After the internet was disconnected, I connected to the magic world.

Thirty tokens of the same maker from all nine provinces were distributed in batches to different cities across the country.

There are students from the south, fitness instructors from the north, grassroots civil servants from the west, and white-collar workers from coastal companies.

They come from different industries and are of different ages, but the only thing they have in common is that they are more mentally active than the average person.

Furthermore, they are all distributed in different areas, so they won't cluster together and attract attention.

Every day, new extraordinary individuals descend upon Kyushu.

The number of users on the World Channel increased from fifteen to more than thirty, and then to more than forty, becoming increasingly lively.

Some people shared their experiences in the starting village, while others complained about how difficult the sect quests were.

People started asking about the authenticity of the spirit stones and the exchange, creating a noisy atmosphere and increasing the area's popularity.

In reality, abnormal signs began to slowly emerge.

After all, with dozens of people, it's impossible for everyone to keep a low profile.

Some people think this wooden plaque is a lucky find, a treasure, and have specially strung it with a hanging rope.

I wear it around my neck every day, and I walk with my head held high, as if afraid that others won't see it.

Some people slack off at work, sitting at their desks muttering to themselves.

He would occasionally tap his finger lightly, his face shifting between a silly grin and a serious expression, as if he were possessed.

Some students don't pay attention in class, staring blankly at their hands, and don't even hear the teacher calling on them to answer questions.

These unusual behaviors, in the eyes of others, were mostly just seen as him being obsessed with playing on his phone, and no one thought about them in depth.

But if you fall into the vast network of public surveillance, it's a different story.

Inside the monitoring room of the Special Affairs Division of the Ministry of State Security, several analysts were staring at the data on the screen.

"In the third district of the northern city, twelve similar anomalies were detected by surveillance within seven days."

The individuals, each holding identical peach wood plaques, exhibited behaviors such as speaking incoherently, pointing vaguely with their fingers, and laughing absentmindedly.

"There were also eight cases in the southern part of the city, all with the same wooden signs and highly consistent behavioral patterns."

"According to preliminary statistics, 37 suspected cases have been identified nationwide, distributed across 11 different cities, and there is currently no social connection between them."

The middle-aged man in the main seat frowned, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

His name is Chen Feng, and he is the deputy director of the Special Affairs Department, which is in charge of all kinds of unconventional events.

They had also paid attention to the video of "street martial arts master saving people" that circulated online some time ago, but they couldn't find the person involved and the matter was eventually dropped.

This peach wood plaque incident is even more bizarre than that video.

Dozens of people, from all over the country, who did not know each other, were holding identical wooden signs and exhibiting the same abnormal behavior.

"Have you found out what it is?" Chen Feng asked in a deep voice.

"It's unclear at the moment," the analyst shook his head.

"Judging from the surveillance screenshot, it's just an ordinary peach wood plaque with some cloud patterns carved on it, like the peace plaques sold in tourist attractions."

But the behavior patterns are too uniform, unlike ordinary jewelry.

"Some say it's a new type of VR glasses, others say it's a cult relic, and still others say it's something like a time-travel game token."

Chen Feng frowned.

It's quite possible it's a cult.

This characteristic of unified tokens and collective mental abnormality is very similar to certain mind control cults.

"Let's start with a preliminary investigation," Chen Feng ordered. "Send two teams of plainclothes officers to each city to make contact with a few targets, find out the origin of the wooden signs, and the reasons for their unusual behavior."

"Pay attention to your approach and avoid escalating the conflict. Prioritize confirming whether it involves a cult or has any tendency to harm society."

"yes!"

The order was quickly issued to all regions.

In the northern part of the city, two groups of experienced plainclothes officers were in charge of the investigation.

Their first target was Wang Hu, 26 years old, who owned a small gym and was among the second batch of players to enter Kyushu.

This man was a typical Northeasterner, big and burly, and loved to show off. The day he received the token, he wore a red string around his neck and left it exposed every day, never taking it off even during his morning exercise.

The surveillance footage clearly shows that he stopped practicing several times, bowing and scraping to the air while muttering to himself, as if he were chatting with someone.

That morning, Wang Hu went to the park for his morning exercise as usual.

He had just finished a set of punches and was leaning against the horizontal bar, scrolling through the world chat, tapping his fingers in the air with a smile on his face.

Two men in plain clothes walked over and stood on either side of him.

"Hello, comrade." The man on the left showed his identification. "I'm from the Municipal Public Security Bureau. We need to talk to you about something. Please come with us."

Wang Hu's smile froze instantly.

police?

Looking for me?

His first thought was—had the matter of Kyushu been exposed?

That's impossible! He didn't tell anyone else!

His heart skipped a beat, and his first thought was to run.

He had just entered the early stage of the Acquired Realm in Kyushu, and in reality he had also condensed his inner energy. His strength was more than twice as great as before. If he really wanted to run, two ordinary policemen might not be able to stop him.

What if it runs away?

Assaulting a police officer and fleeing?

He's just an ordinary guy who runs a gym. He's good at bragging, but would he really dare to go against the state apparatus? He wouldn't dare even if he had ten lives.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the two plainclothes officers, thinking he was not cooperating, stepped forward and each grabbed one of his arms.

"Comrade, please cooperate."

The palm pressed down on the shoulder with considerable force.

Wang Hu was already flustered, and when he was pressed down, he instinctively tried to break free.

He subconsciously circulated his inner energy, and the wisp of internal energy in his dantian instantly surged to his arms, causing his muscles to tense up sharply.

"Hey, stop—"

Before he could finish speaking, his arms trembled slightly.

"Bang!"

Two muffled thuds.

Two adult men, each weighing over 140 pounds, were shaken so badly that they staggered back three or four steps and fell onto the grass, unable to get up for a long time.

Wang Hu was dumbfounded.

He just struggled a little.

How did the two of them fly out?

He looked at his own hands, then at the two plainclothes officers sitting on the ground, their faces contorted in pain, and his mind went blank.

It’s over.

They really assaulted a police officer.

run?

The thought only flashed through his mind for a second before he extinguished it.

You can run away from the monk but not the temple. His gym is still here, and his home is still here. Where can he run to?

Wang Hu, with a mournful face, quickly ran over and helped the two plainclothes officers up one by one, apologizing repeatedly.

"I'm so sorry! Officer, I didn't mean to! It was just a reflex! I really didn't intend to hit you!"

"Are you two alright? Should we go to the hospital? I'll pay for all the medical expenses! I'll cover them all!"

The two plainclothes officers stood up, rubbing their backs and wincing in pain, but the way they looked at Wang Hu changed.

They had really held him down, but this man just flicked his arm and sent them flying several meters away.

This strength is something that ordinary fitness instructors definitely don't possess.

Then look at the exposed peach wood plaque around his neck, which swayed slightly with his breathing.

The two looked at each other and saw something in each other's eyes.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.

This wooden sign is probably not simple at all.

"Enough with the nonsense." The plainclothes officer on the left steadied himself, his face darkening. "Come with us. This isn't about understanding the situation anymore; you're suspected of assaulting a police officer. Come back to the station and explain yourself."

Wang Hu's face turned pale, but he dared not resist. He hung his head and obediently followed.

He had only one thought in his mind:

Oh no, this is really serious.

The secrets of Kyushu may soon be exposed.