Chapter 25: The Sea of Origins

"Under normal circumstances, it would be overlooked, but if I were to use someone else's account, it would be detected. However, if they were to investigate further and discover that it was me using that person's account, the browsing history would be overlooked once again.

Just like in their meeting yesterday—they even came up with an anomaly name for me, 'The Invisible Human.' In fact, that was the thirty-eighth name they've assigned to me. The only reason they can still study me is because they believe Edward is the anomaly with the anti-meme properties.

Once they realize it's not Edward and that someone else is the 'Invisible Human,' their subconscious will lock onto me as the suspect. That’s when my ability will trigger, and they will simply think, 'The Invisible Human? That’s nothing out of the ordinary; no need to record it in the Control Bureau's archives.'

And then... they’ll just delete it and cast all the strange events that occurred to the back of their minds."

"I understand!" Xia Shou felt a surge of energy, knowing exactly what to do.

He could have Su Weiyu look up information on restricted items on his behalf. Although using his employee account would leave a record, if investigated, he could simply claim he never accessed it. They would then check the surveillance footage or consider the possibility of someone else being responsible.

Once that line of reasoning emerged, Su Weiyu’s "Invisible Human" ability would activate, and everyone would forget the whole matter.

"Do me a favor."

"Why are you being so formal with me? Just say it!" Su Weiyu was incredibly forthcoming, even appearing unusually excited, as if she had been waiting for such an opportunity.

"Help me look up something. Let's start with... the Death Record Notebook," Xia Shou said.

Su Weiyu nodded vigorously, took a bite of her steak, and sat at Xia Shou's workstation. She typed the words "Death Record Notebook" into the search box of the query software.

The loading bar began to spin.

Xia Shou waited quietly behind Su Weiyu, praying that the Control Bureau had information on this notebook.

Two seconds later, the data on the Death Record Notebook popped up.

LUCK!

It was actually there!

[Death Record Notebook]
[Function Evaluation: S-Class] (Possesses immense, irreplaceable strategic value)
[Anomaly Level: Anti-Level 1]
[ID: 48-111]
[Containment Risk: None]
[Overview: A special notebook that can contain (or simulate?) the personality of the notebook's holder.]

[Holder Interrogation Record:
Date: [Redacted]
We are now beginning the interrogation of the current holder of the Death Record Notebook, Subject A.
Interrogator: "Where did you learn such a dangerous ritual?"
Subject A: "This notebook told me."
Interrogator: "But the pages are blank."
Subject A: "Only I can see the words. It writes in great detail, as if someone is actually talking to you from inside the notebook."
Interrogator: "Does that... person inside the notebook understand your current situation? Can he see the interrogation room you are currently in?"
Subject A: "I can let him see, or I can make him blind to it. If I want his guidance, he can perceive everything around me, but if I don't want him to see, he can't; he can only ask me."
Interrogator: "Then how do you communicate with him? Or are you just receiving his instructions unilaterally?"
Subject A: "I write on the pages to communicate with him."
Interrogator: "Was murdering your son also his instruction?"
Subject A: "Everything is for the successful completion of the ritual."
(Subsequent dialogue is classified and will not be disclosed)]

[Interrogation Conclusion Summary: Based on clues provided by Subject A, we have determined that the soul within the notebook is the new Ripper of the Fog City. The Ripper used the notebook to teach the subject the Unseen Arts, manipulated the subject into unearthing his remains, and utilized the subject's son as a sacrificial offering for the ritual, attempting to resurrect the dead, though ultimately failing. From this incident, it is known that the Death Record Notebook does not serve the holder, but rather the soul residing within it. The notebook's influence on the current world depends on the morality of the soul within.]

"In other words, this notebook isn't necessarily helping me," Xia Shou frowned and continued reading.

[Other Experimental Conclusions:
1. The Death Record Notebook contains or simulates the personality of the deceased holder. However, we cannot yet determine if the entity responding from within is the soul of the previous holder or some other anomalous entity skilled in mimicry.
2. To trigger the notebook's personality-containment function, the current holder's anomaly level must be higher than that of the personality within the notebook. Otherwise, even if the holder dies, the personality within the notebook will not be replaced.
3. The notebook cannot be destroyed. If damaged, the anomalous property will transfer to another ordinary notebook, which will, through various abnormal coincidences, return to the current holder after a period of time.
4. The specific criteria for the Death Record Notebook selecting a holder are unknown, but all holders share one common trait: the aptitude to dive deep into the Sea of Origins.]

"The Sea of Origins... look that up next." Xia Shou had caught a more sensitive and important term.

Su Weiyu’s slender fingers danced across the keyboard, typing "Sea of Origins" into the search box.

Soon, the file popped up, but the description was not what Xia Shou had imagined.

[Sea of Origins]
[ID: None]
[Hazard Rating: Unassessable]
[Overview: A completely unknown and mysterious phenomenon. A small number of transcendents have a probability of entering a dreamscape with an ocean background while sleeping; the scenes in these dreams are often beneath the surface of the sea. Those who dream of the Sea of Origins are referred to as "Deep Divers." The number of recorded Deep Divers is vast, but their descriptions of this sea are often contradictory, as the sea each person dreams of is unique.

However, the Sea of Origins is not a hallucination, as it possesses connectivity; sometimes, the deep-sea dreams of two transcendents intersect. Recent studies suggest that the Sea of Origins is a place formed by the accumulation of countless cognitive concepts. The deeper one goes, the more chaotic it becomes. In the deep sea, one can transcend all existing rules, allowing logic-defying events to manifest in reality.

On a realistic level, the impact caused by the Sea of Origins is often negative. Deep Divers who enter the Sea of Origins have a high probability of developing mental illnesses, experiencing dangerous delusions, becoming unable to distinguish reality, and suffering from cognitive breakdown. Even their own anomalous nature may undergo extreme, abnormal fluctuations. Such highly socially destructive personal symptoms are collectively referred to as 'Abyssal Syndrome.'

Abyssal Syndrome has brought incomprehensible special powers to many Deep Divers, and the influence of these powers sometimes spills over to ordinary people. Therefore, the containment of Deep Divers is absolutely necessary. The anomalous academic community knows very little about the Sea of Origins, but it is undeniable that it is a supernatural phenomenon that is completely unusable, uninterpretable, unobservable, and unresearchable.]

Beyond this simple overview, there were several terabytes of downloadable content related to the Sea of Origins, including videos and audio recordings.

Xia Shou had Su Weiyu download a few at random and found that most were subjective testimonies from Deep Divers, with large sections of classified text deleted, making them impossible to read.

Why include such chaotic information?

Data that couldn't even be read fluently would be better left out or filed directly into high-security archives.

However, he could see one thing: even the Control Bureau knew very little about the deep-sea dream he had experienced.

But this investigation wasn't entirely fruitless. At least he now knew that he wasn't the only one who dreamed of that deep sea; it was likely a relatively common "ailment" among transcendents.

"Thanks."

"Why are you thanking me? You saved my life earlier."

Xia Shou took over the workstation again, closed the query program, and opened his work schedule.

The superiors had arranged for him to go to the City Central Hospital to meet a doctor named Wang Long. They said that once he arrived, the doctor would provide the specific details of the assignment.

Su Weiyu leaned against the back of Xia Shou's chair and asked thoughtfully, "Is this your job for today?"

"After I finish eating, I plan to go to the hospital to see a doctor. Do you want to come along?"

Su Weiyu rubbed her chin, weighed the options, and clapped her hands. "Reading books to 678 isn't urgent anyway. I'll go to the hospital with you today!"