In the western suburbs of Pinghu City, there was a large bungalow area, which was where the city's poor people lived.
The bungalows here were arranged in large courtyards, and within these courtyards, smaller rooms were partitioned. These rooms were no larger than thirty square meters, and the smaller ones were only about ten square meters.
In a cramped and dirty courtyard, piled high with wood and杂物, stood a small rental room.
The curtains of the rental room were drawn, and the person living here never left the room except to go to the toilet.
Yes, there were only public toilets in the bungalow area.
Zheng Xuan held a cigarette between his fingers, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the computer screen, scanning intelligence about supernatural events.
A noose hung from the back of his head. Three days ago, he had prepared to hang himself, but at the last moment, he lost his courage, which made him hate himself even more.
Zheng Xuan was originally from a wealthy family. He had lorded over Pinghu City, never working for a living, spending his days in clubs with young women.
But good times don't last. One day, a few months ago, his father's company was sealed by a group of menacing men in black, and all his family's assets were frozen and confiscated.
His father was captured by the men in black and reportedly executed the next day. His mother, unable to bear the blow, jumped from the rooftop.
The men in black left Zheng Xuan with only ten thousand yuan, and then paid him no further mind.
Zheng Xuan was filled with rage towards these men in black, so he began to investigate the truth behind this upheaval. He wanted to find someone to avenge his parents.
As he began his investigation, Zheng Xuan discovered he had an astonishing talent for investigation. He was extremely sensitive to all sorts of information and details.
But after starting his investigation, he wished he didn't have this talent.
As the truth slowly unfolded, reality proved too cruel for Zheng Xuan.
His father's company had been able to rise all the way because they were serving an organization called 'The Eye of the Abyss.'
Zheng Xuan could not find any specific information about this organization; it seemed to be shielded by a greater power.
But from the information he had found, Zheng Xuan felt a chill run down his spine.
Flesh and blood sacrifices, the murder of people, and the company even abducted homeless men to be fed to monsters!
This completely broke Zheng Xuan. He no longer had any thoughts of revenge. Instead, he hid in a rental room, spending his days contemplating how he should die.
He searched for supernatural information to find some supernatural events that were extremely dangerous to ordinary people.
Since his father had used supernatural powers to harm so many people, he himself chose to die by supernatural means.
As he was browsing, Zheng Xuan suddenly noticed a pop-up window appear on his computer.
"Do you want to know the truth of the world? Do you want to truly live?"
Zheng Xuan paused for two seconds, then closed the page. "I don't want to live, I want to die."
But in the next second, a large hand reached out from the computer screen and pulled him into the computer.
...
"Hello, and welcome to the Wisdom Nation."
A cold, emotionless female voice spoke. Hearing it, Zheng Xuan immediately sat up, his eyes wide as he looked around.
The one who awakened Zheng Xuan was a woman with perfect features and figure, dressed in a black dress and with a blank expression. The moment Zheng Xuan saw her, he noticed something discordant about her.
"Artificial? Made in the Sakura region?"
The woman helped Zheng Xuan to his feet, and Zheng Xuan then realized he was in a strange square.
In the square, there were twenty women in black, and twenty people like him, either lying down or standing. Occasionally, semi-transparent figures walked by.
When he was helped up, Zheng Xuan bumped into the woman, and his expression immediately changed.
"She's not human!"
"A machine, or a monster?"
These women were puppets that Wen Wen had rushed to create. They were to serve as attendants in the 'Wisdom Nation' plan, so they were a bit rough. But Zheng Xuan's ability to quickly identify the woman as fake was enough to prove his talent.
On a high platform to the side of the square, Wen Wen tightened his collar and glanced at his lines a few times.
He was wearing a luxurious robe in gold and white and a strange mask. This outfit was specially prepared for the investigators.
Seeing that everyone below had woken up, Wen Wen coughed lightly and walked onto the stage.
"Good afternoon, everyone. This is 'Wisdom Nation'."
Someone tried to ask questions, to demand why Wen Wen had captured them, but was silenced by the black-clad woman next to them. They had no opportunity to speak in this performance.
Seeing this, Zheng Xuan closed his mouth and suppressed all the questions in his heart.
"Do you see the bronze gate over there? Behind it lies the ultimate secret of the world. I need you to enter the bronze gate and help me find what I want."
"I am the King of the Wisdom Nation, and you are the investigators of the Wisdom Nation."
"As long as you investigate and find valuable things, I will give you equivalent rewards. You are all people who have fallen on hard times in the real world. Here, you will find a new life."
"Find a new life..."
A faint glimmer flashed in Zheng Xuan's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
He dared not hope for a new life, only wishing to wash away the sins his family had incurred.
"However, dying here is still better than dying in a rental room. I hope to see something different before I die."
After Wen Wen finished speaking, he allowed the investigators below to ask questions to the black-dressed women beside them.
After a clamor, each black-dressed woman handed a box to the investigator next to them. Inside the boxes were the equipment Wen Wen had prepared for the investigators.
These included a set of black hooded sweatshirts and pants, black gloves and shoes, and a pistol and a dagger.
The clothing was all made from special materials, with strength comparable to bulletproof vests.
The pistol was a Jie-01, and the dagger was a Yu-01. Both were products of the Monster Factory, much more powerful than normal weapons, and effective against supernatural beings.
However, these were the most basic initial models, considered standard equipment for ordinary Foundation members. The Foundation's senior management was now equipped with Model 03 weapons.
In addition, Wen Wen also provided each of them with a watch. The watches were manufactured by Wen Wen using Yuliannu's authorization. By pressing a button on the watch, one could escape from a time silhouette.
The investigators' primary task was not combat, but to collect knowledge from time silhouettes as much as possible while ensuring their own safety. Therefore, this equipment was sufficient.
After the clothes were distributed, everyone changed into them and was then sent through the bronze gate by the black-dressed women.
Each investigator landed in a different place, and no one knew what kind of bizarre world they had entered.
After all the investigators had disappeared, Wen Wen brought a small stool and sat by the entrance of the bronze gate, his consciousness hovering over the investigators.
Through the perspectives of these investigators, Wen Wen's consciousness roamed through time silhouettes.