The Damocles Sword and the Rewinding Reality

“Xinyi…”

In the shadow of the street corner opposite the Grand Court Hotel, a middle-aged man in a black trench coat gazed at the hotel, a profound sense of loss clouding his eyes.

Today marked the sixth year he had missed his daughter’s birthday.

Investigator Liao had broken his promise once again.

Ever since he had striven to climb the ranks from a civilian auxiliary officer to an Investigator, Liao’s work had grown increasingly demanding. Consequently, his visits home became fewer and far between.

He vividly remembered his daughter, when she was very young, always asking with eager anticipation: “Daddy, you absolutely *must* come back to celebrate my birthday with Xinyi, okay? Xinyi will wait and wait for you to come home!”

“Xinyi loves Daddy the most!”

Back then, he was merely an auxiliary officer, his duties confined to crimes committed by ordinary people. Though his income was meager and his wife often treated him with disdain, his daughter’s presence was the sole light in the life of a man who had toiled tirelessly since birth.

She was his entire salvation.

For his daughter’s sake, Investigator Liao believed he could endure any hardship, no matter how exhausting.

Driven by this resolve, Investigator Liao seized every opportunity, desperately striving to climb the ladder. His sole aim was to provide a better life for his daughter, Liao Xinyi, ensuring she could marry a man far superior to himself in the future.

His wish came true. During an urgent, unscheduled mission targeting Goblins, he disregarded his severe injuries and fought with all his might, catching the eye of his superiors. He successfully ascended from a common civilian auxiliary officer to a coveted Investigator, joining the ranks of the upper-tier reserve force.

Investigator Liao’s income soared, finally allowing him to enroll his daughter in expensive aristocratic schools, granting her access to the children of high society. Even though the tuition fees seemed exorbitant to ordinary people, he spared no expense for his daughter’s future.

However, to replenish the family savings, which had significantly dwindled due to this choice, Investigator Liao was compelled to take on more missions through internal channels, striving to earn additional income.

As a result, maintaining a balance between his work and family life became an impossible feat for him.

Investigator Liao gradually receded from his family life. His daughter’s birthdays, which he had always made sure to attend no matter how busy he was, eventually became events he missed.

His daughter, Liao Xinyi, underwent a transformation in her attitude towards him: from initial disappointment to subsequent indifference, ultimately even calling him an ‘old geezer’. All these changes, witnessed by him as a father, inflicted deep pain upon his heart.

“Daddy… I’m sorry.” Investigator Liao rubbed his reddened eyes, then turned to leave.

He was still on duty, having merely snuck away to glance at the hotel. Lingering too long would risk more than just a docked salary; losing his job entirely was the most terrifying prospect.

Furthermore, his failure to apprehend Liu Xia, the Goblin, remained a Damocles sword hanging precariously over Investigator Liao’s head.

If he still failed to capture the Goblin this month, he would inevitably lose his job. At that point, not only would he be ruined, but all the efforts he had made for his daughter would have been in vain.

Unfortunately, the money he had spent tracing the lead on the young woman, Liuxia, had yielded little. Aside from her suspicious status as an unregistered resident, Liuxia had revealed virtually no other questionable information. All her actions seemed genuinely to be those of Li Chunsheng’s maid and lover.

Unregistered residents, or ‘black households’, were not uncommon in District 13, where the Church’s influence was fragmented. One could easily encounter a multitude of them simply by venturing into the suburbs.

Consequently, arresting Liuxia based solely on her unregistered status was not feasible.

Such an action would likely provoke Li Chunsheng and the powerful Mu Shengling, two influential figures from the upper-class nobility with formidable backgrounds, to whom Li Chunsheng was closely connected.

After careful consideration, Investigator Liao abandoned the Liuxia lead. He resolved to pursue other avenues in his search for the Goblin, who seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Currently, Investigator Liao held a specialized tracker, personally bestowed by the Paladin Director, designed specifically for Liu Xia.

Reportedly, at its core lay a fragment of Liu Xia’s bodily tissue, provided by a mysterious, influential figure.

The Paladin Director had told him: “Take this. If this tracker suddenly illuminates with a glowing arrow in your hand, it means Liu Xia has appeared in your vicinity.”

Investigator Liao’s primary task during this period had been to carry the tracker, searching the vast city as if looking for a needle in a haystack. He had, of course, used it near Liuxia, but it had shown no reaction, which was a significant reason he abandoned investigating her.

Unbeknownst to him, the tracker could only detect Liu Xia’s Authority aura. The Paladin Director, bound by secrecy, had only shared what was absolutely necessary.

“Sigh… there isn’t much time left until the mission deadline, Liu Xia, where exactly are you?” Investigator Liao sighed, gazing at the unresponsive tracker in his hand.

Yet, no sooner had the words left his lips than the tracker underwent a sudden, dramatic change. It emitted a beam of light, forming an arrow in the air that pointed directly towards the Grand Court Hotel.

“What?!” Investigator Liao’s pupils constricted. “The Goblin has appeared!”

“And inside the hotel?”

“This is bad!” The old father’s face instantly turned ashen. He gasped, “My daughter is still inside!”

Investigator Liao cast all other concerns aside, sprinting frantically towards the hotel. However, the moment he moved, something utterly bizarre occurred.

He had clearly taken two steps forward, only to instantly find himself back at his previous position!

Yet, the instant he registered this oddity, the strange phenomenon vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

“What’s happening?” Investigator Liao was bewildered. He instinctively turned his head, and in that moment, he was struck with a chilling terror that made his entire body tremble, as if plunged into an ice cave.

He witnessed the pedestrians and vehicles around him all moving backward, eerily, as if rewinding. They receded in the direction they had come from, at an incredibly sluggish pace.

Yet, those caught within this strange regression remained utterly oblivious to it all. It seemed only he was aware of what was transpiring.

‘Could this be… the Goblin’s power?’ Investigator Liao had participated in numerous Goblin apprehension missions, so he naturally understood how terrifying a truly awakened Goblin could be.

Some Goblins possessed bizarre Authorities that often exceeded the Holy Temple’s predictions.

Even now, the Holy Temple could only detect an Authority’s tier in advance, but they couldn’t ascertain the exact nature of its abilities.

‘But why was he, merely a Black Iron-tier, assigned to such a mission?’

‘This kind of wide-ranging Authority, capable of altering the physical laws of reality… it must be at least Gold-tier!’

‘And yet, I, a mere Black Iron-tier, can exempt myself from its influence simply by being aware of it.’

‘Perhaps, to a great extent, it’s because I hold a piece of that Goblin’s bodily tissue, causing this Authority to regard me as one of its own, to some degree?’

‘It also seems this Authority hasn’t fully activated yet?’ Investigator Liao observed, noticing that the rewind phenomenon appeared to be gradually spreading from a distance, extending towards the hotel.

Looking into the distance, a distinct “rewind demarcation line,” where space was subtly distorted, was slowly extending towards the hotel. Yet, those on either side of this line remained completely unaware.

‘If the demarcation line fully closes in on the center, that will likely be when the Authority officially activates!’

What would happen then? Investigator Liao dared not gamble.

He gritted his teeth, and without a moment’s hesitation, he charged into the hotel.

‘So what if I’m only Black Iron-tier? So what if it’s a dead end?’

After all, his daughter was inside!