Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Tragic Incident

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At No. 88 Lianhu Road, Ren Ye was still in Xu Peng’s office, reading through the materials concerning the Star Gate.

There was no helping it. His father had gone to revise a manuscript, his younger sister was busy as well, and no one at home had the slightest interest in him. Going back would only mean sitting around in a daze. He might as well stay here and get to know some new “disgusting” friends.

“Hurry up! Everyone on duty, get over here!”

At that moment, Huang Wei’s urgent voice rang out from the corridor. Ren Ye put down his book and walked curiously to the doorway, poking his small head out to look.

The corridor outside was somewhat chaotic. Seven or eight Yearkeepers who were on duty that night were hurrying toward the main entrance, while Old Huang locked the door to his office with one hand and spoke on the phone with the other.

“What happened, Brother Huang?” Ren Ye asked.

“There’s been a murder. A player did it. We need to deal with it.” Old Huang hung up and replied casually, “You should go home later.”

“Oh.” Ren Ye nodded blankly.

Old Huang walked straight toward the stairs, but suddenly turned around. “Do you want to come take a look? Unless something unexpected happens, you’ll be involved in this sort of thing sooner or later.”

“Sure!”

Ren Ye had been waiting for him to say that. “Let’s go. I’m coming too.”

“All right.” Old Huang nodded.

…

About ten minutes later, three cars stopped at the entrance of an alley near the crime scene. What struck Ren Ye as strange was that there were no onlookers and no police officers present.

Only two Yearkeepers stood at the mouth of the alley, speaking in low voices. At their feet stood a gray stone stele about the size of a cigarette pack. It bore no writing. If Ren Ye had not been accustomed to observing his surroundings, he probably would not even have noticed it.

“Chief!”

“Chief!”

The two men came over and greeted Huang Wei. One of them then reported, “There were intense fluctuations in astral energy inside the alley. There must have been a battle between players. Our preliminary estimate is that at least five people were involved. At the first crime scene, inside a residential garbage bin, we found a corpse that had been dead for many days. It was probably controlled by a player capable of manipulating corpses. We’re currently verifying the body’s identity and origin.

“The second scene is inside Room 101 of Building 163. The victims are a man and a woman. Judging from the scene… they were probably preparing to set up a stall by the road when they accidentally witnessed the players fighting and were murdered to silence them. Damn those bastards. It must have been players from the Chaotic faction. They’re completely devoid of humanity. The scene was so damn bloody—”

Huang Wei turned his head. “How many times have I told you? Do not let your personal emotions affect an investigation.”

“…” The Yearkeeper reporting the situation clenched his teeth but did not argue.

“What about the surveillance footage? Are there any other witnesses at either scene?” Huang Wei asked again.

“The surveillance system was affected, so there are no recordings. I’ve already had the clerical staff speak with the district officers and tell them not to waste time investigating why the cameras failed.” The Yearkeeper lowered his voice. “The second scene was indoors. There were no witnesses.”

“How long ago did it happen?”

“Nearly two hours ago.”

Huang Wei stopped dead. He turned and shouted, “An hour and a half?! What the hell were you night patrols doing? Why did you discover it so late?!”

The Yearkeeper could only answer helplessly, “Those players seem to know the Yearkeepers’ patrol patterns very well. They deliberately avoided our routes. We only sensed the astral fluctuations when we happened to patrol nearby.”

Hearing this, Huang Wei ground his teeth and cursed, “I told them before that Qingfu is short-staffed, but the higher-ups simply refuse to send reinforcements. It’s driving me insane!”

With that, the group walked past the small gray stele. In that instant, Ren Ye felt as though his body had passed through a wall of light. When he looked toward the street again, the pedestrians appeared extremely blurry, and they seemed unable to see him.

How strange… Is this some sort of spatial-isolation artifact?

The group soon entered Room 101.

The moment Ren Ye stepped inside and glanced at the scene, he froze.

Old Huang, who had just warned the Yearkeepers not to let personal emotions interfere with their work, suddenly flew into a rage.

“Fuck! What kind of animals are these?! Goddamn—!”

True to his temperament, Old Huang cursed for nearly a full minute. Everyone else had gone pale as well, their eyes filled with anger and shock.

The living room was less than twenty square meters, its floor crowded with all kinds of clutter: boxes of ingredients, cartons of seasonings, and the like. Three bodies lay at the scene—a man, a woman, and a very small dog.

The man had a dog leash fastened around his neck. His entire body had been bound, and he lay dead beneath the dining table. His corpse was covered in decay. His chest had been cut open, and his internal organs were missing.

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Half of the woman’s face had been reduced to a bloody pulp. At the back of her head was a bald patch as large as a bowl. She had probably resisted, and the killer had torn her hair out by the roots. What enraged everyone most was that she… she… was completely naked and covered in wounds. Clearly, she had been violated more than once.

And the dead dog lay sprawled against her lower body. From the angle of the dining table, it seemed that her husband had been forced to witness the killer’s brutality from beginning to end.

Her one remaining eye was filled with despair.

This was clearly not a simple murder.

It was a savage massacre committed as an outlet for rage.

Even during his years on the job, Ren Ye had rarely seen a scene like this.

Blood covered the floor, and the air was thick with a pungent, nauseating stench. Ren Ye had come along out of curiosity, but at the sight before him, a long-dormant sense of professionalism and responsibility began to rise within him.

He turned his head and glanced at the tabletop beside the sofa. A framed photograph stood there, showing a family of four. The boy was around seven or eight years old, while the girl looked three or four.

These must have been two ordinary laborers who had come into the city to set up a stall and make a modest living.

Anger surged through him—an anger born simply of being human.

“Xu Peng, quickly!” Huang Wei snapped, interrupting Ren Ye’s thoughts.

Xu Peng came back to himself. Hatred flickered in his eyes as well. He rushed to the woman’s corpse, closed his eyes, and slowly raised both arms.

“Where cold ashes burn anew, where withered bones grow flesh—Return to Light!”

“Shua!”

Xu Peng recited the incantation in a measured, powerful voice. As he raised his arms, two slender, gleaming threads drifted out and lightly coiled around the woman’s wrists.

A powerful aura of flesh and blood, along with vigorous life force, surged from Xu Peng’s body and flowed along the two threads into the woman.

Nourishing her. Consuming him.

Before long, beads of sweat covered Xu Peng’s face. His body began to sway weakly.

Ren Ye’s eyes lit up. He turned to Huang Wei and asked in a low voice, “Can he bring the couple back to life?”

“No.” Huang Wei shook his head. “But he may be able to give them a brief return to consciousness, allowing them to see this world one more time… and perhaps provide us with some information.”

“Snap!”

Before he had finished speaking, the two threads broke apart. Xu Peng staggered back two steps, then collapsed onto the floor with a heavy thud. Every muscle in his body trembled.

“No… It won’t work. Her injuries are too severe… I can’t pull her back.”

“Try the man,” Huang Wei urged.

“That’s even more impossible…” Xu Peng shook his head. “I examined him as soon as I came in. A single palm strike shattered his brain from within.”

At those words, the room fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Huang Wei gritted his teeth. “Examine the scene carefully. Don’t overlook a single detail. I’ll dig three feet into the ground if I have to, but I’m going to find those bastards! Also, submit a report to the higher authorities. Have their intelligence department start digging. Find out whether any fugitives have recently made their way into Hushi. Move! Get to work!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the room became a hive of activity.

Standing by the doorway, Ren Ye watched everything unfold and suddenly understood, in a deeply personal way, what Xu Peng had told him earlier that day.

If a player’s personality became profoundly twisted and warped, the disaster that person could bring upon society—and the harm they could inflict on ordinary people—was impossible to predict.

What he did not know was that, from this very moment onward, a tremendous storm sweeping across Hushi and the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate had already begun to gather in silence.

…

Around one in the morning.

On Tongren Road, a bar street in the outskirts of Hushi, one mahjong parlor still had its illuminated sign switched on.

The bar street was a famous gathering place for players in Hushi. Many organizations secretly operated there, and it was also an area that the Hushi Yearkeepers monitored with substantial manpower and resources.

Players often gathered there to exchange strategies and information, barter, purchase artifacts, and more.

In a private room on the second floor of the “Fight to the End” mahjong parlor, Mr. He sat with one leg crossed over the other on a sofa, staring at a balding middle-aged man.

The man was around forty-five and was known as the walking encyclopedia of Tongren Road, Big Flower. He specialized in moving through the gray areas of society, providing convenient services for players who preferred to remain unseen.

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“Old Tong says you’re reliable, so I believe him.” Mr. He studied the middle-aged man. “Besides, you’ve helped the Bell Society more than once. We can trust each other.”

“My business here rests on two words: reputation.” Old Yin poured tea with refined elegance. “As long as you have money and astral crystals, there’s no service I can’t provide. Stay here as long as you like. No one will find out where you are.”

Mr. He nodded approvingly and dispensed with further pleasantries. He took a small black velvet pouch from his pocket, withdrew two white crystals, and gently placed them on the table.

“Some time ago, four Yearkeepers died. Two of them were from Qingfu District. Have you heard anything about them?”

Old Yin blinked and rubbed his palms together with an embarrassed smile. “Mr. He, anything else is negotiable, but information about the Yearkeepers isn’t for sale. After all… Hushi has its rules, and the players here respect them.”

“Clack. Clack.”

Mr. He took two more white crystals from the pouch and placed them slowly on the table.

Old Yin stared at the four crystals, his eyes shining. He swallowed involuntarily.

“Clack. Clack.”

Mr. He produced two more. “Business is business, whoever it’s with. If you don’t want to break the rules, shall I take these six to someone else and ask?”

The veins on Old Yin’s forehead bulged. He clenched his hands, then immediately swept the six crystals off the table and replied at top speed, “It’s true that four Yearkeepers died. I heard they had jointly undertaken a Star Gate mission. Two were from Qingfu, and two were from a higher-level organization. And after those four died, no funeral was ever held. I don’t know why, but the Yearkeepers seem to be deliberately suppressing the news.”

Mr. He nodded in satisfaction and placed two more crystals on the table. “Go on.”

Old Yin quickly took them. “After the four died, I heard that someone in a small semi-official chat group discussed something… Apparently, Huang Wei had brought someone out of Qingfu Prison. People even sent messages asking about it. But soon afterward, the group was disbanded, and those who had asked about the matter never mentioned it again.”

“Did you follow up on it?” Mr. He asked.

“Heh. Four Yearkeepers died. That’s no small matter.” Old Yin smiled. “You’re curious, and so are the people above me.”

Mr. He thought for a moment. “Who was the person Huang Wei brought out of prison? I want information on him.”

“Heh. I actually know that.” Old Yin looked at him and held up six fingers.

Mr. He was generous. After all, he had not spent a single cent that day and had robbed Little War Wolf blind, so he decisively took six more crystals from the pouch.

“Tell me what you know.”

“What I know is that the person who was brought out has no information at all.” Old Yin bared his teeth in a grin. “Nothing from the prison, nothing personal, nothing about his family… There’s no information on him anywhere.”

Hearing this, Mr. He not only failed to become angry; his eyes instead blazed with excitement.

“Now that’s interesting. It means I’m looking in the right direction.”

“Heh.” Old Yin smiled.

“Name your price. Find him.”

“Ten crystals. I’ll give you the information by noon tomorrow at the latest.” Old Yin answered without hesitation.

Mr. He slowly relaxed, leaning back against the sofa. In a theatrical voice, he sang, “Then I shall be obliged to you, sir…”

“Haha, we’re all friends here. No need to be so polite.” Delighted, Old Yin gathered up all the crystals and stood. “Since you gentlemen have come from so far away, I ought to play host. How about I find a few female players with agility-based abilities tonight and have them keep everyone entertained?”

“Clack. Clack.”

Mr. He tossed the last two crystals from the pouch onto the table. He said nothing, merely watching Old Yin with an amused smile.

Old Yin froze. “The payment for the information is already enough. What does this mean?”

“I have no interest in women.” Mr. He regarded Old Yin with fascination. With a sharp slap, he clamped his hand around the man’s crotch. “Many merchants like to make grand claims… I’m curious. Can you really provide any service at all?”

“…” Old Yin jerked and instantly flushed scarlet, his expression going blank. “No, I… I’ve never done that before. Are you serious, or are you joking? This is so sudden!”

“The vulgar things of this world… how they soften the heart and bend the spine. I was cast adrift in the world of pleasure from childhood… Ah, how moving…!” Mr. He began singing in a theatrical voice again, staring at Old Yin with hungry anticipation. “This glittering money of yours—are you taking it or not?”

…

Five minutes later.

The lights were out, the man was sprawled flat, and the two white crystals had been tucked into someone’s pocket.

Old Yin clutched both hands around the sofa cushion, his legs stretched rigidly straight. In a trembling whisper, he asked, “My dear… can we skip the kissing?”