After temporarily bidding farewell to Orianna, Chen Lun found a corner where no one noticed him and returned to the dark world. He then turned back along the way and returned to the surface of the world.
Royal City Tourmaline Closter.
It was already late at night, the purple moon was high in the sky, and the Imperial Inquisition's headquarters building stood tall under the night sky.
Chen Lun changed back into his black hat and suit, walked to the door with his silver cane, showed his identity badge to the two guards hiding in the dark, and walked in unhindered.
Even though it was late at night, there were still many people active in the trial team's residence. Chen Lun lowered the brim of his hat, walked straight to the front desk of the hall, and asked a staff member for a lounge.
"Mr. Jackspeight, here is the key to room 415. Have a good rest."
The young woman in a yellow and white uniform handed him a key and spoke to him respectfully.
"Thanks."
After Chen Lun took it, he didn't stay for long, turned around and went upstairs.
Because the time in Matthew's Land was opposite to that here, he had to wait until dawn to gather the members of the investigation team. Although he had slept in the tree root settlement, Chen Lun still felt a little tired. He guessed that this might be related to the underground environment.
Especially the ball of light called Red Mother.
The light it emits always makes Chen Lun feel uncomfortable.
So he fell asleep again in the lounge of the Tribunal Building.
The next morning.
The team members who received the message from the captain gathered in the restaurant on the second floor in advance.
"team leader!"
"Good morning, Captain."
Laen, Xibe and others had already prepared their meals and were sitting around the dining table. When they saw Chen Lun approaching, they quickly stood up and greeted him.
"Good morning."
Chen Lun nodded in response.
After a night's rest, he felt his spirits had returned.
Seeing that he didn't have a tray in his hand, Laen offered to help him get the food. Chen Lun didn't refuse and thanked him with a smile.
"Captain Jack, I heard that Investigation Team 5 was defeated in the dark world... All eleven members of their team, including the captain, died in the line of duty."
Wells hesitated and said in a deep voice.
Chen Lun was slightly startled, then he noticed that everyone else's expressions were very solemn and knew that this was not a lie.
"This investigation was not easy to begin with. The dark world is full of dangers. If it weren't for Captain Jack's repeated interventions, we wouldn't have had zero casualties..."
Federica's voice came from under the black veil on her face.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Captain, I brought you some toast, meatballs, and salad, and the drink is hot milk. I wonder if you like it..."
Laen came back with the food tray and asked Chen Lun.
"Sure, thank you."
Chen Lun took it with a smile and immediately asked him to sit down.
Rahn picked up his fork and continued eating, looking up and saying:
"Captain, we have rested for a day. When will we continue the operation?"
The rest of the team members also looked over.
Although they had heard that many teams had suffered heavy losses, and based on their own experiences in the dark world, they knew that it was quite dangerous there, but everyone was still eager to participate in the operation and complete the mission.
"Let's set off after noon."
Chen Lun looked at their eager eyes, took a bite of bread, thought for a while, and spoke slowly.
The team members immediately smiled.
"Captain, Hamilton's second group, as well as the fourth and seventh groups, have temporarily stopped their operations due to excessive casualties... Currently, our first group has made the fastest progress and has advanced to the depths of the dark world. Moreover, the information we have about the bronze door is unique among all the investigation teams, and even broke the record of the first phase of the investigation..."
Rahn said excitedly.
"Captain McCaughlin praised us for this and said that His Royal Highness the Prince was very satisfied after learning about the situation."
Chen Lun nodded.
"We have lived up to the empire's expectations, but we still need to continue our efforts to investigate the root cause of the spiritual world's turmoil as soon as possible."
"Yes! Captain!"
The team members responded seriously.
*
*
*
It was just after noon.
Chen Lun led a team of investigators into the spirit world.
After everyone took the "True Vision Potion" and reached the dark world, he asked everyone to hold hands and stand in a circle. Immediately, he put his hand on Rahn's shoulder and used the sequence ability Cloud Leap.
whoosh!
Everyone suddenly felt a sense of space being pulled. When Rahn recovered and released a tiny ball of light for illumination, everyone saw the huge bronze gate not far away.
They instantly crossed the vast distance and returned directly to their previous place.
"The space transfer ability of the Destiny Path is really convenient..."
Everyone was secretly amazed and looked at the captain with more admiration.
"Let's go, we will head to the next level of the dark world."
Chen Lun said softly, and strode towards the huge bronze gate.
The team members agreed and followed his footsteps.
Dark mist continuously seeped out from the door and floated in the air. Chen Lun held his breath and took the lead to step in.
Wow!
Everyone walked behind the door the next second.
Looking back, the bronze door was still standing behind him, but the surrounding terrain seemed to have changed a little.
The second layer of the dark world was also extremely dark, and the feeling of oppression and suffocation was even worse. The light ball released by Laen seemed to be compressed by an invisible force, and the range of the light was far less than half of the previous layer.
Chen Lun held the silver cane and did some simple divination. After confirming the direction to move forward, he called on everyone to start moving.
This time, they stayed in the dark world for a whole week.
*
*
*
During this week, a team of investigators, led by Chen Lun, continued to explore deeper and deeper, during which they discovered two huge bronze doors.
Their specifications are exactly the same, even the patterns on the door frames are the same, the only difference lies in some strange designs, but the team members cannot figure out what their meaning is.
As they continued to go deeper, the team encountered Didak insects more and more frequently, and they were even attacked every half hour.
Fortunately, Chen Lun was able to detect it in advance every time and blocked it with overwhelming strength, which allowed the team to escape repeatedly. However, even so, the seven team members fell into a state of physical and mental fatigue again.
The main reason was that they were in a deep dark environment and needed to stay alert at all times, which was quite mentally taxing. After a week, even though the team members were all Sequence 5 Transcendents, they had almost reached their limit.
The fourth level of space in the dark world.
A dozen fist-sized balls of light floated around the crowd, barely illuminating the environment. At this moment, everyone was standing on the edge of a "cliff", because the land in front of them was cut off, leaving only a bottomless abyss, and no light could reach farther, so no one knew what was going on.
"Captain, what should we do next? It seems we can't get through here..."
Rahn spoke softly, despite his tiredness and fatigue.
"It's the same weird terrain again, but compared to the previous times, there's no way to go this time... Even if some of us have the ability to fly, we have no idea what's ahead, and it's too risky to fly over rashly."
Wells said in a deep voice.
Everyone looked at Chen Lun, wanting to see the captain's decision.
In fact, they were also quite emotional. This week, they had experienced dozens or even hundreds of insect attacks, and had to face treacherous terrain several times. It was through everyone's hard thinking and attempts that they were able to finally overcome them and get here.
Captain Jack's decisions were always just right, and he gradually became the most indispensable core in the minds of the team members. It can even be said that without him, everyone would have died several times in the dark world.
Chen Lun did not answer, but just stared quietly at the darkness ahead.
At this moment, he suddenly remembered what Mr. Byers had written in his notebook.
'Mr. Byers seemed to have only come here, and then returned to the real world, ending his journey to the dark world...'
Chen Lun was also a little hesitant.
Even if he used his five senses, he could not see the specific scene ahead. The darkness could even blind all his senses... Only his spiritual intuition told him that he must not go forward, otherwise he would surely die.
But Chen Lun was somewhat unwilling.
I have led my team to explore the dark world for such a long time, all my efforts should not be in vain...
"Let's go back for now."
After a while, he sighed.
"Everyone is very tired... Ran, drop the spare 'Spiritual Anchor' here and leave the coordinates. After we go back, while we are resting, everyone should look for some information and clues to see if there is any solution."
Everyone looked at each other first, then nodded solemnly.
It seems that even the captain has no other solution...
*
*
*
After returning to the present world.
The first investigation team soon heard some latest news in the Imperial Inquisition building.
After replenishing their manpower and entering the dark world again, the fourth group followed in the footsteps of the fifth group and was almost wiped out... Only one young male team member escaped with serious injuries.
But this person's mental state was not good either, and he could even be said to be on the verge of collapse. The interrogators could not get any useful information from him.
Later, the judge in charge of the group, Daral, dispatched the "psychological trauma team" to conduct closed treatment for him. This team is one of the logistics departments of the trial group. They are all extraordinary people from the Star Faction and are good at psychiatric treatment.
But even so, the lucky guy's condition did not improve, and even deteriorated rapidly.
After a few days, it suddenly went out of control and turned into a polluted creature... The Inquisition suppressed it immediately, and the news spread.
The investigation team was having dinner at the restaurant on the second floor, and their expressions were serious and solemn. The atmosphere in the restaurant was a little dead. Not only Chen Lun's table, but the rest of the judges were silent, obviously affected by the setbacks the investigation team had suffered recently.
"You guys should have a good rest these few days, Ran. Please submit our progress and situation to Chief McCaughlin again, and try to seek some advice and help from her."
Chen Lun ate the cut grilled sausage and spoke slowly to Laen.
The latter nodded quickly.
"Yes, I know, Captain."
Chen Lun hummed.
Afterwards, everyone stopped communicating, finished their meal quietly, and went back to their homes to rest.
Chen Lun also called Golov and took him back to the Kangkai Church area in a carriage.
"Captain, you look a little tired. Did the Empire's mission run into trouble?"
After getting off the carriage, Golov, who was good at observing people's expressions, asked in a low voice.
Chen Lun nodded, then smiled and said:
"I guess so... But it's okay, don't worry."
"I believe nothing can be difficult for you, Captain... If you need anything, you can always call me and the rest of the circus. We will spare no effort to help you."
Golov said seriously.
Chen Lun's mood immediately improved a lot, and he patted Golov's shoulder with relief.
"Thanks."
The circus officials were very happy to return to the Kangkai Church area after half a month.
That night, Fuluo Yin personally cooked a table of dishes, which made Chen Lun feel the long-lost comfort and warmth. At the table, after a simple inquiry, he learned that the development of Kangkai Church was smooth and smooth, and Frey Akbin and others also played the role of priests very well and were deeply supported by the believers in the royal city.
Maggie and Connie have also been working hard on research and learning. Each cadre has his or her own goals and is full of energy.
The reputation of Kangkai Church is getting better and better, and Chen Lun is very satisfied with it.
Late at night.
Chen Lun fell asleep in his apartment. Half asleep and half awake, he suddenly felt that he had come to a dark space, just like a dark world, where he could not see his hand in front of him.
He realized that this was his dream.
Perhaps it was because he had been exploring the dark world for a long time that his dreams were affected, and he restored the dark and deep environment in his dreams.
A beam of light suddenly shone down, like a spotlight on a stage.
A blond man in a black and white striped suit appeared in front of him.
"Philip?!"
Chen Lun's consciousness suddenly became clear. He looked at the man who was walking towards him with a smile and blurted out.
"I'm sorry, Jack, that I have to meet you in this way this time."
Philip took off his hat, revealing his familiar slicked-back hair, and nodded slightly to Chen Lun.
"I received your prayer before, but due to the limitations of the dream world, I couldn't respond... Fortunately, Ms. Sigh will leave the 'Door of Sleep' for a short period of time recently, so I can take this opportunity to contact you."
Chen Lun was surprised that Philip came into his dream.
But he quickly realized that this was an opportunity to ask the other party a question.
"Philip, I have recently encountered a difficult problem. Can you help me solve it?"
"Oh, that's exactly what I'm here for. If you need any help, just let me know."
Philip shrugged and smiled.
"This is a rare opportunity, Jack. Otherwise, it may be hundreds of years before you see me again... After all, Lady Sigh is a dedicated angel."
She said half mockingly and half jokingly.
Chen Lun took a deep breath and told the other party about his recent situation. He also said that when he was investigating the root cause of the turmoil in the spiritual world for the empire, he was blocked in front of the fault of the fourth layer of space in the dark world.
Philip listened with a smile, then raised his eyebrows.
"Pollution from the spirit world? I do know some information... Its source is actually the ancient god 'Father of Darkness' Distdak, who is located at the end of the seventh layer of space in the dark world."