Bai Yu returned to his residence, far from the Investigation Bureau.
In the living room, the air seemed to congeal into frozen amber, sealing Bai Yu and Hei Yan within a bizarre confrontation. That ancient diary spread open on the coffee table was like an eye peering into the abyss, silently observing everything in the room.
Bai Yu didn't move. He simply watched Hei Yan quietly.
That face, seven-tenths similar to his own yet brimming with wicked charm and arrogance, currently displayed an almost obsessed delight. His slender fingers gently brushed across the tower-shaped pattern on the diary composed of arms and eyes, as if caressing a lover's skin.
"A dust-sealed artwork awaits our unveiling." Hei Yan's voice was gentle and filled with bewitchment, every syllable seeming to emanate from a theater in another dimension, carrying hollow reverberations.
Bai Yu's eyes showed no fluctuation. He spoke, his voice flat like a string pulled to its limit: "Just how much do you know?"
This was no longer a question, but an interrogation.
He was no longer satisfied with passively receiving the filtered fragments of information Hei Yan doled out.
From the "Mountain God" of Luoshui Village to this even more bizarre diary before him, he increasingly felt that behind these seemingly independent Nightmare incidents, there was a web woven by an even older, more magnificent existence.
And Hei Yan, this Nightmare who styled himself an art connoisseur, was absolutely not merely a bystander.
At these words, Hei Yan slowly raised his head, those unfathomable eyes meeting Bai Yu's, the corners of his mouth curling into a playful smile: "'Know'? Bai Yu, what an impoverished word you use. I prefer to explore the unknown. As for what I 'know,' I merely 'appreciate' it. Just as I appreciate your current appearance—on the verge of shattering, yet forcibly maintaining rationality... Truly, I never tire of watching it."
He stood up, paced to the porthole window, turned his back to Bai Yu, and gazed at the massive city of steel and lamplight beyond the Investigation Bureau.
"This mortal," he was clearly referring to the diary's owner, "he is laughable. He thought himself the helmsman, vainly attempting to summon the legendary leviathan by charting nautical maps. But he didn't know that every stroke he sketched was merely carving an indelible coordinate upon the sea of his own soul. He was not summoning, but 'answering.'"
"Answering what?" Bai Yu pressed, each word seeming squeezed through gritted teeth.
"Answering a feast that began long ago." Hei Yan turned around, his smile growing increasingly brilliant. "He thought he opened a 'door.' In reality, he merely affixed an invitation to himself and everything connected to him by blood. An invitation to the 'Tower of Myriad Heads.'"
"Tower of Myriad Heads..." Bai Yu repeated the name, and a chill originating from the depths of his soul instantly seized him. Merely uttering these four words caused him to recall that magnificent structure built from endless pain and despair.
"Ha, what a magnificent artwork!" Hei Yan spread his arms wide, as if embracing an invisible masterpiece. "It is not built of brick and stone, but composed of countless souls like this diary's owner—those who overestimated themselves and peeked at things they should not have. Every soul is a brick, a brick that wails, weeps, and struggles forever. They thought they pursued truth; in reality, they were merely adding bricks and tiles to this tower. And this tower itself is a massive beacon, a trap... constantly attracting more 'building materials.'"
His gaze fell back upon the diary: "This diary is not merely a record of rituals. It is a 'contract,' a 'mark.' Anyone who touches it and resonates with it using their spirit will be branded by this mark. Your soul will be engraved with the tower's symbol, your dreams will become extensions of the tower, your very existence will become a new 'anchor point' for the tower in the real world."
Hei Yan slowly walked up to Bai Yu, bent down slightly, that inhumanly beautiful face nearly pressing against Bai Yu's cheek.
Within the hollow of his heart, it seemed endless stars were revolving.
"So, congratulations, my dear little Bai Yu." He whispered with breathy voice, his tone filled with venomous admiration, "And that little girl called Lu Yueqi. You are no longer bystanders. Your souls have already been carved into this tower's blueprints. You... have already become part of this story."
Boom—
Thunder seemed to explode in Bai Yu's mind.
He understood in an instant.
Lu Yueqi—she wasn't merely a "lighthouse" with a special constitution prone to attracting Nightmares. She had already been "marked." Like an injured lamb targeted by a wolf pack, no matter where she fled, that unique scent on her body would draw predators. And the moment he himself touched and deciphered this diary, he had stepped into the same trap.
He had always thought he would be the hunter, but now realized that both he and Lu Yueqi had long since been prey to higher-level existences.
Bai Yu shot to his feet. The last trace of vacation languor in his eyes was thoroughly crushed, replaced by icy resolve.
He grabbed the diary from the coffee table, didn't spare Hei Yan another glance, turned, and strode quickly out of the room.
The severity of the situation had far exceeded his predictions. He had to find Lu Yueqi immediately and get more clues about that tower from her.
……
Residential apartment building.
In Lu Yueqi's dormitory, the girl was curled up on the sofa hugging her knees, gazing emptily at the ceiling.
Ever since handing that bizarre diary over to Bai Yu, she had thought she could finally get a good night's sleep.
But the truth was exactly the opposite. Last night's dream had been clearer and more terrifying than ever before.
It was no longer fragmented symbols and vague whispers.
She dreamed she was floating in a boundless darkness. No up, down, left, or right—only an endless sensation of falling. Then, she "felt" the gaze.
Not one pair of eyes, not several pairs. But thousands upon thousands, dense lines of sight from every direction, like icy insects crawling over every inch of her skin.
She wanted to scream but couldn't make a sound.
Then, strange sounds arose. It was a grinding noise, like an enormous millstone crushing countless bones, or like countless people producing painful, hoarse moans from throats filled with sand. The sound bored into her ears, gnawing at her sanity.
Just as she was about to be driven mad by this terrifying sensory experience, she "saw" the silhouette of a tower in the darkness.
It reached into the clouds as if connecting the beginning and end of this darkness. But it was not still. Lu Yueqi could clearly "see" that the tower's surface was... writhing... extremely slowly.
It wasn't composed of brick and stone, but of countless twisted, agonized human faces and countless intertwined arms futilely grasping outward.
Every face was silently screaming; every arm was struggling in despair.
"Thump, thump, thump."
Urgent, forceful knocking jolted Lu Yueqi from her terrifying recollection. She trembled all over like a startled bird.
"It's me, Bai Yu."
That familiar, calm voice came from outside the door. Lu Yueqi practically tumbled and scrambled over to open it.
Seeing Bai Yu's face—pale yet capable of giving her incomparable sense of safety—the girl's taut nerves finally relaxed slightly. Her eyes reddened, and she nearly burst into tears: "Bai Yu..."
Bai Yu's expression was exceptionally grave. He walked into the room and directly placed that ancient diary on the table.
"Tell me your dream—every detail you can remember." His tone carried almost no warmth.
Lu Yueqi was startled by his appearance, but she could sense that Bai Yu's severity wasn't directed at her, but stemmed from some enormous pressure.
She didn't dare delay, forcibly suppressing her inner fear and describing last night's terrifying dream in full detail.
From the feeling of being watched by countless eyes, to the bone-grinding noise, to that writhing tower of faces and arms.
Bai Yu listened quietly, his face as calm as still water.
Lu Yueqi's description and Hei Yan's artistically toned interpretation formed a chilling corroboration.
"In the dream, was there anything else? For example, did anyone speak to you?" Bai Yu's gaze was sharp as a knife, fixed tightly on her.
Lu Yueqi's body jerked violently, her face turning deathly pale.
"Yes..." she said in a barely audible voice, "There was a woman's voice... very gentle, constantly echoing in my mind. She... she was calling out to me..."
"What's her name? Or, what did she say?"
"She didn't say a name..." Lu Yueqi struggled to recall, fear making her thoughts chaotic. "She just kept repeating... 'Come, ascend to the tower's peak'... 'Come, become part of eternity'... 'Come, Yao... is waiting for you'..."
Yao!
Bai Yu's pupils contracted abruptly. He immediately opened the diary and browsed rapidly. Finally, in the latter half of the diary, he found several passages somewhat blurred by ink stains.
"...Today I heard the oracle again, Yao's voice, like heavenly music... She promised me eternity, promised me a glimpse of the truth behind the 'door'..."
"...The offering is prepared. I shall use flesh and blood as steps to respectfully welcome Yao's descent..."
"...She is not a god, she is a guide... leading to that great, living monument..."
The clues were completely connected at this moment.
Lu Yueqi's maternal grandfather, that tragic seeker—what he worshipped was not some deity, but a "guide" named "Yao."
This "Yao's" task was to lure more souls like him to become part of the "Tower of Myriad Heads." And now, through the connection of bloodline and the diary's "mark," this mission had extended to Lu Yueqi.
Bai Yu closed the diary and looked at the girl trembling before him. Simple protection was now meaningless. Hiding was useless; the tower's "gaze" had already locked onto her.
There was only one way to survive.
"Put on your jacket and come with me." Bai Yu's voice brooked no argument.
"To... where?"
"To a place where you can survive."
……
The Investigation Bureau's internal training ground was spacious and cold.
This was usually where investigators conducted physical and weapons training, but at this moment, Bai Yu had brought Lu Yueqi to a small psychic sensory room at the very back.
The room's four walls were a soft white, without any unnecessary furnishings.
"Sit." Bai Yu commanded.
Lu Yueqi sat uneasily on the cushion in the center of the room.
Bai Yu stood before her, looking down at her from above.
"Lu Yueqi, I'm going to tell you something now. You must listen clearly, word for word."
His voice was unusually heavy: "You have been targeted by something you cannot understand and cannot fight. It is no ordinary Nightmare; you cannot hide from it. It will infiltrate your dreams, distort your cognition, until it completely devours you and makes you part of itself. Just like what you saw in your dream."
Lu Yueqi's face instantly lost all color.
"No... it won't..." She shook her head trembling, tears swimming in her eyes. "With you here, with the Bureau here..."
"We can protect your body, but we cannot protect your dreams, cannot protect your soul!" Bai Yu's voice grew severe. "If you want to live, the only hope lies within yourself."
He pointed at Lu Yueqi's heart: "I told you before, you are a Dreamwalker. A 'Nightmare' also sleeps within your body. It is both the root of what attracts threats and your only weapon. Now, your task is to learn how to awaken it, control it."
"I... I can't do it..." Lu Yueqi burst into tears. "I'm scared... I don't want to become a monster..."
"A monster?" Bai Yu sighed helplessly. "Look at me. I have something living inside me far more dangerous than any monster you can imagine. As of now, you have two choices. One, be devoured by that tower and become part of it. Two, become a monster, gain the power to resist, and at least help yourself live a little longer."
Bai Yu's words were like a cold knife piercing through all of Lu Yueqi's fragile illusions.
"Put away your useless tears." Bai Yu's voice had never been so cold. "Your fear is the best nourishment for that tower. The more afraid you are, the clearer its gaze becomes. Now, close your eyes."
Lu Yueqi sobbed but still closed her eyes as told.
"Now, don't think about that tower, nor those terrifying images." Bai Yu's voice echoed in the empty room like a hypnotist's. "Look inward. Feel that power in your body that makes you uneasy. Don't resist it, don't suppress it. 'Communicate' with it, understand it. Tell it you need its power to protect yourself."
Lu Yueqi tried hard to comply, but the more she focused, the more her inner fear amplified. She felt a chaotic power entrenched within her body, filled with violence and hunger, making her instinctively want to flee.
"No... I can't... it's so terrifying..." She suddenly opened her eyes, gasping for air.
A trace of disappointment flashed in Bai Yu's eyes, but he didn't give up.
"Then we'll change the method." He spoke slowly. "Close your eyes again. Now, imagine you're standing at the foot of that tower. Do you hear it? The wailing of countless souls. Do you see it? Those twisted faces, and among them is your grandfather. He is looking at you, reaching out to you, his mouth is moving, he is soundlessly telling you—'Run.'"
Bai Yu's voice employed a trace of Hei Yan's power, and the image uncontrollably surfaced in Lu Yueqi's mind.
"Then, you see the top of the tower. That woman called 'Yao' is smiling at you. Behind her are countless arms, slowly reaching toward you to pull you up, to make you into new bricks."
"No! No!" Lu Yueqi let out a scream of despair, fear flooding over her like a tidal wave.
"This is your future!" Bai Yu's voice was like a heavy hammer, brutally striking her heart. "If you don't resist now, this is your only ending! Now, turn this fear, this despair, this unwillingness all into your power! Command that thing inside you, tell it you want to live!"
Catalyzed by extreme fear and intense desire to survive, that chaotic power in Lu Yueqi's body which she had always suppressed finally found an outlet.
"Aaaah—!"
She let out a hoarse scream.
Buzz!
A wave of energy carrying extreme deep cold suddenly expanded outward with her at its center!
The automatic sensor lights in the room flickered madly, emitting buzzing electrical sounds. A thin layer of frost instantly condensed on the soft white walls. The room's temperature seemed to drop to freezing point in an instant.
Bai Yu stood quietly in place, allowing that chill to wash over him. He saw behind Lu Yueqi a twisted black shadow flash and vanish.
It worked.
The moment the power was released, Lu Yueqi collapsed from exhaustion onto the cushion and passed out.
Bai Yu stepped forward, took off his coat, and gently covered her with it. He looked at the girl's tear-streaked sleeping face that still held a trace of stubbornness, his expression complicated.
This was only the beginning. A door leading to a deeper hell had opened for her, and for himself as well.
……
The week's vacation passed in the blink of an eye.
Under Bai Yu's hellish training, Lu Yueqi could now barely guide out that Nightmare power called "Deep Chill" while conscious. Although each time she could only maintain it for a few short seconds and it would exhaust her, this was undoubtedly tremendous progress.
On the day the vacation ended, all core members of Team One were assembled in the conference room.
An Mu looked at Bai Yu, brows slightly furrowed: "Your complexion is worse than before the vacation."
Mo Fei said carelessly from the side: "Yeah, kid, you didn't secretly take private jobs during the vacation, did you?"
Lan Ce pushed up his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses falling on Bai Yu, seemingly analyzing his mental fluctuation data.
Bai Yu ignored their banter. He placed a document and that specially sealed diary replica on the conference table.
"I discovered a new incident during my vacation."
He summarized the contents of Lu Yueqi's grandfather's diary and his own deductions in the most concise language possible. Of course, he concealed the most critical parts.
He blurred the concepts of the "Tower of Myriad Heads" and "mark" into "a dimensional fissure left behind by dangerous rituals, with high spiritual contamination and tracking properties."
He didn't mention "Yao," nor the tower's specific form, only emphasizing that this unknown contamination source had established some dangerous connection with Lu Yueqi through bloodline and relic.
"...To sum up, Lu Yueqi is currently in an extremely dangerous state. Simple physical protection cannot isolate this erosion from the dream and spiritual levels. I propose to formally bring her into Team One's protection and observation sequence as a 'special related personnel,' and have me continue to be responsible for guiding her in controlling her own power, so she can protect herself, and seek an opportunity to thoroughly resolve this hidden danger."
The conference room fell into complete silence.
"What a joke!" Mo Fei was the first to slam the table and stand up. "Bring an ordinary person... no, a rookie who can't even control her own power onto the battlefield? Bai Yu, are you crazy? Isn't this sending her to her death?"
"Where is the risk assessment report?" Lan Ce asked calmly. "The contamination source's energy model, erosion method, predictable outbreak level? Lu Yueqi's Nightmare potential evaluation data? Without these, I cannot agree to bringing such a huge variable into the team."
An Mu didn't speak. He simply looked deeply at Bai Yu. He could sense that Bai Yu was hiding something. The danger level of the "dimensional fissure" he described was likely far higher than what he said.
"Keeping her outside is the true death sentence." Bai Yu met everyone's gaze calmly. "Only by staying with us, learning to resist, does she have a chance to survive. As for data, from today onward, I hope you can take charge of monitoring her around the clock and establishing a file. This itself is part of our work."
His voice carried a trace of pleading when he said the word "hope."
An Mu was silent for a long time before finally speaking, his voice heavy: "I agree with Bai Yu's proposal."
He looked at Mo Fei and Lan Ce: "I understand your concerns. But Bai Yu is right. We cannot let someone targeted by an S-level potential threat fend for themselves. From today onward, Lu Yueqi's security level is raised to S-level. She is officially a reserve member of Team One, with Bai Yu taking full responsibility. Lan Ce, cooperate with him. Mo Fei, this is an order, and also... trust Bai Yu."
Mo Fei opened his mouth but ultimately swallowed his words and sat back down.
The motion passed.
After the meeting, Bai Yu stood alone before the corridor's porthole window, gazing at that steel metropolis still brightly lit in the night.
He had gradually drawn his teammates into an even more dangerous chess game as well, but he had no choice.
From the "Ruins of Eternal Silence" that erased "existence" itself, to the high-dimensional descent of the "Mountain God," to today's "Tower of Myriad Heads" that used souls as bricks.
He was increasingly certain that what humanity faced was far more than Nightmares born from their own fears.
Behind the veil of reality, within the dimensional crevices that could not be observed, there were older, more terrifying existences conducting a game that humans could not comprehend.
And they, these investigators fighting in the shadows, perhaps weren't even pawns.
They were merely dust that had accidentally stumbled onto the chessboard, ready to be crushed at any moment.
A true storm that would sweep away everything seemed to have only just begun to gather.
And he had already heard the first faint chant from the high tower, carried from the center of the storm.