Chapter 23 The Wheels of Fate Will Eventually Turn

Fingers slowly relaxed, Gao Ming put the black and white photo of the first workgroup of the Unicorn Game back into his bag. He looked at it, seemingly not much different from before, but his eyes betrayed a special emotion hidden deep within.

"When the disaster truly erupts, things a hundred times more cruel than this might happen," Xuan Wen watched as the shadows receded, "I thought you were used to this from working in the prison for repeat offenders."

"Let's go back to Night Lamp Studio," Gao Ming cut Xuan Wen off, "The murder site only has four floors, and there are no survivors on the bottom three floors. The killer is likely hiding on the 13th floor—the murderer might even be one of the Night Lamp employees."

"Everyone has their choices. If left unchecked, even ghosts would kill, and the number of such ghosts would only increase. Maybe in the end, everyone will die," Xuan Wen spread her hands, "That person made his choice, and he just so happened to have the power to realize it."

"The ghost didn't make a move, but that guy killed seven people."

"But he also saved the others."

The lights in the hallway flickered a few times, and after the shadows had fully disappeared, the lights in the building returned to normal, signaling the end of the game.

This was the third game Gao Ming had been through, and it was the one that had the greatest impact on him.

Back at the entrance of the Night Lamp Studio office, Gao Ming looked inside. Everyone had already begun to work with full effort.

"Here," Zhang Wang tossed Gao Ming a bottle of energy drink, "Age is catching up with me. A few years back, I could've pulled an all-nighter without a problem!"

Everyone didn't take that text message seriously; they didn't know that they had had a brush with the Grim Reaper—or to put it another way, they didn't yet realize that the Grim Reaper was sitting among them.

Gao Ming swept his gaze across everyone in the office. They all acted as usual, betraying no signs of abnormality.

"Teacher Xia, did you go downstairs just now?"

"I heard someone crying for help downstairs, so I went to have a look. It was pitch-black in the safety passage; I couldn't see anything, so I came back up," Xia Yang was drawing the latest murder scene on his computer. His art style was difficult for ordinary people to understand, possessing a chaotic beauty bordering on the insane, "You know I'm a scaredy-cat."

"What about the delivery guy? Didn't I tell you to watch him?" Gao Ming didn't see the delivery guy at the entrance.

"As soon as the lights came on, the guy called the police and ran off. I think it was a prank by him," Xia Yang leaned back in his chair, "We're just making a horror game, we can't really tie him up just because of a text message, right?"

The sound of a cat meowing rose, and the office door was pushed open again. Wei Dayou entered the studio cursing under his breath, "The building manager is so irresponsible, not even a duty electrician around."

"You, did you just go to the power room?"

"I was about to kick the door down! If it weren't for the fact that I didn't bring my phone, I would've complained about them immediately," Wei Dayou returned to his workstation and started working too.

Gao Ming chatted with all the staff at Night Lamp Studio, and not a single one seemed to have any "issues."

The police arrived later and instructed everyone to stay inside the studio, not allowing anyone to leave. It was then that they began to realize something might have happened in the building, though no one was clear on exactly what.

Around one o'clock in the morning, Manager Gou, who hadn't even put on his wig, was called into the studio. He was kept in a room talking to the police.

To the police's questions, Manager Gou felt bewildered, his astonished voice could be heard even through the door panel, "I really don't understand what you are talking about! Let me reiterate, we simply make games! The most aggressive thing my people have ever done is to pick up a keyboard and cuss."

"This is our planner Wei Dayou, he looks strong but is actually afraid of even a little bug, a girl at heart! And our Chief Artist, Old Xia, tell me, what kind of bad guy is as weak as him? He could be knocked over with a punch by an auntie dancing in the square."

"Her name is Xuan Wen, our newly hired girl, gentle and soft-spoken, she gets shy talking to strangers. If she could make seven people disappear, I would eat this table right here and now for you!"

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"It's not that I'm overreacting, it's that you all are being ridiculous!"

Around 3 a.m., Gao Ming was called alone to a room on the tenth floor by the North City District police who were questioning people one by one.

After turning off all surveillance and recording devices, the police left, leaving Gao Ming by himself.

A whole half-hour passed before the door was opened again; the person who entered was not a policeman, but three individuals dressed in black uniforms, each wearing a black ring-shaped device on their wrist.

"Investigation Bureau?"

"Don't be nervous." The man leading the trio was under one meter sixty, but his presence was exceptionally strong. "I'm Cen Guan, Deputy Director of the Hanhai North City Investigation Branch, Future Sci-Tech Park Division."

"Do you need me for something?"

"You should recognize this man." The tall and thin man who came in after Cen Guan approached Gao Ming and projected a video on the table from the black ring on his wrist—a Disfigured Investigator earnestly recommended Gao Ming to the Investigation Bureau.

"He experienced a Level Three Abnormal Event with me and told me a couple of things about the Investigation Bureau." Gao Ming supported his chin with his hands. "Are you here to arrest me?"

The tall and thin man shook his head; after closing the black ring, he said indifferently, "He died two hours ago."

"Died?" Gao Ming didn't even know the Disfigured Investigator's name.

"He was reassigned to the Hanhai East District for a mission and died during a Level Three Abnormal Event." The tall and thin man took a seat, gesturing for the other two bureau members to do the same. "We're here in hopes that you'd join the Investigation Bureau."

The investigator trailing behind placed a black box, which he'd been carrying, on the table. After inputting a password and opening the lid, inside lay a bloodstained black ring.

"Both Qin Tian and I come from Xinhu. He was my most trusted subordinate. He told me all about how you behaved during the Abnormal Event. Calm, decisive, brave, with a strong mental fortitude and an extraordinary mind—it's as if you exist to solve Abnormal Events." The tone of the tall and thin man was calm but forceful; he had long become accustomed to life and death. "When Qin Tian told me all this, he was very excited and happy. It was the first time he had smiled since his wife and child died in an Abnormal Event. He said he saw hope in you."

"That investigator's name is Qin Tian…" Abnormal Events were like a game, but they had already gone beyond just a game. The seven employees of Night Lamp Studio, along with the investigators who escaped the game with them yesterday, were all buried in another world.

"Hanhai Investigation Headquarters supervises nineteen branches, each corresponding to one of Hanhai's nineteen districts. Our Old City District Branch is divided into five Investigation Divisions according to territorial boundaries and population: Lishan, Jinwan, Fuding, Pukou, and Dazhai." The tall and thin man looked at Gao Ming. "The population of Hanhai is twice that of Xinhu. Ever since Abnormal Events began appearing, we've been seriously short-staffed. New recruits who haven't experienced Abnormal Events have an extremely high mortality rate, and we don't have enough veteran investigators to lead them. That's why we need to recruit ordinary people like you, who have gone through Abnormal Events."

"Indeed, joining the Investigation Bureau is extremely dangerous, but if we do not face it proactively, when certain things spiral out of control, even more terrible things will happen." Cen Guan spoke. "No one can escape; taking a step early to understand the disaster might be a better choice for you."

"I'll think about it." On his own power, Gao Ming would have difficulty finding those growing horror stories in the city. Joining the Investigation Bureau really was a good choice.

The source of the disaster was on him; if he climbed the ranks and became the Director of the Hanhai Investigation Headquarters, that might well count as having thoroughly investigated the disaster.

"There are almost no ordinary people who can resolve a Level Three Abnormal Event by themselves; your arrival meets our top recruitment standards." The tall and thin man made himself appear as sincere as possible. "We will not assign you compulsory tasks, nor will we excessively intervene in your life; you will have ample autonomy."

"What if I want to leave Hanhai and go to other cities?" Gao Ming wanted to go to Xinhu, but the heavy rain had blocked the roads, and he did not have the chance yet.

"There might be traffic restrictions in the future, only allowing Investigation Bureau personnel to move freely to any location." The tall and thin man made a promise. "If you're willing to join the Investigation Bureau, we'll grant you high-level clearance, allowing you to pass freely."

"Traffic restrictions?"

Gao Ming's mind was wrestling with a fierce struggle as he stared at the black ring inside the black box.

Streaked with blood, that bloodstained black ring seemed like a cog of fate.

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