Calamity of Tomorrow-Chapter 509 - 508 Accident (sorry for being late, an additional - of 3000 words as compensation)

In this special controlled area, similar to a nation within a nation, Heavenly Dao's special envoys could engage in any secret activities without interference from Donghua City.

Arriving at an office, Qiu Xingze handed over a booklet and explained, "…This is the last booklet Zhou Bai gave us; he might be the key to summoning Gu Letian."

While reporting, he glanced toward the direction of the interrogation room, where faint screams and roars could be heard intermittently.

Behind the office desk, Luo Yan took the booklet and said, "We suspect that some civilians are secretly contacting Gu Letian to conduct some kind of evil ritual. So we brought them here for interrogation."

Listening to Luo Yan's words, Qiu Xingze sighed and said nothing.

He knew that those so-called 'civilians' were probably wronged. This was Luo Yan retaliating purposefully, while scavenging benefits through his power. He estimated that after these people were redeemed, their worth would have significantly decreased.

Despite despising the other's actions, as Luo Yan was the son of Lord Luo Tian, Qiu Xingze was powerless to stop him.

Furthermore, from the righteous gods to the many monks below, they had long infiltrated the four major cities in multiple aspects, maintaining the bottom line only out of some reservations. It was not something he could reverse alone.

Qiu Xingze could only turn a blind eye now, just hoping that Luo Yan's actions would not affect the investigation into Gu Letian.

Luo Yan, holding the booklet, said, "Is this the book that can dream of Gu Letian? Where is Zhou Bai? Why didn't you bring him here?"

Qiu Xingze answered, "Zhou Bai is highly regarded by Three Pure Dao Sect. We should use gentler methods. Moreover, he has been cooperative; I don't think there's a need for forceful measures yet."

Luo Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, contemplating a plan to capture Zhou Bai and extort benefits from Three Pure Dao Sect before releasing him. However, after considering the great elder of the sect, he decided to abandon this plan.

He might abuse his authority and exploit the people, but he knew better than to pick the tough battles.

"Hmph, you're lucky. But if I find evidence of your collusion with Gu Letian…"

He waved the booklet, "Let's see what this thing is really about."

Qiu Xingze cautiously asked, "Shouldn't we report back to the True Lord without returning to the Plague Department?"

Luo Yan waved dismissively, "If we report everything directly to the True Lord, then what are we here for? All four major cities are investigating Gu Letian. Is it necessary to report everything to the True Lord? Does he not have anything else to do?

The experimental conditions here in the Plague Department are adequate, plus the experts sent here this time are enough to see if there's anything supernatural about this thing."

Qiu Xingze followed Luo Yan out, while Meng Ruocun, not being a member of the Plague Department, stayed outside the office waiting. Yan Shan followed them and asked, "How's it going?"

Luo Yan glanced at Yan Shan, who had been known as one of the four young masters of Heavenly Dao and held much more prestige within the Plague Department factions. But now, he was subordinate to him.

Even so, since Yan Shan was still of a divine lineage, Luo Yan treated him with much more courtesy than he did ordinary people and spoke slowly, "We plan to let someone analyze the content of the book right now. You can come and watch if you want."

The three went to the Plague Department's laboratory, and with a command, the entire lab sprung into action.

The booklet was protected layer upon layer by protective arrays. Qiu Xingze, Yan Shan, Luo Yan, and others stood in the observation area watching the situation inside.

A number of Plague Department monks activated the protective array and started the detection treasures. Various Primordial Spirit powers swept back and forth in the air, lighting up numerous runes on the walls, floors, and ceilings.

The Plague Department monk presiding over the experiment was named Plague Poison Sage, a level eight monk, sent here by Lord Luo Tian, especially to support Luo Yan and Qiu Xingze in their investigation in Donghua City.

Plague Poison Sage stood beside Luo Yan and them, ordering, "Let Subject Number One begin."

In the sealed space, a wall suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man with a numb and desperate expression slowly came forward.

Qiu Xingze asked, "Who is he?"

Plague Poison Sage slightly smiled, "A volunteer for the experiment. We compensated him to help us with some of the Plague Department's experiments."

Qiu Xingze frowned but said nothing.

Luo Yan stated, "Hmph, the Plague Department conducts so many experiments a year; how could animals suffice? Like this book, we can't just look at it without confirming it's safe, right? The cost of driving a civilian mad is very different from driving a monk mad."

Plague Poison Sage commanded, "119, go up and open that book up, read. Keep reading until we say stop."

The middle-aged man approached, opened the booklet, and crooked characters appeared before him.

Under the observation of the many Plague Department monks, there were no changes in the man's physical condition, but his expression grew more and more confused until he finally lapsed into a demented state, unresponsive to their commands.

Plague Poison Sage sighed, "Just like the reaction from that page left in Heavenly Dao. After reading, intelligence decreases until one turns into an idiot, completely losing the ability to read."

Yan Shan sighed, "Truly a twisted evil thing."

Luo Yan was not very anxious, "But that's about it, right? After reading, it will be fine after a while, the intelligence will return to normal, without any deformities or madness."

Plague Poison Sage nodded, "For now, Gu Letian's abilities seem rather limited. It only leaves long-lasting psychological damage when one faces him directly. Merely reading his left behind text will temporarily reduce intelligence."

"He is not undefeatable, rather, subtly adheres to some patterns. If we can thoroughly understand the pattern of his abilities, we might be able to attempt to capture him."

Plague Poison Sage said somewhat fervently, "If we could capture him for research, it would greatly advance many of the Plague Department's current research projects."

"Some victims see him as a disaster, but in our eyes at the Plague Department, he is clearly prey, a treasure."

Luo Yan and the Plague Master both laughed, but Yan Shan only frowned, a hint of unease stirring within him.

After having a few civilians test it, the Plague Master and his companions were even more convinced of the safety of the book pages, and sent a fifth-level cultivator from the Plague Department to start reading its contents.

The Plague Master said, "It's useless for ordinary people to look at it a lot; it can only be used to test the waters. Only after a cultivator reads it can we try to find the mysteries within."

As the fifth-level cultivator turned the pages, he saw written: "My name is Gu Letian."

"My name is Gu Letian."

"You are very handsome."

"You are very ugly."

"Your talent is very strong."

"Your talent is very weak."

"Your physique is just right."

"The person you love also loves you."

"The person you love hates you."

...

As he read, the cultivator felt the contents of the book were topsy-turvy and contradictory, making no sense at all. Yet, his eyes gradually became confused, his intelligence continuously deteriorating with the reading, almost blindly following the content of the book.

Then a sentence appeared before him.

"If you are a cultivator from the Plague Department, turn to the last page and start reading it backward."

"If you are not a cultivator from the Plague Department, keep reading."

The Plague Master frowned: "What's going on, why did he flip through so many pages all at once?"

Luo Yan, with his arms crossed, said, "After he comes out and his intelligence is restored, we'll know why."

As the cultivator turned to the last page, rows of text that the civilians hadn't seen before emerged before him.

"Gu Letian was born from the void."

"He is one of the many shadows of Heavenly Dao, possessing infinite power and knowledge."

"Pray to him, and by praying to him, you can gain various knowledge and powers."

"Pray to him, and by praying to him, you can gain endless food."

"...endless life."

"...endless wealth."

"...endless beauties."

"...endless handsome men."

Reading line by line, the intelligence-diminished cultivator easily chose to believe.

Driven by the various desires for Gu Letian's power, knowledge, wealth, and longevity.

Strong desires and greed emerged from the depths of his heart, thick black ropes surged from his body into the unseen realm around him.

Then, the cultivator saw the last segment of text above: "From now on, you are Gu Letian. Next..."

A sharp gleam burst forth from the cultivator's eyes; the fierce Primordial Spirit power directly tore apart the book before him, exposing the layers, enveloping the cultivator from top to bottom.

The characters on the layers combined into rows of large text, large enough for everyone present to see, continuously flashing in their eyes: "My name is Gu Letian, my name is Distortion, do not look directly..."

Everyone present saw the rows of large text constantly sweeping before their eyes, all feeling their consciousness gradually blurring, a primal fear arising from the depths of their hearts.

At the same time, the fifth-level cultivator opened his mouth and slowly said: "My name is Gu Letian. Who is summoning me?"

"I am one of the many shadows of Heavenly Dao, possessing infinite power and knowledge."

"Pray to me, infinite power awaits you..."

At the same time, he began to close one array after another, removing one restriction after another...

As the cultivator shouted, many other intelligence-diminished cultivators gradually felt a longing for Gu Letian's infinite power, knowledge, wealth, and longevity.

Lines that humans couldn't see emerged from many cultivators present, piercing through the layered defenses of the laboratory, shooting straight into the sky.

At the end of those lines, a ball enveloped in layers of black mud tore through the protection, slowly descending into the laboratory, black sludge churning on its surface, dripping, carrying an unmatched evil aura, constantly battering everyone present.