Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 93 Entering the Core (Bonus Chapter)
The cold rain slid down the stiff jawline of the drill arm, dripping onto the collar of the combat uniform, bringing a real chill that belonged to others.

Xu Yan's consciousness was like piloting a giant, sophisticated but sluggish mecha; every thought needed to be translated into instructions that this body could understand.

He "felt" that his original body was curled up in the shadows a few steps away, like an abandoned shell, falling into a deathly silence along with the compass in his arms and the camera on his chest.

Deeper still, he could "hear" the hungry writhing of the shadow in the camera.

Time is running out; we must act.

He mimicked the usual posture of the drill arm, his brows furrowed, his sharp gaze sweeping across the street corner before finally settling on the shadow where his original body was.

He deliberately made the body's breathing slightly heavy, as if it had just completed a high-intensity spiritual pressure scan.

“Over there.” He spoke, his voice a deep, husky rasping, characteristic of a drill bit, carrying a metallic sheen, leaving no room for doubt. “Abnormal residual energy; there’s something there.”

He pointed to that corner with a crisp and decisive gesture, befitting the style of an action team leader.

The two teammates beside him immediately became alert, and the beams of their tactical flashlights instantly tore through the rain, precisely illuminating the huddled figure.

"Boss, it's a person!" a young team member whispered.

Another, more experienced team member leaned closer and, even the mask under his helmet couldn't hide his astonishment: "It's Xu Yan! The one from the Forgotten Photo Studio! Last time, several of us brothers were tricked at his shabby place, and we're still completely confused about it! What's he doing here? And acting like this?"

Xu Yan controlled the drill arm and stepped forward with steady yet subtly imposing steps.

For a fleeting moment, he saw his own body—an empty shell without a soul, with hollow eye sockets. That illusion of 'I am dead' was colder than any horror.

He squatted down, his movements slightly stiff.

This is both a physical incompatibility and his deliberate imitation of the drill arm's businesslike, emotionless actions when dealing with "abnormalities".

He roughly flipped Xu Yan's eyelids with his tactical gloved fingers and then checked his carotid artery.

“Weak vital signs, erratic breathing, like… being attacked by something, or forcibly using abilities beyond their limits.” He stood up, his tone resolute and leaving no room for doubt as he gave the order, “Whatever the reason, take them away.”

He deliberately emphasized the word "take away," stressing that this was an order, not a matter for discussion.

"Boss, is this... in accordance with the procedures? He's a high-risk target..." The young team member hesitated.

"That's exactly why!" Xu Yan, manipulating the drill arm, suddenly turned around, his gaze fixed on the team member like a hawk's. His eyes contained the authority accumulated by a long-time leader and a hint of displeasure at being questioned. "The western suburbs incident, the city-wide anomaly—he could be the key clue pointing to the core! Leaving him here is the greatest dereliction of duty! Execute immediately, get in the vehicle, establish the initial restraint seal!"

"Yes, Captain!" Without another word, the two team members immediately and skillfully took out specially made restraint straps, tied the unconscious "Xu Yan's" hands behind his back, and then lifted him up from the left and right, walking towards the command vehicle that was like an iron fortress.

Xu Yan followed behind, maneuvering the drill arm. The cold rain lashed his face, but his mind raced, calculating:
“The most dangerous place is the safest place. By using the identity of ‘Drill Arm,’ I can not only protect my original body from being discovered by other ‘cleanup teams’ or wild ability users, but also directly enter the core area of ​​the ‘center’ under the guise of ‘escorting’… There must be clues about ‘Abyss,’ about the compass, and about my father’s past there.”

He watched as his team members stuffed his original body into the specially designed detention chamber at the rear of the command vehicle like cargo, the hatch making a dull hydraulic sound as it closed.

“If…if the situation becomes critical, my identity is exposed, or the ‘center’s’ detection methods exceed my ability to disguise myself…” Deep in his mind, he had already mastered the method of opening that “shadow gate”, “then release ‘them’ and let the chaos become my best cover. Take advantage of the chaos to escape with my original body and the compass.”

He took a deep breath, the air belonging to the drill arm, smelling of gunpowder and engine oil, filling his lungs.

Now, he is the captain of the cleanup team. He is escorting Xu Yan, an important "abnormal target," towards a destination that could reveal the truth or lead to utter destruction.

He stepped into the command vehicle, the heavy doors closing behind him, shutting out the cold wind and rain.

Inside the car, the blue light from the dashboard illuminated his resolute and expressionless face. Unbeknownst to him, on the chest of that abandoned body, the lens of a camera slowly lit up.

An 'eye' is silently opening.

……

The rain stopped.

There was still standing water on the ground, but the crack that stretched from the block into the ground, like a closed blood vessel, led them step by step into the dark side of the city.

Xu Yan, acting as the drill operator, led two team members along the service passage below the cordon.

After walking a certain distance, the automatically locking metal gate behind you makes a dull "click".

The sound didn't sound like a door; it sounded more like a coffin lid.

Officially, the "center" is known externally as the "Urban Emergency Rapid Response Center".

Public opinion only knows them for handling collapses, fires, riots, and "supernatural rumors."
Unbeknownst to them, their official registration number is:

"The Zero Mobile Division of the Non-Standard Reality Emergency Command Center under the Municipality."

However, everyone internally prefers to call it by one name:
--"center".

There are no signs in this place.

The truly important parts are hidden beneath the old subway network and abandoned cooling pipes.

Each layer corresponds to a "reality stability coefficient," which gradually decreases from [0.9] on the periphery to [0.1] on the core—meaning that the "reality" here has been artificially adjusted to an almost inexplicable degree.

As Xu Yan descended the stairs, his gaze swept over the warning signs on the wall:
Note: From this point onward, the flow of time deviates from that at the surface.

Do not wear devices with memory function.

His heart moved slightly.

"Memory carrier"—that is the essence of the "Mirror of Shared Life".

And now, it is quietly resting against "its" chest.

They passed three identification checkpoints:

Fingerprints, spiritual pressure, and consciousness signatures.

Each verification involves inserting a tiny psionic needle into the temple to read the brainwave and soul pressure curves.

The drill arm's identification record is complete, and verification is successful without any issues.

Xu Yan could feel the stinging pain when he was scanned, as if some kind of "consciousness firewall" was instinctively resisting.

—I can't let them find out that "I" am not him.

(End of this chapter)