I write obituaries for the gods

"This was a gift from the mayor to our unit, it's called... 'Mirage City'?"

As Lin Chen reminisced, the white city before him rapidly began to change, eventually coalescing into the outline of the Investigation Bureau's lobby.

Lin Chen stared blankly at the white figure beside him: it was clearly Li Zhanyi, who was repeating what she had said to Lin Chen.

Will this city... change as memories grow?

At that moment, Lin Chen heard a murmur behind him:

"Hello? A new batch of goods has arrived? Okay, I'll come over and check them right away."

Lin Chen turned his head and looked at the reception desk in the distance, where he saw a white figure holding a landline microphone.

That seemed to be the man who had called Li Zhanyi out to move things. Li Zhanyi called him... Brother Wang?

But Lin Chen didn't hear him speak at all in reality, because they were far apart at the time.

Before Lin Chen had time to ponder, as his thoughts drifted to "moving things," the surrounding scenery rapidly changed, and the timeline brought him back to the moment he left the Investigation Bureau.

Lin Chen watched as Li Zhanyi, dressed in white, opened the long trunk, looked at the weapons inside, and then complained:

"What! A shotgun! I don't like using them, so why are you asking me to move one!"

"Okay, I bought you lollipops. I'll send them to you after I finish moving them."

"Really? Brother Wang has suddenly become so understanding...?"

Looking at the scene playing in front of him, Lin Chen gently rubbed his temples, forcing himself to calm down.

So...

This white city... or rather, named after that oil painting—this "city of mirages"—will change its content according to my thoughts, focusing on a certain scene.

Lin Chen looked around and then at the other people in the hall.

"...Okay, we'll arrange for someone to handle this shortly..."

"...Third Department, No. 35 Tianhai Road, Xicheng District, Delta-level anomaly entity, risk assessment is moderate, please take a look..."

"...What should we eat tonight? I'm so hungry..."

If Wang Ge's voice on the phone at the counter was somewhat in the same scene as Lin Chen's earlier, then these noises coming from all directions now have nothing to do with Lin Chen at all.

At this point in time, Lin Chen had already left the Investigation Bureau, so even if he had super hearing, he couldn't hear that far.

"call..."

Lin Chen let out a soft breath and began to organize his thoughts.

Currently, he is in the "Mirage City," which is like a dream, where everything is based on reality and records information from reality.

As for why I fell into this dream... was it because I saw the painting "Mirage City" during the day?

Lin Chen couldn't think of any other possibility.

He walked over to Li Zhanyi and looked with her at the opened long box: a revolver shotgun embedded in foam, next to a box of ammunition and an instruction manual.

The "Mirage City" seems to contain all the details of an entire timeline, including both sound and visuals.

"Is this... a superpower?"

Lin Chen recalled some rumors he had heard online: In Yudu, it wasn't just "demigods" who possessed those strange superpowers; sometimes, ordinary people would also gain superpowers after coming into contact with anomalies.

However, those rumors did not have a good ending. Most ordinary people who accidentally gained superpowers were ultimately devoured by the power they obtained.

Therefore, those so-called "superpowers" are interpreted as "a means by which abnormal entities attempt to assimilate humans."

This coincides with the current situation: "Mirage City" is the dream that Lin Chen suddenly fell into after seeing that oil painting. If that oil painting is actually an anomaly, then Lin Chen may have already begun to be corrupted by it.

The Bureau of Anomalies has a potentially harmful anomaly displayed in its lobby? Is that even possible...?

But no matter what, Lin Chen now seems to possess abilities he shouldn't have.

Normally, when this happens, either the investigation bureau or the foundation will come and quickly turn Lin Chen into a performance record.

As soon as the thought crossed Lin Chen's mind, he remembered the two investigators who had taken Huihui's personal belongings.

As his thoughts drifted, the scenery before him rapidly changed, transforming into a pure white hospital corridor.

"...!"

Lin Chen's pupils contracted slightly: This was the scene when Lin Chen accompanied Huihui to the hospital for a check-up on the day the Iron Horn Bridge collapsed!

Does this mean...?

Did he have the opportunity to "eavesdrop" on those two foundation employees?

“We are investigating traces of subspace contamination at the scene, and as the primary victim, we need to take Ms. Huihui’s personal belongings back for testing.”

Lin Chen watched as the two foundation staff members took Huihui's bag from his hands, then turned and walked to the end of the corridor.

Without hesitation, he followed them and walked with them down the pure white corridor.

After turning the corner, Lin Chen saw one of the civil servants press his earpiece and say softly:

"It's difficult to do it if there's a guardian involved."

"...Not a good start? Fine, wait in the corridor..." a voice came through the earpiece.

What did the doctor say?

"...The bribery attempt failed. This hospital is under the control of the Investigation Bureau; they offered more money than we did..."

"Who is that guardian?" the official asked again.

"He's just a tenant, damn it, minding his own business..."

Bribing the doctor? Making a move?

Hearing these words, Lin Chen felt goosebumps rise on his back.

That day... if he hadn't been there... were these people planning to target Huihui directly?

What do they plan to do with Huihui?

As if to answer his question, the foundation official spoke again:

"What do we do now, boss? Is it really necessary for our department to keep cleaning up Qingtian's messes?"

"Damn it, do you think I wanted to? The problem is that this was Ms. J's order. She showed me the body camera footage, and it's clear that Qingtian deliberately didn't save anyone and even cursed at the little girl."

"What should I do?"

"What can we do? Kill her, but what if she goes out and screams? Let's transfer her to the media enforcement department and wait until after Qingtian's commendation ceremony."

"And that caregiver, Lin Chen, is also a threat; there are blind spots in the surveillance."

"Let's take care of that together then."

......

Chapter 6 The Eye of the Hurricane

Solve it.

Lin Chen broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing the assertion coming through his earpiece.

He saw the foundation staff disappear at the end of the corridor and instinctively wanted to chase after them, but the surrounding scenery suddenly became blurry, like an oil painting that had been splashed with water.

"..."

Standing in a pure white chaos, Lin Chen stared blankly into the distance.

Therefore, it seems that the "Mirage City" can only record information within a certain range that Lin Chen passed through, or rather, it records...

history.

The history Lin Chen experienced will be imprinted in this pure white city in some form, like a reflection in a puddle, with every detail recorded clearly.

But right now, that's not important to Lin Chen.

Importantly... he knew in advance about the foundation's next steps:

Get rid of Lin Chen and Huihui.

And the timing... was right after the "Skybreaker" commendation ceremony, after the public outcry had subsided.

As it turned out, his earlier concerns were not unfounded: the Foundation did indeed intend to take action and had most likely already planted spies to monitor him and Huihui. If they did anything out of line, they would most likely be dealt with immediately.

What should I do?

Leave the city?

Impossible... The foundation will definitely monitor their actions...

Then... take the initiative to contact them and try to negotiate?

Impossible... The Foundation would never leave behind unstable elements. Even though Lin Chen was just a tenant who was not related to them, he was directly put on their elimination list.

So... what other options are left?

Could it be... a rebellion?

The thought surprised Lin Chen himself, and he shook his head helplessly.

How could that be... If the Foundation wanted to get rid of him and Huihui, it wouldn't even bother sending a "demigod".

Just create some unexpected events.

He was just an ordinary man without any fighting skills, and Huihui was just a little girl.

In this rain-soaked city shrouded by the Foundation, they are nothing but ants; a single drop of rain could wipe them out like a tsunami.

That...

What options are left?

Should we go find Jiang Zhengge again and report the case?

No... Lin Chen had no idea whether the things in the "Mirage City" counted, nor could they be used as evidence to persuade others.

If this white world is merely a means by which some anomaly attempts to corrupt him, then if he goes to the investigation bureau now, he will only be detained and questioned.

He's been detained, so what will happen to Huihui?

"..."

As he watched the paths being blocked one by one, Lin Chen clenched his fists tighter and tighter.

He recalled that flight to the rainy city, looking down at the colossal structure shrouded in rain and mist from the plane; that godlike silhouette still lingers in his mind.

The ideal of soaring to great heights is shrouded in mist and rain in reality.

In this rain-shrouded city, the landlord's family once held an umbrella over Lin Chen, allowing him to experience a brief moment of warmth.

But the umbrella was torn apart by the torrential rain, showing no mercy whatsoever.

He was pushed into the torrential rain, and the howling wind whipped at him, threatening to knock him to the ground.

Why...

The landlord couple deserved to die, and Huihui deserved to die?

Do I, Lin Chen, deserve to die?

Just because of that so-called demigod, that irritable giant baby, just for the foundation's so-called "public opinion management"?

Lin Chen clenched his fist tighter and tighter.

He suddenly felt an urge: he wanted revenge, revenge for the landlord couple!

He wanted to defend himself; he wanted to protect Huihui!

If we can't escape Rain City, then we must find a way to use Rain City's power to dismantle the enemy.

Public opinion...you guys care a lot about public opinion, right...?

Lin Chen's thoughts focused on "Qingtian," and the surrounding white city rapidly transformed into the scene of the broken Iron Horn Bridge.

He raised his head and looked at the deity hanging in the rain, his anger growing even stronger.

He once regarded demigods as supreme beings, a superior species.

But after witnessing Qingtian's ugly face, Lin Chen knew that those universal perceptions were just illusions created by the Foundation.

They are the face of the foundation.

They wanted to undermine the foundation's public relations strategy and use public opinion to protect themselves...