However, the Investigation Bureau didn't leave them entirely unprepared. After completing the onboarding training, Sun Hang and his team each received a single-person dorm room with a private bathroom, a smartphone that couldn't freely access the internet, and a slim booklet.
The booklet briefly introduced some of the currently known paranormal entities, but under each piece of information, there was a conspicuous red font that read: "All known paranormal entities are in a constantly changing state; this information may be outdated."
"Even so, they should at least tell us how to protect ourselves when facing these entities, right?" Sun Hang mumbled quietly, tossing both the phone and booklet onto the single bed against the wall. He intended to check the condition of the bathroom, but at that moment, the new phone suddenly rang.
Sun Hang picked up the phone to find an email from the Investigation Bureau, titled "Mission Notification."
"So soon?" Sun Hang sighed, reluctantly glancing around the decent dorm room. He opened up the neatly folded blanket on the bed, reclined comfortably, stretched lazily, and then unhurriedly opened the email.
"Mission Notification: Investigate the abandoned amusement park in the south part of the city."
"Mission Time: Afternoon of May 8, Year 4719 of the ancient calendar (Countdown to mission start: 1 hour 23 minutes)."
"Mission Difficulty: Tentatively classified as E-level."
"Participants: Temporary Investigators 0398, 0401, 0420."
The temporary investigators' numbers were highlighted in underlined blue font. Sun Hang clicked on the other two numbers, and their profiles popped up instantly.
0398 was the young woman Sun Hang had talked to earlier, while 0401 was the one who had asked the gangly guy several questions.
"What a coincidence," Sun Hang thought to himself.
Among these "colleagues" who had undergone the onboarding training with him, these were the only two he had some impression of.
However, aside from the photos and numbers, the profiles of these two were blank, matching the information on their investigator IDs exactly.
He closed their profiles and continued reading.
"Mission Information: In the past month, a total of sixteen people have gone missing in the southern part of Celestial City, all of whom were young women aged between sixteen and twenty-four. Following a detailed investigation by the Public Security Bureau, it was discovered that the last known locations of the missing individuals were marked on a map, revealing that all the markings encircled the abandoned amusement park in the southern outskirts.
This abandoned amusement park was built in the year 4699 of the ancient calendar. Initially, operating rights were held by Le Di Tourism Company of Celestial City, which went bankrupt due to mismanagement in the year 4703. The amusement park changed hands several times, eventually ceasing operations in the year 4711.
Local residents reported seeing suspicious individuals in brown robes coming in and out of the abandoned amusement park recently. There are also two reports highly suspecting 'mysterious rituals related to paranormal entities.'
The City South Branch of the Public Security Bureau repeatedly dispatched sheriffs for on-site searches within the amusement park with no success. Not until the third mission did the intern sheriff Hu Lijun, participating in her first site investigation at the amusement park, disappear unexpectedly during the operation.
None of the other sheriffs who accompanied her noticed anything unusual before her disappearance. Afterward, a thorough search of the entire amusement park yielded no clues.
[Remark] Intern Sheriff Hu Lijun; Serving at the City South Branch of the Celestial City Public Security Bureau; Female; Age 22.
Mission Requirement: Conduct an investigation of the entire abandoned amusement park to confirm whether the disappearances are related to any paranormal entities.
If traces of paranormal entities are discovered, immediately report to the headquarters of the Investigation Bureau, which will send experts to handle the situation."
"Jeez..." Sun Hang furrowed his brows after reading the mission details. "If even sheriffs couldn't find any clues, how are a bunch of 'temporary investigators' with no formal training supposed to manage...?"
Before Sun Hang could finish complaining, he received a second notification email.
"Temporary Investigator 0398 has deserted the mission. Mission time temporarily frozen. All other participants, please hold your positions."
Upon seeing this message, Sun Hang instantly realized.
Their lack of formal training wasn't the main issue; the crux of the mission was 0398!
She matched the profile of the missing individuals perfectly in terms of gender and age... In fact, the rest of them didn't need to do anything but keep a close eye on 0398.
And 0398, realizing that she was being used as bait, chose to run away.
...
However, half an hour later, Sun Hang still encountered the escaping 0398 in the hall of the Investigation Bureau.
Her hands were cuffed with silver handcuffs, and her slender neck and ankles were fitted with metal rings containing tracking chips. Her otherwise clean face was now smeared with unknown stains, and her long pink-highlighted curly hair was covered with dust and cobwebs.
A soldier followed closely behind her, continuously prodding her back with the butt of a gun. With each prod, 0398 reluctantly moved forward a few steps.
Only after the three of them got into the car did the soldier unlock the cuffs on 0398's hands, but the metal rings on her neck and ankles remained.
"You're not the first to run," the driver turned around and said to 0398 with a smile, "but at least you were pretty close to succeeding."
"Heh." 0398 gave a derisive snort without replying.
Seeing this, Sun Hang edged a bit closer and asked in a low voice, "How did you get out?"
Sun Hang had already inspected the single-person dorm, which had no windows, only a door, and the hallway outside was full of surveillance cameras. Unless she hacked into the Investigation Bureau's surveillance network, escape was nearly impossible.
"I lifted the ceiling tiles in the room and crawled through the ventilation ducts," 0398 said with a sullen face.
"Impressive," 0401, nearby, gave her a thumbs up.
"Fat lot of good it did me, still got caught," 0398 replied irritably.
"It's just an E-level mission; it shouldn't be too tough, right?" 0401 tried to console her, "If we complete it, I can clear a fifth of my debt at once... At least it's luckier than those who get thrown into high-difficulty missions right as they join."
A fifth for just an E-level mission? Sun Hang was taken aback. It seemed this guy owed significantly less than he did.
"Huh, wouldn't be so sure about that," the driver said as he stepped on the gas, "I've taken plenty of investigators on E-level missions. When they left, they were all alive and kicking; when they came back, there wasn't even a whole piece of meat left... Sometimes, the mission level just shoots up to D or C."
"...Can't you say something nice for a change?" 0401 asked with a bitter face.
"Just speaking the truth," the driver shrugged, "then let's hope you three come back as whole as you go."
"Your blessing sounds a bit ominous, driver..." 0401 forced a smile even worse than crying, "You'd be better off sharing some experience; it might come in handy."
"I'm just the driver, what kind of experience could I have?" the driver replied, "Besides, when dealing with paranormal entities, experience doesn't count for much."