Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Holding his toolbox and yawning, Clark hurried to the hospital, incessantly grumbling, "You really know how to order people around, don't you? Wasn't I told I didn't need to be involved in this mission?"

He was speaking to Job, who previously looked down on Clark, just as Clark disdained the Inspection Bureau. But he cared about the gatekeeper who appeared and thus hitched a ride with them to this city.

Originally, Clark wasn't an investigator at the Inspection Bureau; he leaned more towards being a researcher, and nobody expected him to undertake missions.

But Eugene didn't care about that. To him, whether a researcher or an investigator, as long as one was part of the Inspection Bureau, they should contribute: "Too slow!"

"I've come as fast as I could." Clark rolled his eyes and set the small toolbox on the ground.

"Is that all you brought?" Ida was the first to question, "I heard that the headquarters has tools for entering secret realms, but isn't that device quite large?"

He looked at the toolbox Clark carried, no bigger than a medical kit.

"You'll find out soon enough." Clark opened the toolbox and, under the astonished gaze of Job and the others, took out something much larger than the toolbox's volume.

"A marvel?"

"Unfortunately, you're mistaken," Clark said, "It's just a creation combining magic and modern technology, nothing extraordinary."

This is not extraordinary?

Job and the others, who had never heard of such a thing, suddenly felt like country bumpkins.

Eugene and the others changed locations to a less crowded area behind the medical building. Clark began assembling the device, while Job and his group were on the lookout for any approaching doctors or nurses. If anyone became suspicious, Eugene would appear, using his hypnotic abilities to make them leave.

But what they didn't notice was that in the patient building facing the back of the medical building, a pair of eyes was witnessing their every move.

"Druid, look over there!" the black cat suddenly exclaimed, slapping the druid who was peeling an apple for a little girl.

"What are you doing! My bunny-shaped apple was almost perfect!" The druid, startled by the slap, watched the apple split apart and glared furiously at the black cat, but still followed his pointing finger.

"What the heck? Are those Inspection Bureau agents?"

The druid, of course, remembered the faces from the previous faction war. They too had participated in that major event, but unfortunately, their strongest weapon was a dagger, suitable for close combat, which proved ineffective as they were quickly knocked out of the fight.

Seeing the Inspection Bureau's agents again, the druid and black cat hurried to the window to observe: "What are they doing?"

"Not sure, let's watch and see."

Soon, a sophisticated device about a meter tall was assembled in Clark's hands. Eugene placed a golden pocket watch in the center of the device, which quickly started operating, its screen displaying various wavy lines.

"There's definitely a secret realm here, but these fluctuations are... odd," Clark murmured.

"What's odd about them?" Ida curiously inspected the device, but despite his talent in programming, he couldn't decipher the strange values, not being cut out for research.

Clark explained, "Generally, secret realms are either naturally formed or artificially created. Naturally formed realms, if already explored, are relatively safe. Artificial realms are more complex, especially those suspected of containing or sealing evil deities."

"The danger of such realms is evident; countless oddities and followers await their master's awakening inside. All recorded realms suspected of sealing evil deities are constantly monitored by the Inspection Bureau, and, of course, investigators who have entered these realms rarely return alive."

"Are you suggesting this realm is...?" Ida swallowed nervously.

"I don't know," Clark admitted.

Everyone: ?

"No one can precisely determine what's inside a secret realm before actually investigating it, and I'm no exception," Clark stated calmly, "All we know for now is that this realm's energy fluctuations are significantly higher than those we've encountered before."

"How does it compare to those with sealed evil deities?"

"There's no comparison. Realms with sealed deities are unique, often formed by the leakage of the deity's power, with no common characteristics, making it impossible to judge from the outside."

Dana wanted to ask more, but Eugene, growing impatient, interrupted: "Enough, we have to go in anyway. Clark, open the gate."

Clark cast a sympathetic glance at Job and his team. Though he said nothing, somehow they read in his look a message of 'bad luck working with him'.

Job's face stiffened; he never expected to be pitied by someone he had looked down upon.

Without further words, Clark activated the device. It buzzed, and next to it, a 'door' appeared, twisting like a mirage, almost invisible to the naked eye.

"Based on past experiences, this 'door' will only stay open for three hours. That means you have three hours to explore. You must return to this spot within that time, or else the door will close and the device will need 24 hours to recharge – you understand what I'm saying, right?"

Simply put, if they don't return to reality within three hours, they're basically beyond rescue.

Everyone nodded, and then, led by Eugene, Job's team and Edmund entered the 'door'.

Clark yawned, "Now I have to boringly guard this for three hours."

Clark had no intention of keeping watch for them. He casually cast a spell of neglect, ensuring that unless specifically sought out, no one would notice anything unusual in this corner. After casting the spell, he lazily pulled out a small stool from his toolbox and sat down, immersing himself in his own world, oblivious to the gaze from the opposite hospital building.

The druid nudged the black cat, "Did you see that? They went in!"

"Yeah," the black cat frowned, "Could they have entered the realm of Lanen's deity?"

"…Possibly!" The druid remembered their previous venture into a deity's realm; Lanen's realm distinctly resembled a hospital at night. "We need to inform Carmen quickly!"

As the druid was about to drag the black cat off, the cat, with an exasperated look, stopped him.

Amidst the druid's puzzled gaze, the black cat calmly pulled out a phone, "What era do you think this is? No need to run."

"...Damn, got used to running errands in the game." The druid slapped his forehead, "When did you get Carmen's number?"

"Of course, when I was running errands for the Kamui tribe, shh." The black cat's call connected, and without wasting words, he relayed the events at the hospital to Carmen. Carmen, valuing information from players, promised to notify their lord immediately.

However, just a few minutes after hanging up, Carmen called back, his voice strained:

"I can't get in touch with our lord."

The black cat and the druid exchanged looks, not panicking as Carmen had expected on the phone, but rather, they were excited!

Could this be a major plot event?

"No worries, Mr. Carmen," the black cat said earnestly to Carmen, "We'll stop the Inspection Bureau's scheme!"

"Saving the church is a believer's duty," the druid chimed in, simultaneously starting a live stream.

The whole process was becoming increasingly routine.

Carmen, unaware of their thoughts, was deeply moved by the players' commitment: "This might be very dangerous, thank you for your efforts."

[Faction Mission - Stop the Inspection Bureau]

[Objective: The faith of the Secret Church - the pastoral deity's status is uncertain. With this situation, inspectors from the Inspection Bureau have appeared at the entrance to the deity's realm, seemingly with ulterior motives. Investigate their plans and prevent them from wreaking havoc in the deity's domain.]

[Reward: 200 faction honor points, a D-grade enchanted weapon, a free potion brewing session from Carmen (ingredients provided by player)]

The two players gasped in awe.

They knew from previous faction conflicts that eliminating an opposing faction's NPC only yielded 500 honor points. The NPCs of the Inspection Bureau were not weak, and no one had succeeded against them. They had only managed to earn a few honor points by targeting the Star-gazing Squad. Now, a single mission offered 200 points, plus an enchanted weapon and a chance to brew a potion.

Not every player knew, but the black cat and druid were aware that Carmen was a true master of potion brewing. The high-level potions in the faction store were all his work, meaning if they could gather the ingredients, they could even get an A-grade potion!

They accepted the mission immediately, much to the shock of the players who had just joined the live stream.

[??? What's happening? Are you guys having another private party without me?!]

[What, what, I knew there was something up when Druid started streaming. He never streams unless it's a big deal!]

The newly arrived audience clearly saw the mission that the druid and black cat had received, and they were almost overwhelmed by envy.

[What happened? Why did my wife suddenly disappear qwq, I reload the game daily just to relive the shock of seeing my wife in the deity's realm.]

[No offense, but is bothering Lanen the only fun you guys have in this game? (LOL) If there ever comes a ritual where you can sacrifice something for power, Lanen's hotline will be bombarded by players.]

[If the developers really introduce this feature, I'll make a call every day. Today I offer my wife an eyeball, tomorrow a heart and lungs.]

[Day after tomorrow, I'll offer my wife xx]

[Wow, what did the person above censor?]

[I think there should be a banner at Carmen's forbidding the harassment of evil deities.]

If Lanen could see these comments right now, he'd surely retort - isn't the reason he hasn't revealed that long-hidden sacrificial ritual precisely to prevent this kind of scenario?!

[Stop joking, the situation clearly isn't right. Something might have happened with Lanen, and the Inspection Bureau somehow found the address of Lanen's realm - isn't this too coincidental?]

[What do you mean, are you suggesting there's a mole in our church?]

[Is it possible? When was the last time anyone contacted Lanen?]

[It's been a while, I thought Lanen was just annoyed and ignoring me.]

[...Alright, now reconsidering the possibility that the evil deity hung up because the players were too annoying.]

[Could it be the players from the Star-gazing Guild? The ones aligned with the Inspection Bureau faction, I think their name was Destiny Is Mine or something. Maybe they're involved this time too.]

[Got it, let's go snipe them.]

More and more people in the live stream were learning about this news, and threads even started appearing on forums offering bounties for Star-gazing players. Fortunately, most players were rational... rational enough to rush over and watch the live stream with the black cat and others.

"No need to say more, guys. The black cat and I are definitely going in to check it out. Oh, you want to come too? But this mission was already accepted by the black cat and me. Are you going to see Carmen to get the mission?" the druid said, looking at the chat.

[No need, we're just here to help you.]

[And maybe take the chance to sneak into the deity's realm, hehe.]

True to their word, several players nearby the hospital quickly came to join Druid and his team, discussing how to distract Clark, the guard, to allow them access.

Finally, two players disguised as doctors happened to pass by, noticing Clark and the device beside him.

"Excuse me, yes, you there. Is this yours? What is this machine? How can it be brought into the hospital?"

Clark looked up from his paperwork, eyeing the approaching doctors, and stood up, responding with ease, "This has been permitted here."

"Is that so? Then you need to come with us for confirmation," the disguised players insisted, rolling a die.

[Persuasion: Failed.]

Tsk, that's not good.

A failed persuasion meant the target wasn't convinced. Player A glanced at Player B, who was about to roll the die, when they heard Clark say, "Alright then."

"Hm?"

"Sure, where do we go to register?"

The two players, stunned by Clark's cooperative attitude, paused momentarily but didn't miss the opportunity. They signaled to the black cat and Druid hiding in the shadows and led Clark away.

With the device and the gate unguarded, Druid and the black cat were elated. They hurried towards it, but just as Druid was about to enter the gate, he noticed the black cat standing thoughtfully beside the device.

"What's up? Aren't we going in?"

"I was just thinking, what if we destroy this gate? How would they react?" the black cat's eyes sparkled with mischief.

Druid exclaimed, "Damn, isn't that a bit extreme? What if we end up trapped inside too?"

"Why worry? We won't die, and besides, it's Lanen's realm. He wouldn't harm His followers."

Druid wanted to retort on the black cat's overconfidence: "Let's not do that. Other players are on their way too, and I think we're a bit outnumbered. What if we can't overcome the Inspection Bureau inside?"

The black cat thought it over and decided against destroying the device, joining Druid in entering the gate.

The next moment, their surroundings shifted from daylight to night.

They had successfully entered the deity's realm.

……

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Lanen and Albert silently observed the unfolding events. Young Albert approached Soren and handed over some documents. The white-haired man, unaware of anything amiss, immediately started reading them, completely engrossed.

"I see, so it can be used this way. No wonder MIT is highly esteemed. Even if it's not at its strongest, it still produces exceptional talents," Soren remarked appreciatively, looking up at young Albert. "You've done well. I'll give you a contact method. When you're not in class, follow me around. I have some tasks for you."

"Yes," young Albert agreed.

As expected, young Albert eventually entered the core circle of the outsiders. He spent half his week in the mentor's lab and the other half with Soren. Soren's earlier offer of help was not just lip service; he genuinely needed someone well-versed in Aldes research to assist him.

He was altering Aldes research, or rather, extracting the parts necessary for the outsiders' conspiracy.

Young Albert thus learned the true intention of the outsiders - to use Arkham City as a sacrifice to open the gates to the Dream World, submerging the entire city into a dreamscape.

A madman, this Soren is simply a madman!

Albert clenched his fists tightly upon realizing this.

On the surface, he showed no sign of this revelation, secretly sending this crucial information to the Inspection Bureau, hoping they would take it seriously and send someone to stop the cult's plot.

However, the outcome was already known to the observing Lanen and Albert; when Albert reviewed this memory, his face was marked with a sardonic smile from beginning to end.

The research on both sides was progressing steadily. Even though young Albert was purposefully underperforming at Soren's side, Soren was methodically advancing his plan. Using the outsiders' funds, he bought a pharmaceutical factory on the outskirts of Arkham, conducting experiments there. His latest development was a magical formation capable of creating artificial secret realms, allowing ordinary people within the formation to perceive aberrations.

The problem, however, arose from Soren's inability to sustain a formation large enough to encompass an entire city. Natural secret realms exist due to special celestial and geographical conditions. To artificially sustain a realm of that scale would be unimaginably draining, both on the energy source and the stability of the realm itself.

Fortunately for Soren, his aim wasn't to create a permanent realm, but merely to sustain the artificial one long enough to open the gates to the Dream World.

At this point, Soren's work officially diverged from Aldes' research. From this moment, young Albert's role in his plans became minimal. Nevertheless, for the sake of gathering intelligence, Albert stayed, recording everything he witnessed.

Observing this, Lanen suddenly questioned why Albert, being so close to the core of the outsiders' plan, didn't disrupt their efforts sooner, given his character.

Why did Albert only appear at the last moment to confront the leaders of the outsiders in a mutual destruction attempt? Was the memory Lanen was seeing altered, or was it not as it seemed?

Lanen turned to Albert beside him, who, as if aware of Lanen's doubts, explained, "Some details here differ from reality, but the overall direction remains unchanged."

This meant that, in Albert's memory, he indeed was the person closest to the core of Soren's plan at that moment.

So, what happened next?

Soon, the unexpected occurred.

The turn of events stemmed from a successful experiment by Soren. Several workers trapped in the factory after hours witnessed horrific aberrations. Their terrified screams were silenced as the aberrations, materialized into reality, slaughtered them.

Young Albert stood behind Soren, witnessing the gruesome scene, his wrists trembling uncontrollably behind his back, though he managed to suppress it.

The life force of the workers, transformed into energy by another forbidden formation, powered the artificial secret realm. Soren, in high spirits, told his followers, "Celebrate, our plan has succeeded."

All the outsiders' followers clapped enthusiastically, their faces beaming with excitement as if oblivious to the hellish scene before them. Albert felt nauseous inside, and then Soren stepped forward, smiling, and patted his shoulder, "This is all thanks to your help, Albert. Come with me."

The other high-ranking outsiders looked at Albert enviously as Soren led him to the central room on the top floor of the factory, which had been converted into a laboratory.

This was where Soren conducted his experiments. Apart from Soren and Albert, no one knew of this place. Under Albert's gaze, Soren placed all the documents here and cast a special spell.

The entire room vanished, seemingly nonexistent from the outside. In amazement, Albert watched as Soren explained, "I've stored all the research documents here. Apart from you and me, no one knows the location. If the plan fails, someone might continue my legacy."

Albert replied noncommittally, "The outsiders' plan is bound to succeed."

"Ha, if only you were truly committed," Soren said. "Sadly, I'm not the 'justice' you believe in your heart."

What did he mean by that?

Albert stiffened instantly as Soren continued, "But your contribution to reaching this point is undeniable, so I won't kill you."

"Stay by my side and witness the final fate of this city."

After saying this, Soren's spell was ready, immobilizing young Albert. The blond youth stood frozen, watching helplessly as Soren placed his palm on his head, chanting a spell.

"Don't worry, you'll only temporarily forget this memory," he said. "The final outcome will either be my death, lifting the spell, or my return to the Dream World, and the memory will be unlocked. I'm curious to see your expression then."

"Oh, and thanks for passing my information to the Inspection Bureau. Without their data, the experiment wouldn't have gone so smoothly. Sadly, you won't remember this either."

These were the last words Albert heard before passing out.

It was at this point that Lanen finally understood why Albert said 'fate cannot be changed.'

In his memory, this segment was indeed a deadlock. No matter how Lanen tried to instill the idea that the Inspection Bureau couldn't be trusted into young Albert's mind, as long as the outsiders were plotting, the only power Albert could use at that time was the Inspection Bureau, which by then had colluded with the outsiders.

This was indeed a situation of utter despair.

Lanen could already anticipate what the next event would be.

After losing his memory, young Albert completely forgot about Soren's identity and the experiments. However, perhaps out of Soren's twisted sense of humor, he still assigned Albert an important task: to inform him that the outsiders' plan would unfold at MIT. On that day, he was to assist a few people in setting up several formations around the MIT campus, covering for their actions while helping them infiltrate the university.

Albert promptly informed the Inspection Bureau of the outsiders' plan and, as a precaution, arranged a contact within the police department, hoping for a swift police response. Years of undercover work finally seemed to be paying off. The blond youth was highly strung, refining his plans over and over again in a safe house, his eyes filled with resolute determination.

This time, he was determined to thwart the outsiders' conspiracy!