Ye Tiancheng had stumbled upon a truly grave matter this time.
It was so serious that even Nie Chongyang couldn't resolve it privately. While rushing to Ye Tiancheng's location, he had to report it upwards to understand how to proceed. This was not something they could decide on their own.
Nie Chongyang's report quickly garnered significant attention from higher authorities.
Ever since they realized the increasing number of anomalies in the world and became aware of its supernatural side, the authorities had paid attention and tasked Nie Chongyang with forming a special task force specifically for this purpose.
This was because Nie Chongyang was known for his reliability and strong capabilities, and it was he who had discovered and reported this matter.
Furthermore, Nie Chongyang had established a transactional relationship with the little fox.
If not Nie Chongyang, who else would they turn to?
Nie Chongyang found himself in a state of both pain and pleasure regarding this matter. Since discovering all of this, Nie Chongyang had paid considerable attention and importance to supernatural events, showing an unusual level of interest, despite the extremely high risks involved.
However, his considerable interest allowed him to overlook the danger.
After the special task force was formed, Nie Chongyang was once again troubled by the heavy workload and the difficulty of resolving issues. After all, this was their first foray into this field, with no prior precedents; they had to figure everything out from scratch.
Many of the bizarre incidents were beyond their ability to solve.
In private, Nie Chongyang often messaged Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, asking them for information, seeking their deductions, and purchasing talismans and items from the little fox.
This was why, when Ye Tiancheng sought Nie Chongyang's help, Nie Chongyang never easily refused. As long as he could manage it and it didn't violate his principles, Nie Chongyang would do his best to assist Ye Tiancheng.
Moreover, Ye Tiancheng was someone who only approached Nie Chongyang when there was no other recourse or due to specific reasons, but never for his own selfish motives.
He was a man of great principle.
Having collaborated so many times, Nie Chongyang trusted Ye Tiancheng's judgment.
Furthermore, this current situation, even without Ye Tiancheng's analysis, simply hearing the facts he narrated was enough to send shivers down one's spine.
Upon receiving Nie Chongyang's report, the authorities immediately instructed him:
No matter what, upon arrival, he was to cooperate with Ye Tiancheng immediately, investigate the situation, and if everything was as Ye Tiancheng had stated and had caused a significant impact, they had to handle it with utmost caution and seriousness, minimizing the impact on the public as much as possible.
Unlike Ye Tiancheng and his companions who had to find their way, Nie Chongyang and his team were provided with the address directly, as Ye Tiancheng and his group had already scouted the area and determined the scope. Therefore, while Ye Tiancheng and his group had spent several days, Nie Chongyang and his team arrived within a day.
As the issue with the university couldn't be resolved quickly, and even Long Miaomiao was hesitant to break through the barrier there without endangering the students' lives, Ye Tiancheng and his group weren't in a rush to investigate the situation frequently.
During their previous involvement, although they were forcibly pulled in by the entity behind the scenes, the outcome was clear. Ye Tiancheng and his two companions were too tough a nut to crack, and the entity hiding behind them likely suffered significant losses.
In any case, Ye Tiancheng felt they had definitely attracted the entity's attention, and it was unlikely to let them off easily.
Ye Tiancheng wasn't afraid of such things, but it was unwise to alert the enemy prematurely.
Having already caused a stir once, who knew what consequences would arise if they made another move in front of the adversary.
Ye Tiancheng planned to wait for Nie Chongyang and his team to arrive, then they would discuss and decide on their next course of action together.
Nie Chongyang arrived quickly, completing the reporting, making arrangements, and deploying personnel all within a day. It was no wonder he had been a captain before and was now a team leader.
He first settled his subordinates and then proceeded alone to Ye Tiancheng's rented apartment to meet him.
When Ye Tiancheng heard the knock, he momentarily sensed who it was and knew it was Nie Chongyang.
Therefore, as Ye Tiancheng opened the door, before even clearly seeing Nie Chongyang's face, he smiled and said, "You're here?"
Nie Chongyang wiped the sweat from his forehead, a result of both haste and exhaustion.
The journey had been incredibly rushed.
Seeing Nie Chongyang looking rather disheveled, Ye Tiancheng said, "Come in and sit down quickly. I didn't expect you to arrive so soon; your efficiency is remarkable. Rest for a bit, and we'll tell you more details about what's happening here."
Nie Chongyang, still dusty from his travels, gave Ye Tiancheng a wry smile and sighed, "Based on what you said on the phone about such a major event, I dared not delay. After reporting it upwards, I immediately arranged for personnel to rush over here."
Ye Tiancheng led Nie Chongyang into the apartment and guided him to a seat inside.
He asked with some concern, "How is the case you were investigating before? Was it resolved before you came here?"
"We figured it had been quite a few days since you were here, and you should have resolved your matters before contacting us. However, this matter involves such significant implications that we dared not delay further."
Nie Chongyang replied to Ye Tiancheng, "It's considered resolved, but there's still some follow-up work that couldn't be done in time. However, there are no more dangerous matters. Your situation here is much more serious and important, so the subsequent follow-up work was handed over to Old Li."
"Old Li is quite interested in these matters, but he can't possibly become my deputy team leader, and the criminal investigation team also needs Old Li to lead them. So, he clearly doesn't have the opportunity to come over."
Ye Tiancheng said, "It's good that the more important matter has been resolved."
As for the other topic Nie Chongyang mentioned,
"Speaking of his interest in these things, if I can't resolve the problem quickly here, it's quite evident that this isn't something that can be solved in a few steps."
"I have a feeling that the longer we spend here, the more supernatural events will occur outside."
"If Old Li is truly interested, even if he's handling cases in the criminal investigation team, he'll likely encounter these matters again and be drawn into the supernatural test papers."
Nie Chongyang waved his hand and sighed, "Please, don't say such frightening things."
While the first part of his statement was somewhat jocular, Nie Chongyang's subsequent words were inevitably tinged with a sense of gravity.
"In fact, we have also made some speculations regarding this matter."
"Since the establishment of the special task force and our engagement with various bizarre events, we have been collecting data and have observed this pattern, thus we have been paying attention."
If the Fuxi Qin couldn't restore the pure land quickly, who knew what this world would become.
Ye Tiancheng then stopped the idle chatter and formally began to tell Nie Chongyang about the university incident.
He didn't have much information, but the barrier that covered the entire university, which even powerful beings couldn't deal with, and which Long Miaomiao was hesitant to break, was indeed a problem.
Moreover, resolving the issue with the university was no longer simple.
After all, Ye Tiancheng and his companions had learned from the students that simply leaving the school to live elsewhere wouldn't solve the fundamental problem; they would still be pulled back to the school for exams.
At night, they would find themselves waking up in the school again, with announcements broadcast for exams. These students couldn't consciously escape.
Because during the day, no matter how frightened they were at night and how much they wanted to leave and live elsewhere, they would have completely forgotten by daytime, not noticing anything amiss.
Those selected for exams would feel the next day that they had a nightmare at night.
They couldn't recall the content of the dream.
Having nightmares wasn't uncommon, so it was even less likely to attract attention. By night, they would remember and feel regret.
As Nie Chongyang listened to Ye Tiancheng's account, he asked, "You mentioned before that the entity manipulating all of this is absorbing the people's vital energy and life force. Do you think this pattern of selective exams, alternating between students, indicates that the entity is consciously controlling it?"
"Because if they were only targeting a fixed, small group of people to harm, over time, it would surely cause many negative effects externally, right? Even if those people don't remember, they would feel increasingly weak during the day."
"But these students haven't felt this yet. Could it be related to the entity alternating its selection of students to absorb their vital energy and life force?"
"This way, it wouldn't cause too much impact and wouldn't attract external attention. As for the students, despite experiencing such terrifying events and wanting to break free, they can't resist. Even if they want to seek help from the outside, they forget these things during the day, and at night, they can't contact the outside world."
While Ye Tiancheng was explaining the situation to Nie Chongyang, the little fox and Long Miaomiao, hearing the commotion, came out and listened to their conversation.
After Nie Chongyang proposed his idea, both Ye Tiancheng and the little fox looked towards Long Miaomiao, who could potentially sense more.
Nie Chongyang was immediately drawn in and also cast a questioning gaze at Long Miaomiao.
Long Miaomiao noticed the gazes of Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, and then, with Nie Chongyang also looking at her, she addressed their doubts.
"The possibility is quite high. Based on the facts, we cannot rule out this probability. As everyone knows, if you have a row of cups in front of you, each filled with a lot of water, and you take just a little from each cup each time, there won't be much of a difference visually."
"If you focus on drinking from one or a few fixed cups, or even drink large gulps, you'll certainly empty the cups quickly."
"Even ancient people knew not to drain the pond to catch fish. So, it's reasonable that the entity behind this, in order to obtain vital energy and life force for a long time and benefit itself, would choose a more circuitous and slow method."
With tens of thousands of students in a university, each exam only selects a few hundred students randomly. Taking a bite from each person, the accumulated amount is substantial, and then they switch to others.
Students who are not selected for exams have an opportunity to recuperate during this period, and may even recover partially. It's like humans picking vegetables; they don't uproot them entirely but take only a portion, as the ingredients will grow back.
And these students are unable to reveal this secret to the outside.
After Ye Tiancheng and his companions understood, they felt an even greater sense of dread.