After an Infinite Flow Player Retires

“Ow ow ow!”Blast covered his swollen forehead as tears formed in his eyes.Wei Yuechu threw away the thick reference book, causing the dust on the floor to scatter, and said coldly, “Are you awake now?”Blast was stunned for a moment.He looked up at Wei Yuechu who stood before him and then turned to look at Puppet Master who was watching on while gloating at his misfortune. He blinked a few times in confusion.Wei Yuechu waited patiently.A few seconds later.Blast’s eyes widened and his mouth gaped open, “Y-you……”“M-me…?” Wei Yuechu took in the other party’s constantly changing expression and expressionlessly took over the conversation, “What about me?”Blast raised his hand, poked the back of Wei Yuechu’s hand and muttered, “…..It’s warm.”He raised his head.“Not a ghost.”Wei Yuechu, “……….”Suddenly had an urge to hit him.She raised her hand and once again gave him a blow.Blast yelped in pain and held his head as he jumped three feet high. There was a surprised expression on his face.“You’re really not dead!!!”Wei Yuechu rolled her eyes and snorted:“……..Your brain sure works fast.”“Hahahahahaha!!!!” Blast recovered from the shock of seeing his companion still alive and then suddenly thought of something and began laughing hysterically.Wei Yuechu, “……...”The red-haired young man before her laughed especially arrogantly, looking as if he was asking for a beating, “Looks like I really guessed right this time! Chen Qingye, Wu Su…..I really need them to see this. Who says my head is just for show?!”Wei Yuechu, “……….”Looks like it was you from the looks of it.Blast continued spiritedly, “I knew it! Ace that liar, how could he possibly change so suddenly! But the ghost energy from him was too realistic. If it wasn’t because I knew him too well, I would’ve fallen for it…..”Before he could finish, Wei Yuechu next to him lightly interrupted.“Oh, that.”She hooked up the corners of her lips in amusement, “He really did turn into a ghost.”Blast froze.He turned to look at Wei Yuechu. The expression on his face was particularly silly. It took him a while to squeeze out a single sound from the depths of his throat:“…...Huh?”.The dark sky outside flickered with the faint colour of blood.In the centre of M City, practically the entire sky there was obscured. Except for the faint changes in brightness, it was almost impossible for one to tell whether it was night or day.Fortunately, after turning into a fierce ghost, Ye Jia had become able to see in the dark.He lowered his head and looked at the scattered pages before him. A cold light flashed across the depths of his scarlet eyes.Ye Jia had managed to mostly decipher the first part.The notebook said that ‘Mother’ was an accumulation of the darkest side of the world and that her core was made up of malice.Malice and yin energy were two completely different concepts. Yin energy was more akin to a kind of power source. Although they can erode away a living person, it could also conversely be manipulated and made use of. As long as one manages to master a few skills, even an ordinary person can have the ability to control this extraordinary power.As for malice, that was pure darkness.It is produced after a life is forcibly taken.But the amount is very small. Even if it came from a heinous sinner, the amount that can be extracted is particularly limited. Despite this, as long as a human is contaminated by even the smallest trace of malice, even a normal, kindhearted person would turn into someone who is able to kill their own loved ones without remorse. If a ghost was affected, they would become a ghost with no rationality, attacking everything indiscriminately.Although terrible, the existence of malice was also an indispensable part of the world's natural cycle.‘Mother’ is only released when the malice in the real world reaches a certain threshold.That was why the door was able to open thirty years ago. A large amount of malice had been artificially produced for her back then ---- And it also happened to be the time when the Bureau was becoming more and more powerless against the fierce ghosts.Qi Shengze was just a knife that was being manipulated.And the person behind all this wasn’t him, but the one who told him how to open the door.The dark and thick fluid that was buried deep in the ground flashed across Ye Jia’s mind.His fingers tightened. His pale fingers left creases in the papers.The notebook said……The door must be opened again ---- because it wasn’t fully closed thirty years ago.The reason was that during all these years, the production of malice had never stopped.There was only one way to artificially generate a high concentration of malice, and that was to massacre a large population of humans.When a human dies, their souls would slowly dissipate with the decay of their body. Even a soul with lingering obsessions can only remain in the world a little longer.When souls that have never done evil are in the process of dissipating and suddenly brutally slaughtered, it would artificially generate malice that should originally not have appeared.And once all these malice are combined, they would have a great impact on the world……Ye Jia suddenly remembered the iron-clad rule of the Bureau.------Whether the soul is evil or not, they must be eliminated.Turns out, it had already started even back then?Ye Jia suddenly felt something cold touch the back of his hand.He was taken aback. He immediately returned from his thoughts and looked over.In the dimly lit room, a large blood gu fish looked up at Ye Jia with its head tilted and tail waving very cautiously.It seemed a little hesitant.This fierce ghost before it gave off a very similar air to its favourite human, but it also wasn’t exactly the same. It wasn’t sure if this was the right person.“Oh, it’s you.”Ye Jia breathed a sigh of relief.He forced a smile and gently patted its head.This familiar action immediately resulted in the eyes on the blood gu fish’s skull head to light up. It wagged its tail excitedly and then affectionately stuffed its head into Ye Jia’s arms.“Enough……..enough……” Ye Jia struggled to keep himself stabilised and placed his hand on the other party’s head to stop himself from being knocked over.He looked down at the extremely excited blood gu fish before him, “Where did you come from?”At this moment, Ji Xuan’s voice sounded from the door:“I brought it over.”With the blood gu fish in his arms, Ye Jia looked over.The other party stood there leaning against the door with his eyes slightly lowered as he looked at Ye Jia. It was unknown how long he had been standing there for.Ji Xuan said half-truthfully, “It has been a little depressed lately. I think it might have been too long since it last saw you.”Ye Jia smiled and his expression softened a little, “Is that so?”Ji Xuan’s expression didn’t change, “Of course.”In fact, he had been back for a while now but Ye Jia seemed to be lost in thought and hadn’t noticed his arrival. The entire time, he had been standing at the door, watching him intently.He saw the expression on the young man’s face become increasingly solemn so he decided to call over the blood gu fish who had been completing a task with the shadow ghost all this time.Ji Xuan stepped forward.He narrowed his eyes slightly as he took in the other party’s relaxed expression. His lips rose to form a soft arc.-----Looks like this method is still useful.After calming the blood gu fish down, Ye Jia raised his head and looked over at Ji Xuan: “Has he been rescued?”Ji Xuan nodded, “Yes.”“It’s Blast, isn’t it?” Ye Jia’s tone was calm, as if he had already guessed this outcome.Ji Xuan laughed, “Yes.”Sure enough.Ye Jia sighed and raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. Several pieces of paper fell from his arms, scattering onto the ground.He opened his eyes and his gaze followed the pieces of paper thoughtfully.-----But the arrival of the party may be a good thing for them.Ye Jia looked over at Ji Xuan, “And the witnesses?”Ji Xuan, “Killed.”Ye Jia smiled and stood up:“Let’s go. Let’s go and see him.”.Upon entering the warehouse, Ye Jia saw a dark figure charge towards him.Slightly startled, he found himself caught by the collar by the other party.Blast’s eyes were burning with fire that was as bright as his fiery red hair. His expression was slightly twisted as if he was hold in his anger, “You…..you…….”Ye Jia coughed, “Listen to me first……….”Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Blast’s sudden change in expression.There were faint traces of tears in the other party’s eyes.“You…..You actually sacrificed so much for us!”Blast tried to hold in his emotions as he wailed, “From now onwards, I swear I will never doubt you again!”He sniffled, “You have suffered!”Ye Jia, “…….”???What’s going on?He slowly turned his head and looked suspiciously at Wei Yuechu.Wei Yuechu couldn’t help but look away.In fact, she had only told the other party what she knew. Who would have known that Blast would process the information like that…..It’s….so embarrassing…….Behind him, Ji Xuan’s expression darkened slightly.His line of sight fell onto the arm that was wrapped around Ye Jia’s shoulder and his scarlet blood-like eyes flashed with displeasure.Blast who was still caught up in his emotions shuddered.What’s going on?Why did he suddenly feel a little cold?Ye Jia who was finally able to break free from the other party’s passionate embrace said, “So you have heard everything from Wei Yuechu?”Blast nodded. He continued to look at Ye Jia with teary eyes, looking like he wanted to embrace him again.Ye Jia quickly ducked to the side:“Alright, alright, that’s enough.”“So,” Wei Yuechu interrupted, breaking off the tense situation before her.She looked at Ye Jia, “Did you manage to find a way to shove Mother back inside that door?”Hearing this, Blast’s attention was also drawn over. He looked intently at Ye Jia.Ye Jia pursed his lips and thought for a few seconds before speaking:“In this regard, I have discovered a few things.”Twenty minutes later.Both Blast and Wei Yuechu carried dazed expressions. The air was deadly silent.“So.…...the former director of the Paranormal Investigation and Management Bureau was your grandfather?” Wei Yuechu slowly asked.Ye Jia, “Yes.”“He opened the door thirty years ago and was then confined under the main headquarters all this time?”“Yes.”Wei Yuechu grabbed her head as her worldviews were completely washed anew.“So then…..this current situation, it was all caused by the Bureau’s indiscriminate killing?”Ye Jia thought for a moment, “Something like that.”Blast pondered for a while and slowly spoke up, “So, in a sense, you are also considered a second generation official?”Ye Jia, “.…....…”Wei Yuechu, “......….”She slowly took a deep breath and once again smashed a thick book on the other person’s head:“What the hell is your focus on?!”Blast held his head and complained, “I-I was just curious….”Ye Jia facepalmed and sighed.Damn, I’m so tired.Puppet Master cheered from the sidelines, “Fight, fight, fight!”Ye Jia raised his head and narrowed his eyes.Puppet Master trembled and immediately shrivelled up like an eggplant that had been hit by frost.Dammit. This man is still so boring even after turning into a ghost.After managing to control the situation before him, Ye Jia looked at Blast, “By the way, I need your help with something.”Blast, “What is it?”Ye Jia narrowed his eyes and a shrewd light flashed across his eyes.“Help me check when you return to the Bureau later who established the rule that we must kill all non-living beings including spirits.”The killing of the souls of ordinary people would lead to the formation of malice.Those dark fluids that had been buried deeply under various locations in M City were probably the reason why the door had been open all this time.“Why can he go back?!” Wei Yuechu jumped up in dissatisfaction when she heard this.Blast smiled triumphantly, “Are you envious? Jealous?”Wei Yuechu narrowed her eyes dangerously.In order to prevent a third fight from happening, Ye Jia spoke up to break the tension, “Ji Xuan killed all the ghosts who had seen Blast and he also came while Mother wasn't in the city but Wei Yuechu’s death was witnessed by parties on both sides. As soon as you go back, the truth can no longer be concealed.”Wei Yuechu sighed glumly, “Alright then.”“Oh right,” Blast seemed to have suddenly thought of something and he looked at Ye Jia.Immediately afterwards, he told him everything he had seen on his way to M City.Ye Jia said, “So you’re saying…..they’re digging for a spring?”Blast nodded, “That was what the ghost said.”He continued, “The fluid gushing out from underground that is dark and sticky and filled with human faces instantly swallowed up the souls of those who dug up that spring.”They were feeding it.Ye Jia turned to look at Ji Xuan.The reason why ‘Mother’ was willing to give humans a month was definitely not out of goodwill but to increase the concentration of malice in the real world during this time, allowing her to be completely liberated.Ye Jia looked back at Blast, “You should go back. Don’t reveal anything from our conversation just now.”“Of course!” Blast nodded.Even if he wasn’t very bright, he could tell from the conversation with Ye Jia just now that the appearance of Mother was probably something that had been planned for over thirty years and there was someone or something manipulating this entire situation in the background but hadn’t made their appearance. Because of this, they should act in secret to avoid alerting them.There was still…..one month left.In any case, they must solve this puzzle within this month.“This reminds me of the time in the game.” Wei Yuechu suddenly laughed.Yeah. Solving the puzzle within a specified time or death would await them.For some reason, she actually felt a little nostalgic.Ye Jia raised his hand and patted Blast on the shoulder before smiling faintly, “If that’s the case, then use all the skills you have learned in the game.”“Leave it to me.” Blast patted his chest confidently.“Oh, right.”Before leaving, Blast suddenly remembered something and looked back at Ye Jia, “I was discovered back in M city because I overheard a conversation between two fierce ghosts-----They said that after a month, direct descendants will no longer be needed.”He briefly described the appearance of the two fierce ghosts and then said, “You’re a direct descendant, no?”Ye Jia narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded.“I think Mother might want to do something to you two.” Blast warned solemnly, “You two should be careful.”Ye Jia raised the corners of his lips and his scarlet eyes narrowed, “Sure enough.”Blast was surprised, “Huh? You already knew?”Ye Jia shook his head, “Just had a hunch.”He said, “Mother’s attitude towards us has been too tolerant. It was tolerant to the point that she no longer seemed like the mother of all fierce ghosts and monsters.”Even before the door opened, Ji Xuan had disobeyed her orders more than once and even blatantly stood on Ye Jia’s side, but Mother hadn’t done anything except for some light punishments. And when Ji Xuan expressed that everything he had done was in order to transform Ye Jia into a fierce ghost, she just simply wrote off all his past rebellious actions.For an existence like ‘Mother’ who is filled with malice, this wasn’t just ordinary kindness.As for Ye Jia, it was even more the case. Not only did she divide up the place and give an area near the capital to him, but even when he showed reluctance to leave M City, she didn’t interfere too much.For a fierce ghost, is there really something like ‘maternal love’?The answer to that is probably no.‘Mother’ had other plans for these two ‘direct descendants’.Ji Xuan nodded his head thoughtfully, “I will get my subordinates to look into it.”He looked towards Blast, “It’s a jelly-looking monster with four or five faces, correct?”“Yes.” Blast nodded.Ji Xuan raised the corners of his lips, “Then I know where to find it.”Ye Jia, “Alright.”Then he will continue with deciphering the notebook..Inside the Bureau’s underground shelter.Blast hurriedly returned and was greeted by Wu Su and Chen Qingye, “How was it? Any injuries?”“It was alright.” Blast rubbed his messy hair, sending dust scattering around. “Just some light scratches.”Chen Qingye pushed up his glasses, “Did you find the body?”Blast forced out, “……..Yes.”Wu Su was shocked at first. His expression then turned solemn and gloomy.Although he knew that the chances of it was very small, he couldn’t help but get his hopes up.What if?What if the other party was right?But now that Wei Yuechu’s body was found, the truth has come to light.Wu Su sighed and patted Blast’s shoulder, “My condolences.”Blast took a deep breath, “Give me some time.”Wu Su, “Alright. Do you need….”Blast, “Where is our reference room?”Wu Su: “???”Blast’s expression was pained, “I want to be alone for a while.”…….With paperwork?Wu Su blinked a few times in confusion before pointing in a particular direction.“Many thanks.” Blast hurriedly gave his thanks and strode over.Behind him, Chen Qingye narrowed his eyes. He habitually pushed up the glasses slipping down his nose, the lenses of his glasses flashing a bright light.In the reference room.Blast sat cross-legged on the ground and carefully went through a stack of documents.Suddenly, he felt an itchy sensation coming from his thumb.He looked over and almost lost his soul.A huge black insect sat on his thumb with its small beady eyes staring straight at him.“Ahhhhhhh--------” Blast screamed. That black coloured insect flew towards him and once again landed on the young man’s callus covered finger.Blast’s scream got stuck in his throat. With it unable to go up or down, he was left in great pain.Chen Qingye narrowed his eyes slightly before bending down and looking straight into Blast’s eyes.Blast was so startled all the hairs on his body stood on end. He leaned back slightly, “W-what are you doing?”Chen Qingye smiled lightly, “You didn’t find Wei Yuechu’s body, did you?”Blast, “!!!!!”Fuck!!!Chen Qingye seemed to have obtained the information he wanted from the other party’s expression. He slowly sat down beside Blast.“Tell me. What are you looking for?”Blast, “………”He remained stubborn, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand……”Chen Qingye picked up a stack of documents and unhurriedly pushed up his glasses, “Do you think you’re good with dealing with things like this?”Blast, “……”Damn, he hit his sore spot.Chen Qingye looked over and smiled, “If the two of us searched, it would be faster, no?”.In the room.Ye Jia sat down among scattered pieces of paper with his head bowed as he studied something.“Is it okay to leave that matter to him?” Ji Xuan sat down beside him and asked in a tone that carried a hint of jealousy, “That person has a reckless personality and often acts before he thinks and can get very touchy-feely.”Ye Jia, “………”Your focus is on the touchy-feely part isn’t it.He said, “Blast is someone who shows everything on his face. The other members of the Bureau may be able to be tricked but it wouldn’t escape Chen Qingye’s eyes. There is a high chance that he will catch on.”Ye Jia lightly tapped his lips with the end of his pen:“Chen Qingye is very good at dealing with paperwork. If we need someone to find something from all those documents, I’m afraid it can only be him.”Ji Xuan raised a brow, “Then why didn’t you let Blast tell anyone?”Ye Jia laughed lightly, “We still need to go through all the normal procedures of keeping things secretive, don’t we?”Ji Xuan, “……”You purely did it just to satisfy your own amusement, didn’t you?The smile on his lips deepened and he looked down at the piece of paper in Ye Jia’s hand, “So? How has the decoding been going on?”Ye Jia, “This part here should be talking about the conditions for completely releasing Mother from behind the door. There are a total of four of them. I’m still decoding the most important part but I should be done soon.”He lowered his head and continued to write on the piece of paper.Firstly, there needs to be a sufficient concentration of malice ----- The springs being excavated under M City were probably done to achieve this.Next, a vessel --- Every part of it must be contaminated with strong malice.Ye Jia’s pen paused for a moment and the scene of his own mother lying in a pool of blood appeared in his mind.…...So it was like that.The parts that could become a part of ‘Mother’ all probably had to go through something like that before it could be considered as a qualified part.As for the remaining two……..Inside the Bureau’s reference room.Apart from the sound of paper rustling, there were no other sounds.Chen Qingye suddenly spoke up, breaking the dead silence, “Look at this.”Blast came over and asked, “What is it?”Chen Qingue held up a piece of yellowed paper and showed Blast its contents: “This is a list of the people who first established the Bureau.”“Oh….” Blast responded indifferently, “So what?”Chen Qingye sighed. He pointed at a line on it, “Look here.”It was a list of people who had invested in the Bureau.Among them, 80% of the funds came from the same family and that family happened to have a very unusual surname-----Ji.“…...Ji?” Blast was taken aback, “Is this surname common?”Chen Qingye narrowed his eyes slightly, “…..No, it’s not common.”.Ye Jia finally decoded the last two conditions.The third condition ---- A direct descendant must open the door.The person who had officially opened the door last time was Qi Shengze so this direct descendant probably referred to himself.Ye Jia thought about it and looked at the last condition.The fourth condition-----Ye Jia was a little taken aback. He didn’t expect such an answer to appear after all the decoding.He stared at the words on the paper, lost in thought.The fourth condition was-----The person who establishes the door must also be a direct descendant.