Chapter 385

What the hell?!

After hearing the Taurus Director's opening remarks, Li Ang and the Red-haired Woman, who had been holding back a flood of bad news and ready to beg for help, both froze in shock.

Your Excellency Taurus! I have bad news to report!

Funny enough—I have an even worse one here!

"What's going on?!!!"

Their plea for aid was instantly stifled; the Red-haired Woman hurriedly asked:

"The Watch Palace has operated normally for years—never once had an issue! Why now… Wait! Could it be the Aquarius Director? Could he really have tampered with the Watch Palace?"

"The Aquarius Director? Isn't he dead?"

"He… never mind, we'll talk about him later!"

Hearing that the Cleaners' strongest asset had malfunctioned, the Red-haired Woman frowned in deep concern:

"Your Excellency Taurus—what exactly is wrong with the Watch Palace?"

"The Watch Palace… it appears to have been affected by something."

Suppressing the shock in his chest, the Taurus Director frowned as he explained:

"You know that the Seat Occupant who ascends the Watch Palace can review all past events and foresee certain possible futures."

"If the Seat Occupant detects a future threat—something dangerous enough to endanger the Cleaners or even all of humanity—they send us an early warning, offering vague clues so we can neutralize the danger before it manifests."

"So… is this ability malfunctioning?"

"It hasn't fully failed, but part of it has indeed broken down."

Pulling a stack of pale moon-white slips from his robe and holding them up to the Celestial Mirror, the Taurus Director looked utterly baffled:

"At the start of every year, the Watch Palace sends down dozens of slips listing the key events we must watch for—like being cautious of prehistoric humans awakening in the polar regions, or monitoring how much the Moon People have hollowed out the moon."

"This year, the Watch Palace sent down many slips too—most were normal, but one had a problem: critical information was completely missing, unreadable… Here, this one!"

Hearing the Taurus Director's words, the tense Red-haired Woman immediately fixed her gaze on the slip held before the mirror.

'The soul known as…, from an unknown world, after three years of dormancy, has joined…, established itself in…, and after coming into contact with the Cleaners'…, suddenly gained the strange ability to block my observations.'

'According to the partial futures I once saw, he will become…, launch… against the entire Cleaners, and destroy…, completely shattering…, and must be dealt with in advance!'

"Sounds like a malevolent soul plotting something?"

After reading the slip—seven or eight key details missing, almost no vital intelligence—the Red-haired Woman's brow tightened in frustration.

"According to this, he'll likely clash with the Cleaners in the future, and has already made contact with them—possibly even allied with someone inside… Li Ang, what do you think?"

"…"

What do I think… I think this is describing me!

He stared at the slip again and again, his eyes scanning the keywords—"from an unknown world," "three years"—and his scalp prickled with unease.

"After coming into contact with the Cleaners'…, he suddenly gained the ability to block my observations." If he wasn't mistaken, the missing "…" here should have read "Taurus Director."

After all, it was only after meeting her that he learned of the Watch Palace's existence—and the Materialist had activated precisely because of the intelligence he gained, shielding him from the Watch Palace's influence. Everything matched.

…

"I'm shocked…"

After honestly answering the Red-haired Woman's question, Li Ang's cheeks twitched slightly as he pointed at the "after coming into contact with…" portion of the slip, sounding slightly guilty:

"Do you think the person who allied with him could be the Aquarius Director?"

"Huh? Why do you think that?"

"Uh… I'm just guessing."

Meeting the two Directors' puzzled stares, Li Ang forged ahead with a wild theory:

"Think about it—the Aquarius Director was a genius in the Secret Art of Aberrant Creation. He's always been obsessed with studying the Watch Palace, and spent years preparing just to ascend it."

"With his talent, after all that research, he might have truly discovered a way to block the Watch Palace's observations. And after encountering that soul from the unknown world, he passed that method on to it."

"I'm not saying it's definitely him—but logically speaking, his suspicion is extremely high, right?"

"Agreed."

After hearing Li Ang's bold hypothesis, the Sagittarius Director—who had remained silent until now—nodded from the other side of the Celestial Mirror.

After acknowledging Li Ang's guess, the middle-aged man with a square, stern face and an air of blunt integrity frowned deeply:

"If we must name someone in the Cleaners who possesses the ability to block the Watch Palace's observations, I can't think of anyone besides the Aquarius Director. This is almost certainly tied to him… By the way, you said earlier the Aquarius Director is still alive?"

"Yes! The Aquarius Director isn't dead!"

Hearing the Sagittarius Director's question, the Red-haired Woman nodded gravely:

"Many years ago, he severed his own soul—more thoroughly than the Pisces Director. Aside from shared memories and identical goals, he's essentially two separate beings now."

"The half of his soul sent into the Dead Realm by the Designated List and the Death Street Lamps was only one part. The other half remains hidden, colluding with the Nightmare King to aid his descent, using the Dream Realm's power to restore his damaged soul."

The Nightmare King?

Hearing the Red-haired Woman's words, the Taurus Director's expression shifted as he rummaged through his slips and pulled one out, handing it over.

"Olivia, is this the one you mean?"

'The Abyss of Fallen Souls is about to merge with reality. The Nightmare King has a slight chance of descending through it. Must expel followers of the Black Cult of Nightmare, and destroy the ritual guiding his descent, to ensure…'

"That's it!"

After skimming the slip's contents, the Red-haired Woman drew a sharp breath, then clenched her fist in helpless frustration:

"I received this message, but the document was delivered by the Aquarius Director—the locations and times marked on it were almost certainly altered by him."

"Your Excellency Taurus, the Nightmare King's descent is now inevitable. Could you or Your Excellency Sagittarius use the Star Palace to teleport here and help me stop him?"

"I'm afraid I can't…"

After a moment's hesitation, the Taurus Director sighed and shook his head:

"The Nightmare King's power is nightmares—he can easily corrupt human souls upon entering reality. My soul has been nurtured for nearly a decade and is now in the final stage of Ascension. If it gets contaminated, all ten years of work will be wasted."

"Even if I could endure another ten years, I'm worried about the Watch Palace's condition—I want to ascend early to investigate. I've already begun the ascent and can't risk exposure to the Nightmare King…"

He slightly pulled open his collar, revealing to Li Ang and the Red-haired Woman his soul—now glowing white and seeping beyond his flesh—and turned to the square-faced man beside him with a hint of apology:

"Your Excellency Andrew, could you go in my place?"