Chapter 112: Erasing the

Federal Weird Investigation Bureau.

Zhao Kang lifted the Thermal Cup stamped with the character "Fu", leisurely adding a few plump red goji berries inside.

The tea aroma wafted as he reclined in an expensive ergonomic chair, the screen displaying a travel guide to the Maldives.

Just as he blissfully planned next month's vacation, the office's red alarm light suddenly flared wildly without warning!

The shrill alarm sound instantly tore the calm!

"All analysts above Level 3! Report immediately to the Central Data Hall! Repeat! Report immediately!"

The superior's near‑roaring command blasted through the intercom.

Zhao Kang jolted, nearly tossing the Thermal Cup from his hand.

His heart dropped; an ominous foreboding rose instantly.

As he scrambled, crawling into the Central Data Hall, he was frozen on the spot, stunned by the scene before him.

On the massive circular screen, a huge Federation map flickered with crimson warning dots—each signifying death—at a staggering speed!

The dots spread from one city to another, from the East Coast to the Western Continent, nearly forming a blood‑colored star map!

And each dot's details bore the same shocking code—【Revenge Nightmare】!

"How… how could this be…?"

Zhao Kang's rosy complexion drained completely, leisure and ease turning into terror, his limbs turning cold.

His "Threat Neutralized" C-level report now stood before the wildly pulsing red data stream as the most absurd, most sarcastic joke.

The Central Data Hall, dead silent.

The air was as heavy as mercury.

Wei Gong, dressed in a plain Zhongshan suit, stood quietly before the massive electronic map; beneath his graying hair, his deeply wrinkled face was so sullen it seemed to weep.

He said nothing, yet the looming, storm‑like pressure already kept every Senior Executive in the room from daring a breath.

On the map, the death‑signaling dots had surged from a few to thirty‑two.

In just one night.

Seven different Federation cities.

Thirty‑two vibrant lives, in exactly the same way, were drained of life in their sleep by extreme terror.

"Zhao Kang."

Wei Gong finally spoke, his voice low yet clearly reaching everyone's ears.

His gaze, like the sharpest scalpel, locked precisely onto the pallid Zhao Kang in the crowd.

Zhao Kang trembled all over, shaking like a sieve, barely holding himself upright.

Wei Gong didn't look at him; he simply lifted his hand and lightly tapped the console before him.

The assessment report Zhao Kang had just submitted, marked "Threat level significantly reduced" and "Recommend conversion to long‑term observation target," was instantly enlarged and projected onto the central main screen.

Every word struck like a loud slap, hammering Zhao Kang's face.

Wei Gong slowly turned, his seemingly clouded old eyes now as sharp as knives.

"Analyst Zhao."

He asked in a tone devoid of any emotion, coldly:

"Is this the 'C-level Fierce Ghost' you claimed had been quelled?"

"Thirty‑two lives—how do you explain that?"

How to explain?

Zhao Kang's mind went blank, buzzing.

He opened his mouth, but no sound emerged from his throat.

Under Wei Gong's all‑piercing gaze, he felt like a stripped‑bare Clown, every luck and laziness mercilessly torn away, exposed to everyone.

His legs began to give way, cold sweat instantly soaking the back of his expensive shirt.

I... I... report...

He stammered incoherently, unable to utter a complete sentence.

In Wei Gong's eyes there was no anger, only cold disappointment.

"This is a serious dereliction of duty; you will accept suspension for reflection."

"If your erroneous assessment leads to irreversible severe consequences later, what awaits you will be judgment from the Federation."

"Take him away!"

He was too lazy to glance at Zhao Kang again, merely uttering those four words lightly.

Two expressionless guards in black uniforms stepped out of the shadows, one on each side, seizing the limp Zhao Kang and dragging him out of the hall like pulling a dead dog.

Only after being dragged outside did Zhao Kang's mournful, pleading and crying scream faintly reach them, then it quickly vanished.

In the hall, everyone fell silent as cold cicadas.

Wei Gong's expression did not change at all.

He turned back to the blood‑stained map, speaking in a deep voice:

"Obviously, this is not a simple 'Fierce Ghost' revenge incident."

"Revenge requires a clear motive and target. Now, the 'Revenge Nightmare' target has become generalized, spreading across the entire Federation. This is far beyond the scope of a 'Fierce Ghost.'"

He paused, each word striking the crowd's hearts heavily.

"This is a 'Strange Tale.'"

"A rule‑based murderous weirdness with powerful transmissibility!"

Strange Tale!

Those two words made many faces in the room turn even paler in an instant.

Fierce Ghost still leaves a trace, whereas the legend represents the unknown and an unstoppable spread!

"From now on, overturn the naming of the 'Revenge Nightmare'."

Lord Wei's gaze swept across the room, bearing unquestionable authority.

"Its official code name is—'Midnight Nightmare'."

"Technology Department!" he raised his voice, "I'll give you ten minutes; I want to know its method of transmission! Immediately investigate all information traces of every victim within the twenty‑four hours before death!"

"Yes!"

The technicians, as if pardoned, rushed back to their stations like madmen, and the clatter of keyboards instantly filled the air.

Time passed second by second.

The atmosphere in the hall became oppressively extreme.

Seven minutes later.

A young technician wearing black‑rimmed glasses, looking barely twenty, ran over with a pale face, clutching a tablet.

"Lord Wei… Lord Wei! We've found it! We've found it!"

His voice trembled, and his eyes held incredulous fear.

"Speak!"

"All victims… all thirty‑two victims, within the twenty‑four hours before death, became aware of information related to the 'Gao Zhiyuan Incident' through various channels!"

The technician, hands shaking, projected the tablet data onto the big screen.

On the screen were screenshots of various social media, news app pushes, and short‑video playback logs.

Some had seen that wildly shared parent‑meeting video.

Some had read the public‑account article analyzing the incident's whole story.

Some even only saw a few forwarded pictures in a chat group.

The technician's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and with difficulty uttered the final conclusion:

"Preliminary judgment… the marking method of 'Midnight Nightmare' is cognition!"

"Any form of acquiring information about the 'Gao Zhiyuan Incident', including videos and articles, will be marked by it!"

"And among the marked, the dead are all under thirty. Preliminary judgment: anyone who meets both conditions of 'physiologically underage with unclosed growth plates' and 'bearing guilt'… will trigger its killing rule!"

Boom!

This conclusion, like a nuclear bomb, exploded in everyone's mind with a thunderous blast!

Everyone felt a chill surge from the soles of their feet straight up to the Heavenly Spirit Cover!

How is this still something Weird?

This is essentially an invisible, thought‑targeted, indefensible horror plague!

In this era of information explosion, who can guarantee they won't see a single news piece? Who can guarantee they won't encounter any related information?

This means the entire Federation, every net‑user, every news reader, every person still socializing… could become a host for the 'Midnight Nightmare'!

And every erring minor could, on the next night, become its prey!

This is a slaughter aimed at the Federation's 'future'!

An unseen, untouchable, yet ubiquitous despair instantly enveloped the entire hall.

Bang!

Lord Wei slapped the console hard, producing a massive sound!

His solid, mountain‑like aura spread at that moment.

"Raise the threat level of 'Midnight Nightmare' immediately to—A Ji!"

"Immediately mobilize elite forces and establish a 'Midnight Nightmare' Emergency Investigation Task Force!"

"At the same time, notify all branches to begin preparing the highest‑spec 'Countermeasure Group'!"

His voice echoed in the deathly silent hall, bearing steel‑like resolve.

"I don't care what it is!"

"Even if it is a plague, we must create a vaccine!"

"Even if it is a thought, we must forge a weapon that can utterly eradicate it!"