Chapter 88: 86. The Book of Sand

86. The Book of Sand

A pale autumn moon; the flowers, plants, and trees of Cuizhu City were withering everywhere. It was as if, overnight, the breath of the Grim Reaper had blown across the entire land of Cuizhu City, stealing away its vitality. Withered yellow leaves, crumpled petals, shriveled branches... every image of death was shrouded under the sorrowful clouds and miserable mist of that night.

Tonight, Cuizhu City was terrifyingly quiet. People walking on the streets were silent, hurrying home, and the stray cats and dogs in the city had long since tucked away their wildness, cowering in the shadows of the city's corners.

Everyone living in this city, every living creature on this land, sensed the arrival of some kind of Calamity. Although the media were doing their utmost to soothe the public's emotions, many people still abandoned their homes that very day, desperate and frantic to escape this bustling metropolis.

When a deafening roar suddenly erupted within the city and a red sun forged of fire bloomed in the night sky, thick and pungent smoke billowed into the night, and strange, shrill shrieks echoed through the clouds, only then did people gradually confirm the fear in their hearts, moving past shock and suspicion.

Seeing the Di Huang High-rise in the center of Cuizhu City swallowed by a terrifying explosion, seeing a "monument" symbolizing the House of Cards consortium collapse, everyone who had been brainwashed by the new Urban Legends circulating today fell into an even deeper panic upon seeing this sight.

Regardless of whether it was an accident or an abnormal terrorist attack, no one wanted to get any closer to this building that was about to collapse, let alone ponder the truth behind it.

Some people felt their minds shaken just by hearing that bone-chilling roar; some were dazzled and mesmerized just by seeing the winged, humanoid silhouette in the sky; and others had already been swallowed by the shadows hidden within this city, disappearing into unseen corners throughout the city, not even having time to let out a single gasp or scream.

"Snake Team Captain She Zi'an, accompanying member Zhao Jing, and the accompanying members of the Cuizhu City branch have all suddenly lost contact. A violent explosion occurred at the scene." A communicator responsible for the communications of the Snake Team's operation this time, shortly after losing contact with She Zi'an, immediately connected to notify the Group Leader, their tone full of urgency and panic.

Upon hearing the news, the Group Leader of the Xuanmi Group fell into a long contemplation. Their tightly interlaced fingers revealed the lack of peace in their heart; emotions like unease, worry, anger, and sorrow were not enough to express the inner state of the Xuanmi Group Leader at this moment.

"Contact Mysterious Investigators in nearby cities with a rank no lower than Grade B to head to Cuizhu City immediately. The nature of this mission is not investigation, but attack and rescue," the Xuanmi Group Leader took a deep breath and said in a low voice.

"Yes." The communicator responded sternly, then disconnected the signal and immediately began the work assigned by the Group Leader.

The moment the communication feed cut off, the Xuanmi Group Leader slammed the table and stood up in a fit of rage, gritting their teeth: "Are these lunatics declaring war on our Xuanmi Group?"

After losing contact with the Tiger Team and the Snake Team in succession and losing dozens of precious Mysterious Investigators, the Xuanmi Group Leader finally deciphered the truth behind it from the fragmented information.

The Evolution Heaven organization, the House of Cards consortium, and those organizations hidden in the shadows of the world had carefully woven a spiderweb for their Xuanmi Group. The series of Abnormal events currently unfolding in Cuizhu City all bore the shadows of these rats; they used similar methods to lure Xuanmi Group members into their traps.

Judging from the current results, those masterminds had succeeded. They had caused the organization's two main forces, the Tiger Team and the Snake Team, to fall into danger simultaneously, their lives now hanging in the balance.

Compared to those evil cultists who indulged their desires and evil thoughts, the difficulty of cultivating a Mysterious Investigator was undoubtedly greater, not to mention that members of main squads like the Tiger Team and the Snake Team were almost impossible to find, rare and precious... Yet, the Xuanmi Group had suffered heavy losses, and the Xuanmi Group Leader could only secretly hate and feel stifled that they hadn't seen the clues sooner.

The subway rumbled and groaned, finally stopping at an unknown location beneath Cuizhu City. Ahead lay the end of this unfinished road.

He Jia'an, with half his face sagging, and Yu Lianyun got off the train, squeezing into a narrow gap while carrying the still-unconscious Xin Junmao.

Although they didn't know where the passage in the gap led, neither He Jia'an nor Yu Lianyun had many choices, so they could only continue forward.

Rather than saying they were running away, it was more like the two of them, having already prepared themselves for death, were picky about choosing their respective burial grounds.

And He Jia'an and Yu Lianyun soon discovered that the increasingly narrow gap they had walked into actually led to a vast space.

Squeezing out of the gap, He Jia'an and Yu Lianyun looked on in shock at the surrounding underground space, which was full of bizarre styles. It looked like a Sacrificial Altar; everywhere there were basalt walls, and on the walls were depicted and carved shocking and grotesque paintings. Every pattern carried human negative emotions, and every pattern possessed a lifelike magic; just one glance was enough to trigger emotional resonance deep within the human heart.

These were all forbidden paintings, and everywhere there were rebellious settings. Every glance was an unforgettable visual impact for the two, deeply stimulating their fragile brains.

At this moment, the underground space was empty, without any believers or any sign of human presence. A passage traced back from another part of the space; it was hard to know its source, but there was no need to doubt that the end of the other passage also led to a forbidden place like the Underground Magic Capital.

Yu Lianyun: "I thought I could kill a few more of those lunatics before I died. Looks like there's no chance now."

"Even afraid of the god they worship, yet still wanting to use it—and now they dare to call themselves believers?" He Jia'an sneered while injecting himself with a dose of painkillers. He was now giving himself a shot on average every half hour, because that was the only way to ensure he wouldn't fail due to pain in the upcoming actions.

Carrying Xin Junmao on his back, He Jia'an walked with Yu Lianyun to the top of the Sacrificial Altar. On the stone bookshelf protruding from the center lay an Ancient Book.

The Ancient Book was tightly closed. After He Jia'an and Yu Lianyun exchanged a look, He Jia'an decided to flip through the book himself.

Upon touching it, He Jia'an felt his fingers brush against fine sand; he had actually passed right through the suddenly sand-like book. Shocked, he tested it repeatedly for a while before giving up. Yu Lianyun also tried to reach out to flip through the book, but no matter how many times she tried, the result was the same: she couldn't open the book even a fraction.

Only, Yu Lianyun had a feeling that the texture of the book she could touch seemed to be becoming heavier; it seemed that as long as she persisted, she could truly touch the book.

"Stop trying!" He Jia'an stopped Yu Lianyun, whose desire to read was becoming increasingly intense, and slapped her awake before she could lose control.

Yu Lianyun woke up with a start. Recalling what she had just done, she broke out in a cold sweat. "I... what did I just do?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the book in front of us is the legendary 'Book of Sand' that carries all-encompassing, infinite knowledge. One of its Abnormal characteristics is that it slowly stimulates the human desire to read it," He Jia'an said in a low voice.

Yu Lianyun retreated in fear, distancing herself from the book. She interlaced her fingers, as if to soothe the fear in her heart, or as if to put shackles of self-control on herself.

He Jia'an squinted and said: "The Book of Sand has another characteristic: once you can touch the book, the content you have read will be like flowing sand. When you turn to the next page, no matter if you flip back or forward, it is impossible to return to the page you originally read, and this is precisely the beginning of the Dream Demon."