I created a foundation

He also waved at her gently, as if to encourage a child who had done well.

An indescribable warmth, like the sunshine in early spring, instantly dispelled all the fatigue, tension and fear in Yukino's heart.

The cold mask melted quietly at this moment.

It turns out that he has always been there.

This cruel test that seemed to push her into a desperate situation was under his silent watch and protection from beginning to end.

On the rooftop, the faint light of morning light cast a faint golden hue on Lin Qing's profile.

He put down the coffee that had already cooled down in his hand and looked in the direction of Yukino, with the smile on his face still lingering.

The little girl's performance exceeded his expectations.

Not only did she successfully kill Nightmare, but more importantly, he admired the will and determination she showed in desperate situations, as well as the calmness that belonged to a strong person.

"very good."

He whispered to himself, with a hint of relief.

At this moment, the familiar system prompt sound rang in his mind.

[It was detected that the subordinate member Yukinoshita Yukino independently eliminated the demon-level abnormal target Nightmare. The target threat has been completely eliminated. ]

[Target naming and archiving in progress...]

[Name completed: SCP-013-Nightmare Ghost.]

[Containment Procedure Verification: The target has been completely decontaminated.]

[Basic rewards begin to be distributed...]

Lin Qing raised his eyebrows.

Normally, for an abnormality of this magnitude, the reward would be good, but it would not be enough to surprise him.

However, the next second, the system's voice had a subtle fluctuation.

[Target SCP-013 has been detected to possess the dual high-risk characteristics of pseudo-immortality (infinite rebirth based on the spiritual core) and wide-area mental contamination and manipulation.]

[Subordinate member Yukino Yukinoshita, despite insufficient intelligence and support, independently completed the decontamination of this high-risk target through her own observation, analysis, and combat skills. Performance rating: S+ (Excellent).]

[Comprehensive assessment, rewards will be significantly increased...]

A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Qing's eyes.

S+ rating, this is extremely high praise.

It seems that Yukino really tried her best this time and showed qualities far beyond those of investigators at the same stage.

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the conceptual weapon - [Sekiro Variant]! ]

Concept-level weapons.

Lin Qing's heart skipped a beat.

This is the highest level single reward he has received so far.

The moment the words fell, Lin Qing's right palm felt slightly warm.

In the air, countless dark red particles gathered out of thin air. Amidst the distortion of light and shadow, a slender and ancient sword quietly took shape and fell steadily into his palm.

The knife was about three feet long, with a narrow blade and a deep and ominous dark red color, as if it were made of solidified blood.

The hilt of the sword is a simple circle without any fancy patterns, but it exudes the calmness and murderous aura of a veteran on the battlefield.

The blade flashed with an icy light, but if you looked closely, you could see that it seemed to be surrounded by a faint crimson halo, as gorgeous as cherry blossoms and with a poignant beauty.

An extremely sharp will, as if it could cut off all causes and concepts in the world, flowed into Lin Qing's mind along the handle of the knife.

It is an absolute restraint against the characteristics of "immortality", "indestructibility" and "immortality".

Sekiro Variant: A conceptual weapon. Capable of severing and killing all beings that possess concepts such as immortality, indestructibility, eternal life, and infinite regeneration. It has a conceptually effective effect on souls, spirits, and units that rely on specific cores for resurrection.

[System prompt: This weapon has been optimized based on the host's characteristics, removing usage restrictions and curse effects such as the death of mortals and the splattering of blood when drawn. The host can use it without any side effects.]

[Note: This sword longs to slay the immortals and drink the blood of gods and demons.]

Lin Qing held the heavy [Immortal Slash] in his hand, his fingertips lightly brushed across the cold blade, feeling the terrifying power contained within it.

"Immortal Slash..."

He whispered the name, a gleam in his eyes.

The appearance of this knife is like timely help.

Among his collections and the enemies he may encounter in the future, there are many who possess various tricky undead abilities.

For example, Tomie's almost unsolvable splitting and regeneration.

For example, there may be other "ghosts", even those at the "Ghost King" level.

There are also those gods or monsters in myths and legends that are said to be immortal.

In the past, to deal with such enemies, one either had to rely on a more powerful force to completely crush them until they could no longer regenerate, or find their core or weaknesses. This process was often cumbersome and full of variables.

But now, with this [Immortal Slash], everything will become simple.

No matter how incredible the opponent's immortality is, as long as he is hit by this knife, his concept of "immortality" will be directly stripped away and cut off.

"It's a killer weapon."

Lin Qing smiled with satisfaction.

He could feel that the knife seemed to have a will of its own, eager to fight, eager to kill those who desecrated the cycle of life and death.

He casually swung his knife, and the dark red blade light drew a strange trajectory in the morning light, and the air seemed to be cut into an invisible crack.

This knife is not only sharp, but more importantly, it has the "concept killing" effect that comes with it.

This means that even an ultimate creature like Kaz, if its "immortality" is within the judgment range of [Undead Slash], can theoretically be injured or even killed by this sword.

Of course, this still needs to be tested in actual combat.

Lin Qing put [Immortal Slash] into the system space.

This weapon is too important to be shown to others easily.

Having solved a big problem in his heart, Lin Qing was in a very happy mood.

Although this nightmare incident had some twists and turns, the outcome was good.

Yukino was trained and grew, and he also gained a strategic weapon that could change the course of the battle.

His gaze once again turned to the teaching building where Yukino was.

The aftermath was left to Yukino to handle.

The three surviving ordinary students, Hayato Hayama, Yumiko Miura, and Yuigahama Yui...

A playful smile appeared on Lin Qing's lips.

Having witnessed the other side of the world with their own eyes, will they choose to forget it and return to their ordinary daily lives, or will they choose to embrace this cruel reality and step into the unknown?

This will be an important turning point in their lives.

And how will Yukino, as their "guide", deal with it?

Lin Qing was looking forward to this.

He withdrew his gaze, and his figure gradually faded in the morning light, as if it had merged into the air, leaving no trace.

On the rooftop, only the long-cold cup of coffee remained, bearing witness to everything that had happened last night.

Chapter 126: Cutting off the Undead Blade

The wind on the rooftop brought the coolness of the night, blowing Lin Qing's clothes.

He could sense that the cold breath of nightmare in the distance was rapidly dissipating like the receding tide, and was eventually completely annihilated.

Yukino did a great job.

He waved silently in the direction of the teaching building, as if giving some kind of silent praise.

Almost at the same moment when he lowered his arm, a cold and mechanical electronic synthesized sound rang out in the depths of his mind.

[Detected that subordinate member Yukinoshita Yukino independently eliminated the demon-level abnormal target Nightmare-, threat eliminated.]

"Ghost level..."

Lin Qing's eyes were calm and composed. For Xueno, facing this level of abnormality on her own for the first time, this was indeed a severe test, but also a rare opportunity for growth.

The system sound paused slightly, as if performing complex data archiving and calculations.

[Naming…SCP-013-Nightmare Ghost.]

[Containment Procedure Verification: Target has been decontaminated. Rewards are being distributed...]

"Purification."

Lin Qing silently recited the word. It wasn't simply annihilation, but a complete erasure from the very level of existence. This meant that the nightmare anomaly, along with all the direct mental pollution it caused, no longer existed.

[System determination: This time, we successfully dealt with a high-risk target possessing both pseudo-immortality and widespread mental contamination. Subordinate members have performed exceptionally well, and their rewards have been increased...]

"Pseudo-immortality..."

"Wide-area spiritual pollution..."

A flash of understanding flashed in Lin Qing's eyes. Nightmare's ability was indeed a formidable one. If it weren't for Xueno's equally exceptional mental strength and the means to restrain it, ordinary investigators, even experienced ones, would have been in a difficult situation, and even risked backlash.

The system's judgment this time was quite pertinent.

The four words "reward increase" gave him a sense of anticipation.

The next second, the cold electronic sound announced the final reward with a hint of imperceptible solemnity.

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the conceptual weapon - [Sekiro]! ]

"Conceptual-level weapon."

These five words fell into Lin Qing's consciousness, as if carrying some kind of strange weight, making the air around him seem to stagnate for a moment.

He held out his right hand, palm facing up.