artifacts on his back. He pulled a talisman from his pocket and stuck it on the tree trunk. Instantly, the locust tree became silent and lifeless, indistinguishable from an ordinary tree.

The middle-aged investigator turned to the younger investigator beside him and said, "Have someone cut down this tree and take it back to the investigation bureau for safekeeping."

The young investigator nodded in agreement, while the middle-aged investigator quickly moved on to the next location.

Soon, city planning bureau clerks were brought in to cut down the tree. These people had just experienced a massive catastrophe that shattered their worldview, and their shock had subsided. For a time, they were filled with longing for the mysterious Bureau of Investigation, assuming that those who worked there were all extraordinary individuals skilled in divination and magic, capable of saving their lives in a critical moment. For a time, they showed the investigators excessive respect, quickly tying the tree together with rope and loading it onto the vehicle.

The section chief, who was in charge, looked the old locust tree, which took three people to encircle, up and down, and then looked at the investigators with a big smile: "Are you cutting down this tree to make peach wood swords? I heard that you are all very capable, and that you can make demons and monsters run away with just a wave of your peach wood swords."

“We’re not Taoist priests, and we wouldn’t know how to use a peach wood sword,” the investigator explained helplessly, glancing at the quiet, docile locust tree. “This tree can’t be used for timber either; it’s a powerful monster, and our captain just subdued it half an hour ago…”

The clerks: "..."

Everyone immediately backed away. The men who had moved the tree looked dejected, unsure whether to stay or leave. They could only watch as the investigator got into the passenger seat and gave the driver some instructions. Only when the truck's exhaust fumes disappeared at the end of the road did they look at each other and whisper among themselves.

"Do you think we should go to a temple to pray and get rid of the bad luck? At the very least, we should get some talismans to ward off evil spirits..."

"It's useless! My cousin told me that the Buddhist temples and Taoist temples near them are haunted, and the Buddha statues and statues of the Three Pure Ones open their eyes and smile at people at night..."

"Yeah, why not sit outside the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation? Maybe we can get some divine favor and keep the supernatural away."

Such scenes unfolded throughout the city, bringing the existence of the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation into the open. After a week of panic, survivors clung to it as a lifeline, explaining the sudden appearance of this department with their most rudimentary understanding of gods, demons, and monsters. Most of the population lacked strong religious convictions; their simple pragmatism allowed them to simultaneously embrace Buddhism and Taoism, naturally leading them to believe the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation could save them. Moreover, unlike Buddhism and Taoism, the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation was backed by the federal government, lending it an added layer of authority.

Citizens may criticize and question the federal government on ordinary days, but at times like this, no one believes that such a behemoth would play a joke that undermines public trust.

While sitting in the car, the investigator couldn't stand the driver's constant questioning and expressed his wish to send his wife and children to the Bureau of Investigation for safekeeping.

The investigators had to spend a lot of time explaining that the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations was not a refuge. On the contrary, because the fifth underground floor contained a large number of supernatural entities, it was more dangerous than the outside world. They were stationed there out of a sense of duty.

The driver clearly didn't believe him, and the investigator talked at length with little success, eventually running out of ideas to continue.

Over the past few days, a number of high-ranking officials in the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations have died, including Senator Brooke Hayes, who had long since retired, and county representatives who are still active in the paranormal games. It must be said that they have indeed fulfilled their promise to "lead by example" in their mobilization speeches, whether voluntarily or under duress.

Numerous powerful positions were vacated, and investigators who were originally in mid-level positions quickly seized control of the narrative. Most of these people were Fu Jue's followers. The motives behind this were far too blatant, but no one could find conclusive evidence. And with disaster looming, no one had the courage to remove Fu Jue from that position and take the brunt of the pressure from all sides themselves.

Everyone could see clearly that Fu Jue was reckless enough that the day this matter was resolved would be his death day. No matter how much trouble a dying person stirs up, he can only benefit others.

The truck drove out of the city and into the lush, deep mountains, stopping in front of a completely white building.

Many military trucks were already parked here, their cargo compartments filled with iron boxes wrapped in black cloth. But there were many more civilian trucks, of various sizes and types, clearly requisitioned temporarily; the items they carried were mostly hastily tied together with hemp rope or hastily put together sacks, indicating that there were simply too many strange things to contain and no time to properly seal them.

Armed men in black uniforms emerged from the building and helped carry the locust tree from the train car into the elevator. The investigator, as a witness to the subjugation of the strange entity, naturally accompanied them.

As the elevator descended, the temperature grew increasingly cold. The environment, which had been shrouded in darkness for so long, combined with the eerie resentment emanating from it, exuded a chilling aura from the inside out. A thick layer of white frost condensed on the metal elevator surface, evoking images of an apocalyptic, extremely cold world.

The narrow corridor stretched like a fish intestine, with overhead lights following the footsteps of those entering, casting a cold, white light. On either side, the doors to the eerie rooms were tightly shut, like freezers in a morgue, with only occasional wails and screams indicating that those inside were still alive.

The group quickly followed the usual procedure to move the locust tree into the empty containment chamber, locked it, and then entered the information.

A gentle female voice suddenly rang out from the adjacent containment cell: "I'm sorry to disturb you, I'm Chu Yining, I want to see Fu Jue, I have something important to tell him..."

The investigator knew Chu Yining; she was one of the earliest players to enter the Weird Game and one of the founders of the Weird Investigation Bureau. Unfortunately, she was severely contaminated during Ragnarok twenty-two years ago and could only spend the rest of her life in the containment chamber.

Because she mostly remained calm and clear-headed, and because she was an influential figure, the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation treated her with relative politeness and tried their best to meet her needs.

But it should definitely not be now.

The investigator sighed: "Senior Chu, the director has been in Shangri-La since he entered the final instance on May 5th. It probably won't be long before he comes back. Besides, things are in complete chaos outside right now, and he's too busy trying to manage the situation... If you have anything to say, you can tell me first, and I'll write a report for you and submit it."

Out of courtesy, the investigator pressed a button on the iron door of the containment chamber, and the wall on the side closest to the corridor suddenly became transparent, allowing people inside and outside to see the other side.

Sitting in the shelter was a woman with gray hair. Chu Yining, who was in her early fifties, was no longer young, and because of the less-than-ideal living conditions in the shelter, she looked older than her peers.

The manuscript papers covered in black ink were piled up around her. The Bureau of Paranormal Investigation never intended to take them out for research, so the papers accumulated more and more. At first, the first few piles were neatly stored, but the later ones were simply thrown on the ground.

Over the years, Chu Yining has been trying to record the information she wants to convey in various ways. Unfortunately, the words written on the manuscript paper will eventually turn into useless gibberish. The Bureau of Paranormal Investigation never expects her to provide any useful clues. Giving her paper and pen is just to give her something to do, so that she won't cause trouble out of boredom.

Later, Chu Yining seemed to realize this as well. She stopped trying to record information about the strange game and started drawing mind maps that others couldn't understand. Sometimes she also wrote articles. Her temperament changed from impetuous to peaceful.

Upon hearing the investigator's reply, Chu Yining remained silent for two seconds as if she were thinking. After a while, she smiled, her wrinkles at the corners of her eyes looking kind and gentle: "Okay, I'll tell you. Please make sure you relay this truthfully to Fu Jue."

She paused for a moment, her lips moving rapidly, but no sound came out. She was stunned, seemingly surprised that even this information would be blocked by the strange game, but she quickly resigned herself to it, smiling wryly, and said, "There are some things I still can't explain in too much detail. I can only say:"
"I've pondered this for twenty-two years, and I've finally figured out His plan. All of humanity is on His chessboard, and isn't human wisdom itself a part of the divine plan...?"

"Because I died, I came back; Xiao Fengchao also came back after his death; others will do the same... including Qi Si. We can't let Him come back, even though I don't know what that would cause, but I believe that God's unconditional malice is never wrong."

"Please tell Fu Jue: Under no circumstances should Qi Si be killed, never, ever."

(End of this chapter)