Lin Mo’s boots echoed on the polished obsidian floor of the Bureau’s subterranean lab as he escorted Lei Zhenzi’s inert form into the central examination chamber. The storm’s fury still rattled the reinforced glass above, but inside, only the steady hum of quantum processors filled the air. On the diagnostic table lay the great Wind‑Thunder Wings, spread wide like defeated leviathans. Bronze feathers, once gleaming with divine energy, now bore deep veins of rust that pulsed with an almost organic rhythm.

“Begin elemental spectral analysis,” Lin Mo instructed, voice calm but steel‑edged. He glanced at Data Analyst Zhou, whose fingers danced across the console. “Focus on isotopic signatures，track anything that doesn’t belong to standard bronze alloy.”

Zhou nodded, lips pursed in concentration. “Director, initial results: 82% bronze, 15% steel reinforcement, and… 3% unknown alloy particles. The runic inscriptions show signs of catalytic corrosion，an active agent accelerating oxidation.”

Lin Mo frowned. “Unknown alloy? Pull up a comparative database on celestial forges. Cross‑reference with every known batch from the Lord Lao’s Octagonal Furnace.”

As Zhou executed the command, the holoscreen shimmered, displaying an animated 3D model of a furnace. Batch #LD‑3007 glowed bright, annotated with production metadata: “Expected composition: Bronze‑Steel Hybrid. Temperature profile: 1800 °C constant. Operator: Celestial Smith‑Artisan Yi.”

“Batch metadata matches,” Zhou reported. “But note this: the production log shows an exact twelve‑minute gap between 01:17 and 01:29. All furnace sensors，thermal, temporal, quantum flux，went offline.”

Lin Mo’s jaw tightened. “Someone intentionally erased that window. They wanted no record of whatever they forged.” He tapped a command. “Activate full ledger trace，find every access point that touched Batch LD‑3007’s record. Filter for external nodes.”

Within moments, an alert blinked red:

ALERT: Unauthorized Ledger Access

Source Node: Cloud Node “Heaven’s Ledger”

Access Time: 01:15–01:30

Action: Data tampering and erasure detected

“Cloud hack,” Lin Mo muttered. “They’re deep in our systems.” He raised his voice. “Seal off all external connections. Engage the Bureau’s intranet lockdown protocol.”

Steel shutters slid over the lab’s data ports, and the network ring closed in a loop. Outside interference was cut. The only link now was the secure quantum channel to the Supreme Office, which Lin Mo tapped on his comm.

“Central,” he said, “this is Director Lin. We have a level‑two security breach. Unauthorized access by Cloud Node ‘Heaven’s Ledger.’ I’m initiating a formal summons under Mythical Artifact Security Act, Article 42: Unauthorized data manipulation. Notify the Supreme Tribunal.”

As he spoke, Zhou’s eyes widened. “Director, the corrosion is spreading. The rust itself is… alive. Micro‑scans show active enzymatic patterns，almost as if the wings are digesting themselves in accelerated time.”

Lin Mo stepped closer to the table, placing a hand lightly on the bronze surface. “Temporal decay catalyzed by foreign alloy. They’re weaponizing time against us.” He exhaled slowly. “All right. We need to find the source of that catalytic agent. I want residue samples，analyze for molecular structure and potential origin.”

Zhou nodded, carefully scraping minute fragments into a containment vial. “Sample secured. Running advanced analysis now.”

Lin Mo turned his attention to Lei Zhenzi’s unmoving form. The immortal’s aura, normally a vibrant gold, was flickering dimly. “Run an aura‑resonance scan,” he ordered. “See if we can detect residual consciousness or any imprint of his own energy.”

The console beeped, then displayed a waveform: jagged, fractured, and echoing. “Director, there’s a residual echo，Lei Zhenzi’s aura signature is displaced by twelve minutes. It’s like his consciousness was pulled out of time and then dropped back.”

“A trap,” Lin Mo said, tone hard. “They wanted him incapacitated here, in our jurisdiction. It’s a challenge to the Bureau itself.” He pulled up a schematic of the examination chamber. “Set up temporal anchoring fields，stabilize any further aura displacement. We can’t lose him to another temporal distortion.”

While Zhou implemented the fields, Lin Mo accessed the personnel roster. “I want Operator Yi brought in for questioning. And get me a forensic timeline of everyone who had access to that furnace batch. No one gets off until we know who ordered this.”

Before Zhou could respond, the lab’s external intercom crackled to life. “Director Lin,” came the voice of Deputy Director He, “we have incoming summons from the Celestial Council. They demand you cease all activity on this case pending their review.”

Lin Mo’s eyes narrowed. “On what grounds?”

“He cites potential breach of divine sovereignty,” Deputy Director He replied. “They’re invoking Section 9 of the Celestial Accord: mortal interference in immortal affairs.”

Lin Mo leaned against the table. “So they want to protect whoever’s behind this. Typical.” He straightened. “Tell them the Bureau will comply with protocol but cannot，will not，ignore a direct attack on public safety. We’ll forward them our summons. Until they respond, we continue our work.”

He cut the channel. Turning back to the holo‑screen, he activated the global map overlay. Tiny dots marked recent anomalies in artifact performance，complaints flooding in from every major celestial domain: East Sea Dragon Palace, Moon Pavilion, the Iron Pagoda of Trials. All within the last twenty‑four hours.

“Look at this,” he said, gesturing. “It’s not just Lei Zhenzi. Complaints are spiking across the board，rust, cracks, temporal glitches. Whoever’s orchestrating this wants to cripple every divine product line.”

Zhou’s face was grim. “A coordinated strike on the Bureau’s credibility. If mortal markets lose faith in divine artifacts, the entire celestial economy collapses.”

Lin Mo closed his eyes, heart pounding. “Then we need to hit back where it hurts. Find the source node of that catalytic alloy. Trace it to its origin，whether mortal forges or celestial factories. Whoever made it, they’re the true culprit.”

He tapped a final command. “Deploy field agents to the Northern Outpost Forge. That’s the only other facility capable of synthesizing alloy at this scale. And alert Captain Feng，he’s in charge of temporal field operations. We need a mobile containment unit on standby.”

Zhou sent the orders. As the lab doors whooshed open, Lin Mo grabbed his coat and strode out, rainwater dripping from his sleeves. The corridors of the Bureau felt narrower than usual, as if the walls themselves leaned in to watch.

Outside, the storm raged on, but Lin Mo’s mind was clear. He moved toward the elevator, each step measured. “This isn’t just a rust complaint,” he murmured. “It’s an all‑out war on time itself，and on every myth and miracle we hold sacred.”

Lightning split the sky overhead, illuminating the Bureau’s emblem: a balanced scale overlaid with a bronze quill. Lin Mo touched the badge on his chest, silver “315” gleaming in the flash. “Let them come,” he whispered. “I’ll sue the gods themselves if I must.”