Chapter 2: Seeking One's Own Demise

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[Introduction: When you fall into a desperate predicament, it will mark the path of relief leading to death, preserving your final dignity while offering a sliver of survival.]
[Effect: Within three hours, it will mark all dangerous paths for you and grant one opportunity for a "death rollback." Upon death, time will rewind to one hour prior, up to the moment the skill was activated.]
[Cost: You must choose the most dangerous path to proceed, travel at least 100 meters, and cannot turn back. If the danger level of your current location reaches a lethal degree, you do not need to move forward; the cost is modified to remaining within the skill's designated area for ten minutes. This power requires a 24-hour cooldown.]

As the red text faded, the ruler appeared in Xia Shou's left eye again. The number had returned to 1,100 meters, but it was still increasing at a very slow pace.

"Damn it! Still sinking!"

Xia Shou picked up the mirror and looked behind him. In the reflection, Alice’s eyes were tightly shut, her brows furrowed in agony, a thin line of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth as if she had just endured immense pain. Suddenly, Xia Shou understood—Alice had just saved him!

The notebook stated, "You cannot open the door yourself," but it never said Alice couldn't. Reflecting on it, if he hadn't ascended just now, he would likely be dead already. And the reason he was able to ascend was probably because the Black Swamp had consumed that red wax figure!

Xia Shou immediately took out the notebook to check it, and sure enough, new content had appeared!

[...You are sinking. I conclude you wouldn't want to know what is down there. If you want to live, consume those bizarre entities; that is the only way for you to obtain "buoyancy."]

Consume bizarre entities... Easier said than done. Where was he supposed to find them? The small, dilapidated wooden door Alice had opened earlier had nearly collapsed the place; he couldn't hope to open any other doors. He had to think of another way to consume anomalies.

Xia Shou continued flipping through the notebook. On the next page, a map guide slowly emerged, accompanied by a message:

[On your own, you'd probably hit the bottom before finding your first anomaly. Go join the Bureau of Anomaly Control; it will greatly increase your chances of coming into contact with anomalies. But if you join the Bureau, remember to avoid a woman named "Shangguan Yan." Although her strength is beyond doubt, she is truly insufferable. Also, never tell anyone at the Bureau about the existence of the "Black Swamp."]

[Before going out, remember to bring the pocket watch and the letter of recommendation from the study desk drawer. Stand before the entryway door, think of [Jiangbo City], and you can leave... If you want to return, the conscious Alice will help you.]

After reading this information, Xia Shou noticed that all the handwriting in the notebook had become slightly blurred.

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"It seems I can't continue using this guide for the time being."

Xia Shou prepared himself according to the notebook’s instructions and returned to the entryway. He reached out, but his fingers stopped the moment they were about to touch the doorknob.

"Alice, help me open the door."

The notebook said he could not open the closed doors of the house himself; perhaps that included this front door. The chill on one side of his neck vanished. A pale, slender arm reached over Xia Shou's shoulder, grasped the handle, and with a gentle turn and push, the roar of the outside world rushed in.

Xia Shou stepped onto the street. A modern city, exactly as he remembered, appeared before his eyes. The door behind him closed automatically. No one on the street glanced at him, as if the Alice behind him did not exist at all.

"It seems that ordinary people in this world cannot directly perceive anomalous things. Let's go; we’re heading to the location on the map." Xia Shou said to Alice, as if she were a taciturn friend.

...

Xia Shou followed the map in the notebook, winding through the vast city until he finally arrived at the entrance of a museum. In front of the main gate, five holographic, phantom-like characters flickered: Bureau of Anomaly Control.

Xia Shou looked around and spotted people as strange as himself among the tourists entering and exiting. A three-meter-tall giant and a skeleton missionary carrying a cross walked through the crowd like transparent figures, entering the museum as if nothing were out of the ordinary, without anyone noticing. Unsurprisingly, this museum was likely the Bureau’s cover in the secular world.

Xia Shou stood before the museum gate, cautiously considering his next move. Although the notebook suggested he join, Xia Shou felt the need to think carefully. The current situation was that to gain buoyancy, he had to consume anomalies. But this world was clearly not the kind of place where one could encounter three supernatural events by walking around the block. Finding an anomaly on his own was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Plus, given the danger and unknown nature of anomalies...

Xia Shou recalled the depth on the ruler he had last seen, along with the slow rate of sinking, and performed a quick mental calculation. At that rate, in at most two days, his depth would once again cross the 1,300-meter red line!

"It seems I have no choice." He couldn't possibly find an anomaly on his own within two days.

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"Hey, you're not an employee of the Bureau, are you?"

A voice came from behind. Xia Shou turned around. A red-haired woman in a black suit, hands in her pockets, stood behind him, eyeing him with a subtle gaze. She had long legs that could rival a supermodel, wore a men's suit with the white shirt tucked into her trousers, outlining a slender waist and proud chest. A smile of absolute dominance hung on her face, and every move she made radiated a confident, calm aura, yet with a subtle, mysterious quality.

Her gaze shifted upward and lingered for a moment in the air behind Xia Shou—she could clearly see Alice. Since she could see Alice, she must be with the Bureau. Judging by her attire, she was likely administrative staff.

Just as Xia Shou was calculating how to speak, she beat him to it: "You're here to join the Bureau, aren't you?"

Xia Shou was startled. She had deduced his purpose at a single glance. Was this also something the notebook had pre-arranged?

"How did you know?" Xia Shou asked cautiously.

"Other than museum tourists, the only people who come here are employees, interviewees, prisoners, or those summoned. Since no one is receiving you and I haven't seen you before, you're most likely here for an interview. It's not hard to guess," the woman said with calm confidence.

She sniffed gently, as if smelling something peculiar, and her eyes narrowed like a cat's: "There is... something special in your pocket."

Xia Shou frowned. He had the pocket watch in his pocket; the notebook had told him to bring it and the letter of recommendation when coming to the Bureau. Just as Xia Shou was about to ask how to see the head of personnel, she gave a meaningful smile: "Oh~ I see, so that's how it is... Fine, come with me to handle the onboarding procedures."

"Huh? You're the head of personnel?" Xia Shou asked, surprised.

"I suppose I'm someone who can make the call," the woman laughed.

"For real? But shouldn't joining the Bureau require some kind of assessment?"

"I can smell it; you're very well-suited for this line of work." After saying this, she gave a meaningful smile. "Follow me."

Walking into the museum and passing through the pavilions, people kept nodding to the red-haired woman ahead of Xia Shou. It seemed she held a high position in the Bureau, which made the initially skeptical Xia Shou fully believe that she had the authority to hire people.

Xia Shou followed her through a transparent barrier between sections and eventually into a concealed elevator. As the doors closed and the elevator began to descend, Xia Shou suddenly remembered the warning in the "Death Record" notebook and decided to probe: "Do you have someone here named Shangguan Yan?"

"Oh, Shangguan Yan? That person is quite famous," the woman replied casually.