Chapter 48: New Fuli

Seeing Huo Gai’s expression, as if he’d just licked Shi Ji.

Wu Xian immediately felt delighted and took a large sip of coconut juice.

He had deliberately chosen high-denomination spirit bills to ensure Huo Gai wouldn’t lose out—each one worth a full billion!

Huo Gai’s anger quickly turned to fear.

Creak!

Two black vans pulled to a stop, blocking the view of passersby on both sides; four black-clad men armed with pistols stepped out, seized Huo Gai, shoved him into the vehicle, and drove off.

The entire process took less than two minutes; no one noticed except Wu Xian, who had been deliberately observing.

Wu Xian smiled as he finished the coconut juice.

“I don’t know… ah!”

But under Wu Xian’s design, he had become a key witness, especially since the yellow paper inside the package lent credibility to the claim that it came from Fuli.

Now Wu Xian finally understood: while people in the real world kept disappearing, people from Fuli kept being replenished into the real world!

Then Wu Xian began to doubt himself.

He had been adopted at Fuli Academy.

Wu Xian had once been a superhuman.

This surveillance yielded him many gains.

He plugged in his earphones but heard only static.

It was terrifying!

A massive underground facility was stationed near Fuli Academy; within two hours, they had intercepted the message sent to the newspaper and forcibly abducted Huo Gai at gunpoint…

He wore only a durable, dirt-resistant outfit—black underneath, over which he draped a dark gray coat.

Half an hour later, the white-haired man was dragged away forcibly.

The so-called real world was just as false as Fuli!

Yet their appearance in Fuli answered Wu Xian’s long-standing questions.

Fifteen minutes later.

For instance, investigating the real-world worship of the Three Officials, probing the mysterious man who once hired him to investigate Fuli, as well as the “Tenet” organization mentioned by Qi Zhiyong, and the current status of Wen Chao and Shi Ji…

“Stop! I’ve told you countless times—don’t use such brutal interrogation methods. Look at how I question.”

That night, Wu Xian stayed awake all night.

He was, of course, innocent.

Huo Gai was moved.

In Fuli Academy, he saw familiar things.

But now, those NPCs had appeared in the real world!

This suggests either everything happening in Fuli is real, and everything Wu Xian saw there truly exists.

But investigating everything? How exhausting.

“Tell me—the password!”

Everything matched exactly what Wu Xian had seen in the Thirty-Three Displeased Heavens.

To wander on the edge of death in Fuli and then push your mind to its limits in the real world—that’s only something a superhuman could do.

A lifelong bachelor detective spotted his unique aura at first glance and tricked him out of Fuli Academy with a pirated detective novel.

Wu Xian crushed the listening device; all channels for gathering information were now severed.

Wu Xian halted his recollection.

At that moment, a gentle man who looked like he had albinism stepped forward and took over the interrogation; he looked at Huo Gai kindly: “Tell me about your happy memories—perhaps recalling them will help you remember something.”

Or perhaps…

As for that domineering little puppy.

“So they’re hiding here.”

Fuli was merely a place where the Chosen suffered.

His gaze swept quickly over everyone in the courtyard, finally settling on a hunched old woman sitting on a bench, watching a child dart playfully before her, smiling with three yellow teeth exposed.

After glancing a few times.

Huo Gai whined: “I don’t know!”

Wu Xian parked his motorcycle in front of a tall building, slipped easily onto the rooftop, raised his binoculars to gaze into the distance, and his expression grew subtle.

Fortunately, besides the tracker, Wu Xian had installed a listening device in the package’s inner lining.

It was a white van!

The trees, grass, stone pillars beside it…

But Wu Xian had no intention of risking himself—even with his toes, he could tell such an organization must be bristling with surveillance; approaching would only increase exposure risk.

Is it possible he, too, like those Fuli survivors, was not native to this world, but a Fuli survivor whose memories had been erased?

Had his obsession with Fuli stemmed from his soul yearning to return home?

“Tch. So it’s true.”

Wu Xian did nothing—just enjoyed life.

Back then, he was still a naive little brat.

These gains could only be called expected.

What truly shocked and even horrified Wu Xian were the things he saw inside Fuli Academy.

Wu Xian’s lips felt dry.

This place was familiar to Wu Xian.

Interrogation room.

Before Wu Xian’s eyes appeared a large courtyard, high walls, a spacious yard, an elegant and relaxed atmosphere…

Huo Gai had another tooth pulled.

Facilities of this caliber required close proximity to extract useful information.

The floor he was on was the tallest in the vicinity, yet he waited a long while without seeing the two black vans—yet the tracker showed they had returned to Fuli Academy.

He finished his last bite of food, took the utensils—still smeared with his saliva and fingerprints—and left through the back door of Qipi Restaurant, mounting a black motorcycle.

Of course, Wu Xian wasn’t without things to do.

Wu Xian was thrilled!

His dark circles had once come from late-night investigations into Fuli; now they were deeper from late-night leisure.

Keep observing.

No.

Since any preparation of his would be nullified by Fuli, it was better to prepare nothing.

Everything else was illusion—the surviving humans, the malevolent spirits—all just NPCs. Even the final “Disaster Replay,” Wu Xian felt, was nothing more than a cutscene.

The information-gathering capability and operational efficiency of this group were far beyond any ordinary department.

“I’ll be honest with you—I’m just a con artist who swindles money and seduces women…”

This was where the souls dragged by the Yin Officers from the previous Fuli had ended up!

He shouted as he was dragged away.

…

After enjoying this for over a week, Wu Xian began to feel a hollow emptiness inside.

The next few days.

All one could say…

Second, Wu Xian probed the general strength of this organization.

“So they’ve arrived. Things are getting interesting.”

Compared to the eerie malevolences of Fuli, these black-clad men seemed friendly—but in the real world, where divine artifacts couldn’t be used, such an organization was terrifying beyond measure.

Wu Xian neatly adjusted his clothes and stepped into the new Fuli.

“I haven’t finished interrogating him—he still has four toes, and I can insert sixteen needles into them; once all are in, he’ll definitely tell the truth…”

…

…

This time, Wu Xian prepared nothing.

Someone might wonder: not working, just staying home—wouldn’t that feel empty?

Playing games, eating barbecue, visiting karaoke bars, traveling, hiking…

——————

Wu Xian destroyed all evidence and traces.

First, he confirmed the existence of a real-world organization tied to Fuli and located its base.

Slap!

Huo Gai was slapped; the man continued: “Is there another backup of the compressed file?”

Wu Xian had used several top-tier encryption algorithms, layered so heavily even he couldn’t decrypt it—so this little puppy would suffer for a while; this organization wouldn’t hesitate to use torture.

But rather, he felt a little homesick.

A black-clad man barked a question.

“The people from Fuli have come into the real world!”

And that compressed file…

He still had many things to investigate.

Wu Xian’s gaze paused slightly, his eyes turning sharp.

Because this was Fuli Academy—the very place where the old man had taken him in!

The tracker inside the package would tell Wu Xian where these people were headed.

“They must have built a very long underground tunnel.”

Why, when so many people vanished in the Fudi case, did the real world’s population structure remain perfectly healthy?

This had once puzzled Wu Xian endlessly.

But after going to Fudi, he became a broken super.

Look again at the first place in his memory.

He returned to his home.

Not because he’d had enough.

Beneath Fuli Academy.

So he took out the Fudi invitation, tore it casually to shreds—and a door carved with the Three Officials suddenly appeared in the room.

He wanted to go last.

In most theories, Fudi was merely a virtual space modeled after the real world—perhaps divine magic, perhaps technology, or perhaps an illusionary realm, or some other higher-level phenomenon.

“Looks like security is tight…”

He didn’t need to track the bread van.

Wu Xian had once held many theories about Fudi’s existence.

Transition chapter ends.

Tomorrow afternoon at five, new chapter: The Infinite Manhunt, ongoing serial!

La la la, the new chapter has begun!

(End of chapter)