Chapter 89: Book Of Sand
Pale autumn moon, the flowers and grass and trees in Cuizhu City were withering everywhere, as if the breath of the god of death had blown over the entire land of Cuizhu City overnight, taking away the vitality of Cuizhu City, withered yellow fallen leaves, wrinkled flower petals, shriveled branches… all images of death were shrouded under the gloomy clouds and misty fog of that night.
Tonight’s Cuizhu City was terrifyingly quiet, people walking on the roads were silent, hurrying home, the wild cats and wild dogs in the city had long retracted their wildness, cowering in the shadows of the city’s corners.
All people living in this city, all creatures living on this land sensed the descent of some calamity. Although the media were trying their best to soothe the emotions of the public, many people still abandoned their homeland that day, desperately, madly trying to escape this prosperous city.
When a deafening loud noise suddenly erupted in the city, the red sun forged by firelight bloomed in the night sky, thick acrid gunpowder smoke rolled into the night sky, strange and shrill hisses resounded through the clouds, people gradually confirmed the fear in their hearts from shock and suspicion.
Seeing the imperial tall building in the city center of Cuizhu City swallowed by a terrifying explosion, seeing the “monument” symbolizing the Card House Conglomerate collapse, all people who had been brainwashed by the new urban legend circulating today fell into deeper panic upon witnessing this scene.
Whether it was an accident or an anomalous terror attack, no one wanted to approach this building that was about to collapse, let alone think deeply about the truth behind it.
Some people were shaken in mind just by hearing that bone-chilling roar, some were dazzled just by seeing the humanoid remnant shadow with wings in the corner of the sky, and some had been devoured by the shadows hidden in this city, they disappeared into invisible corners everywhere in the city, not even having time to exclaim or scream… Everyone in the entire city was in fear, escape, and death.
“Snake Group Captain She Zi’an, accompanying team member Zhao Jing, and accompanying Cuizhu City branch organization members have all suddenly lost contact, a strong explosion occurred at the scene.” A communicator responsible for the Snake Group’s operation communications, shortly after suddenly losing contact with She Zi’an, immediately connected to inform the group leader, his tone filled with unease and flusteredness.
After hearing the message, the Mysterious Group group leader fell into long contemplation, his tightly clasped ten fingers revealing the unrest in his heart, emotions such as unease, worry, anger, and sadness were insufficient to express the complex inner state of the Mysterious Group group leader at this moment.
“Contact Mystic Investigators of class B or above in nearby cities to head to Cuizhu City immediately. The form of this mission is not investigation, but attack and rescue.” The Mysterious Group group leader took a deep breath and said in a deep voice.
“Yes.” The communicator responded formally, then cut off the signal and immediately carried out the work assigned by the group leader.
The moment the communication screen cut off, the Mysterious Group group leader slammed the table in enraged fury and stood up, gritting his teeth: “These madmen are declaring war on our Mysterious Group, aren’t they?”
After successively losing contact with Tiger Group and Snake Group, and losing dozens of precious Mystic Investigators, the Mysterious Group group leader finally deciphered the truth behind it from the fragmented information.
Evolution Paradise Organization, Card House Conglomerate, and those organizations hidden in the shadows of the world, they joined hands to weave a spider web meticulously for their Mysterious Group. The series of anomaly events now playing out in Cuizhu City all bore the shadows of these rats. They used pretexts and tactics similar to discovering weirdness and then calling the Mysterious Group to lure Mysterious Group members into the traps they had set.
From the current result, those masterminds behind the scenes succeeded. They made the organization’s two main forces, Tiger Group and Snake Group, both fall into dire straits at the same time, their lives and deaths now unknown.
Compared to those cult believers who indulged in desires and evil thoughts, the difficulty of training a Mystic Investigator was undoubtedly greater, not to mention that members of main squads like Tiger Group and Snake Group were almost impossible to find and extremely valuable… And now the Mysterious Group had suffered heavy losses. The Mysterious Group group leader could only inwardly resent and feel stifled that he hadn’t seen the clue earlier.
……
The subway rumbled and finally stopped at some unknown location in Cuizhu City Underground. Ahead was the end of this unfinished road.
He Jia’an, with half his face paralyzed, and Yu Lianyun got off the train. They carried the still unconscious Xin Junmao and squeezed into a crevice.
Although they didn’t know where the passage of the crevice led, He Jia’an and Yu Lianyun had no other choices and could only continue forward.
Rather than saying they were escaping, it was more like the two who had already resolved themselves to death were pickily selecting graveyards for themselves.
And He Jia’an and Yu Lianyun soon discovered that this increasingly narrow crevice they had entered actually led to a vast space.
Squeezing out of the crevice, He Jia’an and Yu Lianyun looked around in shock at the surroundings filled with a weirdness style underground chamber environment. It was like an altar, with basalt walls everywhere. The walls were painted and carved with shocking and unconventional bizarre images. Every pattern carried human negative emotions, giving each pattern a lifelike magic power. Just one glance could easily trigger emotional resonance deep in the human heart.
But here were all taboo paintings, heretical scenes everywhere. Every glance was a unforgettable visual impact for the two, deeply stimulating their vulnerable brains.
At this time, the underground chamber was empty, with no believers or any human presence. A passage extended forward from another place in the chamber, its source hard to know, but there was no doubt that the end of the other passage also led to a forbidden land like the underground Magic City.
Yu Lianyun: “I thought I could kill a few more of those madmen before dying. Looks like there’s no chance.”
“Even their worshipped deity they fear, and they still want to use it. Now they dare say they are believers?” He Jia’an scoffed while injecting himself with a pain-relief potion. He now gave himself an injection every half hour on average, because this guaranteed he wouldn’t falter due to pain in the next actions.
He Jia’an carried Xin Junmao on his back, and together with Yu Lianyun, they walked to the top of the altar. On the central raised stone platform bookshelf, there was actually an ancient book.
The ancient book was tightly closed. He Jia’an and Yu Lianyun exchanged a glance, then He Jia’an decided to open the book himself to see.
Upon touching it, He Jia’an felt his fingers brush over fine sand. It actually passed through the suddenly sandified book. Stunned, he tested it several times before giving up. Yu Lianyun also tried to open the book, but no matter how many attempts, the result was the same: unable to open the book at all.
But Yu Lianyun had a feeling that she could touch the texture of the book, which seemed to be becoming heavier. It felt like as long as she persisted, she could truly touch the book.
“Stop trying!” He Jia’an stopped Yu Lianyun whose reading desire was growing stronger and stronger. Before she lost control, he slapped her awake.
Yu Lianyun startled awake, recalling what she had just done, breaking out in cold sweat. “I… what did I just do?”
“If I’m not mistaken, the book before our eyes is the legendary ‘Book of Sand’ that contains encyclopedic, infinite knowledge. One of its anomalous characteristics is that it slowly arouses the human desire to read it.” He Jia’an said in a deep voice.
Yu Lianyun scared retreated a step, away from the book, her ten fingers interlaced together, as if to alleviate the fear in her heart, or like putting shackles of self-control on herself.
He Jia’an narrowed his eyes and said: “The Book of Sand has another characteristic: once you can touch the book, the content you’ve seen will be like quicksand. When you turn to the next page, no matter if you flip back or forward, it’s impossible to flip back to the page you originally saw. And this is precisely the beginning of the nightmare.”
Working overtime today, can’t finish two chapters, have to get up early tomorrow, one chapter first. Tomorrow I’ll try to sneak in time to make it up.
