Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 168, the prologue to "The Beginning"
The morning sun pierced through the thin clouds, weakly casting its rays upon the ruins of the Linjiang headquarters.

The once magnificent Bureau of Investigation building is now nothing but ruins. Twisted steel bars, like the fingers of a dying man, point helplessly to the sky. The cloying, pungent smell of blood lingers in the air, mixed with the acrid smell of burnt metal, making one's chest tighten.

Bai Yu sat on the edge of the medical department's rooftop, the red umbrella in his hand already folded. The cracks in the umbrella's ribs gleamed coldly in the sunlight. His pale face almost blended into the white clouds in the background, only his deep eyes still held a faint glimmer of light from the depths of the forbidden vault last night.

Mo Fei came up the stairs, carrying several warm steamed buns and two bottles of mineral water. He walked steadily, his heavy combat boots making a dull thud on the gravel. Unlike usual, he didn't shout loudly, but walked to Bai Yu and silently handed her a steamed bun.

"Old Bai, have something to eat. Everything's been arranged with Yueqi, and Lan Ce is keeping an eye on things." Mo Fei's voice was a little hoarse, but it carried a reassuring quality.

Bai Yu took the bun and took a bite. The dough was a bit dry and hard, but the aroma of the meat filling spread across his taste buds, giving him a sense of real, earthy warmth. He looked at Mo Fei and noticed that although the burly man's battle axe was tucked behind his back, his tiger's mouth was covered with fine, bloody cuts—the marks left from his forceful resistance against the red silk's erosion the previous night.

"Where's the captain?" Bai Yu asked.

"We're handling the aftermath down here." Mo Fei took a sip of water, his expression turning serious. "Shen Ling and the others... are being sent to the family quarters. The entire Supervision Department was wiped out this time, so the headquarters' organization will have to be reorganized."

Bai Yu remained silent. Although Shen Ling was obsessive, the horrific scene at the end still sent a chill down his spine. Faced with the rules of the Nightmare, human desires for power and scheming seemed so insignificant.

Just then, Lan Ce's voice came through their communicator, carrying an unprecedented seriousness.

"Bai Yu, Mo Fei, come to the old command center site. Captain An has something important to announce."

The two exchanged a glance and immediately stood up.

The command center, located on the basement level, wasn't completely destroyed by the red fog, but it was riddled with cracks. Emergency lights cast a dim yellow glow, illuminating the massive, cracked holographic map.

Captain Anmu stood before the map, his bandages stained with blood. He held a freshly printed encrypted document in his hand, his face even more grim than during the battle the previous night.

"Everyone's here." An Mu nodded slightly as he looked at the three people who entered through the door.

Lancer adjusted his glasses, his fingers flying across the control panel. The holographic map flickered a few times, then suddenly zoomed in, revealing the outline of the entire globe.

“Just half an hour ago, the headquarters’ ‘Sky Eye’ system transmitted its last set of data before it crashed.” Lan Ce’s voice was cold. “Besides Linjiang City, eleven other sacrificial sites have been activated globally. These sites are located in polar regions, deserts, the deep sea, and even some densely populated megacities.”

He lit up twelve red dots on the map. These dots, when connected, formed an extremely complex geometric shape resembling some kind of ancient totem.

“Twelve sacrificial positions, a blood-red wedding.” An Mu said in a deep voice, “Linjiang City is just the ‘introduction’ to this ceremony. By sacrificing Shen Ling and half of the headquarters, the Mountain God successfully opened the portal to the ‘Abyss’. Now, this ceremony has entered an irreversible stage.”

Bai Yu stared at the largest red dot in the center of the map; that was Linjiang. Next to the red dot, a line of pale gold characters caught his attention.

"What's that?" Bai Yu asked, pointing to the characters.

Lance paused for a moment, then adjusted the focus.

The line of text was written in an ancient, rule-based language, and translated into only one short sentence:

[First on the list of offerings: The Analyst, Bai Yu.]

The air froze instantly.

Mo Fei suddenly took a step forward, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "What the hell does this mean? Aren't those Nightmares scared enough? They actually dare to mess with Lao Bai?"

"Calm down, Mo Fei." Bai Yu spoke calmly, his voice without a trace of emotion, as if he were looking at someone else's name. "As expected. The existence of Hei Yan is a huge temptation for them, and also their only threat."

“It’s not just temptation.” An Mu looked at Bai Yu, his eyes filled with worry. “This list is the will of the ‘First Nightmare.’ It is awakening, and it needs a vessel that can contain its rules. Bai Yu, the crack in your soul is the perfect entry point for it.”

“Then what we need to do is to push its still-unawakened head back in.” Bai Yu withdrew her gaze, her tone firm.

"Captain, what's the next mission?" Lan Ce asked.

Anmu walked to the map and pointed to the second red dot located on the other side of the ocean.

“Before we go there, we need to deal with the problems within headquarters.” An Mu turned to the three of them. “Last night, when the Forbidden Vault collapsed, Lan Ce intercepted a strange signal. It didn’t come from Nightmare, but from within our own ranks.”

"Inside?" Mo Fei frowned. "Isn't Shen Ling already dead?"

“Shen Ling is just a pawn being used,” Lan Ce continued. “This signal source is located in the ruins at the bottom of the Forbidden Vault. There is a physically isolated secret room there, which is not on the headquarters' architectural blueprints.”

Bai Yu's heart stirred. Last night, he did sense an unreasonable fold in the rules at the bottom of the Forbidden Library, but he was in a hurry to save Lu Yueqi and didn't have time to investigate it further.

"Let's go take a look." Bai Yu led the way towards the elevator.

The four of them descended upon the ruins once more.

The Hall of Bones had vanished, replaced by mountains of rubble. Bai Yu closed his eyes, the black runes on his left hand pulsating slightly, guiding his senses through the thick concrete.

"Over there, Mo Fei, clean it up."

"Got it!"

Mo Fei strode over, his two battle axes still sheathed. He placed his hands on the edge of an alloy plate weighing several tons, and with a powerful thrust of his waist, his muscles bulged like coiled dragons.

"Hey!"

With a low shout, he forcefully pried open the huge alloy plate, revealing a dark hole underneath.

The edges of the opening were very neat, not like it had been violently damaged, but rather like it had been automatically activated by some kind of mechanism.

Bai Yu jumped down first, the red umbrella slightly opened, and the dark light illuminated the surroundings.

This is a tiny, secret room, less than ten square meters in size. The walls are covered with densely packed incantations, the style of which is very ancient, even carrying a primitive and savage feel.

On the stone platform in the center of the secret chamber, a black metal box lay quietly.

The box has no gaps on its surface, except for a fingerprint-like sensing area, which is just the right size to fit an adult's palm.

“The Source Black Box.” An Mu recognized the object, his tone tinged with awe. “It’s a relic from the early days of the Investigation Bureau. It’s said to contain the secrets of how the first generation of investigators stole power from the ‘First Nightmare’.”

Lan Ce stepped forward and used various instruments to conduct tests.

“There’s no Nightmare energy reaction, but there’s an extremely strong logic lock.” Lan Ce frowned. “This lock… requires a specific soul frequency to open.”

Bai Yu looked at the black box and felt Hei Yan inside her let out a disdainful sneer.

"This crude imitation dares to call itself the source?" Hei Yan mocked. "However, the information inside is indeed useful to you. Open it, Bai Yu."

Bai Yu reached out and pressed the sensor area.

A bone-chilling cold instantly seeped into his brain from his fingertips. Countless fragmented images flashed before his eyes: a sky full of red rain, a collapsed idol, and a blurry figure.

The figure turned around and smiled gently at him.

"Dad?" Bai Yu's heart skipped a beat. His father was also an investigator, but he mysteriously disappeared during a mission ten years ago, and his body was never found.

"Click." The black box slowly opened. Inside, there was no gold or silver treasure, only a yellowed diary and a crystal that shimmered with a faint blue light.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

The air in the sealed room suddenly became viscous. The previously still shadows detached from the walls and coalesced in mid-air into a blurry human figure.

The figure was dressed in a tight-fitting black suit and wore a white mask without any facial features.

"The 'Scavenger' organization?" An Mu's expression changed, and the Iron Wall Royal Authority in his hand instantly unfolded, with a golden light screen protecting everyone inside.

The Cleaners are a mysterious organization that operates outside the bounds of law and morality. They call themselves the cleaners of the world, specializing in the collection of various high-level Nightmare relics, and their methods are extremely cruel.

"Captain An, it's been a long time." The figure spoke, his voice like two rusty pieces of iron rubbing against each other. "This black box doesn't belong to you. It contains a truth that mortals shouldn't touch. Hand it over, and I can let you leave with dignity."

"Talking about dignity amidst the ruins of the Investigation Bureau?" Mo Fei sneered, his battle axe suddenly drawn, the high-frequency blade producing a piercing hum. "I think you just want a dignified burial!"

"Mo Fei, don't be impulsive." Bai Yu stopped him. He realized that the cleaner in front of him was not the real body, but a projection formed by high-level rules.

"Your presence here means you have people in the higher echelons of headquarters," Bai Yu said calmly, looking at the white-masked man. "Or perhaps, you were partly responsible for Shen Ling's downfall?"

"The truth is often uglier than you imagine." The white-masked man raised his hand, and the surrounding shadows transformed into countless black spears. "Analysisr, your soul is quite interesting. But until it completely disintegrates, it belongs to us."

As soon as he finished speaking, black spears rained down like a storm.

"Royal Power - Fortify!"

An Mu roared, and his golden domain instantly contracted, forming a shield that seemed almost tangible. The black spear struck the shield, producing a series of cracking sounds, and with each strike, An Mu's face paled a little.

"Lan Ce, analyze his rule anchor points!" Bai Yu calmly ordered.

"Analyzing... His power originates from the shadow rules of this secret chamber. As long as the cycle of incantations on the walls is severed, his projection will collapse!" Lance quickly reported a series of coordinates.

"Leave it to me!"

Mo Fei moved with lightning speed. Instead of attacking the white-masked man, he swung his battle axe and precisely cleaved at the coordinates that Lan Ce had pointed out.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Each axe strike was powerful and heavy, avoiding the main structure of the chamber. The ancient incantations on the walls shattered under the bombardment of the battleaxes, releasing a dark red, viscous liquid.

"It's no use." The white-masked man chuckled softly. "The rules here are eternal..."

Nothing in this world is permanent.

Bai Yu stepped out of An Mu's protective range, his left hand loosely clenched.

"Rule Reshaping: Nothingness".

The power of Hei Yan erupted completely at this moment. The space around Bai Yu began to collapse visibly. The originally violent shadow spears, upon approaching his body, melted away like ice and snow, transforming directly into the most primordial energy particles.

Bai Yu reached out and grabbed the white-masked man's neck.

Although it was a projection, Bai Yu forcibly endowed the other party with the attribute of "entity" through the ability of "rule reshaping".

"Tell me, where is the next sacrificial site?" Bai Yu's voice was cold and devoid of any emotion.

The white mask seemed to have not expected Bai Yu to have such a method, and a crack appeared on his blank mask.

"Your hometown... Bai language... Go see what your father left behind... He's waiting for you there..."

Before the words were even finished, the projection completely disintegrated into a pool of black water due to the power supply being cut off.

The secret room returned to calm.

Bai Yu stood still, his hand still clenched. His fingertips trembled slightly, and his eyes were filled with complex emotions.

“Hometown…” he murmured softly.

His hometown is an old town on the outskirts of Linjiang City, where all his childhood memories are kept, as well as the last traces left by his father before his disappearance.

An Mu walked over and placed his hand on Bai Yu's shoulder: "Bai Yu, don't be fooled by him. The Cleaner is a master at manipulating people's hearts."

“No, he didn’t lie.” Bai Yu turned around and held the blue crystal in the black box tightly in her hand. “This crystal contains my father’s aura.”

Lan Ce walked over and looked at the diary in the black box.

"The last page of the diary mentions a coordinate." Lan Ce pushed up his glasses, his expression complicated. "It is indeed near the old stage in your hometown. Moreover... the Nightmare fluctuations there are rising sharply."

Mo Fei sheathed his battle axe, walked to Bai Yu's side, and shouted in a loud voice, "Then what are we waiting for? Old Bai, the brothers will go back with you! Whether it's the Cleaner or some kind of First Nightmare, if it dares to block our way, we'll chop it all down!"

Bai Yu looked at his two comrades-in-arms, and then at An Mu, who, though weak, had a determined look in his eyes.

"Thank you."

He carefully put away the black box and diary, then left the secret room.

The sunlight outside had become blinding. On the ruins of the Linjiang headquarters, the surviving investigators were rebuilding their homes.

Bai Yu knew that this was only a temporary respite.

With the activation of the "Twelve Priests," this world is sliding into an unpredictable abyss. And he, as the first on the list, will have to bear the burden of a shattered soul to face the ultimate judgment called "The Beginning."

……

Qingshi Town, on the outskirts of Linjiang City.

This is an ancient town with a history of over a thousand years. The narrow alleys and gray tiles exude a sense of vicissitude.

But beneath that long-abandoned old stage, in the once-dry well, wisps of dark red smoke are now rising.

Amidst the smoke, faint, mournful opera singing could be heard.

"The groom...returns home...the red ribbon...tied to the depths of his heart..."

An old man in a tattered long gown sat by the well, a pipe in his hand, puffing out smoke. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face wore a strange sense of satisfaction.

"They're back...they're all back..."

The old man chuckled, his voice echoing through the empty ancient town, lingering for a long time.

(End of this chapter)