Chapter Thirty-One: The Gaze of the Divine

Gazing at the old book on the table, Chen Zi'ang, Ashiya Yuu, and Tsukimi Suzuna all simultaneously felt a wave of inspiration wash over them.

In their visionary perception, the book emanated a dense aura of death and decay, clearly marking it as a massive source of contamination. Even a brief glance at its contents could trigger a rapid surge in spiritual vision.

Just look at Yasui Naoya—the famous author who achieved renown with his “Divine Disappearance” series novels. At this moment, he seemed nothing more than a defeated dog slumped on the sofa, his mind nearly shattered.

“Should we call the police?” Ashiya Yuu asked Chen Zi'ang.

Although the detective agency mainly existed to make money, there were some jobs they wouldn’t dare take, no matter how lucrative. Something as obviously dangerous as this was best handed over to the Public Safety Bureau.

“Forget it,” Chen Zi'ang shook his head. “They’re already overwhelmed. Let’s not add to their troubles.”

“Really? Oh, just ignore my suggestion,” Ashiya Yuu quickly caught on.

The best agent from Section Six had already been expelled—all that remained were second-rate folks, incapable of handling such a crisis.

“Hmph,” Tsukimi Suzuna sneered from the sidelines.

“Then I’ll leave the book with you,” Ashiya Yuu laughed. “Consider it my way of reporting the incident.”

“Mr. Yasui, where did you find this book?” Chen Zi'ang confirmed.

Yasui Naoya said nothing, keeping his eyes tightly shut. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and tossed it to Chen.

Chen Zi'ang caught the phone. There was no screen lock, a swipe opened it, revealing a memo interface filled with text—the writer seemed to use the phone’s built-in memo app to record his writing process and inspirations:

“April 20th: Retrieved this book from deep within an abandoned mine. The content was unexpectedly fascinating. Although much of it appears to be the ravings of madmen and lunatics, with a little logical adaptation, it would make an excellent backdrop for my new novel.”

There were no further entries. Chen Zi'ang flipped back quickly and soon found the exact location of the “abandoned mine”:

“March 14th: Still no inspiration for the new book.”

“A reader who called herself ‘Miss Nishikawa’ recommended a suitable subject for me—Ryou Town.”

(Miss Nishikawa? Could it be that witch, Nishikawa Mihue?)

“This remote town, like other industrial towns outside the Far North City, initially thrived on the discovery of metal ores, but eventually declined as the surface deposits were exhausted. Now, it is completely abandoned.”

“What sets it apart is that before its residents deserted it, Ryou Town saw the emergence of a peculiar folk shrine.”

“The shrine’s priestess claimed that by offering bones to the so-called ‘God of the Mine’, the depleted veins could be regenerated. For reasons unknown, the locals believed these tales and began exhuming their ancestors’ graves, retrieving bones to offer to the shrine.”

“Later, every household took pride in death. When an elderly family member neared the end, they would joyfully dress them up, invite guests to celebrate, and after the elder passed, send them off with pomp and ceremony to the shrine as a sacrifice to the strange and eerie ‘Mine God’.”

“In my opinion, this story is merely a snapshot of the self-rescue efforts seen in countless declining towns. Yet even among our archipelago’s ancient folklore of eight million gods, this tale is unsettling and bone-chilling upon closer reflection. I hope my research trip this time goes smoothly.”

“Ryou Town.” Tsukimi Suzuna found the name on her phone and whispered to Chen Zi'ang, “It’s over 1,200 kilometers from Far North City. That’s so far!”

“It’s not easy to arrange transport either,” Chen Zi'ang mused. “I’ll hand this book over to Sui Feng Lixu first, see if she can glean anything from it.”

He picked up the paper bag Yasui Naoya had brought and placed the old book inside once more.

Just as the two were about to leave, Yasui Naoya curled up on the sofa spoke in a hoarse voice:

“When you took that book, it was already watching you.”

“Understood,” Chen Zi'ang replied coolly. “Thanks for the warning.”

They took the subway to the Public Safety Bureau in Far North City, rode the elevator down to the Great Intelligence Vault, and soon Sui Feng Lixu received word and came over.

“I heard you’re suspended?” Leading them to the office door, she turned to Tsukimi Suzuna. “Not off to date your little girlfriend? What are you doing here with me?”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Chen Zi'ang lifted the paper bag. “Otherwise I’ll give this thing to someone else.”

Sui Feng Lixu’s eyes brightened; she clearly sensed the contamination inside. Without another word, she took the paper bag and shut the office door behind her.

“What do we do now?” Tsukimi Suzuna asked.

“We wait here,” Chen Zi'ang replied. “We need to check in regularly—otherwise she’ll research it endlessly and never inform us of the results, not even by next year.”

They sat on the bench outside Sui Feng Lixu’s office. Tsukimi Suzuna asked again,

“So, are we going to this... Ryou Town?”

“If this book really came from there, then we must,” Chen Zi'ang replied. “Because we can’t guarantee there aren’t other mysterious things there, just waiting for some reckless explorer like Yasui Naoya to stumble upon them.”

“But it’s so far,” Tsukimi Suzuna hugged her knees. “I’ve never left Far North City all my life.”

“Actually, neither have I,” Chen Zi'ang laughed. “I heard that outside Far North City, nine out of ten towns are deserted, with only the elderly left behind in rural areas. Hardly any young people remain.”

“Is it because young people all prefer Far North City?” Tsukimi Suzuna asked.

“Not entirely,” Chen Zi'ang explained. “You know our Takamagahara Star Sector is actually a mining planet, right?”

“A hundred years ago, Takamagahara was an inhospitable remote planet—cold, barren, lifeless... Only its polar region, now known as Far North City, was rich in geothermal resources and had a temperate climate, which attracted interstellar pirates who made it their stronghold.”

“Later, imperial survey ships discovered rich mineral resources beneath the surface. The empire sent fleets to clear out the pirates and designated it as a mining production planet, prompting large-scale colonization.”

“In the past thirty years, nearly all easily accessible surface minerals have been depleted. Mining deeper is costly, and accounting for interstellar transport, there’s no competitive advantage. So mining corporations have been downsizing, laying off workers.”

“The central industrial belt towns mostly consist of mining families. Massive layoffs left these families without income, forcing them to migrate to Far North City for menial jobs. That’s the main reason for the population shrinkage in those towns...”

“Stop lecturing us on history,” Sui Feng Lixu suddenly opened the door, handing him a special-material box. “Your book is highly problematic. It needs to be returned to its rightful place as soon as possible.”

“Highly problematic?” Chen Zi'ang asked in surprise.

It was the first time he’d heard such an assessment from Sui Feng Lixu.

“Yes,” she said crisply. “It bears the gaze of a deity.”