Investigation Report of the Gods

Chapter 73: Mechanical Components

"Quite a few familiar faces..."

Song Chu‑shi walked out of the cake shop and immediately met the cold stares of those carrying suitcases, as well as the countless gun muzzles hidden behind the armed vehicles and on the rooftops.

The street had already been cleared—an entire stretch in the middle was left vacant.

The sharp killing intent brushed against one's face like a blade, yet under the watchful eyes of so many, he displayed no panic whatsoever. Instead, he faced the crowd, nodded lightly, and even wore a faint smile on his face.

But outside the cake shop, those countless cold stares only grew more cautious—none responded.

Song Chu‑shi didn't mind. His expression remained unchanged as he lifted his suitcase and turned to walk in a certain direction. But just then, a voice suddenly shouted from the crowd:

"Stop!"

"..."

Song Chu‑shi obediently halted and turned his head. All he saw were blinding spotlights directed at him. Under such circumstances, a normal person wouldn't even be able to keep their eyes open, let alone see the figures behind the lights.

But Song Chu‑shi only squinted slightly, and all the spotlight beams suddenly dimmed. He smiled and said, "Mr. Hong, what advice do you have?"

The female voice that had spoken earlier turned icy as she said coldly, "Why have you entered Qinggang?"

Song Chu‑shi smiled. "The food outside's terrible. Came into the city for a bowl of wontons."

"Mr. Song!"

That woman’s voice abruptly cut him off, her tone heavy: "Qinggang isn’t a place you can come and go as you please. Right now, there are at least a hundred guns aimed at you and twenty Investigators watching. We ask you to show us the most basic respect."

"Why have you come to Qinggang?"

"..."

"Clack!" "Clack!" "Clack!"

As if to validate her words, the sound of gun bolts being pulled suddenly echoed from the darkness. And in places the light couldn’t reach, several crackles of electric sparks were heard—that was the sound of an unknown number of Investigators already drawing their weapons and releasing their hostility.

"I said I came to Qinggang for a bowl of Small Wontons, and you don’t want to believe it."

Facing the countless waves of hostility, Song Chu‑shi smiled, and his expression gradually turned cold. "Then if I were to bring up the real issue that concerns me, would any of you dare to discuss it with me face to face?"

His voice still sounded polite, yet such questioning instantly made the one interrogating him turn pale and speechless, unable to respond.

And once Song Chu‑shi had withdrawn his smile, he no longer held back. His gaze swept coldly across them.

Even though there were so many people on the opposite side, it was hard to see them clearly. But for some reason, as his gaze passed over them, many felt their hearts pound uncontrollably and instinctively looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

"You want to ask, so I’ll answer you."

Song Chu‑shi spoke slowly. "I came back to Qinggang just to see whether this place is still the same as before."

"Or… has it become even worse?"

When he said this, he couldn’t continue further. He merely shook his head lightly and murmured, "Pass a message to Mr. No. 5—Qinggang as it is now can’t even stop me. How could it stop those things that descend into reality?"

"As for you all..."

He stood firmly in place, sweeping his gaze around, and said slowly, "I’ll leave now. These one hundred guns and twenty Investigators—does anyone dare make a move?"

When these words fell, the shadows trembled en masse.

No one knew how many people darkened their expressions. Being spoken to so brazenly—especially Investigators known for their arrogance—how could any of them feel pleased?

And among the crowd, the Red Trench Coat also wore a gloomy face.

She instinctively looked up, her gaze piercing through the night toward the tallest building in Qinggang City.

That was a building with all its lights turned off—except for the topmost floor. Because of that, the building seemed like a ghost hidden in the city, and the lit uppermost floor resembled an eye hovering above the city.

The orders she had received didn’t include any engagement.

Yet with the man provoking them so blatantly, the person atop that building still hadn’t responded?

On the opposite side, Song Chu‑shi also said nothing more. His gaze also drifted toward that building. Seeing no abnormality, he actually looked quite disappointed.

He waited—one second, two seconds.

Everyone was observing, watching, as if some invisible oppression weighed on them. Atop the distant skyscraper, someone had been aiming a sniper rifle at him the entire time. But since the command from above hadn’t arrived, the sniper’s palms were already drenched in cold sweat.

In the shadows, there was also an Investigator staring at Song Chu‑shi, gripping a Thunder 101 High-Voltage Baton tightly. Suddenly, a rush of hot blood surged to his head. His lips moved instinctively, about to chant a certain Spell.

But at the instant the incantation was about to be uttered, he suddenly saw what looked like a massive shadow surging like a tidal wave, overwhelming the skies. It was as if an endless darkness appeared in front of him, and an enormous hand reached out toward his face.

His heart clenched violently, and he collapsed stiffly to the ground, unconscious. Those nearby had no idea what had just happened, immediately crowding over to check, seizing the dangerous Sword of Mystery from his hand.

In their hearts, they felt some disdain: “Coward, just caught a distant glance at that man and fainted from fright?”

The commotion in that corner did not draw much attention from the front. They simply stayed rooted in place, eyes locked tightly on Song Chu‑shi.

Carrying the Silver Briefcase, Song Chu‑shi seemed to be waiting for something. His pace neither slowed nor quickened. However, even when he arrived before that alley, no one made a move.

He let out a low sigh, ceased waiting, and turned calmly to step into a small alley beside the hotel.

On his face flashed an indescribable sense of loss: ‘Has that guy become smarter due to this transformation?’

‘Wanted to buy you some time, but now it seems… that’s no longer possible.’

‘...’

At the moment when his figure was completely swallowed by the shadows in the alley, a voice that no one else could hear reached Han Su inside the cake shop:

“Half a month!”

“His transformation this time was so successful that even I… have begun to feel fear of him…”

“...”

“Half a month?”

When Song Chu‑shi’s words reached his ears, the sense of freezing and blockage around Han Su suddenly dissipated entirely. Even his seemingly impaired thoughts began functioning again.

There was no time to be delighted at Mr. Strange Bird’s sacrifice beside him. The moment his thoughts regained freedom, he first memorized Song Chu‑shi’s words.

‘That Monster could complete its transformation in just half a month?’

‘Song Chu‑shi said it had been watching me all along, which is why I couldn’t find anything at the time. The world in front of me seemed too rational, like everyone followed the rules… and only I was the madman.’

‘In another half month, will this kind of invisible distortion fall upon me again?’

‘No wonder Zhang Chiguo suspected I would be targeted after entering the Disaster Management Bureau. But until now, that anticipated targeting hasn’t occurred—was it because it was still undergoing transformation?’

‘...’

As the tightness in his heart resurfaced, he took a deep breath and recalled something else Song Chu‑shi had told him: ‘The Crystal Skull… is searching for that mechanical construct…’

At first, he had thought his memory was blurry, but Song Chu‑shi mentioned that all the kidnapped children should remember that machine.

That statement suddenly jolted a long-buried memory in his mind.

He remembered.

In the memories of the Crystal Skull, he saw its goal was to find a certain mechanical component. Whether it was that photo or the way they discussed it, it all felt incredibly familiar.

And now, he finally recalled.

He had seen that photo before and had heard similar conversations.

But not in the present—it was ten years ago.

Ten years ago, before the kidnapping happened, he had seen that photo—on a promotional leaflet.

Back then, the reason the children in their Class boarded that bus to the Science Museum was because the museum was exhibiting some new technology, including this recently unearthed mechanical component. The photo used was the same.

That was also why, upon returning to the Ancient Castle, they still heard the children asking, thinking the big machine the teacher mentioned was inside that castle.

The reason he didn’t recall it right away was because every return began from the Ancient Castle, and every Flickering equated to a ten-year interval. That promotional leaflet… he hadn’t seen it in a very long time.

Why was the Crystal Skull searching for this thing?

...

...

Until Song Chu‑shi’s figure fully vanished into the alley, the woman in the Red Trench Coat finally gave the cold order. Heavily armed personnel slowly advanced toward the alley, weapons at the ready.

But when they approached and their flashlights shone into the alley, everyone’s expression froze on the spot.

The alley was shallow—only seven or eight meters deep—visible in a single glance. Yet inside the alley, it was completely empty. Not a single person was in sight.

Everyone looked at each other, none speaking a word.

Behind the crowd, the woman in the Red Trench Coat stared at the empty alley, seemingly angry. But those who knew her well understood—at that moment, she let out a soft breath, seemingly much more relaxed.

"Hey..."

Just as everyone harbored strange thoughts, waiting for the next command, and the entire street fell into dead silence, a voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone jumped in surprise and turned in unison to see another figure stepping out of the cake shop, raising something in his hand:

“Elders, I just picked something up. Can one of you come take a look?”