Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 104 The Final Mission (Bonus Chapter 3)
A chilling premonition gripped him:

Once Yuan is firmly established in the C-level realm, or even higher, the door that allows him to "go home" will be closed forever.

He will be utterly banished to this cold, artificial body, like a rootless duckweed, until his consciousness dissipates like smoke.

"No! We absolutely cannot let it recover so quickly!"

A thought flashed through my mind like lightning.

He had to do something to slow down the abyss's progress, even if only for a moment!
Taking advantage of the psychic energy turbulence generated by the fierce battle between Judge and Abyss disrupting the entire scene, Xu Yan immediately separated a portion of his consciousness and forcibly broke through some of the communication permissions of the drill arm prosthetic body. In an extremely subtle way, mimicking a short circuit in a device, he frantically sent a very brief, highest-priority warning without containing his own identity information to the outside of the iron coffin area:
[WARNING: The core anomaly "Abyss" in the Iron Coffin Zone has exceeded the critical threshold! Repeat, "Abyss" has exceeded the critical threshold! Energy reactions continue to rise, requesting immediate action...]

The signal was torn apart and annihilated by the violent energy turbulence within the domain the moment it was sent, making it almost impossible to transmit completely.

But this action itself is like throwing a drop of water into a boiling oil pan, instantly triggering a chain reaction.

"Um?!"

Yuan, who was fighting against the judge, suddenly turned his head. His eyes seemed to have caught this subtle, discordant "clutter". An even more violent will swept across the entire scene, and the distortion of space suddenly intensified.

The judge also keenly noticed this slight disturbance. Although the source was unknown, it undoubtedly distracted Yuan.

He immediately seized this fleeting opportunity, and the lightning patterns around his body shone brightly, forcibly pushing back the encroachment of the domain by a fraction.

"puff--"

Xu Yan felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow inside the drill arm. The backlash from forcibly breaking through the permissions and sending signals caused his prosthetic body's bionic nervous system to send out intense feedback pain.

But the goal was achieved!

Even if it only buys a few seconds, it buys the judge and himself a chance to catch his breath, and may also alert the outside world.

"I must know the truth! Before I completely lose 'myself'!"

A burning obsession, a mixture of despair and madness, raged in his consciousness.

No longer satisfied with the fragments of memory on the surface of the drill arm, he, like a ruthless thief, endured the pain of the backlash and once again forcibly broke through deeper levels of access, frantically seizing and browsing the core cognitive information about the "center" architecture stored in the drill arm.

A massive, fragmented torrent of information washed over his consciousness:

Restricted area map, security agreement, departmental functions... "Archives... Ironworks District Deputy Level... Ω Authority..."

Several key markers, like lighthouse coordinates suddenly lit in a dark storm, were firmly grasped by him regardless of the consequences.

There are records left by his father, the origin of "Yuan", and the answer to why he became "the key".

At that moment, the Judge's will, which seemed to carry the force of thunder, did not directly connect to consciousness. Instead, it cleverly used the massive spiritual noise from a collision of rules as cover, transforming it into a high-frequency vibration that was encrypted and easily misinterpreted as environmental interference. This vibration was precisely transmitted to the receiving units of the drill arm and the shadow:

"This interference and cover is a one-time opportunity! Obey orders!"

"The Iron Coffin Zone is about to collapse, and the legal network is on the verge of disintegration. The flame of knowledge must be preserved!"

"Temporary 'beacon' authorized (coordinates sent), target: Iron Guard District Sub-level Archives."

"Execute the 'Candle Dragon' protocol, priority Ω! Upload all files banned at Ω level or above to 'Ark'!"

"This is a battle for the survival of civilization... Do not fail our trust!"

A barely perceptible golden rune, as if alive, flashed through the palms of Drill Arm and Shadow, leaving a lasting imprint, thanks to the concealment of the turbulent psionic energy.

An opportunity! Xu Yan's heart trembled, but his elation was instantly suppressed by greater vigilance.

The fact that the judge was sending the message so secretly meant that he wasn't confident he could completely control Yuan!
He was just wondering how to get to the archives when this order came as a godsend.

He immediately manipulated the drill arm's body, using a sideways movement to avoid the energy splash as cover, and with impeccable, elite operator poise, his right hand swiftly tapped a specific frequency representing "received and executed" on his chest armor, while simultaneously lowering his voice:
"Drill arm received! We'll complete the mission to the death!"

His reaction was astonishingly fast, as if he had been prepared to carry out such ultimate commands for a long time.

"Ah……"

A cold, mocking thought, like a ghost, cut into the newly formed residual communication fluctuations almost the instant the judge finished transmitting the message.

"Jiang Yu, are you already making arrangements for your funeral?" Yuan spoke in a low, repetitive voice through Xu Yan's lips. "Unfortunately, these two little insects probably can't take your 'last words' with them."

The words have not yet been spoken!

On the mirrored ground, several pale chains made of shattered images suddenly pierced out, not attacking the judge, but cunningly wrapping around the ankles of the drill arm and the shadow.

Meanwhile, on the path leading to the maintenance passage ahead of them, the space rippled like water, and countless distorted mirror walls instantly appeared, but the reflections in the mirrors were not of their current appearance.

Instead, it was the terrifying images of their gruesome deaths and fragmented remains that were relentlessly assaulting their minds.

It had indeed been listening and waiting all along!

It never relaxed its control over the entire event!

"go!"

The judge's roar and the abyss's shriek exploded almost simultaneously!
Just as Shadow and Drill Arm set off, several pale ghostly hands formed from shattered memories erupted from the mirrored ground, grabbing at their ankles.

Several mirror walls moved horizontally as if they were alive, closing in an instant to trap them in place.

"Don't think about it!"

The judge slammed both palms down on the ground.

It wasn't a collapse of lightning, but rather a frenzied infusion of immense lightning power into the area beneath its feet, like tree roots.

Countless blazing lightning bolts shot out from the ground, precisely striking the pale ghostly hands, annihilating each other and exploding into blinding fragments of soul.

At the same time, his eyes gleamed with a blood-red light, and he declared: "Decree: This path is open to traffic!"

Follow your words!
The moment the mirrored wall touched the range of the other's commandments, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier, twisting violently and emitting a shrill sound as if glass was about to shatter, yet it could not close even a fraction of a second further.

But the price of maintaining the passage with all their might is that the judge's own defenses are wide open.

"Foolish protection!"

Yuan Bing sneered coldly, using Xu Yan's physical body to raise his hand and make a grasping motion.

The space around the judge instantly collapsed inward, as if an invisible giant fist was about to crush him and the lightning domain together.

The judge grunted, a trickle of golden blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. The lightning patterns around him flickered, yet he remained firmly rooted to the spot, maintaining the last lifeline for the two "fire seeds".

"Now! Go!!" The shadowy figure's shriek was pierced as it transformed into a twisted shadow, narrowly slipping through the gaps in the law's control.

(End of this chapter)