“Director, the civilians around Yin Fate Mountain have all been evacuated.”

“The source of the malicious energy has been confirmed. It’s related to the old Chronicle of the Desolate Village incident.”

“We’ve also found the cause of the outbreak.”

Investigators from An City’s Abnormal Affairs Bureau continuously relayed information up the chain of command.

According to their calculations, if the malicious energy source was allowed to erupt, it would directly devastate several surrounding counties. The indirect effects would cover nearly half the province.

Malice of this level demanded extreme caution.

The provincial Director of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau had even come in person. He used a powerful item to seal off the entire Yin Fate Mountain.

If the worst happened, the disaster would be contained. At the very least, it would buy them enough time for high-level reinforcements to arrive.

“The incident was caused by five Level 25 players,” an investigator reported, his voice tight with anger. “They heard about the Chronicle of the Desolate Village case through some channel and thought there were still undiscovered resources here, so they teamed up to explore.”

“Somehow, they actually found an abnormal point that we missed after months of searching. They tried to excavate it, and with some insane luck, those damn idiots had an Epic-grade item that could break the seal.”

The investigator looked like he was about to faint from sheer rage.

They hadn’t found any resources. Instead, they had dug up this catastrophe.

The Bureau’s investigators despised private explorers. This was because high-difficulty Instances would occasionally entangle with the real world. It wasn’t a frequent occurrence, but it happened.

This entanglement created places in the real world similar to the “grotto-heavens and blessed lands” from old novels. These were the real-world locations corresponding to where high-difficulty Instances had once taken place.

The Abnormal Affairs Bureau called these places Calamity Lairs.

Most Calamity Lairs contained leftover high-grade items, equipment dropped by players, or undiscovered treasures from within the Instance itself. But they didn’t just contain treasures. They also held the calamities left behind by the Instance.

The Bureau’s approach to exploring Calamity Lairs was meticulous. They would first judge the degree of danger. If the risk was too high, they would rather give up on the resources than open the lair. Instead, they would find a way to seal it to prevent any accidents.

But the private explorers, who valued money over their lives, were different. These people chased fortune right into the jaws of death.

Furthermore, players who knew about Calamity Lairs were almost all above Level 20. The current level cap in the Spirit Calamity Game was only Level 30, though there were rumors it would be unlocked after the Open Beta in 47 days.

At this stage, a Level 25 player was stronger than 95% of the player base. And they didn’t give a damn if exploring a Calamity Lair would endanger the surrounding towns.

All they wanted was to plunder the items inside.

To put it bluntly, they were a powerful cancer.

“Come on, man. Who would’ve thought such a powerful seal was just locking up a Pig-headed Monster?”

The helpless words came from a man standing beside the investigator. He had a grimy face, dark skin, and a strange golden rope tied around his hand. He was one of the “damn idiots” who had excavated Yin Fate Village and had just provided the information.

There was no need to worry about him lying. The Abnormal Affairs Bureau had its methods.

“I’ve used that 【Tianyuan Drill】 to dig through so many Calamity Lairs. Usually, any seal or restriction opens with a single go,” the man explained. “But with this seal, the first touch nearly blew my drill to bits. I thought there had to be a Legendary-grade item underneath, so I got excited and…”

Seeing the investigator’s face grow darker, he didn’t dare continue.

Deep down, his own heart was bleeding. To break that seal, his 【Tianyuan Drill】 had been completely destroyed. He’d also burned through one Epic-grade consumable and ten Fine Quality items.

While it wouldn’t leave him completely broke, it was an epic loss.

And in the end, all he got was a Pig-headed Monster.

The moment they met it, the monster had devoured his four teammates whole. If the people from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau hadn’t arrived so quickly, he would have been pig feed by now.

“Alright. Take him back to the Bureau and lock him up. We’ll decide his punishment after this is over,” the An City Director ordered calmly.

After speaking, his gaze drifted from the depths of Yin Fate Mountain to the distant highway. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

“Director, can’t even you handle this thing? Do we have to wait for backup from Mingyang City?” a subordinate asked, confused.

In his eyes, his boss was more than capable of handling this alone.

But the Director just shook his head.

“It’s not that simple.”

“I engaged it earlier,” he explained. “The Pig-headed Monster is some kind of incorporeal Spirit Body. I’m not equipped to handle that sort of thing.”

A slight, relieved smile touched his lips.

“But the Director from Mingyang City specializes in Spirit Bodies. He’s the right man for the job.”

He and the Mingyang Director went way back. Perhaps he could even get him to learn from the Spirit Body which player had cleared the 【Chronicle of the Desolate Village】.

If it weren’t for that server-wide announcement, he would have never imagined it. The Yin Fate Village incident from all those years ago had actually been a Nightmare-level Instance.

If he could follow the clues and find out which powerhouse managed to clear a solo Nightmare-level Instance, he absolutely had to get on good terms with them.

The Open Beta was imminent, and tensions were rising between nations and organizations. A sense of urgency, like a storm about to break, weighed on him constantly.

Befriending such an expert at this stage would be a huge boon, both for the Bureau and for himself.

He was truly looking forward to it.

“The train will be arriving shortly at An City. Passengers, please take your luggage and belongings and prepare to disembark.”

Wu Wang stretched and stepped off the train. He clutched a black fountain pen in his left hand. His right hand was wrapped in a thick layer of bandages, looking as pitiful as if it were in a cast.

Rattle, rattle, rattle…

Feeling the pen tremble in his left hand, he impatiently dangled it over a trash can.

“If you move again, I’ll toss you in with the garbage. Then I’ll find some kinky dude to use you as a butt plug for a few days.”

The pen immediately went still.

On the train, Wu Wang had figured it out. The Pen Immortal couldn’t use a Curse on him because of the Abyss God’s Mark. With it, he was immune.

Enraged, the Pen Immortal had resorted to stabbing him with its physical body. But its physical manifestation also gave Wu Wang the chance to grab it.

After seven hours of harmonious coexistence, man and ghost had reached a strange balance.

But that was a separate issue. The real trouble was the thing on his right hand.

Of course, Wu Wang wasn’t injured. He was using the bandages to hide a broken sword. It was the very item he had brought to deal with the Yin Fate Great God.

【Xiaochuan Broken Sword (Current Grade—Epic, Repairable)】

Equipping this sword allows one to sense the presence of Spirit Bodies. It can devour a Spirit Body that has lost the ability to resist, forming a Sword Spirit to increase its damage and grant it an Attack Special Effect.

【The stronger the devoured Sword Spirit, the greater the damage increase. The Attack Special Effect will change based on the nature of the Sword Spirit.】

【Equip Condition: The user must possess a hand structure in their biological makeup and have some proficiency in swordsmanship.】

【Remark: A single jesting sword-stroke to cross the River of Oblivion.】

When the Abyss God’s Mark pulled this thing from his inventory, Wu Wang’s mouth had nearly split from grinning.

A Spirit Body that has lost the ability to resist?

Isn’t there one ready-made right here?

The sealed Yin Fate Great God!

Needless to say, the entity was powerful. He estimated that once it became a Sword Spirit, it would completely make up for his own lack of damage output.

For mobility, he had his skateboard shoes and Cloud-Stepping Steps. For defense, he had Undying. For stealth, the Fake Smile Mask. For contamination, the Abyss God’s Mark. The only thing he lacked was direct combat power.

As long as he dealt with the Yin Fate Great God on this trip, he would become a hexagonal warrior.

“Damn it, what kind of equipment can’t be put in the backpack? Are you like Pikachu, refusing to stay in your Pokéball?” Wu Wang muttered, a little helpless.

He’d always been grateful for the Player Backpack. It let him travel light and made it easy to use the 【Fake Smile Mask】 to infiltrate places empty-handed.

But who would have thought that as soon as he entered the An City area, the 【Xiaochuan Broken Sword】 in his backpack would pop out on its own?

It relentlessly pointed toward a powerful Spirit Body nearby. The sword was unbearably thirsty.

And once it was out, there was no way to put it back.

That was why Wu Wang had resorted to bandages to disguise the broken sword.

But it was way too conspicuous.

Bad news. It was hard to be stealthy while carrying it.

Good news. He really did have a sword called Xiaochuan now.

And he was planning to use it to do some very bad things…