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Cloud City, a small border town, Security Investigation Bureau.
Outside the Investigation Bureau, several police cars were parked, and the elite task force from the city had already arrived to provide support.
Inside the Investigation Bureau, the bureau leadership was assigning tasks.
"That orphanage... if it’s really as you say, then it’s not just a simple problem. That place could be many times more dangerous than we imagined."
"Recently, you might not be aware, but strange things are happening all over the world."
"Qin Feng, Old Tai, Ah Yi, you three have been investigating this case for a long time. I really don’t want you to go, but you are the ones who understand this case the best."
"This case is truly bizarre. We’ve known the director for a long time, and there have been spot-checks every year. Honestly, he seemed to genuinely care about helping the children..."
"But now, you have found evidence that indeed, he has a problem."
"However, that’s the part I can’t understand. The place has surveillance, so how is he able to traffic people?"
"And besides, how did he change so drastically? I feel there’s something extremely odd going on."
The three Investigation Bureau members exchanged glances. Leading them was Qin Feng, the most senior and a model employee in the bureau.
He said:
"Chief, a lot of strange and bizarre things have been happening recently, but you don’t need to worry. In the past, people didn’t find any issues because he hid it well."
"Now we are very certain that the orphanage is involved in human trafficking."
"Moreover, they are linked to the largest human trafficking base in Burma."
"Those children... they’re just their shields."
Qin Feng spoke with confidence because they had been investigating this case for a long time.
The bureau leader sighed:
"Promise me, don’t steal the limelight. The experts from the city will handle the trouble. You just need to provide the information!"
The three Investigation Bureau members felt a sense of unease, but their duties obliged them, and with the support from the city, they thought capturing the orphanage staff would be easy.
"Don’t worry, we’ll complete the mission. This time, we can directly arrest them. The only issue is figuring out how to relocate those children for now."
The leader said:
"I’ll handle that. I wish you success."
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Cloud City, a small border town, Orphanage.
Just yesterday, those three familiar Investigation Bureau members visited the orphanage again.
The director knew well that the attitudes of the three Investigation Bureau members were growing increasingly hostile and serious.
This meant that the secrets of the orphanage... might have already been discovered.
The orphanage had many secrets, such as—
This orphanage was never short of children. When there were too many children, some would always be taken away.
When there weren’t many children... more would conveniently be brought in.
This caught the attention of the three Investigation Bureau members, but they had no evidence before.
This was one secret, a secret that recently was no longer a secret.
Soon, this orphanage would disappear. The game would enter the next stage.
As the director and also the Corruptor, he wasn’t worried at all.
Because everything so far had been the same as before, exactly the same.
He would, as in all previous cycles, report to his master without deviation.
"Master, they are coming soon, just like before. Those three from the Investigation Bureau will bring reinforcements from the city to besiege me."
"You can prepare to leave with them and start the next stage of the game."
No one would have thought that in the orphanage director’s office, there was a little girl in red clothes, playing with toys.
The toys looked very much like real people, only much smaller.
If you looked closely, you would find that the toys resembled every child in the orphanage.
There was even a toy that looked very much like the director.
The little girl smiled:
"So, you will strap bombs all over your body, taking all the blame upon yourself, right?"
The director nodded:
"As you command. Your wish is my command."
"Alright, go away. I’m going to say goodbye to my toys one last time~"
Tears instantly welled up in the little girl’s eyes.
She seemed to be very reluctant to part with these toys.
She squeezed one toy’s head too hard and accidentally snapped it off.
It happened to be the director’s head.
According to the plan, the director would die today.
But what happened next surprised the little girl.
The director, who was supposed to be filled with explosives, suddenly returned.
With a terrified expression, he said:
"Master... the cycle... the cycle has changed!"
The little girl was puzzled:
"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"
The director said:
"Our base in Burma... was taken down. According to reports from there... one person single-handedly dismantled all the armed forces at the base."
"Those we had trafficked are scattering and fleeing!"
The little girl frowned slightly, looking at the director with some confusion.
The orphanage director quickly waved his hands:
"No... please don’t look at me like that. I just... just found out about this. I don’t know what happened!"
The little girl thought for a moment. It was true; there was no way the director could break free now.
Her ability was related to memory, akin to hypnosis. As long as the memory persisted... the hypnosis wouldn’t be lifted.
Before many cycles began, the director wasn’t actually her slave.
But one night, the director seemed to discover the little girl’s secret.
He found that, unconsciously, the children in the orphanage had become somewhat dazed...
And that, unconsciously, the little girl started playing with some peculiar toys alone.
He tried to interrogate the little girl.
As the great Corruptor, even if he made mistakes and provoked the gifted... he would remember related information after each reset.
With each reset, he could always find the gifted’s weaknesses and control them.
At least, that was his plan.
But soon, he became a "toy."
He became the little girl’s plaything, utterly devoted to her.
It was as if a seal imprinted in his memory. He had to obey the little girl’s orders.
As long as the memory remained, this "agreement" would always be effective.
Coincidentally, one characteristic of the Corruptor... was that everything would reset except for the memory.
Just like that, the little girl gained a Corruptor slave.
Her control over the region became even more solid. It could be said that this area was almost unsolvable for anyone climbing the Desire Tower.
So at this moment, convinced that her toy had not been exposed...
The little girl quickly realized one thing:
"It seems the ’Challenger’ has entered the scene."
The so-called Challenger naturally referred to the players from the Bunker.
With each cycle, the Corruptors wouldn’t forget the past, but the little girl would.
But the Corruptors would always tell her what had happened, using the simplest way to help her believe in her powers.
Just like a forever loyal butler.
Naturally, under the butler’s influence, the little girl also knew about the "Challenger".
She also learned from the director that the Challenger couldn’t use violence.
So she didn’t fear the Challenger.
According to the director, she had fought against the Challengers more than once.
In previous cycles, every Challenger was turned into a toy by her.
Soon, the little girl felt confused:
"If it’s the Challenger... why could they dismantle that area’s armed forces? You better not be lying to me."
For the first time, something outside the knowledge of both the gifted and the Corruptor appeared.