Working Records in a Weird World - 102

 

| WRIAWW | You Know Who | 102

The sudden intervention of the Central Court caught all survivors completely off guard.

By the time everyone regained their senses, they had already been teleported back to Guanhai by the main system. The rest of the Watchtower Guild members were directly sent to the Imaginary Fortress, leaving not a single trace behind.

“This... what do we do now?”

In Guanhai, the survivors exchanged uneasy glances.

“Let’s head back first and monitor the forum for updates. Since Guild Master Qin brought reinforcements, there must be further plans in motion.”

“Exactly. This matter is serious. There’s no way we can end it here.”

“Anyone who dares infiltrate our ranks will pay the price!”

And indeed, that was the case.

An NPC from the Ultimate Dungeon had bypassed the main system, infiltrated the group, and even made a name for themselves. Any one of these details alone would have kept the forums buzzing for days, let alone all of them combined.

The impact was earth-shattering. As expected, the entire Infinite Space was restless that night, with people constantly refreshing the forums. Those with information shared them, while others contributed to the speculation.

[God, I was sitting in the tavern the whole time, watching this unfold with chills down my spine.]

[No wonder it’s called the Ultimate Dungeon. These NPCs are next-level terrifying.]

[Just thinking about how our every move and discussion might be watched right now gives me goosebumps.]

[Who wouldn’t? Before this, I was racking my brain trying to figure out how the talented newcomer could be the mole.]

[Seriously, there were even psychology experts on the forum analyzing him as pure and innocent. Who knew he was playing us all along? That level of scheming is horrifying.]

[If the Watchtower Guild hadn’t caught on, with his rising reputation, it would be easy for him to be on par with S-level in the future. By the time we reach the final mission, he could just logged into the survivors forums and led us all astray, maybe even wiped us out, and we would not be able to return to the real world.]

The more the survivors thought about it, the more paranoid they became, spawning endless conspiracy theories.

Of course, a small group noticed what Si Yuyan had said during the confrontation at the Central Court’s entrance.

[Speaking of which, didn’t Miss Si mention that the talented newcomer might be that 'boss’ subordinate? What did she mean?]

[I didn’t get it either. If anyone knows, please enlighten us.]

After dozens of replies, someone finally stepped forward.

[Here’s the deal. Back then, Guild Master Qin, Miss Si, a few elite guild members in Watchtower guild, and I were randomly assigned to the Psychiatric Department of Taikang Yongle Hospital. At the time, we were too focused on the mission to think deeply, but afterward, we realized how bizarre that department was. For starters, the patients were all high-level weird, some were even S-level. Yet, despite this star-level lineup, none of them feared the so-called ‘hospital dean.’ Instead, they were terrified of the ‘Psychiatric Department Boss.’ They wouldn’t even say his name, they would tremble at the mere mention of ‘the boss.’ The medical staff were no different, they avoided the topic out of sheer dread.]

[Later, through certain intelligence, we learned that this 'Psychiatric Ward Boss' had once been hospitalized in the psychiatric department. During his stay, he restructured the entire hospital, and earning privileges like getting extra portions in the cafeteria. Although he was eventually discharged, the legacy he left behind continued to circulate within the hospital. The rules he established remained unbroken, no one dared defy them. The ward's weird patients still loyally believed their boss would return one day to conquer Taikang Yongle Hospital and become its new dean. That's essentially the story. Now we can confirm that Zong Le definitely has an extraordinary connection with this Psychiatric Ward Boss, perhaps he was once one of his underlings.]

[Damn, this is wild. Is the boss the Voldemort of the weird world?]

[You know what? This analysis makes perfect sense. There are several mediums active in forums, including some who've completed missions with Zong Le. I recall even the 9th ranked medium interacted with the newcomer before, yet even he couldn't sense Zong Le's weird aura. That confirms he's definitely an NPC. If he's the Psychiatric Ward Boss's NPC subordinate, then the boss must be trying to infiltrate our survivors' ranks by sending him to the front line... Of course, another possibility is that his aura is perfectly concealed, meaning he could be the Psychiatric Ward Boss himself.]

[What kind of nonsense is this? That's absolutely impossible! Have you ever seen a big shot personally go undercover? Besides, if Zong Le really had that kind of power, he wouldn't waste time talking, he'd just wipe us all out.]

[Exactly. I remember Zong Le ran a few dungeons with the Top Ten and even had solo encounters with Lord Joshua, as we all gossiped about their relationship. If he were powerful, he could've taken us out back then and dealt a heavy blow to our forces.]

[Having said this, I can't help but ask a soul-searching question. What do you think is the purpose of Zong Le's lurking here?]

This question immediately attracted countless responses.

Some speculated Zong Le's boss sought to dominate the Infinite Space, while others suspected he coveted the Main System's spatial transmission abilities. 

To the NPC's in the ultimate dungeon, the Main System seemed like prewritten code, it could open portals to other dungeons. Which they can use and harvest energy by eliminating the weirds living in them, and using that power to strengthen itself.

While this system was a nightmare for ordinary humans, it represented prime hunting grounds for weirds, making it an irresistible target.

But there were exceptions.

But there are still a small number of people who have received Zong Le's help and those who have a good impression of him were reluctant to accept the facts.

One even made a dedicated forum post:

[Zong Le! I'm that D-level survivor who once completed a mission with you. I believe you're innocent! If you truly are, please submit to the Watchtower Guild investigation soon, don't disappoint your supporters!]

Unsurprisingly, the post drew waves of mockery.

[How pathetic. The evidence is right in front of you, yet you still pretend not to see it.]

[Unbelievable that a mole like this still has followers.]

[Submit to investigation? Don't you know your precious Zong Le can't even enter Infinite Space?]

[I actually thought Zong Le didn't accept invitations from major guilds because he preferred to be alone and kept a low profile. Turns out it's because he couldn't enter the Infinite Space, he was afraid he'd be exposed when he would be unable to attend mandatory guild meetings at headquarters.]

[So this explains why major guilds couldn't locate newcomer during non-mission periods despite deploying so many resources and even posting bounty requests through the merchant guild... how laughable.]

The forums were buzzing with more and more revelations, creating quite a stir, while the Watchtower Guild's atmosphere had plummeted to freezing point.

For this operation, Qin Ye had brought ample manpower, and kept meticulous secrecy during preparations, and blocked public opinion. His goal was to seize this opportunity to capture Zong Le in one fell swoop.

Who could have predicted the Central Court's sudden intervention, causing what seemed like certain victory to slip through their fingers at the last moment.

The moment they teleported back, An Tao's face flushed with anger: "The Central Court, of all times!"

"All that talk about fairness and justice, anyone can see that judge was favoring Zong Le!"

"Exactly! Since when have these weirds been so harmonious and helpful?"

"Enough." Qin Ye, standing at the center, raised his hand calmly. "We were operating on their turf to begin with. There's no point blaming ourselves for being outmaneuvered. What's done is done. Our priority now is damage control."

"Here's the plan: immediately notify all S-levels for an emergency meeting at the Imaginary Fortress. We can't let this matter rest, we've burned all bridges and must press our advantage at every opportunity. I have a feeling Zong Le is much more than he appears, he's a big fish."

"Yes, Guild Leader!"

As everyone sprang into action, Qin Ye simultaneously mass-messaged all S-levels in his contacts list, whether acquaintances or allies, for urgent coordination.

After completing these preparations, judging the timing right, he teleported to the Temple via the Imaginary Fortress portal.

Originally he'd planned to wait in the chapel for Joshua's resurrection, but Zong Le's unexpected appearance at the Central Court had forced him to mobilize the team hastily, resulting in him running back-and-forth.

Upon arriving at the Temple, Qin Ye immediately cornered a priest: "Has Lord Joshua returned?"

The priest bowed: "The chapel remains sealed, His Lordship hasn't yet revived."

"Why's it taking so long this time?" Qin Ye frowned.

While the Patriarch's position granted unlimited resurrection, such power naturally came with restrictions to prevent imbalance.

So every time Joshua is resurrected, it takes time to recover, and the length depends on the damage he has suffered.

But as Joshua's status rose and he ascended through the Infinite Space's ranks, Qin Ye hadn't seen him use this soul lantern in ages, the last instance was during some accident during a final mission.

Qin Ye's calculations had been precise. Nearly an hour had passed since Joshua left the Central Court.

For ordinary physical damage, this duration should have been sufficient for the soul lantern's restorative powers to work and for Joshua to wake up.

But to everyone's surprise, despite carefully timing it, the chapel remained sealed, which inevitably led to deep contemplation.

'Could something else have happened in the trial? Did they recognize Joshua as the Saint and attempt to harm him?'

For a moment, Qin Ye's brows furrowed tightly.

It's not his fault that he thinks too much, the current situation was grave enough to warrant such concerns.

Just then, An Tao called him: "President, the S-levels have almost all arrived."

"Good, I'll return immediately to preside the meeting."

After hanging up, Qin Ye instructed the priest: "Once Joshua wakes up, immediately escort him to the Imaginary Fortress conference room."

No matter how urgent things were, they have to wait for Joshua to wake up to learn what happened in the Central Court.

"Understood, Guild Master Qin."

When Qin Ye hurried back to the fortress, the oval conference hall was already packed.

"I've urgently summoned everyone today to discuss a major upcoming operation," Qin Ye declared straightforwardly as he took the central seat.

"From the medical records, we've learned Zong Le's residence is at Room 302, Building 4, Ankang Community. I have an idea... We can use the one-hour daily exploration time granted by Guiyi City's pass to go straight to Ankang Community and strike first."

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TL: Sorry there is only one update today, I've been a bit busy, but there's nothing to worry about, it was only a small family emergency. And thank you guys for the support. I will continue to upload 2 chapters a day starting tomorrow~ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧