Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 256 It’s just the beginning

"Gift?"

What the hell is this gift?!

Han Su really wanted to say, "We don't need to do this anymore."

For Ms. Shen, who possesses the Crystal Skull, and the head of the Abyss Studio, who does not have the Crystal Skull by his side, are essentially the same.

She was the one who was cold-blooded and ruthless, wanting to kill him, and she was also the one who cried and hugged him.

She became two different people, as if she had been granted a get-out-of-jail-free card, as if everything she had done could be forgiven, as if she herself had to understand her pain and why she did what she did, but in reality, she didn't understand at all.

After all, if being near the crystal skull would remind her that she was her child, then before Lu Neng stole the crystal skull and gave it to her, didn't she have any chance to come into contact with it?
What did she do back then?

Didn't he still wallow in self-pity for a while, and then harden his heart to throw the crystal skull far away?

So, how much substance is there in this bond between mother and son?

But compared to Han Su's indifference, Ms. Shen seemed to have made up her mind and quickly took a few steps.

This place is very small, located on the lowest level of the Abyss Studio, and is filled with intricate and complex machinery.

She brought Han Su here, seemingly to buy herself more time for conversation.

But now, she slowly raised her palm and pressed it into these complex and precise machines.

As a strange arc of electricity flashed, the massive machine suddenly began to shrink, change, and fold intricately. It rapidly shrank into a small, eerie, and exquisite piece in her hand.

"Ok?"

Upon suddenly seeing the mechanical object clearly, Han Su couldn't help but feel a slight sense of surprise and doubt.

This is……

...mechanical fragments?
Those were clearly objects of the same style as the mechanical fragments in his suitcase, only different in size, as if they were different parts taken from a whole machine.

Compared to that, the piece in my hand seemed smaller.

"This machine..."

Ms. Shen turned around, her body trembling slightly, as if she knew the extent of the betrayal this represented.

But she took a deep breath, suppressing the panic in her heart, and looked up at Han Su again. She had figured it out. She knew that the destruction of Qinggang and the exposure of the Eleven Altars represented the complete collapse of the Seven-Day Divine Descent, and that everyone's fate was already sealed.

Neither she nor Han Su could escape death, so giving him this dangerous thing was insignificant.

She let out a soft breath and tried to keep her voice steady: "It's a fragment of the only throne. Take it and run."

"Remember, keep running, and never look back!"

"Don't even think about fighting those people. You're no match for them. They're not the same species as us."

"They are powerful enough to treat this world as their own backyard, so you can only run, run as far as possible."

"Run to a place where even the patrolling knights can't find you, run until all this has passed."

"..."

She carefully placed the mechanical fragment next to Han Su. At this moment, she seemed very talkative, even to the point of being incessant:

"I don't know how you did it this time, but you did a great job."

“I can’t teach you how to fight them, because I don’t know how either. I… am not as courageous as you and him.”

"If... of course, that's wishful thinking. If we could really find the relics left behind by the emperor, then perhaps you would actually have the right to negotiate with them..."

"But even if you don't, when they find you in the future, it can give you a little bit of leverage to negotiate with them... Of course, before negotiating, you must first be able to destroy this mechanical fragment. This is the most important thing, so remember it."

"..."

If it were anything else, Han Su might have acted out of character and wouldn't have bothered listening to her pointless talk.

But these were mechanical fragments, and Han Su knew their importance.

It can countdown to the arrival of the flash, or even bring it forward or postpone it, so that the rescued children can recall their experiences on other life lines.

Han Su couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "What exactly is this 'sole throne' you're talking about?"

"It is the emperor's throne."

Ms. Shen hurriedly replied, her tone like that of a child afraid of displeasing the teacher: "According to him, this is something left behind by the emperor in reality. Some people say that this is a key and a clue, and that we can use this to find the relics left by the emperor."

"However, that's just a rumor, and we don't know if it's true or not."

"At least the descendants of those knights, who clearly possessed these mechanical fragments long ago, still couldn't find them."

"But their planned seven-day divine descent is based on this object; these mechanical fragments are a necessary condition for the divine descent."

"..."

As she spoke, heavy footsteps and the sounds of large areas of metal twisting under pressure could be faintly heard from all directions outside the thick alloy walls. A tremendous, unsettling pressure was rapidly approaching them.

Ms. Shen became increasingly anxious as she spoke, her eyes even welling up with tears: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we're running out of time..."

"Actually, I've been thinking for a long time that maybe one day we'll meet face to face, and you'll ask me some questions, whether you're angry or sad. And I know that the only thing I can do is give you a serious answer."

"Therefore, I have learned everything I can, and I have put all this knowledge into this crystal skull."

"Take it, take this mechanical fragment, and leave. Go as far away as possible..."

"..."

"Hey!"

Suddenly, behind her, a giant hand violently tore open the wall made of stacked alloy steel plates.

An eye with the vertical pupils of a beast peered into the hole.

Ms. Shen suddenly stood up, pressed her palm down, and an invisible spiritual power erupted, blasting the entire wall, along with the beast-eyed priest outside who was trying to squeeze in, far away.

Han Su knew the situation was urgent, so he raised his head slightly, somewhat wary.

This woman showed a willingness to buy herself some time to escape because the crystal skull contained her extracted emotions. But if she left with the crystal skull, wouldn't she revert back to her original form?
“I have retrieved the feelings I had entrusted to this place.”

As she stood up, Ms. Shen seemed to sense Han Su's wariness. She smiled sadly and explained in a low voice, "I think I won't have to endure the pain of peeling these things away anymore."

Han Su did indeed sense the transfer of some substance within the crystal skull, so he stopped asking the question.

Seeing that she had made her decision, he suddenly asked, "What does it feel like to detach yourself from your own feelings?"

Ms. Shen was taken aback.

This seemed to be the only relatively normal conversation she had with Han Su since their meeting, one that was devoid of anger and hatred.

She even felt joy at those words, whispering, "It's like a piece of your heart has been ripped out, or like a hungry person who can't find food."

"I stripped away my pain to escape its torment, but after that, I was constantly immersed in a huge emptiness, and I had to repeatedly bring that pain back to fill the void, like a drug..."

"..."

Han Su nodded, put down the briefcase, and carefully put away the crystal skull and the mechanical fragments.

The act of packing up was like saying a final goodbye.

"I……"

Ms. Shen looked down at him, then hesitated before speaking.

But when Han Su looked up at her, she couldn't bring herself to ask the rest of the question. She could only shake her head slightly and whisper, "You are indeed not a lucky child to have met a mother like me."

Then she said nothing more. At that moment, three more loud squeezing sounds came from behind the alloy wall.

The other three city-slaughtering priests also invaded beyond this deepest space.

She didn't wait any longer; instead, she slightly raised her hands and took the initiative to make a move.

Boom!

In an instant, the sealed space burst open, and the alloy steel plates tore apart piece by piece, scattering like meat grinders in all directions. Her spiritual power activated, like a vast and roaring ocean, stirring up earth-shattering waves to meet the four indifferent, city-slaughtering priests who were closing in, and also to meet the awe-inspiring power above Qinggang that was taking over the Pale Factory and unleashing divine punishment.

Han Su actually knew what she wanted to say in the end, but fortunately she didn't say it.

Because even though she said it, she herself couldn't do it.

What is the last thing a mother can hope for? Nothing more than her child calling her "Mom".

Unfortunately, she wasn't qualified.

I wasn't that lucky!
At this parting in his life, he could only silently turn his head and look at the scene where Ms. Shen lifted the entire laboratory dome.

This was the first time Ms. Shen had acted in a protective manner, and she seemed a bit more disheveled than before.

But it is also infinitely stronger than before.

That surging spiritual power pushed in all directions, and the four city-slaughtering priests who tried to get close were all pushed far away by her frenzied spiritual power, even out of the Abyss Studio and out of this abandoned D7 laboratory base.

Then came an endless horde of zombies, and wolf poison patients who roamed among them like the wind.

They are mysterious believers who follow the city-slaughtering ritual with elusive movements.

Then, the pale factory that had been forcibly taken over sent a signal, and those humanoid flesh and blood began to gather towards her.

She stood alone atop the dome of the Abyss Laboratory, like a fragile flame.

"Swish" "swish" "swish"

Several figures darted over, brandishing sharp blades, and dealt with the approaching zombie abominations and wolfsbane infected for her.

The loyalty of this scalpel team is quite unexpected.

But soon, they were also overwhelmed by the endless crowd, one after another, swallowed up by the frenzied mob.

Then, Ms. Shen screamed shrilly, her mind activating the mysterious, and a strange crystal-like light shot straight into the sky. This was the unusual radiance emanating from her own skull, and this level of crystal light itself seemed to possess an extremely heavy power.

This beam of crystal light shone in the night sky, illuminating this ruined city.

It also suppressed the countless city-slaughtering priests and various attackers that were pressing towards the abyss laboratory.

Even in Han Su's eyes, the crystal's color seemed to possess a touch of divinity.

At the same time, Han Su felt layers of pressure coming from all directions. He subconsciously looked and saw that on the rolling hills to the north of Qinggang, dark clouds gathered in the sky and several figures appeared on the hills.

Even from such a distance, Han Su could clearly see their silhouettes.

That's because their spiritual power is so strong that any living being can distinguish them in the real world.

But you can only see a silhouette; to see their facial features clearly requires a great deal of effort.

They came from the north, standing atop the hill, their long cloaks billowing in the night.

Beneath them rode bizarre creatures, shaped like horses but with serrated fangs and strange, sticky tentacles.

Looking towards Qinggang City, where the woman Shen had single-handedly suppressed countless strange figures, some of them gently raised their hands, and then each of them took the long spear off their backs.

It looked like an old-fashioned, simply designed flintlock musket.

It is said that primitive weapons were only used before the Reconstruction Era began, when civilization had not yet recovered and all technology and resources were extremely scarce.

But they used such weapons to aim at Ms. Shen, who was in mid-air above Qinggang City.

Then, fire!
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

A barrage of bullets traversed dozens of kilometers, carrying immense and terrifying spiritual power. With a destructive force beyond reason, they destroyed buildings along the way, pierced through towering structures, and struck the tall and slender figure in Qinggang City.

This isn't a confrontation; it's more like an execution.

A group of people from the very top of the world publicly executed this incompetent person on the ruins of Qinggang.

Ms. Shen's body suddenly froze, and then, like a falling leaf, she slowly drifted down to the ground.

As she fell, her figure spun around, looking towards the deepest part of the Abyss Studio ruins.

Inside the eye socket, the last glimmer of crystalline color flashed, transmitting a signal:
"Run away..."

"..."

Han Su withdrew his gaze. Although he had very little time to meet her, most of the time was painful.

But at this moment, a strange emotion still surfaced in my heart.

"Tick-tock tick-tock..."

The mechanical fragments had already started, and the familiar ticking sound had accompanied Ms. Shen's fall, beginning to summon the flashing light to descend.

Perhaps because of the extra mechanical fragment, the flashing was much faster than before after the countdown started. A tremendous spiritual power was erupting around them, but the space and time around them became unusually quiet in an instant.

He witnessed the city crumble inch by inch, and saw Song Chushi, filled with resentment, still being dragged into the sewers by Lu Neng.

Seeing Wei Lan reunite with Rong Qiyue and the three with the pot lid, although they survived, they seemed so powerless in the face of everything collapsing.

They saw Xu Ji driving his sports car, which featured a beautiful girl in a photo, flooring the accelerator and crashing into a zombie.

"Buzz!"

A sudden flash of light descended, and everything around them began to blur.

The immense gravity began to pull Han Su back to the past, and everything in his eyes began to revive on the ruins in a bizarre way.

Ms. Shen's body returned to mid-air in a graceful posture, and the bullet flew from her body back to the muzzle of the flintlock rifle.

The collapsed building recovered all the debris and stood upright again in the city.

Crystal-colored light shone once again in the night sky.

Song Chu emerged from the sewer, seemingly holding the hand of an anxious-looking Lu Neng. Wei Lan, Rong Qiyue, and the man with the pot lid walked backwards in different directions of Qinggang.

All those who fell were rising again to face the strange invasion of Qinggang.

Han Su slowly withdrew his gaze, looking towards the distant past, towards the end of the journey, that eerie ancient castle.

Qinggang is facing destruction, and Han Su, along with everyone who is trying to resist this kidnapping, is facing an unprecedented defeat. Han Su needs to acknowledge this.

However, the secret of the seven-day divine descent was finally revealed to him, and the eleven hidden altars and the child whose fate had been imposed upon him finally surfaced, deeply imprinted in his mind.

This is not the end; this is just the beginning...

……

……

"call……"

A dizzy feeling washed over him, and when Han Su opened his eyes, he saw that he was sitting on a school bus, watching the castle slowly open its gates in front of him, with crows circling and flying all over the sky, like a silent tomb.

He sat quietly, letting the school bus drive into the dilapidated castle, letting the monsters choose him until they locked him and the other children in the cellar.

With the old butler right beside him, he did nothing but silently endure it all.

Only after entering the cellar did he slowly raise his head. Amidst the boasting of the man with the parted hair, he silently examined the cellar once more, or rather, the ancient castle, pondering things little by little in his mind.

This time, finding the key is no longer the most important goal of my return.

Even if he escaped, he would still face the destruction of Qinggang and those mysterious and powerful, strange opponents.

He could finally be certain that he couldn't beat them on this path of life. If the black gloves in front of the stage were so powerful, then the shadows behind the scenes must be even more terrifying.

But it seems that these people also exposed their weaknesses, such as: what was the real reason for the failure of the Seven Days Divine Descent?
For example, having a successor is the most important thing, in other words...

Han Su slowly turned his gaze to the children shivering in the dark cellar; they were the most important!
Now, I still have the body of a child, but my consciousness, memories, mental activity, and even divine matter have all returned with me.

So, is there anything I can do more of?
"Ding-a-ling..."

Time passed quickly as Han Su pondered. He did not act as swiftly as before, until the mysterious telephone outside the cellar rang in the deathly silence of the night.

　Brothers, check the list of winners! The guy who won gold hasn't come to claim his prize yet!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)