Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 140 The Eye in the Shadow

Chapter 140 The Eye in the Shadow
Fine bubbles swirled in the light blue repair solution.

Bai Yu floated in the center of the medical pod. His body was wrapped in countless translucent tubes, making him look like a butterfly trapped in amber.

The ruby-colored key in the location of his heart was pounding rhythmically. With each beat, it released visible dark red ripples into the repair fluid.

The ripples struck the reinforced glass cover, producing a slight humming sound.

At this moment, deep within Bai Yu's consciousness, the sea of red flowers had vanished. In its place lay a pure void, with only countless faintly glowing threads crisscrossing in the darkness.

Is this the other side of the world?

Bai Yu looked down at his hands. His body was translucent here, with countless tiny characters and symbols flowing beneath his skin.

Hei Yan sat elegantly on a throne constructed of black feathers. The nameless ancient book in his hand moved without wind, the sound of its pages turning sounding particularly jarring in the silent void.

"Bai Yu, what you are seeing now is the 'underlying code' of this world."

Hei Yan closed the ancient book, a playful smile curving his lips.

“That old bastard Su Jianguo thinks he has grasped the truth. In reality, he has only peeked through the crack in the door of truth. And you, right now, are holding the lock.”

Bai Yu reached out to touch one of the threads, but Hei Yan stopped her.

"Don't move. Those are the foundation of 'existence'. With your current soul strength, touching them will assimilate you into the rules. At that time, you will truly become a sacrifice to this key."

Bai Yu withdrew his hand, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

What exactly does Su Jianguo mean by "citywide infection"?

Hei Yan stood up, walked to Bai Yu's side, and pointed to a point in the depths of nothingness.

"He is using the headquarters' black tower as a launch source to broadcast a 'logic virus' to the entire Linjiang City. This virus will forcibly modify the cognition of ordinary people, making them believe that nightmares are reality. When everyone thinks this way, reality will completely collapse, and Linjiang City will become a huge rule-based fantasy."

“I must stop him.” Bai Yu’s voice was firm and calm.

"Stop it?" Hei Yan laughed, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "You should first think about how to survive this fusion. The cracks in your soul are being forcibly widened by the power of the key. If you can't hold on, you'll become a mindless container of rules."

……

Outside the medical bay.

The lights inside the shelter flickered on and off.

Lan Ce was squatting in front of a huge mainframe, his fingers leaving afterimages on the keyboard. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, slid down his nose, and finally dripped onto the floor.

"Captain, the situation outside is not optimistic."

Lance shouted without turning his head.

"Headquarters released a high-frequency, regular pulse. The power system and communication network of Linjiang City have been completely paralyzed. Worse still, I detected that the concentration of Nightmare Factor in the air is increasing exponentially."

Captain Anmu stood in front of the monitoring screen.

The screen mostly showed static. Only a few cameras equipped with special sensors were able to transmit blurry images.

In the scene, the once bustling streets are now deserted.

The gray fog was no longer still, but moved between the buildings as if it were alive.

The statues that originally stood by the roadside seemed to slowly turn their bodies in the mist.

"This is not an ordinary infection."

Anmu's voice was low.

He sensed the "Iron Wall of Royal Authority" within him stirring restlessly. This indicated that the external rules and environment had deteriorated to the point where they threatened his domain.

Mo Fei, holding a battle axe, stood guard at the only entrance to the shelter.

He was no longer as impatient as before, and his body was as steady as an iron tower.

He checks the sensor array at the entrance every ten minutes.

"Captain, I have a feeling that something's not right about this place."

Mo Fei suddenly spoke, his voice very low.

An Mu turned to look at him.

"What did you find?"

"It's so quiet."

Mo Fei gripped the handle of his battle axe tightly.

"Although we are fifty meters underground, this shelter is built on the foundation of an old air-raid shelter. When we were stationed here before, we could always hear the sound of groundwater flowing or the sound of exhaust fans turning."

Mo Fei paused for a moment, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes.

"But now, apart from the sound from Bai Yu's medical pod, I can't hear anything. This silence... it's like someone has cut off the rules of sound between us and the outside world."

An Mu's heart sank.

He immediately walked toward Lance.

"Lanze, check the stability of the rules inside the shelter!"

Lan Ce was startled and immediately pulled up the internal monitoring data.

"Internal pressure normal... oxygen content normal... wait!"

Lance's pupils suddenly contracted.

"The sound wave transmission efficiency is decreasing! An unknown force is absorbing the vibrations within the shelter. Mo Fei is right, someone is blocking our senses!"

The moment Lan Ce finished speaking.

The lights on the shelter's ceiling went out completely.

The entire room was plunged into absolute darkness.

"Yueqi, come behind me!"

An Mu shouted, and the golden "Iron Wall Royal Authority" domain instantly opened.

Golden light illuminated the secret room.

Lu Yueqi gripped the edge of Baiyu's medical pod tightly, her face pale.

"Captain... what is that?"

Lu Yueqi pointed tremblingly to a corner of the shelter.

At the edge of the golden light, a pitch-black shadow stood silently.

The shadow had no physical form; it looked like an outline made up of countless black particles.

Its shape kept changing. One moment it looked like an investigator in uniform, and the next it turned into a twisted monster.

The most bizarre thing was that the shadow had a huge, silver eye on its face.

That eye was fixed on Bai Yu inside the medical pod.

"The Scavenger's 'Shadow Eye'!"

Lan Ce exclaimed in surprise.

"These are headquarters' secret weapons. They're not living beings, but reconnaissance units constructed from purely negative rules. Once they spot us, our coordinates will be exposed to Su Jianguo!"

"Mo Fei!"

Anmu did not hesitate at all.

"understand!"

Mo Fei was prepared.

He didn't directly swing his battle axe to chop at the illusory shadow. He knew that physical attacks had limited effectiveness against such rule-based creations.

Mo Fei took a silver sphere from the tactical rack at his waist.

That's an enhanced version of the "Nightingale" high-frequency acoustic jammer.

Mo Fei pressed the start button abruptly, then precisely threw the ball at the shadow.

"Om-!"

A transparent ripple, visible to the naked eye, exploded within the sealed chamber.

This type of sound wave is specifically designed for regular stability.

The shadow twisted violently under the impact of the ripples. Its silver eye showed a look of pain, and its originally black body began to disintegrate into countless tiny particles.

"It's not over yet!"

Mo Fei strode out.

He used the momentary opening created by the sound wave interference to unleash a blinding blue light from the high-frequency blade on his battle axe.

"Get out of here!"

Mo Fei's axe strike was very deliberate. He didn't aim for lethality, but rather used the energy field generated by the axe's vibrations to forcefully push the disintegrating black particles toward the shelter's ventilation shaft.

This series of movements was fluid and seamless.

This demonstrates the calmness and professionalism of an A-level investigator in extreme circumstances.

As the black particles were completely expelled, the oppressive feeling in the shelter instantly disappeared by more than half.

But Anmu's complexion did not improve.

"The coordinates have been exposed."

Anmu looked at the red dot that had started flashing on the monitor screen.

"Su Jianguo's troops will arrive soon. Lan Ce, how much longer will it take for Bai Yu to complete the integration?"

Lan Ce stared at the progress bar on the medical pod, gritting his teeth.

"At least another twenty minutes! The key's power is too strong; Bai Yu's soul is undergoing self-reconstruction. If we forcibly interrupt it, he will immediately be obliterated!"

"Twenty minutes..."

Anmu took a deep breath.

He looked at Mo Fei and Lan Ce.

"Mo Fei, reinforce the entrance. Lay all the defensive mines and rule traps. Lan Ce, activate the shelter's self-destruct sequence. If we really can't hold it in the end..."

An Mu paused for a moment, a resolute glint in his eyes.

“I will disappear with Bai Yu and the key. The three of you must find a way to survive.”

"team leader!"

Mo Fei's eyes widened.

"Stop talking nonsense! This is an order!"

Anmu's voice was beyond question.

“Our team has never abandoned our comrades. But if sacrificing myself can save your lives, I’m willing to do it.”

The atmosphere inside the shelter had dropped to freezing point.

Lu Yueqi looked at these men who usually joked with each other, but now they were all preparing to die to protect each other.

She suddenly realized that the so-called "heroes" she had seen in the live broadcast room before seemed so pale and powerless in the face of these real investigators.

She held Bai Yu's hand tightly, even though they were separated by cold glass.

"Brother Bai Yu...did you hear that? Everyone is waiting for you..."

……

At this moment, in Baiyu's consciousness space.

He also sensed the external crisis.

The threads in the void began to tremble violently.

Hei Yan's expression also turned serious.

"Bai Yu, those little bugs outside are coming over quickly. That old guy Su Jianguo has personally taken action; he's using the key's sensor to locate you."

Bai Yu looked at the tangled threads.

He suddenly reached out and grabbed one of the lines that was emitting a dark red light.

"what--!"

The intense pain nearly destroyed Bai Yu's consciousness.

That is the core rule of the key—"sacrifice and reshaping".

"What are you doing?" Hei Yan exclaimed. "That's the essence of the key! You touched it before you'd even finished fusing with it, or you'd be burned to ashes!"

"can not wait anymore."

Bai Yu gritted his teeth, and the cracks deep in his soul exploded completely at that moment.

But he did not break down.

Golden light emanated from those cracks.

Those were the memories he had regained, the last line of defense his mother, Su Wan, had left deep within his soul.

"Black Words, give me all your power!"

Bai Yu let out a roar that shook the void.

"Tsk...what a madman." Hei Yan was complaining, but his actions were not slow at all.

He transformed into a streak of black light and instantly entered Bai Yu's body.

"Since you're willing to risk your life, I'll go crazy with you this once! After all, I'm your 'symbiotic'!"

boom!
Bai Yu's consciousness space was completely shattered.

……

Inside the medical pod.

Bai Yu suddenly opened her eyes.

Those eyes no longer had pupils.

Its left eye was a pure purplish-black flame, while its right eye was a brilliant crimson gold.

"Crack——!"

A spiderweb-like crack appeared on the reinforced glass cover.

Immediately afterwards, the entire medical pod exploded.

The light blue repair fluid splattered everywhere.

Bai Yu, shirtless, slowly stood up from the ruins.

His skin was covered with golden lines that converged at his heart, forming an exquisite yet eerie keyhole pattern.

"Bai language!"

Anmu and the others exclaimed in surprise.

Bai Yu remained silent.

He turned his head and looked towards the entrance of the shelter.

His gaze pierced through the thick reinforced concrete and through the fifty-meter-deep rock strata.

He saw it.

On the ground above the shelter.

Su Jianguo was standing there quietly, leaning on his cane.

Behind Su Jianguo was a densely packed scavenger force.

And in the distant sky.

The enormous silver eye was slowly opening.

"The city-wide infection... has already begun."

Bai Yu's voice became somewhat ethereal.

He made a casual gesture.

The ruby-colored key appeared in his hand.

The key was no longer rusty, but shimmered with a blood-like luster.

"Captain, Mo Fei, Lan Ce."

Bai Yu turned around and looked at her companions.

His eyes held an unprecedented clarity.

"The battles that follow are no longer the investigators' task."

Bai Yu put on the combat uniform that Lan Ce handed her, her movements elegant and swift.

“This is a clash of rules. You guard this place, and leave the things outside to me.”

“Bai Yu, your current physical condition…” An Mu looked at him with concern.

“I am no longer ‘me’.”

Bai Yu pointed to his heart.

“I am the will of this key. Su Jianguo wants the truth, then I will show him what lies hidden on the other side of the truth.”

at this time.

The shelter doors shook violently.

"boom--!"

The heavy alloy door was torn open by an invisible force.

Lin Yuan led several cleaners in slowly.

He looked at Bai Yu, who had already woken up, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, which then turned into deep mockery.

"Number 001, you actually succeeded in the fusion. However, this only makes your death more worthwhile."

Lin Yuan raised his hand, and the chains of rules in his hand burst forth with a dazzling silver light.

"Hand over the key, and I might let you die a quick death."

Bai Yu looked at Lin Yuan, a faint smile curving her lips.

That was Hei Yan's signature cold laugh.

"Lin Yuan, do you know why you'll always be just a street cleaner?"

Baiyu took a step forward.

Just one step.

The floor beneath his feet instantly shattered.

But he didn't fall; instead, he hovered in mid-air.

"Because your understanding of power is still at the stage of 'using' it."

Bai Yu extended his index finger and gently touched the air.

“And I am now ‘power’ itself.”

“Deprive…of the rules of vision.”

As Bai Yu finished speaking.

Lin Yuan suddenly let out a terrified scream.

He discovered that his world had instantly turned completely black.

Not only did he lose his sight, but his perception and mental probing as the one entering the dream were also forcibly severed in that instant.

Bai Yu had vanished before him.

Instead, countless pairs of malevolent eyes slowly opened in the darkness.

"This...what is this?"

Lin Yuan frantically swung the chains, but couldn't touch anything.

"This is your deepest fear."

Bai Yu's voice rang in his ears, cold and devoid of any warmth.

"Welcome to... the second floor of the Red House."

……

Outside the shelter.

Su Jianguo frowned sharply.

He sensed that Lin Yuan, whom he had sent in, had his life signal disappear in an instant.

Not only were the life signals erased, but even the part of the rules that Lin Yuan represented was forcibly erased by some enormous force.

"interesting."

Su Jianguo sneered and slammed his cane heavily on the ground.

"It seems that Xiaoyu has given me more surprises than I imagined."

He looked up at the large silver eye in the sky.

"Accelerate the spread. I want the entire Linjiang City to become an altar for this key!"

Following Su Jianguo's orders.

The silver eye in the sky suddenly opened wide.

A visible gray ripple, centered on the black tower, instantly swept across the entire city.

on the street.

The citizens, who had been hiding at home trembling with fear, suddenly stopped what they were doing.

Their eyes became empty.

A moment later, wisps of gray mist emerged from their seven orifices.

The mist intertwined in the air, eventually forming blurry, distorted human figures.

Linjiang City has completely fallen.

……

Inside the shelter.

Bai Yu withdrew her hand.

Lin Yuan had become a dried-up corpse, lying on the ground.

His soul had been completely shattered by the power of the key.

Bai Yu turned her head and looked at her companions.

"Su Jianguo is about to launch a general offensive."

Bai Yu's expression turned extremely serious.

"Captain, hold this place. Lanze, use the shelter's signal tower to broadcast my mental fluctuations throughout the city. I'm going to forcibly connect to the subconscious of all the survivors and build a mental defense line for them."

"You can do it?" Lan Ce exclaimed in surprise.

"With Hei Yan's help, it's worth a try."

Bai Yu looked into the depths of the shelter.

There, he could feel a faint but resilient resonance.

That was the deep-seated desire for survival in the hearts of those people in Linjiang City who had not yet been corrupted.

"Mo Fei, guard the antenna. No matter what happens, we can't let those things get close to the broadcast room."

"Do not worry!"

Mo Fei spat out a mouthful of saliva, and the battle axe was once again filled with energy, glowing with a blue light.

"As long as I'm breathing, nobody can touch that antenna!"

Bai Yu nodded.

He looked at Lu Yueqi again.

"Yueqi, do me a favor."

“Brother Bai Yu, please speak!” Lu Yueqi nodded firmly.

"Use your live streaming equipment to broadcast the following footage. Even though the network is down, the power of the key can act as a carrier wave. I want everyone to see that nightmares... are not invincible."

Lu Yueqi was stunned for a moment, then clenched her fist tightly.

"Okay! I will definitely do it!"

Bai Yu took a deep breath.

He walked toward the exit of the shelter.

With each step he took, the golden patterns on his body shone brighter.

When he reached the ground.

The gray fog seemed to freeze for a moment because of his appearance.

Bai Yu looked up at Su Jianguo and the surging army of nightmares behind him.

He held up the ruby key in his hand.

"Su Jianguo, you want the truth."

The sound of Bai language echoed for miles around.

"Then I'll show you what the real...dream of all beings truly is!"