Chapter 100: Communication with the Dead

Chapter 100: Communication with the Dead

It must be admitted that even among peers there are disparities. The differences between Other Domain detectives were enormous. Some people would need two doses of suppressants just from glancing at a cursed object, their ribs aching when calculating returns afterward. Others were like legendary investigators from stories, kicking open the doors of an Other Domain and walking straight in, then beating the entities inside into submission…

But Little Red Riding Hood quickly adjusted her mentality and did not bother arguing with the so-called “travelling trio” in front of her. After all, according to the Special Operations Bureau’s assessment, and her own judgment, the three members of this so-called “travel group” did not even add up to a complete “human.” One of them was even very likely a high-risk entity. There was no point comparing Other Domain adaptability with such people.

Yu Sheng, however, did not know what the red-clad girl was thinking. He simply circled the eerie sacrificial body again, trying to find more clues, and asked another curious question.

“So if this was done by a person, what kind of pervert would that be? I can understand coming in to steal something. We’re basically here to steal something too. But after stealing it, setting up something like this… what’s the point?”

“Eerie religious ritual. The sacrifice itself is probably the main goal. Taking the Wailing One sculpture might have just been incidental,” Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. “People who do this are usually cultists or extremists. They hope to gain power, enlightenment, blessings, or the attention of some strange existence by offering sacrifices to Other Domains. And judging from the level of mental contamination this sacrificer has already produced, the person behind this ritual… is an expert.”

“There are people like that?!” Yu Sheng widened his eyes in surprise. “People actually ‘follow’ something like Other Domains?”

“They are not following the Other Domain itself, but power and higher-dimensional things. The Other Domain is just the most convenient path to the supernatural,” Little Red Riding Hood sighed, revealing another side of the world to this clueless newcomer. “Sacred Ascetic Society, Blackpoint Group, Angel Cultists, and those wandering ‘conversion collectives’ in the Other Domains who may no longer even be fully human… they might all do things like this.”

She paused, her expression becoming somewhat complicated.

“Other Domains… many people suffer from them. They exist in the Boundary Zone, and they exist outside it as well. We can save many people, but even more are not saved in time and fall into… the ‘other side’ of the world, never to return.”

“Those who are not saved but are not dead either either go mad, are taken away by the groups I mentioned, or are completely turned into something no longer human. The influence of Other Domains on human minds is enormous. Temptation by power, hallucinations, false memories… all of these are common.”

“Think about it, you should understand. With so many strange Other Domains and dangerous entities, after prolonged contact, not everyone can remain steadfast. There are always people who stray from the path…”

“However…”

“However?” Yu Sheng asked when she stopped.

“However, illegal intrusion like this is not common in the Boundary Zone,” Little Red Riding Hood said solemnly. “The entire Boundary Zone is monitored by the node network. How did the intruder in this museum get in unnoticed?”

“Then that’s something the Special Operations Bureau will have a headache over. The nodes are their system. If there’s really a loophole, it’s going to be a big problem.”

Yu Sheng said this and shook his head, then walked toward the sacrificial platform.

Little Red Riding Hood immediately exclaimed, “What are you doing?”

“Taking him down,” Yu Sheng said naturally. “He’s already dead. He shouldn’t have to suffer like this. I can see it. We can’t just leave him like this.”

“Careful of curses! It’s better to leave this to the Special Operations Bureau’s Deep Divers…” Little Red Riding Hood instinctively warned, but halfway through she stopped.

If Special Operations Bureau Deep Divers came in fully equipped, they might not have higher resistance than this man…

“Do we need to preserve the scene?” Yu Sheng turned back and asked curiously.

“…Yes,” Little Red Riding Hood thought for a moment and nodded. “We’d better not touch anything. Leave it to professionals.”

“Oh.” Yu Sheng nodded, slightly regretful. He had already reached the platform and examined the binding structure of the iron brambles, even finding an opening while preparing to pull them off. But considering the need to preserve the scene, he let go. After a brief hesitation, he even nodded toward the victim on the platform.

“Sorry about this, brother. I’m not a professional. Once we get out, I’ll report it to the Special Operations Bureau and have them send someone to take you out. Bear with it a little longer.”

Little Red Riding Hood looked at him with a strange expression.

Yu Sheng noticed her gaze. “What?”

She almost said, “I didn’t expect you to be so humane,” but changed it at the last moment. “I didn’t expect you to be so compassionate. A lot of people get used to deaths in Other Domains and just report it afterward. Few would care this much… or even talk to the dead.”

Hu Li frowned slightly. “Isn’t that a bit cold?”

Little Red Riding Hood sighed. “In Other Domains, corpses often become hazards. It’s common for victims’ bodies to turn into the next attacker.”

Yu Sheng waved his hand. “No choice. I’m a beginner. I don’t know these rules.”

As he spoke, his fingertip accidentally brushed the edge of the platform.

He touched the almost-dried blood.

The surroundings fell silent in an instant.

Everything happened in a flash. Yu Sheng did not immediately understand what was going on. He saw Little Red Riding Hood, Irene, and Hu Li suddenly freeze in place. Then everything in the hall rapidly lost color, becoming dark and oppressive. A monochrome grayscale covered the entire exhibition hall. In this suddenly still and silent world, he stood dazed for two or three seconds, then suddenly heard a faint creaking sound behind him.

It sounded like stiff joints forcing themselves to move. In the dead silence, the sound was almost piercing.

Yu Sheng slowly turned his head.

The corpse bound by iron brambles on the platform also slowly turned its head.

One slowly, horrifyingly so. One covered in blood and filth.

“Wha—” Yu Sheng instinctively shouted, but stopped halfway because the corpse spoke.

“Who killed me…” the corpse said, lips moving stiffly. “Who killed me was… was…”

Yu Sheng was already confused, but still immediately cut in anxiously. “Get to the point first! Forget grammar!”

Then the corpse took a breath.

“The ones who killed me were Angel Cultists. Two men. One about 1.7 meters tall, chubby black hair, short cut, glasses, in his thirties, a mole on his forehead. The other about 1.8 meters, very thin, bald, high nose bridge, in his forties, wearing a silver watch on his left hand. They kept repeating ‘you will help His descent’ and ‘let the Savior be freed from suffering’ while acting. Heavy accent from South City Five Pine River area. They didn’t take the Wailing One sculpture, just threw it into the opposite corridor. They weren’t interested in it, only here for the sacrificial ritual, it hurts so much I’m dying…”

The corpse rattled off the entire sequence at extreme speed, even biting its tongue once or twice. Then it suddenly relaxed, tilting its head up to the ceiling of the white exhibition hall, whispering slowly like a dream.

“Ah… eternal peace is coming for me…”

He slowly lowered his head and returned to the kneeling “Wailing One” posture, becoming completely still.

Yu Sheng: “…”

He stood frozen beside the platform, completely stunned. The corpse had spoken so fast he had barely processed anything. After two seconds he finally reacted.

“Hey wait! Say that again!”

The corpse gave no response.

Instead, the monochrome world abruptly faded. Little Red Riding Hood, Irene, and Hu Li all instantly returned to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.

Irene was the first to notice the subtle change in Yu Sheng’s expression and atmosphere. She looked at him curiously.

“Hey? What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly so serious?”

Only then did Yu Sheng fully come back to himself. He took a breath, turned toward Little Red Riding Hood, and repeated.

“The killer was Angel Cultists. Two men. One about 1.7 meters, chubby, black hair, short cut, glasses, thirties, a mole on his forehead. The other about 1.8 meters, thin, bald, high nose bridge, forties, wearing a watch. They kept saying things like ‘help His descent’ and ‘Savior freed from suffering.’ I didn’t catch everything. Heavy accent, maybe South City Five River area. They threw the Wailing One sculpture into the opposite corridor…”

He paused.

“…I almost forgot.”

Little Red Riding Hood stared blankly. “…Huh?”