Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 102 Lu Yuanshan

"...Grandpa?"

Lu Yueqi's voice was so soft it was like a dream, and time seemed to be forcibly paused at that moment.

The air seemed to freeze, and even the buzzing sound of the huge instrument due to energy overload seemed to be isolated in another dimension.

All eyes were drawn to that petite figure as if iron filings were attracted by a magnet.

Lu Yueqi seemed oblivious to everything around her.

Her world seemed to consist only of that slightly yellowed black and white photograph floating in mid-air.

In the photo, the man wearing a slightly worn white research coat, with a scholarly air on his face but a burning flame of fanaticism in his eyes, slowly overlapped with the kind figure from the deepest part of her memory, the one who always sat in a rocking chair in the afternoon, stroking her head and humming ancient lullabies for her.

How can it be?

how can that be!

How could her maternal grandfather, the relative who gave her warmth and light in her childhood memories, be the "gatekeeper" in the Bureau of Investigation's top-secret files, filled with mystery and danger?
The massive information overload was like a devastating tsunami, instantly shattering all her psychological defenses.

She felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, and the whole world spun around her. The screams and shouts around her became incredibly distant, as if separated by a thick curtain of water.

Her petite body fell backward uncontrollably, like a withered leaf blown by a strong wind.

The expected sharp pain from colliding with the cold ground did not come.

A strong, warm arm gently supported her from behind.

Bai Yu had already walked up to her side without her noticing.

He didn't say any words of comfort, nor did he make any unnecessary movements.

He simply stood there quietly, using his not-so-robust body to shield her from the prying eyes and scrutiny from all directions, isolating her from the oppressive world.

His very existence is the most steadfast protection and the most silent promise.

Lu Yueqi's heart, which had almost stopped beating due to the enormous impact, finally resumed beating after feeling the familiar warmth and breath.

She slowly raised her head, and the boy's incredibly resolute profile was reflected in her tear-blurred eyes.

Chai Yushuang pulled up a file, then took a deep breath, her voice carrying a hint of solemnity.

"The story begins fifty years ago."

"Back then, the Bureau of Investigation was far less powerful than it is now. Our understanding of 'Nightmare' was still limited to the superficial level of 'supernatural phenomena caused by human fear'."

"Until, someone came along."

Her gaze fell on the yellowed black and white photograph.

"Lu Yuanshan. At the time, he was the youngest and most brilliant theoretical physicist and semiotics expert in the Investigation Bureau. He was the first to propose the hypothesis of 'dimensionality'. He believed that the world we live in is not unique. Beyond our cognition, there exist countless higher-dimensional 'worlds' composed of completely different rules and life forms."

"The so-called 'nightmare' does not arise out of thin air. It is more like some... some 'projection' from higher dimensions, or rather, 'information' that those higher-dimensional beings unintentionally leak to our low-dimensional world."

"This hypothesis was considered a fantasy at the time, the ravings of a madman. However, Lu Yuanshan believed it wholeheartedly."

"He devoted his entire life to studying those ancient symbols, to deciphering those paradoxical rules, and trying to find evidence to prove his theory."

"In the end, he succeeded."

Chai Yushuang's voice carried an undisguised complex emotion.

"Through reverse engineering of an extremely ancient Ω-class 'Abyssal Creature,' he successfully calculated a 'coordinate' that could faintly resonate with higher dimensions. Then, he devoted all the resources of the Bureau of Investigation at the time to launching a top-secret project codenamed 'Gate of Rift.'"

"His goal wasn't to 'open' that door. He simply wanted to use that 'door' to observe and understand what our real enemies are, and where they come from."

"However, he ultimately underestimated the terror of the abyss and overestimated the insignificance of humanity."

"When he opened that 'door' even a tiny crack, he discovered in despair..."

Chai Yushuang slowly closed her eyes, her voice trembling slightly.

"...On the other side of the door, countless pairs of eyes filled with curiosity and greed were already quietly waiting for him to 'peep'."

"In an instant, that door was forcibly torn open from the other side by a terrifying force from a higher dimension that is incomprehensible!"

"It was a hellish disaster. The entire research institute for the project was completely swallowed up in an instant by the leaked high-dimensional energy. All the staff involved in the project were wiped out from the 'conceptual' level by that force in an instant, leaving not even a trace of their existence."

"Lu Yuanshan, as the project leader, should have been the first to be eliminated."

"However, at the last moment, he made a choice that no one had anticipated."

"He did not choose to run away, nor did he choose to fight back."

"He sacrificed himself, along with all his knowledge, memories, emotions, and his unique soul as a 'dreamer,' without reservation to that ever-expanding 'door.'"

"He used himself as the 'lock core,' and with his human 'existence' full of contradictions and entanglements, he forcibly undertook a complete soul fusion with the 'door' that represented 'nothingness' and 'chaos.'"

"In the end, at the cost of being forever trapped between the inside and outside of that 'door,' enduring the excruciating pain of being torn apart for eternity, he resealed the 'Gate of Rift' that was about to be completely opened."

"He became the first and only generation in the history of the Investigation Bureau..."

“...'Gatekeeper'.”

When Chai Yushuang's hoarse voice fell, the entire dark space fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was completely stunned by this cruel truth filled with tragedy and sacrifice.

Lu Yueqi's body had already collapsed to the ground. Her pale face was completely soaked with hot tears.

She finally understood.

She finally understood why her childhood memories of her grandfather were so vague.

She finally understood why she felt such a strong sense of sorrow and longing from the depths of her blood in that diary.

Her grandfather was never some madman who went astray in his attempt to revive his wife.

He is a hero.

A lonely hero who used his own flesh and blood and soul to guard the gate to hell for this world...

“Then…then this sextant…” Anmu’s voice was a little hoarse.

“That was the only ‘relic’ Lu Yuanshan left behind before his final ‘sacrifice’.” Chai Yushuang looked at the ancient sextant on the holographic screen, her eyes flashing with complex light. “According to his notes, this sextant was the core he extracted from that Ω-level ‘Abyss Creation.’ It was itself a ‘key’ that could resonate with that ‘door.’ He left this ‘key’ behind, perhaps hoping that one day in the future, when humanity possessed sufficient power, someone would use this key to reopen that door and free him from that endless suffering.”

“But now…” Chai Yushuang’s expression became extremely solemn, “…this ‘key’ has been…prematurely activated because it absorbed the ‘tragedy’ source power from the ‘clown’ and the enormous negative emotional energy from the ‘heart’.”

She reached out and brought up a set of red data on the holographic screen that was dropping rapidly at a visible speed.

"This is our seventh district's real-time monitoring data on the stability of the spatial barrier in the area where that 'door' is located."

"Just now, the instant the 'key' was activated, the 'lock' that Lu Yuanshan built with his life began to show signs of instability."

"That 'Gate of Rift' that has been sealed for fifty years..."

Her voice, like a death sentence from the depths of hell, struck the hearts of everyone present.

"...is being...reopened."

A chill even more terrifying than before, like a venomous snake with life, instantly seized the soul of everyone present.

An ultimate catastrophe, far more terrifying and desperate than any previous nightmare event, is about to unfold.

"How much time do we... have left?" Anmu asked.

Looking at the red data on the screen that had fallen below the warning line, Chai Yushuang slowly uttered a despairing number.

"At most... seventy-two hours."

……

"I disagree!"

In the team's private meeting room, An Mu's voice was filled with unquestionable authority. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up from his seat, his sharp eyes fixed on the girl in front of him.

"Lu Yueqi! I don't care what your reasons are! I absolutely will not allow you to come there with us! You're just a newly hired investigator! Do you know that the place where that 'door' is located is a restricted area that isn't even marked on a map! The spatial barrier there is extremely weak, filled with all sorts of unpredictable high-dimensional energy turbulence! Not to mention you, even we, once we step into that place, could be completely wiped out of this world by that force at any time!"

"I know!" Lu Yueqi's eyes were red, but she did not back down. Meeting An Mu's oppressive gaze, she said loudly, "I know it's dangerous there! I know I might die! But I can't not go!"

She gently placed the old diary that belonged to her grandfather in the center of the conference table.

“That ‘door’ appeared because of my grandfather. That ‘key’ was activated because of me. Now, the ‘lock’ he built with his life is about to collapse. I…”

Her voice trembled with an uncontrollable sob.

"...I can no longer hide behind you like a coward forever."

She raised her head, and a resolute determination shone through her tear-streaked face.

"This time, I want to... I want to see with my own eyes what kind of battlefield my grandfather was protecting."

"I want to use my own eyes to witness his loneliness and greatness that spanned fifty years."

“Captain,” Bai Yu’s voice rang out slowly. He walked to Lu Yueqi’s side and stood beside her. “I will protect her.”

He turned his gaze to An Mu, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

"Moreover, she is no longer a burden. That sextant, that 'key,' has already formed a strange resonance with her soul. Her power is indispensable if we want to reseal that 'door,' or even... find a way to rescue Senior Lu Yuanshan."

An Mu looked at the two young men in front of him and fell into a long silence.

After a long while, he slowly exhaled.

In those sharp eyes, all hesitation and struggle transformed into a tragic flame.

"Alright." He spoke slowly, his voice hoarse, "Since you are all prepared to face death and live."

"Then let us go together to face this... final war."

……

Three hours later.

The secret hangar deep inside the Bureau of Investigation headquarters.

A state-of-the-art Raven-class tactical assault transport aircraft, entirely black and exuding a streamlined and futuristic feel, rests silently on the takeoff platform like a black cheetah lurking in the darkness.

A group of people, fully armed, stood solemnly in front of the transport plane's hatch.

"Is everyone ready?" An Mu's gaze slowly swept over everyone present.

"We're ready to go anytime!" Mo Fei slammed his high-frequency battle axe heavily on the ground, producing a dull, metallic thud.

"All equipment has been debugged, and the battle plan has been loaded into the personal terminal." Lan Ce pushed up his glasses, his voice calm and professional.

Lu Yueqi hugged the old sextant tightly. Although there was still a hint of nervousness in her bright eyes, there was an unwavering determination.

An Mu's gaze finally settled on Bai Yu.

He stepped forward, reached out, and pressed hard on his shoulder.

He didn't say anything.

But the weighty power of trust and entrustment between men was transmitted unreservedly to Bai Yu's heart through those broad, kind hands.

Bai Yu met his gaze and nodded vigorously.

"Board!"

With An Mu's command, the five of them entered the cabin, which was filled with a cold, metallic aura.

The heavy hatch slowly closed with the sound of hydraulic levers being activated, completely isolating them from this noisy and bustling world.

"Om-!"

The transport plane's anti-gravity engines emitted a deep roar as its massive fuselage slowly rose into the air, eventually transforming into a black streak of light and disappearing into the blood-red sky stained by the setting sun.

Their destination was a restricted area located at the edge of the world, erased from maps.

A terrifying place where time and space are eternally "stagnant" due to the extreme weakness of the spatial barrier.

—The Sea of ​​Stillness.

(End of this chapter)