Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 16 Silver-Level Contractor (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Subway station, malfunctioning equipment room.

The deathly silence was like thick silt, settling in the cramped space.

The thick, heart-wrenching wave of sorrow in the air had vanished, replaced by a sense of emptiness after being completely emptied, along with a faint smell of ozone and burnt metal.

Xu Yan knelt on one knee, breathing heavily, each breath causing a sharp pain in his chest.

Warm liquid welled up from her nasal cavity again, dripping onto the cold cement floor and spreading a small patch of dark red.

The deafening blankness in his mind, forcibly stripped away, persisted. The cool sensation from the tranquilizer pressed against his chest was like fine snow falling on burning ruins, barely suppressing the excruciating pain and emptiness that threatened to tear his mind apart.

It cannot recover the lost fragments of memory, the most genuine perception of its mother's voice, or the deep-rooted beliefs about its master.

But it stabilized the dam, preventing a more complete collapse.

He paid the price, but at least he can still think, still remember who he is and what he needs to do.

Beside her, Chen Zhiwei collapsed to the ground, her back against the tangled cables.

Her face was frighteningly pale, and her breathing was weak.

The wound on the tiger's mouth of his right hand was still gruesome, and blood soaked through the temporary bandages, but what was more serious was the loss of spiritual energy.

The bronze-green, mottled soul-suppressing bell lay beside her, its luster dim, and even a tiny crack had appeared on its surface.

Her compass was tightly gripped in her left hand. The needle no longer spun wildly, but throbbed irregularly like a startled heartbeat, resonating with its owner's faint breath, as if it too was silently licking its wounds.

Xu Yan struggled to stand up, her steps unsteady.

He looked toward the center of the equipment room.

There, the once violently pulsating black data cocoon had vanished without a trace.

Only three photographic sheets remained scattered on the ground. They no longer depicted ghostly figures, but rather countless distorted and compressed faces of pain composed of 0s and 1s, forcibly frozen in time, radiating an ominous lingering warmth.

He bent down and carefully put the three sheets of photographic paper away and sealed them with a specially made sealing bag.

This is the core remains of the "Eye of Sorrow," a "trophy" that needs to be brought back to the "Center" to complete the mission.

After doing all this, he walked to Chen Zhiwei's side and reached out his hand.

"Can I still leave?"

Chen Zhiwei nodded weakly, and with his help, stood up. Her body swayed, and she leaned almost all her weight on his arm.

She held the compass tightly in her arms.

"Ling needs a long time to recover." Her voice was hoarse, filled with heartache.

"Let's get out of here first." Xu Yan's voice was low and tired, but it carried an undeniable firmness.

Urban Services Rapid Response Center, Low-Value Materials Recycling Department.

The process remains the same highly efficient yet indifferent standardized operation.

When Xu Yan placed the septum containing the data cocoon remnants into the scanning tunnel, several people in similar work clothes around him seemed to pause for half a second, casting subtle glances at him.

Scan passed, green light turns on.

The person in charge of the handover looked at the data on the tablet, and when they looked up at Xu Yan again, their eyes showed obvious surprise and a hint of awe.

“The transaction is complete. Payment has been made.” He paused, then added, his tone more personal than before, “Mr. Xu, your rating is ‘Excellent.’ The system has automatically upgraded your contractor level. Relevant privileges and benefits will be updated accordingly.”

Almost simultaneously, Xu Yan's encrypted terminal vibrated.

He clicked it.

[Notification: Contractor Xu Yan (Code: 7X-GHOST) has completed the E+ level commission "Eye of Sorrow," rated Excellent. Permission level upgraded to: Silver III. Corresponding reward (+15% efficiency bonus) has been paid to the designated encrypted wallet.]

—Is this what they call "ranking"?
He suddenly thought:

“If even one’s mother’s voice has to be given up in exchange for this ‘rank,’ then this silver is nothing more than a deeper shackle.”

A faint whisper could be heard from the side.

"Skip directly from Silver III?"

"'The Eye of Sorrow'—the old cat team from Bronze II took on that last time, and they were almost wiped out. I heard they're still in the psychiatric ward."

"Who is this newcomer? And what's with that old camera?"

Xu Yan remained expressionless and closed the terminal.

He helped Chen Zhiwei up and turned to walk towards the freight elevator. The surrounding whispers and stares were palpable, but he paid them no heed.

This money is exactly what the photo studio needs, and it's also the capital for their next step. But the attention brought by this "silver medal" status is probably the "center's" real intention: to bind him even more tightly to their chariot.

The elevator doors closed slowly, shutting out those complicated gazes.

Just as the door was about to close completely, a hand wearing a half-finger tactical glove suddenly reached in and blocked the sensor.

The door slid open again.

A young man squeezed in.

He wore fluorescent striped overalls and a black T-shirt with an abstract circuit pattern, with his signature pair of oversized smart glasses around his neck, and a few strands of silver-gray hair falling from his forehead.

It was the young technician I had seen operating the tablet in the quarantine area before.

He wore a lazy, cynical smile, but his gaze, like a precise scanner, quickly swept over Xu Yan and Chen Zhiwei, whom he was supporting. His eyes lingered for a moment on Xu Yan's camera and the compass that Chen Zhiwei was holding, and a hint of interest curved his lips.

"Hey, better late than never." He said with a grin, his voice carrying a hint of nonchalance. "So this is the new big shot who soloed 'Eye of Sorrow'? Nice to meet you."

Xu Yan stared at him coldly, offering no response.

Chen Zhiwei also lowered her head warily, holding the compass even tighter.

The young man seemed completely unfazed by the coldness, leaning against the elevator wall with an air of familiarity, fiddling with a small, octopus-shaped drone that was constantly emitting a faint buzzing sound and hovering in his hand.

"Don't be so cool, Silver Medal Master. Let's get acquainted. I'm Zhe, barely a 'Environmental Energy Planner,' mainly doing small jobs like aura mapping and energy flow guidance, just making a living at Bronze I level." He made an exaggerated helpless expression. "I can't compare to a powerhouse like you who directly and brute-forces B+ level events."

He abruptly changed the subject, his tone revealing shrewdness and a hint of probing: "That 'Eye of Sorrow' is incredibly sinister, combining emotional pollution with a deluge of information, specifically targeting mental vulnerabilities. Brother, how did you manage to pull through? What special methods did you use? Or... do you have any internal parameter hints? Share them with me, the price is negotiable, or if you have any 'good' jobs in the future, I have many connections and can give you a heads-up."

The elevator descends slowly.

Xu Yan's gaze met A Zhe's in the narrow space.

A few seconds later, Xu Yan slowly spoke, his voice still devoid of warmth: "There's nothing I can do. It just happens to be controlled by my camera."

Ding.

The elevator reaches the first floor.

As soon as the door opened, Xu Yan gave A Zhe no chance to speak, and walked straight out with Chen Zhiwei in his arms, leaving behind a cold and indifferent back view.

Standing in the elevator, watching them leave, Ah Zhe's smile slowly faded, replaced by a thoughtful expression and deep interest.

He pushed up his smart glasses, and data streams flashed rapidly on the lenses.

Under the glaring light, a slight smile played on his lips, and his gaze lingered for a moment on the old camera in Xu Yan's hand.

"The camera..."

He muttered to himself softly, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"An ancient key? Ha, it would be even more interesting if we could take it apart and see what it's like."

Before he finished speaking, he had already turned around nimbly and disappeared into the next elevator door that had just opened, leaving only his words echoing coldly in the air.

Xu Yan helped Chen Zhiwei out of the central building.

The night breeze swept across my face, carrying the chill of a city ruin.

The glass curtain wall behind him reflected countless fragments of light under the cold light, as if there were still invisible eyes watching him.

He paused in his steps.

—Just then, a very soft whisper came from behind.

The voice was almost whispering in his ear, with a damp, cold quality, as if someone were uttering his name, word by word, from the depths of his memory:
"...Xu Yan".

A chill suddenly ran down his spine.

That feeling wasn't unfamiliar.

In the nightmare of ten years ago, in the photo from that night, those hands that rested on my shoulders were cold and stubborn, and now they seem to be reaching out again.

He turned around abruptly, but the street corner was deserted.

The wind howled, and the shadows of the buildings swayed, but there was no sign of life.

But the whisper remained, like the surging current after an underground river breaches its banks, constantly echoing deep within my mind:
It never left; it was just waiting.

　Thank you all for your support and encouragement! This book has successfully been signed. Please continue to support it and join me in uncovering the mysteries of this urban supernatural journey. Thank you!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)