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

Chapter 53 A Symphony of Love and Hate
Time seemed to stretch out infinitely in an instant.

Yao's final strike was imbued with the corrupting power she possessed as the core of the "Tower of Ten Thousand Heads" agent.

The metal arm, made up of countless syringes, resembled a venomous snake reaching out from a higher dimension, its fangs coated with a potent poison capable of instantly corrupting any emotion into a vicious curse.

Its target is the "love" that has just been awakened in Su Qin's soul. It wants to tear this hard-won redemption apart completely in front of Fang Heng's phantom and the girl who is still humming a lullaby, and then enjoy the expressions on their faces as hope turns to despair.

This is the art that Yao loved most.

The deadly dark green spot of light was rapidly magnified in Lu Yueqi's pupils.

Her body froze at the sight of this sudden and shocking turn of events, her mind went blank, and she didn't even have time to react. She just stood there dumbfounded.

She could only watch helplessly as the poisoned arrow was about to pierce the heart of the pitiful woman before her, who had just escaped from endless hatred.

However, just as the poisoned arrow was a hair's breadth away from Su Qin's soul, an icy blue barrier, carrying tranquility and sorrow, suddenly unfolded behind Su Qin!

The barrier resembled a frozen lake, thin as a cicada's wing, crystal clear, and one could even clearly see the sorrow slowly flowing beneath its surface.

It's Lu Yueqi!

In the final moment of witnessing this malice, her body, paralyzed by fear, defied the commands of her brain and, driven entirely by the instinct to protect, released all the "deep chill" power within her without reservation!
She didn't know if she could stop it.

All she knew was that she couldn't let this reunion, decades in the making, be destroyed again before her very eyes.

"Ding--"

A crisp sound, like ice crystals shattering.

The poison arrow, imbued with the power of pollution, collided violently with Lu Yueqi's crystal-clear "Deep Frost" barrier.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor any devastating energy clash.

It was a silent confrontation.

That dark green, highly toxic energy, like a drop of ink in clear water, frantically eroded the icy blue lake surface.

Countless twisted runes spread wildly after climbing onto the ice surface, leaving fine black cracks wherever they went.

The icy blue lake, with its tranquility, continuously freezes and purifies the invading malice.

The compassion and pity that originated from the depths of Lu Yueqi's heart transformed into waves of icy coldness, constantly repairing the cracks that were about to break.

Pollution and purification.

Distortion and tranquility.

Two diametrically opposed forces have led to a bizarre stalemate.

"puff!"

Lu Yueqi suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Forcibly maintaining the ice wall was causing her mental energy to be consumed at an unprecedented rate. She could feel her soul being repeatedly torn apart, as if it were being held between two enormous millstones. A series of needle-like stabbing pains shot through her brain, and the scenery before her eyes began to spin.

She knew she couldn't hold on for long.

On that icy blue barrier, black cracks spread faster and faster, and it looked like it was about to collapse completely.

At this most critical moment, a warm hand suddenly reached out from behind her and gently pressed on her shoulder.

It's Su Qin.

When she saw this tiny human girl risking her life to protect her, a complex emotion flashed in her empty eyes, which were filled with black tears.

There was shock, there was emotion, and there was a sense of relief at being redeemed.

A massive surge of spiritual energy slowly flowed from her palm into Lu Yueqi's nearly depleted body.

That energy was no longer hatred; it carried the "protection" of a mother and the "affection" of a wife.

With the support of this power, the shattering ice-blue barrier shone brightly in an instant!

The icy chill was infused with a warmth of home. The quiet sorrow was tempered with an unwavering resolve to protect loved ones.

"Click——"

The icy blue light gradually overwhelmed the eerie dark green.

The poisoned arrow, along with the metal arm, was completely frozen by the powerful force that combined "deep freeze" and "protection." In the end, it shattered into pieces like broken glass, turning into countless specks of light that dissipated into the air.

"No...impossible..."

Yao's remaining will let out a final scream filled with resentment and disbelief. It could not understand why its superior power, originating from the "Tower," had been defeated by these mortal "emotions" that it found utterly laughable.

"Because...you simply don't understand."

Su Qin's voice slowly rang out. This time, her voice no longer carried any hatred or madness, but only a calm and compassionate understanding of everything.

"You only know how to steal and pollute, but you will never understand... what true 'possession' is."

She turned her head away from the dissipating remains of the "head nurse" and instead cast her tender gaze upon the phantom holding the baby and looking at her husband with a worried expression.

"Fang Heng..."

“Aqin…”

Two souls, tormented for decades, finally embraced in this crumbling ruin.

Su Qin's body began to become increasingly transparent, and the immense spiritual energy was dissipating rapidly and peacefully.

She did not choose revenge, nor did she choose to linger; instead, she chose true "rest in peace."

She took one last look at the girl who had collapsed to the ground from exhaustion, and a smile of gratitude and relief spread across her face.

She, along with her husband and children, transformed into countless warm, firefly-like specks of light, gently dissipating into this dark prison.

With Su Qin, the "second king," fading away and Yao's "throne" being taken into Hei Yan's possession, this enormous prison of memories finally lost its core support.

The collapse of the entire world has entered its final, irreversible stage.

"Rumble--"

Huge chunks of stone began to rain down from the ceiling. On the ground, bottomless cracks opened wildly like the jaws of a monstrous beast, devouring everything around them. The surrounding walls collapsed with a deafening roar, like sandcastles weathered by the elements.

The end of the world has come to this place.

"Well done, little girl." Hei Yan's elegant aria rang in Lu Yueqi's ears. He had already transformed into a separate entity, supporting Bai Yu's swaying body, and slowly walked to her side.

His pure black eyes held a satisfied expression of satisfaction with the "performance" that had just taken place.

"With your pathetic compassion, you have successfully secured a final glimmer of hope for all of us. Now..."

His gaze fell upon this world that was about to vanish into nothingness, and a smile full of madness and challenge curled at the corner of his mouth.

"...It's time to leave."

He suddenly hoisted Bai Yu's body onto his shoulder, while grabbing Lu Yueqi's arm with his other hand.

"Hold on tight. The journey ahead might be a bit... bumpy."

Before he could finish speaking, a powerful nightmare force erupted from his body!
It was no longer just darkness; it was a void that even darkness itself had to retreat from.

Behind Hei Yan, the enormous ancient book reappeared. But this time, it wasn't for "collecting," but for "tearing apart"!
Just like tearing open the space of an ancient, silent ruin, he wanted to tear open this space!

The pages flipped frantically, finally stopping on a particular page.

That page was blank.

Hei Yan stretched out his free hand and dipped his fingertip into a drop of still-warm blood that had spilled from Bai Yu's mouth.

He used the drop of blood, a mixture of Bai Yu's and his own primal power, as dye to draw a rune that did not belong to this world on the blank page.

The rune was like a key, a master key that could forcibly open any "cage".

"With shattered souls as guides, and the ink of origin as the covenant, in this desolate land, let us forge... the path home!"

He recited his own "rules" in an ancient and majestic aria.

"Om-"

The pages of the book, covered in blood-red runes, suddenly burst forth with a blinding light that pierced through the illusion!

In the blinding light, the collapsing space in front of them was forcibly torn open with an irregular crack by this domineering and unreasonable force!
The other side of the rift is no longer any corner of this mental hospital.

That is the real world.

It was the children's activity room where a group of people were anxiously waiting!
"go!"

With a low growl, Hei Yan no longer hesitated. Carrying Bai Yu on one arm and dragging Lu Yueqi with the other, he leaped into the rapidly closing spatial rift!

The moment they burst through the rift, the memory cage behind them, which had imprisoned hundreds of tormented souls for decades, the hell on earth built by the mad scientist, the corrupted saintess, and the mother consumed by hatred, was finally annihilated in a final, deafening roar, ultimately returning to an eternal void.

……

In the real world, at Anling Mental Hospital, in the children's activity room.

An Mu, Mo Fei, and Lan Ce stood back to back, forming a standard triangular defensive formation, their expressions solemn as they stared at the enormous mural before them.

Ever since Bai Yu and Lu Yueqi were sucked into the painting, the entire activity room has fallen into an eerie silence. The monsters made of paint no longer attack, but simply stand quietly in place, like sinister sculptures.

But everyone knew that beneath this calm surface, a storm they could not imagine was brewing.

Lan Ce's gaze was fixed on the tactical tablet in his hand. The curves on the screen representing Lu Yueqi's vital signs and mental pollution index were jumping wildly at an extremely exaggerated amplitude, like riding a roller coaster.

Several times, the red alert line representing the pollution index had soared to over 90%, scaring him so much that he almost had to forcibly sever the mental link as instructed by An Mu.

But he ultimately held back. Because he had gleaned a faint but incredibly tenacious glimmer of hope from the chaotic data.

“Captain… Lu Yueqi… she… is still holding on…” His voice was a little hoarse.

An Mu didn't speak; he just gripped his weapon tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

His resolute face was etched with an unimaginable torment. He had to worry about the safety of the two team members depicted in the painting, and also be prepared to deal with any unexpected situation that might arise.

Time has never felt so long.

Just then, something unexpected happened!

The huge mural in front of us shook violently without warning!
Immediately afterwards, to the astonishment of the three, an irregular spatial rift appeared out of thin air in the very center of the mural.

"Be on guard!" An Mu's voice rang out instantly.

The next second, three disheveled figures tumbled out of the crack one after another.

The first to emerge was a figure shrouded in darkness, emanating a terrifying aura that sent shivers down one's spine. He carried a young man who was already unconscious on his shoulder.

It's Bai language!
Following closely behind was a girl who was equally listless and pale, but whose eyes were unusually bright.

It's Lu Yueqi!

They're back!
When Mo Fei and An Mu saw Bai Yu's miserable state, they almost rushed over immediately.

But Lan Ce stopped them.

"Wait! That...that is..." He pointed at the figure shrouded in darkness, his voice filled with shock and disbelief.

After bursting out of the rift, Hei Yan seemed to have exhausted his last bit of strength. The immense nightmare power within him receded like a tide, returning to Bai Yu's body.

Bai Yu's body slid down softly, but Lu Yueqi, who was right behind her, used her last bit of strength to hold her tightly so that she wouldn't fall to the ground.

The spatial rift closed rapidly after they emerged and quickly disappeared, as if it had never existed.

After losing all its energy support, the paint on the huge mural in front of us began to fade rapidly, eventually turning into a wall of gray and white, leaving only a mottled trace.

This S-class "deep mental nightmare" was completely resolved in a way that no one expected.

"Bai language!"

Mo Fei could no longer restrain himself. He rushed forward and carefully took Bai Yu's cold body, which was almost devoid of warmth, from Lu Yueqi's arms, who was barely able to hold on.

"Lan Ce! Quick! Check on him!" An Mu rushed over, his voice filled with urgency.

Lan Ce immediately stepped forward and attached a portable vital signs monitor to Bai Yu's wrist.

A series of red alerts, indicating "extreme danger," flashed frantically on the screen.

"Heart rate 45, blood pressure 60/30, body temperature below 35 degrees Celsius... mental energy... almost zero! His soul... his soul is dissipating! Captain! We must return to headquarters immediately! Any later... and it will really be too late!"

Lan Ce's voice was almost choked with sobs.

(End of this chapter)