He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

Unexpectedly, Virtin did give him a path related to "Ember," but it was a completely new path with "Sky" as the main direction and "Ember" as the secondary direction.

"The Tabernacle"

After absorbing the secrets of this new path into the red liquid, Ai quickly looked away. As he gazed at the original text for longer, he felt his eyeballs hardening and silver spreading out of the vessel until a few seconds ago when this change finally stopped.

Indeed, any knowledge related to standards is a dangerous thing.

Ignoring Sherlock's twitching lips and speechless expression for the moment, Ai silently pondered.

- Perhaps because this original text was not familiar with Ai, it did not present any more content besides this knowledge related to the pathway. It did not show him the title, nor even the "notes" under the implied pathway.

Ai Yi pouted: Stingy.

In this way, he could only guess the characteristics of this path by its tendencies toward the Holy Tabernacle—of course, he could also ask Virtue directly, but the girl's complexion looked unhealthy, and she inexplicably carried a tragic sense of "what's the use of trying" in her face.

It's a little embarrassing to say that.

He shifted his attention to observe the two from the Countermeasures Bureau who seemed rather odd. Besides Virtue, Sherlock also looked like he'd eaten something wrong, his eyes glazed over, his face covered in cold sweat.

What's wrong?

Feeling that this strange atmosphere was related to her, Ai tilted her head, initially hesitant about asking, when she heard Sherlock let out a heavy sigh: "Never mind..."

"Never mind!"

He said he didn't care, but his expression didn't look relaxed at all.

"It's just a spot on the Grand Road, so what if it's given? At worst, we'll have to hold onto a year's salary... But Wei Sir, you'd better be careful. You'd better write your self-criticism before you go back—otherwise, it'll be hard to explain to the committee. Even if you're listed at headquarters, you might still get dismissed..."

What's going on?

Sherlock didn't hide it from outsiders, letting Ai hear most of it. Ai was a little confused about the situation, only knowing that his newly appointed boss seemed to be in trouble.

Before he could think it through, Sherlock had already silently moved closer to him, wrapped his arms around his neck, and playfully slapped his shoulder with a light but forceful motion, whispering almost through gritted teeth in Ai's ear:

"Remember this, kid—cram every single word of what you just saw into your brain. This is the true path to heaven, the magnificent road! I couldn't even get one of these in a hundred years of performance reviews. Tsk, you're going to be awesome..."

"Oh, oh, oh..."

Ai's blank reply, while she observed the two's reactions further, led her to a vague guess:

Could it be... that this kind of method is actually something very precious?

"Nonsense, you mysterious second-generation rich kid are used to the good stuff, do you really think principles and procedures are as common as cabbages? You really don't understand human suffering at all..."

The barrage of sarcastic comments flashed before my eyes, and at the same time, Virtin's explanation rang out: "The Sacred Veil is a direct path from that supreme divinity, its end leading to the magnificent—walking this path surpasses ordinary mystics on almost every level, and allows one to glimpse that unattainable pinnacle..."

So, there are good and bad ways to do things?

The memories left by Hui did not categorize the paths taken, or perhaps he himself did not need to categorize them—after all, he was a big shot who could befriend Si Chen, so any path he stumbled upon would be the best one.

Oh, so there are also shortcuts in this world besides the grand path—Ai only learned this a minute ago.

No wonder the doorkeepers wanted to use veiled insults against him; it really was very Versailles-like.

He silently understood the difference: it was like comparing the Boss panel with the monster panel. The Boss's growth potential, stats, and mechanics were definitely much higher than the monster's—even the level cap was much higher. This was perhaps the standard for distinguishing whether a path was powerful or not.

"Moreover, the number of magnificent paths one possesses often represents the foundation of an organization, which is also the basis for the Foundation's foothold in Nest City and the source of its absolute voice in the mystical world."

-I see.

Ai glanced sideways, nodded, her eyes slightly unfocused, as if afraid of disappointing him: "Such a precious spot, just giving it to me like this... is that alright?"

Oh dear, how could I possibly accept this?

It was clear that the girl was putting on a brave face, but was actually feeling incredibly guilty: "Just consider it an advance on your salary... Well, I see potential in you, you know that."

Thank you.

Ai smiled and expressed her gratitude, secretly admiring the complex expression on the girl's face.

"A moment of impulsiveness could ruin all my performance and even my career..."

For a moment, Virtue felt a pang of toothache and, unusually, felt a pang of regret.

Moreover, this was a high-stakes gamble that violated dozens of regulations—the executive officer invoked the original projection of the "dogma" to grant newcomers a path, essentially adding Ai to the foundation's whitelist directly, skipping a series of onboarding checks, and granting a position to a "stranger" he had only known for a few hours.

It's absurd no matter how you look at it.

Once Virtue calmed down, she realized how distorted her actions had been, no different from the "idiot colleagues" she had always despised.

Only a bunch of lunatics would ever pull people in like that, without considering the consequences, on a whim...

Veltin rubbed his burning eyes to cool them down, then stole a glance at the smiling black-haired boy with narrowed eyes, still not understanding why he was trying to find benefits for him like he had lost his mind.

What kind of magic does this guy possess?

On the other side, Ai knew the truth that one shouldn't complain when one has received benefits, so she quietly lay on the bar and stared blankly. Virtin thought about it again and again, looking at the boy's harmless face, but he couldn't take it out on him, so he could only put pressure on himself in secret.

In this way, a world where only Wei Sir is injured is born.

Ai watched the girl sulking alone the whole time, and inexplicably felt a sense of pleasure: "So I'm such a nasty guy after all?"

"You're only finding out now?"

"The strong and proud girl stumbled because of her own mistake, and afterwards, her feigned remorse and pretending nothing was wrong... that was the best performance ever!"

Just like an independent and noble princess who accidentally falls into a mud puddle, she has to endure the pain to get up, wipe the mud off her face, cover the wound on her knee, ignore the maids who surround her, and insist on continuing on her own.

He smiled like a fox.

Door: "Was my talk therapy a little too effective...?"

This is a good thing.

After psychological treatment, Ai clearly revealed more of his sly fox traits. Coupled with the fact that his teammates didn't know each other well, he didn't need to hide this nature in front of Sherlock and Virtin—anyway, no one could tell that the fox was excited.

And because he was so overjoyed, he only realized now that although he had obtained many good things by chance, made friends with Si Chen, and even infiltrated the neighboring foundation, neither the mission to explore his hometown nor the preparations for the next step of his ascent had made any substantial progress.

I'm being a bit too lazy.

Once Virtue had recovered somewhat and the frustration on his face had faded, Ai began to get to the point: "Virtue, when are we going to reclaim the inheritance?"

"I said there's no rush..." Veltin felt like he had forgotten something, but he couldn't quite remember it right away. It didn't seem too important, and he was too lazy to invoke the Enlightenment Criterion, so he started to recall it in his spare time:

The group of them came to this bar not only because Ai wanted to eat, but also because of some event that was about to happen.

It seems... it's to avoid a certain time period.

What's going to happen in a little while?

.

.

correct!

The girl jolted awake, suddenly realizing what was happening—she looked up at the dome, a flicker of excitement crossing her amber eyes.

next moment.

Suddenly, without warning.

.

"boom--"

A deafening roar, like thunder or the sky collapsing, came from afar, almost shattering the dome that blocked off the distant suburbs.

The purifiers, groaning like old, senile beasts, bulged their chests, and black water gathered and flowed within them like stagnant blood.

The accumulation and discharge of "filth" is about to begin a new cycle. Before that, the old form will turn into pus and irrigate this land that has been abandoned by both people's hearts and the law.

What was that sound?

Ai Yi twitched his invisible, wide ears. Amidst the increasingly heavy roar from above, he seemed to hear some faint, dreamlike voices, like bubbles exploding in his ears...

A vague command came from an invisible channel: "The sewage discharge process has been initiated. The purification unit is awaiting a response from the think tank. The accumulated negative memes have been guided to the designated area—3, 2, 1: Open the gate."

It grew heavier and more ferocious, and from above came the mournful screams of the dying creatures, a wailing mingled with all despair and pain.

Something is about to fall down.

Ai felt a chill run down his spine; the deep malice almost made him react instantly, his very soul curling up into a ball at the same moment.

If he still had a tail, it would definitely be all puffed up by now.

—The secret transmission of insight once again took effect in the present world. The ceiling of the bar and the thick earth dissolved in his eyes like phantoms. His gaze pierced through countless barriers, across an incomparably vast distance, and landed on that boundless dome.

Driven by fear, his grey pupils were slowly losing focus. In his daze, he saw festering sores and countless disintegrating black embers through the steel-woven curtain—

"You behold the mysterious 'remains,' and a white beak whispers in your ear, recounting the old tale of the veil's tear: In the darkness where the sun had set, ignorance and distortion flowed in, forming a bottomless abyss. Someone built a dome and gates beside the abyss, attempting to bury everything that deviated from the light into darkness, trying to fill this void."

"They ultimately failed, leaving an eternal scar on the curtain."

Failed?

More than a story, it's a metaphor, a cracked curtain, an eternal scar—just like the cracked dome he saw.

Therefore, the dome of the nest is also incomplete.

So there's a gap here too.

Ai raised her head—

At the edge of this land, in the distant sky, a rift is slowly opening—a vast void, a piercing wound leading to the endless depths of darkness, connected to a heavy, immeasurable, long-brewing, profound malice.

The next instant, it was like ashes and rain—

It poured down.

Crazy, enormous, beyond imagination...

A dark silhouette, a sinister entity.

"boom--"

Ai felt the ground shaking and the sky cracking.

He could barely stand.

"Miss Virtue... what's going on?" He pitifully huddled in a corner, and took Nie into his arms—the little guy also seemed a bit uneasy, but not as sensitive as Ai.

"Sewage Discharge Day..." Virtue frowned, covering his ears tightly. As the red liquid boiled, an invisible curtain was erected on the ceiling, finally blocking out the deafening noise.

But it was just noise. The force, like rising black mud and a raging flood, was still spreading its aftershocks, like throwing a boulder into a calm pool, stirring up all the sludge that had already settled at the bottom, turning the clear water into a filthy swamp in an instant.

"Sewage Discharge Day"

Ai caught the key word, and he suddenly realized what it meant, his tone incredulous: "It's that thing the weather forecast always talks about... wastewater discharge from the suburbs?!"

Every one or two months, residents of the downtown area receive automated emails from the think tank. The emails are generally about "rainwater and sewage discharge notices in the suburbs," and the locations are usually chosen to be uninhabited areas that cannot be marked on a map. They are also accompanied by a few formulaic "safety reminders."

Ai had received it a few times, but he didn't take it seriously at the time and even replied with a TD.

You're telling me this is wastewater discharge?

No, that's definitely not right!

"What fell from the sky?" Ai asked cautiously, noticing the serious expressions on their faces. "It wasn't sewage... I could feel it, that deep malice... It crashed down from the gap, landed on the ground, and seeped into the soil."

There was one more thing he kept to himself.

Even... it extends far beyond the depths of the earth; that heavy malice is passing through the mortal world and falling into the Great Gift Pool.

The red pool in this place is becoming increasingly murky.

"You can sense it? No wonder you're a genius in the mysticism... The sewage discharge is indeed not just a simple dumping of wastewater; it was originally the Nest's secret."

The one who answered was Sherlock. The man looked somewhat agitated, as if he was trying his best to suppress some kind of impulse.

He shook his head, shifting his attention with words, and said to Ai Yi in a deep voice, "However, in recent years, as the public's impression of the suburbs has become increasingly worse, many times... this kind of persecution is no longer considered a secret."

"So, what exactly is it?"

Ai stared intently into Sherlock's eyes and took a deep breath: "Senior, I'm terrified right now. If I knew what those things that fell down were, maybe it would make me feel a little better."

Sherlock met his gaze silently, the restlessness that had been flickering in his eyes slowly fading away.

-Can you see those outlines?

The shadows of those colossal creatures, their ugly forms, their grotesque darkness.

"The entire hive, not much... about one-tenth of the invisible forces of thought gather here. It is the negative power that seeps out and evaporates from the citizens' red fluid. When it accumulates to a certain amount, it is a cycle, usually every one to two months. Each discharge lasts for half an hour. Except for the locals in the suburbs, everyone is happy to see this scene."

He sighed helplessly and said softly:

"We're transporting malice to the outskirts."