[Faction Mission – Stop the Inspection Bureau]

Chris arrived at the hospital carrying a toolbox, yawning and complaining, “You guys are way too good at ordering people around. Didn’t you say I wouldn’t have to participate in this mission?”

He was addressing Job. Previously, Job hadn’t thought much of Chris, and Chris, in turn, had little respect for the Inspection Bureau. He had only hitched a ride with them to this city because he was intrigued by the appearance of the Gatekeeper.

Originally, Chris wasn’t part of the investigator sequence in the Inspection Bureau. He leaned more toward being a researcher, and no one had expected him to take part in missions.

But Eugene didn’t care about that. To him, whether researcher or investigator, anyone who was part of the Inspection Bureau had to contribute. “You’re too slow!”

“I came as fast as I could,” Chris said, rolling his eyes and placing his small toolbox on the ground.

“That’s all you brought?” Edie was the first to question, eyeing the toolbox, which was only about the size of a medical kit. “I heard the Bureau has tools for entering realms, but isn’t that equipment supposed to be pretty bulky?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” Chris said, opening the toolbox. Under the shocked gazes of Job and the others, he pulled out items far larger than the toolbox’s capacity.

“? An artifact?”

“Sorry, wrong answer,” Chris replied. “It’s just a creation combining a bit of magic and modern technology. No big deal.”

No big deal?

Job and the others, who had never heard of such a thing, suddenly felt like country bumpkins.

Eugene and the team relocated to a less crowded area behind the medical technology building. Chris began assembling the equipment, while Job and the others stood guard outside, keeping an eye out for any approaching doctors or nurses. If someone grew suspicious, Eugene would step in, using his hypnotic abilities to make them leave.

But they didn’t notice that, from the inpatient building directly facing the back of the medical technology building, a pair of eyes was watching their every move.

Black Cat suddenly swatted at Druid, who was peeling an apple for a little girl. “Druid! Look over there!”

“What the heck! My bunny apple was almost done!” Druid, startled by the swat, accidentally broke the bunny shape he’d been carving. Furious, he glared at Black Cat but still followed its pointed direction.

“…Holy crap? Those are Inspection Bureau people?”

Druid hadn’t forgotten the faces from the faction war they’d participated in before. They had joined that major event, but unfortunately, the others had charged in too recklessly. With their strongest weapons being close-combat daggers, they hadn’t been able to do much before getting knocked out.

Seeing the Inspection Bureau members appear again, Druid and Black Cat hurriedly pressed against the window to observe. “What are they doing?”

“Not sure, let’s keep watching.”

Soon, a roughly one-meter-tall, intricately designed device was fully assembled in Chris’s hands. Eugene placed his golden pocket watch in the center of the device, and it immediately sprang to life, its display showing waves of various lines.

“There’s definitely a realm here, but these fluctuations… they’re a bit strange,” Chris muttered.

“What’s strange about them?” Edie asked, curiously examining the device. Unfortunately, while he had a knack for programming, he wasn’t cut out for research and couldn’t make sense of the bizarre values on the screen.

Chris explained, “Generally, realms are divided into two types: naturally formed and unnaturally formed. If it’s a naturally formed realm that’s already been explored, it’s relatively safe. Unnaturally formed realms are more complicated. Among them, the most dangerous are those suspected of containing or sealing an evil god.”

“You don’t need me to tell you how dangerous those are. Countless anomalies and familiars lurk inside, awaiting their master’s awakening. So far, all recorded realms suspected of sealing an evil god are under constant surveillance by the Inspection Bureau. Of course, almost no investigators who’ve entered such realms have returned alive.”

“Are you saying this realm is one of those…?” Edie instinctively swallowed hard.

“I don’t know,” Chris said.

Everyone: ?

“No one can accurately determine what’s inside a realm before actually investigating it, not even me,” Chris said calmly. “The only thing we know for sure is that this realm is clearly different from the ones we’ve encountered before. Its energy fluctuations are significantly higher.”

“How does it compare to realms with sealed evil gods?”

“There’s no comparison. Realms with sealed evil gods are unique, often formed by the leakage of an evil god’s power. They don’t share common traits, so there’s no way to judge from the outside.”

Dana wanted to ask more, but Eugene impatiently cut her off. “That’s enough. Regardless, we’re going in. Chris, open the gate.”

Chris gave Job and the others a pitying look. Though he didn’t say anything, somehow Job and the team could sense a vibe of “working with him is your bad luck.”

Job’s face stiffened. He never imagined he’d one day be pitied by someone he looked down on.

Chris didn’t say anything further and activated the device. It emitted a humming sound, and soon, a distorted “door” that was barely discernible to the naked eye, like a mirage, formed beside the device.

“Based on past experience, this ‘door’ will only stay open for about three hours. That means you have three hours to explore. You must return to this spot within that time, or once the door closes, the device will need 24 hours to recharge—do you get what I’m saying?”

In simple terms, if they didn’t return to reality within three hours, they were as good as done for.

The group nodded. With Eugene leading, Job’s team and Edmund stepped through the “door.”

Chris yawned. “Now I have to sit here bored, guarding this thing for three hours.”

Chris had no intention of keeping watch for them. He casually cast an Ignore Spell, ensuring that anyone without a specific purpose would automatically overlook what was happening in this corner. After casting the spell, Chris leisurely pulled a small stool from his toolbox, sat down, and immersed himself in his own world, seemingly oblivious to the gaze from the inpatient building across the way.

Druid swatted Black Cat. “You saw that, right? They went in!”

“Yeah,” Black Cat said, frowning. “Could they be heading into Ranen’s divine kingdom?”

“…It’s possible!” Druid recalled their previous experience inside Ranen’s divine kingdom, which was unmistakably a hospital at night. “We need to notify Carmen, fast!”

With that, Druid moved to drag Black Cat along, but Black Cat stopped him, exasperated.

Under Druid’s confused gaze, Black Cat calmly pulled out a phone. “What era are we in? You still think we need to run?”

“…Damn, I got used to running errands in the game,” Druid said, smacking his forehead. “When did you get Carmen’s number?”

“Of course, it was when I was running errands for the Kamui tribe. Shh.” Black Cat’s call connected, and without wasting words, he relayed what was happening at the hospital to Carmen. Carmen took the players’ information seriously and said he would notify his Lord as soon as possible.

But just a few minutes after hanging up, Carmen called back, his voice strained:

“My Lord cannot be reached.”

Black Cat and Druid exchanged glances, but contrary to the panic Carmen expected, they seemed… excited!

Could this be… a major plot event!?

“No worries, Mr. Carmen, we understand,” Black Cat said earnestly. “We’ll stop the Inspection Bureau’s scheme!”

“It’s the duty of the faithful to save the Church,” Druid chimed in, casually starting a livestream.

The whole process was becoming second nature.

Carmen, unaware of their thoughts, was deeply moved by the players’ words. “This could be extremely dangerous. Thank you for your efforts.”

[Faction Mission – Stop the Inspection Bureau]

[Objective: The faith of the Secret Church, the Shepherd God, is suspected to be in an unknown state. Under these circumstances, the Inspection Bureau’s investigators have appeared at the entrance to the divine kingdom, seemingly with ulterior motives. Investigate their plans and prevent them from wreaking havoc in the Shepherd God’s domain.]

[Rewards: 200 Faction Honor Points, D-grade Enchanted Weapon, One Free Potion Brewing Session by Carmen (Materials Provided by Player)]

The two gasped in unison.

For context, in the previous faction conflict, defeating an enemy NPC only yielded 500 faction honor points, and the Inspection Bureau’s NPCs were no pushovers. Neither of them had succeeded, only earning a few honor points by tagging along with the Starwatch Team. Now, a single mission offered 200 honor points, an enchanted weapon, and a potion brewing opportunity.

Not all players might know, but Black Cat and Druid were well aware that Carmen was a genuine potion master. The high-level potions in the faction store were all brewed by him, meaning if they could gather the materials, they might even obtain an A-grade potion!

The two immediately accepted the mission, while the players flooding into the livestream chat were instantly heartbroken.

[??? What’s going on? You guys are hogging all the good stuff behind my back?!]

[What, what?! I knew it—Druid only starts a livestream when something big’s happening. He never streams otherwise, but when he does, it’s always a major event!]

Clearly, the viewers who joined saw the mission Druid and Black Cat had received, and many were so envious they nearly rage-quit on the spot.

[What happened? Why did my wife suddenly disappear? QwQ I reset my character card every day just to relive the awe of seeing my wife in the divine kingdom!]

[I’m just saying, is the only fun in your game bothering Ranen? (LOL) If there are ever rituals in the future where you can sacrifice something to gain power, Ranen’s hotline would be absolutely swamped by players!]

[If the devs actually add that feature, I’d call every day. Today, I’d offer my wife my eyeball; tomorrow, my heart and lungs.]

[The day after, I’d offer my xx to my wife.]

[Whoa, what got censored up there?]

[I think Carmen should put up a banner: ‘No Sexual Harassment of Evil God.’]

If Ranen could see these chat messages right now, he’d probably retort—don’t you think the reason he hasn’t revealed that long-hidden sacrifice ritual is exactly to prevent this kind of chaos?!

[Cut it out, guys, something’s clearly off here. Ranen might be in trouble, and the Inspection Bureau somehow found the location of Ranen’s divine kingdom. Hiss—don’t you think this is too much of a coincidence?]

[What do you mean? Are you saying there’s a traitor in our Church?]

[It’s possible. When did we lose contact with Ranen?]

[It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I thought Ranen was just fed up and stopped responding to me.]

[…Okay, let’s reconsider the possibility that the evil god hung up because the players were too annoying.]

[Could it be the players from the Starwatch Guild? That Inspection Bureau faction group, the one called Destiny is in My Hands or whatever—maybe it’s them again this time.]

[Got it, I’m going to snipe them.]

As more people in the livestream learned of the news, posts offering bounties for Starwatch Guild players started popping up on the forums. Thankfully, most players remained rational… or rather, rationally rushed to join Black Cat and Druid’s livestream.

“No need to say more, brothers, Black Cat and I are definitely going in to check things out. Huh, you guys want to come? But this mission’s already been taken by the two of us. Are you going to ask Carmen for a mission?” Druid said, glancing at the chat.

[No need, we’re just here to help you.]

[And maybe sneak into the divine kingdom while we’re at it, hehe.]

True to their word, the players showed up when it mattered. Several players who were already near the hospital quickly rushed over to meet up with Druid and Black Cat. They began discussing how to distract Chris, who was guarding the entrance, to give Druid and Black Cat a chance to slip inside.

In the end, two players disguised as doctors pretended to pass by and noticed Chris and the device beside him.

“Hey, you there—yeah, you. Is this your stuff? What kind of machine is this? How can you bring something like this into a hospital?”

Chris looked up from his documents, eyeing the two approaching “doctors.” He squinted, then stood up and answered casually, “This is authorized.”

“Is that so? Well, you’ll need to come with us to verify that,” one of the disguised players urged, rolling a die.

[Persuasion: Failure.]

Tch, bad luck.

A failed persuasion roll likely meant their words didn’t convince the target. Player A immediately glanced at Player B, who was about to roll a die when Chris spoke up, “Alright, fine.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go. Where do I need to register?”

The two players, seeing Chris’s surprising cooperation, froze for a moment but didn’t miss the opportunity. They signaled to Black Cat and Druid hiding nearby and led Chris away.

With the device and the door left unguarded, Druid and Black Cat grew excited and quickly approached. Just as Druid was about to step through the door, he noticed Black Cat lingering by the device, deep in thought.

“What’s up? Not going in?”

“I was just thinking—what would happen to them if we destroyed this door?” A glint sparkled in Black Cat’s eyes.

Druid: “Holy crap, that’s a bit extreme, isn’t it? What if we get trapped inside too?”

“What’s there to fear? We can’t die, and besides, it’s Ranen’s divine kingdom. He wouldn’t harm his own followers.”

Druid really wanted to retort and ask where Black Cat got such confidence. “Let’s not do that. Other players are on their way, right? I think we’re still a bit short on numbers. What if we can’t take on the Inspection Bureau inside?”

Black Cat considered this and nodded, abandoning the idea of sabotaging the device. Together with Druid, he stepped through the door.

In the next instant, their perspective shifted, and the surroundings changed from daylight to night.

They had successfully entered the divine kingdom.

—-

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Ranen and Albert silently observed the unfolding events. The younger Albert arrived alone before Soren and handed over the documents. The white-haired man didn’t notice anything amiss and immediately began reviewing the materials, visibly engrossed.

“Fascinating. To think it could be used this way. As expected of Miskatonic—even if it’s no longer at its peak, it still produces remarkable talent,” Soren said admiringly. He then looked up at the younger Albert. “You did well. I’ll give you a contact method later. When you’re not in class, stay by my side. There are some matters I’ll need your assistance with.”

“Yes, sir,” the younger Albert agreed.

As expected, the younger Albert soon infiltrated the inner circle of the Outsider. He spent half of his week in his mentor’s laboratory and the other half by Soren’s side. Soren’s earlier claim of needing his help wasn’t just empty words—he genuinely required someone intimately familiar with Aldous’s research to assist him.

He was tampering with Aldous’s research, or rather, extracting the parts needed for the Outsider’s conspiracy.

Through this, the younger Albert learned the true goal of the Outsider: to use Arkham City as a sacrifice to open the gates to the Dream World, sinking the entire city into the Dream World.

Madman—this Soren is an absolute madman!

When the younger Albert deduced this, he clenched his fists tightly.

Of course, on the surface, he showed no sign of anything amiss. He secretly sent this critical information to the Inspection Bureau, hoping they would take it seriously and send people to stop the cult’s conspiracy as soon as possible.

However, the outcome was already known to both the observing Ranen and Albert. As Albert watched this memory, a mocking smile lingered on his face from start to finish.

Research on both sides was progressing steadily. Even though the younger Albert was passively slacking while working with Soren, Soren continued to advance his plans methodically. Using the Outsider’s funds, he purchased a pharmaceutical factory on the outskirts of Arkham, where he conducted his experiments. The latest breakthrough allowed him to construct an artificial realm using a magical array, enabling ordinary people within the array to see anomalies.

But this brought about a problem. Even Soren couldn’t sustain an array large enough to maintain a city-sized realm. Naturally occurring realms relied on specific celestial events or geographical conditions to form, leveraging the right time and place. For a human to sustain a realm’s operation, not only would the person be drained dry in no time, but the realm itself would be fundamentally unsustainable.

Fortunately, Soren’s goal wasn’t to create a permanent realm. He only needed the artificial realm to hold until the gates to the Dream World were opened.

From this point, Soren’s work began to diverge from Aldous’s research. In other words, the younger Albert’s role in his plan became increasingly negligible. Nevertheless, to gather intelligence, the younger Albert remained, meticulously recording everything he witnessed.

As Ranen observed this scene, a doubt suddenly arose. From what he’d seen so far, Albert was undoubtedly the person closest to the core of the Outsider’s plan. Given his character, he should have had countless opportunities to sabotage their scheme.

So why, when confronting the Outsider before, did Albert only appear at the last moment, attempting to take down their leader in a mutual destruction? Or was the memory Ranen was seeing now altered, not reflecting the true events?

Ranen glanced at the Albert beside him. As if sensing Ranen’s confusion, Albert explained, “Some details here differ from reality, but the overall trajectory remains unchanged.”

In other words, in Albert’s memory, he was indeed the person closest to the core of Soren’s plan at this moment.

So what happened next?

Soon, an unexpected incident occurred.

The turning point came from one of Soren’s successful experiments. A few workers, trapped in the factory after staying late, witnessed terrifying anomalies. Amid their horrified screams, the anomalies that had descended into reality slaughtered them all.

The younger Albert stood behind Soren, watching this brutal scene. His hands, hidden behind his back, trembled uncontrollably, but he forced himself to endure it.

The life force of the workers was converted into energy through another forbidden array, fueling the operation of the artificial realm’s array. Soren, in high spirits, turned to the cultists behind him and said, “Celebrate, for our plan has succeeded.”

All the Outsider cultists burst into applause, their faces beaming with excited smiles, as if the hellish scene before them didn’t exist. The younger Albert felt nauseated. Then Soren stepped forward with a smile, patting the younger Albert on the shoulder. “This is all thanks to Albert’s help. Albert, come with me.”

The other high-ranking Outsider members looked at Albert with envious gazes. Soren led the younger Albert alone to the top floor of the factory, to the central room that had been converted into a laboratory.

This was the place where Soren conducted his experiments, known only to Soren and Albert. Under the younger Albert’s watchful eyes, Soren placed all the research materials here and then cast a special spell.

The entire room vanished, appearing nonexistent from the outside. As the younger Albert looked on in astonishment, Soren explained with a smile, “I’ve stored all the research materials here. Aside from you and me, no one knows this location. If the plan fails, perhaps someone in the future will inherit my will.”

The younger Albert lowered his head and gave a perfunctory response, “The Outsider’s plan will surely succeed.”

“Heh, it’s great that you have that mindset,” Soren said. “Unfortunately, I’m not the ‘justice’ you hold in your heart.”

What did he mean by that?

The younger Albert’s body instantly stiffened, and Soren continued slowly, “But I wouldn’t have made it this far without your contributions, so I won’t kill you.”

“You’ll stay by my side and witness the final fate of this city with your own eyes.”

With that, Soren completed his spell, instantly restraining the younger Albert. The blond youth stood frozen, only able to watch as Soren placed a hand on his head and began chanting an incantation.

“Don’t worry, you’ll only temporarily forget this memory,” he said. “At the end, either I die and the spell lifts automatically, or I return to the Dream World, and this memory will unlock regardless. I’m really curious about the look on your face when that happens.”

“Oh, and by the way, I should thank you for passing my information to the Inspection Bureau. Without the data they provided, the experiments wouldn’t have progressed so smoothly. But unfortunately, you won’t remember this either.”

These were the last words Albert heard before he fell unconscious.

Seeing this, Ranen finally understood why Albert had said, “Fate cannot be changed.”

In his memory, this moment had indeed formed an inescapable deadlock. No matter how much Ranen tried to instill the idea that the Inspection Bureau couldn’t be trusted into the younger Albert’s mind, as long as the Outsider was still plotting their conspiracy, the only force the younger Albert could rely on at the time was the Inspection Bureau. But by then, the Inspection Bureau had already colluded with the Outsider.

This was, indeed, a profoundly hopeless situation.

Ranen could already predict what the next critical moment would be.

After losing his memories, the younger Albert completely forgot Soren’s identity and the details of the experiments. But, whether due to Soren’s twisted sense of humor or some other reason, he still assigned an important task to the younger Albert. He informed him that the Outsider’s plan would unfold at Miskatonic University, where, on that day, he would have several people work with Albert to set up magical arrays on campus. The younger Albert’s role was to assist these individuals in infiltrating the university and cover for their actions.

The younger Albert quickly relayed the Outsider’s plan to the Inspection Bureau. To be extra cautious, he also contacted an informant at the police department, hoping they could respond swiftly when the time came. After years of undercover work, a glimmer of hope finally appeared. The blond youth was in a state of high tension, alone in a safehouse, refining his plan over and over again. His eyes shone with unwavering determination.

This time, he would stop the Outsider’s conspiracy!