A cold chill ran down Ji Ting’s spine.
For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether the scene before him was a dream or reality.
Recalling how unusually enthusiastic those in the protective suits had been earlier, a tingling numbness crept over his scalp.
Sensing Ji Ting’s abnormal reaction, the staff member who had been casually reminding him suddenly grew serious.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
After the initial chaos, order quickly returned to the scene, and Ji Ting was brought back to the conference room.
The projector screen was playing earlier footage.
Human senses may be distorted by various factors, but technology remains faithful to reality.
The recording started when Ji Ting reached the door of the room.
The footage showed only the busy researchers inside, since the camera was fixed indoors; Ji Ting himself never appeared in the video.
This proved conclusively that Ji Ting had not entered the room during that time and had no contact with the researchers in protective suits.
The line between reality and illusion became crystal clear.
“In this kind of special worldview, hallucinations are normal. Or rather, hallucinations are a common factor.
“In fact, the encounter She Lang just described—we tend to think they were subjected to large-scale hallucinatory effects, which led to the series of bizarre events in the graveyard.”
“Much like Ji Ting’s recent experience, when hallucinations and reality look too similar, it’s easy to confuse one for the other. Add to that the unique environment of the tomb—long underground, enclosed, full of various fungi and microorganisms…”
As Ji Ting listened, he felt like he was watching an episode of Approaching Science—intriguing at first, then suddenly anticlimactic.
Fortunately, the speaker didn’t go on for long before handing the floor to someone else.
“At present, it’s unclear why only Ji Ting was affected—She Lang’s other contacts in recent days, according to follow-up observations, have all been normal.”
The speaker paused.
“This might be related to Ji Ting’s ‘special identity,’ or perhaps some other factor we haven’t considered yet…”
Before he could finish, a pattern suddenly flashed in Ji Ting’s mind—a huge eye, coldly staring at the onlooker.
Ji Ting instinctively interrupted, “Besides me, has anyone else seen the pattern on She Lang up close?”
The room fell silent for a moment, filled with the sounds of shuffling papers and keyboard tapping.
The conclusion came swiftly: “Only Ji Ting meets that criterion.”
“So, this is a ‘curse’ side effect?” someone murmured, jotting the point down, then muttering, “We should give him a full check-up later—maybe we’ll find something.”
The conversation quickly shifted to another topic.
“The hallucination you saw is very interesting. It almost perfectly matches reality, overlapping heavily with the information we gathered on-site—except for the last part…”
Another person pulled up a PPT slide, showing a photo of the chair on the projector.
“In such a short timeframe, we don’t have the technology to verify the specifics of this mark, let alone confirm, as your hallucination suggested, that there was a second living thing inside the room at the time.”
Someone pondered aloud, “Could this be the hallucination trying to tell us something?”
Another dissented, “I think you’re overthinking it. In this special worldview, hallucinations only serve to scare people—or more precisely, to fulfill the ‘curse.’”
***
“In fact, the effect is pretty good. Ji Ting was scared at first, right? If he were more timid and without so many aids, he would have been in a state of constant terror, and even a slight sound might have frightened him to death.”
“I suspect this is the truth behind those accidental deaths—what look like accidents are actually deaths caused by a combination of hallucination and fear.”
The discussion grew heated, with more information flowing in from other teams, giving everyone a more comprehensive understanding of the current situation.
The energy generated by the state apparatus in motion was something hard to imagine without witnessing it firsthand.
Medical records of those hospitalized, the movements of the people involved over the past two months, and the exact location of the large tomb on Mount Jimo—all were sorted out in detail in a short time.
If they wished, a large-scale rescue excavation could be carried out on that ancient tomb at any time, and the source of the problem cleaned out in less than a day.
No matter how strange the graveyard, under the modern archaeological techniques of hundreds or thousands of people, it would have to face the harsh reality of “times have changed.”
But they had no intention of solving the problem so bluntly.
The graveyard and curse were not the real targets of their serious response.
The root cause for them accompanying She Lang on this “pretend play” was the abnormal events triggered by the fusion of the novel and reality.
The abnormal events under their control were invaluable, and everyone was sharpening their skills to find patterns for dealing with such anomalies in the future.
The repeatedly emphasized goal at the previous meeting—to find ways to resolve these special incidents with minimal cost before they expand—was more than just talk; they were serious about it.
After the debate wound down, Ji Ting was taken for a full medical examination.
But due to the many items on the checklist, the earliest the report would be ready was the next day.
Meanwhile, research on the chair was progressing simultaneously.
After all, pure hallucinations and actual living creatures are completely different concepts.
The danger of the former is much less than the latter, and the existence of the latter would prove that this “curse” was not limited to hallucinations, or rather, that in the world of this novel, there truly exist bizarre beings.
However, Ji Ting belonged to the task force, not the researchers, so he simply went to watch the live broadcast of the Tian Shu squad’s current operation.
***
She Lang grew increasingly uneasy.
He had never seen “colleagues” so disciplined before.
Their military training was superb, and their operational discipline was astonishing.
If that were all, She Lang might have simply admired how well Ji Ting’s militarized management worked.
But beyond that, he witnessed firsthand just how incredible Ji Ting’s power was.
There was nothing unusual about the flight from A City to Province X, but once they landed and entered Province X, countless signs could no longer be ignored, piling up before She Lang’s eyes.
Province X was already remote and backward, and the location of Mount Jimo was even more isolated—so much so that it was impossible to find on maps.
When She Lang had previously gone to Mount Jimo, he spent a lot of time searching for roads, asking directions, switching vehicles, and hiring guides.
That alone took nearly half a month.
But this time was completely different.
From the moment they got off the plane, it felt as if everything had been arranged in advance.
Transportation and guides were all ready, requiring no effort from them.
The men in black suits seemed used to this, silently handing off with strangers and switching vehicles.
Even the quality of the guides was astonishing.
Having run through countless remote mountain paths, She Lang knew the nature of guides in these backwater areas very well—no matter how reliable, most were sly, always trying to milk extra money from outsiders, and fond of chatting aimlessly.
But these guides were like gourds with their mouths sewn shut—silent and taciturn, only leading the way, reaching the destination, and then leaving without saying a word.
Under such efficient traveling, She Lang saw the destination drawing closer, and when he looked up, the sun hadn’t even set.
The contrast with his previous trip was too stark.
She Lang was not only shocked but also a bit fearful.
What kind of big shots had I been talking to before?
The thought naturally surfaced in his mind.
All those rumors related to Ji Ting flooded his head, overwhelming in presence.
Seeing Mount Jimo so close, curiosity got the better of She Lang.
He approached the lead man in black and tried to strike up a conversation.
“Hey, buddy, let’s talk a bit?”
***
The man in black glanced at him sideways, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, and as always, ignored him.
She Lang wasn’t annoyed.
After all he’d been through, he felt such an attitude was completely justified.
After all, their boss was that formidable!
She Lang shamelessly continued, “Your boss…”
The moment the words left his mouth, the man in black locked eyes with him.
She Lang hurriedly explained, “No offense—I just heard lots of rumors about him in the Jianghu, and I’m curious what’s true and what’s not.”
The man in black withdrew his gaze and quickly strode ahead.
She Lang hurried after him.
“I used to think those rumors were exaggerated, but after today, maybe not so much…”
The men in black ignored him, reaching the destination quickly—a somewhat rundown mountain stronghold.
She Lang remembered this fort well.
It had been their last stop on the previous trip to Mount Jimo.
The place left a bad impression: closed off, hostile, like a fortress guarding against thieves.
They had planned to hire a guide here, but when the locals heard they were headed to Mount Jimo, they all avoided them, so they left without a guide.
Recalling those past experiences, She Lang was about to explain the situation to these people when he saw the villagers silently preparing equipment and food.
The men in black remained as usual—silent, hoisting heavy backpacks with no sign of hiring a guide, directly preparing to depart.
Seeing this, She Lang quickly stopped them.
“It’s almost dark. Isn’t it a bit too rushed to go into the mountain now? How about resting here for the night and setting off at dawn?”
After his interruption, the man in black finally spoke: “There’s not much difference between night and day. Finishing the mission quickly is what matters most.”
Look at this eagerness—She Lang had never seen any “colleagues” with such determination.
Knowing he couldn’t win, She Lang gave up trying to persuade them and followed them into the mountain.
The mountain path was tough, but these people were experienced, walking as if on flat ground.
Their pace was steady and fast.
The sunset’s afterglow gradually faded behind the trees, and the surrounding view darkened.
She Lang pulled a miner’s headlamp from his bag and put it on.
He also checked the other gear—lighting devices, medical supplies, weapons—all well equipped.
He even caught a glimpse of one of the men in black skillfully assembling a sniper wooden stock.
Sniper wooden stock—they could get that?
She Lang swallowed hard, hoisted his backpack, and no longer doubted everything he had imagined.
No wonder their boss was a legendary figure—deep and unfathomable.