When the fighting force of the center received the news from the old captain, their expressions changed. Level One battle preparation only occurred when great danger happened. Other than the main director, only the great captains had the right to do that. After the order was given, there had to be agreement from seven captains and the support of over half the admin to work.
“Bring the other members of Team 13 and come to the conference room with me.” The old captain said seriously, “The center hasn’t taken on a new Strange Building in five years already. This is something big for us, and we need cooperation from all the departments.” Third Mental Hospital was just a black building, and they had already lost a lot of people. Not a long time had passed since then, and they were going after a Strange Building.
…
The conference room in the middle of the center opened. The captains took their seats, and they looked at Han Fei beside the old captain. After Han Fei joined the center, several meetings were called because of him.
“Gao Cheng, tell everyone your plan.” The old captain signaled Xue Ba and Han Fei to move forward. Both of them shared Li Xue’s initial plan. Consuming the Unmentionable’s eyes and claiming the Top Pure Hatred as an ally was crazy. Everyone was hesitant. To convince everyone, Han Fei opened the greed abyss and controlled the Pure Hatred trapped inside.
The headmaster, the girl, fear demon, and Tong Xin appeared. They opened the leaders’ eyes. They knew that Han Fei could trap ghosts, but they had no idea Han Fei had already controlled four Pure Hatred!
Some were shocked by his growth, but some showed fear.
“The amount of Pure Hatred I can control simultaneously has reached the limit. To grow stronger, I need to consume stronger Pure Hatred.” After Han Fei ate the white-haired woman, he noticed something. A normal Pure Hatred couldn’t level up the greed persona anymore. Yesterday night, when he fought the people from Hope City, he noticed his max limit was four Pure Hatreds. If he released more, he would collapse mentally. To change that, he made to eat ghosts beyond the level of normal Pure Hatred. Han Fei could feel Gao Cheng’s ambition. Instinct told him that once he ate the eyes, he would awaken the eighth time.
“The risk is too high. The Tragedy Investigation Center is humanity’s last hope. How can we risk that?” One of the captains shook his head. “I am against this no matter the reason.”
“Don’t forget the initial goal of this place! We want to investigate the source of the tragedy.” The old captain opened the map and pointed at Zone A. “The center has been here for decades, but we haven’t even established ourselves at Zone C. We’re still a distance away from Zone A. However, we don’t have much time left.” The old captain didn’t agree with Han Fei was no reason. After the conference room was locked, many confidential documents were brought out.
The center knew about the corruption of Hope City and the blood sacrifice that was going to happen. They even had the connection of the several Pure Hatreds and God down. “Whenever God’s birthday approaches, all the Pure Hatreds will become active. They will kill everyone to prepare gifts for God. In return, they will get God’s blessing. Did you not realize that there will be new Pure Hatreds in the city after God’s birthday? And the existing Pure Hatreds would get stronger.”
All the Pure Hatred held up God’s world. As Gao Xing got stronger, so did the ghosts who worshipped him. If not for Han Fei’s arrival, there was no hope for this worst future. The ending for most people would be to be pets for ghosts. “The ghosts have gotten stronger over the years. They have been rearing living humans. They no longer view us as a challenge.” The old captain’s words were harsh but realistic.
“After many investigations, we can now confirm that the source of the tragedy is under Immortal Skyscraper at Zone A. In other words, that’s where the first ghost came from.” The old captain paused and looked at everyone there. “But Immortal Skyscraper is a Taboo Building. No one has been able to enter and leave it alive. Ever since Qi Ming, the explorer persona with eight awakenings, left for the building, we have been fooling ourselves that everything is fine.”
“There are only a few persona users with eight awakenings. Before we know what is inside that building, sending people there is no different from suicide.” The captain of the logistic department was very steady. He didn’t like to take risk.
“If we don’t take risk, we’ll never know the truth! And end this tragedy!” The old captain said firmly.
“We understand that but who would go on this suicide mission?” The captain of the patrols also said.
“I’ll go.” Han Fei raised his hand. “I’ll go there after consuming the Pure Hatred underneath Deep Sea Aquarium!” Everyone was quiet. Han Fei was more extreme than most of the people there. Plus, he was getting so much stronger so quickly that some became worried. But if he was willing to go to the Taboo Building, the worry became nothing. No one managed to leave the Taboo Building alive. If Han Fei died there, he would have given his last contribution to humanity.
“I still disagree.” The captain of the logistics department stood up. “You have the most potential of the younger generation. You are a great wealth to the center. Even if we need to go there, it should be antiques like us leading the way for you.”
“We’ll do a vote.” The old leader raised his hand. “We’ll attack the Strange Building to help Gao Cheng suppress the Top Pure Hatred at the aquarium. Then, one year from that, we’ll help him get into the Taboo Building!”
The old captain knew that time was tight. More people raised their hands. Soon, more than half of them agreed, but only five captains were on board.
“I still can’t make the decision now.” The captain of the judging department looked at Han Fei. He was like a man who had no emotions. “I hope you can contact the center director. If she says yes, we’ll all support this.” Then, he stood up and left.
“We should do that.” The old captain also nodded. “Tonight, every team will be ready at the center safe zone. Once we get the order from director, we’ll depart tomorrow morning!”
The meeting ended, and everyone left. Hunting a Top Pure Hatred was huge and everyone needed to contribute.
“This result is much better than I expected.” The old captain pushed the documents to Han Fei. “Your stage will be ready tomorrow.”
“Understood.” Han Fei memorized all the info in the documents and left the room with Team 13.
“Gao Cheng, are we really going to hunt a Top Pure Hatred?” Dong Quan felt so surreal. He heard from his friends the Pure Hatred inside the aquarium. The Pure Hatred could use endless bodies to create a giant monster more than several meters tall. Its eyes contained the presence of an Unmentionable.
“Are you scared?” Han Fei asked. “Hunting it is just the first step of my plan?”
“What else do you plan to do?”
“The old captain said he’d give me one year but I can’t wait for so long.” Han Fei said seriously, “You might think I’m being reckless but I need to tell you something. We only have about 10 days left to live. We need to finish everything before God’s birthday!” Han Fei didn’t explain further and hurried away.
Everyone was prepared for the mission. Midnight fell, and several captains received the order from Li Xue. It was at that moment that the war machine that was the center started to mobilize!
…
The ray of the early sun cut through the layers of clouds. As dawn came, the three gates of the center opened. The center’s modified vehicles rolled out.
“Judgement Team 1 entering the designated location.”
“Transportation protection Team 1 to 3 are ready!”
“Patrol Team 1 to 9 are ready!”
“Logistic Team 1 to 5 are ready!”
“Investigation teams ready!”
The battlecry echoed in the silent city. The survivors rose again. Their voices reverberated in the city. They were not afraid of being heard by ghosts.
Han Fei gained more confidence. “Fate is a cycle. This time, Gao Cheng will snatch back Gao Xing’s eyes! Eventually, Gao Xing’s date of birth will be his date of death!”
