I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

Chapter 149 The Book of Harmony (First Update)

In this era, those at the peak of the Third Refinement Realm are among the strongest, serving as the spearheads in conquering nightmares and the leaders in exploring outer realms.

And the transcendent realm—

Transcending the mundane, his power truly originates from himself, and he is no longer afraid of guns, sneak attacks, or assassinations; he is the pillar of the city.

An extraordinary individual can lead a team to the outer city;

One can be stationed at a camp deep within a nightmare;

It can also easily annihilate the strange creatures and resist the gray fog tide surging into the city.

"But advancement to the transcendent realm is incredibly difficult, especially after the city's collapse; breaking through to the transcendent realm is almost a matter of life and death!"

Given Baijiang City's resources, there are indeed quite a few captain-level figures who meet the promotion requirements, but—

Suddenly, Director Zhou understood.

It's still because of the disaster caused by false people!

"Even someone at the Transcendent Realm like myself couldn't protect my own team members. Even within my small squad, a fake human has appeared. So, what about Baijiang City, where the fake human calamity is most severe?"

"On my way here, Baijiang was calm and orderly, but it's hard to say how many traitors are lurking within the city!"

It's not that Bai Jiangcheng suddenly became much more extraordinary.

Rather, the entire Baijiang region was in a critical situation, and team leaders had to risk their lives to break through.

Thinking of this, Director Zhou sighed and felt lost.

He could imagine that behind the birth of these two extraordinary individuals in Baijiang City lay the sacrifices of numerous captain-level powerhouses.

Baijiang City was far from being as glamorous as it appears now.

He was also in Lindongcheng.

Director Zhou's gaze fell on the strange, fake humanoid figure that had turned into an ice sculpture but was not yet dead.

His gaze was calm, but it carried a mixture of sorrow and anger.

The tragedy of Baijiang City forced the captains to risk their lives to break through;

He was furious that he couldn't protect his teammates.

"Damn swindler!"

He gritted his teeth.

Director Yan said, "Old Zhou, I understand your grief, but we can't kill this fake human yet. The leader-level fake human is the highest-ranking fake human we've captured alive so far. Hopefully, we can get more information about the fake human race from this fake human."

He paused, then continued, "The most urgent matter is to find out exactly when this fake man replaced your team member."

The fallen dreamer from Lin Dong City who sacrificed his life was a powerful expert at the third level of the Refinement Realm.

He wasn't the full captain, but that was only because he lacked seniority and there weren't enough captain positions available in Lin Dong City. In reality, he was a captain-level powerhouse, yet he was quietly replaced.

If the Dreamer had already been replaced, then the situation of the entire Lin Dong City would probably be even more dangerous than that of Bai Jiang.

Director Zhou had also thought of this.

He thought carefully for a moment and then said, "They must have been replaced on the way. There was an accident on the way here. At that time, the gray fog covered the area and the space changed. We almost got lost, and that's why we were separated for a while."

This is the danger deep within nightmares.

Even those who travel far and wide in the extraordinary realm cannot guarantee their safety every time.

This time, Director Zhou thought it was just a close call, and he reunited with the lost dreamer two hours later. Someone was slightly injured, but it wasn't serious.

"Only two hours?"

Yan Xiangtian pondered, "Based on our understanding of pseudo-humans, they can't replace us humans so quickly, especially not a human of the same level. So there's only one possibility: a transcendent pseudo-human has taken action."

Yan Xiangtian, Lu Qing, Bai Yu and the others exchanged glances.

One possibility came to mind.

Could it be that the lair of the pseudo-people is in that area?

Even just a base would be fine!

"If we could find the fakes' hideout—"

Everyone got excited.

The frozen dummy was sent by Bai Yu to the underground prison of the Countermeasures Bureau. Afterwards, the interrogation department of the bureau will conduct an interrogation using special tools and supernatural powers.

Director Yan hosted guests from both cities to discuss how to deal with the imposters.

Before the meal was even finished, an elite from the operations department arrived to report a tricky piece of news.

After listening, Director Yan's expression turned serious.

"You mean, there are many rumors circulating about nightmares in Baijiang City?"

"Shocking! The number of people missing in Baijiang City over the past year has reached a staggering ————"

"The nightmare isn't just a rumor. What is the city hall hiding from us? We need the truth!"

"Rumor has it that outside Baijiang City [whoosh whoosh whoosh]"

Baijiang City, Countermeasures Bureau, Anping District Branch.

The people in the office looked grave.

"How could the nightmare news suddenly spread? Someone is clearly behind this; could it be cultists from those nightmare sects?"

"Don't they realize the disaster that spreading nightmares will bring to Baijiang City?!"

Jiang Yilu said.

Lao Song spoke up, "They must be cult members, but I'm afraid it's much more than that."

"Yes," Li Hao confirmed.

As they looked around, they noticed that even the clerk from the second group next door had come over to inquire about the situation.

Everyone basically understood that Li Hao, this chubby guy, had a powerful background; he was probably backed by a high-ranking official in the bureau. His information network was extremely extensive.

The nightmare rumors were kept tightly under wraps and never leaked before. Is it because the cult members didn't want to spread nightmare information?

of course not.

It's just that the control team has extremely strong control capabilities, and can trace the source of any clue.

This time, however, the control team also failed to pinpoint the source.

"Not only that—" Li Hao began cautiously. This was considered a secret, but it was clearly no longer a secret in the eyes of the enemy.

He said, "The blocking of nightmare information is not actually done by the control team and us clerks alone. It is said to rely on some kind of supernatural power."

They use superhuman power to suppress the widespread dissemination of information, and then have their clerks fill in the gaps, issuing warnings where necessary, inviting people for tea, or erasing their memories.

But now it seems—

However, Li Hao didn't know much about it either, as it was a secret and his captain wouldn't tell him.

"I see." Shi An echoed as if he were a passerby, his expression solemn.

In fact, he knew more.

He knew that this blocking power came from a foundational cursed artifact at the headquarters of the Countermeasures Bureau.

An extraordinary, superior-grade cursed artifact!

Of course, in reality, an excellent-grade cursed item must be of the extraordinary level, except for the two in Shi An's possession.

However, one can imagine that an exceptional cursed artifact that has been upgraded to a higher level and has a much higher energy level contains incredibly powerful energy.

Actually too.

This artifact, of such high quality, covers the entire city of Baijiang!

"The Book of Extraordinary, Excellent, and Harmonious Cursed Artifact No. 002!" A powerful member of the Countermeasures Bureau inscribed details related to nightmares upon it, thus subtly erasing all rumors and news about nightmares.

"It is said that there is a book of harmony like this in Lin Dong City, Chong Shan City, and even Tian Nan City."

"The Book of Harmony, an excellent-grade cursed artifact, is merely a subsidiary; the true Book of Harmony is enshrined in the capital. It is precisely because of the Book of Harmony that Baijiang and its surrounding cities were able to maintain stability for over a year after the city's fall."

Otherwise, how easy would it be for cultists and antisocial dreamers to spread nightmare messages if they were determined to do so?

Lockdowns are ten or a hundred times more difficult than the spread of the virus.

The Book of Harmony's blocking is not omnipotent, but it can already harmonize 99% of messages. The remaining few rely on human intervention.

This method maintained the superficial peace of Baijiang City.

Regardless of the previous disasters that struck many parts of the city, or the even more devastating disaster that occurred more than half a year ago, there has never been such widespread nightmare news.

Even now, online and in everyday life, it seems like everyone is talking about nightmares.

This is certainly not normal.

"Could it be that—"

Shi An looked toward the Countermeasures Bureau Headquarters.

General bureau.

Underground, the cursed object containment center.

This place not only contains cursed objects, but also has facilities that can amplify their power.

The Book of Harmony, number 002, was created by amplifying the power of the cursed object, allowing it to envelop the entire city.

But now, the exposed wires are sparking, and many pieces of equipment inside have been violently damaged.

The door and walls of this containment room are very sturdy, and even superhumans can't break it open in a short time.

Unfortunately, the visitor had the key.

Director Yan looked at the dummy who had already been killed. The man was still wearing the uniform of the Countermeasures Bureau's Action Department, and judging from the insignia, he was a deputy captain.

"It's Ran Mo, the vice-captain of the Ninth Squad. He was probably replaced a long time ago."

"It was him!"

Yan's expression was grim.

He understood immediately.

Their anti-counterfeiting agent had only just been developed and there wasn't enough quantity available for the entire organization yet. He only took it out when Director Zhou and Chief Wang arrived.

"I'm afraid that these fake people have communication methods that we don't understand."

"However, even if I don't take out the potion today, when it's forcibly used globally, that fake man will still try to sabotage it."

.

A deputy captain with real power is already a high-ranking official and should have no obstacles in moving around the bureau.

At this point, if they continue to cause destruction without leaving any way out, it will be impossible to prevent them!

"And this Ranmo—" Director Yan frowned deeply, "Ranmo once went to the safe zone and was saved."

But even if she doesn't make it to the safe zone, "Danmo" will probably be rescued eventually.

By then, the vice-captain had probably already been infected!

"Because Ranmo had been to the safe zone, I was relatively at ease with him. But thinking about it carefully, there was no lighthouse in the safe zone at that time. Moreover, Ranmo seemed to have made several excuses afterward and never went to the safe zone again."

He was careless!

"First, notify Xia Yuxiu to conduct an internal audit of the entire team. Also, notify the entire bureau that all team leaders, deputy team leaders, and department heads must undergo inspection and drink the anti-counterfeiting drug. That includes you and me."

Director Yan gave the order.

Lu Qing nodded, "I'll give the order right away, but—"

She looked at the dilapidated equipment room before her. "The most urgent task is to repair this equipment room and reactivate the Book of Harmony. Otherwise, our Baijiang City may be in danger—"

"Um."

Director Yan said.

The only good news is that the Book of Harmony was not destroyed.

Of course, even a second-stage cultivator wouldn't be able to damage the Book of Harmony. But if the Book of Harmony hadn't been so firmly sealed, preventing even the vice-captain and captain from taking it, it's likely that the Book of Harmony would have been stolen.

If it's truly stolen, there's no way to recover it.