Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 127 Harmless Treatment

At No. 88 Keji Road, High-tech Zone, stands a gray, unremarkable cube-shaped building.

It is not tall, only five stories high, and it occupies the entire block with its silent and stubborn presence.

To the world, this is all there is to it: a gray, undecorated concrete wall, like a huge, clumsy building block, humbly squeezed among several gleaming glass-walled tech companies, looking out of place and almost an eyesore.

But few people know, or are allowed to know, that these five layers revealed to the sunlight are merely the pale facade of a vast secret, the insignificant tip of a massive iceberg protruding above the water.

Beneath its foundation, deep underground, lies a vast area codenamed "Iron Coffin," the true beating heart of the building and the real place where countless secrets and anomalies are contained and studied.

There is no prominent sign at the entrance, only a small bronze plaque embedded on the side with the words "Urban Service Rapid Response Center" engraved on it, the font so small that it seems afraid of being seen.

Low-key, yet exuding an unapproachable majesty.

Xu Yan, carrying the suitcase containing the old man's belongings, stood side by side with Chen Zhiwei across the street.

Chen Zhiwei's right hand was tightly wrapped around his left arm, her fingertips turning slightly white from the force.

Staring at the building, Xu Yan's heart was filled with emotion.

It was here, in another timeline, that he controlled the mangled remains of the drill arm as he walked through that door, never to emerge again.

The fragments of memories swallowed by the white light surged in his mind: Yuan's complete awakening, A Zhe's sacrifice, and the pure white light that wiped everything away at the last moment.

And now, he stood before it once again.

This time, he was no longer a pawn to be manipulated.

"Are you ready?" Xu Yan turned his head, his voice gentle yet firm.

Chen Zhiwei took a deep breath: "Hmm. Can we really find that 'fast assessment channel'?"

"It's definitely possible." Xu Yan's gaze was as steady as a rock. "Trust me."

These three simple words inexplicably relaxed Chen Zhiwei's tense nerves.

She nodded, and unconsciously tightened her grip on his arm.

They crossed the road with firm steps.

The revolving glass doors slid open silently, revealing a hall with a ceiling nearly ten meters high. Cold white light poured down from the ceiling, so bright it was blinding, yet it felt utterly devoid of warmth.

The air was filled with the cold smell of disinfectant mixed with that of precision electronic products.

A woman in a dark blue standard uniform sat at the front desk. Her makeup was so exquisite it was like a mask, and even the curve of her lips seemed to have been precisely calculated.

"Hello, what service do you need?" The voice was sweet and pleasant, but it sounded like a synthesized voice with no emotional fluctuation.

Xu Yan gently placed the suitcase on the gleaming marble countertop, her movements calm and unhurried:

"Delivery of relics. Order E-0721."

The receptionist quickly operated the terminal, scanning the order QR code shown by Xu Yan, the process as smooth as handling a regular express delivery.

"Mr. Xu, please walk straight along the left corridor to the third passage, scan your order code to enter, and proceed to the 'Low-Value Materials Recycling Department' for physical delivery."

After receiving instructions, the two headed toward the left-hand corridor.

The corridor was long, with pure white walls on both sides, devoid of any decoration. Only the evenly distributed LED light strips overhead emitted a low hum, easily creating a dizzying feeling of disorientation while walking through it. The entrance to the third passage was a heavy metal door, next to which was a barcode scanner.

Xu Yan swiped the code, and the door slid open with a "whoosh," revealing a huge industrial freight elevator behind it.

The moment the elevator doors closed, Chen Zhiwei whispered quickly, "This place... is so cold it's making me shudder."

The elevator interior has cold metal walls and only one button: "F4".

The ascent was unusually smooth, but the feeling of being overweight was still obvious.

The numbers jumped, eventually stopping at F4.

The door opened again.

The scene before me was completely different from upstairs. It was like a huge, modern warehouse center with extremely high ceilings that seemed to stretch endlessly.

The tall shelves were piled high with boxes bearing uniform labels, and automated guided vehicles moved silently along the illuminated paths on the ground. A few staff members, like pre-programmed robots, worked expressionlessly.

A worker wearing gray overalls and goggles saw them and walked over expressionlessly, holding a tablet computer.

"Order code".

Xu Yan presented it again.

After the other party scans the code, the order details and a perspective view of the suitcase instantly pop up on the tablet screen.

At first, his movements were mechanical, but the next second, his fingers suddenly stopped on the screen, and his gaze behind the goggles sharply lifted, landing on Xu Yan for the first time.

"'The Ghost of the Lonely Building'... Hao Defeng?" The staff member's voice suddenly rose, no longer a routine, flat statement, but filled with disbelief and scrutiny. "System assessment: Completely harmless disposal? Core psionic energy residue: zero?"

He suddenly raised his head, his goggles unable to conceal the shock overflowing in his eyes, scrutinizing Xu Yan repeatedly, as if trying to confirm whether the system had misidentified the young contractor in front of him.

“How is this possible…” he murmured, almost speechless. “‘Psionic energy’ is the foundation of anomalous existences. It is the energy manifestation of obsessions, memories, and even fragments of rules, like the DNA and fingerprints of a living organism. Conventional cleansing can only disperse its form, but the core psionic imprint will always remain, like radioactive dust, which needs to dissipate naturally over a long period of time or be specially purified… To achieve ‘complete harmlessness,’ it usually requires at least the Silver level to do so…”

He realized he had said too much and immediately composed himself, but his eyes had changed from initial indifference to extreme caution in the face of an "abnormal" situation.

He pointed to the scanning device emitting a ghostly blue light beside him, his tone grave:

"Please place the relics on it for a final psionic spectrum scan. If the results are true... Mr. Xu, you have truly given us a huge 'surprise' today."

Xu Yan placed the suitcase on the conveyor belt.

The box moved slowly through the scanning tunnel.

He could feel the USB drive hidden at the bottom of the box getting slightly warm, and the calming film in the camera in his arms was also getting a deeper chill, as if it was resisting the scanning.

The scan is complete, the green light turns on, accompanied by a crisp notification sound.

"The handover is complete. The assessment report has been uploaded to the central database in real time." The equipment worker looked at the final confirmed information, took a deep breath, and looked at Xu Yan again with a completely different expression. It was a complex emotion mixed with surprise, inquiry, and even a trace of awe.

"Wait." Just as the other person was about to turn around, Xu Yan suddenly spoke, his voice exceptionally clear in the empty space, "Excuse me, what is my current contractor level?"

The worker in the work clothes suddenly stopped in his tracks. This time, without any hesitation, he immediately started searching on his tablet.

(End of this chapter)