15: Chapter 15 Midnight Surgery

11:50 PM, Yongxin Cultural and Creative Park.

Towering isolation hoardings and "Construction Site, No Entry" warning signs sealed off the park from the outside world. Only a few solitary emergency lights cast sickly green halos in the corners, making the night feel even more viscous. The cold, eerie air, mixed with the scents of rust, dust, and a faint charred smell, could be felt even outside the barriers.

Lin Yuan, dressed in dark clothing suitable for movement and carrying a bulging tool bag, quietly climbed over a fence in a blind spot of the surveillance and dropped into the park. The moment he landed, that familiar, bone-chilling cold immediately enveloped him, clearer and more "aggressive" than during his daytime survey. It was as if the darkness of the entire park was silently squirming, watching this uninvited intruder.

He took a deep breath, activating the last few hours of his [Weak Chaos Perception] state. In his field of vision, the world was draped in a faint gray filter, while energy flows appeared as blurred trails of different colors: grayish-black, smoke-like wisps representing chaotic resentment drifted slowly in the air; in the distant core factory area, there was a huge, churning dark gray vortex mixed with dark red (blood evil) and pale white (infant spirit); under his feet, he could faintly see earthy yellow, slightly disordered Earth Qi flowing like a slow stream.

He first took the small bronze incense burner—the "soul soothing guide"—out of his tool bag. Injecting about 0.5 points of Power of Faith, the aged incense ash inside began to glow, and a subtle, peaceful scent of sandalwood and earth diffused. The surrounding grayish-black wisps of resentment seemed to be brushed by a gentle breeze; their flow slowed down, and they subconsciously avoided the range of the incense burner's aura, their overall "hostility" seemingly lowered by a fraction.

Effective. But the range was limited, only covering about five meters around him.

Holding the faintly glowing incense burner in one hand and the "spirit aura pointer" (which was now pointing wildly toward the factory) in the other, he began to move toward the core area. He kept his footsteps extremely light to avoid startling anything.

Along the way, those renovated shops looked like monsters with bared fangs and brandished claws in the darkness and his spiritual perception vision. The test points for the "revealing powder" had even clearer gray mist trails than during the day. He carefully avoided several corners where energy was particularly stagnant.

Soon, he stood once again before the escape room venue, renovated from an old factory, whose entrance resembled a rusted giant mouth.

The energy pressure here was the strongest. The huge dark gray energy vortex was slowly rotating inside the building, with dark red and pale white light spots flickering at its core, like the heart of a sleeping monster. The "spirit aura pointer" had completely failed here, shaking wildly. Meanwhile, the "bronze bell" in his bosom was spontaneously emitting a continuous low-frequency vibration, buzzing as if warning of danger.

This was the place.

He did not enter immediately but circled to the side of the building. Following the sketch provided by Chairman Liu, he found the ground roughly above the marked "Main Sword Position." This was a patch of concrete open space, directly adjacent to the outer wall of the building.

He took out the first "Earth Qi Anchor Talisman." The talisman felt heavy in his hand, and earthy yellow light flowed on its leather surface. Following the usage instructions provided by Boss Qian, he laid the talisman flat on the ground. Dipping his finger into a small amount of "spirit ink"—a mixture of cinnabar and his own blood that he had prepared in advance—he quickly drew a startup rune representing "stability" and "connection" in the center of the talisman, while simultaneously injecting 1 point of Power of Faith.

"Hum—"

The talisman flared brightly, then the light receded, seeping into the concrete floor like spilled mercury. Lin Yuan immediately felt that, centered on the talisman, the earthy yellow Earth Qi within a radius of about ten meters, which had been somewhat disordered and flowing slowly, suddenly became stagnant, heavy, and orderly, as if fixed by an invisible force field. The flow of other energies (resentment, evil aura) within the area was also significantly suppressed, becoming sluggish.

Success! The first stable anchor point was established.

He quickly moved to the other side of the venue and, near another secondary "suppression object" point marked on the sketch, followed the same procedure to lay down the second "Earth Qi Anchor Talisman." The two anchor points echoed each other; while they couldn't cover the entire underground of the venue, they were enough to build a relatively stable "operating table" in the critical area.

Preparations were complete. 1.5 points of faith reserve consumed, 8.007 remaining.

Next was the most dangerous step—entering the "operating room" and attempting the separation.

He checked his equipment again: his left hand held the "soul soothing guide" that was continuously emitting a peaceful aura, his right hand gripped the only remaining "Ancient Battlefield Talisman," the "bronze bell" hung at his waist, and in his bosom was hidden the simple "soul soothing array" scroll (the target container) drawn with his own blood on special yellow paper.

He adjusted his breathing, pushing his "Optimization" intent to the limit, forming a faint golden, order-filled film of light on his body. This light film had limited defensive power, but it could minimize the direct erosion and interference of chaotic energy on him.

Then, he stepped forward and entered that "rusted giant mouth" for the third time.

Darkness instantly swallowed him. The flashlight beam pierced through the thick ink-like blackness but couldn't shine very far; the light seemed to be absorbed. In his spiritual perception vision, the huge dark gray vortex was close at hand, rotating slowly, bringing a suffocating pressure. Fragments of various negative emotions—pain, despair, anger, coldness—were like countless tiny needles, trying to penetrate his "Optimization" light film.

He headed straight for the "abandoned medical station" area where he had discovered the strongest reaction from the infant spirit's resentment last time.

The closer he got, the colder and more viscous the air became. The aura of the "soul soothing guide" faced significant resistance here. The pale white light spot in the vortex seemed to have sensed something and began to flicker and move restlessly.

Now!

Lin Yuan stopped at a relatively empty spot where the ground was still reasonably clean, quickly unfolded the "soul soothing array" scroll from his bosom, and pinned down the four corners with a few small stones. This was a simple array drawn with his blood and the intent of "purification" and "guidance," leaving the center empty.

Next, he carefully placed the "soul soothing guide" incense burner in the center of the array, injected another 0.5 points of Power of Faith, and maximized its soothing and guiding effect! At the same time, he mobilized the remaining Power of Faith (about 7 points) to construct a pale golden energy channel between the incense burner and himself—invisible to the naked eye but crystal clear in spiritual perception. One end of the channel connected to the peaceful aura of the incense burner, while the other end, like a nimble tentacle, cautiously reached toward the flickering pale white light spot in the vortex—the core of the infant spirit's resentment!

"Come... come here... peace... belonging..." Lin Yuan silently chanted in his heart, pouring his intent regarding "guidance," "sorting," and "establishing a virtuous cycle" from his "Optimization" divine profession through the faith channel with all his might.

The pale white light spot flickered violently! It seemed confused, simultaneously attracted by the peaceful aura of the incense burner and the guiding force of the faith channel, while being firmly pulled and bound by other resentment and evil auras in the vortex.

The rotation speed of the vortex increased significantly! The dark gray energy began to churn restlessly, and the dark red evil aura light spots also suddenly brightened, emitting a violent aura.

The temperature in the entire venue plummeted! The flashlight beam began to flicker unstably!

The "bronze bell" in his bosom rang frantically! Lin Yuan felt immense danger approaching!

But he couldn't stop! This was the only chance!

He gritted his teeth, increased the output of the Power of Faith again, making the guiding channel stronger and more attractive. At the same time, he expanded his "Optimization" light film, attempting to briefly "isolate" the other parts of the vortex from pulling on the infant spirit's resentment.

"Hiss... ya—!"

A sharp, infant cry (on the spiritual perception level) full of pain and confusion suddenly rang out! A small part of that pale white light spot suddenly tore free from the vortex, turning into a blurred, curled-up white phantom. Following the pale golden faith channel, it wobbled and was drawn toward the incense burner and the soul soothing array on the ground!

The first step was successful!

But at the same time, the entire energy vortex flew into a rage!

The dark red evil aura gushed out like boiling blood, mixed with grayish-black resentment from work-related injuries, forming several hideous energy currents like rusted metal tentacles, lashing fiercely toward Lin Yuan and the infant spirit phantom being drawn! The air was filled with a strong smell of rust and burnt stench!

"Ring—!"

Lin Yuan shook the "bronze bell" violently. The clear sound waves, mixed with the Power of Faith he had infused, spread out, colliding with the first two energy tentacles that attacked, slightly shattering and delaying them.

But more tentacles attacked from all directions! One of them even coiled directly toward the fragile soul soothing array and incense burner on the ground!

At the critical moment!

A fierce light flashed in Lin Yuan's eyes, and the "Ancient Battlefield Talisman" he had been holding in his right hand was instantly activated!

"Chi la—!"

A blood evil aura, fiercer than the previous two times, soared into the sky, turning into a crescent-shaped scarlet blade light, accurately slashing toward the energy tentacle coiling toward the array, and the core area with the densest dark red evil aura in the vortex behind the tentacle! He wanted to besiege Wei to rescue Zhao, creating time for the separation at the same time!

The evil aura of the talisman collided violently with the evil aura of the aggregate!

"Boom—!!!"

A silent explosion roared on the spiritual perception level! The entire venue trembled (the physical structure also groaned)! The dark red tentacles were mostly severed, and the scarlet blade light, its momentum undiminished, fiercely slashed into the core of the vortex!

The vortex stalled, its rotation almost stopped, and a painful roar, as if countless metals were twisting and rubbing, issued from within!

Now! Lin Yuan seized this fleeting gap and pulled with all his might!

The white infant spirit phantom finally completely broke away from the vortex and swooshed into the center of the soul soothing array on the ground! The blood patterns on the array lit up instantly, forming a pale golden light shield, shrouding the phantom and the incense burner inside! The phantom curled up blankly inside, seemingly much quieter.

Separation successful!

But Lin Yuan also paid a huge price: the last attack talisman was exhausted, and the Power of Faith had consumed nearly 3 more points during the recent explosion and pulling, leaving about 4 points. And more importantly—

The heavily struck aggregate had gone completely berserk!

The remaining dark red evil aura and grayish-black resentment merged frantically. The vortex was no longer a vortex; it began to collapse inward and condense! A blurred, huge, and hideous outline composed of rusted metal, charred limb fragments, and painful faces was slowly "standing up" from the energy vortex! It was three or four meters tall, almost touching the factory ceiling! It radiated a terrifying pressure that made the soul freeze!

It had no eyes, but Lin Yuan felt two "gazes" full of endless resentment and destructive desire, locked onto him!

"Roar—!!!"

Not a sound, but a roar acting directly on the soul, crashing down like a tsunami!

Lin Yuan muffled a groan, blood seeping from his nose and mouth. The "Optimization" light film flickered violently, almost shattering! The "bronze bell" in his bosom let out a wail, and fine cracks appeared!

Run!

This was his only thought at this moment!

He grabbed the array scroll (along with the incense burner) on the ground that was wrapping the infant spirit phantom, turned around, and ran for his life toward the entrance!

Behind him, the terrifying aggregate outline took heavy "steps." Wherever it passed, scenery walls collapsed, metal twisted, and it pursued relentlessly with the momentum of crushing everything!

The light of the exit was right ahead!

Lin Yuan rushed out of the "rusted giant mouth" and ran wildly toward the edge of the park without looking back! He could feel the cold breath of death behind him following like a shadow!

However, just as he was about to climb over the fence again—

On the open space ahead, under the moonlight, a tall, thin figure wearing a black Tang suit and round sunglasses was standing quietly.

The figure was playing with a black ring in his hand, making a slight, teeth-aching friction sound.

A hoarse voice with a southern accent rang out slowly:

"Tsk tsk, little friend, not bad craftsmanship, dismantling a part from my 'little treasure' and taking it away."

"However, taking without asking is stealing."

"That smell of 'God of Ruins' on you... and 'Optimization'? Heh, that's fresh."

"Put the thing down, and hand over that interesting thing in your divinity, and this old man might... consider leaving you with a whole soul."

Mr. Mo!

He really came!

And, he blocked the only path to survival!

Ahead was a mysterious evil cultivator, and behind was a berserk, terrifying aggregate monster.

Lin Yuan's heart sank to the bottom.

A desperate situation.

A true desperate situation.