Under the dead night sky, the dry black blood on the ground reflected the distant night.
Among the empty and barren ruins, a few people stared at each other.
The atmosphere was very strange and awkward.
"… "
In fact, Ye Jia regretted it as soon as he finished speaking.
Oops.
Actually, I don't know how to explain it! !
At this moment, Ji Xuan suddenly broke the silence:
"The box can be opened."
Saying that, he naturally withdrew the hand around Ye Jia's waist, took a step back, a pair of scarlet eyes lowered slightly, and his eyes fell on the gray box held by Ye Jia in his hand.
This sentence suddenly drew everyone's attention back.
They all looked straight and fixed their eyes on the box in Ye Jia's hand.
Ye Jia glanced at Ji Xuan in surprise.
He really didn't expect that the other party with such a bad temper would actually help him at this juncture.
Unexpectedly, Ji Xuan was extremely keenly aware of his sight, raised his eyes and looked towards Ye Jia, a faint smile appeared on his lips, and the dark and dark eyes spread blood, not too tight. Mouth slowly:
"You owe me."
Ye Jia: "..."
Still really bad.
The other three people gathered around at the moment, and their eyes fell on the box in Ye Jia's hand - Ye Jia had already expressed the importance of the contents of this box very clearly, so they couldn't help but get nervous.
Wei Yue raised his eyes, and his cold, vigilant gaze fixed on Ji Xuan who was standing aside for a few seconds.
Although she didn't believe the Specter in front of her at all, she had to say that he did help them just now, and now there are more important things that need their attention.
Wei Yue turned to look at Ye Jia, took a deep breath, and said slowly:
"Open it."
"Um."
Ye Jia responded in a low voice, then stretched out his hand and gently pushed the lid up.
It was not locked and was opened very easily.
Everyone poked their heads and looked into the box.
— There is another box in the box.
Ye Jia: "..."
Everyone fell into silence: "..."
"Hey hey hey!" Blast's angry eyebrows flew into the sky, he raised his voice and shouted: "Is this ghost sick?!"
Chen Qingye pushed his glasses and said slowly:
"It's rare for us to agree this time."
Ye Jia reached out and took out the small box, and put it in the palm of his hand to examine it.
It's a smooth, square-faced cube without any keyholes or crevices, but when shaken you can hear something inside.
Wei Yue Yue asked, "What about the Specter? Since it can spit out the location of the box, it can also ask how to open it from its mouth."
Ye Jia took a deep breath and said, "This... I'm afraid it's a bit difficult."
- It has been so long, the puppet master may have made it into a ghost puppet.
With a hint of hope, Ye Jia turned to look at Ji Xuan.
The man shrugged, indicating that he was right.
Ye Jia: "..."
Wei Yue frowned: "What's wrong?"
Ye Jia raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose with a tired face: "The corpse is destroyed."
Wei Yue: "..." What a terrible man.
"But..." Ye Jia looked at the small gray box, narrowed his eyes slightly, the cold light on his fingertips solidified, reflecting the cold moonlight.
"You can always try violent unboxing," he said.
However, before Ye Jia could do it, Chen Qingye suddenly said, "Hey!"
He pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose, leaned over to the small box in Ye Jia's palm, and frowned: "What are these?"
Chen Qingye pointed to one of the corners on the surface of the box and said:
"It seems a little familiar."
Ye Jia was slightly taken aback.
He turned the small box over, turned the side facing Chen Qingye up, and looked in the direction of the opponent's finger.
There is a very shallow inscribed pattern there, almost impossible to detect unless the angle of the moonlight is just right.
Wei Yueyue also came over.
She carefully looked at it from an angle, and frowned: "It seems a little familiar."
She looked at Ye Jia: "Have you seen it?"
Ye Jia's eyes sank slightly.
His fingertips gently brushed the uneven surface of the box, the bottom of his amber eyes reflected the cold moonlight, and he said softly:
"certainly."
Ye Jia's voice was calm: "This is the sign of the Supernatural Authority."
Everyone was stunned and looked up at Ye Jia.
what… ? !
·
Five minutes later, Ye Jia patted the embers of the paper in his palm, turned and walked over.
"How is it?" Wei Yue hurriedly asked.
Ye Jia narrowed his eyes slightly, shook his head, and said, "Wu Su has never seen a box like this."
Chen Qingye rationally analyzed: "This is normal. After all, he has not been in the Supernatural Administration for a long time, and the information he knows is limited..."
time…
Ye Jia was startled.
He took out his mobile phone, pointed one side of the box at the moonlight, took a picture at a good angle, and then only intercepted the corner with the logo and sent it to a person on WeChat.
After a while, his cell phone rang.
As soon as it was connected, a deafeningly loud voice came from the other side of the microphone, and there was no one around, and it sounded extraordinarily clear: "What the hell did you send to people at night?! Don't you sleep?"
Ye Jia calmly moved the phone away from his ears.
He said, "Minister, do you recognize this sign?"
Liu Zhaocheng sounds a little unbelievable:
"Ye Jia, have you been in the Administration Bureau for so many years in vain? Don't you recognize the logo of your own department?"
"I know it, but..." Ye Jia coughed and said, "That's not it, it's still a bit different from our current official logo, so I'll ask you... See if you have any impressions."
He noticed just now that although this is indeed the symbol of the Occult Authority, there is a subtle difference in the details.
The phone went silent.
Ye Jia waited patiently.
A minute later, Liu Zhaocheng's voice sounded again: "Oh... this, this is the old logo of the Authority."
There is a play.
Ye Jia asked, "How do you say it?"
"About 30 years ago, the Administration was reorganized once." Liu Zhaocheng said: "This thing was used by them in the past, and then it was abolished."
Thirty years ago...
Ye Jia frowned slightly: "Reorganization? Why reorganization?"
Liu Zhaocheng: "How do I know that, I had just joined the Administration at that time, and I was a low-level employee like you. How could I know what the hell the people above them were doing? Anyway, it seemed that the top management was a big change. The whole mechanism has also been reformed a lot, and after more than ten years of development, it has gradually become what it is now."
He asked, "Why are you asking this?"
Ye Jia replied: "It's nothing... I just saw an old thing that may be the Administration Bureau, I'm a little curious."
"Old things? What old things?" Liu Zhaocheng said, "Show me the whole picture."
Ye Jia fiddled for a long time, and with the help of Chen Qingye, he figured out how to send the photo without hanging up the phone.
The opposite side pondered for a while, and said, "This, I know."
Ye Jia was refreshed: "You said."
Liu Zhaocheng's voice came from the side of the microphone: "This is a technique developed a long time ago. It is used by the Administration to preserve top-secret high-risk items. If it is forcibly destroyed, it will be destroyed with the contents inside. ."
Ye Jia was shocked.
Fortunately, he just didn't force the box to open according to the original plan, otherwise their previous hard work would be in vain.
Liu Zhaocheng continued: "However, this thing is rare now, because it is not very practical. So after the reorganization of the Administration Bureau, it has never been produced again. Where did you get it?"
Ye Jia's eyes were slightly dark, and he did not answer the other party's question, but continued to ask:
"Then do you know how it should be opened?"
"I'm not quite sure about this." Liu Zhaocheng said, "However, over in the capital, the headquarters of the Occult Authority seems to still have a lot of files and objects before the reorganization. You can contact the people over there to ask. …”
Coincidentally, they are in the capital now.
Ye Jia: "Okay, thank you."
But before he could hang up the phone, Liu Zhaocheng's suspicious voice came from the microphone:
"Aren't you getting involved in something bad again?"
Ye Jia repeatedly denied: "No, no! How is it possible!"
Liu Zhaocheng snorted coldly: "Come back quickly, there is still a lot of business here in M City, do you still want the year-end bonus if you can't finish it!"
The phone hangs up.
On the side, blast hugged his arms, frowned and looked at Ye Jia, his tone was particularly poor:
"Hey, I said you... You just let him talk to you like that?"
It's so quiet around, even if they don't want to eavesdrop, they can't help but hear each other's voices-although ace's hidden identity has long been known to be a minor employee of the Occult Authority, but after hearing his boss being so rude and friendly. When he spoke, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Obviously, several others thought the same thing as him.
"That's it!" Wei Yue jumped to Ye Jia's side and said angrily.
She is the one who has been in the administration for the longest time among several people. Before she knew that Ye Jia was ace, she had already witnessed the scene where Minister Liu made things difficult for Ye Jia several times. But now that he knew that the other party was targeting his own male god, the anger suddenly came up.
A particularly harmless smile appeared on Wei Yue's face, looking like an innocent and lovely girl:
"If it's not convenient for you to take action, I don't mind giving him a little lesson..."
Chen Qingye thought thoughtfully: "Is he afraid of bugs?"
"Wait, wait!" Ye Jia had a headache, and hurriedly interrupted their plan to "a little lesson" for Liu Zhaocheng: "Are you busy?"
Wei Yue touched the back of his head and said shyly:
"It doesn't mean now, that is, after returning to M City—"
"Actually, Minister Liu is just a bad guy." Ye Jia sighed.
His eyes drooped slightly:
"You guys returned to the real world with those raging ghosts after the game crashed, but... when I came back, it was still an ordinary world."
Memories that have been dusty for a long time are surging.
There is only one word to describe him in that period—
at a loss.
Too bright lights, too dense crowds, too calm environment.
And Ye Jia, who has lived in the cruel environment of the game for many years, is so out of place here.
At that time, even a passing car would bring his instinctive vigilance and hostility, and he used almost all his self-control to not cut it over with a knife, and every night he would be suddenly shaken He was awakened by the passing lights or the sound from the distant city, covered in cold sweat, clenching his weapon, subconsciously preparing to fight - he seemed to have really left the game, but it was as if he had never left.
You know, although Ye Jia has always been at the top of the standings, he is still tens of thousands of points away from being able to leave the game directly.
After killing Ji Xuan, the game determined that Ye Jia killed a high-level Specter, and his points skyrocketed immediately, which allowed him to get a ticket to return to the real world.
Therefore, before leaving the game, the last thing Ye Jia experienced was Ji Xuan's betrayal.
The impact of this incident continued until Ye Jia returned to the real world.
The game turned into a nightmare, haunting him constantly, whispering in his ear.
Plus, the real world isn't what it used to be.
The identity of "Ye Jia" has long been missing, and has long been identified as dead. The place where he once lived has long been auctioned. The things in his hometown are different, and he can no longer see any traces of his past. He has no relatives and no identity proof. , surviving alone in the world, like duckweed with nowhere to go.
Even games feel more like home than the real world.
until-
The appearance of a bad guy.
Ye Jia looked up at the three people in front of him, and shrugged: "The ID card he asked someone to renew for me is also the job he gave me, and even the apartment I rented, the guarantor was him, and the first three He still pays the monthly rent."
The reason is ridiculously simple.
According to Liu Zhaocheng's own statement, it was because the logistics department of the Supernatural Administration was really short of people, and he made a mistake on a whim, and recruited an employee who could only eat rice and fish every day.
However, before joining the Supernatural Administration, Ye Jia also did a little research in this regard.
He was very vigilant, after all, there would be such kindness without strings attached in this world - so Ye Jia looked at Liu Zhaocheng's files in the police station.
Five years ago, Liu Zhaocheng's only son died in a b-level specter's disturbance. At that time, he happened to be the same age as Ye Jia in the real world.
Then, Ye Jia chose to accept his goodwill and became a logistics employee in the Bureau of Investigation.
Although Liu Zhaocheng was loud and bad-tempered, and deducted his salary every day, Ye Jia was always very tolerant to him.
This year, there are really not many such bad people.
"Eh... Is it actually like this?" Wei Yue scratched his head: "I didn't expect that uncle from the Mediterranean Sea to be quite good."
Chen Qingye: "Yes, although I don't have much hair, I have a good heart."
blast thoughtfully: "I seem to know that there is a brand of shampoo that has hair growth properties..."
Ye Jia: "..."
Hey, hey, your focus has shifted! ! ! !
He took a deep breath, raised his hand and pressed his temple, and said, "Stop it, is it time to talk about long hair?"
With Ye Jia's efforts, this deviated topic was successfully pulled back on the right track.
Wei Yue lowered his eyes, glanced at the small boxy box in Ye Jia's hand, and asked, "Then what are you going to do now?"
Chen Qingye: "Contact Wu Su, hasn't he worked in the capital for a while? Maybe there will be relevant clues..."
Ye Jia lowered his head, looked at the small box in his hand carefully, and suddenly said:
"However, we are in the capital now, aren't we?"
Chen Qingye was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
Ye Jia raised his eyes and smiled slightly: "It's better to hit the sun if you choose a day. Let's visit the headquarters together today."
"But..." Chen Qingye frowned: "Now it's night..."
Blast interrupted him impatiently: "Oh, why are you acting like a little old man, obeying so many rules? Why can't you do it at night?"
"And... don't you understand?"
He smiled, his eyes ignited with the same color as his hair, and said with great excitement:
"We're going to trespass this time!"
Occult Service Headquarters.
Compared with the branch in M city with a sign of garbage recycling, the headquarters looks much more imposing, at least it is a whole building.
Since the Hundred Ghosts Night Walk, the existence of the Supernatural Authority has been made public, so the disguised title has been removed and replaced with its serious brand, and on that brand, it is engraved with and box. Similar signs.
Although it is late at night, there are still several floors of lights in the building of the Administration Bureau. After all, night is the time when most ghosts and monsters are active. Therefore, the Supernatural Administration must keep staff on night shifts.
Because the headquarters of the Administration is too large, they agreed to act separately, and each of them looked for the material room that Liu Zhaocheng said that the materials and items before the reorganization of the Administration were kept.
but-
"..." Ye Jia took a deep breath: "Can you not understand the four words of split action?"
Ji Xuan adorned Ye Jia's back not far or near, with a calm expression, he said without changing his face: "I just chose the same path as you, don't think about it."
Ye Jia: "..."
I'll go to your uncle, don't think too much.
Ji Xuan stepped up and walked side by side with Ye Jia. He turned his head slightly, and his scarlet eyes flashed strangely in the dark corridor:
"You didn't tell the other three people why you chose to come at night, did you?"
Ye Jia's pace paused slightly.
He resumed his original pace and asked calmly, "Oh? You know me well."
There was a smile on Ji Xuan's lips, and he approached a little more intimately, with a low voice:
"Of course, I am the person who knows my brother best in the world."
Ye Jia gave him a cool look: "That's why you tried to turn me into a ghost in the game?"
Ji Xuan: "..."
As soon as his steps stopped subconsciously, Ye Jia was immediately thrown behind him.
Ji Xuan hurriedly accelerated a few steps, he chased behind Ye Jia, and hurriedly apologized:
"Brother, I was wrong..."
Ye Jia ignored him.
At this moment, he felt his sleeves drop down slightly.
Ye Jia turned his head and saw that the little boy with black hair and red eyes stretched out his pale fingers, carefully grabbed his sleeve, and acted pitifully:
"Brother, I really know I'm wrong."
He's got a genius for this.
Ye Jia frowned and said, "I don't eat this set."
However, Ji Xuan was keenly aware that there was a subtle softening in the other party's tone.
-What nonsense, you obviously eat this set.
The little boy took a few steps forward, using his cold and slender fingers to pull the palm of the young man hanging by his side, and entangled with the other's fingers.
He raised his eyes, looked at Ye Jia with those wet red pupils, and shouted softly:
"elder brother… "
Ye Jia's brows jumped: "You change me back!"
Ji Xuan: "I don't want it."
"Change back!"
"don't want."
Ye Jia: "..."
This conversation is all too familiar.
He took a deep breath and gave up entanglement with the other party in this regard.
Ye Jia was serious, changed the subject, and said, "But you are right about one thing."
He lowered his eyes, and a dull cold light flashed in the depths of his light-colored eyes: "I did not tell the three of them the real reason why I chose to come here at night."
According to Liu Zhaocheng, this device was basically discontinued before the reorganization, and it is rare now.
Ye Jia didn't know where the white-boned ghost came from.
It may be theft, or even an open robbery.
After all, it doesn’t mean that it’s rare. As a lord-level high-level ghost, it has many methods. There may be internal ghosts in the administration, and it is not uncommon to get it.
But... Ye Jia was worried about another possibility that made him reluctant to think about it.
And that reorganization that happened decades ago...is there anything to do with the mother
The other three have never been exposed to the existence of games in the past, but Ye Jia is different.
He still clearly remembers that on that thunderstorm night, his father repeatedly stabbed his mother's icy body with the knife in his hand, and chopped her flesh and viscera into rotten mud. Then, he raised his head and used the Crazy eyes stared at Ye Jia who was standing at the door and stumbled towards him - exactly the same as the man he saw in the residential building.
And that was fifteen years before he was pulled into the game, and it happened to match the time of the reorganization of the Authority.
Ye Jia pursed his lips and seemed to fall into his own thoughts.
Suddenly, he felt that the small hand that was holding his palm grew bigger at some point, and was replaced by a man's slender, cold fingers.
Ye Jia raised his head in astonishment and looked at each other.
I saw Ji Xuan chong him with a slight smile: "I know where the place you are looking for is?"
Ye Jia was stunned: "What?"
The smile on Ji Xuan's lips deepened: "What? Are you still not allowed to hide a few ghosts in your organization?"
Ye Jia: "..."
Your attitude is too arrogant, isn't it
The man's hand tightened slightly, and in the next second, Ye Jia only felt a flower in front of his eyes.
He stood in a huge storage room, which was densely piled with materials thick enough to tire the ceiling, and there was a smell of decay and staleness.
Ye Jia saw that in a corner of the storage room, there was a small table with several grooves of different sizes.
The size of one of the grooves... is exactly the same size as the box Ye Jia is currently holding.
Ye Jia looked down at the box in his hand, and his eyes were inexplicable.
He tentatively raised his hand and put the box into the groove.
Strictly fit.
With only a slight "click" sound, twisted lines appeared on the small metal box, and then—slowly opened.
A strong bloody smell escaped.
Ye Jia held his breath slightly and stepped forward.
The box was full of sticky blood.
In the blood, there are two complete eyeballs floating. The pupils are dark, the whites of the eyes are clean, and the complete optic nerve is connected to the back. They float up and down in the small box full of blood, which looks particularly terrifying.
Ye Jia was slightly startled.
eyeball
Why eyeballs
In an instant, a thought flashed through Ye Jia's mind like lightning, his eyes widened slightly, and he forgot to breathe for a while - it was as if all the clues were connected here.
The woman whose heart was gouged out and her heart chopped by her mad husband.
The skin that was completely peeled off.
And... in the Dream Maker's Warehouse, that box with stuff in it.
He remembered the giant scarlet sarcoma that was floating in Ji Xuan's memory, squirming.
Ji Xuan once said, "The king is the agent of the mother".
... Because, she can't come to the world for the time being.
At this moment, Ye Jia finally knew the task that his mother gave his children.
- She wants to piece together a body for herself.