[Surprise Box: An object that materialized out of thin air during the "Sky Bridge Dimensional Rift Incident" on January 3, 2044. Its purpose remains unknown.]
This was the missing item. Robin had even seen a notice about it when she visited the underground warehouse earlier.
The Surprise Box was a square wooden box about ten centimeters in diameter. A clown's face was painted on its surface, giving it the appearance of a prank toy box—the kind that springs open to reveal a scary surprise. Hence its name.
In reality, the box was completely sealed shut and impossible to open. The Bureau of Anomalous Investigations had studied it extensively, trying various methods, but all attempts failed. The Surprise Box was then stored in the underground warehouse, where it remained until today.
"It was my oversight..." Zhong Wanhong said grimly. Everyone's attention had been focused on Robin's concert. Zhong Wanhong, who had been at the Bureau, received Lü Heng's message and assumed someone was planning an attack on the concert. Who could have imagined that these foreigners' true target was the Dragon Nation's Bureau of Anomalous Investigations?
What puzzled Zhong Wanhong most was how a foreigner could possibly know that the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations in Longcheng possessed the Surprise Box. What made this particular wooden box so special that it would drive someone to such extreme measures to steal it?
[ An internal mole? ] The possibility seemed exceedingly slim. If there were Fuguang Society sympathizers within the Bureau, it could only be attributed to ideological differences—everyone still had the Dragon Nation's best interests at heart. But to betray the Dragon Nation by leaking information to foreigners? That was simply too far-fetched. Zhong Wanhong refused to believe there were traitors within the Bureau.
Moreover, the foreigner who stole the Surprise Box must have known its purpose. Why else would they bother snatching it? Yet even the Bureau itself had no idea what the box could do. The internal mole theory simply didn't hold water.
About twenty minutes later, Robin arrived at the Bureau. The moment she stepped inside, she sensed the heavy atmosphere. Everyone sat hunched in their chairs, chins resting on their hands, lost in thought.
Even Yu Lin, the Bureau's resident chatterbox, was uncharacteristically silent!
But the instant Yu Lin spotted Robin, her pensive expression vanished. She scurried over to her side, exclaiming, "Bird Sister, you're finally here! I was about to die of boredom!"
Well, it turned out this girl wasn't actually thinking at all; she was just mindlessly mimicking everyone else's actions while her mind wandered elsewhere. Honestly, expecting this dim-witted dragon to come up with anything useful was probably unrealistic in the first place.
Zhong Wanhong quickly stood up when he saw Robin. "Robin, come take a look at Bai Yuanju. Something's not right with her."
Led by Zhong, Robin entered a small break room within the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations. Bai Yuanju lay on a sofa, her breathing steady and no visible injuries, just as Zhong had described on the phone. She appeared to be in a coma-like state.
"There's nothing physically wrong with her," Zhong said. "She's perfectly healthy. But I've tried everything to wake her, and she doesn't respond at all."
The situation defied logic. How could someone, unharmed, suddenly fall into a coma and resist all attempts to rouse them? The only plausible explanation was... some kind of Ability.
From forcibly induced sleep to soul extraction, any number of Abilities could produce similar effects.
Robin immediately considered these possibilities. She nodded. "Let me try."
Robin's Ability could clear mental debuffs. While she had primarily used it to dispel fear, she suspected it might also remove debuffs inflicted by others' Abilities.
Of course, if Bai Yuanju's soul had truly been extracted, leaving her merely a husk, Robin's Ability would be useless. But to Robin's relief, the moment she activated her Ability, Bai Yuanju's eyelids began to flutter slightly.
In less than three seconds, Bai Yuanju opened her eyes. Though her pupils were unfocused and her expression remained dazed, the speed of her recovery stunned even Robin herself. The immediate effect was astonishing.
"She's awake!" Zhong Wanhong waved his hand in front of Bai Yuanju's face, his tone grave. "What exactly happened? Who attacked the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations?"
By the time Zhong Wanhong and his team had apprehended the Golden-Haired Youth and returned to the Bureau, all the surveillance cameras had been destroyed. Bai Yuanju lay unconscious on the lobby floor, the internal warehouse had been ransacked, and the hidden elevator had been forcibly located and disabled.
After a thorough inspection, Zhong Wanhong discovered that only a seemingly insignificant box was missing.
After a few moments, Bai Yuanju's eyes slowly focused. She looked at Robin and Zhong Wanhong beside her, her gaze lingering particularly on Robin. "Was it your Ability... that woke me up?"
Bai Yuanju remained silent for a moment before turning to Zhong Wanhong with a sigh. "The ones who attacked the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations were White Eagle's Martyr."
Robin could clearly see Zhong Wanhong's expression darken upon hearing the word "Martyr." She couldn't help but ask, "Who is the Martyr?"
"The true rulers of White Eagle, among their eight most powerful individuals..." Zhong Wanhong began to explain slowly.
Before the emergence of the Dimensional Rift, the White Eagle Nation, officially known as the White Eagle Free Federation, was not significantly different from the United States of America in Robin's previous life. However, the Dimensional Rift's arrival brought about a cataclysmic transformation.
As is well known, White Eagle is an exceptionally "free" nation, its culture deeply steeped in heroism and individualism. Just as nearly everyone in the Dragon Nation harbors a wuxia dream of becoming a jianghu hero—a chivalrous swordsman meting out swift justice—many in White Eagle aspire to become "heroes."
The Dimensional Rift truly provided this opportunity. Initially, the White Eagle Nation saw the emergence of countless superheroes, dedicated to upholding justice and combating crime.
But as time passed, some became lost in their newfound power.
Day 1: I'm Superman!
Day 2: I'm fucking Homelander!
Day 3: I am Inevitable
Then, a massive civil war erupted among the Evolvers, shattering the national government and plunging the nation into three years of chaos. In the end, White Eagle was divided into eight territories, each ruled by one of the eight most powerful individuals.
Naturally, these leaders couldn't bear to see their homeland remain fragmented. They formed the exclusive Council of Eight, which eventually reunited the nation to form the present-day White Eagle Free Federation.
The "Martyr" that Bai Yuanju mentioned was one of these eight founding figures!