Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 182 Eye of the Storm

The "Forgotten Photo Studio" workshop in the old town.

A pale blue light flowed smoothly within the upgraded psionic infusion prototype, casting flickering shadows on Chen Zhiwei's pale face.

She bit her lower lip tightly, as if her soul was struggling with some kind of heavy shackles.

The barrier from Silver Level III to Level II at this moment not only signifies the growth of psionic energy, but also touches upon her essence as a "projection of Shen Mengyao's dream".

Ah Zhe stared intently at the control panel: "Sister Zhiwei, concentrate! Guide the energy and break through the psionic barrier!"

Just as Chen Zhiwei followed the guidance and directed the gathered spiritual energy to the space between his eyebrows—

A strange resonance occurred.

It didn't originate from the equipment, nor entirely from herself, but rather from the deepest part of her soul's "true spirit," which created an unprecedented and profound connection with the vast dream world she inhabited, woven by Shen Mengyao's subconscious.

"Om..."

A deep, resonant hum, seemingly echoing through the very depths of the world, spread silently from the photo studio.

An extraordinary phenomenon has occurred!

Outside the photo studio window, the perpetual haze of the old town, carrying the scent of gunpowder and despair, seemed to have thinned slightly.

Although it was still gloomy, the suffocating sense of oppression had lessened slightly.

The distant, ever-distorting, breaking, and reassembling architectural phantoms became remarkably stable at this moment, as if straightened and fixed by an invisible hand, briefly freeing themselves from the chaos and distortion unique to "dreams."

The stiff "pedestrians" on the street, a few of them paused for a very short time, and in their empty eyes, one or two even flashed a fleeting, "conscious" blankness.

The pervasive, chilling, corrosive feeling of the "abyss" in the air seemed to be briefly separated by a warm yet resilient film.

Although faint, it does exist.

Those whispers and howls that pierced the soul seemed to be pulled away at this moment, their volume reduced, and they became less aggressive.

The source of all these changes—Chen Zhiwei himself—is experiencing a wondrous experience unlike anything he has ever had before.

The moment the barrier that had held her back for so long was completely swept away by the torrent of psionic energy, the surging power rushed to her limbs and bones, bringing not only the pure excitement and comfort of increased strength.

What shocked her even more was that she felt her way of "connecting" with the world had undergone a radical change.

Perception was amplified infinitely and became... "intimate".

Those originally malicious whispers of rules now seemed to her more like a chaotic, painful "background noise," while the faint light emanating from her was like a gentle tuner, instinctively trying to soothe and harmonize these noises.

She is like a stabilizer thrown into chaotic waters; her very existence instinctively smooths out the wrinkles of this dream and reinforces the structure of this fragile world.

This feeling wasn't something I did intentionally; it was more like an innate instinct being awakened.

Everything gradually calmed down.

Inside the workshop, the dim blue light from the equipment returned to a stable state, leaving only Chen Zhiwei's slightly rapid breathing.

She stood there, stunned, spreading her hands and feeling the spiritual energy flowing through her body, far stronger than before. An unreal, illusory feeling enveloped her.

"This... is this Silver II?"

The tangible feeling of increased strength made her heart race, and an irrepressible excitement welled up inside her.

She was no longer the burden who could only hide behind Xu Yan and needed to be protected.

But then, an unprecedented and profound sense of connection with the world, like a silent tsunami, instantly swallowed her budding excitement and dragged her into a deeper and more unsettling vortex of emotions.

"What... happened just now?"

She "heard" a deep hum, as if from the depths of the earth; she "touched" those originally invisible, oppressive "things" in the air, which seemed to have become... softer.
She could even clearly feel that the suffocating environment around her seemed to... become a little more stable the instant her power surged.

It was as if she had inadvertently pressed an invisible switch that could bring a little "peace" to the world.

"Why... does my power cause this change in the surroundings?"

A perplexing and unsettling question arose in my mind.

This feels so weird!
Others use their power to attack or defend, but her power seems to be... influencing the environment itself?

This was completely beyond her understanding of psychic powers.

A sense of bewilderment, like a cold, thick fog, instantly enveloped her, seeping into every corner of her soul.

In this utter bewilderment, a fleeting, incomprehensible hallucination, like a poorly received television signal, suddenly intruded into her mind—

It was a boundless wasteland made up of countless shattered pieces of glass. A white figure, whose face was obscured and who exuded an overwhelming sense of loneliness and sorrow, knelt there, futilely piecing together the fragments.

A wave of despair, so immense it suffocated her, yet strangely familiar, overwhelmed her.

These illusions and emotions come and go quickly, like fragments of a nightmare.

"What was that...? Was it a hallucination caused by my overexertion?"

She shook her head violently, trying to dispel the inexplicable image and the palpitation in her heart.

But this brief "resonance," coupled with the impact on the environment just now, made her feel an indescribable fear of her own power and even her own origins.

What kind of power does she possess?
Is she... really just an ordinary psychic who awakened unexpectedly?

And... that fleeting feeling of being watched...

That fleeting, distant, and chilling "gaze" now feels clearer and more terrifying.

It was as if she had inadvertently touched upon a territory she shouldn't have, attracting the attention of some high and mighty being.

Amazed by the transformation of power, bewildered by the strange characteristics of their own power, terrified by the inexplicable illusions, the mysterious gazes, and the unknown truths that might be hidden behind their own power...

A variety of emotions intertwined, collided, and surged intensely in her clear eyes.

At the very moment when this chaos and unease reached their peak—

Her heart skipped a beat!
A sudden, sharp pang of heart palpitation gripped her.

It felt as if some vital part of my soul was being torn apart.

Xu Yan!

It wasn't thinking, it wasn't speculation, but a kind of instinctive, absolutely certain panic—something had happened to him.

He encountered deadly danger.

This sudden, intense sensation overwhelmed all her chaotic thoughts.

She clenched her fist tightly, her nails digging deep into her palm, causing a slight stinging pain, but also instantly bringing her to her senses.

In any case, power itself is not wrong. The bizarre illusions and inexplicable fears can be considered later.

Now, he needs her. He might be dying.

She raised her head, her gaze seemingly piercing through layers of walls and endless space, locking onto the direction that made her soul tremble.

"No matter what my power is, no matter what strange things I have..." she silently vowed in her heart, her voice unwavering in her consciousness, "Now, I only want to have enough power to stand by your side, fight alongside you, and not be a burden who can only wait helplessly when you are in danger."

He buried deep and firmly the fear stemming from the unknown and the bewilderment about his own origins in the deepest part of his heart.

At this moment, a more urgent and important goal occupied her entire mind—to become stronger and then go to his side.

A Zhe only felt a slight fluctuation in the equipment, and he attributed the changes in the external celestial phenomena to the inherent instability of the old city.

They were unaware that Chen Zhiwei's promotion had a subtle yet real "restorative" effect on the entire dream world, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.

The ripples, though small, were clearly transmitted outwards.

In particular, the pure white stream of light that flashed out afterward, representing absolute order and a certain boundary, with its unique regular fluctuations, was like the most conspicuous signal flare in the darkness. It was precisely and quickly captured and marked by the seventh monitoring tower of the rapid response center in the city center.

Meanwhile, deep within the data port.

Xu Yan stood atop a pile of wrecked server debris, his aura perfectly balanced and restrained, seemingly out of place in this chaotic place, yet also appearing to be the very center of the chaos.

His "vision" has completely changed.

In his eyes, the world has been stripped of its appearance.

Twisted metal, flickering gibberish, pervasive data dust... all of these are transformed into flowing energy and information streams that follow a certain underlying logic.

The anomalies lurking in the shadows are no longer vague, terrifying outlines, but rather conspicuous targets composed of chaotic data, negative emotions, and incomplete rules, radiating specific "contamination" fluctuations.

A Class D "information thief" believed it had perfectly blended into the background data stream, approaching silently like a chameleon.

But in Xu Yan's perception at this moment, it was as conspicuous as a firefly in the dark night—the "greedy" rule structure at its core, which was constantly trying to replicate and tamper with the surrounding information, was as clear as the lines on the palm of his hand.

He doesn't even need to deliberately look for flaws.

With a slight thought, a wisp of hazy, chaotic spiritual energy flowed naturally from his fingertips, as if it possessed a life of its own. It transcended the distance of space and precisely "pointed" at the most unstable and core "logical paradox" node in the "information thief's" rule structure.

There were no earth-shattering explosions.

The "information thief's" forward lunge suddenly froze, and the countless data streams that made up its body began to conflict, become disordered, and disintegrate from the inside out, like snow blocks thrown into hot water.

It let out a silent wail, its entire existence as if swallowed and erased by an invisible giant mouth, eventually turning into a relatively pure data stream containing traces of the "information theft" rule, which was obediently absorbed by the Soul-Sealing Camera.

The whole process was easy and efficient, with an elegance and composure akin to that of a skilled butcher dissecting an ox after gaining a deep understanding of its essence.

This is the power of the Gold level.

It's not just a surge in power, but a comprehensive enhancement of one's understanding of the world after a leap in life level.

The speed of reaction, insight, and understanding and application of rules are vastly different from those of the Silver Age.

Just as he was preparing to look for his next target, an extremely subtle ripple, yet touching the very essence of the world, like the softest feather, brushed across his golden core and the depths of his soul.

He abruptly stopped, looked up sharply, and his gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of metal barriers of the data port, heading towards the old town's photo studio.

It was Zhiwei! She succeeded!

A heartfelt joy welled up in his heart.

But what struck him even more was the additional information that this "ripple" brought.

In the instant the ripples passed, he clearly felt:
The omnipresent whispers within the data port, trying to penetrate the soul, seemed to have their volume turned down a notch.

The chaotic rules that were constantly twisting and conflicting in the surrounding space seemed to have been infused with a very weak resilience, and the rate of collapse slowed down slightly.

The suffocating pressure of the entire dream world seemed to be gently lifted by a tender hand.

The world's "foundation" has become more stable.

Although the changes are extremely subtle and the scope may be limited, the feeling is incredibly real!
A look of understanding and deeper gravity flashed in Xu Yan's eyes. Could Zhiwei's advancement directly affect the stability of the entire dream world?

Her connection to this world woven by Shen Mengyao was so profound!

This confirms the special nature of her identity and also means that saving her is not just for her personally, but may be related to the very survival of this dream world.

Must be faster!

A sense of urgency burned within him like a cold flame.

He needs more power, needs to move the plan forward faster, and must have the strength to turn the tide before a greater crisis strikes.

However, just as he was stirred by this sense of urgency and his spiritual energy accelerated,

A sudden change occurred!

It did not originate from the golden spiritual core he himself had condensed, but rather from the abyss core hidden beneath it, clinging to it like a shadow.

The terrifying core that his father had personally sealed within him, originating from the "Abyss" itself, trembled slightly at that moment.

This palpitation is not a resonance, but more like a premonition of awakening, aroused by the subtle "stable" changes in the outside world, and thus awakened from slumber with displeasure and scrutiny.

A chilling intent, a mixture of antiquity, deathly stillness, and pure malice, like a venomous snake, suddenly pierced through the cracks in the seal and burrowed directly into the depths of Xu Yan's consciousness:

"Tsk tsk... What a nauseating aura of 'stability'..."

A hoarse voice, neither male nor female, filled with a sense of decay, as if formed from countless fragments of memory rubbing together, rang directly in his mind.

"Little guy, can you feel it? This fragile cage is being repaired. How... incredibly boring."

Xu Yan felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and the blood in his body seemed to freeze.

My hair stood on end!

He tensed up his entire body, his psychic energy almost instinctively wanting to suppress the abyss core.

"Relax, kid..." The voice carried a hint of mockery, "With your current strength, you can't touch me in the slightest. I just... sensed an interesting change."

"You want to escape this dream, don't you? To take that little girl named Chen Zhiwei back to your so-called 'reality'?" Yuan's voice was full of amusement, as if he were teasing the prey in his palm. "Does watching this world become stable make you feel desperate? The stronger the cage, the more hopeless the escape becomes..."

Xu Yan was shocked; it was astonished that it could perceive his thoughts and goals so clearly.

"How about... we make a deal?" The seductive whisper was like poisoned honey. "Lower your defenses a little, let me taste more of your... sweeter memories. In return, I can tell you how to truly tear down the barriers of this dream. After all, when it comes to 'destruction' and 'nothingness,' I'm the expert. With your pitiful strength, you'll never get out..."

A strong, dizzying sensation, as if trying to forget something important, washed over Xu Yan. He could even feel that a certain detail in his mind about his master's teachings seemed to have become slightly blurred.

It feeds on memories!

A strong sense of crisis and anger instantly overwhelmed Xu Yan.

He held fast to his clear mind, forcefully repelling the temptations and corrupting influences with an iron will, and unleashing a silent roar at the cold presence deep within his consciousness:
"Get back!"

Seemingly sensing Xu Yan's unwavering resolve, Yuan's consciousness emitted a cold snort that was ambiguous, seemingly mixed with disappointment and expectation, before receding like the tide and disappearing back into the depths of Yuan's core, returning to its deathly silence.

But the cold touch and the dizzying feeling of having one's memories coveted lingered in Xu Yan's heart like a leech.

The sense of crisis has never been so concrete and terrifying as it is now.

External threats can be countered, but the ancient evil originating from within him, feeding on his memories, is the true sword of Damocles hanging over his head.

It sensed the threat posed by the stability of the dream and began to try even more urgently to bewitch him and hasten his "demise".

Xu Yan took a deep breath, her nails digging deep into her palms, using the pain to clear her mind.

No matter how treacherous the road ahead, he had no way out.

The hunt must continue.

He needs to accumulate enough power to break everything before he is completely devoured by the "monster" inside his body.

While cleaning a corner piled with discarded terminals, he discovered something unusual.

Beside several corpses dressed in "Raven" uniforms, a broken encrypted communicator was still flickering faintly.

He picked it up, forcefully breaking through its remaining defenses with his mental power, and read a fragmented emergency log:
"...Confirmed 'Night Owl' intervention...Using the 'Abyssal Resonator'...Forcibly awakening the 'Touch of Destruction'...Triggering a C-level civil war...Taking advantage of the chaos to seize the 'Primordial Code'...Repeating...Risks are uncontrollable..."

"Original code"?
Xu Yan's pupils contracted slightly. This word triggered some vague fragments of his memory, which he seemed to have heard of in his previous life. It was considered a cornerstone fragment that constituted the underlying rules of this world, containing ultimate power and truth.

But at this moment, the shock brought by this word far exceeds the power itself.

A more fundamental and unsettling question, like a depth charge, exploded deep within his mind: If this world is Shen Mengyao's dream, then is this so-called "original code" the "basic setting" that constitutes her dream?

Or is it... some kind of "underlying structure" that even she was unaware of, supporting the existence of this dream?
My thoughts, like a wild horse, galloped forward uncontrollably:
The Forgotten Photo Studio serves as a stable anchor point between reality and dreams. So, what is the ultimate meaning of this vast dream world built upon the erosion of the "Abyss"? Is it merely to trap Shen Mengyao's consciousness?
Or is it that... this dream itself is an enormous seal, a container used to imprison "Abyss" or to achieve some kind of terrifying balance with it?

The thought sent a chill down his spine. If dreams were containers, then what were the souls struggling within them?
Father... why did you seal the "Abyss Core" inside me back then?
New questions arose one after another. Was it to give me the power to fight against the "Abyss"?

Or perhaps... you foresaw something that requires using my body as a cage to take this most dangerous thing away from reality and hide it in the deepest part of this dream?

Do you know the truth behind this dream? Did you and your mother delve into it to repair it, or... destroy it?

My thoughts turned to that fearsome white figure.

And what role does the "White Lord," the one who controls the power of "purification," play in this grand game?
Is he the guardian of dreams, the maintainer of order?

Or is he the administrator of this "dream container," a ruthless gardener responsible for pruning all the "branches" that are out of control—such as uncontrollable "variables" like me, or anything that might shake the stability of the dream?
Did he know of the existence of the "original code"? Was he pursuing the eternal operation of this dream, or did he have some other purpose?

What intricate and unknown connections do they have with Shen Mengyao and the source of this dream?

I want to take Zhiwei with me and find my parents to escape together.

This goal has never been so clear, nor so weighty.

But if we forcibly break this dream, will it be like smashing a delicate glass cup, harming all the souls that depend on it, including Zhiwei?
If the dream shatters, will "Abyss" completely spiral out of control?

Will my father's plan to seal the Abyss Core using me as a vessel fail at the last moment?
How can we find a "safe path" that allows us to escape without causing everything to collapse?
Is such a path possible? Or was it destined from the very beginning to be a high-stakes gamble from which no one could escape unscathed?
The meaning of our struggle for survival, the power and truth we pursue—are they the door to freedom, or... bait leading us step by step into a deeper trap with a predetermined end, manipulated by some higher will?

At this moment, he seemed to be standing before an endless abyss of mist, with seemingly solid ground beneath his feet.

However, beneath this land lies a complex web of events: the father's schemes, the White Lord's plots, Shen Mengyao's obsession, the whispers of "Abyss," and the mysterious "Primordial Code."

Is what he is stepping on a foundation, or a loose sand woven from countless wills and secrets, which could collapse at any moment?

Everything he knew, everything he held dear, began to waver at this moment, as if the weight of the entire world was pressing down on his newly formed golden spirit core.

at this time--

“Buzz——!!!”

The entire dataport was suddenly jolted!
It wasn't the oppressive feeling of a "data devourer" with its cold sense of order, but rather a terrifying spiritual pressure that was violent, chaotic, and filled with a pure desire for destruction, erupting from the core area like a tsunami.

The fog of pursuit was instantly torn apart by the cruel crisis of reality!
Xu Yan was suddenly jolted awake from his confusion about the nature of existence. All thoughts about the "original code" and the truth of the world were forcibly suppressed, and the instinct for survival instantly took over.

He suddenly looked up and saw another familiar, cold, and ethereal spiritual pressure belonging to the "Data Devourer" also soaring into the sky.

Two C-level rule domains, like two giant planets, collided violently in the core area of ​​the data port.

Rumble!
The space groaned under the strain, and visible cracks spread and exploded in the air like black lightning.

The path that Xu Yan was familiar with collapsed and twisted instantly. Countless low-level anomalies were crushed by the rules and turned into dust before they could even scream.

"Two C-level?! Those 'Night Owls' are insane!" Xu Yan was shocked and instantly understood their plan.

In the clash of the rules of the two great natural disasters, he was like a small boat in a storm, his chaotic spiritual energy being consumed at an unprecedented rate as he tried his best to adapt to and counteract the erosion from the different rules.

Will this devastating collision also shake the very foundation of this dream itself?

However, misfortunes never come singly.

Just as he narrowly avoided a turbulent current of rules that tore through space, the jade cicada in his arms suddenly became scalding hot.

He felt a force crashing against the photo studio's defenses, a force that shattered his spirit.

That power... was cold, pure, and carried an absolute sense of order and... the power to purify everything.

This feeling... is the power of the White Lord!
In his previous life, he vanished into nothingness within this pure white light.

They did indeed arrive, at this critical juncture.

An unprecedented sense of panic and anger overwhelmed Xu Yan in an instant.

Chen Zhiwei and A Zhe are still inside. Is the photo studio, that possible "anchor point," also the target that the "white masters" want to control or "purify"?

We must go back! Immediately!
All thoughts were suppressed in the face of harsh reality, leaving only the most instinctive desire to protect.

His gaze swept across the extremely unstable space around him caused by the collision of rules, locking onto a spatial rift that had just been torn apart and was filled with destructive energy.

This is the only possible route back quickly, but it is also undoubtedly a path to suicide.

There's no time to hesitate!
He leaped into the spatial rift filled with an aura of destruction.

Whether this world is a dream or a prison, whether "White Lord" is a god or a demon, at this moment, he must return to the side of the people he is meant to protect.

Xu Yan's figure had just squeezed out of the spatial rift, and before he could even see his surroundings clearly, two terrifying wills, powerful enough to freeze the soul, crashed down on him like invisible mountains.

It was those two C-class ghosts locked in a deadly battle—"Data Devourer" and "Touch of Destruction".

Their intense collision at the rule level itself disturbed spacetime. Xu Yan's forced "rule jump" was tantamount to sending himself directly into the very center of this storm.

The "data devourer's" star-like face turned to Xu Yan, showing no anger, only an absolute coldness as if looking at "unexpectedly intruded redundant data."

Its arm, made of nothingness, waved casually.

In an instant, Xu Yan felt that the very foundation of the "existence" of the space he was in was being stripped away.

The metal ground beneath their feet vanished silently, not by collapsing, but as if deleted from the world's archives, revealing a boiling abyss of colorful gibberish beneath, composed of countless "undefined errors."

The air he relied on for breathing, whose "life-sustaining" property was instantly altered, turned into toxic gas and information flow that burned his lungs.

Even more terrifying, he felt that the matter and energy information that made up his body were becoming unstable, as if they could be formatted at any moment!

This is an "existence erasure" at the rule level! Ignoring defenses, it goes straight to the essence.

"Ugh—!"

Xu Yan let out a painful groan as his golden spiritual core spun wildly, unleashing a surge of chaotic spiritual energy to forcibly stabilize his own existence and resist the omnipresent force of annihilation.

He felt like he was fighting against the world's "delete" command.

On the other side, the attacks of "Touch of Destruction" are more direct and violent.

It has no fixed form; it is more like a constantly churning mass of dark red energy composed of pure destructive desire.

Sensing Xu Yan's struggle as an "alien," it let out a frantic roar that disrupted his thinking. Countless dark red energy whips, formed from the rules of destruction and resembling octopus tentacles, tore through space, carrying an aura that could annihilate all matter and energy, and lashed fiercely at Xu Yan.

Wherever these tentacles pass, space doesn't crack open, but rather vaporizes directly.

The remaining trails reeked of a nauseating burnt and final smell.

Xu Yan's pupils contracted, and he frantically dodged within a small space.

He pushed the "illusory" and "corrosive" properties of chaotic psionic energy to their limits, his body sometimes blurring like a shadow to avoid being locked on by the "data devourer"; at other times, the attacking destructive tentacles seemed to hit a "swamp" that was constantly simulating and adapting to its destructive frequency, greatly reducing their power.

But the gap is too big!

Level C, regional catastrophe, is a terrifying existence equivalent to Gold Level II! And he has only just entered Gold Level III.

"puff!"

A destructive tentacle eventually caught up with his dodge, its edge grazing his left arm.

There was no blood splattering.

His left arm, from the elbow down, along with his sleeve, vanished instantly, like an ice cube thrown into aqua regia.

Not even a speck of dust remained! The intense pain even outpaced the speed of nerve conduction; an absolute sense of "absence" struck his soul first.

At the same time, the "Data Devourer's" rule erosion was like a persistent ailment, and he felt that some of his memories were beginning to blur, and details about a certain psionic technique were being "erased".

Xu Yan struggled to maneuver in the fragmented, constantly deleted and reassembled data space. There was no blood at the wound on his left arm, which was severed at the elbow; only chaotic spiritual energy particles that were constantly trying to reassemble but were broken by the rules.

On one side is an ever-expanding, all-consuming void, and on the other side is a storm of dark red tentacles that lash out wildly, reducing everything to nothingness.

The space is like a shattered mirror, reflecting a bizarre and destructive scene.

The attack method defies common sense.

"Data Devourer" renders the fundamental rules of reality ineffective; "Touch of Destruction" is the most brutal end to matter and energy.

Xu Yan's resistance was like going against the fundamental code and physical laws of the entire world.

It's not just the demise of the physical body, but the ultimate fear of being denied, erased, and forgotten on an existential level. Memories are fading, the body is disappearing, and it seems as if we are fighting against the merciless pronouncement of fate itself.

The excruciating pain of losing his left arm nearly overwhelmed his mind, but before the boundless darkness descended, anger and resentment did not flash through his mind.

Instead, it was Chen Zhiwei's slightly furrowed brow and soft complaint as she repaired his camera tape under the dim light of the dark room: "Next time... don't work so hard."

His intense obsession burned like a raging fire in his desperate situation, scorching his soul.

Xu Yan's right eye was bloodshot due to the overload of spiritual energy, almost dripping blood, while his left eye was as dark as an abyss due to the subtle resonance of the abyss core in his body.

"I can't die here! Zhiwei is still waiting for me!"

A strong obsession burns like a raging fire in the face of despair.

Xu Yan's right eye was bloodshot from the overload of spiritual energy, but his gaze was fixed on his chest—the dark silver Soul-Sealing Camera and the black jade cicada that had been silently playing a concealing role.

He staked all his hopes and madness on these two objects that have been with him to this day.

No more dodging, no more defending!
In that life-or-death moment, he made the only possible decision to fight for his life.

"bring it on!"

He let out a low growl that sounded like it was about to tear his throat apart.

With this roar, the dark golden spiritual core within his body spun wildly at an unprecedented speed, and the chaotic spiritual energy, which fused with the characteristics of three rules, was activated in an unprecedented way.

At the wound on his left arm, which had been vaporized by the "Touch of Destruction" and severed at the elbow, countless fine, dust-like particles of psionic light, shimmering with a hazy gray luster, appeared out of thin air.

These light particles seem to possess life and memory, following some mysterious rules, rapidly converging, weaving, and reconstructing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Meridians, bones, flesh... even skin texture are perfectly reshaped with each breath.

There were no violent energy fluctuations, no dazzling light; the whole process was characterized by a natural, tranquil, and magical quality, as if time had reversed.

In an instant, a perfectly intact left arm, with even faint traces of chaotic spiritual energy flowing beneath the skin, reappeared.

This is the Gold level! A completely new level of control over one's own energy and matter after leaping through life levels.

As long as the spiritual core remains intact and the soul is undying, even if the limbs are damaged, they can be instantly reshaped by consuming enormous energy.

Without the slightest hesitation, with the help of his newly grown left arm, he poured all the remaining chaotic spiritual energy, along with his indomitable will, into the Soul-Sealing Camera in his chest with unprecedented determination and madness.

The dark gold wide-angle lens vibrated at an unprecedented frequency, emitting a piercing shriek as if it were about to disintegrate.

The camera's cold body instantly became scorching hot, as if something inside was being ignited.

He steadily held up the camera, aiming the deep lens intently at the "data devourer," a more insidious and elusive force at the level of rules.

"Click——!!!"

A heavy shutter sound, far louder than ever before, seemingly capable of freezing time, suddenly erupted.

There was no suction, and no beam of light.

This time, what emerges from the lens is a silent, expanding gray area.

Wherever this domain passed, even the "existence erasure" rule emanating from the "Data Devourer" seemed to be soaked in viscous ink, becoming sluggish and dim. The light of the constantly rotating star vortex at its core also dimmed to the naked eye.

This dark realm is forcibly using Xu Yan's chaotic spiritual energy as fuel to cover and assimilate the rule structure of the C-level ghost.

For the first time, a clear fluctuation called "shock and rage" appeared in the eternally cold vortex of the "Data Devourer".

efficient!

However, the price came instantly.

"boom!"

A crisp cracking sound, barely audible amidst the deafening roar of energy, struck Xu Yan's heart like a death knell.

At the top of the camera, the lens that had always stabilized his mind and protected him from mental erosion could not withstand the excessive load and shattered into several pieces.

In an instant, Xu Yan felt as if a huge gap had been torn open in his consciousness.

Countless fragments of memories flowed outwards like a flood bursting its banks—the mother's blurry smile, the master's stern teachings, Chen Zhiwei's wary yet vulnerable gaze when they first met… These precious images flickered, as if they might be completely swallowed up in the darkness at any moment.

"Yuan" let out a greedy sigh from the depths of his soul.

No! That's not enough!

Xu Yan's eyes were bloodshot as he forcefully rallied his fading consciousness, driven by his fear of being forgotten and his obsession with protecting it.

He remembered another key component of the camera.

Just as the "data devourer" mobilized more power and was about to break free from the shackles of that dark realm.

With his last bit of strength, Xu Yan forcefully flipped up the old-fashioned external flash on top of the camera.

"Om-!"

All the dark areas, like rivers flowing into the sea, instantly surged back and were frantically compressed into that tiny flashlight.

The originally simple lamp body suddenly lit up with an extreme pure white light, as if it could purify all the filth and abnormality in the world.

The light was so dazzling and so pure that even the raging "Touch of Destruction" on the other side paused for a moment.

"Get out of here!"

Xu Yan let out a heart-wrenching roar and turned on the flashlight at the "Data Devourer".

"boom!!!!!"

There was no sound, yet it was as if a tremendous roar, like the creation of the world, exploded in the consciousness of all beings.

A pure white torrent, its brilliance and majesty beyond description, burst forth from the flash of the camera, like the first ray of light after the creation of the world.

Wherever it passed, chaotic data was sorted out, and the collapsed space was temporarily smoothed out. Even the huge body of the "Data Devourer," made of nothingness, emitted a painful, sharp screech as if it had been thrown into a furnace. Its enormous form was forcibly forced back and burned.

This strike transcended the scope of Gold III and truly touched the threshold of Gold II!
However, this was a swan song that sacrificed the calming film, overdrawn the camera's essence, and burned almost all of Xu Yan's spiritual energy and some of his memories.

After unleashing this devastating attack, the flash went completely dark, and even tiny cracks appeared on its surface.

The camera itself was also groaning, its brilliance gone, as if it had become just an ordinary old camera.

The "Touch of Destruction" seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. All the dark red tentacles, like wildly dancing pythons, took advantage of the moment when the "Data Devourer" was injured and stiff, and fiercely penetrated its core area.

Rumble——! ! !
The two core rules of the C-level collided once again in the most devastating way.

This explosion was of a far greater energy level than any before, seemingly about to completely overturn the very foundation of DataPort's existence.

(End of this chapter)