I created a foundation

"Everyone has a smile on their face..."

"It's like falling asleep..."

"Who will be next?"

The seeds of fear take root and sprout in everyone's heart.

The once bustling corridor became empty.

The students avoided eye contact and hurried their steps, afraid to stay for even a second longer.

The teachers tried to comfort them, but their pale faces and trembling voices only exacerbated the anxiety.

The school management was overwhelmed but helpless.

Police have been at the school for several days.

The elites of the Criminal Investigation Department repeatedly inspected the scene.

All relevant personnel were questioned.

All surveillance footage was reviewed.

Got nothing.

The deceased had simple social relationships.

No common enemies.

There are no weird intersections.

In the surveillance video, they did not show any abnormal behavior before "falling asleep".

No suspicious persons appeared.

The case has reached a complete stalemate.

The police captain in charge of the case slammed the report on the table, and the ashtray was filled with cigarette butts.

"What the hell is this!"

His roar was full of powerlessness and frustration.

The media swarmed in like sharks smelling blood.

Sensational headlines dominated the news.

"The Sobu High School Serial Deaths! The Smiling Killer in His Sleep!"

A modern urban legend? The Sleeping Beauty murder case resurfaces!

The police are incompetent, and a mysterious force is looming over the campus!

Discussions on the Internet are overwhelming.

A curious person put together photos (blurred) of the three dead people.

That identical serene smile sent chills down the spines of countless people in front of the screen.

The name "Sleeping Beauty Murder Case", which has a hint of weird romance, quickly spread to every corner.

It's no longer just a case.

It has become a symbol, an urban legend, and a terrifying shadow lurking beneath the surface of everyday life.

Foundation, S City Branch, Intelligence Analysis Center.

Kasumigaoka Utaha sat upright at her seat.

On the tactical light screen in front of him, all the information about the Sobu High School incident has been compiled into a stream.

Police report.

Forensic identification.

Internal campus surveillance.

Media coverage clippings.

Online public opinion analysis.

Her white fingertips slid lightly across the light screen, and massive amounts of data were quickly disassembled and reassembled in her eyes.

The girl's pretty face did not have the usual laziness and playfulness.

Instead, there is an extreme focus, like a cheetah about to hunt.

Her eyes were deep, reflecting the flickering data stream on the screen.

"The deceased had no obvious external injuries."

"Physiological function tests all suddenly collapsed within normal thresholds."

"Common characteristics: a peaceful smile before death, and a deep sleep."

"Physical attack has been ruled out initially, and the possibility of poison attack is extremely low."

Shiyu lightly touched the word "smile" with her fingertips, and the related picture information enlarged.

That smile wasn't a disguise of pain and distortion.

It is not muscle stiffness caused by drugs.

It was a pure joy that came from the heart.

It was as if the soul felt the ultimate satisfaction the moment it left the body.

"Spiritual interference..."

"Forced into a dream..."

"Or perhaps it's a form of cognitive pollution, transmitted through a specific medium, distorting the victim's dream cognition until all vital functions are completely shut down."

She pulled up the Foundation's internal database on similar anomalies.

Records flew by.

SCP-013, "The Nightmare Ghost".

SCP-966, "Nightmare Hunter".

There are also some "Dream Thieves" and "Soul Weavers" that have not been fully contained and only have vague records.

These unusual methods of committing crimes are more or less similar to the "Sleeping Beauty Murder Case" in front of us.

But they cannot match completely.

“Is target selection random or specific?”

Shiyu's eyes fell on the social relationship network map of the three deceased.

Seemingly unrelated.

But she keenly detected a faint, almost negligible commonality.

Within a week before their deaths, all three had mentioned or searched for words related to "sweet dreams," "ideals," and "escaping reality."

This may just be a coincidence.

Or maybe... it's some kind of screening mechanism.

"Threat level assessment..."

Shiyu's fingertips wandered between several options.

"Ghost", "Tiger", "Wolf".

In the end, she chose "".

Although it has only caused three deaths so far, the covert nature of its modus operandi, the unpredictable nature of its psychic attacks, and its potential to create mass panic among the general population are enough to earn it this rating.

If left unchecked, once its transmission route is confirmed or its capabilities evolve further, the consequences will be disastrous.

She took a deep breath and connected to the internal encrypted communication.

"This is the Intelligence Analysis Center, Kasumigaoka Utaha."

Her voice was cold and emotionless.

"Regarding the series of unusual deaths at Sobu High School, a preliminary analysis has been completed."

"The nature of the incident has been initially determined to be a mental attack or high-level memetic contamination anomaly."

"Main method of infringement: Suspected of forcing the target into a specific dream through unknown means, and depriving them of their vital signs within the dream."

"Target behavior pattern: Unknown."

"Potential route of transmission: unknown."

"Final Assessment: Threat Level Tiger."

"Recommendation: Immediately activate the Level A emergency plan. Lock down the area surrounding Sobu High School and implement information control. Dispatch a professional field team to conduct an in-depth investigation of Sobu High School and eliminate the source of the anomaly."

After the order was issued, the entire intelligence center began to operate efficiently.

Relevant authorization documents, personnel deployment, and material preparation were implemented one by one in a very short time.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes are as sharp as a winter knife.

"Notify Yukinoshita," she ordered into the communicator, "Target, Sobu High School."

Chapter 115: Investigator Yukinoshita's First Battle! The Queen's Iron Fist

The atmosphere in the meeting room inside the foundation was solemn.

Lin Qing sat at the head table, his slender fingers rhythmically tapping the tabletop as his gaze calmly scanned every detail on the screen. His voice was deep and penetrating, breaking the silence in the room.

"At Sobu High School, three students died in their sleep within a week. The medical examiner's preliminary diagnosis was that they were in deep sleep, suffering from unexplained cardiac arrest. No signs of a struggle were found at the scene, and the deceased had a peaceful expression, as if lost in a sweet dream."

"The police have launched an investigation, but have no clues so far. They have classified it as a supernatural cold case and have requested assistance from the Foundation."

"Preliminary assessment suggests it's related to an unknown psychic or dream-controlling anomaly. The danger level is tentatively classified as haunting, but the possibility of further escalation cannot be ruled out."

In the conference room, several core members had different expressions, but all looked solemn.