124: Chapter 124 The more you try to hide the door, the more I'll light the fire.

Rainwater smashed onto the bloodline through a hole in the old theater's roof, causing the dark red patterns to tremble like a startled snake.

Little Candle squatted beside the bloodline. As her pale fingers just touched the damp floor tiles, the Anti-Contract Rune on her wrist emitted a faint, ghostly green light. "It's beating... like a heartbeat," she whispered, her voice trembling. Water droplets from the bloodline's earlier surge still clung to her eyelashes.

Black Crow stood at the edge of the stage, the blind youth's fingers rapidly stroking the piece of terminal scrap in his embrace.

The metal shard cut his palm until it bled, yet he seemed not to feel the pain, suddenly freezing—this was the 'data touch' unique to System Speakers.

"The Earth Vein Channel was sealed off thirty years ago," he said, his throat bobbing. A faint, pale grayish-blue color surfaced in his blind eyes. "But this bloodline... it's using the 'First Generation Login Credential.'"

Before his voice faded,

"Boom—"

The entire theater floor suddenly sank downward. Chen Fan instinctively shielded Shadow Weaver beside him, only to watch cracks spread outward from beneath their feet in a radial pattern.

A pillar of dark blue light, carrying the dusty smell of rust, shot into the sky, illuminating a nine-story phantom suspended in the rain curtain.

In the lowest ring of space, known as the Silent Corridor, hundreds of chains glowed with a cold light. Each chain ended in a blurry human-shaped outline, like an insect pressed into amber.

"That's not a map," Shadow Weaver slid down against the wall, the blood at the corner of her mouth staining her collar dark red. "It's an 'Awakening Order.' You've lit the self-destruct fuse the System buried ten years ago..." She tilted her face up; the tear mole near her eye glowed red from the bloodline's reflection. "Who do you think you saved? Once the Silent Corridor opens, all residual souls will be forcibly extracted as fuel... including Xiao Lin."

Chen Fan gently tapped Shadow Weaver's wrist.

Her pulse was as faint as a thread, yet he clearly remembered that three hours ago, this Shadow Pavilion spy could snap the necks of three Mutants with her bare hands.

"Including Xiao Lin?" he repeated, his voice heavy as a stone pressed to the bottom of a well.

The critical hit system vibrated in his Sea of Consciousness, and the stinging pain of the emotional backlash surged up his neck—his 18% critical hit rate was climbing along with his taut nerves.

Shadow Weaver's fingers suddenly gripped the corner of his coat.

Her nail, painted with vermilion, almost dug into the fabric: "He's been trapped in the System's database for ten years. One-seventh of his memory is extracted every day until he becomes a mere puppet executing commands." Her voice suddenly caught. "The 'Xiao Lin' in the bloodline just now was the last remnant of his lingering thought..."

Chen Fan looked down at the ground.

The dark red bloodline was still drilling into the earth through the cracks in the tiles, as if intending to burn through the entire city's earth veins.

He pulled out the key fragment from his embrace. The metal edge was still stained with Shadow Weaver's blood, burning his palm painfully.

"Then we'll kick the door open before they can extract him," he said, his voice light as a sigh, but every word was heavily stressed.

Black Crow suddenly threw the terminal scrap onto the ground. The moment the fragments scattered, a harsh static erupted on the System broadcast frequency: "'Red Candle Judge' has been dispatched to the ninth underground level to execute the 'Final Purification Ritual.'" He bent down to pick up a fragment with a screen, the ghostly blue fluorescence casting half his face a sickly green. "That's the System's cruelest Scavenger, specializing in burning residual souls."

Little Candle kept her eyes closed, the rune on her forehead shining blindingly.

She suddenly opened her eyes, the phantom chains in the air reflected in her pupils: "I can hear... they are crying." She pointed at Shadow Weaver. "It's not fear, it's relief. She said Xiao Lin didn't want to live anymore... but no one asked if he had a choice."

Chen Fan's fist cracked as he clenched it.

The critical hit system's alert exploded in his ear: [Detecting high-density emotional resonance, Sadness Critical Hit Probability +3%].

He could feel the System energy surging in his veins, like a ball of red-hot iron, suppressing the stinging pain of the emotional backlash.

"Su Shuang said that critical hits aren't manna from heaven," he smiled down at Shadow Weaver, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with his fingertip. "It means I'm determined to fight for a shred of reason against this broken System."

Shadow Weaver looked into his eyes and suddenly smiled.

That smile held the sharpness she possessed when she first entered the Shadow Pavilion ten years ago: "Chen Fan, you better be able to kick that door open."

Black Crow's fingers flew over the terminal scrap. "The Earth Vein Fissure is right in the center of the stage!" He suddenly looked up, his blind eyes fixed in Chen Fan's direction. "The channel will only last twelve minutes at most—is that enough time?"

"If it's not enough, we'll take it," Chen Fan gently placed Shadow Weaver onto a pile of old costumes backstage, taking off his coat to cover her eyes. "You shut up and don't look." He turned and walked toward the center of the stage. The blue light pillar cast a long shadow behind him. "Little Candle, ignite the fire. Black Crow, lock the frequency."

The Anti-Contract Rune on Little Candle's fingertip suddenly flared brightly.

She pressed it onto the bloodline on the ground, and the green light shot along the patterns into Chen Fan's feet.

Black Crow pressed the terminal scrap against the edge of the fissure and shouted hoarsely: "Channel connected!"

Chen Fan took a deep breath.

He could feel the tinder's blue flame churning in his Dantian—it was the 'Situation-Breaking Fire' nourished for him by Su Shuang using the Fox Demon power.

Sadness, anger, and unwillingness intertwined in his Sea of Consciousness. The critical hit system's alerts merged into one continuous sound: [Emotional Threshold Breached! Current Critical Hit Probability: 24%!]

"Sadness Critical Hit · Earth Vein Resonance!"

He punched toward the ground.

The blue flame, wrapped in golden electrical arcs, exploded, and the entire theater floor instantly cracked.

The cracks spread like a spiderweb onto the street. Rainwater poured into the fissures but instantly vaporized into white mist the moment it touched the blue flame.

The power of the tinder surged along the earth veins, like a red-hot knife, cleaving through all obstructing System barriers.

A muffled sound came from the direction of the Starlight Tower.

The iron door of the Silent Corridor shook violently, and the rusted gears began to turn.

Amidst the sound of grinding chains, a bound figure slowly raised his head.

The blue light seeping through the gap in his eyes was weak, yet sharp as a blade—this was the First Generation Record Keeper, 'Mo Hen,' who disappeared ten years ago, officially listed in System archives as 'voluntarily decommissioned.'

Chen Fan's palm suddenly throbbed with intense pain.

The key fragment was melting, and blood-red characters surfaced on his skin: [Silent Corridor Opened, Tinder Container Authentication Passed—Authority: Door Breaker].

He looked at the phantom chains in mid-air and could see the blurry human-shaped outlines becoming clearer.

A boy in a student uniform turned his face, his eyes shining like stars—it was the 'Xiao Lin' from Shadow Weaver's bloodline.

"Brother," the boy called softly, his voice traveling across ten years of System data flow. "Help me pull out this chain."

Little Candle whispered while looking toward the tower summit: "They... are starting to be afraid." Her voice was swept away by the wind but was exceptionally clear in Chen Fan's ear.

At the same time,

In the ruins of the Gray Alley Stronghold, Broken Pen Official crouched among the rubble.

His pale fingers were wrapped around data threads, meticulously stitching a piece of terminal scrap together.

The moment the screen lit up, the blue light from the Starlight Tower direction reflected in his pupils, and a sinister smile curled the corner of his mouth: "Interesting." He wrapped the thread around the scrap's interface. "Let's see how long this fire can burn."