Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

Room 101, the night was as dark as ink.

Wen Yan was leaning against the headboard, resting with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, a sharp, unpredictable heart palpitation struck.

"Thump—!"

This throbbing was different from the morbid spasms of the past; it was a resonance with a heavy echo, as if someone had thrown a boulder into the deep well of his soul.

Wen Yan pressed his hand to his chest, his consciousness sinking instantly into a void that only he could see.

In that chaotic sea of ​​consciousness, the soul connection that originally represented Xu Suyuan is now undergoing an astonishing transformation.

The originally delicate blue-purple light lines, which were as thin as gossamer threads, now seemed to be scorched by some kind of high temperature, and expanded violently.

The bluish-purple halo quickly dimmed, replaced by a chilling blackish-red.

A vast and chaotic torrent of emotions flowed back into Wen Yan's senses through this mutated connection.

cold.

The bone-chilling coldness was the despair that came from utterly losing faith in so-called "rules" and "justice".

heat.

The burning heat was the hatred that wanted to drag the enemy into the abyss and burn their bones and blood to ashes.

And an extremely twisted desire—

"I want you... to taste this feeling too."

"Unable to move...unable to cry out to heaven...only able to wait to die in the darkness..."

That was an extreme craving for "imprisonment" and "punishment".

Catalyzed by this emotion, the blue-purple light spot in the void that originally represented [Void Travel] began to tremble violently.

At its edge, like a cell dividing, a brand new spot of light slowly emerged.

It was a dark silver star, surrounded by wisps of tangible black mist, emanating a wave that seemed capable of swallowing even light.

A new capability has been born.

Void Imprisonment

[By distorting the spatial rules around one or more targets within a designated line of sight, an invisible 'spatial cage' is created. Those imprisoned will experience immense pressure, like that of the deep sea, rendering them unable to move, speak, or even think. The intensity and duration of the imprisonment depend on the host's mental strength and the extent of the target's struggle.]

As the new ability took shape, a purer life energy than before flowed back into Wen Yan's body through the soul connection.

"call……"

Wen Yan let out a long breath.

Nourished by this energy, the damaged heart inside the chest cavity emitted a powerful and steady beat.

The suffocating feeling that had been constantly looming over me had subsided considerably, and the shadow of death that had been hanging over my head seemed to have been pushed away by an invisible hand.

He raised his hand and looked at his pale palm.

Although still thin, the deathly grayness beneath his skin had faded considerably, replaced by a faint tinge of blood.

He did a quick mental calculation.

This positive feedback increased his life expectancy from "one and a half years" to nearly "two years".

More importantly, he felt that he had gained more control over his body.

The fear that his heart might suddenly stop beating out of control has disappeared, replaced by a subtle "early warning" mechanism—he can now clearly predict where his heart's limits are.

Wen Yan slowly opened his eyes, a deep, dark light flashing in his pupils.

"Chen Guohua represents 'burning' and 'blooming,' while Xu Suyuan represents 'penetration' and 'imprisonment'..."

"It seems that the Seed of Souls is not a fixed program, but more like a universal key."

"It does not directly grant power, but rather responds to the host's deepest desires, materializing them into rules that interfere with reality."

Chen Guohua wanted revenge, but his body was crippled and he had no time, so his wish was to "exchange his life for power even if it meant burning his life." Thus, the seed gave him the power of "burning life" and "blooming life."

When Xu Suyuan first arrived at the laboratory, facing the impenetrable walls, she thought of "escaping," and so the seed gave her the ability to "travel through the void."

And now...

Wen Yan looked out the window at the dark night sky, his gaze seemingly piercing through the barriers of space, and saw the girl standing in the shadows opposite the police station.

"I was kidnapped, lost my loved ones, and found myself with nowhere to turn for help..."

"When 'escape' has lost its meaning, when the desire for freedom has turned into hatred for the perpetrators."

"Her wish changed from 'I want to get out' to 'I want to lock you all in here'."

------

In the convenience store diagonally opposite the police station in the eighth district of Chenxi City.

Xu Suyuan sat on a high stool by the window, her head lowered, her messy long hair obscuring her face, revealing only a thin chin covered in bruises.

To outsiders, she looked like a homeless girl who had nowhere to turn and was crying silently.

But no one knew that beneath that thin, trembling body, a profound transformation at the level of the soul had just been completed.

【Void Imprisonment】.

The moment those four words came to mind, Xu Suyuan did not feel unfamiliar or afraid.

Instead, an instinct, seemingly innate, took over her consciousness.

She didn't even need to think about the principles; just as a newborn baby knows how to cry and a hungry beast knows how to bite, she instinctively knew how to mobilize this power to hunt.

Xu Suyuan slowly raised her head and looked out at the street through the glass of the convenience store.

The figure she hated to the core—Li Wei—was standing under the streetlight.

He seemed to have received some information from the shop owner, and his face, which had been wearing a fake smile, instantly filled with the excitement of a hunter who had found his prey.

He suddenly looked up, his gaze sweeping directly towards the convenience store, and then strode across the street.

He discovered it.

Xu Suyuan's pupils contracted slightly, but this time, she did not panic.

She simply slid down from the bar stool, her eyes becoming even more profound than the night outside.

Instead of heading towards the main entrance, she turned around and quietly pushed open the small door leading from the convenience store to the back alley.

……

"Ding-dong—Welcome!"

Li Wei pushed open the glass door, and a crisp, pleasant electronic voice rang out.

He glanced around the store, his gaze lingering for a second on the empty bar stool where someone had just been sitting, before walking toward the cashier.

"Where's the girl who was sitting by the window just now?" Li Wei pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his tone gentle, like an anxious older brother searching for his runaway sister.

The shop assistant, busy scrolling through his phone, casually pointed behind him: "Oh, that young lady? She just went out the back door, probably to the restroom."

"Thanks."

Li Wei's smile deepened.

A turtle trapped in a jar.

Without the slightest hesitation, he walked around the shelves and reached out to push open the door leading to the back alley.

The back alley is a narrow and cramped lane with towering gray walls on both sides, and only a faint streetlight shines in from the far end of the alley.

The air was filled with the sour smell of garbage cans, and several stray cats were startled by the sound of the door opening and jumped onto the wall.

This is a blind spot for surveillance, and also a breeding ground for crime.

Li Wei walked into the alley but did not see Xu Suyuan.

He wasn't in a hurry; in this dead end, the injured girl had no way to escape.

He took out his phone, dialed "Iron Hand's" number, and prepared to report the good news.

"Hello, Captain, this is Li Wei."

His voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet alley, "The target has been identified, in the back alley opposite the Eighth Precinct police station..."

Before he could finish speaking...

In the darkness, a pair of eyes opened.