Chapter 120: Knowledge Is a Curse

The headquarters of the Federal Weird Investigation Bureau, the helipad.

A black military helicopter slowly lands, its massive rotors whipping up a gale that makes Nie Yang's black Windcoat rustle.

The cabin door opens, and Nie Yang is the first to step out; the face that always bears a warm smile now shows no warmth at all.

Close behind is L, clutching a laptop, her eyes obscured behind thick lenses.

Finally, two workers in protective suits, carrying a corpse covered with a white sheet, carefully descend the gangway.

Beneath the white sheet is Liu Can.

The Federation‑hired hypnosis master, the elite who had just been grateful to have survived the ordeal, falls silent and dies on the return flight the next second.

The manner of death is identical to Luo Feng's.

Nie Yang says nothing; he simply pulls the Thermal Cup from his pocket, unscrews it, and gulps a large mouthful.

The warm goji‑berry water slides down his throat, yet it cannot dispel the growing chill in his heart.

A few hours later.

The autopsy room door is pushed open; a forensic doctor removes his mask, his complexion pale, and steps out to hand a report to the waiting Nie Yang.

"Captain Nie, the results are in."

Nie Yang takes the report and scans it line by line.

"Cause of death... acute cardiac failure. Completely consistent with the previous victims. No external injuries or signs of poisoning found in the body."

All of this was expected.

But on the last page of the report, a bolded line makes Nie Yang's pupils contract slightly.

【According to bone‑age testing, the deceased Liu Can, age 29, shows a wrist bone epiphyseal line... in a slightly unclosed state.】

Barely... qualifies as physiologically "underage".

Nie Yang's fingers gripping the report tighten ever so slightly.

"Heh."

Nie Yang lets out an ambiguous low chuckle.

L beside him pushes up her glasses, the lenses reflecting the Corridor's pallid lights.

At that moment, the laptop in L's lap emits a soft sound.

"Beep."

She glances down, then looks up at Nie Yang, her voice flat and steady.

"The investigator who went down for field interviews has produced a deep background report on Liu Can."

"When he was first summoned, his background data and résumé contained none of these details."

"Hypnosis is a useful ability; without sending dedicated personnel to traverse Liu Can's social network and trace the faintest clues, it would truly be impossible to uncover."

L turns the laptop toward Nie Yang.

On the screen is a top‑secret file highlighted in red.

It details how, over the past five years, Liu Can abused his position, under the guise of "psychological therapy," to deeply hypnotize at least seven women and, while they were unconscious, engage in relations with them.

The file's attachments even include two abortion records.

The evidence is as solid as a mountain.

He is a beast cloaked in an elite exterior.

He also bears guilt.

Nie Yang stares at the screen, his expression gradually loosening.

"I see."

He leisurely unscrews the Thermal Cup and takes another sip.

"Now it all makes sense. Guilty, with an unclosed bone line, perfectly matches the selection criteria of the Midnight Nightmare."

His tone is relaxed, as if discussing today's weather.

"Having the power to do anything at will yet still aspiring to be a saint—that's the hardest part. You agree, L?"

L gives no reply, merely nods, turns the computer back, and continues typing.

The situation seems to have returned to a controllable range.

Although an important expert died, at least the Weird murder pattern's trigger conditions remain unchanged.

Yet the chill that has settled in his heart does not dissipate.

Nie Yang's smile stays unchanged, but his gaze grows ever deeper.

He slowly walks to the window, watching the countless lights of the steel‑forest outside.

"But..."

He speaks softly, breaking the brief calm.

"There is still one question that cannot be explained."

"How was he marked?"

"Liu Can never saw the news about Gao Zhiyuan, nor did he encounter any source‑contamination information. We have repeatedly verified this."

L remains silent.

This is also the only unresolved logical loophole in her database.

A fatal loophole.

Nie Yang's finger joints unconsciously tap lightly on the cold window glass.

"Tap."

"Tap."

"Tap."

One beat, then another, as if striking everyone's heart.

Suddenly.

The typing sound from L stopped.

Nie Yang keenly sensed the abnormality, turned around, and looked at L.

The girl cradled the computer, standing there quietly, like a lifeless statue.

After a full ten‑plus seconds, L slowly lifted her head.

Behind the heavy lenses, her gaze, rarely, showed shock.

Her lips moved a few times, and the sound that came out carried a hint of dryness and tremor she herself had not even noticed.

"Captain......"

"The Central Database just received emergency reports from five different city bureaus."

"In the past hour, within the Federation's territory, twenty‑one new victims of the 'Midnight Nightmare' have been added."

Nie Yang's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Twenty‑one?!"

"What is their commonality?"

"They have all never been exposed to source contamination."

L's voice, like a cold chisel, chipped away at Nie Yang's final mental defenses, one strike at a time.

"After tracing their online behavior and social connections, we found... among these twenty‑one people, nine had heard colleagues or friends discuss rumors of the 'Midnight Nightmare'."

"Seven had seen discussion threads on internet forums about the 'Midnight Nightmare' killing pattern."

"And five more......"

L paused briefly, as if even she, a humanoid supercomputer, found the next words hard to believe.

"The other five, merely out of curiosity, typed the four characters 'Midnight Nightmare' into a search engine."

Boom!

Nie Yang's mind burst with a buzzing pop.

In an instant, all the clues and all the doubts linked together.

"Why was Liu Can killed?"

"Because, as a core member of the investigation team, he was deeply involved in probing the 'Midnight Nightmare'!"

"He perceived it!"

"He understood it!"

"They were wrong......"

"They were wrong from the very beginning!"

"This Weird mode of transmission is not that already‑blocked news article!"

"Nor is it the name Gao Zhiyuan!"

"It is the concept of the 'Midnight Nightmare' itself!"

"It's about its...... knowledge!"

"Any form of awareness—whether hearing, seeing, or discussing—once you know of its existence and its killing pattern......"

"... you will be marked!"

"This is not a virus with an origin at all!"

"It is a plague of thought!"

"A lethal strike that spreads through 'knowledge'—intangible, silent, and impossible to isolate......!"

Nie Yang felt his limbs turn icy cold.

He recalled something and suddenly looked at L.

L was also looking at him.

From each other's gaze, the two saw the same thing, named 'Despair'.

In society, rumors about the 'Midnight Nightmare' have long been rampant.

Those self‑media chasing clicks, those 'informed' who loudly debate online, those ordinary people whispering behind closed doors......

Exactly how many people have, without realizing, already been marked?

Ten million?

One hundred million?

Or...... more?

Nie Yang's Thermal Cup 'Clang' onto the floor, spilling scorching goji berry tea everywhere.

ps:

Burned out, only managed to push out one chapter by early morning.

Let's see if there's still a chance to squeeze in another chapter today orz