Chapter 55: Knowledge Is Power

"Oh God, it's classified information!"

"No wonder the Bureau people got here so fast. They'd probably dig three feet into the ground to get this back!"

"Do you think they'll leave if we just throw the case back?"

"You wish. They'd only investigate who threw it. I say we should just burn it and save ourselves the trouble."

Faced with these two heavy-duty files, the miniature people argued endlessly.

Shi Rang stared blankly at the documents for a moment, then unpacked the outer layers of the first containment file one by one. As the protective layers were stripped away, the secrets hidden within gradually revealed themselves to him.

"Shi Rang, do you really want to read the information inside? This could bring unnecessary danger," the miniature sheriff warned. "You'll be completely dragged into this."

Shi Rang didn't answer.

He tore off the final layer of protection, quickly flipped through the thin file of A-044 while letting out a huge yawn, and did the exact same thing to the thick relocation plan. Then, amidst the bewildered gazes of the miniature people, he tossed both documents back into the briefcase, crossed his arms, and narrowed his eyes at them.

These two pieces of information—

Shi Rang switched his consciousness and real-world vision, comparing the headquarters webpage with what was right in front of him.

They were all right there on the headquarters site.

As someone with ultimate administrative privileges, Shi Rang found it hard to understand why Björn had risked his life to exchange for this intelligence. Even knowing they were of extraordinary significance, he simply couldn't treat things seriously when he could obtain them with just a few casual clicks.

And the content he could view was even more extensive than what was on paper...

Take the file on A-044, for example.

The physical file consisted of three pages, using densely packed handwriting to detail the apocalyptic-level risks expected of an A-class containment object—this gemstone, codenamed "God's Eye," would automatically seek out a host and convert all biological and non-biological entities within the host's surrounding area, prompting the Bureau to purchase and evacuate tens of kilometers of land around it to establish containment.

However, on the headquarters site, Shi Rang found an input box at the very bottom of the page.

Perhaps it was well-hidden at the code level, but for him, it merely took a few extra seconds to understand.

After decoding, what appeared before Shi Rang was a pop-up window.

[Please verify user authorization.]

The window frame blocked Shi Rang's path like a checkpoint. He hovered before it, gazing at the outline of the information exposed behind the pop-up.

It pointed to many different outcomes brought about by varying levels of clearance.

Obviously, the higher the clearance, the more content one could view, and the closer one got to the truth.

This situation was just like encountering a treasure chest in a video game: you knew it might be a mimic, but it could also hold immense treasure or bottom-of-the-barrel trash. It sat right in the middle of the road, silently blocking your path, with an interactive prompt floating above its head.

Perhaps some people could resist the urge not to click it, but Shi Rang couldn't.

Curiosity was truly a terrifying thing...

[Notice: Impostors claiming to be members of the Council will be executed immediately. If you entered your clearance information by mistake, you have 10 seconds to exit this page before a tactical strike team is dispatched to your location.]

[S13, identity confirmed.]

[Level 5 clearance archival information is about to be deployed.]

[Project Designation: CVA-A-044-"God's Eye"]

[Containment Procedures: Area-44 has been established in the Second District based on the scope of influence of "God's Eye." No personnel may enter the containment zone without Council permission. Any unauthorized personnel entering Area-44 shall be arrested and detained indefinitely. If intruders are confirmed to be members of secret societies such as the "Children of the Stars Cult," the "Black Coven" (click to expand full list), or similar organizations, such members shall be eliminated by operatives using any necessary means.]

S13?

Weren't there only 12 council members?

There were too many bizarre things happening, so Shi Rang temporarily made a mental note of it and read the subsequent description of the project's anomalies. The more he read, the heavier his heart became.

"God's Eye" was a wish-granting machine, and the kind that required no price to be paid by the user.

The Bureau's experimental logs indicated that this price would increase progressively and be reclaimed in unpredictable ways.

The price for "leaving this place" was hundreds of people across the world contracting terminal illnesses of unknown origin—and the wish-granter was captured afterward;

The price for "bestowing great power upon one individual" was dozens of indiscriminate attacks occurring globally, resulting in nearly a thousand casualties—not counting the guards and researchers killed when the wish-granter launched their assaults. The perpetrators were none other than those terminal patients from earlier, who had been simultaneously transformed into threat entities designated "A-044-1" and vanished into thin air after committing their crimes;

The price for "eliminating a high-risk anomalous entity" was the reappearance out of thin air of hundreds of "A-044-1" entities, orchestrating the brutal deaths of all members and close relatives of a small ethnic group, thereby resulting in genocide.

As the number of wishes grew, the power of "God's Eye" became increasingly formidable. If its host was not changed periodically, it would seduce others into making wishes—and nothing, save for bullets, could dissuade those under its control.

Was the organization behind Björn one of the secret societies listed on the termination roster?

Why did they want this intelligence?

Could it be that they coveted this "wish-granting machine"?

Shi Rang didn't think Björn was a good person.

He had read the post-incident investigation report for Facility 031, where Björn had deliberately released numerous anomalies to slaughter the security forces, and had even gone so far as to try to force the "Seed of Doom" to evolve, purely to secure a covert escape for himself.

An organization that harbored such a person could not possibly belong to the "virtuous" faction.

The other transport plan was also on the headquarters site, differing very little from the physical materials Björn had obtained. It merely recorded a relocation plan slated for the second half of this year targeting the Twelfth District. Without a doubt, these containment objects scheduled for relocation were also targets of the mysterious organization.

By this point, Shi Rang had lost all interest in the materials.

He had thought there were some super secrets, but it turned out to be nothing more than this.

He went through the trouble of shredding all the documents. Still uneasy about leaving the remains behind, he fetched a stainless steel basin, unscrewed the kitchen smoke detector, borrowed a flame from the stove, and burned them thoroughly to ashes.

The protective packaging of the files billowed thick black smoke upon contact with the fire, staining the bathroom ceiling, and forcing Shi Rang and the miniature people to retreat outside the bathroom.

While waiting for the exhaust fan to clear out the fumes, Shi Rang came up with an idea.

The enemy was in the dark while he was in the light. When clearing the scene, this mysterious faction must have gathered a good deal of his biological traces. Finding him was only a matter of time; he couldn't escape. If they came knocking at his door, these two files that Shi Rang could access at any time would become his bargaining chips.

*Gentlemen, you wouldn't want the Bureau to know your next target, would you?*

If the nature of the opposing party turned out to be even more malicious, intending to take his life or something similar... Shi Rang feared he might have to surrender himself to the Bureau or seek help from the Pan-Continental Alliance.

The former would expose his implicit communication channel with the Bureau, so he was more inclined toward the latter.

The impression the Alliance people had left him with was quite favorable. Machine-gun girl Scarlett and her partner were a bit eccentric, but they had saved his life and kept him from being buried alive in the factory—they were good people. The investigative authority gave him the possibility of falling out with the editor-in-chief, and the official he met at the supermarket had also treated him well.

If worse came to worst, he would go find the Alliance and ask for asylum.

This mysterious organization was probably not afraid of the police, but they certainly feared the Alliance, right?

Even the Bureau respected the Alliance by three parts!

With his thoughts settled, Shi Rang calmed his mind, only to notice that all the miniature people were looking up at him.

Hundreds of faces, big and small, looked on with eager anticipation, waiting for him to pronounce a verdict on everyone's destiny.

"Don't worry, I have a plan. Let's wait and see when those mysterious people make their move."

If the other party pushed him to the limit, he would add external "settings" to the miniature people and write a little "omnipotence" for himself. This ability was his ultimate trump card.

He sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that.

For the rest of the day, Shi Rang set about disposing of the remaining evidence in his home, while the acrid smell of gunpowder in the bathroom lingered stubbornly. After packing three trash bags to be discarded in batches the next day and texting a colleague to inquire about camera prices, he finally regained a sense of control over his life.

He still had many things to do, but his body could no longer take it. He took a quick shower and collapsed straight into sleep, while the miniature people claimed a blanket on the floor.

More than three hundred tenants and the homeowner quickly drifted off into dreamland.

In his dream, Shi Rang returned once again to that day two years ago.

He turned off the induction cooker, placed the lid back on the soup pot to keep it warm, and looked out with eager anticipation at the bright daylight outside.

Yingshang should be off work by this time, and once she returned, she would be greeted by a table full of fine dishes.

The smile at the corner of his mouth was uncontrollable. He wanted to call Yingshang to ask about her progress, but he was afraid his tone would give away the surprise in advance. So, with his hands behind his back, he paced back and forth around the house again and again, wiping the coffee table and countertops, fidgeting with various small objects all over the place.

The minute hand of the clock ticked past fifteen times.

Shi Rang felt a bit uneasy.

The art studio wasn't far from home; if she took the bus, she should have already arrived downstairs, right?

The dream split at this point, and the conscious part of Shi Rang's mind observed two sets of memories.

In one memory, he continued to wait while sitting at the dining table, while in another, more hazy memory... he picked up his cell phone and happened to receive a call.

A call from Yingshang.