Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 179 The Shadow of Parasites
Having acquired two D-level ghosts, Xu Yan felt little joy; instead, he became increasingly calm.

Breaking through the barrier of the Gold rank is far beyond the reach of the energy of one or two D-rank ghosts.

Both the hazy fragments of his past life and his insights in this life told him that the barrier was unbreakable and required an accumulation of knowledge far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

To ensure absolute success, he must capture more ghosts to generate enough force to cleave the chasm.

Just then, the encrypted terminal emitted an extremely slight, pre-set, specific vibration.

It's A-Zhe.

He spared a moment of his attention and quickly read the message:

"Brother Yan, the Chaos Stones and Spirit Erosion Talismans are all ready. As usual, I'll deliver them to your residence right away. Also, the temporary access information from the Han family shows that they've expanded their search for high-purity spiritual energy crystals, covering almost all black market channels. Their actions are quite significant and a bit unusual."

Xu Yan's eyes flickered slightly, and he quickly replied:
"Received. Just put the items away; no need to stay. We will continue to monitor the Han family's movements."

The brief exchange was interrupted.

A Zhe's message was like a thin yet resilient thread, briefly connecting him to the "outer world" that still had order and connection, dispelling some of the loneliness of venturing alone into the desolate land.

But this feeling was fleeting, and the suffocating sense of oppression in the core area of ​​the data port surged back like a tide.

The air in the core area of ​​the data port was as thick as a liquid shadow.

Xu Yan's every step landed on the metal floor, which was covered with data dust and fragments of rules, producing a faint sound that was amplified in the deathly silence.

After sealing two D-level beings, especially the shadowy humanoid, he did not feel relieved. The Soul-Sealing Camera on his chest emitted a continuous, unusually cold and heavy feeling, as if silently warning of a deeper danger.

The spatial distortion is even more severe here.

The entire row of server racks will suddenly turn upside down without warning, the original passageway will collapse into a cold metal wall in front of you, and then new paths will "grow" from the side, leading to who knows where.

The whispers were no longer background noise; they coalesced into needle-like malice, relentlessly trying to burrow into his mind.

"Turn left... Yes, it's just ahead..."

"Turn back, that's an abyss..."

"Give me your body..."

Xu Yan kept his mind focused, and the Soul-Suppressing Iron Brand acted like a stabilizing force, firmly isolating him from this spiritual pollution.

He could sense that the concentration of psionic energy ahead was higher, but also more chaotic and violent.

Just as he expected, something even more ruthless was hidden deep within DataPort.

Just as he rounded a massive, damaged mainframe array, a muffled, human-like argument mixed with the hum of energy weapons charging came from the crossroads ahead.

Xu Yan's eyes instantly sharpened like a hawk's.

someone!

Deep within this data port, the living are often more dangerous than the anomalies.

He shrank back like a ghost, perfectly blending into the deep shadow cast by the wreckage of a server. His breathing and heartbeat dropped to a minimum, and his senses spread forward like an invisible spider web.

In the distance, on a relatively open space made up of broken cables and metal fragments, four people dressed in uniform gray-black combat uniforms were fanning out a figure huddled on the ground.

Xu Yan's gaze immediately locked onto the abstract flying bird pattern with a sharp posture on their armbands.

Raven?!
His pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

The image of the metal fragment with the number "DY-07" that I had picked up earlier immediately came to mind.

Sure enough, they were also there, and it seemed they had run into trouble.

He observed calmly.

The four Raven members were well-equipped and well-trained, their energy rifles pointed steadily at the center, but their eyes held not only vigilance but also unbelievable pain and struggle.

Surrounded by them was a man also wearing a raven uniform, but who looked extremely disheveled.

The man's combat uniform was torn in several places, and his face was covered with dirt and dried scabs. What was most striking was his eyes—filled with extreme terror, yet burning with an abnormal, obsessive madness.

He gripped a strangely shaped dagger tightly in his hand, the dagger emanating an ominous, faint psionic energy fluctuation.

"Li Xiang! Put down the knife! Look closely, that's Wang Lei! He's a teammate!" a middle-aged man with a resolute face roared, his voice trembling slightly as he tried to suppress his emotions. Although his gun was pointed at his teammate named Li Xiang, his finger was not on the trigger.

"I saw it clearly... I saw it clearer than any of you!" Li Xiang roared hoarsely, snot and tears streaming down his filthy face. He brandished his dagger, the tip twitching nervously between the unconscious Wang Lei at his feet and his teammates around him. "That thing... that black shadow is crawling on his back! It's gnawing at him! And it's smiling at me! Why can't any of you see it?! If we don't get rid of it... we'll all be killed by it!"

"What the hell are you talking about! Wang Lei was grazed by that thing's energy while trying to push you away! He's just unconscious!" Another young team member couldn't help but shout angrily, his eyes filled with both anger and confusion and fear about his teammate's condition.

"Unconscious? Haha...hahaha..." Li Xiang let out a chilling laugh, his eyes glazing over for a moment before gathering a terrifying killing intent. "His shadow...his shadow is moving on its own! You blind fools!"

Before he could finish speaking, the last thread of reason in his eyes seemed to snap completely. His body erupted with an agility that was inconsistent with his weakened state. Holding a dagger, with a resolute determination as if he were going to die together with Wang Lei, he suddenly pounced on the unconscious Wang Lei on the ground.

It's now!

In the shadows, Xu Yan's intuition had already scanned Li Xiang like the most sophisticated radar.

Beneath his frenzied vital signs, a completely different, cold, cunning, and parasitic mental fluctuation resided deep within his soul, subtly manipulating the host's emotions and behavior.

This is not a simple case of mental derangement, but rather a sophisticated form of possession.

A Class D ghost that knows how to exploit human emotional weaknesses, perfectly conceal itself, and instantly unleash the host's potential.

It's understandable that the ravens couldn't find it, but they couldn't solve the problem.

If left unchecked, either Li Xiang will kill his teammates, or the Raven Squad will be forced to kill Li Xiang. Either way, it means that this dangerous parasitic ghost will take the opportunity to find a new host, or launch a sneak attack on him in the chaos.

We must not let it succeed.

Just as Li Xiang's dagger was about to pierce Wang Lei's neck—

"laugh!"

A streak of dark purple lightning, like a precise scalpel, shot out from the shadows to the side, not aimed at Li Xiang, but rather at the path in front of him as he was about to lunge out.

The energy of the Spirit-Eroding Talisman exploded in a small area on the ground, blocking Li Xiang's movements.

"Who?!"

All the "Raven" members instantly turned their guns around, nervously pointing them in the direction where Xu Yan was hiding.

Xu Yan slowly emerged from the shadows, his expression calm, as if the tense situation before him had nothing to do with him.

His gaze immediately bypassed the gun barrels that were pointed at him and shimmered with eerie blue energy, dissecting the seemingly crazed Li Xiang like a precise scalpel.

Under the ultimate perception of spiritual awareness, Li Xiang's life energy was indeed like a candle in the wind, but the key was the cold shadow lingering deep in his soul.

It's not just possession; it's a form of evolution.

Xu Yan felt a chill run down his spine.

Ravens' equipment is far from ordinary; the psionic wave detectors they wear can even detect the faint radiation of E-level anomalies.

However, the detector did not respond at this moment.

This means that the ghost parasitizing Li Xiang not only perfectly simulated the host's soul fluctuations, but the "concealment" and "compatibility" of its energy form have also exceeded the recognition scope of conventional detection technologies, deceiving the machine.

This is something no ordinary D-level could achieve. It's more like a specialized evolution targeting modern psionic technology, or its essence leans towards infiltration of the "information layer" rather than pure energy interference. It "encrypts" its own existence, mixing it into the "background noise" of Li Xiang's life signal.

A sophisticated form of information parasitism.

Xu Yan instantly revised his judgment. This ghost was extremely skilled in disguise and mind manipulation; more dangerously, it knew how to exploit and circumvent the "rules" of this world—including the rules of technological detection.

It doesn't forcibly distort reality, but rather navigates the gaps in the rules.

"Just passing by," Xu Yan said calmly, but his gaze, like a cold probe, remained fixed on Li Xiang. "I suggest you take him into custody immediately; he's dangerous."

"Who are you?" The leader of the Raven Squad, a middle-aged man with a resolute face and sharp eyes, did not lower his gun. The muzzle moved between Xu Yan and Li Xiang as he asked in a deep voice.

The fact that someone can appear silently deep within the dataport itself represents a huge threat.

“Someone who can see things you can’t.” Xu Yan pointed at Li Xiang. “He’s possessed, and at a very high level. Your equipment can’t detect it.”

"Nonsense! I'm perfectly sober!" Li Xiang shouted excitedly, but a sly glint of cunning, stemming from the parasitic ghost, flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Instead of confronting the issue head-on, it immediately changed tactics, cleverly deflecting the accusation of "possession" and beginning to implant even more malicious suspicions.

"Captain! Don't believe him! How many strange things have we encountered on our way here? Why is he the one who appeared here of all people? I think he was sent by those 'things'! His purpose is to sow discord among us and make us kill each other! Maybe... maybe Wang Lei's coma was his doing. The injuries on his body were not caused by energy glancing blows, but by some kind of underhanded trick we've never seen before."

These words were extremely malicious, immediately striking at the Raven team members' deepest fears—the fear of unknown conspiracies and internal betrayal.

All eyes instantly focused sharply on Xu Yan, and the gun barrels were pointed at him more steadily.

Compared to teammates who acted strangely but were well-known, this stranger of unknown origin and whose words were chilling was clearly a more reasonable suspect.

Captain Zhang's eyes grew even colder: "You can see it? Where's the evidence? Without proof, why should we believe you instead of our brothers who have shared life and death?"

"Proof?" Xu Yan's tone remained calm, yet carried a chilling indifference that seemed to see through everything. "When your trust is exploited, when his dagger is not pointed at me, but plunged into the back of one of you, that will be the best proof. Or, you can try and see if he dares to let me use my psychic energy to probe his soul even slightly? That parasite cannot escape."

Xu Yan's words were a statement, a test, and a way to put the ghost in its place.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiang's face instantly contorted with an exaggerated expression of humiliation and immense fear. He abruptly took a step back, clutching his head tightly, his voice shrill and piercing:
"Captain! Did you hear that? He's trying to touch my soul. He wants to kill me to silence me. He's just making excuses. If you let him touch me, I'll immediately 'pass out' like Wang Lei. Trust me! Think about that mission we went on before. How was the intelligence leaked? Wasn't it because we trusted outsiders?!"

He once again precisely evoked a painful collective memory, superimposing Xu Yan's image on that of "the outsider who caused the injuries and deaths."

Even Captain Zhang's expression changed completely. He stepped forward, pointing his gun directly at Xu Yan, and said in a firm voice, "Stand still! Li Xiang, calm down too! No one is allowed to make any rash moves until the situation is clear!"

The situation instantly became extremely tense, turning into a standoff between Xu Yan and the five members of the Raven Squad.

The ghost cleverly concealed itself behind the trust and protection of its teammates.

However, Xu Yan's last words were like a poisonous thorn, piercing into the parasitic ghost's mind.

"Exploring the soul" is a risk it absolutely cannot afford.

It realized that this mysterious man had the ability and determination to do so, and that its disguise would be completely exposed once Captain Zhang loosened his grip under pressure.

The situation must be thrown into complete chaos; this threat must be eliminated immediately!
A malicious thought suddenly arose.

Just as Captain Zhang was intently watching Xu Yan, Xiao Chen, due to nervousness, slightly shifted his position and moved closer to Li Xiang.

"Captain, watch out! He's about to make a move!" Li Xiang suddenly let out a heart-wrenching shout, filled with both loyalty and a warning.

At the same time, he seemed to be rushing over to protect the captain, but he stumbled and his arm "accidentally" bumped into the lower back of the young teammate Xiao Chen next to him.

The impact was extremely powerful and insidious, containing the power of a ghost's instantaneous burst, completely exceeding Li Xiang's physical capabilities.

Caught off guard, Xiao Chen lost his balance and fell forward with a scream. The direction he fell was exactly where Xu Yan was, and the energy rifle in his hand was instinctively pointed at Xu Yan.

This turn of events happened too quickly and too suddenly. To others, it seemed as if Xu Yan had suddenly launched some kind of invisible attack, or that Xiao Chen had discovered some deadly threat and acted first.

"Xiao Chen!" Captain Zhang's eyes were bloodshot, and he was about to pull the trigger.

At this critical moment, everyone was momentarily drawn to the sudden "attack".

The feigned panic on Li Xiang's face instantly twisted into a vicious, triumphant grin.

Its true goal has never been as simple as creating chaos.

Its goal is to precisely eliminate an enemy amidst the chaos!
Its body moved with a ghostly agility that was beyond human capabilities, seamlessly connecting with the action of knocking down Xiao Chen. Holding the dagger that was surrounded by ominous spiritual energy, it transformed into a blurry black shadow and stabbed straight at the temple of the other team member who was closest to it and whose attention was completely drawn to Xiao Chen at that moment—Wang Lei, who was lying unconscious on the ground.

This strike was silent and ruthless.

It not only wanted to kill him, but also to solidify Xu Yan's charge of "silencing" him.

Once Wang Lei is dead, there will be no way to verify the facts, and the company will be completely safe, able to continue manipulating these humans at will.

Just as the poisoned dagger tip was about to pierce Wang Lei's temple.

"laugh!"

A streak of dark purple lightning struck first, not at Li Xiang, but precisely at the side of the dagger.

It was Xu Yan who used the Soul-Eroding Talisman at the critical moment.

The powerful impact and purifying energy caused the dagger to veer off course, grazing Wang Lei's scalp and embedding itself deep in the ground, sending sparks flying.

The parasitic ghost's determined strike was forcibly interrupted.

This intervention, precise to the millisecond, stunned all the Raven team members.

If Xu Yan really came to "silence" Wang Lei, why would he save him?

Li Xiang's sinister smile froze on his face, replaced by shock and anger at his plan being completely shattered.

It realized that all its calculations were as transparent as a mask in the face of this mysterious man.

"you--!"

It let out a roar that was not human, and could no longer maintain its exquisite disguise.

Driven to the brink by Xu Yan, it had no choice but to resort to the most extreme method: forcibly devouring all the remaining life force of its host in a final desperate attempt.

Li Xiang's body visibly shrank, his skin instantly lost its luster, and the last glimmer of humanity in his eyes was completely extinguished, replaced by a pure, cold malice.

His psionic energy surged violently and erratically, his joints creaked and twisted, and his speed and power increased dramatically. He abandoned all tactics and, like a mad beast, brandished his dagger and charged at his nearest target with a doomed intent—Xiao Chen, who had just regained his footing and was still in shock!

This time, its killing intent was no longer concealed, and its icy D-rank spiritual pressure spread out as if it were a tangible substance.

"careful!"

"Li Xiang, you...!"

This sudden, inhuman change and the undisguised, terrifying spiritual pressure finally made all the Raven team members instantly understand the truth.

Their previous doubts and hesitations now seem so ridiculous and fatal.

Captain Zhang reacted the fastest, firing his energy rifle instantly. The pale blue beam struck Li Xiang's withered body, but it only made him pause, as if he had hit tough rubber, and could not cause a fatal injury.

The other team members also opened fire, but their bodies, forcibly strengthened by the ghosts, developed an astonishing resistance to energy weapons.

"It's useless! It burned the host's life force, and the physical and energy resistance will temporarily surge!" Xu Yan's calm voice came. He did not rush to make a move, but observed the energy operation pattern when the ghost finally erupted.

In that brief moment of delay, Li Xiang had already braved the hail of bullets and rushed to Xiao Chen's side, his twisted arm carrying a dagger, aiming straight for Xiao Chen's heart! Xiao Chen's eyes were filled with despair.

At this very last moment—

"Crack!"

A flash of light, followed by the click of a shutter with a sense of finality.

Li Xiang, who was pouncing in mid-air, suddenly stiffened as if a pause button had been pressed.

The violent, burning, and chilling energy within him, like a punctured balloon, instantly lost its support.

A more solidified, twisting, and struggling gray-black shadow emitted an extremely sharp mental howl as it was forcibly torn from his withered body by an invisible force.

The shadow writhed wildly, trying to resist, but all its struggles were in vain before the absolute rules of the Soul-Sealing Camera.

It was forcibly compressed and stretched, eventually transforming into a streak of light, which was captured in the unfathomable depths of the lens with a "whoosh".

Li Xiang's body, completely lifeless, fell to the ground with a thud, like a tattered sack.

The scene was deathly silent.

The hum of the energy guns ceased, leaving only heavy breathing. All the Raven team members stared at Li Xiang's body on the ground, then at the antique silver camera in Xu Yan's hand, their faces filled with shock, lingering fear, and an overwhelming sense of shame.

Captain Zhang was the first to react. He put away his gun, walked up to Xu Yan, and bowed deeply, his voice hoarse and heavy:
"...Your Excellency, we will never forget your life-saving grace! Just now...we were blind and misunderstood you, almost causing a great mistake! I, Zhang Meng, on behalf of the Raven Seventh Action Team, apologize to you!"

His teammates behind him also put away their weapons and lowered their heads.

Xiao Chen, in particular, turned deathly pale. He knew that if Xu Yan hadn't intervened twice, he would have died twice already.

Xu Yan slowly put down the camera, sensing the newly added D-level psionic energy within it, which contained the rules of "parasitism" and "disguise," his expression remaining calm.

“The intelligence of D-level ghosts far exceeds your imagination. They know how to manipulate rules, and even more so, they know how to manipulate people’s hearts.” He glanced at the unconscious Wang Lei. “He needs purification. Being in close contact with that kind of thing will leave an indelible mark on his soul.”

Zhang Meng nodded quickly, signaling the team doctor to come forward and treat the patient. His eyes were filled with awe and gratitude as he looked at Xu Yan.

"Sir, I wonder if you..."

Just as Zhang Meng was about to ask Xu Yan about his background and purpose, a series of hurried and unsteady footsteps came from the other end of the passage.

A man with gray hair, a haggard face, and about fifty years old stumbled over. His raven uniform was slightly worn, and his eyes were filled with anxiety and despair.

"Captain Zhang! Have you...have you seen my wife? She said she was going to scout ahead, and then she disappeared in the blink of an eye!"

The man's voice was choked with sobs. His gaze swept across the scene, and when he saw Li Xiang's shriveled body on the ground, his body trembled violently, but the urgency to find his wife overwhelmed everything else.

Captain Zhang's face darkened, and he sighed, "Old Zhao, Li Xiang... he was just possessed by a ghost and sacrificed himself."

Old Zhao froze for a moment, a flash of grief crossing his face, then grabbed Captain Zhang's arm: "What about my wife? Could she also...?"

Xu Yan stood up, his sharp gaze fixed on Old Zhao, his spiritual senses working closely around him.

After a moment, he shook his head: "There are no signs of parasitism on him."

Old Zhao seemed to only then notice Xu Yan's unfamiliar face, but he had no time to ask further questions, and only muttered:

"No... Then where did she go? We shouldn't have taken this exploration mission... This godforsaken place, the D-rank monsters are completely different from the ones we've dealt with before. They... they're not like E-rank monsters that only have instincts, they have intelligence! They can set traps, they can disguise themselves, and they can even learn our tactics."

My wife said she felt that some Class D ghosts seemed to contain a fragment of 'rules' or 'original obsession' within their core psionic structure. That was their core power, and the reason they were so difficult to completely destroy…

Old Zhao's words were like a final, heavy blow, ringing an alarm bell in Xu Yan's heart and confirming his previous suspicions.

Fragments of rules! The origin of obsession!
Just as I suspected! The essential difference between D-level and E-level lies in this "fragment of rules" that touches upon the underlying logic of the world.

This is not only the source of their power, but also the reason why they are difficult to completely eliminate and can even interfere with reality.

The three D-level ghosts in his possession—the Shadow Humanoid (foundation of reality/shadow control), the Parasitic Ghost (information-level parasitism/mental manipulation), and the one he just sealed (parasitism/disguise)—each contain different tendencies toward the rules.

Ordinary purification methods may only be able to extract their vast spiritual energy, but they cannot strip away and digest the most core and precious "fragments of rules".

This is precisely the key to breaking through the gold-level barrier, causing a qualitative change in one's own spiritual energy, and even making a preliminary touch on the power of "rules".

The reason he previously sensed a "gap" in the energy structure of D-class ghosts was precisely this. It wasn't a difference in quantity, but a difference in quality.

Xu Yan's eyes became incredibly deep.

The two D-level ghosts in his possession, especially the shadowy humanoid one, must contain even stronger "rules" at their core.

How to safely and efficiently peel off and absorb these "rule fragments" is the next problem he must solve.

The psionic purification equipment at Zhou Wenbin's place might be the key link.

He looked ahead at the deeper, more dangerous core area, then at the grief-stricken Old Zhao and the solemn-faced Raven Squad.

This data port is both a dangerous place and a huge treasure trove for him to reach the gold level.

The road ahead clearly holds even more clues about D-level mysteries.

“Let’s go,” Xu Yan said to the Raven Squad, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable guiding force. “There’s no point in staying here if we want to find the answer.”

His gaze had already turned to the dark depths that nurtured "rules" and "origins".

Xu Yan's words carried a cold, persuasive power, breaking the atmosphere of despair permeated by death and disappearance.

The members of the Raven Squad, including Zhang Meng, couldn't help but turn their gazes to him.

This mysterious man possesses the terrifying ability to see through disguises and seal D-level ghosts with a single blow, and in this desperate situation, he has become the most reliable guide.

“You’re right.” Captain Zhang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the grief of his team members’ sacrifice and the anxiety brought on by Lao Zhao’s wife’s disappearance, and regained his composure as a commander. “Staying here will only make us targets for more monsters. Lao Zhao, keep up! We’ll find a clue.”

A faint glimmer of hope ignited in Old Zhao's cloudy eyes. He nodded vigorously and followed closely behind the group.

Xu Yan naturally took the lead in the group. His intuition was like the most sophisticated radar, carefully carving out a relatively safe path amidst the chaotic energy turbulence and distorted spatial structure.

The Raven Squad worked seamlessly together, taking charge of flank and rear security, demonstrating their professionalism.

After a brief silence, Xu Yan spoke, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching Captain Zhang's ears: "You 'Ravens'... don't have a good reputation outside. You act mysteriously and use any means necessary."

Upon hearing this, a complex expression flashed across Zhang Meng's face, but he did not get angry. He simply said in a deep voice, "Reputation is a luxury that those struggling to survive in the ruins cannot afford. As for resorting to any means necessary..." He glanced at the camera in Xu Yan's hand, "Sometimes, it's just to survive, to find out more about what's wrong with this damn world."

"With your strength and equipment, why don't you join the center's official contractor system? At least there are relatively stable resources and order there," Xu Yan asked the crucial question.

The official contractor, like the system to which his "Silver Level I" status belongs, is the largest organization openly handling unusual matters.

A slightly sarcastic smile tugged at the corners of Zhang Meng's lips:

"Official contractors? Ha... Their order is built on countless rules and regulations and resource quotas. Every operation needs to be reported, and most of the spoils must be handed over. Moreover... some of the forces behind them are far more interested in research than in saving lives."

We ravens are more like a pack of unruly 'wild dogs,' believing only in what we've got our hands on and only responsible for what we've decided on. We don't pursue points or ranks; we pursue the truth, the root cause behind the loss of control, even if the means aren't entirely honorable.

Xu Yan's eyes flickered slightly.

Zhang Meng's words confirmed some of his guesses.

Ravens is an independent organization with perhaps purer goals, operating outside the mainstream system. This explains why they would appear in a dangerous place like DataPort, where official forces may not yet have full control.

“My name is Xu Yan. It seems that what we are pursuing overlaps to some extent,” Xu Yan said calmly, “at least in figuring out what these ‘rules’ are.”

“Mr. Xu, according to our understanding, E-rank individuals act on instinct, while D-rank individuals… have begun to touch upon the ‘rules’.” Zhang Meng repeated and elaborated on Xu Yan’s previous assessment, his tone heavy. “This is intelligence we obtained at the cost of our lives. Their core power is no longer chaotic energy, but a fragment of a ‘concept’ or ‘origin of obsession’. The one we just saw excels at the rules of ‘parasitism’ and ‘disguise’. This completely overturns our previous understanding.”

Xu Yan did not deny it.

Zhang Meng's ability to quickly understand and accept the concept of "rules" indicates that Raven itself had already touched upon this, but lacked a systematic understanding of it.

He kept Raven's positioning and philosophy in mind, which he believed might be a force that could be utilized or collaborated with in the future.

As the group ventured deeper, the deterioration of the environment exceeded their expectations.

Visible, strangely colored energy currents began to drift in the air, causing a stinging pain when they touched the skin and even briefly disrupting one's thinking.

The ground beneath their feet was sometimes hard, and sometimes like a swamp, requiring a great deal of effort to pass through.

"Watch out for the shadows on the third row of server racks on the left!" Xu Yan suddenly shouted.

Almost at the same moment he spoke, several black spikes formed from pure malice shot out from the shadows at an astonishing speed.

The Raven team reacted swiftly, their energy rifles firing instantly. The pale blue beams collided and annihilated with the black spikes in mid-air, emitting a hissing sound.

However, one slipped through the net and shot directly at the team member responsible for technical scanning.

Xu Yan didn't even turn around. He waved his left hand behind him, and a Spirit-Eroding Talisman flew out with such precision that it seemed to have a life of its own. The moment it made contact with the black spike, it turned into a spinning ball of dark purple lightning, completely shredding it.

"Thank you!"

The team member, still shaken, thanked Xu Yan, his eyes filled with even more admiration.

Xu Yan did not respond; his gaze was fixed on a highly unstable area in front of him, as if drawn by a magnet.

The space there was like a shattered mirror, with countless cracks reflecting distorted, bizarre, and illogical fragments of scenery.

Burning children's toys, upside-down skyscrapers, countless mouths screaming silently...

Even more chilling was the constant seeping of whispers, a mixture of extreme pain and manic laughter, as if from the depths of the abyss, tugging at the strings of everyone's reason.

“Spatial folds… the turbulent flow of rules has materialized.” Xu Yan’s voice carried a hint of barely perceptible gravity.

Such places are meat grinders of reality and illusion, either breeding horrors beyond comprehension, or... hiding the bloody truth of why the world has become the way it is.

"Ah Ping...it's Ah Ping!" Old Zhao suddenly seemed to be struck by lightning, his body trembling violently. His withered fingers gripped his chest tightly as if trying to dig something out, and his cloudy eyes burst forth with a terrifying light as he stared intently at the edge of that distorted area. "I can feel her! Her psionic mark...it's very weak, extremely weak, right behind there! She must be waiting for me!"

Following his almost manic gaze, everyone saw a lone piece of cloth, marked with a raven, lying on the edge of the bizarre and distorted world, as if torn apart by an invisible force.

The psychic energy attached to it was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, yet it pointed with unusual clarity to Old Zhao's wife.

Captain Zhang's expression changed drastically. He grabbed Lao Zhao, who was about to leap out of his skin, and shouted, "Lao Zhao! Calm down! Look carefully at where that is! That marking..."

“That mark is too ‘clean’,” Xu Yan’s icy voice interrupted him decisively.

"What?" Old Zhao turned his head sharply, his bloodshot eyes staring at Xu Yan.

“A person struggling in the turbulent currents of rules, perhaps even to the point of being swallowed up,” Xu Yan’s gaze was like a scalpel, dissecting every discordant energy fluctuation in that area, “whose psionic mark should be filled with chaos, a sense of tearing apart, and contamination from all sorts of negative energies, like flesh and blood thrown into a meat grinder. But this mark…”

He pointed to the piece of fabric, “Although faint, its structure is too ‘complete’ and ‘pure,’ as if it had been carefully stripped and purified by some force, retaining only the most core identifying features. It doesn’t seem like a distress signal, but more like a… carefully set trap, emitting pheromone bait.”

His words plunged everyone into an ice cellar, a chill running from their tailbone straight to the top of their head.

As if to mock their reason and confirm Xu Yan's worst guess, the folds of that broken space began to ripple violently and unnaturally, like water with a stone thrown in.

As light and shadow distorted and converged, a "human figure" slowly "emerged" from it.

That was indeed the silhouette of Old Zhao's wife, wearing her signature modified combat uniform, and even the familiar old scar on the side of her neck was perfectly replicated.

However, her body had an unsettling translucent quality, with countless tiny data streams wriggling inside like maggots.

Her eyes were empty, like two deep wells, while her face wore a perfectly curved but stiff smile, like a mask.

“Brother Zhao…” she began, her voice crackling with a metallic static, broken and intermittent, yet perfectly mimicking the slightly hoarse, gentle tone of Old Zhao’s wife, “It’s…so cold…so dark here…take me…home…”

The voice, like the most vicious curse, instantly shattered the psychological defenses that Old Zhao had painstakingly built.

He seemed to see the girl with the ponytail who smiled back at him in the sunset decades ago.
We saw the two supporting each other back to back during life-or-death missions;
I saw the hesitant look in her eyes as she straightened his collar before her last mission…

Overwhelmed by immense grief and the ecstatic joy of regaining what he had lost, this tough man broke down instantly, tears streaming down his face, letting out wild howls, and desperately trying to rush over.

"Ah Ping! I'm here! I'm here!"

"Stop him!"

Xu Yan shouted sharply, and at the same time took a step forward, blocking Lao Zhao's way like a mountain.

In his spiritual vision, the "woman" in front of him was nothing more than a beautiful yet malevolent shell, inside which lurked an indescribable aggregate of consciousness formed from pure malice and countless devoured memories of despair.

Its spiritual pressure was as heavy as lead and mercury, and chilling to the bone. It not only far exceeded any D-rank it had encountered before, but also carried a suppressive force that was almost like a domain.

The space around it was trembling slightly, and the rules seemed to be tilting in its favor.

This is the symbol of the pinnacle of D-level, which has initially acquired the ability to distort local reality rules and create a micro-environment conducive to the exercise of its own "rules".

This ghost not only cunningly uses emotional memories as weapons, but its control over fragments of rules such as "emotional resonance" and "memory weaving" has reached a critical point that is enough to distort reality.

"Bastard!" Zhang Meng's eyes were bloodshot. He instantly raised his energy rifle, aiming it at the distorted phantom. His anger almost burned away his reason. "You monster... how dare you... how dare you toy with the dignity of the dead!"

As if provoked by this accusation filled with human anger, or perhaps feeling that there was no need to pretend anymore, the stiff smile on the "woman's" face suddenly stretched to an inhuman, extremely resentful degree.

She suddenly spread her arms wide, her entire "body" swelling and twisting instantly like a terrifying balloon filled with negative emotions and data remnants.

Countless streams of dark data, shimmering with chaotic code and composed of pure painful memories and desperate thoughts, burst forth from her body like animated, barbed tentacles, engulfing everyone in their wake.

"Defend with all your might!" Captain Zhang's roar echoed through the passage.

The well-trained Raven team members instantly shrank their formation, their energy shields activated to maximum power, and a dark blue light curtain intertwined, attempting to stop this terrifying torrent.

However, something devastating happened: those dark data stream tentacles, like phantoms, pierced right through the energy shield.

These are not physical attacks, but rather a more insidious form of spiritual pollution that strikes at the very soul.

The team members were instantly struck as if by a heavy blow, their deepest fears and sorrows surging uncontrollably into their minds.

Images of loved ones dying tragically, the regret of mission failure, the extreme fear of the unknown...

The formation collapsed instantly. Some people covered their heads and screamed, some knelt on the ground and vomited, and the eyes of the players with weaker willpower began to glaze over.

Old Zhao was the first to be affected; he felt as if he were witnessing his wife being repeatedly torn apart and wailing in that distorted data stream.

The vivid hallucinations intertwined with fragments of real memories in his mind, causing him to let out a shrill scream that sounded inhuman. He curled up on the ground and began to convulse violently.

Only Xu Yan stood out like the only rock standing in the eye of the storm.

The deepest core of his mind vibrated with unprecedented force, emanating an ancient, cold, and pure aura of tranquility, like ancient ice that had frozen and isolated all external emotional fluctuations.

The Soul-Suppressing Iron Brand on his palm was as hot as a branding iron, radiating a majestic and righteous will that suppressed evil spirits, forming an invisible spiritual barrier around him.

Even he felt a heavy pressure emanating from the soul level.

The mental pollution intensity of this ghost far exceeds that of any previous opponent.

No more hesitation!
Xu Yan's eyes sharpened, and he steadily lifted the Soul-Sealing Camera in front of his chest with both hands.

This time, he directly unscrewed the dark gold wide-angle lens, its patterns flowing like those of a living thing.

At the same time, an old-fashioned external flashlight hovered in front of Xu Yan.

A chilling, pure, blazing white light, composed entirely of purifying power, began to gather within.

He used his real trump card!
Zhang Meng, enduring excruciating pain as if his skull were about to split open, happened to catch a glimpse of this scene.

He saw that the camera in Xu Yan's hand seemed to come alive, its dark gold lens as deep as the starry sky, and the condensed, blazing white light, even just a wisp of its emanation, cleared away the negative emotions churning in his soul.

What kind of weapon is that?!

It can actually affect the rule level directly?!
"Crack-boom!"

The shutter sound and the flash went off almost simultaneously.

But the sound was no longer a simple mechanical noise; it was a dull rumble, as if some rule had been forcibly pried open.

The blazing white light did not illuminate the physical space, but rather, like an invisible sword burning with the flame of purification, it instantly pierced through the pervasive field of mental pollution and precisely struck the core of the swollen ghost.

“Ouch——!!!”

The ghostly creature let out an unprecedented, piercing roar, a roar that was mixed with the agonizing cries of millions of living beings.

The space around it rippled wildly, supplying it with chaotic energy. Countless data streams, like enraged venomous snakes, lashed out and coiled around the invisible yet incredibly powerful suction force originating from the camera lens.

The confrontation has reached a stalemate!
The vortex generated by the camera lens collided violently with the resistance of the ghost's core in the void, producing a teeth-grinding sizzling sound as if space itself was being torn apart.

Xu Yan's arms, holding the camera, were bulging with muscles, veins popping on his forehead, and his mental energy poured out like a flood.

He could even feel the camera itself emitting a near-extreme wail.

At this critical moment.

At the core of the ghost, a highly condensed "fragment" phantom radiating an ominous dark red light was forced to manifest under the pressure of the purifying light.

The fragment, like a miniature, pulsating evil heart, exudes the power of pure "pain absorption" and "emotional resonance," stubbornly resisting the sealing rules of the Soul-Sealing Camera.

"That's it!" Xu Yan's eyes flashed with a cold light.

He bit his tongue hard, and under the stimulation of the sharp pain, he poured his remaining spiritual power and the spiritual energy he had been nurturing into the camera without reservation. At the same time, he activated the gentle power of the Jade Cicada to protect his consciousness. The Soul-Suppressing Iron Brand on his palm shone brightly, like a collapsing mountain, carrying the will to suppress all dissent, and pressed down hard on the dark red fragments of rules.

"Give me... the town!"

Om-!
The dark red fragmented phantom emitted a mournful cry of unbearable strain, flickering violently. The light on it quickly dimmed, and the pure power of the rules finally began to disintegrate under the dual crushing force of the higher-level Soul Sealing Rules and the Soul-Suppressing Iron.

"Do not--!!!"

With a final shriek filled with endless resentment and unwillingness, as if it came from the deepest hell, the massive data stream ghost completely lost its core of resistance. Like a skeletonless rag doll, it was forcibly compressed and pulled by the terrifying suction force generated by the camera lens.

Ultimately, it transformed into a struggling, dark red stream of air, which was then completely swallowed up into the depths of the dark golden lens with a "whoosh".

The violent fluctuations of the spatial folds receded like the tide, and the lifelike, malevolent "woman" phantom vanished completely like a burst bubble.

The scene fell into a deathly silence.

The only sounds were the heavy, bellows-like breathing of the Raven team members and Old Zhao's suppressed, surviving sobs.

Zhang Meng knelt on one knee, supporting his body with his rifle. His face was as pale as paper. He looked at Xu Yan, who was slowly putting down his camera, his eyes filled with indescribable shock and awe.

The brief yet seemingly life-or-death confrontation, the clash and crushing force at the level of rules, completely overturned his understanding of "power".

Who exactly is this mysterious man?!
(End of this chapter)