Chapter 188: The Angel's Name

The scene before Yu Sheng's eyes trembled violently once more, accompanied by a string of chaotic exclamations and grating static, as if the cultist lost in the dream had plunged into intense emotional turmoil within his memories; and along with this surge of emotion, Yu Sheng watched in shock as the entire dream did not collapse immediately, but instead began to reveal some...

... unimaginable, horrifying, and unsettling scenes.

He saw the abandoned warehouse before him collapse, dragging the entire earth and sky along as they gradually cracked open; those black figures originally surrounding the sacrificial ground melted into the air one by one, then transformed into massive cloud formations that rose and swelled. Certain things hidden within the cultist's subconscious "leaked" out due to the dream's imbalance, spreading their existence wildly before Yu Sheng, the "parasite"—

Yu Sheng saw a colossal projection, like a giant egg, floating above the debris fragments formed after the abandoned warehouse tore apart. He saw the surface of that "egg" take on a metallic texture, with countless flickering, eye-like structures blinking in and out within its ridges and grooves. He heard that thing humming, as if some massive mechanical structure was operating inside it...

And the next second, that giant egg floating in mid-air burst open. Countless flesh and blood sprouted wildly from its depths; grotesque tentacles surged out from its cracks, hanging down from the sky and blindly swaying in the air. Immediately after, Yu Sheng heard a new sound—the cry of an infant...

Shaking, trembling, screaming. Yu Sheng suddenly felt his consciousness plummeting violently, and the instant that falling sensation struck, he heard a startled exclamation from Erin: "Holy crap, this guy woke up!"

The sensation of the real world suddenly returned. Yu Sheng snapped his eyes open, inhaling deeply as if a suffocating person had suddenly received air. Almost at the same time, he turned his head and saw the angel cultist nearby, who had also suddenly opened his eyes and was gasping violently.

Fear and anger surfaced on the bald man's face. At this moment, he finally lost that lofty look, as if he had seen through life and death and stood above mortals. He stared fixedly at Yu Sheng, as if he would pounce the next second.

Yu Sheng merely stood up, looked at the other calmly, and after a moment spoke in a low voice: "an-ka-ai-la—what does this word mean?"

He did not expect that the moment he spoke, the cultist flew into a rage, even forcing himself against the electric current released by the restraint device to pounce forward: "Your filthy mouth is not worthy of uttering His..."

The angel cultist had only lunged halfway when a silver-white giant tail broke through the air, whipping him mid-flight and smashing him against the nearby wall. Yu Sheng hadn't even seen what happened before Hu Li had already turned into a blur, chasing after him. She grabbed the cultist's leg and slammed him against the ground repeatedly with a series of cracks and thuds. Finally, she casually tossed him onto the ground, only to see that the man's exhalations were already far fewer than his inhalations. She immediately panicked and hurriedly cast healing spells...

The demon fox girl didn't say a single word the whole time, highlighting a cold and disdainful demeanor in the first half, and sheer panic in the second half, not knowing what to say.

Erin, watching from the side, was stunned. She stared at Hu Li with her mouth agape: "... You acted really fast."

"Just heal half of him; leave the rest to the Special Operations Bureau," Yu Sheng realized this now as well. He stepped forward, patted Hu Li's hair, then turned to nod at the surveillance camera in the corner. "I'm done here."

Moments later, he heard the mechanical clanking of the heavy gate's interior. Song Cheng and Bai Liqing's figures appeared outside the gate—several fully armed guards stood beside them.

Yu Sheng, accompanied by Hu Li and Erin, walked over quickly. Before Song Cheng could speak, Yu Sheng said rapidly with a serious expression: "Find a quiet place. This is a major issue."

Bai Liqing looked deeply at Yu Sheng and immediately nodded: "Go to my office."

Another "journey" like passing through a moving maze ensued. Yu Sheng and his group traversed various corridors, elevators, and empty rooms within this strange "building" for a long time before finally reaching their destination.

The most "mysterious" place in the entire Special Operations Bureau—Bai Liqing's office.

But contrary to Yu Sheng's expectations, it was not as magnificent or imposing as he had imagined. Although the office was indeed quite large, the vast room was almost completely empty. Necessary filing cabinets and several monitors were placed against the walls. In the center of the room stood a large oval table. Beyond that, no other furnishings were visible. The only thing that drew attention was a huge floor-to-ceiling window behind the desk—outside that window, a layer of eternal mist seemed to shroud the view. The scenery deep within the mist constantly shifted; sometimes it was a city silhouette, sometimes it appeared to be distant mountains and waters, fields, or even an endless ocean.

The guards, along with irrelevant personnel such as the secretary and assistants receiving them in the office, quickly withdrew. Soon, only Yu Sheng's group, Bai Liqing, and Song Cheng—who had originally wanted to leave but was ordered by the Director to stay—remained in the vast room.

"You can speak now," Bai Liqing said, looking at Yu Sheng with a calm expression.

Yu Sheng nodded: "Mm, I'll get straight to the point. The Dark Angel that those cultists worship appears to be in a state of slumber or trapped. And if I'm not mistaken, this 'Angel' is likely trapped within 'Fairy Tale'."

Song Cheng's expression visibly stiffened. A few seconds later, his mouth twitched: "... Your 'mountain' came out way too suddenly..." Yu Sheng seemed not to hear Song Cheng's muttering and continued on his own: "I infiltrated that angel cultist's dream. Because I found a flaw in his will, he was basically undefended within the dream—

"I witnessed one of their gatherings and a typical prayer ritual. They have not only the two currently captured by you, but several members hidden in the shadows. When mentioning the 'Envoy' they follow, they stated it is sleeping and needs to be 'rescued from the sea of bitterness'. They also mentioned phrases like 'breaking free from the shell'. This is why I suspect their 'Lord' is trapped within 'Fairy Tale'...

"Furthermore, I heard them mention a 'Vessel'. This seems to have a great impact on their Lord's successful descent or escape. The requirements for the Vessel are very high. The member of the Curio Association they had bewitched was already influenced by the Dark Angel and would have gradually become a devout believer. However, because he did not meet the standards of a 'Vessel', they 'dealt with him'. The reason was that an unqualified person converting would interfere with the 'Lord's' descent..."

Yu Sheng spoke rapidly, point by point. Song Cheng's brows gradually furrowed. Even Bai Liqing, who usually showed no change in expression, now had a look of gravity in her eyes.

Involving the four words "Dark Angel," even the Director of the Special Operations Bureau could not feel relaxed.

"Have you figured out exactly which Dark Angel those cultists follow?" Bai Liqing suddenly asked. "A name or characteristics? Any leads?"

"They repeatedly mentioned a word during the prayer ritual. The pronunciation was roughly like this," Yu Sheng cleared his throat and, while recalling, produced that strange sound. "an-ka-ai-la—roughly the sound 'Anka Ai-la', but there were some short tremors and echoes in between that I couldn't reproduce. I'm also not sure if that was the true pronunciation or if those cultists were just adding drama for the sake of the ritual. After all, their sacrificial ritual failed in the end, although that might also be related to them using counterfeit incense candles..."

Song Cheng: "...?"

Song Cheng didn't understand the meaning of Yu Sheng's last sentence at all.

Bai Liqing's attention focused on that strangely pronounced word. She frowned slightly and unconsciously repeated: "an-ka-ai-la, Anka Ai-la..."

【Text cut off in source】

"Do you have an impression of this name?" Yu Sheng immediately looked curious.

"No, I don't have an impression, but this is the first time we have heard a 'name' of a Dark Angel," Bai Liqing said seriously. "Before today, every Dark Angel we knew was merely a 'codename', such as 'Goddess of Beauty', or 'Star of Hecate', or 'Tree Angel'. These were codenames given by the initial recorders based on their characteristics when they descended. But the word 'Anka Ai-la'... in no way resembles a codename."

Yu Sheng instantly understood the meaning of Bai Liqing's words.

He was somewhat puzzled: "Then how do the other angel cultists refer to the 'Envoy' they follow? For example, the Goddess of Beauty and the Star of Hecate you just mentioned. Those two Dark Angels should have their own believers..."

"They also refer to them directly by codename," Song Cheng said from the side. "For example, using titles like 'Goddess of Beauty' directly. Because angel believers were originally just ordinary people who fell into madness. Although they fervently claimed they could hear the 'Envoy's' voice, as far as we know, no Dark Angel has ever rationally communicated with believers, let alone revealed their own 'name' to mortals... In fact, we never even thought those Dark Angels had 'names'."

Yu Sheng frowned and pondered carefully. After a moment, he looked up: "So, it's possible that these angel cultists lurking in Border City have truly 'contacted' a communicable Dark Angel and even learned its true name?!"

"But it could also just be another delusion from those lunatics," Song Cheng waved his hand. "Maybe they just took too much drugs, heard a Dark Angel whisper once, and then brain-faked and transliterated the 'noise' they heard in the dream, treating it as the 'Envoy's' name."

Yu Sheng's expression was grave; he neither confirmed nor denied Song Cheng's statement.

"Later, you can try interrogating that bald guy again," he said slowly. "That guy's mind has already been broken once, and the secrets in the dream were exposed. A person whose defenses are broken will be easier to break again. Maybe we can extract something—like his accomplices, and where the word 'an-ka-ai-la' actually came from."

"Leave this matter to the Special Operations Bureau. We are more professional with standard interrogation procedures," Bai Liqing nodded, then her gaze fell on Yu Sheng. "Then you next..."

"That orphanage," Yu Sheng took a light breath. "Those angel cultists won't just sit quietly. If their 'Lord' is truly trapped in 'Fairy Tale', they will definitely strike again. The trap Little Red Riding Hood encountered might even be merely some kind of 'initial test'."

(End of Chapter)