122: Chapter 122 Loyalty Screening: Mind Reading Reveals a Loyalist

Netherworld Fortress, Central Hall.

The atmosphere was as heavy as the deathly silence before a storm.

Su Qingyu had been sent to the inner hall to rest. The pale cracks on her neck were like some ominous mark; though temporarily sealed, the faint "hunger" they occasionally transmitted still left her feeling uneasy.

Lin Chen sat high upon the throne of the Lord of the Underworld, his expression icy and unreadable. Below him stood two rows of core members in solemn silence—Zhang Hao, Little Red Clothes (clutching her doll), the recently returned Ghost General Lei Xiao, whose soul body was still somewhat weak, and several of the first Yin Soldier Myriarchs to follow him.

In the center of the hall, runes flickered on the empty floor, forming a temporary containment area.

"Boss, everyone is here." Zhang Hao floated at the front, rubbing his hands together, appearing somewhat nervous yet eager. He knew that what came next would be his "shining moment," as well as the moment he stirred up a hornet's nest.

Lin Chen's gaze was like a cold searchlight, slowly sweeping over every one of "his people" below before finally landing on Zhang Hao.

"Begin," he uttered, concise and to the point.

"Yes!"

Zhang Hao took a deep breath of ghostly qi, and his translucent ghost body instantly became a few shades more solid. He walked to the center of the hall, faced everyone, and closed his eyes.

In the next second, an invisible and intangible mental wave, carrying a strong sense of prying, radiated out from him like mercury spreading across the floor, silently covering the entire hall!

Mind Reading, fully activated!

At this moment, the inner thoughts of every being in the hall—as long as they lacked special soul protection—echoed clearly in Zhang Hao's mind as if placed under a loudspeaker, to be screened and interpreted by him!

(A certain Yin Soldier Myriarch A: "The Lord of the Underworld's aura is even more terrifying... What's the meaning of this screening? Does he suspect us?")

(Yin Soldier Myriarch B: "A straight shadow fears no crooked light. If he wants to check, let him! It's the perfect time to show my loyalty!")

(Little Red Clothes: [Fiddling with her doll's fingers] "Hungry... I really want to... take that new guy [referring to Lei Xiao]... apart and see...")

(Lei Xiao: [Soul body slightly tensed] "My conscience is clear. I only seek to atone for my crimes through service and restore the glory of the Netherworld!")

For the first few dozen seconds, everything was normal. Although the inner thoughts were cluttered, most were filled with awe for Lin Chen, confusion about the screening, or some insignificant stray thoughts.

Zhang Hao breathed a small sigh of relief and prepared to report the preliminary situation to Lin Chen.

Suddenly!

An extremely subtle yet malicious and cunning thought, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, bored into his perception!

(..."Damn it... why a sudden screening... it's that new half-ghost mongrel... Mind Reading? I must hide deeper... for my God... for the final descent...")

This thought flashed and vanished, and its source was surprisingly—a Yin Soldier Centurion standing third in the left-hand queue! He was one of the "veterans" who had followed Lin Chen from the mortal world to the Netherworld!

Zhang Hao's ghost body shuddered violently. He snapped his eyes open and pointed at that centurion in disbelief, his voice shifting in pitch:

"You! It's you! You're calling me a mongrel in your heart! And you still want to hide?!"

The centurion's face (the color of his soul body) changed instantly, but he immediately forced a calm expression and knelt on one knee, his voice carrying a sense of being wronged: "Master Zhang! This is a misunderstanding! This subordinate is loyal to the Lord of the Underworld and to you, with no second thoughts!"

"Bullshit!" Zhang Hao shrieked. He read that the other party was currently cursing him frantically in his mind while using an extremely hidden secret technique to reinforce his mental defenses. "You're still cursing me in your heart! You're even using a secret technique! Boss! He has a problem! A huge problem!"

Lin Chen's eyes turned cold. He didn't even need to give the order.

Standing beside that centurion, Lei Xiao's eyes flashed with lightning. His fan-like hand shot out in a blur, clutching the centurion's neck like an iron pincer! His other hand pressed directly onto the crown of the centurion's head, and violent Ghost General-level energy instantly surged in, forcibly interrupting the secret technique!

"Argh!" The centurion let out a pained roar, his soul body twisting violently.

The moment his mental defenses were forcibly broken, more foul and crazed thoughts flooded out like a burst dam, clearly captured by Zhang Hao!

(..."Lurk... wait for the divine oracle... the Nether Lord Bloodline must be sacrificed... destroy the Fortress core...")

"Soul Search!" Lin Chen's cold voice rang out.

Lei Xiao did not hesitate. His powerful divine sense, like a steel needle, pierced into the depths of the centurion's soul, forcibly flipping through his memory fragments!

Scene after scene was displayed in the air of the hall via energy projection by Lei Xiao:

—This centurion had already been secretly discovered by the Thousand Faces Cult back in the mortal world; he was a very deeply planted mole!

—He followed Lin Chen to the Netherworld, acting "diligent" all the way and even earning small merits, all just to gain trust and climb to a higher position.

—He had secretly transmitted intelligence regarding the Fortress layout and Lin Chen's behavioral habits multiple times!

—He had even developed two subordinates!

Pfft!

Without waiting for Lin Chen's order, Lei Xiao released a burst of energy from his hand. The centurion's soul body, along with his wicked memories, was instantly shattered into the purest yin qi and dissipated into the air.

Clean and efficient!

Inside the hall, there was a deathly silence. Everyone was intimidated by this sudden discovery of a mole and the brutal methods of purging.

"Continue." Lin Chen's voice remained flat, as if he had just swatted a fly.

Zhang Hao swallowed nonexistent saliva, feeling immense pressure. He closed his eyes again, and his Mind Reading waves became even more meticulous and deep.

With the first one found, there came a second, a third...

(Found a logistics manager who was plotting how to embezzle nether talismans for personal gain and secretly selling low-level intelligence to an external power...)

(Found a patrol captain who harbored resentment toward Lin Chen's "tyranny" and was secretly recording Fortress defense loopholes, preparing for an opportunity to sell them to hostile forces...)

(Found a Fierce Ghost who had recently surrendered; on the surface he was respectful, but in his heart he was thinking of how to find a chance to devour a few weak Yin Soldiers to increase his strength...)

These were still manageable, mostly internal corruption or harboring dissent.

What truly made Zhang Hao and everyone else's skin crawl were those "deep sleepers" belonging to the Thousand Faces Cult!

(An administrative female ghost responsible for resource statistics, repeatedly chanting prayers to the God of a Thousand Faces in her heart using a secret code...)

(An honest-looking artisan ghost who had a "self-destruct" command planted deep in his soul, which could destroy an entire workshop at a critical moment...)

(Even... even in the soul of a seemingly harmless little maidservant responsible for taking care of Su Qingyu's mother, Lin Chen's Mother, he read an extremely malicious thought—to find an opportunity to stimulate Lin Chen's Mother's soul body, causing it to completely collapse and dissipate, in order to strike at Su Qingyu and Lin Chen!)

"Seize them! Seize them! Get them all out!" Zhang Hao pointed them out one by one, his ghost body shaking with rage. He felt as if he had lanced a giant abscess crawling with maggots!

With every identification, Lei Xiao or a nearby Yin Soldier Myriarch would immediately act, either capturing or killing them on the spot! Within the hall, the light of souls being extinguished flashed from time to time, accompanied by deathbed screams or curses.

An aura of slaughter filled the air.

When Zhang Hao's Mind Reading swept over the last core member—the most senior Yin Soldier Myriarch standing at the very end—he habitually prepared to conclude.

However, the instant the mental wave passed over, he captured an extremely faint... noise that almost blended in with the subject's own soul fluctuations?

That noise wasn't an evil thought, but rather a... passive, continuous state of "information reception"? It was like an eavesdropping device that was always on standby!

Zhang Hao stopped abruptly, focusing all his attention there.

The Myriarch seemed to sense something. He looked up, his gaze as loyal and resolute as ever: "Director Zhang, do you have any instructions?" (Inner thought: "Is the screening finally ending? The Lord of the Underworld should be satisfied.")

On the surface, there were no flaws! His inner thoughts were also perfectly fine!

But Zhang Hao's intuition as a Fierce Ghost, combined with his enhanced Mind Reading, latched onto that sliver of inconsistency!

"No... something's wrong with you..." Zhang Hao stared at him intensely, circling him. "In your soul... there's something... listening?!"

As soon as these words came out, even Lin Chen sat up slightly straighter. Lei Xiao and the other Myriarchs instantly became alert, faintly surrounding that final Myriarch.

The Myriarch's expression changed, showing the indignation of one falsely accused: "Director Zhang! I have followed the Lord of the Underworld since his humble beginnings until now, through a hundred battles. Every scar on my body is a witness! How can you slander me out of thin air?!"

(Inner thought: "Why target me? I have no problems!")

Ignoring his defense, Zhang Hao reported his discovery and that feeling of "being eavesdropped upon" to Lin Chen in detail.

Lin Chen's gaze fell upon the Myriarch, profoundly deep. He didn't speak, but simply raised his hand.

A power far more domineering and fundamental than Zhang Hao's Mind Reading, like an invisible scanner, instantly enveloped the Myriarch.

This was an investigation combining the authority of the Lord of the Underworld with system power!

A few seconds later, Lin Chen spoke slowly, his tone carrying a trace of cold realization:

"He is not a mole."

Everyone was stunned.

Lin Chen continued: "But his soul origin has been tampered with without him even knowing. A 'soul beacon' has been implanted."

"This beacon doesn't actively transmit information, but it acts like a lighthouse, continuously and passively emitting a positioning signal that is extremely hard to detect. It also vaguely reflects 'environmental information' (including our conversations and energy fluctuations) within a certain range."

"In other words," Lin Chen's voice was as cold as ice, "from the moment he began following me, most of our actions have likely been like a play seen through frosted glass in the eyes of the enemy—not clearly seen, but they've always known roughly what was being performed."

The Myriarch felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His face turned as white as paper, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud, his soul body trembling violently from extreme fear and self-reproach: "This subordinate... this subordinate did not know! I deserve ten thousand deaths!! Please forgive me, Lord of the Underworld!!" (His current thoughts were drowned in endless panic and guilt).

After hearing this, Zhang Hao was also completely dumbfounded. He pointed at the Myriarch, then looked at Lin Chen, his voice dry and carrying a hint of a sob:

"Boss... even among our earliest Yin Soldier Centurions, three were infiltrated... and now... now even a veteran at the Myriarch level..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was unmistakably clear.

This Netherworld Fortress, from its very roots, had likely long since been infiltrated until it was like a sieve!

(Hook: Lin Chen looked at the Myriarch kneeling and begging for forgiveness. There was no warmth in his eyes, only a bone-chilling killing intent spreading through the hall.)