His eyes scanned the room, taking in the chaos that gradually became familiar, yet not entirely foreign. Papers were scattered everywhere—across the warped wooden desk, piled haphazardly on the floor, even littered atop the messy bed in the corner.

  Unit 106, despite its abandoned state, was more habitable than this. As his eyes attempted to find anything useful, books lay open at random pages, stacked precariously on every available surface, their spines cracked and covers bent.

  ' He wryly shook his head, then walked past the scattered papers.

  With a few steps, he arrived at the wooden desk. On it was a familiar object from the first cycle.

  He murmured, his voice low and quiet, almost a whisper. The stench of the Shadowfins was horrid; however, he grew used to it.

  Truthfully speaking, as a citizen living in the outer district near the shore of Belham, he had experienced this stench on an almost daily basis. The only reason he was startled by the stench in the first place was not because of what it was, but where it was found.

  Ulrich held the book in his hand, his finger tracing the rough lettering of the cover.

  It had a rough, almost spiky texture. With careful deliberation, he attempted to pronounce the words written in ancient Hermes. This was extremely difficult, and with his incomplete knowledge, it only made it harder.

  Fortunately, with some context, he was able to decipher some of the characters and obtain their corresponding meaning. Additionally, his knowledge of Hermes, as well as Ancient Latin, became extremely useful for this moment, as these two were derived from ancient Hermes.

  Through this, he was finally able to perform a rough translation of the title.

  "The Silver Bough."

  The title didn't strike him as remarkable in any way; in fact, it was ordinary and unassuming. Seeing this, Ulrich quickly flipped to the first page and attempted to decipher the contents. However, staring at the strings of characters, his face froze. Even with his years as a scholarly person, he was stunned.

  Immediately, he put down the book, realizing that he truly lacks the means to decipher the content. This left him disappointed, but quickly, a thought appeared in his mind.

  Ulrich's eyes caught the pile of papers and books in the room, his eyes lit up with excitement.

  At this moment, Ulrich became a hurricane.

  His movements were erratic and uncontrollable, and with each blink, the papers would fly in all manner of directions. After ten minutes, the wind finally stopped, and the papers had the chance to settle.

  At the same time, a sound echoed in the room.

  Thud.

  The almost empty glass of water dropped on the floor, spilling its contents. However, Ulrich was too focused to give it a thought.

  " He exclaimed, holding several sheets of paper in his hand.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The paper was written in Chinese, and the way it was written resembled a diary or journal. Quite frankly, the handwriting was messy and almost unrecognizable.

  Fortunately, despite this, Ulrich was still able to somewhat read it.

  As he continued to read the content, he realized that the events were all distorted, each one taking place at a different point in time without a clear chronological order.

  Reading this, Ulrich paused, a thought crossed his mind.

  "Supernatural powers… This is not the first time I've heard of this. Could such a thing exist?'

  Zheng San mentioned that the higher-ups in his organization can display supernatural abilities. But, he was skeptical. However, giving it another thought, he arrived at a rather neutral conclusion.

  "Since my transmigration is possible, what is strange about supernatural abilities?"

  With that in mind, Ulrich allowed himself to be a little open-minded and continued. He was intrigued as to what this 'path' to attain supernatural power represent.

  Ulrich paused, contemplating the information presented to him. Mysterious gathering, secret identities, discussing mysticism. Looking at it from an outsider perspective, isn't this just a club for old, superstitious people?

  However, some of Gu Lan's observations did catch his attention, especially regarding this 'female' figure. Ulrich continued reading, hoping to learn more about the gathering, as well as this mysterious female figure.

  Immediately, Ulrich was startled, his hand grip on the paper tightened as he reread the line:

  The question itself was strange—not the kind of inquiry one would expect from an old man who dabbled in superstitions. There was a weight to it, a question that has no lack of confidence.

  "Stopped responding..." Ulrich murmured, his brow furrowing. "Not 'do they exist' or 'are they real,' but ..."

  These choices of words were strange.

  Gu Lan wasn't questioning the existence of Gods—he was questioning why they had ceased their communication. It presupposed that at some point in history, the Gods responded to prayers. That they were once active, present, or even tangible in some form.

  Ulrich felt a chill crawl down his spine, his gaze lifted from the pages to rest on the Shadowfins in the glass tank.

  "Why would he phrase it this way?" He paced slowly, his mind racing.

  "If this were mere superstition, he would ask if Gods exist at all, this is a logical line of questioning. But this question... it suggests that Gu Lan already knew the answer to whether or not Gods exist."

  "Perhaps, in history, there has been a time when Gods were active. And somehow, he learned of this, unsure of the truth, and is looking for affirmations?" This conclusion left him hissing with cold breath.

  The dream he once believed he understood as his own was unravelling, like a morning fog being slowly dispersed. At the same time, this question allows Ulrich to deduce certain details regarding the female figure.

  "Since Gu Lan is proposing this question to this person. That means, in some capacity, her expertise and knowledge of this matter is beyond his, and she has a certain level of confidence in this area. Hence why he feels inferior, and is looking to her for answers?"

  If that was true… Then, in this gathering, these two are the true players while everyone else exists in the background. In that same manner, why? Why would she attend this superficial gathering? Clearly, Gu Lan felt that only she was worthy enough for a discussion.

  However, what does this person gain from answering these questions?

  Ulrich turned the page, hoping to get a clear answer.

  []