11: Chapter 11 The Mirror of Sleepwalking

When Shen Qinghe stood in the Xinhuo Hall again, the first thing she saw was not a Fire Keeper, but the black stone tablet.

New tasks were emerging on the surface of the stone tablet.

[Low-Rank Task: The Sleepwalking Mirror.]

[Task Rank: E-Rank.]

[Task Location: Building 3, Nanliu Residential Complex, Qinghe City.]

[Task Description: Resident Li Man, female, twenty-nine years old, living alone, has been sleepwalking for three consecutive nights. Leaves her room after 3:00 AM, wakes up with wet mud on the soles of her feet, and has no memory of going out. On the third night, surveillance footage showed a suspected mirror entity appearing beside the target.]

[Task Objective: Confirm the source of the anomaly, stop the sleepwalking anomaly from spreading further, and recover or seal the anomaly core.]

[Risk Warning: Mental contamination, dream residue, mirror anomaly.]

[Recommended Personnel: Two.]

Shen Qinghe stared at the four characters for "mirror entity," her brow furrowing slightly.

This was not her first time seeing a Torch task. But after the review of the old building, she knew better than anyone that behind these cold descriptions were often not just ghost stories, but a person still breathing in reality.

She asked, "Is Li Man still alive?"

The stone tablet responded.

[Target is currently alive.]

[Mental state is unstable.]

[Anomaly contact is still ongoing.]

Shen Qinghe pressed her fingers against the edge of the stone tablet, not accepting the task immediately.

She remembered the voices she had heard in the old building. That thing had also used Luo Wei's voice to call for help, and had also used the line, "Aren't you a police officer?" to sting her. She wasn't afraid of danger, but she hated the feeling of being dragged into a trap by her own professional instincts.

"What if I refuse?"

[Apprentices may refuse Low-Rank tasks.]

[Refusal will not deduct contribution points.]

[Refusing tasks of the same Rank three consecutive times will lower the priority of subsequent tasks.]

[The target anomaly may continue to develop.]

Shen Qinghe looked at the last line and cursed under her breath.

She wasn't cursing the Xinhuo Council.

She just suddenly remembered the case files piling up on her desk in reality. Cases wouldn't stop developing just because the investigator was afraid, and victims wouldn't automatically be safe just because the procedures hadn't been completed.

"Accept."

The fire pattern on the stone tablet flashed.

[Task accepted.]

[Accepter: Shen Qinghe.]

[Detected risk of mental contamination and mirror induction in the task.]

[Recommendation to request collaborative support.]

[Recommended collaborator: Zhao Ye.]

Shen Qinghe paused when she saw the name.

Black Rust Construction Site, the second Apprentice, a military veteran, an action-oriented member. She hadn't met Zhao Ye in person yet, having only seen his name in task records.

"Dragging someone who was just injured out for overtime, this organization really knows how to use people."

Although she said that, her hand still tapped confirm.

At the same time, in reality, Zhao Ye had just sat down on his dormitory bed.

His right arm was still wrapped in bandages, and while the basic hemostatic ointment suppressed the pain, it couldn't suppress his exhaustion. He stared at the unbranded metal tube for a long time, and just as he was about to lie down, the Mark of the Torch on the inside of his wrist heated up.

[Collaboration request.]

[Task Name: The Sleepwalking Mirror.]

[Primary Accepter: Shen Qinghe.]

[Risk Warning: Mental contamination, dream residue, mirror anomaly.]

[Accept collaboration?]

Zhao Ye stared at the two characters for "mirror," his expression darkening bit by bit.

He had only returned from the Black Rust Construction Site today, and the sounds of crying and human faces still lingered in his mind. A normal person would be sleeping, taking leave, or questioning their life right now, not going to deal with another thing that sounded even more sinister.

He really wanted to refuse.

But when his gaze landed on "Primary Accepter: Shen Qinghe," he paused.

An Apprentice.

Just like him.

Zhao Ye remembered that moment at the construction site when he almost lost his mind. If not for that wisp of temporary Purifying Flame cast by the Fire Keeper, he might not have been able to bring the black rusty curved nail back alive.

He didn't know what kind of person Shen Qinghe was, he only knew that anomalies wouldn't show mercy just because she wasn't prepared.

Zhao Ye rubbed his brow.

"I really am a glutton for punishment."

He pressed confirm.

Gray fog surged up.

By the time he could see his surroundings clearly, he was already standing in the Xinhuo Hall. In front of the stone tablet, Shen Qinghe turned her head to look at him.

It was the first time the two of them had truly met.

The first thing Zhao Ye saw was her eyes. Calm, but not without fear; rather, she was accustomed to suppressing her fear first. What Shen Qinghe saw, however, was Zhao Ye's arm, which hadn't completely reduced in swelling, and the exhaustion on his face from having just crawled out of trouble only to be called back in.

The two of them were silent for two seconds.

Zhao Ye spoke first: "Shen Qinghe?"

"Zhao Ye?"

"Yeah."

The atmosphere was a bit dry.

Zhao Ye looked down at his bandages: "Let's get this straight, I'm not in great shape today."

Shen Qinghe glanced at him: "I wasn't counting on you to smash a mirror with one punch either."

Zhao Ye paused: "That's good."

The stone tablet synchronized the task information for the two of them.

Li Man, twenty-nine years old, interior designer, living alone. She called the police three days ago, saying that every time she woke up, she would be standing next to the flower bed downstairs, with her feet covered in mud. On the third night, in the surveillance footage, there was another woman walking beside her, wearing the same pajamas and with her eyes closed.

Zhao Ye looked at the still image, his brow furrowing.

"Who is the second person?"

Shen Qinghe said, "Maybe not a person."

A line of prompts emerged at the bottom of the stone tablet.

[Do not stare directly at the target mirror surface for a long time.]

Zhao Ye immediately averted his gaze: "Fine, don't stare at the mirror."

Shen Qinghe was just about to continue analyzing, but he interrupted directly: "Don't give me a list of three things. I can't remember that much. You make the call when we get to the scene, I'll guard the person. If it really comes out, if we can smash it, we smash it; if we can't, I'll drag you out."

Shen Qinghe's originally tense expression actually relaxed a little.

"Is that how you did it before?"

"Pretty much."

"The result?"

Zhao Ye thought about it seriously.

"It hurt a lot."

Shen Qinghe didn't smile, but the coldness in her eyes faded a little.

He wasn't a hero, nor was he a capability tag on a stone tablet. He got tired, he felt pain, he didn't want to take the mission, but he came anyway.

The gray fog began to recede.

[Phase 1 of the task begins.]

[Target Location: Building 3, Nanliu Residential Complex, Qinghe City.]

In reality, downstairs at Building 3, Nanliu Residential Complex, two of the stairwell lights were broken, leaving only one that flickered every few seconds. Small advertisements for unlocking services, plumbing, and moving were plastered at the entrance of the unit; everything was as ordinary as any old residential building.

Shen Qinghe stood at the entrance, looking down to see the wet muddy footprints on the ground.

The footprints were very shallow, extending all the way from the elevator entrance to the stairwell, as if made by a woman walking barefoot.

Zhao Ye lowered the beam of his flashlight: "What floor does Li Man live on?"

"The fourth floor."

He shone the light into the depths of the stairwell.

"The footprints go up, at least to the sixth floor."

This building only had six floors.

The stairwell light flickered again. A small advertisement on the wall that originally read "Professional Unlocking" changed into a different line of text when the light came on the next time.

Do not look in the mirror.

Shen Qinghe didn't speak, only looked toward the fourth floor.

"There's still time."

Zhao Ye gripped the flashlight tighter: "But it's already getting late."

A very light sound of footsteps came from deep within the sixth floor.

Slap. Slap. Slap.

Like someone walking barefoot on wet concrete.

Then, a woman's voice came from upstairs.

"I'm home."

Shen Qinghe and Zhao Ye stopped at the same time.

No one answered.

The task had officially begun.