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

Chapter 149 Game within a game
The dawn was faint.

The outline of Linjiang City was faintly visible in the mist, like a giant beast that had just awakened from a nightmare.

The jeep drove along the broken road, the tires making a dull thud as they rolled over the gravel. Inside, none of the four members of the team spoke. The air was thick with the lingering smell of ozone from the power station's underground vault and an indescribable rusty odor.

Bai Yu leaned back in the seat, his right hand instinctively slipping into his pocket, his fingertips brushing against the cold silver button. The smiling face on the back of the button seemed to mock everything in the darkness.

His right eyelid twitched slightly.

In his field of vision, visible only to him, the silver mark deep within his soul emitted a faint, cold light. The light was not dazzling, but rather like a red-hot needle, slowly and steadily piercing into the core of his consciousness.

"Black Words," Bai Yu whispered in her heart.

"Hehe, my host, you look just like a piece of porcelain covered in cracks right now." Hei Yan's elegant yet teasing voice echoed in my mind. "That little thing isn't an ordinary mark. It's a 'ticket,' an admission ticket to the end of the exchange."

Bai Yu frowned slightly: "Can you erase it?"

"Erase? No, no, no." Hei Yan chuckled softly. "This is the highest level of rule imprint. Unless you completely remove this part of your soul, it will act like a parasite, sucking away at your sanity until you become what that madman wants you to be."

Bai Yu fell silent.

He looked out the window. Power was slowly being restored to the buildings along the road, and the scattered lights were like faint sparks trying to ignite the deathly silence.

"Old Bai, have some water."

Mo Fei handed him a canteen. He appeared unusually calm at this moment, his eyes devoid of their usual playfulness, replaced by a deep concern.

"Thanks." Bai Yu took the water bottle and took a sip of the cold water.

Looking at Bai Yu's pale face, Mo Fei said in a low voice, "When we get back to the station, have the old guys in the medical team give you a full check-up. You overdid it down there."

"I'm fine." Bai Yu put down the kettle, her voice calm. "I'm just a little tired."

Mo Fei nodded, saying nothing more. He knew Bai Yu's personality; this man always shouldered all the burdens himself.

An Mu, who was driving, glanced at Bai Yu through the rearview mirror and tightened his grip on the steering wheel slightly.

"Lan Ce, has there been a response from headquarters?" An Mu asked.

In the passenger seat, Lan Ce was holding a laptop, his fingers flying across the keyboard. His black-rimmed glasses reflected the blue light from the screen, and his expression was serious.

"The signal is still unstable." Lan Ce's voice was as calm as a machine. "Headquarters seems to have activated the highest level of jamming. This means that not only in Linjiang City, but possibly even within the Investigation Bureau, there may have been a leak of rules."

An Mu's gaze darkened.

The Bureau of Investigation headquarters is the last bastion against the Nightmare. If even that fails, the situation is truly out of control.

"Speed ​​up," Anmu gave a brief instruction.

The Jeep's engine roared as it sped toward the hidden entrance on the outskirts of Linjiang City.

That's the location of the Linjiang branch of the Nightmare Investigation Bureau.

On the surface, this appears to be an abandoned chemical plant. The towering chimneys no longer emit smoke, and the rusty iron gates are tightly locked.

But as the jeep approached, the drainage ditch on the ground suddenly emitted a faint blue light.

"Identity verification: Nightmare Investigation Bureau Team One".

A cold, mechanical voice rang out.

Anmu placed his palm on a sensor area on the dashboard, and golden ripples instantly spread out.

"Verification successful. Welcome back, Captain Anmu."

The heavy iron gate slowly slid open to both sides.

The jeep drove into the chemical plant and did not stop on the ground, but drove directly into a huge elevator.

As the elevator descends, the surrounding physical laws begin to subtly change.

The air became dry and pure, and a special frequency echoed in the space—the Bureau of Investigation's unique "rule stabilizer" was in operation.

Bai Yu felt that the silver mark deep in his soul seemed to be suppressed to some extent, and the stinging sensation was relieved slightly.

"Ding."

The elevator stopped on the third basement level.

The door opens.

What appeared before them was not the usual bustling scene, but a row of fully armed guards.

These guards wore specially made black armor and carried high-frequency rifles capable of piercing the Nightmare's shell. Each of them exuded a chilling killing intent behind their masks.

"Put down your weapons and undergo a deep scan."

The head guard captain's voice was stiff and devoid of any emotion.

Mo Fei's brows twitched, and his hand instinctively reached for the battle axe on his back, but he quickly restrained himself.

"Captain Shen, what does this mean?" An Mu got out of the car and looked directly at the guard captain.

Team Leader Shen is the head of the Security Section of the Investigation Bureau. He usually has a fairly good relationship with Team One, but now, his eyes are filled with vigilance.

“Team Leader An, this is an order personally issued by the Director,” Team Leader Shen said coldly. “A large-scale ‘replacement’ has occurred in Linjiang City. Anyone returning from the mission area must undergo ‘mirror screening’.”

An Mu was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Cooperate with them."

The four entered a cylindrical, transparent room.

Beams of purple light swept back and forth across them.

That's a "soul imaging device." It can detect the remnants of nightmares lurking within a human body, or identify a fake body that has been "replaced."

Bai Yu stood in the beam of light, holding her breath.

He could sense that Hei Yan was deliberately suppressing his aura. The ancient nightmare seemed utterly disdainful of this scan, even almost wanting to laugh.

"drop--"

The scanner emitted a crisp sound.

Four green checkmarks appeared on the screen.

"Identity confirmed, no signs of substitution found." Captain Shen's voice softened slightly. "Sorry, Captain An, this is the rule."

An Mu stepped out of the scanning room and straightened his collar: "Where is the director?"

"In the central command room. He's been waiting for you."

An Mu turned to look at his teammates: "Lan Ce, take Mo Fei and Bai Yu to the rest area, and while you're at it, organize the data from the power supply bureau. I'm going to see the director."

"Understood." Lan Ce nodded.

Anmu quickly left.

As Bai Yu watched An Mu's retreating figure, the unease in her heart grew stronger.

In the scan just now, Anmu's image was green, but in Baiyu's analytical field of vision, the edge of Anmu's shadow seemed to have a very faint gray layer.

It was the same silver color he had seen at the bottom of the power company.

Is it possible that even a scanner cannot detect this "substitution"?
"Old Bai, let's go." Mo Fei patted Bai Yu on the shoulder. "Let's get something to eat first. My stomach is growling."

The three walked towards the rest area.

The Bureau of Investigation's rest area is located four levels underground, and its environment mimics a small town on the surface. It has streets, a canteen, and even simulated sunlight.

Mo Fei ordered a large portion of braised pork and three bowls of rice, and sat in the corner wolfing it down.

Lan Ce was still holding his computer, constantly analyzing the USB drive that the power company had brought back.

“Strange.” Lan Ce frowned and pushed up his glasses. “The underlying code in this USB drive… has a self-replicating property. It doesn’t seem like a program; it’s more like a living organism.”

"Biological code?" Bai Yu put down her coffee and leaned closer.

“Yes.” Lan Ce pointed to the constantly changing data stream on the screen. “Look at these nodes. They’re trying to connect to the intranet. Luckily, I did some offline processing, otherwise this thing would have already made its way into the control room.”

As Bai Yu looked at the worm-like twisted code, the smiling face on the silver button suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Lan Ce, can you export the logical structure of this code?"

“It will take a while.” Lancer’s fingers tapped rapidly. “The logic of this thing is counterintuitive. It’s not based on ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but on ‘possibility’ and ‘observation.’”

Bai Yu's heart stirred.

Observation.

This is the core element of rule-based nightmares.

The rule will take effect as long as it is observed.

"Mo Fei, you eat first." Bai Yu stood up. "I'm going to the restroom."

"Go and come back quickly," Mo Fei replied indistinctly, his mouth full of meat.

Bai Yu walked out of the cafeteria and through a quiet corridor.

Instead of going to the restroom, he went to a secluded corner.

He took the silver button out of his pocket.

“Black words, analyze it.”

"Heh, finally couldn't hold back anymore?"

The power of black words flowed into the button through the fingertips of white words.

In that instant, Bai Yu's vision changed dramatically.

The once tidy corridor has disappeared. In its place is a world made up of countless mirrors.

In each mirror, a Bai language is reflected.

Some Bai people were laughing, some were crying, and some were lying on the ground covered in blood.

At the center of these countless mirror worlds stood a man in a black trench coat.

He had his back to Bai Yu, holding a silver thread in his hand.

"You came."

The man's voice was gentle and calm, as if he were greeting an old friend.

He slowly turned his head.

That face, exactly like An Mu's, now carried a divine compassion.

"Bai Yu, do you think what you see is the truth?"

"Who are you?" Bai Yu asked coldly.

“I am the abandoned ‘truth’.” The man smiled. “In order to protect this world, Anmu abandoned his fear, his weakness, and I.”

Bai Yu's pupils suddenly contracted.

"You are... Anmu's nightmare?"

“No, I am nobler than that.” The man took a step forward, and the mirrors around him shattered. “I am his ‘possibility.’ He should have died in the bottom of the power station. It was I who took his place in that death.”

Bai Yu recalled An Mu's momentary stiffness at the bottom of the power supply bureau.

It turns out that the replacement had already occurred at that moment.

“The Anmu we know now is just a perfect shell.” The man reached out, his fingertips entwining the silver thread. “And you, Bai Yu, are the only flaw in this work of art.”

"What do you want?" Bai Yu clenched his fist, and the power of Hei Yan surged wildly around him.

"Don't be nervous." The man waved his hand gracefully. "I just wanted to give you a gift."

The silver thread in the man's hand suddenly snapped.

In that instant, Bai Yu felt the silver mark deep within his soul suddenly explode.

"what--"

Bai Yu let out a muffled groan and knelt on one knee.

The intense pain nearly made him lose consciousness.

But he clenched his teeth and didn't make a sound.

"Bai language! Bai language!"

Mo Fei's voice came from afar.

The mirror world around them collapsed instantly.

Bai Yu opened her eyes and found herself still standing in the corner of the corridor.

Mo Fei rushed over anxiously and caught him.

"Old Bai, what's wrong? I heard you call out."

Bai Yu was panting heavily, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He looked at his palm. The silver button was gone, replaced by a faint, indelible smiley face mark.

"I'm fine." Bai Yu forced herself to stand up, her voice trembling slightly. "I just suddenly feel a little dizzy."

Mo Fei looked around suspiciously: "This place is gloomy. Let's go back to the lounge."

Bai Yu nodded, letting Mo Fei help him walk back.

But he knew in his heart that the man in the trench coat had already infiltrated his consciousness.

Not only that.

If what that man said is true, then Captain Anmu is now...

Bai Yu dared not think any further.

Back in the rest area, Lan Ce had already organized the data.

"Old Bai, you look terrible." Lan Ce handed him a red pill. "This is a new energy supplement from the bureau. Take one first."

Bai Yu took the pill but did not swallow it immediately.

He was analyzing the pill.

Under analytical observation, the pill contained pure life energy, with no abnormalities whatsoever.

He then swallowed it with peace of mind.

"Lan Ce, have you found anything?" Bai Yu sat down and rubbed his temples.

Lan Ce pointed to the screen with a serious expression: "I compared the entry and exit records of the bureau. In the past hour, three security guards from the security section have disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Mo Fei's eyes widened. "Disappeared from the station?"

“Yes. The surveillance footage shows they went into the archives and never came out again,” Lan Ce said in a low voice. “I checked the archives’ access control system, and there were no records of the door being opened during that period.”

Bai Yu's heart sank suddenly.

What's in the archives?

“That contains all the original records from that mission a year ago,” Lan Ce said, looking at Bai Yu. “Including… the details of your fusion with Hei Yan.”

Bai Yu suddenly stood up.

"Let's go to the archives."

"Wait." Mo Fei grabbed him. "The director hasn't returned yet. If we act on our own, we'll be locked up in solitary confinement."

“It will be too late by the time the director returns.” Bai Yu’s eyes were icy. “If the bureau has started to see people ‘disappearing,’ it means the replacement plan has entered its second phase. They’re going to erase all the evidence.”

With Captain Anmu currently absent, command of Team One has temporarily fallen to Bai Yu.

Although Mo Fei hesitated for a moment, seeing Bai Yu's determined look, he sighed heavily and drew his battle axe from behind his back.

"Fine. Anyway, I don't like those security personnel either."

Lan Ce quickly packed up his computer: "I'll block the surveillance cameras along the way. Give me three minutes."

The three quickly left the rest area and headed towards the archives on the fifth basement level. The corridors of the Investigation Bureau were empty and deathly silent.

The usual patrol guards have all disappeared for some reason.

This unusual stillness made Mo Fei's palms sweat.

"Old Bai, don't you think... this corridor seems longer?" Mo Fei asked in a low voice.

Bai Yu closed his eyes, sensing the flow of rules around him.

“It’s not that it’s gotten longer. It’s that space has been stretched,” Bai Yu said in a low voice. “Someone is modifying the physical constants here.”

"Can it be broken?" Mo Fei gripped the axe handle tightly.

"No need to break it." Bai Yu opened his eyes, his right eye glowing with purple light. "Follow my footsteps."

Bai Yu walked at the front, his pace sometimes fast and sometimes slow, and sometimes he would even take a step to the side.

Mo Fei and Lan Ce followed closely behind, not daring to deviate even slightly.

In their view, Bai Yu's movements were extremely strange. But in Bai Yu's analytical vision, he was traversing a series of distorted spatial traps.

Finally, the three of them arrived at the door of the archives room.

It was a heavy alloy door, covered with complex sealing runes.

A silvery liquid was slowly seeping out from the crack in the door.

"This is it," Lan Ce said in a low voice. "The fluctuations in the rules have already exceeded the limit."

Bai Yu stepped forward and placed her hand on the door.

"Black Words, open the door."

"Heh, this little lock thinks it can stop me?"

With a cold snort from Hei Yan, the runes on the alloy door instantly went out, and the door silently opened inward.

A strong, rotten smell wafted over.

The archives room was in a complete mess.

Countless paper files were torn to shreds and scattered on the ground.

In the center of the room, the three missing guards stood silently.

Their bodies had turned completely silver, like three exquisite sculptures.

In front of them stood a man wearing a white coat.

He was facing away from everyone, holding a test tube filled with that silvery liquid.

"Shen Qing."

Bai Yu called out that name.

The man slowly turned his head.

It was a refined and scholarly face, adorned with gold-rimmed glasses. He was the head of the Investigation Bureau's Research Department, and one of Bai Yu's most trusted mentors.

"Bai Yu, you're faster than I expected." Shen Qing smiled, his eyes gleaming with fervor. "It seems Hei Yan has taught you very well."

"Teacher Shen, stop." Bai Yu's voice was calm, but Mo Fei and Lan Ce could both feel the murderous aura emanating from him.

"Stop?" Shen Qing burst into maniacal laughter. "Look at this world! Human fear is fueling those monsters, while we can only hide underground like rats! Is that fair?"

"So you're going to turn everyone into those silver monsters?" Mo Fei roared.

“Those aren’t monsters! That’s evolution!” Shen Qing pointed at the three silver guards. “They have transcended fear and death. They are eternal works of art!”

“Madman.” Lan Ce coldly uttered the two words.

"Madman?" Shen Qing curled his lip in disdain. "Only the weak would use that word to describe pioneers. Bai Yu, don't you want to completely heal your soul? Once you join us, Hei Yan will no longer be your burden, but your crown."

Bai Yu remained silent.

He simply raised his right hand slowly.

"Black Words, analyze all of Shen Qing's rules."

"Yes, my host."

Bai Yu's right eye burst forth with an unprecedentedly bright light.

In that instant, Shen Qing was no longer human in his eyes, but a chaotic entity composed of countless twisted formulas.

"Analysis result: Fake life, logical paradox."

The Bai language sounds like a judge's pronouncement.

"You are no longer Shen Qing. The real Shen Qing died in that mission a year ago."

Shen Qing's smile froze.

His skin began to peel off like plaster, revealing the silver skeleton underneath.

"Did I see through you? How boring."

Shen Qing's voice became heavy and sharp.

"In that case, please... become part of this archive."

Shen Qing suddenly crushed the test tube in his hand.

A large amount of silver liquid evaporated instantly, turning into a dense cloud of silver mist that enveloped the entire room.

"Mo Fei, defend!" Bai Yu shouted.

Mo Fei roared, combined his two axes, and slammed them into the ground.

"High-frequency oscillation, full power!"

The violent energy wave momentarily dispersed the surrounding silver mist.

But more silver mist surged in from all directions.

These fogs are not only highly corrosive, but they can also directly erode a person's spirit.

Lancer quickly put on a gas mask and simultaneously launched several flares.

"With the captain gone, we're on our own!" Lan Ce shouted.

Bai Yu stood in the center of the fog, his body trembling violently.

The silver mark deep within the soul was frantically echoing the surrounding mist.

"Black Words, lend me your power!"

"Heh, then... let's completely destroy this work of art."

Bai Yu's eyes turned purplish-red at the same time.

He stretched out his hands and made a grabbing motion in the air.

"Rule rewritten: Silver is prohibited here!"

With Bai Yu's loud shout, an invisible force erupted from him.

The surging silver mist seemed to have encountered its nemesis, and retreated frantically.

"Shen Qing" let out a scream, and his silver skeleton began to crack under Bai Yu's power.

"That's impossible! You're just a defective product!"

"Even a defective product can ruin a counterfeit like you."

Bai Yu took a step out of the void and instantly appeared in front of "Shen Qing".

He pointed his right hand like a knife and stabbed it directly into "Shen Qing's" chest.

There is no heart there.

There was only one silver crystal that emitted a cold light.

"broken."

Bai Yu pinched his five fingers together.

The crystal shattered instantly.

Shen Qing's body collapsed like a puppet that had lost its support, eventually turning into a pool of silvery stagnant water.

The fog in the archives room gradually dissipated.

Mo Fei and Lan Ce were panting heavily as they looked at Bai Yu standing in the center.

Bai Yu's silhouette looked somewhat desolate.

He looked down at his right hand, where some silver powder remained between his fingers.

"Old Bai, are you alright?" Mo Fei walked over and asked with some concern.

Bai did not answer.

He stared intently at the pool of stagnant silver water on the ground.

In that stagnant water, he saw his own reflection.

His reflection was showing him a strange smile.

"Watch out!" Lan Ce suddenly shouted.

Bai Yu suddenly looked up.

There was a person standing at the door of the archives room.

That's Anmu.

He was holding a black pistol, the muzzle pointed directly at Bai Yu.

"Captain An?" Mo Fei was stunned. "What are you doing?"

Anmu's eyes were icy cold, devoid of any warmth.

“Bai Yu, you just used a power that is not human.” An Mu’s voice was hoarse. “According to the Bureau of Investigation’s regulations, you are now classified as a ‘Nightmare Infected’.”

"Captain An, are you crazy?" Lan Ce stood in front of Bai Yu. "If it weren't for Lao Bai, we would all be dead there!"

"Get out of the way," An Mu said coldly.

Bai Yu looked at An Mu, a bitter smile suddenly appearing on her lips.

He saw it.

A very thin silver thread was wrapped around the muzzle of An Mu's gun.

The other end of the thread disappeared into the dark corridor.

“He’s not the captain,” Bai Yu said softly.

"What?" Mo Fei turned to look at An Mu.

"Or rather, he is now... a puppet being manipulated."

Bai Yu pushed Lan Ce aside and faced An Mu's gun barrel directly.

"That man in the trench coat is right behind you, isn't he?"

Anmu didn't speak, but simply pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

There was a flash of fire.

Bai Yu closed her eyes.

But he did not feel any pain.

A pair of cold hands embraced him from behind.

"Yu'er, I said we would meet again."

That familiar yet eerie voice rang in my ears.

Bai Yu opened her eyes and found herself in a pristine white hospital room.

Outside the window, the sun shines brightly.

A man in a hospital gown was sitting by the window, peeling an apple.

"dad?"

Bai Yu's voice trembled.

The man turned around, a gentle smile on his face.

"Yu'er, stop fooling around. The doctor said you just had a long nightmare."

Bai Yu looked at the man, then at her own hands.

There were no scratches or cracks.

He was an ordinary junior in college.

There is no investigation bureau, no nightmares.

Was all of this really just a dream?
Bai Yu looked down at the bedside table.

There was a silver button there.

The smiling face on the back of the button winked at him.

"Do not……"

Bai Yu suddenly grabbed the button.

The surrounding wards began to dissipate like ashes.

"Hei Yan! Wake up!"

Bai Yu let out a deafening roar.

in the real world.

In the archives room.

A terrifying black aura erupted from Bai Yu's body.

The bullet was pulverized into powder by the black energy the instant it approached his body.

An Mu was jolted back several steps by the force and crashed into the wall.

"Old Bai!" Mo Fei looked at Bai Yu in horror.

At this moment, Bai Yu's eyes were pitch black, and the black energy behind him condensed into a huge, blurry shadow.

That was the outline of Hei Yan's true form.

"Hehe, what a wonderful performance."

Hei Yan's voice no longer echoed in Bai Yu's mind, but reverberated directly in the archives room.

"Since you want to see art, then you can see as much as you want."

The black aura spread instantly, dragging the entire archives into a deeper dimension of nightmare.

An Mu, who was standing at the door, suddenly curled up a strange smile.

His body began to twist and eventually transformed into a giant silver cross.

"The trial begins."

The cross emanated overlapping divine pronouncements.

(End of this chapter)