Gamers Are Fierce

Chuyin hesitantly asked, "So, the current anomaly in the Misty Territory..."

"Is also because of the Mirage Dragon," Ji Jiu slowly said. "As a true dragon, the Mirage Dragon naturally possesses a Divinity that transcends the mundane world. The fog and illusions it creates are absurd and fantastical, yet they seem real and logical. These illusions are capable of deceiving the entire world, creating independent spaces completely isolated from our reality. It thoroughly traps demons and spirits. With endless illusions, it erodes their self-awareness until they become mindless, dead matter. They are eventually ground to dregs by the Formation within the Demon Prison, becoming fuel and nutrients for the Prison itself. The dense fog seeping out from underground into the real world is merely the most insignificant periphery of the outer Misty Territory surrounding the Demon Prison."

"What?!" Ash was taken aback. "You mean to say, the Demon Prison is merging with the real world's Yin City?"

"Heh," Ji Jiu glanced at Ash with a touch of irony and spoke softly. "When the Heterodox Academy set up the Demon Prison, this place was nothing but a desolate marshland, utterly uninhabited. After the Demon Prison was established, the constant seepage of demonic aura from within completely destroyed the ecology of the marshlands. It was only because the foggy illusions created by the Mirage Dragon kept the Demon Prison separate from the mundane world, negating the negative effects of the Demonic Qi. This separation allowed the ancients to settle in the surrounding areas, which culminated in the establishment of Songjiang Prefecture and the modern-day Yin City. It's not so much that the Demon Prison is merging with the real world, as it is returning to the original place where it was always meant to be."

"..." Ash, his face grim, asked, "Where are the physical coordinates of the Demon Prison in the real world?"

"Heh, don't you already know?" Ji Jiu shook his head. "It's right beneath Qianhua Road. It's unclear how many demons and spirits still survive in the Demon Prison today. However, comparing with the records on the bamboo slips from a thousand years ago, a conservative estimate would still be at least tens of thousands."

Ash exhaled deeply, suppressing the urge to run outside the Ball Technique and convey this intelligence to the Mobile Detachment. He needed to obtain more information from Ji Jiu. Moreover, now that the barrier had fully contracted, he feared he would go mad from the exhaustion of his Sanity Value before he could even make it a kilometer away.

Standing beside him, Chuyin glanced almost imperceptibly at Ash. From this angle, Chuyin could see the metal ball in Ash's hand, one specifically designed for lie detection.

Actually, from the moment Ji Jiu began to divulge information, Chuyin had already silently taken out a palm-sized miniature drone from her inventory and activated its recording function to capture Ji Jiu's words. As a local of Yin City and an operative of the Mobile Detachment, she understood the importance of this intelligence. Using her hands behind her back, she stealthily guided the miniature drone along the ground, letting it fly out quietly. She was determined to send the drone beyond the Ball Technique, a kilometer away, to transmit the information to her colleagues at the Special Affairs Bureau.

In the midst of the silence, Li Ang spoke, "How long until the Demon Prison descends completely? Why did the anomaly occur, causing it to descend upon Yin City?"

Ji Jiu shook his head. "As for the specific time of descent, I'm not sure. But I estimate it will be tonight. Regarding the reason for the anomaly... Based on the information I received from the Datura organization, I suspect it's very likely that the agreement between the Ancient Necromancer Organization and the Mirage Dragon has reached its expiration."

"A suspicion?" Li Ang narrowed his eyes.

"Indeed," Ji Jiu seemed a little helpless. "Though I am a member of the Datura organization, I joined later than my teammate, the senior Zhi Jue, and the information they've revealed to me is limited. If not for the mysterious death of Datura's leader, Zhuang Pengpai, during a scripted task, I wouldn't have been entrusted with this significant responsibility. Furthermore, I suspect the information the Datura organization itself obtained is incomplete, or perhaps was deliberately concealed."

"Where did you learn this information?" Ash couldn't help but ask. As a member of the Mobile Detachment, he simply couldn't understand it. Why would a senior member of the Datura organization know things so clearly that even the Heterodox Academy was currently unaware of?

Ji Jiu looked at him indifferently. "In the past, the Heterodox Academy naturally possessed the largest and most comprehensive database of anomalous events in the world. But now, with its heritage so severely severed, the Heterodox Academy is not much different from starting over. Moreover, the Datura organization is not as simple as you imagine. Its birth is closely connected to another Necromancer organization. That organization is called the Kuiyang Sect."

No one answered, and Ji Jiu continued on his own, "They are a secret organization formed by Necromancers who are about the same age as the Heterodox Academy, or even older. The number of members in this organization is small, and their actions are secretive. They sometimes uphold order and sometimes destroy balance, making it difficult to classify them as unequivocally good or bad. Their presence can be seen behind the scenes in almost all major ancient anomalies. Some theories suggest that it was the Kuiyang Sect that deliberately guided the new generation of Necromancers, helping them to establish the earliest Heterodox Academy organization. Furthermore, some ancient bamboo slips that fell into the hands of the Datura organization contain records. These records show the Heterodox Academy and the Kuiyang Sect working together to capture powerful demons."

Ji Jiu coughed and slowly said, "Contrary to what the outside world thinks, the Datura organization is not that strict or hierarchical. Apart from a very few senior personnel, no one knows the organization's specific strategies or future direction. The middle and lower echelons of Datura are primarily focused on making as much money as possible. Meanwhile, the mid to upper echelons, most of whom were seduced and deceived, deeply believe in Datura's rhetoric: 'to maintain the vested interests of the powerful amidst the changes brought by the killing game.'"

"..." There was still no expression on Liu Wu Dai's face. In fact, she was well aware of how her father, Liu Kejian, had likely become infected with the Datura disease. He had probably attended some high-society gathering and was willingly or unwillingly drawn into the Datura organization. It must be said that the Datura organization's slogan—'Maintain the existing class structure and ensure that the financial status of the upper class is unshaken'—was indeed potent. Combined with the Datura Type-3 Potion, which could grant low-level supernatural abilities, it had a seductive power. This was capable of luring in many upper-class individuals who had a limited understanding of the killing game or felt their lives and property were threatened. It's not hard to understand why Liu Kejian fell for it.

"Previously, although I was a member of Datura, I didn't have any particular thoughts about Datura's slogan," Ji Jiu continued. "During my time working for Datura, I used certain player-specific special skills to uncover the organization's true secrets. The ancient Necromancer organization, the Kuiyang Sect, had guided a portion of mortals to establish the Datura organization. Their aim was to deal with the large-scale killing game anticipated in modern times. Datura is a subordinate branch of the Kuiyang Sect, a hidden piece set by one or some members of the Kuiyang Sect. The fundamental purpose of its establishment was to execute the Kuiyang Sect's plan regarding the Demon Prison."

Ji Jiu took a deep breath and said solemnly, "They had made ample preparations countless years ago. They planted various supernatural items in advance, hoping to trigger a spontaneously formed killing game at a critical juncture. This game would involve tasks related to the unsealing of the Demon Prison. And they left a prophecy poem for the Datura organization:

'What power has the moonlight, to die and yet revive?

What lies within? A hare in the moon's embrace?

Where is the land of no death? What do the long-lived keep?

Dragon-coaches ride the thunder, east from the cave they race.'

This passage is the prophecy poem left by the Kuiyang Sect to the Datura organization, which was eventually handed to me, related to this mission. Its general meaning is:

What trait does the moon possess that enables it to die and be reborn?

What is that dark spot on the moon? Could it be something hidden within a rabbit's belly?

Where exactly is the land of immortality? What does the Immortal Species depend on?

Dragon chariots, accompanied by the sound of thunder, leave the cave and journey toward the east.

According to the understanding of Datura's upper echelons, the changes in the Misty Territory signify that the Mirage Dragon is about to break free from the Demon Prison. It will then depart on its own. Their goal is for me to use this All Bright Moon Palace Lantern to enter the Misty Territory and ultimately control the Mirage Dragon that is about to leave."