Chapter 23: The Invisible Man

It was unclear how much time had passed when Shang Liang broke the silence. "The trajectory of the entire incident is actually not difficult to piece together. That anti-meme attacked the firing squad to protect Xia Shou. The Beast Tamer should have killed Xia Shou, but didn't; that could also be its interference. Furthermore, since the anomaly level of this anti-meme is higher than Yun Xi's, it is highly likely that it was the one that dealt with the Blood Demon."

The Colonel added, "This would also explain why 678 gave up halfway. It was likely due to the interference of the anti-meme entity, and the fact that 678 couldn't provide any explanation is simply a characteristic of anti-memetic abilities."

Lin Yansue nodded slightly. "Dr. Modis thinks so as well. That is our current tentative conclusion. This unidentified entity has been provisionally named 'The Invisible Man,' designated 23-857. It killed the Blood Demon for some reason, and for some reason, it protected the Level 1 employee Xia Shou from 678 and the firing squad. That is all we currently know."

"So, the reason you called us here is also part of the observation and research, isn't it?" the Colonel asked calmly.

"Dr. Modis wants to observe whether these indirect conjectures will become axiomatic over time. You two are the highest-ranking Fixers with freedom of movement; you are the best experimental subjects," Lin Yansue admitted.

"Hahaha! So we've been treated as lab rats," Shang Liang chuckled, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"Of course, telling you this isn't just for testing purposes. Although the anomalous nature of the Blood Demon House has dissipated, the Blood Demon incident cannot be considered over. Recently, some very peculiar events have occurred regarding a sudden surge in a special type of insomnia among ordinary people over the past few months. At first, the Intelligence Department didn't think it was related to the Blood Demon House, but just now, after the investigation team entered the house and collected photos of the anomalous space, they discovered that the scenes the insomnia patients dreamt of after falling asleep were remarkably similar to the scenes inside that house. Therefore, this anomalous incident has not actually been fully resolved. According to current intelligence, the Invisible Man has overwhelming strength against the Blood Demon, and it seems to have a special desire to protect Xia Shou. Thus, after consulting with the Deputy Director and the Scepter Council, it was decided to let Xia Shou take over this follow-up mission. Having Xia Shou deeply involved in this mission will help the Control Bureau discover more detailed intelligence about the anomaly 'The Invisible Man.' Perhaps we can manage it through indirect means. After all, it has been confirmed that the anti-memetic power of that anomaly only affects humans. As an anomaly, 678 should be able to communicate with the Invisible Man," Lin Yansue explained.

Shang Liang stretched and stood up from his seat. "Dr. Modis must have thought of this too, right? Since this 'Invisible Man' favors that Level 1 employee, does Department Head Shangguan, who sent him, know more?"

Shangguan Yan tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and smiled. "I only know a little bit more."

"Then it's better to leave this matter to Ms. Shangguan as a priority. I really have no interest in it. I just remembered there's a sale at the supermarket today, so I'll be off."

With that, Shang Liang waved his hand, and his figure vanished into thin air within the conference room.

Beside him, the Colonel tugged at his military coat and stood up, leaning on his iron lion cane. "If there is nothing else, I should be going too. In my opinion, this matter doesn't require us to intervene."

"For now, that is correct. Safe travels," Lin Yansue nodded politely in farewell.

The Colonel nodded like a gentleman and walked toward the door of the conference room. When he reached the exit, he paused and added, "By the way, Edward's life lamp is still lit, yet we haven't been able to find him. Don't you find that a bit suspicious?"

Lin Yansue said with admiration, "You are very thorough. Dr. Modis also considered this, but there is a logical flaw in this hypothesis. If Edward were that anti-memetic entity, why would he wait until today to kill the Blood Demon?"

"Perhaps there is a reason? Heh heh." The Colonel let out a hoarse laugh and turned to walk out of the room.

The conference room door closed again. Lin Yansue let out a long sigh and looked at Shangguan Yan. "Department Head Shangguan, could you trouble yourself to take me back to my office?"

"My pleasure." Shangguan Yan picked up her tray steadily and walked out.

Soon, everyone had left, and the conference room was empty once again. Beside the vacant table, Su Weiyu, who had listened to the entire discussion, finally stood up and turned to leave.

***

"How is the situation?" Xia Shou asked as Su Weiyu walked in.

"Their thoughts are as follows..."

Su Weiyu spent ten minutes providing a brief summary of the entire meeting. After hearing it, Xia Shou realized that the higher-ups at the Control Bureau had completely guessed the truth behind the incident wrong. They attributed the credit for killing the Blood Demon to Su Weiyu, not suspecting for a moment that he might have had the ability to kill it himself. This was good news for Xia Shou; at least he wouldn't attract excessive attention for the time being.

However, Xia Shou understood why they were mistaken. After all, one was an unobservable anti-memetic entity, while the other was a Level 1 employee who seemed perfectly ordinary in every way. Given the two, anyone would assume the former killed the Blood Demon.

"It is quite strange that Edward hasn't been found, though," Xia Shou thought to himself. Edward's life lamp was still lit, meaning he was alive, but he wasn't in the Blood Demon House. Where could he have gone? Was it possible there was another way to leave the Blood Demon House, and Edward had escaped long ago but simply hadn't returned to the Control Bureau?

It was strange... truly, incredibly strange.

At that moment, the door to the detention room opened again. The middle-aged man who had escorted him earlier stood outside and said, "Xia Shou, you can return to your dormitory. Thank you for your hard work."

Xia Shou stood up and walked out of the detention room. The museum grounds were silent; only the overworked employees of the Control Bureau, looking like they were on the verge of sudden death, wandered through the corridors. It was four in the morning, and the horizon was already turning a pale white.

"I can't do it anymore, I need to go back to sleep." Xia Shou yawned as drowsiness washed over him.

Su Weiyu patted Xia Shou on the shoulder. "Sweet dreams. I need to go back and tidy up some things. See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, see you later." Xia Shou waved goodbye to Su Weiyu and returned to his dormitory alone. He struggled to kick off his shoes and climbed into bed. Before his head even hit the pillow, he drifted off into a dream.

The moment he closed his eyes, Xia Shou's mind became instantly clear. Just like last time, the heavy drowsiness vanished in an instant, as if he had just woken up after a high-quality, deep sleep.

*Have I entered that strange dream again?*

Xia Shou opened his eyes. But this time, it was not the pitch-black, deep sea from before. It was a clear, azure shallow sea. A school of fish with black and white stripes swam around a red coral reef, while in the distance, a group of transparent jellyfish emitted a faint pink glow. Cleaner shrimp crawled in and out of the crevices in the reef, and dim daylight rippled through the water.

Beside Xia Shou was still a ruler, but it only marked 30 meters!