Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 334 Taking Over the Castle
"Is this the standard trap set by Hongmen Banquet?"

Upon seeing this unexpected invitation, Han Su initially found it somewhat laughable.

Given what I'm doing now, and all that I have, joining the roving knights is no different from walking into a trap.
The most crucial question wasn't whether I should accept the offer, but rather what the Guardians of the World were thinking. Why did they send me an invitation from the Traveling Knights organization immediately after I was promoted to Independent Investigator?
The reason I did what I did in Qinggang was because I felt so insecure. Now that I have some basic security, why do they think I would give up the base I worked so hard to build in Qinggang to become some kind of trainee knight?
Then look at the two noble signatures that accompanied the letter: the Northwest Ōmura family and the Yamamoto Shirotatsu family…

Two completely unfamiliar families!
The fact that they would write this letter of recommendation means that their family background must be quite good, perhaps even no less than that of the Xu family in some respects.

Why would two aristocratic families be willing to write recommendation letters for a complete stranger like themselves?
Are some hidden forces finally surfacing?

After a moment's thought, he did not directly reject the invitation from the traveling knight, but asked Mr. Xu to wait a few days and then reply to his question.

Calculating the time, the time for this flash to arrive was almost here, so he took advantage of the last moments to meet with Xue Zhi, who had also moved into Rong Qiyue's laboratory, and asked, "How's the data analysis going?"

"You were right."

Xue Zhi's face was full of exhaustion, but deep in his eyes was a hint of excitement: "The emperor is the key."

"All of this—the Black Rose, the atavistic substance, the marked family… all of it seems unrelated, but in reality, it's all preparing for the Emperor's return."

"If we strip away all appearances and look at it with the simplest perspective, we'll find that what they're doing is exactly what the fanatics of those mysterious organizations are doing, with a purpose so simple it's outrageous!"

"He was simply there to welcome the emperor into reality!"

"..."

"Yes……"

Although he had already guessed it, he still sighed softly after Xue Zhi's analysis, thinking of the seductive call Xue Zhi made to him in the castle.

I thought of Ms. Shen, who devoted ten years of her life to him...

I have no feelings for Ms. Shen, but now I can't help but feel sorry for her and think, what a scumbag she met...

Now many things are actually quite clear. I have always been part of his plan. Everything I experienced in the castle and everything I encountered in reality were part of his plan. The only thing he didn't foresee was "Flicker".
So, the only problem I need to worry about now that I've embarked on this path has become quite obvious.

"Investigate these two noble families!"

Han Su showed the two letters of recommendation to Xue Zhi, and began to have a more nuanced opinion about the invitation from the traveling knights.

Indeed, if I were to go and make contact with the wandering knights now, it would be tantamount to courting death. But what about after I return from the castle?
Inside the castle, a sumptuous feast had long been prepared for him, but before, he hadn't known what to do and didn't dare to eat anything. But this time, after returning to the castle, he didn't intend to be polite.

Since that madman has laid out a path that he can't refuse, perhaps all he can do is take advantage of the Blink ability to catch him off guard.

"The other thing you need to do is..."

Having made up his mind, Han Su then solemnly spoke to Xue Zhi: "If you are willing to do anything to understand the imperial hierarchy, you can ask Miss An Wei, Hou Zhizhu, and Wu Qi to help you."

"We need to know what those who worship the emperor are thinking, how much of the emperor's legacy he left in this world, and what unknown grudges and affections the emperor and the so-called Twelve Knights have!"

In addition to accumulating strength, the competition for information has also become inevitable.

Now that we have more and more friends, it's time to divide the work.

What Han Su is certain of now is that Wei Lan and Lu Neng should put more effort into finding the mechanical fragments.

The fact that the two of them joined forces to retrieve the No. 3 mechanical fragment from Light Machine City perfectly proves that they possess this ability.

As for the other most important thing, that is the hunting of the descendants of the Twelve Knights. Of course, Lu Xiaoba and Guogaitou are the most suitable to cooperate with him in this task.

Faced with this complex situation, he no longer had the energy to deal with everything. So, his task for himself was to return to the castle this time, accept the power of the emperors without hesitation, and wait for the conversation with that doctor!
My formal conversation with Miss Ai was also scheduled after I returned from the castle.

……

……

"Do you really believe that he hid the original blueprints in Qinggang?"

Just as Han Su had sorted everything out and was waiting for the flash to arrive, Qinggang, which was gradually quieting down and returning to order, was bustling with activity. Ms. Shen walked slowly down the lively streets.

Beside her, her assistant looked at the city with a questioning gaze: "If it really is here, why doesn't he tell you where it is? What's the point of playing these riddles?"

“He should know that Qinggang is not the same as it used to be. We used to be able to turn Qinggang upside down, but now, Qinggang has been taken over by that new investigator. Even we can only enter Qinggang with extreme caution.”

"It is foreseeable that when the empress returns to Qinggang, their control over Qinggang will be even stronger. At that time, we will even be monitored when we enter Qinggang."

"As the location of the bronze altar, we can even directly declare that this altar has fallen. Once these cases are reported, the Guardians will put enormous pressure on us."

"..."

"This child does things in a way that is very different from his father's; he's very radical!"

As Ms. Shen listened to her assistant recount the failure of Abyss Studio, strangely, her tone wasn't one of frustration, but rather one of peculiar pride. She sighed softly, "But we don't need to question the original blueprint."

“I know his style of doing things. The fact that he doesn’t tell me the whereabouts of the original blueprints directly means that he has no way to tell me directly.”

“I also believe that he is not hiding it from me. It’s just that the Abyss Studio has been closely watched by the Guardians. If he doesn’t want the Guardians to guess anything, he can only keep it from me as well.”

"But for those who uphold the world..."

She paused slightly and said in a low voice, "Their insight into the entire Divine Descent Plan cannot be hidden. If they want to know something, we cannot hide it from them either. That way, we can deduce their true thoughts."

"He didn't hide the original blueprint; he simply made it appear in a way that ordinary people couldn't fathom. The blueprint was always in the most conspicuous place..."

"The most conspicuous..."

The assistant felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

In the entire God's Descent plan, there was only one person who stood out the most: the child who escaped from the castle.

He has been struggling to survive under constant scrutiny.

"This is my biggest concern."

Ms. Shen nodded slowly: "When I realized this problem, Shou Shiren must have realized it as well."

"Right now, I don't have the energy to be sad about him deceiving me for ten years and taking advantage of me for ten years. I'm just looking at his plans from his perspective."

"If the divine descent plan was merely a pretext in his eyes, and his true purpose was to summon the emperor, then his plan has undoubtedly failed. He even needs to send that strange creature to Qinggang to buy time..."

“He deceived me, deceived the guardians, and even used our children…”

"This is all we got in return?"

"I……"

She paused slightly, then sighed softly, "I've begun to doubt his feelings for me and for the child. I harbor a deep resentment that you can't understand."

“But from a rational point of view, I can doubt his feelings, but I won’t doubt his plans.”

"If he really sacrificed so much, then he certainly wouldn't have only ended up in this awkward situation. Therefore, I believe that the true original blueprint must still contain some secret that we don't know, a secret that can confront the Guardians head-on!"

"That secret, perhaps, is the real reason why the Divine Descent Plan failed?" The female assistant, who had followed Ms. Shen in investigating the reasons for the failure of the Divine Descent Plan for ten years, immediately realized this.

"Yes!"

Ms. Shen slowly began, "But I don't intend to continue the investigation."

At this moment, she stood on the bustling street, surrounded by pedestrians, but she stood alone, her body wrapped in a white coat, looking frail and thin.

He whispered, "Perhaps he's already calculated that he'd tell me about the original blueprint at this time. Once I know about this plan, I'll choose to help him buy time no matter what..."

"Or rather, not for him, but for the child we have wronged..."

The female assistant was almost losing control of her emotions: "You..."

Ms. Shen slowly shook her head, her smile tinged with bitterness: "He... he really is heartless..."

……

……

"The walking disaster codenamed 'Goddess of Beauty' has appeared in Qinggang. In addition, the clues to the shattered throne also point directly to Qinggang..."

In the Eastern Continent, in the city of Shanji, there is an office with a highly avant-garde technological style inside an ancient building.

In the office, someone was reporting to the scholarly old man: "According to the report from the traveling knights, Qinggang has now been listed as one of the most dangerous areas, almost independent, and it has been confirmed that Qinggang has the ability to self-destruct beyond control."

"This means we cannot conquer it by force."

"If Qinggang were to self-destruct, it could very likely trigger a chain reaction, reducing our ability to combat the tides by 30%!"

"..."

The old man nodded slightly: "What about that young independent investigator?"

"He has received an internship offer from the Traveling Knights, which he neither refused nor accepted."

The person reporting began, "Based on our estimates, there's no reason for him to accept. This invitation is somewhat like..."

He paused, then couldn't help but laugh: "To coax a child!"

"If we truly considered that person an opponent, we wouldn't have expected him to come along like this, would we?"

"They're definitely trying to coax a child!"

Upon hearing this description, the old man couldn't help but chuckle and said, "But don't worry, he will agree."

"He may not realize it now, but as he comes into contact with that forbidden power for longer and at a higher level, the threat to his very life becomes stronger."

"He only has one way to maintain his self-respect under the threat of that power, and that is the mysterious power training that only the Wandering Knights can access, which is also the supreme life equation that all anomalous creatures are pursuing."

"So, it doesn't matter whether he agrees or refuses outright."

“We just need to give him this opportunity. When he is desperate and learns about the Supreme Life Equation, he will naturally come to us on his own.”

"..."

"Should we voluntarily let him come into contact with that forbidden power?"

The person who reported paused for a moment, feeling that the matter was very risky, but out of respect for the elderly, he did not question it directly.

"The signs of the tides have appeared, haven't they?"

The old man looked at the last report in his hand; it was a paper printout with the word "top secret" on it.

"Yes!"

When this issue was mentioned, the person giving the report couldn't help but look more serious: "Several observation points around the world have already exceeded the safety threshold."

"According to our technicians' estimates, the intensity of this tide is very likely to be stronger than we predicted twenty years ago. The World Council has already raised questions, and there is no need to continue waiting for the Divine Descent Project to proceed."

"We should now consider restarting the world after its destruction!"

"..."

"It's pointless to declare the descent of the gods a failure."

The old man remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "Let's prepare to retrieve the throne fragments and the Origin Seal!"

"Heh, that madman who worships the emperor gambled his own fate, his lover, and even his child, all for that vague legend. He even racked his brains to drag so many people who refused to face their own destiny into it."

"But he never admitted that a commoner is a commoner, and no matter how smart he is, he is just an ambitious ant."

"He didn't know that what he was pursuing was a joke all along. He wasn't even our enemy. The only thing we truly cared about was the tide..."

"...and, those mysterious figures within the tides!"

"..."

"..."

"Tick-tock tick-tock..."

As the sound of the mechanical fragments automatically activating rang in his ears, Han Su pierced through layers of time and space mist and returned to the ancient castle.

Perhaps because he had prepared himself mentally this time, he was more composed than ever before.

He patiently watched as the remaining children were chosen, patiently returned to the increasingly deserted cellar, patiently waited for the first mysterious phone call, and then quietly spent the first night in the castle. The next day, following the instructions of the mysterious phone call, he found the office.

I used to think that this man was untrustworthy and that I needed to analyze the meaning behind his words word by word.

This time, Han Su only felt that he was too slow.

And so, the night of weeping and the night of death passed by so easily, and Han Su awaited the night of pleasure.

This was the most lively, yet also the most bizarre day since the child was kidnapped.

That same morning, during a brief moment when the old butler was away, Han Su received a phone call from the mysterious man. His voice seemed to carry a strong sense of anticipation.
"You've gotten the book and found the hidden room, haven't you?"

"Then, congratulations, child. You have already gained control of more than 30% of the castle. If you are willing to listen to me, you will only need one night to gain control of more than 70% of the castle and turn the tables on the inhabitants!"

Han Su answered the phone calmly, "Go ahead, I'm listening!"

The man on the other end of the phone felt something was off; the child's calmness seemed to be beyond his expectations.

"Tonight, the monsters will host a banquet for you. All the children and monsters will be there."

He paused, then spoke in a low voice: "Before the banquet, I need you to prepare some kind of ritual to give these monsters a little surprise!"

(End of this chapter)