I write obituaries for the gods.

Chapter 4 Mirage City

That day, Lin Chen destroyed Huihui's phone in the toilet, flushing all the parts down the drain.

His intuition was correct: not long after he returned to the corridor, two foundation clerks in suits found him.

"We are investigating traces of subspace contamination at the scene. As the primary victim, we need to take Ms. Huihui's personal belongings back for testing."

Lin Chen didn't speak, but simply nodded and took Huihui's electronic children's watch and small purse out of the plastic bag.

Before handing over the small purse, Lin Chen opened the inner compartment and took out the photo from inside.

In the photo, Huihui and her family are smiling sweetly.

......

"Are you full?"

"Brother, I'm not hungry."

Looking at Huihui's blank expression, Lin Chen sighed softly.

Since the day he brought Huihui home, Lin Chen rarely heard her speak. Most of the time, she sat on the balcony, staring blankly at the rain outside the security window.

After Huihui's family moved to Yudu, they lost contact with their relatives. The Investigation Bureau is currently helping to contact her relatives to see if anyone is willing to adopt her.

If not, her final destination will be an orphanage.

Lin Chen knew that he could not become Huihui's guardian. He was just a college student who had just graduated, and at the end of the day, he was just an inexperienced child.

All he could do was try his best to protect Huihui.

Lin Chen reached out and ruffled her hair:

"Take a nap this afternoon. Looking at your eyes, you didn't sleep much again last night, did you? I have to run some orders today, so have the extra lunch I brought. If I'm not back tonight, go find Brother Hao, okay?"

"it is good."

Huihui got up and walked towards her bedroom.

At the bedroom door, the little girl suddenly turned around and whispered:

"Brother, stop investigating. You need to protect yourself..."

Lin Chen turned his head, and when he saw Huihui's red eyes, his fists clenched slightly.

But he could only give Huihui a bitter smile:

"Okay...I understand. You should get some rest..."

After watching Huihui enter the room, Lin Chen got up, left Huihui's house, and went into his own small rented room.

The curtains in the rented room were drawn tightly, making the whole room dark. Lin Chen walked straight into the bedroom, lifted the mattress, and took out the revolver shotgun hidden underneath.

He took out the steamed bun that Brother Hao had given him, and while taking a bite, he gently stroked the gold-plated patterns on the shotgun with his hand.

"You need to take good care of yourself..."

Lin Chen chuckled self-deprecatingly and closed his eyes.

Yes, he was just an ordinary man, and a single drop of rain from the times could crush him.

But if they don't resist, after the commendation ceremony at 3:30 pm, he and Huihui will begin their life countdown.

......

On the day of the incident, after Lin Chen took Huihui home, a thought kept lingering in his mind.

If the foundation investigated Megumin, does that mean they've been monitoring her all along?

Will they find out that Huihui recorded a video? Even if Lin Chen destroyed Huihui's phone, what about before that?

Since these items were given to Lin Chen as personal belongings, a report must have been left behind.

The things Huihui photographed were too sensitive; if they were leaked, the foundation's image would be completely ruined.

In other words, the fact that the foundation has maintained a positive and righteous image for so many years means that it must have spent a lot of resources on public opinion control.

Huihui, a little girl, became their breakthrough point?

Would they allow such a foolish thing to ruin the foundation's dominance?

Lin Chen grew increasingly terrified as he thought about it. He knew that the foundation would not let Huihui off easily.

After much thought, he could only think of one person he could ask for help.

"..."

So, the next day, Lin Chen rode his electric bike to the entrance of the Yudu Anomaly Investigation Bureau.

Then, unsurprisingly, I was turned away at the door.

"Section Chief Jiang? He's on a mission. Is there anything I can help you with? I can leave him a message."

"I want to ask for asylum."

In the lobby of the Investigation Bureau, Lin Chen stared intently into the eyes of the receptionist and said, word by word:

"Someone wants to harm my sister."

Seeing Lin Chen's serious demeanor, the receptionist put down her thermos.

"Young man, this is the Bureau of Abnormal Investigations," he said calmly. "You need to go to the police station for this kind of thing."

"I am a relative of a survivor of the Iron Horn Bridge incident, and I know Section Chief Jiang," Lin Chen said, unwilling to give up. "Please help me, I need to see him."

"Then leave your name here, and I'll tell him when he gets back." The receptionist pushed a form to Lin Chen.

"Can't you help me make a contact?"

"Have you ever seen anyone leave their phone ringing while on a mission? If they're in stealth mode, that could cause problems. Alright, young man, fill out the form."

Seeing that there was really no room for maneuver, Lin Chen's heart sank, and he had no choice but to pick up his pen.

Just as he was about to fill out the form, a soft voice called out from behind him:

"Are you looking for Section Chief Jiang? What can I do for you?"

Lin Chen turned his head and saw a girl standing behind him, looking at him curiously.

Her attire was peculiar: she wore a school uniform shirt, vest, and plaid skirt underneath, but a black trench coat over it, making her look like a fledgling bird wrapped in heavy black feathers.

Upon seeing the young woman, the receptionist waved and smiled.

"Spotted? The mission's over? What about Section Chief Jiang...?"

"I'm back to relieve you. I have classes tomorrow, and the section chief won't be back tonight."

"It seems this will be quite troublesome." The receptionist nodded.

"Thank goodness~"

The girl smiled at the receptionist, then looked up slightly and winked at Lin Chen:

"Sir, so what brings you to Section Chief Jiang? Just tell me directly."

As she spoke, she took out her work ID and showed it to Lin Chen:

"Li Zhanyi, Rapid Response Section 1, Rain City Abnormal Management Bureau," she introduced herself.

......

This was Lin Chen's first time entering the headquarters of the Investigation Bureau, or more precisely, the headquarters of the West City Branch.

Unlike the simple and serious atmosphere of the local police station, everything here seems to be bathed in a magical glow.

White doves flew beneath the pure white dome of the hall, carrying file bags, and flew into the passageways built specifically for them in the dome.

On either side of the hall, two rows of unusual entities dressed in suits stood, their faces pure white, like plastic, reflecting the changing light and shadows in the hall.

"Don't look directly at them," Li Zhanyi said. Lin Chen turned his head and found the girl looking back at him. "'Police officers' are not well-behaved children. Even among friendly abnormal entities, they are considered emotionally unstable."

"They're called 'police officers'..." Lin Chen muttered.

"Yes, they are amazing."

Li Zhanyi walked up to a police officer, patted him on the shoulder with a smile, and then Lin Chen heard the guy yell "Ha!" and raise his baton—

"call!"

Li Zhanyi ran away with a grin, dodging the police officers' batons, then turned back and winked at Lin Chen:

"Two officers are enough to neutralize most Delta-level anomalies that have surfaced into reality. However, sometimes the police station will borrow some from us to handle cases. There was a madman who declared himself emperor in an urban village. He set up titles like emperor and prime minister. In the end, we sent two officers to deal with him."

"Did you win?" Lin Chen was captivated by the story the girl was telling.

"The rebels were completely wiped out, and they even arrested the emperor and took him to the police station. It was all over the newspapers! Don't you read the newspapers?"

Li Zhanyi led Lin Chen through the lobby and to the tall elevator shaft.

The girl pressed her work ID against the sensor, and it beeped.

"Alright, let's talk in the office. No one will eavesdrop there," Li Zhanyi turned around. "Judging from your expression, this is quite a big deal?"

"Hmm," Lin Chen said softly, "I suspect it's... never mind, we'll talk about it later..."

"Good~ You're already safety conscious, that's great." Li Zhanyi patted Lin Chen on the shoulder.

Seeing the girl's innocent smile, Lin Chen's tightly clenched heart relaxed a little.

He took a deep breath, composed himself, and stared at the ever-decreasing elevator floors on the monitor.

While waiting, Lin Chen inadvertently looked up at the top of the elevator shaft.

Once he saw it, he couldn't look away:

Beneath the dome and above the elevator entrance, an exquisitely framed oil painting hangs.

The oil painting depicts a hurricane sweeping across the sky, with gray swirling clouds resembling the sky of the rain capital, like a roaring beast or a raging gray fire.

Below the hurricane, a shattered city is crumbling, and a figure stands at the bottom of the composition, gazing up at the sky.

"How is it? Do you get a feeling from this painting?"

Li Zhanyi glanced at the stunned Lin Chen, and then they both looked up at the painting.

"Section Chief Jiang keeps saying that hanging this painting here is improper, but I think it's quite nice, very artistic. It was a gift from the mayor to our unit, it's called..."

"Mirage City?"

Lin Chen could no longer hear what Li Zhanyi was saying.

In his eyes, the oil painting was distorting, with chaotic light and shadow flickering repeatedly, outlining a pure white city.

In a daze, he found himself standing alone in the center of that city, and the concept of time seemed to stretch out.

......