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

Chapter 126 The Sealed Past

The darkness on the fifth basement level of the archives was as thick as ink that couldn't be dissolved. The air was filled with the smell of rotting old paper, mixed with a faint hint of sandalwood.

Bai Yu stood in the aisle between the bookshelves, the "Ember" in his hand emitting a faint glow. This glow seemed so small in the endless darkness, as if it could be swallowed up by the surrounding shadows at any moment.

The elderly man in the wheelchair slowly turned around.

His movements were slow, each motion accompanied by a sickening grinding sound from his bones. The mechanical prosthetic eye gleamed a cold red light in the darkness, staring at Bai Yu without a trace of emotion.

"Chief?" Bai Yu asked tentatively again. His fingers gripped the knife handle tightly, his muscles tense, ready to explode at any moment.

"That title hasn't been used in a long time." The old man's voice was hoarse, like sandstorms blowing across a dried-up riverbed. He looked down at the wooden carving on the table, his eyes revealing a complex emotion—nostalgia, but even more so, a deep weariness.

"The current bureau chief is sitting in that spacious and bright office on the top floor, worrying about all kinds of reports and power struggles. As for me, I am just a ghost deep underground."

The old man raised his head, and his red mechanical eyes turned slightly, locking onto the location of Bai Yu's heart.

"That thing inside you is beating quite happily. Black Words... is it still as arrogant as ever?"

Bai Yu was shocked.

This old man actually knew about the existence of Black Words!
In the Bureau of Investigation's official files, Black Words is recorded as a special type of symbiotic nightmare, but only a very small number of high-ranking officials have the authority to know his real name and nature.

"Old man, do you know me?" Hei Yan's voice rang out in Bai Yu's mind, carrying a rare solemnity.

The old man did not answer directly, but instead pushed his wheelchair slowly toward a row of bookshelves.

"Thirty years ago, the Investigation Bureau wasn't called that. Back then, we were called the 'Abnormal Phenomena Countermeasures Team.' The Nightmares back then weren't as numerous or as powerful as they are now."

The old man pulled a thick, even somewhat carbonized, file from the bookshelf and gently placed it on his lap.

“Back then, we thought we were the guardians. Until we came into contact with the ‘Old Ones’.”

Bai Yu stepped forward and stood beside the old man.

What exactly is the past?

The old man opened the file and pointed to a blurry sketch on it.

It was a magnificent city.

The city's architecture is bizarre and ornate, with towering spires and winding streets forming a complex geometric labyrinth. Above the city, a gigantic, bloodshot eye floats.

“The past is not a piece of history, but a reality that has been ‘cut out’.”

The old man's voice became low and deep.

"Before the birth of human civilization, or rather, before the establishment of existing logical rules, the world belonged to them. At that time, there was no life or death, no physical laws, only endless chaos and distortion. Later, some higher rule descended, like a pair of scissors, cutting that chaotic reality off the timeline and throwing it into the abyss of nothingness."

“And those severed remnants are what we now call nightmares. They try to crawl back, to reconnect this severed cause and effect.”

Looking at the sketch, Bai Yu felt a strong sense of dizziness.

"And what about the mountain god? Is it also a remnant of the past?"

“It’s more advanced than the remnants.” The old man closed the file, his mechanical eyes gleaming red.

"It is the old 'anchor point.' Fog Ridge City is not its nest, but its cage. Someone is trying to use it to reconnect to that lost history. Bai Yu, do you think Lu Yueqi's awakening is accidental?"

The old man stared intently into Bai Yu's eyes.

She is the 'key'. And you are the 'lock'.

at the same time.

Special care ward number three in the medical area.

The lights in the corridor had turned completely blood red.

Professor Su, along with the research department's security personnel, had completely surrounded the ward.

“Mo Fei, Lan Ce, this is my final warning to you.” Professor Su pushed up his monocle, his tone icy. “This is the highest order from headquarters. Lu Yueqi’s condition has exceeded the medical team’s capacity to handle it; she must be transferred to the core laboratory for intensive observation.”

Mo Fei stood across the doorway of the ward, his two high-frequency battle axes crossed in front of his chest.

He didn't yell or shout as usual; his eyes were frighteningly calm.

“Professor Su, you can try walking over here.” Mo Fei’s voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable sense of power.

"I only obey the captain's orders. No one is allowed to touch this door until the captain returns."

Lance sat at the control panel, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

“Professor Su, your so-called ‘special authorization’ was identified as forged by me three minutes ago. Although you exploited a loophole in the administrative system, at the underlying logic, this instruction lacks the director’s biometric encryption.”

Lan Ce raised his head, his eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses gleaming with rationality.

"In other words, you are now committing an illegal kidnapping. As an investigator, I have the right to take coercive measures against you."

Professor Su's face turned extremely ugly.

"Lan Ce, do you think you can take on the entire research department with your hacking skills?"

“It’s not confrontation,” Lance said calmly, “it’s defense.”

at this time.

Strange footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.

Click, click.

That was the sound of rocks rubbing against the ground.

Professor Su turned around abruptly.

Dozens of "Echoers," their bodies radiating a grayish-white glow, were rapidly climbing up the walls and ceiling.

Their movements were contorted, and they uttered various screams and murmurs.

"Damn it! How can so many Echoers have entered headquarters?" Professor Su exclaimed, instinctively taking a step back.

"Protect the professor!" The defenders quickly drew their weapons.

However, the Echoers seemed uninterested in the Defenders; they had only one target—Lu Yueqi.

"Mo Fei!" Lan Ce shouted.

"understood!"

Mo Fei crouched slightly and shot out like a heavy cannonball.

Instead of blindly charging into the enemy ranks, he precisely blocked the corner of the corridor.

Gravity Field - Full Activation!

Mo Fei let out a low shout and slammed his battle axe into the ground.

boom!
An invisible wave of gravity, centered on him, instantly swept through the entire corridor.

Those Echoers who charged at the forefront suddenly felt their bodies sink, and the floor beneath their feet instantly shattered.

Mo Fei continued moving, his battle axe drawing a blue arc.

"Whirlwind!"

Puff puff!
Blue arcs of electricity flew alongside gray stone chips.

Each axe strike precisely severed the Echoer's joints, without a single wasted movement.

Mo Fei's performance perfectly exemplified what "violent aesthetics" means.

Lan Ce was constantly typing on the keyboard in the back.

"Mo Fei, thirty degrees to the left, on the ceiling! That's a high-frequency echoer; it's interfering with your senses!"

"Roger that!"

Mo Fei didn't even look, and hurled his battle axe upwards with his left hand.

boom!
The battle axe precisely pinned an Echoer hiding in the shadows to the ceiling.

"Lan Ce, we can't kill all these guys!" Mo Fei gasped for breath, his eyes still resolute.

"Hold on! I'm analyzing the source of their frequencies!" Fine beads of sweat appeared on Lance's forehead.

“This is no ordinary intrusion. This is ‘resonance.’ There must be a large power source inside headquarters, providing these guys with energy.”

Back to the archives, fifth basement level.

Bai Yu looked at the old man, his doubts growing.

You called me a 'locked mouth'? What do you mean?

The old man stretched out his withered hand and pointed to the location of Bai Yu's heart.

"Black Words reshaped your soul with his essence. But do you really think he's that kind?"

A hint of mockery flashed in the old man's mechanical eyes.

“He created a ‘bottle’ inside you. A bottle that can hold the power of the past. The cracks in your soul are not wounds, but straws. They are constantly drawing energy from the void to sustain your existence.”

“Bai Yu, you are not getting stronger, you are being ‘replaced’. When your soul is completely filled with the power of the past, you will become the incarnation of the Mountain God in the real world.”

Bai Yu looked down at her hands.

Beneath that fair skin, dark veins were faintly visible, like countless wriggling worms.

"Old man, you talk too much." Hei Yan's voice rang in Bai Yu's mind, carrying a chilling killing intent.

"Bai Yu, don't listen to him. He just wants to shake your resolve so that his so-called 'countermeasures team' can regain power."

"Whom should I believe?" Bai Yu asked himself.

The old man seemed to have seen through Bai Yu's thoughts.

Trust no one. Trust your own intuition.

The old man took out a rusty iron box from a hidden compartment on the side of his wheelchair and handed it to Bai Yu.

"This is the only thing we brought out of the ancient ruins thirty years ago. It's called the 'Eye of Truth.' It allows you to see the truth behind the rules, which even dark words cannot hide."

Bai Yu took the tin box.

The moment I held the metal box, a bone-chilling coldness swept over my entire body.

He opened the tin box.

Inside lay a crystal-clear eyeball.

The eyeball is alive; the pupil is constantly contracting and dilating.

"Press it into your left eye," the old man's voice was full of enticement.

"Only in this way can you survive the great changes to come."

Bai Yu held the eyeball tightly, her heart pounding violently.

"White Language, no!" Black Language screamed, "That's the pollution of the past! If you use it, you'll never be able to go back!"

Bai Yu remained silent for a moment.

He looked up at the old man.

"Why are you helping me?"

The old man smiled.

His smile, accentuated by the mechanical red light, appeared extremely eerie.

“Because I’ve been waiting for this day for thirty years. I need someone who can end all of this, not a puppet being controlled.” Just then.

Rumble!
The entire headquarters building began to shake violently.

Dust fell from the ceiling, and screams echoed from the distant corridor.

"It's starting." The old man looked at the ceiling, his eyes revealing a kind of frantic relief.

"The mountain god has awakened. The 'stomach' at the bottom of headquarters has begun to eat."

Bai Yu suddenly turned her head and looked towards the exit.

"Mo Fei! Lan Ce!"

Without any hesitation, he directly put the "Eye of Truth" into his pocket and rushed towards the exit like lightning.

"Baiyu!" the old man shouted from behind.

"Remember! Don't believe any voice! Even if it's your own!"

Bai Yu rushed out of the archives and was met with a hellish scene.

The once tidy corridor is now covered with dark red flesh and blood.

The walls were writhing, and the ceiling was dripping blood.

Countless investigators lay in pools of blood, their bodies rapidly turning to stone.

"Black Words, unleash your power!" White Words roared.

"Tsk, that's really troublesome."

Although Hei Yan complained, he didn't slow down at all.

The pitch-black flames instantly covered Bai Yu's entire body.

Bai Yu was like a black lightning bolt, rushing wildly through the hell of flesh and blood.

He arrived at the elevator lobby, only to find that the elevator was completely destroyed.

Without any hesitation, he jumped directly into the deep elevator shaft.

The embers drew a blinding spark on the wall, slowing its descent.

When he landed on the third basement level, he heard the sounds of fierce fighting.

That's the direction of the medical area!

Bai Yu smashed through the fire door and rushed into the corridor.

Mo Fei, covered in blood, was blocking the doorway to the ward.

One of his battle axes was broken, and the other was riddled with nicks.

Before him stood hundreds of Echoers who had mutated into stone giants.

Professor Su and his protectors had long since disappeared, leaving only a few mutilated corpses on the ground.

"Mo Fei!" Bai Yu shouted, sweeping his long sword horizontally.

A jet-black, crescent-shaped blade of energy instantly wiped out the enemies around Mo Fei.

"Old Bai...you're finally back." Mo Fei grinned, revealing a mouthful of bloody teeth.

"These guys... are really tough."

Lan Ce peeked out of the ward, his face deathly pale.

"Bai Yu, something's wrong with Yue Qi! Her spiritual pressure is spiraling out of control!"

Bai Yu rushed into the ward.

Lu Yueqi was suspended in mid-air, with countless starlight overflowing from her body.

Wherever the starlight touched, all matter rapidly disintegrated.

"Yueqi!" Bai Yu tried to get closer.

"Don't come any closer!" Lance screamed. "That's the 'Collapse of the Ancients'! Anyone who gets near it will be reduced to atoms!"

Bai Yu stopped in his tracks, his expression serious.

He remembered the old man's words.

"Lock..."

He took a deep breath and slowly walked towards Lu Yueqi.

"Hei Yan, help me."

"Are you crazy? You'll die!" Hei Yan shouted to stop him.

“If we don’t do this, everyone will die.” Bai Yu’s voice was eerily calm.

He opened his arms, letting the starlight cut into his body.

Blood flowed out, but was instantly evaporated by starlight.

But he didn't stop.

He walked up to Lu Yueqi and gently hugged her.

"Yueqi, wake up."

In an instant.

The shaking throughout the headquarters stopped.

At that moment, all the starlight surged wildly into the fragment located at Bai Yu's heart.

Bai Yu let out a painful groan, his body trembling violently.

He felt his soul being torn apart and reassembled.

Countless unfamiliar images flashed through his mind.

It was a desolate land, with nine suns floating in the sky.

A woman in a red wedding dress is standing on the edge of a cliff, smiling at him.

"You finally came."

That voice was exactly the same as Lu Yueqi's.

boom!
A powerful energy wave erupted centered on the two of them.

All the echoers turned to dust in that instant.

The fleshy walls in the corridor also withered and peeled away rapidly.

When everything returned to calm.

Bai Yu, holding Lu Yueqi, slowly landed on the ground.

His left eye had turned an eerie pure white at some point, with a faint galaxy flowing within its pupil.

"Old Bai?" Mo Fei cautiously walked over.

Bai Yu raised her head and looked at Mo Fei.

In that instant, Mo Fei felt as if he had been scanned by some supreme being, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

"I'm fine." Bai Yu's voice was a little hoarse.

He looked down at Lu Yueqi in his arms.

The girl was sleeping peacefully, and the spider lily mark on her wrist had completely disappeared.

"Lan Ce, check the headquarters' defense system," Bai Yu calmly ordered.

"Yes...yes!" Lan Ce was stunned for a moment, then started operating the machine frantically.

"Report! All Echoes have disappeared! But... the core power system at headquarters has been cut off. We are now isolated."

Bai Yu stood up and looked out the window.

The heavy rain has stopped.

But the sky remained pitch black.

In that darkness, he could feel countless eyes watching him.

"This is not the end."

Bai Yu gripped the long sword tightly.

"This is just the beginning of the hunt."

at this time.

Suddenly, a piercing electrical buzzing sound came from the loudspeaker in the rest area.

Immediately afterwards, an elegant yet sinister voice resounded throughout the entire headquarters.

Good evening, colleagues.

That was Professor Su's voice.

But at this moment, the voice carried a chilling fanaticism.

"Welcome to...the dawn of a new era."

"Now, please enjoy the Last Supper that I have prepared for you."

The voice just fell.

The ground at headquarters suddenly cracked open.

A huge, tooth-covered maw suddenly burst forth from the depths of the earth.

The entire building began to slowly sink amidst wailing cries.

"Mo Fei! Lan Ce! Let's go!"

Bai Yu carried Lu Yueqi on his back, his figure transforming into a streak of light as he rushed towards the rooftop.

And at this time.

In the top-floor office of headquarters.

The real bureau chief was sitting quietly in a pool of blood.

Standing before him was Shadow Raven, who wore a gray trench coat.

"Chief, you're getting old." Shadow Raven wiped the blood from his hands, his eyes cold.

"This era no longer belongs to you."

Shadow Raven turned its head and looked out the window at the building that was sinking.

"Bai Yu, I hope you can survive."

"After all, you are my most perfect... test subject."

Shadow Raven let out a soft laugh, and its figure gradually disappeared into the shadows.

(End of this chapter)