Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 149 The Judge's Orders (Tenth Update)
Going against two Silver-level players with unlimited potential and bright futures is a death sentence; it would be wise to take this opportunity to build a relationship with them.

Xu Yan was not surprised by his change in attitude, and simply nodded slightly before entering with Chen Zhiwei.

"Mr. Zhou, please don't be so polite. Let's deal with your problem first."

"Yes, yes, thank you both for your trouble!"

Zhou Wenbin nodded repeatedly, his attitude humble.

Chen Zhiwei didn't say much and immediately began making arrangements.

She took out the Soul-Suppressing Bell, and its clear sound echoed in the somewhat empty living room. Zhou Wenbin's body trembled slightly, and he felt his internal organs tremble as well. An indescribable sense of detachment began to emerge.

Then, she lit the mugwort and cypress powder, and wisps of smoke, carrying a purifying aura, spread out.

"Mr. Zhou, please remove your shirt."

Chen Zhiwei's voice was calm, carrying an unquestionable professionalism.

Zhou Wenbin dared not delay and quickly did as instructed, revealing his slightly pale and thin chest.

Chen Zhiwei then turned to Xu Yan and handed him the talisman brush, which was soaked in a mixture of concentrated juice boiled with century-old tangerine peel and cinnabar:
"Senior brother, the purging talisman requires precise infusion of spiritual energy to activate the medicinal power. You are the best person to draw it."

Xu Yan understood and took the talisman brush.

His eyes were focused, he held his breath, and the tip of his pen hovered over Zhou Wenbin's heart.

The next moment, his wrist fell steadily, and with a flourish, crimson lines containing pure spiritual energy appeared smoothly and precisely on his skin, forming complex and ancient runes.

The moment the rune took shape, a faint light flowed around it, creating a strong conflict with the restless, foul energy within Zhou Wenbin's body, causing him to let out a muffled groan.

Immediately afterwards, Xu Yan did the same thing again, drawing a second "dispelling talisman" on Zhou Wenbin's navel.

With the two runes completed, an even stronger repulsive force field was suddenly generated!

The moment the rune was completed, Zhou Wenbin suddenly arched his back, let out a painful retching sound, and his face instantly turned ashen.

A visible wisp of black smoke, carrying a strong, putrid stench, began to emanate from his mouth, nose, and pores, and faintly coalesced in the air into a twisted, greedy phantom—the very essence of the "Filthy Ghost"!

Sensing a deadly threat, it let out a silent shriek and struggled to shrink back into Zhou Wenbin's body.

It's now!

Xu Yan's eyes sharpened, and he had already raised his camera, locking the lens firmly onto the distorted afterimage, his index finger steadily pressing the shutter!
At this critical moment——

"Om..."

The strangely shaped terminal with a heavy encryption module that Zhou Wenbin had placed on the coffee table suddenly floated up on its own, projecting a dark blue holographic screen.

Within the light screen, a blurry yet slender female figure slowly coalesced.

She wore a well-fitting dark combat suit, and her face was covered by a silver mask half-carved with intricate thorn patterns, revealing only her sharply defined jawline and a pair of emotionless electronic eyes.

Her image is not static; tiny, fragmented light particles, like broken code, constantly drift and recombine around her, carrying an inhuman coldness and precision.

“Shadow…”

Xu Yan silently recited the words in his mind, his eyes suddenly narrowing.

He recognized the woman—one of the Judge's most mysterious executors, a top assassin who walked the line between reality and darkness. Her very presence represented the highest level of warning and an order that could not be refused.

The shadowy electronic eye swept across the entire scene, instantly analyzing the current situation—Zhou Wenbin struggling in pain, the lingering resentment of the filthy ghost, and... Xu Yan holding a camera, about to press the shutter.

Her gaze lingered on Xu Yan for a fraction of a second, and a barely perceptible glint, like the confirmation of a target, seemed to flash in her cold, electronic eyes.

Immediately, a flat, synthesized female voice rang out in the room, ignoring the spatial barrier:

"Judge's decree".

Her voice wasn't loud, but it clearly drowned out the lingering echo of the Soul-Suppressing Bell and Zhou Wenbin's painful groans.

"Target: Xu Yan, if he is still alive by the Ghost Festival..."

She paused slightly, her gaze seemingly fleetingly sweeping over Zhou Wenbin, who was convulsing and pale-faced. A subtle, chilling undertone crept into her synthesized voice:

"...When the blood moon rises, guide it into the entrance to the 'Ghost Realm'."

"Zhou Wenbin, remember your mission." Her image began to flicker slightly, as if the signal was poor, but her final words carried a steely, icy weight, crashing down with devastating force:
"The commander doesn't like failure. If you fail to complete the mission... the pain you endure now will become the sweetest memory of the rest of your life."

The moment she finished speaking, the azure light screen, along with her figure, shattered into countless streams of data, dissipating into the air.

The encrypted terminal fell onto the coffee table with a "thud," and the screen went completely dark.

However, her cold words and undisguised threat were like invisible ice, instantly freezing the tense atmosphere in the living room that was originally just about the ghoul, dragging a simple ghost-catching operation into a deeper and darker vortex.

Zhou Wenbin caught a glimpse of the message out of the corner of his eye, his pupils suddenly contracted, and all the color drained from his face!
Chen Zhiwei was also slightly distracted by this sudden interruption.

The "filth-eating demon" seemed to sense a higher-level aura that made it tremble, and struggled even more frantically.

Only Xu Yan!

His movements were uninterrupted and hesitant, as if the information that was enough to cause a huge upheaval at this moment had nothing to do with him.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of the shutter, like a final judgment, rang out firmly and decisively!

A soft yet irresistible beam of white light shot out from the camera lens, precisely enveloping the distorted black mist.

The black mist let out a final, silent wail as it was forcibly pulled and compressed, eventually transforming into a thin stream of light that was sucked into the camera.

A slightly warm photographic sheet slowly emerges from the bottom of the camera.

The photograph no longer showed the scene in Zhou Wenbin's home, but a dark shadow frozen in a state of chaos, constantly trying to struggle but unable to break free, with a nauseating stench lingering around its edges.

The "Evil Eater" has been successfully sealed!
The suffocating stench in the living room dissipated almost instantly.

Zhou Wenbin collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his body drenched in cold sweat. The look in his eyes as he looked at Xu Yan and Chen Zhiwei was a mixture of awe and fear.

It wasn't just because of their strength, but also because of the vortex behind that message that he couldn't even imagine.

Chen Zhiwei quickly stepped forward to check on Zhou Wenbin's condition. After confirming that he was just exhausted and not seriously injured, she breathed a sigh of relief, but her brows were tightly furrowed as she looked at Xu Yan with worry in her eyes.

She naturally saw that message as well.

(End of this chapter)