In another room not far from the cell, Song Cheng instinctively held his breath, watching the images displayed on the screen and the various readings and layered analysis videos shown on several other monitors beside it.

Baili Qing sat next to him, calmly watching those images.

"Director, did you see it clearly just now?" Song Cheng slightly turned his head and glanced at Baili Qing, who had an expressionless face, "When that puppet made a move just now..."

"I saw it," Baili Qing said faintly, "a certain unknown property, a 'thread' of physical substance, that can act on both the physical and mental, but... it's different from the threads used by Alice's puppet in my impression."

Song Cheng nodded solemnly, his gaze returning to the monitoring screens in front of him.

When Yu Sheng was "reasoning" with the cultist, he didn't feel surprised. When Yu Sheng and Hu Li repeatedly healed the cultist three times and then "criticized" three times, neither he nor Baili Qing reacted—after all, one was the captain of the action team, the other a Special Service Director, both were used to bloody storms. Although they had many duties and regulations, it was common to go for the kill when facing cultists. Yu Sheng's "interrogation" method, which involved only beating and not asking questions, albeit odd, was still acceptable to them.

But things changed a bit after Erin made her move.

"The equipment recorded a series of special energy peaks just now," a middle-aged person in a technician's uniform said while keeping an eye on the data changes on the equipment, "The waveform is very peculiar, the characteristics do not match any kind of 'power' recorded in our database, including the blessings from the ancient Holy Spirits or the spells mastered by those 'Path Cultivators'."

As the technician spoke, he switched the waveform diagram onto the screen in front of Song Cheng and Baili Qing. They saw a series of violently oscillating curves on the coordinate graph, with many parts of the curve exceeding the limits of the axes, along with another set of three-dimensional shapes appearing beside the axes, showing complex and dizzying changing surfaces.

"...Many of the feature points even exceeded the detection range of the instruments," Baili Qing's brow gradually furrowed, her peripheral vision sweeping across the main monitoring screen where Erin, the puppet, was displayed. As her expression grew more serious, she continued to inquire, "Tending towards physical form?"

"Doesn't seem like physical form, physical energy traits are relatively singular, it wouldn't cause such breakthrough monitoring issues."

Baili Qing's face rarely showed a moment of hesitation, and she spoke in a deep voice, "…Dark Angel then?"

The technician's face instantly showed an astonished and even somewhat horrified expression, but seeing the director's serious and calm face, he swallowed and answered honestly, "No, it doesn't appear so, at least nothing matches in the current database. And technically speaking... if the Dark Angel's power did indeed enter the real world, at this moment, at least this entire floor would have few, if any, survivors."

Baili Qing remained silent, her gaze fixed on the three figures on the monitor.

First, there was Yu Sheng, who perceived himself as human. Then, there was Hu Li, very likely from "outside the world". Now, there was the puppet Erin, whose abilities exceeded the system's understanding... This "travel agency" indeed didn't have a single normal one.

"Continue recording," after a moment, Baili Qing gently exhaled, "Then, classify all today's records as confidential."

...

Yu Sheng followed that vision, slowly walking forward in the empty, old warehouse.

Following Erin's instructions, he minimized his presence as much as possible, avoiding looking at irrelevant corners and refraining from trying to control his current "body."

The bald-headed Angel Sect cultist was "dreaming," wandering in a scene suitable for reminiscence that Erin had woven for him. He had temporarily forgotten his capture experience, but if he realized there was another consciousness in his mind, he would likely wake up instantly.

With limited vision, Yu Sheng carefully observed the place, listening to the surrounding noises.

He could hear the sound of car horns, but it was very distant. It seemed that this place was quite far from a bustling city area. In his vision, he saw many piled-up containers and pipes hanging down from steel frames above. Some metal tanks even had worn or dirt-covered danger signs... a chemical storage?

There was no lighting around, but sunlight streamed through several high windows. It should be early morning or late afternoon. Some corners of the warehouse looked particularly dark, but it wasn't clear whether this was the actual situation or if the cultist's memory had "obscured" this part of the scene...

Additional footsteps came from nearby, quickly attracting Yu Sheng's attention.

He saw his current "host" cautiously looking around and then seemingly spotting a secret marking on a metal tank's surface. The host appeared somewhat relieved, then rounded the massive metal tanks, entering a secret room at the end of the warehouse—the dim light of an electric lamp illuminated the room. Strange-shaped lit candles were placed on the ground, and several figures stood around the candles, seemingly waiting for a long time.

Several figures?

...Indeed, there were more than just the two Angel Sect cultists captured in Boundary City!

Yu Sheng was startled, instinctively trying to discern the faces of those figures.

Yet the next second, he found that each one's face seemed shrouded in a layer of black mist, and their entire bodies were veiled in a vague, distorted sense, impossible to see clearly no matter how hard he tried.

A vague sense of repulsion suddenly hit Yu Sheng, causing him to tense up and swiftly halt his "gaze," which could easily expose his own presence.

The faces and figures of the other members were hidden... Did they use some method in the real world to conceal themselves to prevent exposure if a member got caught? Or was it some subconscious "protection mechanism," making even a captured cultist instinctively obscure his comrades' identities, even in the safest dream realm?

Yu Sheng thought silently while continuing to minimize his presence, observing the subsequent actions of these mysterious figures.

"You're late."

One of the indistinct shadows seemed to turn its head, looking at the tardy member.

"Negotiations with that Curious Object Association member took more time; I had to be cautious to prevent arousing his suspicions," the perspective Yu Sheng was inhabiting replied. "He is currently only beginning to follow the Lord's guidance, not yet devout and steadfast, still somewhat wary of us."

Yu Sheng instantly focused his attention: they were discussing "Old Zheng"!

"Hmm... Is the progress smooth?" another shadow inquired.

"Everything is smooth. The target has been searching for ways to counter 'Fairy Tales' for years; his craving for this path exceeds everything. Though he still has doubts, I believe he has recently started trying the Spirit Communication Technique I left him—the Lord's power is already taking root in his mind. His conversion is only a matter of time."

"... So, are we really going to accept such a convert?" another voice said from the corner. "He is not a qualified container, just meeting our current needs. If he truly converts and considering his connection to 'Fairy Tales,' he might interfere with the Lord's descent process..."

"Handle him after it's over," the first speaker said indifferently. "To offer even some help for the Lord's descent is already a great honor for him. To die innocent is a grace from the Lord—and someone in a big organization, if exposed, would cause significant trouble, cannot stay too long."

Several other shadows immediately nodded in agreement.

Thus, the matter was settled.

Then, Yu Sheng suddenly felt the scene before him blur again—the environment of this dream realm changed once more—

Still inside the management room of that old warehouse, but the surrounding shadows had shifted positions, arranging themselves around the candles in a specific manner. One shadow stepped forward, adding some kind of spice to the candle flames. Then, these figures bent down, cooperating to smear blood on the ground.

They chanted obscure and arcane incantations, praying devoutly. The flames flickered and gradually synchronized with the rhythm of the chanting. The spices burned into strange colors in the fire, smoke rising like a solid curtain encircling the shadows. They drank suspicious liquids and began chanting in unison—

"We pray to you, may you break free soon;

We pray to you, may you wake up soon;

We pray to you, may you descend soon;

We chant your name, guiding your way to wakefulness. We chant your name as you heard when starting from that distant endless path—

An-Ka-Ai-La—Mother and Cradle, Hope and Future!

Protector! Consoler! Caretaker of the First and the Last! Chantor! Comforter! Nurturer of Infants and Children!

An-Ka-Ai-La!

You and those you protect shall break free from the shell—the kingdom prepared for your descent is about to open...

Followers prayed fervently, chanting as if controlled by a single mind, repeating a bizarre word. As this eerie, unsettling ritual progressed, Yu Sheng saw a hole quietly form in the roof, an ugly and terrifying tentacle emerged, producing a headache-inducing noise and a scraping sound.

The followers suddenly fell into a frenzy; even without seeing their faces, the joy was palpable, filling the entire temple.

However, just as the tentacle was about to touch the followers, bringing down new "blessings," the burning candles on the floor suddenly popped and crackled—as if too many impurities caused an explosion. The originally synchronized flames lost control, and the curtain symbolizing some kind of "boundary" rapidly tore and dissipated.

The tentacle emitted a piercing screech and disappeared in an instant.

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