Chapter 53: Promotion

Shu Yu scratched his head with a pen a few times, looking puzzled, then looked up and said to me:

"You should get some rest first. The captain said you don't have to go on any missions these few days. If you feel anything unusual, be sure to tell me immediately."

I nodded slightly, thanked him briefly, and went back to my room.

I have just confirmed that the place I am in is real, and that I have indeed undergone a third mutation through sacrifice.

But there is still an unresolved issue.

Regarding the mumbling I heard at the altar, I closed my eyes and recalled everything that happened at that time. It was a feeling I can't describe.

After a while, I finally had some clue.

A strange piece of knowledge gradually took shape and perfected in my mind.

As if learned naturally, a content called "fear projection" can project false pain, trapping the target in endless pain and torture, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion.

It's a very practical skill, and the pain is not in vain.

There was so much unspeakable knowledge in those mumblings that I couldn't digest it all at once, but even just this little bit was enough.

Until I can fully withstand the pollution, it is better to listen to less of this kind of thing, and it is best not to even recall it easily.

However, I am still somewhat concerned about the subsequent handling of the Apocalypse Sect, so I can ask about it during the celebration party.

As for now, it is the long-awaited time to play badly!

In this way, I lay there until the evening and then slowly came to the celebration banquet venue. Several team members had already arrived here in advance to start preparing.

Seeing me coming, Qi Ji put his arm around my shoulder in a very familiar manner.

"Ling, you can definitely destroy the Apocalypse Sect's lair."

?

Old nest? I looked puzzled.

Seeing my expression, he explained:

"Not long after you went in, Old Song sent a message saying you had disappeared. Later, the bureau sent in a secret-level investigator specializing in spatial anomalies, who also said you were in the mirror."

I nodded and gave an affirmative answer: "You are right..."

Qi Ji was amazed: "He really went in, what does he look like in the mirror?"

"There's a church inside. If I had to describe it specifically..." I continued, carefully considering my tone:

"You know those surrealist paintings? The spaces there have no logic, yet they project some real scenes and characters?"

I glanced at Qi Ji and said to him, "I will record the details in the investigation file."

Coincidentally, Chen Yubing also arrived at this time. I quickly greeted Qi Ji and ended the topic, then walked straight towards Chen Yubing.

Seeing me coming over, Chen Yubing was the first to speak: "Are you feeling better?"

"Much better."

"Looking at your expression, what do you want to ask?"

There are so many questions I want to ask. After sorting them in my mind, I asked the first question.

"How did I disappear?"

I found this strange from the beginning. If I disappeared out of thin air, others should have discovered it quickly.

Chen Yubing shook his head and said, "At first, you didn't disappear directly. We just didn't know when you were replaced. However, the replaced 'you' behaved a little stiffly. It was fine when you didn't speak, but once you spoke, you were exposed. So, we dealt with your shadow."

They said they dealt with it, but in fact, they just dealt with it directly...

I complained silently in my heart.

"The second question is, how did I get out?"

"I'm not sure about the details. After we dealt with your shadow, the piece of mirror you were holding fell to the ground. We sent it back to the bureau for investigation, but they said it was just an ordinary piece of mirror."

An ordinary mirror? Doesn't the medium necessarily need to go through a mirror? I wondered.

Chen Yubing paused and continued, "Later, headquarters sent a secret-level personnel to take over the case. We only stayed on the periphery to assist, but... there was quite a big commotion. They must have used some means to forcibly bring you back."

I nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that my previous guess was correct. It was probably because the sacrifice in the mirror caused external fluctuations, which gave the secret-level personnel the opportunity to break through the weak point in the mirror space.

At the same time, I also have some preliminary understanding of the abilities of secret-level personnel. It sounds like, compared to the Level II and Level I personnel who are better at combat, the abilities of secret-level personnel seem to be more bizarre.

"In other words, this case has now been transferred to the secret level?" I turned to ask Chen Yubing.

She nodded and said, "I originally thought it was just a slightly more difficult anomaly, but... this case seems to involve an evil spirit. It's not something a Level I personnel can handle."

I was a little disappointed. I finally got a clue, but it was broken because of the level issue.

Chen Yubing smiled slightly and said to me:

"But the good news is that your investigation level has been promoted. They will announce it at the celebration party later."

As soon as he finished speaking, the captain walked in from outside.

The other team members became quieter.

The captain glanced at me from a distance, nodded approvingly, and then began to announce loudly:

"Dear brothers of the task force, to celebrate our recovery of the lost containment object, we specially organized this celebration banquet to reward you all, especially the Class I investigators who participated in this operation."

"Besides that, I have one more announcement to make. Investigator Ling made outstanding contributions during this mission, so headquarters has decided to promote her from Level III to Level I."

Upon hearing the news, some people present talked about it, while others expressed their sincere congratulations.

Even I was a little surprised. I thought it would take some time to upgrade to Level II, but this time I jumped directly from Level II to Level I.

After a brief period of excitement, the entire cafeteria erupted in warm applause.

After all, in the Investigation Bureau, everyone is considered a comrade-in-arms fighting side by side, so it is rare for a team member to be upgraded and other team members to be jealous.

What's more, upgrading does not mean promotion, and higher-level investigators face greater risks.

But for me, the higher the investigation level, the more information I can consult, and perhaps I can find some information that I didn’t know before.

Since the end of the world, I have become more and more hungry for information.

In such an environment, information is far more important than force. For me now, those deformed monsters and infected people outside are the least threatening.

Especially this encounter in the mirror made me realize this even more.

Even if I could survive those monsters, I would still be powerless to fight back if I encountered something even more bizarre.

The desire to improve reached its peak at this moment.