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

Chapter 141 Awakening of All Beings
The golden beam of light, like a sharp sword, shattered the thick, lead-gray clouds above Linjiang City.

Bai Yu stood on the ruins of the shelter's exit. His long hair danced wildly in the raging energy currents. His heterochromatic eyes coldly gazed into the distance.

A strange smell filled the air. It was the combined odor of burnt old paper, damp earth, and a faint trace of rust.

This is not the taste of the real world. This is the lament of space itself after the rules have been forcibly distorted.

Behind him, Mo Fei carried two enormous high-frequency battle axes in one hand. The blue light on the axe blades flickered, illuminating his resolute face.

Mo Fei didn't rush out. He tilted his head slightly, his ears picking up every subtle frequency in the wind.

"Old Bai, the sound in the wind has changed." Mo Fei's voice was deep, revealing a calmness that was not his usual style.

Bai Yu nodded. He could see it.

In his vision, the world was no longer made of bricks and cement. Countless thin, translucent gray threads descended from the sky, densely wrapping around every building, every tree, and even every inch of air.

These threads are trembling slightly. With each tremor, a piece of the logic of reality is stripped away.

“Su Jianguo is rewriting the ‘definition’ of Linjiang City,” Bai Yu said in a low voice.

His voice pierced through the roar of energy, clearly reaching the ears of every teammate.

Inside the shelter, Lanze was crouching amidst a pile of complex electronic components. Behind his black-rimmed glasses, his eyes were bloodshot.

“Captain, the pressure from the rules outside has exceeded the shelter’s capacity.” Lan Ce’s fingers typed a series of afterimages on the virtual keyboard. “The signal tower has been raised, but I need thirty seconds to synchronize with Bai Yu’s mental waveband. During this time, we cannot be disturbed in any way.”

Captain Anmu stood at the very front of the position. His tall figure was like an insurmountable mountain.

The golden "Iron Wall Royal Authority" domain had shrunk to a radius of ten meters. This was not because his power had weakened, but because he had condensed all his defensive capabilities to the extreme, forming an absolute vacuum of physics and rules.

"Mo Fei, hold the left flank. Lan Ce, ignore the pressure monitoring, focus on synchronization." An Mu's instructions were brief and forceful.

He looked at Bai Yu with a trust in his eyes that was unique to veterans.

"Bai Yu, go do what you're supposed to do. Leave the rest of this to us."

Bai Yu didn't turn around. He knew this was a team.

He slowly raised the ruby ​​key in his hand.

The red light on the key and the crimson-gold light in his right eye complemented each other.

"Heiyan, are you ready?" Baiyu asked in her mind.

"Hehe, how could I possibly miss such a large-scale 'artistic creation'?" Hei Yan's elegant yet mad voice echoed in my mind. "However, Bai Yu, you must understand. Once the connection begins, you will no longer be yourself. You will bear the fear, despair, and pain of millions. If the cracks in your soul cannot withstand it, you will instantly shatter into the finest powder."

"Then let it break." Bai Yu's tone remained completely calm.

He took a step.

The pebbles beneath their feet were lifted up by an invisible force.

"Connection initiated."

boom!
The huge antenna on the top of the shelter suddenly burst into a dazzling white light.

The white light was not dazzling; instead, it had a warm and gentle quality and quickly spread outwards.

Wherever the white light passed, the gray threads snapped.

At the same time, Lu Yueqi tightly hugged the live broadcast ball in her arms.

The live broadcast camera was pointed directly at Bai Yu's back.

Despite the city's network being paralyzed, a clear image appeared on the retinas of all the survivors in Linjiang City, thanks to the Ruby Key acting as a carrier wave.

That was Bai Yu's silhouette.

Lonely, yet incredibly resolute.

"Everyone...please listen to me."

The voice of Bai language was no longer heard through the ears, but resounded directly in the depths of everyone's soul.

“I am Bai Yu from the Nightmare Investigation Bureau, Team One. Right now, Linjiang City is experiencing an unprecedented disaster. The fog you see and the whispers you hear are all illusions.”

"Hold tight to the reality you can touch. Don't let fear take you away. I will build a defense line of dreams for you."

As Bai Yu finished speaking.

The entire city suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

At the end of the street, the statue that had been moving slowly came to a stop.

The gray mist that had been gushing from the survivors' seven orifices began to recede frantically, as if it had encountered a natural enemy.

"court death!"

At the top of the distant black tower, Su Jianguo let out a roar.

He tapped his cane heavily on the air.

"Citywide Infection, Phase Two: Identity Swap!"

hum-

The large silver eye in the sky suddenly flashed.

The once quiet street was suddenly filled with countless "people".

These "people" wore the exact same clothes as the survivors and had the same faces.

They walked in groups toward every building and every refuge.

They didn't attack; they just stood quietly outside the door, knocking.

"Open the door, it's your father."

"Honey, I'm home. The fog outside is too thick. Let me in quickly."

This sound echoed in every corner of the city.

This is not a physical attack; it is the most insidious erosion of rules.

Once someone opens the door out of pity or fear, that "identity" will be instantly replaced.

The real survivors will turn into gray mist, while the twisted nightmares will gain legitimate "identities" and walk in the real world.

"Damn it, this is 'parasitism' at the rule level!" Lan Ce stared at the wildly fluctuating data on the screen, his face turning ashen.

“Every person who is replaced becomes a source of energy for Su Jianguo. Bai Yu’s mental defenses are being forcibly breached by these false ‘identities’!”

Outside the shelter, several gray figures had already appeared at the edge of the ruins.

They look exactly like An Mu and Mo Fei.

"Captain An, it's so cold outside, let me come inside and hide from the cold."

The "fake Anmu" walked step by step toward the golden area with a stiff smile on his face.

Mo Fei snorted coldly.

He swung his battle axe suddenly.

A blue energy blade ripped through the sky, instantly splitting the shadow in two.

"I'm not dead yet, and you're already impersonating me?" Mo Fei's voice was as cold as iron.

He didn't rush in and start hacking away as he usually did.

He knew very well that these shadows were the embodiment of the rules.

With each swing of his axe, he precisely severed the connection between the shadow and the gray mist on the ground.

“Captain, these things are testing the boundaries of our rules.” Mo Fei took a half step back, standing guard beside Lan Ce. “They want to use our ‘approval’ to infiltrate the shelter.”

Anmu nodded.

The golden light in his eyes grew even brighter.

“As long as we don’t agree with them, they are nothingness.”

An Mu took a step forward, and his golden fist slammed heavily into the ground.

"Under the power of the monarchy, all are but dust!"

boom!
Centered on the shelter, the gray shadows within a radius of 100 meters instantly shattered.

But more shadows are emerging from the fog.

Baiyu floated in mid-air.

His face grew increasingly pale.

The spiritual connection of millions of people is like a vast ocean, constantly impacting his soul.

Despair, greed, anger...

These negative emotions surged into his mind through his mental pathways.

Bai Yu's right eye began to flash intensely with a crimson-gold light.

Blood began to seep from the golden lines on his skin.

"Baiyu, let go." Heiyan's voice became somewhat heavy. "You can't save everyone. The power of this key hasn't fully awakened yet. What you're doing now is suicide."

"It's not... over yet."

Bai Yu gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words.

He looked at the black tower in the distance.

He knew that without destroying the launch source, everything would be in vain.

"Lan Ce, can you locate the logical core of the Black Tower?" Bai Yu asked through the mental link.

Lanze suddenly looked up inside the shelter.

"Sure! But it's protected by Su Jianguo's 'Terminator' domain. Ordinary attacks simply can't get in."

"Send me the coordinates."

Bai Yu slowly closed her left eye.

The purplish-black flame instantly contracted, condensing into a tiny point that remained in the center of his pupil.

"Mo Fei, clear the way for me."

"Got it!"

Mo Fei let out a long howl.

He suddenly exerted force with both legs, and his whole body shot out like a cannonball.

The two battle axes crossed in the air, drawing a huge cross-shaped blue light blade.

"You little brats blocking my way, get out of my way!"

Mo Fei did not blindly delve deeper.

Each time he charged, he left a mark on the ground containing high-frequency oscillating energy.

These markers, when connected in a line, form a "vacuum channel" that is temporarily unaffected by the fog.

Captain Anmu followed closely behind.

The golden light curtain transformed into two enormous wings, protecting Mo Fei's flanks.

"Baiyu, let's go!" Anmu roared.

Bai Yu's figure flashed, transforming into a streak of crimson-gold light, and followed the passage opened by Mo Fei, heading straight for the Black Tower.

The speed was extremely fast.

A scorched mark lingered in the air.

Just as Bai Yu was about to approach the Black Tower.

An old figure blocked his way.

Su Jianguo, leaning on his cane, floated silently in mid-air.

He looked at Bai Yu with the regret of an elder looking at a younger person.

"Xiaoyu, you're in too much of a hurry."

Su Jianguo slowly raised his cane.

"The truth of this world cannot be grasped through such petty cleverness."

"The Termination Realm: All Things Wither."

hum-

An aura of deathly stillness spread instantly from Su Jianguo.

Bai Yu felt that the flow of energy within his body was beginning to slow down.

Even his beating heart seemed to stop.

This is not a suppression of power, but a deprivation of concepts.

Su Jianguo is depriving him of his right to "exist".

"Black Words!" Bai Yu roared inwardly.

"Okay, okay, you're such a bossy guy."

Hei Yan's figure flashed past Bai Yu.

The nameless ancient book was suddenly flipped to the last page.

"Rule Rewriting: The Moment of Eternity!"

boom!
The crimson-gold light clashed violently with the deathly gray in the air.

At that moment, visible cracks appeared in the space.

Using the force of the impact, Bai Yu's body suddenly rose higher.

He pointed the ruby ​​key in his hand at the top of the Black Tower.

"Lan Ce, now's the time!"

Inside the shelter, Lan Ce abruptly pressed the Enter key.

"The entire city's mental energy channels are overloaded!"

That moment.

A clear bell rang in the ears of millions of survivors in Linjiang City.

Their subconscious hopes were forcibly gathered together by Bai Yu, transforming into a pure white torrent.

This torrent, flowing along the links constructed by the Bai language, frantically poured into the ruby ​​key.

The red light on the key turned into a dazzling pure white at that moment.

"This...this is impossible!" Su Jianguo's expression changed drastically.

He could sense that it was the will of all living beings.

It is the most primal and powerful survival instinct an individual has when faced with despair.

This power transcends any rules.

"Break it for me!"

Bai Yu let out a deafening roar.

He stabbed the key in his hand fiercely into the black tower.

The pure white torrent, like a roaring dragon, instantly pierced through the Black Tower's defensive barrier.

Rumbling--

The massive black tower began to tremble violently.

The black bricks on the tower peeled off one by one, revealing the dark red energy circuits inside.

"It's not over yet."

Bai Yu flashed, passing directly through the outer wall of the black tower and entering the core module. Inside the core module.

A huge, pulsating, dark red chunk of flesh is suspended in the center.

That is the core of the Black Tower's logic.

It was also the "brain" that Su Jianguo used to control the entire city.

The meat chunks were covered with countless tiny eyes, each reflecting the face of a resident of Linjiang.

"It's so disgusting."

Bai Yu said coldly.

He was about to raise the key to completely destroy the core.

Suddenly, his movements froze.

Among those countless tiny eyes, he saw a familiar face.

That was his mother, Su Wan, who had been missing for many years.

Su Wan's face was partially visible through the chunks of flesh; her eyes were closed, and she wore a relieved smile.

"Xiaoyu... hurry..."

A faint voice echoed deep within Bai Yu's soul.

Bai Yu's pupils suddenly contracted.

"mom?"

At the moment he lost consciousness.

In the shadows of the core compartment, a silver streak of light shot suddenly toward his heart.

That was Su Jianguo's trump card.

"Bai Yu, be careful!" Mo Fei's voice roared through the mental link.

Bai Yu suddenly came to her senses.

But it was too late for him to escape.

A silver streak pierced straight through his left shoulder.

Blood splattered.

Bai Yu groaned and staggered backward.

Su Jianguo's figure slowly emerged inside the core module.

"Xiaoyu, I told you, you're too hasty."

Su Jianguo stared at the pulsating lump of flesh, his eyes filled with an almost fanatical adoration.

"This is the price of truth. Your mother volunteered to be a core part of this plan. By destroying it now, you are killing her with your own hands."

Bai Yu stared intently at the piece of meat.

His breathing became rapid.

The cracks deep within his soul began to spread wildly at that moment.

"Bai Yu, don't listen to him!" Captain An Mu's voice rang out in the link, filled with anxiety. "That's an illusion! It's a cognitive bias caused by a distortion of the rules!"

"Whether it's an illusion or not, you know it in your heart," Su Jianguo sneered.

He walked step by step toward Baiyu.

“Give me the key. If you hand over the key, I can free your mother from the core. We can reshape this world together.”

Bai Yu lowered his head.

His long hair covered his eyes.

Large drops of blood slid down his fingertips and dripped onto the black floor.

"Is Black Words... true?" Bai Yu asked in her heart.

This time, Hei Yan remained silent for a long time.

“What I saw… was the remnant of the real rules.” Hei Yan’s voice was somewhat dry. “Su Jianguo wasn’t lying. There really is a fragment of your mother’s soul in that core.”

Bai Yu's body trembled violently.

His right hand gripped the ruby ​​key tightly.

The pure white light on the key was rapidly fading, replaced by a chaotic dark red.

"It seems you've made your choice."

Su Jianguo stopped in front of Bai Yu and stretched out his withered hand.

"Come on, child. Give me the key."

Outside the Black Tower.

Mo Fei and An Mu were surrounded by countless gray shadows.

"Damn it, something's happened to Bai Yu!" Mo Fei shouted anxiously as he cleaved a shadow in two with his axe.

He could sense that his mental pathways were becoming disordered.

Bai Yu's emotional fluctuations were like a tsunami, impacting every Connector.

"Lan Ce, can we force our way into the core module's monitoring?" An Mu asked while fending off the attacks.

"No! The rules there are completely blocked!" Lance's voice was filled with despair.

Lu Yueqi hugged the live broadcast ball tightly.

She watched the trembling figure on the live stream screen.

Although Bai Yu's face cannot be seen.

But she could feel the excruciating pain.

"Brother Bai Yu... don't give up..."

Lu Yueqi murmured softly as she looked at the live broadcast ball.

at this time.

Inside the core module of the Black Tower.

Bai Yu slowly raised her head.

The crimson-gold light in his right eye had gone out.

Instead, two deep, abyss-like purplish-black flames appeared.

"Su Jianguo".

Bai Yu's voice was hoarse, as if it had been rubbed on sandpaper.

"You just said you wanted to free my mother?"

Su Jianguo smiled slightly: "Of course."

"Well."

Bai Yu suddenly raised his right hand.

But he did not hand the key to Su Jianguo.

Instead, he turned around and plunged the key into his own heart!

puff!

Blood spurted out wildly.

Su Jianguo's smile froze on his face.

"You...what are you doing?"

"Liberation...should not be defined by you."

A ferocious and insane smile appeared on Bai Yu's face.

"True liberation is to destroy this filthy world and let everything return to nothingness."

"Black Words, Unleash the Source!"

boom!
An indescribably terrifying purplish-black energy erupted wildly from Bai Yu's body.

This energy instantly engulfed the entire core module.

Along with Su Jianguo's screams, they were all drowned out.

The top of the Black Tower.

The large silver eye suddenly burst open.

The thick gray fog was forcibly dispersed at that moment.

Instead, there was only boundless darkness.

……

All the survivors in Linjiang City fell into a coma at that moment.

The last thing they saw before they fell into a coma.

It was that shirtless boy, with a ruby ​​key inserted into his heart, carrying jet-black wings, rushing towards the blood-red moon.

"Baiyu—!"

Mo Fei and An Mu's shouts disappeared into the crumbling ruins of the black tower.

……

I do not know how long it has been.

In the ruins of the shelter.

A hand suddenly pushed the heavy stone aside.

Mo Fei crawled out, covered in dust and dirt.

He coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"Captain? Lan Ce? Yue Qi?"

He looked around.

The city has returned to calm.

The gray fog disappeared.

Sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the devastated streets.

Anmu and Lanze also crawled out of the ruins one after another.

They all looked terrible, but luckily, they were all still alive.

"Where's Yueqi?" An Mu wiped the dust off his face.

"I'm here……"

Lu Yueqi emerged from a corner.

She was still holding the live broadcast ball in her arms.

The camera lens of the live broadcast ball was broken, but the indicator light inside was still flashing slightly.

"Where is Brother Bai Yu?" Lu Yueqi's first question silenced everyone.

Mo Fei looked up at the sky.

The sky was empty.

The Black Tower disappeared.

Su Jianguo disappeared.

The Bai language... also disappeared.

Only the ruby-colored key lay quietly in the center of the ruins.

The red light on the key has completely gone out.

It looks like an ordinary, rusty iron key.

Mo Fei walked over, bent down, and picked up the key.

The key is heavy.

It carried a chilling aura.

"He's not dead yet."

Mo Fei suddenly spoke, his voice firm.

"How did you know?" Lan Ce pushed up his broken glasses.

"Because this key... is still beating."

Mo Fei held the key to his ear.

thump.

thump.

A faint, yet clear and powerful heartbeat came from inside the key.

Captain Anmu walked over and patted Mo Fei on the shoulder.

"Let's go. Back to the branch office."

Anmu gazed at the distant horizon, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"This war has only just begun."

……

at the same time.

In a dilapidated red house on the outskirts of Linjiang City.

A man in a white shirt is sitting in front of a dusty piano.

His fingers gently pressed the piano keys.

It emitted a low, deep note.

Behind him, a semi-transparent figure stood quietly.

That's Bai language.

Or rather, it is a remnant of the Bai language.

"Xiaoyu, you did a great job."

The man turned his head, revealing a face that looked exactly like Bai Yu's.

"Now, it's my turn to...reshape your future."

The man smiled slightly.

He took out a silver comb from his pocket and gently combed Bai Yu's messy long hair.

"Go to sleep, child."

"When the next rain falls, you will see a whole new world."

The door to the red house slowly closed.

All the suspense and unknowns were locked in the shadows.

(End of this chapter)