“Woooo—buzz—”
Once again… that ethereal sound capable of etching itself into the soul appeared in Qiu Qiqian’s mind. This time, it felt as though it was coming from right inside this branch hall.
“Yes, that’s the sound…”
Qiu Qiqian looked around, trying to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from.
“But you probably can’t hear it, right?”
“No… this time I can hear it.”
Li Meng raised her hand and instinctively pulled Qiu Qiqian behind her, stepping in front while staring fixedly in the direction they had come from.
Gulp—
Splash—
Something extremely violent, carrying tremendous force, was surging toward them from the direction they had come.
That rushing sound… could it be?!
Boom!!
A torrent of floodwater slammed into the wall at the corner, then swept through the hall like a ferocious beast, carrying chairs and greenery straight toward the two of them.
Fish caught in the floodwater were leaping inside it. In the instant they jumped out of the water, Li Meng and Qiu Qiqian could clearly see the cold glint of sharp fangs reflecting under the emergency lights.
Those were not normal fish at all!
Qiu Qiqian used her telekinesis to create an invisible barrier in front of herself and Li Meng, forcefully withstanding the impact of the flood.
Like a diverter, after blocking the initial surge, the floodwater naturally flowed past them on both sides. During this, mutated fish attacked from time to time, and among them were even a few human-headed tadpoles—the “Drowning Savages.”
Those Guiyi that only appeared in the periphery of the Inner World—how on earth had they shown up here?
Qiu Qiqian didn’t quite understand, so she focused on dealing with the situation in front of her. She summoned those powerful black arms, instantly grabbing the reckless Guiyi and crushing them as easily as popping tomatoes.
The Wart Crystals produced when they died naturally remained in the palms of those black hands.
Woooo—
Once again… Qiu Qiqian had already lost count of how many times she had heard that whale call.
That sound, which seemed capable of striking directly at the soul, caused her consciousness to blur for a moment. The world before her eyes also turned illusory.
By the time her mind cleared again, she suddenly realized there was no water flow at all around her and Li Meng.
There weren’t even any traces of it having rushed past.
Even the chairs and greenery that had been swept up earlier were now back in their original positions.
But Qiu Qiqian knew that what had just happened was not an illusion, because the Wart Crystals from those Guiyi were still in the black hands she had summoned.
“What was that just now…”
Qiu Qiqian touched her head, trying to confirm whether her perception had become confused because of that whale call.
Li Meng squatted down and gently touched the ground beside her…
There was indeed Nether Breath present… but it probably didn’t belong to the target Guiyi this time.
She could tell that the Nether Breath lingering here right now had no ability to create an Inner World.
“Xiao Qian, I told you before, right? There’s a situation where the Inner World replaces reality, called the ‘Floating Demon Palace.’”
“I remember. What about it?”
“Actually, starting from the ‘Titan’ level, Guiyi can manifest localized parts of the Inner World into reality on a small scale. Although the affected area isn’t large and it can’t last long, it already has the prototype of the ‘Floating Demon Palace.’”
Li Meng stood up straight, gazing at the direction from which the flood had come, her expression turning somewhat serious.
“The flood that attacked us just now, along with the low-level Guiyi it carried, was probably summoned by it from the Inner World. But… what is its purpose in doing this?”
“Hmm… a test? Or perhaps… a warning? That’s what it feels like to me. After all, if it really wanted to attack us, why didn’t it just drag us straight into the Inner World?”
“Maybe it’s like you said, Xiao Qian. But… a ‘Titan’ level… In that case, we can’t afford to delay any longer.”
Li Meng took out her phone again and dialed Sister Nan’s number.
“I’ll tell Sister Nan what we just encountered. This should make them take this area seriously. Afterward, we’ll go see Curator Yu and find out where those victims are now.”
***
Knock knock knock…
Knock knock knock…
“Mr. Yu, are you still there? We have some questions we’d like to ask.”
Li Meng knocked on the door of the reception room and called out, but the only response from inside was dead silence.
“Did he leave?”
Li Meng muttered softly.
“Whether he left or not, I can just check.”
Qiu Qiqian’s mind stirred. She switched to her spiritual form and poked her head through the door panel.
The reception room was pitch black, with no sign of anyone. It really looked like no one was inside.
Qiu Qiqian pulled back and shook her head at Li Meng, indicating that the room was empty.
“But that’s normal. It’s a reception room, so it’s only used when receiving guests. He might have gone back to his own office now,” Qiu Qiqian guessed matter-of-factly.
“Hmm… then let’s see if there are any other staff members left. It’s such a big aquarium—it can’t be that everyone has gone home.”
“Um… are you two… looking for Curator Yu?”
Just as the two were about to turn and leave, a woman in work attire appeared in the corridor, preparing to open the door to another room.
The three… well, two people and one Guiyi looked at each other. They realized the woman was the same one who had brought them here earlier.
“Weren’t you the one who brought us here earlier? How come you haven’t gotten off work yet?”
Qiu Qiqian asked with her arms crossed.
“Don’t tell me… that Curator Yu forced you all to stay and isn’t even paying overtime? And said something like… ‘If you won’t do it, plenty of others will’?”
“Ah, it’s not that bad.”
The woman smiled bitterly and waved her hands in explanation. It seemed Curator Yu had squeezed them in other ways before.
“Actually, I’m on the late shift today. I’m in charge of handling some matters after Curator Yu leaves. If you two still have questions, you can come to my office.”
Qiu Qiqian and Li Meng nodded and followed the woman to her office.
Compared to Curator Yu’s own reception room, her office could truly be described as… simple.
There were no antique vases or other collectibles, nor expensive leather sofas. All it had were a few potted plants, ordinary chairs, and a desk.
Once they were seated, Li Meng and Qiu Qiqian could clearly sense that the woman was a little nervous.
Her eyes were somewhat evasive, and she kept her hands under the desk, not daring to bring them out.
It almost felt like she was the one being interviewed while Qiu Qiqian and Li Meng were the interviewers.
Perhaps she had never dealt with people of their status before…
Li Meng thought to herself.
“We’d like to ask… where are the victims who previously encountered the anomalies now?”
When Qiu Qiqian asked this question, she could clearly detect the woman’s breathing pause for a moment. It seemed this question had struck a sensitive spot.
“Well… about that… I’m not really sure…”
“You’re not sure, or you can’t say?”
Qiu Qiqian leaned forward slightly. As a Guiyi, the Nether Breath she continuously emitted already placed constant pressure on ordinary people. Combined with her sharp gaze, the woman opposite her already had sweaty palms.
“I…”
“Let me handle it.”
Li Meng patted Qiu Qiqian’s arm and spoke softly. Then she showed a gentle, friendly smile to the woman in front of her. Her clear eyes helped the woman relax her tense state a little.
“I know you might have some difficulties, but… we’ve already discovered the presence of a Guiyi in this aquarium. If we leave it unchecked, it could eventually endanger the entire aquarium. We need information on those victims. It’s very important to us.”
“If you really have any concerns, the Association will help you resolve them. So… please tell us where those people are now.”
The woman’s heart clearly went through a struggle.
She glanced around in panic, biting her lower lip until it turned slightly pale. Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she let out a long sigh.
“Sigh… alright… Actually, our curator repeatedly instructed us not to talk about this matter to outsiders.”
“Him? Why?”
Qiu Qiqian frowned slightly, not quite understanding why the curator would do that.
“I don’t know either. Maybe… he’s afraid it would damage the aquarium’s reputation? Most of the victims have already been discharged and are resting at home. But because of the mental trauma, they all refuse visitors. My colleagues and I tried visiting them several times but were turned away at the door. There’s only one exception…”
“What happened with that one?”
“His mental state was severely damaged. After his physical condition stabilized, he was transferred to Qingling Mental Hospital. I visited him once… He’s gone mad… He keeps muttering things like ‘Don’t come over,’ ‘I didn’t kill you,’ and so on. He even constantly says, ‘It’s all Yu Sheng’s fault,’ ‘It’s him, it’s all him’… It scared all of us quite a bit.”
Yu Sheng… related to Curator Yu? What exactly did he do that would make a madman remember him so obsessively?
Qiu Qiqian secretly speculated in her heart. She had a strong feeling that Curator Yu was hiding a lot of things from the two of them.
“By the way, do you… want the addresses of those people, as well as the locations where the anomalies occurred before? I can organize and print a copy for you right now, including the ward number of the employee who was transferred to the mental hospital.”
“Yes, please print a copy. Thank you for your trouble,” Li Meng said gently and waited quietly until the documents were printed and handed to her.
After receiving the documents, Li Meng glanced at the current locations of these people and then shifted closer to Qiu Qiqian.
“Xiao Qian, what do you think? Which one of these people should we visit first?”
“Go straight to the one in the mental hospital,” Qiu Qiqian replied without hesitation, surprising Li Meng beside her.
“Eh? But he’s mentally ill… How are we supposed to communicate with him?”
“Trust me.”
Qiu Qiqian turned to look at Li Meng, her eyes looking quite determined.
She had seen this kind of trope too many times in horror movies. People who seemed mentally ill were often the ones who had experienced the most and carried the most secrets.
Therefore, starting with him would definitely uncover some unexpected information.
As for how to communicate with a mentally ill person… they would figure it out once they got there, right?
“Hmm… alright! I trust Xiao Qian! Then let’s start with this mentally ill patient.”
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