125: In internet cafes late at night, instant noodles and deadly danger coexist!

“Thousand Illusions…”

Lin Yuan’s mind stirred.

“Buzz—”

The silver mask came alive, transforming into a puddle of liquid that crawled up his hand, eventually covering his face.

Immediately following was a strange sense of control.

Bones were subtly adjusting, muscles were reorganizing.

Lin Yuan walked to the mirror.

In the mirror, an unfamiliar face appeared.

An unremarkable, “average face” that would be impossible to find in a crowd.

Around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, his skin appeared somewhat dull from prolonged late nights.

His hair was messy, as if he had just climbed out of bed.

This was the image of a typical unemployed youth, burning the midnight oil writing, with an uncertain future.

Lin… no, now he should be “Zhang Wei,” “Li Qiang,” or just some random passerby.

He pulled at the corners of his mouth, looking at himself in the mirror.

“Zhang Wei” in the mirror also showed a decadent smile.

“Not bad.”

Lin Yuan was very satisfied.

With acting like this, it would be a waste not to win an Oscar for Best Actor.

He moved the muscles in his face; there was no discomfort, as if this face had always been his.

The Abyssal Mithril Mask was truly terrifying.

After all this, he slowly walked to the bed and sat down.

He opened his terminal, and the promised encrypted file had already been sent.

He clicked it open.

A map of the entire Jiang City popped up, with more than a dozen suspicious locations marked with red dots.

“Boundary-Drawing Formation…”

Lin Yuan’s gaze swept over these red dots one by one.

Chemical factories, slaughterhouses, subways… these places were either crowded with people or had chaotic energy, making them excellent spots for clandestine activities.

His gaze finally settled on one of the red dots.

“Extreme Speed Internet Cafe?”

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

This place seemed so out of place among a host of “demonic” locations.

It was located on the commercial street of the old city, with a huge flow of people and a strong sense of everyday life.

Setting the “formation eye” in such a place?

Was it a sign of great skill and audacity, or was the most dangerous place indeed the safest?

“Interesting.”

Lin Yuan closed the map and rummaged through his wardrobe for a tracksuit to change into.

Paired with canvas shoes on his feet.

A standard “unemployed youth” image, freshly minted… Half an hour later.

Old city, Extreme Speed Internet Cafe.

The pungent smell of smoke mixed with instant noodles.

The clatter of keyboards, the clicking of mice, and the excited shouts of players merged into a cacophonous symphony.

“Nice! Brother! I’m invincible this round!”

“Mid lane, mid lane! Someone come help, Dad! I’m getting ganked hard!”

“Damn it! You old bastard! Hiding in the bush to ambush me!”

“Mommy, Mommy…”

Lin Yuan walked in slowly, hands behind his back.

His decadent youth appearance didn’t attract any attention here.

The internet cafe attendant at the front desk was dozing off, only glancing at him and asking weakly,

“Overnight or by the hour?”

“Overnight.”

Lin Yuan tossed a crumpled banknote and walked straight to a corner furthest inside.

He powered on a computer and skillfully logged into the Chinese server of Valorant.

In the character selection interface, he instantly locked in a duelist hero.

As the game began, Lin Yuan put on his headphones, pressed the in-game voice chat button, and shouted in a slightly chuunibyou voice: “Brothers, listen to my commands this round!”

Controlling his character, he charged through the map while muttering: “Is this all the enemy’s gun-wielder has? So funny.”

“I’m up, one-shot, what’s there to say.”

This appearance of a seasoned “Valo-bro” perfectly blended in with the surroundings.

But his attention was not on the game at all.

Electromagnetic Induction had already been activated.

On the first floor, one hundred and twenty machines, ninety-seven users online.

On the second floor, VIP rooms, twenty rooms, twelve of which had lights on.

The basement was a warehouse, filled with miscellaneous items.

Every wire in the walls, every camera on the ceiling, even the operating power of the ice machine in the neighboring milk tea shop… everything was in his mind.

He was searching.

Searching for any trace of… disharmonious energy fluctuations.

However.

An hour passed.

Two hours passed.

But he found nothing.

“Damn it.”

Lin Yuan cursed inwardly.

“Nothing at all.”

This internet cafe was too normal.

So normal that Lin Yuan began to suspect if Zhou Weiguo’s intelligence was flawed.

There were no traces of any supernatural power here.

No formations, no Spiritual Artifacts, not even a single cockroach affected by Spiritual Qi.

It was just an ordinary, black internet cafe where countless youths squandered their youth and money.

Time quietly moved into the latter half of the night.

The number of people in the internet cafe gradually decreased.

The shouting also died down, leaving only sporadic keyboard sounds.

Just then.

Lin Yuan’s eyelids twitched slightly.

They’re here!

A subtle energy fluctuation quietly spread out.

He immediately recognized it.

It was abyssal spores!

Although much weaker than what he encountered last time, that cold, decaying characteristic was exactly the same!

They floated in the air.

“Ha—ah—”

A young man with yellow hair not far from Lin Yuan yawned widely, tears streaming down his face.

“I can’t do it, I can’t hold on, I’m getting old, can’t stay up anymore.”

He mumbled, trying to stand up, but his body felt heavy as if filled with lead.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Finally, he tilted his head, leaned against the chair back, and let out a soft snore.

He had fallen asleep.

This was just the beginning.

One.

Two.

Five.

In the internet cafe, those “warriors” who were still fighting one by one collapsed.

In just a few short minutes.

The entire internet cafe was left with only the colorful lights of the computer screens still flashing.

Everyone had fallen asleep.

Except for Lin Yuan.

He still sat in the corner, head down, as if he too had fallen into a deep slumber.

At this moment.

The back door of the internet cafe was pushed open.

Several figures dressed in Cleaner uniforms, pushing trash cans, walked in.

Their movements were practiced, not making a single unnecessary sound.

They walked up to a sleeping young man, and one of them reached out and checked his breath.

Then, he nodded to his companion.

The two of them lifted the young man, like dragging a sack, and threw him into the trash cart.

Then, they moved on to the next one.

Their target was everyone “asleep” here.

A chill flashed through Lin Yuan’s heart.

So, this was what was happening…

What a brilliant deception.

If he hadn’t come in person, the Dragon Shield Bureau would have investigated until death without finding any problems with this internet cafe.

Now, Lin Yuan was faced with two choices.

One, jump up now, arrest all these “Cleaners,” then torture them to find out their hideout.

But the consequence of doing so would be to immediately alert the enemy.

The Apocalypse Society would not give them a second chance.

Two… Lin Yuan slowly closed his eyes.

He adjusted the bio-electric currents on the surface of his body to the exact same frequency as those who had fallen into deep sleep.

Then, he tilted his body.

“Thud.”

His head gently knocked against the keyboard.

Making a soft sound.

Two “Cleaners” noticed the movement and pushed their cart over.

One of them felt Lin Yuan’s neck.

“There’s another one.”

“Hurry up, it’s almost dawn.”

Four arms supported Lin Yuan’s body.

Dragging him from the chair.

The next second, he felt himself being tossed up, then falling into a space emitting a strange odor.

“Bang.”

The lid of the trash cart was closed.