Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 80 Many crises
In the viewfinder, he saw his own distorted, terrified face, and behind him, the sinister grin of a kibbutz composed of countless pained faces.

Chen Zhiwei suddenly stood up in the observation room, gripping the edge of the table tightly with both hands until her knuckles turned white.

In the footage, Xu Yan's body is twitching unnaturally, and the camera is wobbling precariously.

"Yan! Guard your mind!" she shouted urgently, even though she knew that voices could not be directly transmitted, but it seemed that the tacit understanding could transcend space.

Just as the will of the Jibakudo was about to completely overwhelm his self-awareness.

Xu Yan felt that the cold power belonging to "Yuan" that had been dormant deep in his dantian seemed to have been provoked by the intruders from the outside world and had awakened on its own.

It has no shape, yet it is like an invisible black hole, emitting a powerful suction force.

"Roar--!"

A terrifying shriek, audible only to Xu Yan and the Earthbound Ghost, exploded within his body.

That chilling will that was about to succeed was as if it had encountered its natural enemy, and was forcibly torn apart and devoured by this power originating from deep within Xu Yan himself.

The core of the earthbound demon's connection to the rock wall's energy seemed to have been bitten hard by an invisible force, letting out a painful howl. Its originally solid form instantly became thin and disordered.

The feeling of being confined vanished instantly!
Xu Yan suddenly regained control of his body. Before he could think about the strange movements of the "Abyss" within him, his instinct for survival and fighting made him seize this fleeting opportunity.

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he forcefully suppressed the subtle swelling and chilling sensation deep within his soul caused by the devouring process. He raised the camera and focused.

This time, through the viewfinder, he clearly "saw" several energy nodes connected to the earth's veins, exposed by the damage to the core of the earthbound demon.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

The three shutter sounds were rapid and continuous, like the death knell of the Grim Reaper.

Each flash of light precisely severed an energy link, while simultaneously turning a vivid memory in his mind of a carefree summer afternoon from his childhood into ashes.

A tremendous wail echoed through the cave, and the blood-red symbols on the rock walls shattered inch by inch.

The enormous shadow was completely detached from the earth's veins, and in a desperate twist, it was dragged and compressed by the camera's powerful suction, ultimately sealed onto the dark photographic paper that was ejected.

Xu Yan knelt on one knee, panting heavily, his back soaked with cold sweat.

He not only exhausted his mental energy, but also permanently lost a precious memory, and even used the uncontrollable power of the "Abyss" within his body.

This victory came at a heavy price.

Meanwhile, in that dimly lit monitoring room.

Lin Lan looked at Xu Yan's disheveled figure on the screen and the "Abnormally High Energy Activity" warning on the data panel, and said coldly, "You saw it, Judge. You're playing with fire. Once the things inside him get out of control, the entire Mirror Realm module could be contaminated."

The judge adjusted his glasses, the glare obscuring his excited eyes: "Risk and reward go hand in hand, Director Lin. Look, we've forced out something even more valuable, haven't we? This data is enough to prove to 'the higher-ups' that my method is effective."

Inside the observation room, Chen Zhiwei watched Xu Yan kneeling on the ground, exhausted, and felt an overwhelming pang of heartache.

She held the jade cicada, still warm from his body, tightly, as if it could share his pain.

She saw him gain victory by losing his memory, and she also saw the unsettling, devouring power that erupted in that instant.

The chief examiner, "Leng Guang," tapped lightly on the evaluation report with his fingertips.

Her icy face remained expressionless, but a barely perceptible ripple flickered deep within her sharp eyes.

She silently marked a red "Δ" symbol on Xu Yan's file.
The note also states: "The target body contains a high-risk, unknown energy reaction with phagocytic properties. Its controllability and the risk of backlash need to be closely monitored."

Xu Yan struggled to his feet, his brain buzzing from the memory loss and the strange movements of "Abyss," and a feeling of weakness permeated his limbs. He knew the assessment was far from over, but the Mirror Realm gave him no chance to catch his breath.

The surrounding scenery suddenly distorted and collapsed!
The sacrificial cave before them vanished like shattered glass.

Countless mirrors grew out of the void, refracting each other and extending infinitely.

Xu Yan's reflection was copied into thousands upon thousands of copies, each movement having a millisecond delay and slight distortion compared to his own. Hundreds and thousands of "him" simultaneously raised their cameras, turned to the side, and panted, causing an instant overload of visual information that made him dizzy and almost vomit.

Even more disturbing is that in some mirrors, the "him" slowly turns his head and reveals a strange smile that is not his own at all.

Low laughter rang out simultaneously from all directions.

The next moment, a scarlet claw suddenly emerged from the mirror on his left side, which should have reflected his back!

Xu Yan instinctively turned to the side, but the immense mental strain caused his nerve signals to swell as if they were being transmitted through a quagmire; he became aware of it, but his body remained sluggish.

The claws, carrying a chilling wind that seemed to freeze the soul, narrowly grazed his cheek.

It wasn't a simple cut—the skin that was touched instantly lost sensation, as if burned by a low temperature. Then, a sharp, stabbing pain suddenly burst forth. Before the blood could even seep out, an ominous bluish-black layer had already appeared at the edges of the wound.

The evil spirit in the mirror grinned maliciously, its figure darting swiftly across the mirror surface, blurring the lines between reality and illusion.

Xu Yan raised her hand to press her cheek, her breathing momentarily disordered.

But soon, he forced himself to calm down, his gaze sharp as a blade as he searched for a path among the countless mirrors.

Just as he staggered, a low growl came from behind him—

"Get away!"

Stone Shield suddenly entered the Mirror Room. He rushed out, and the earthen-yellow light shield collided with his sharp claws, producing a piercing screech like fingernails scraping a blackboard.

The flying energy fragments hit Xu Yan's face, bringing a burning stinging sensation.

"Photographer! If you're even a beat slower next time, you'll be cut in half!" Stone Shield's low growl was filled with suppressed panting, clearly indicating that his block just now was far from as easy as he appeared.

Although the words were harsh, they bought Xu Yan a precious moment.

Meanwhile, Bai Ling and the Iron-Faced Woman also entered the Mirror Room.

Bai Ling had already activated the earring device, her gaze scanning back and forth, and she whispered a reminder: "The sixth mirror in the left rear corner—the energy fluctuation is abnormal!" Her information was accurate, but not selfless; she deliberately lowered her voice, as if she only wanted Stone Shield and Iron Mask to hear it.

The woman in the iron mask remained silent, almost disappearing into the interplay of light and shadow.

By the time Xu Yan caught sight of her again, the person had already silently appeared beside another mirror, her dagger piercing the mirror surface.

The sudden cracking sound interrupted the Mirror Ghost's continuous movements, revealing half of its body.

Opportunities arise.

Xu Yan lifted the machine, his arm muscles trembling slightly from overexertion.

In the viewfinder, the figure of the Mirror Ghost appears slightly blurred due to his inability to fully concentrate his mental energy.

'Stay calm...I must stay calm...' He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to ignore the persistent pain from the wound on his cheek, which felt like ice worms were burrowing into it, and squeezed out the little mental energy he had left to inject into the camera.

"Calm down, Yan-ge. Its trajectory is regular, like it's refracting light..." Chen Zhiwei's voice seemed to pierce through space and resounded in his mind.

(End of this chapter)