I created a foundation

Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a chill run up her spine, sending chills all over her body. Her fingers gripping the cold coffee cup unconsciously tightened, their knuckles turning white.

One month, a whole month.

The Foundation deployed nearly its entire mobile force, fighting tirelessly against the endless stream of "Tomie." Countless traps, raids, and encirclements, countless near-death experiences. The members were covered in fatigue and scars, their spirits strained to the breaking point.

She herself hadn't slept for seventy-two hours, relying entirely on coffee and willpower to keep going, her brain turning as slowly as a rusty gear.

Just now, when the last red mark in the port area went out, she even had the illusion that the war was about to end.

However, reality gave everyone a loud slap in the face in the cruelest way.

Those "purified" areas, those nests that were burned to ashes, once again gave birth to a new "Tomie".

It seems as if their malice and vitality were born from the land itself. They cannot be extinguished by wildfires, but will spring back to life with the spring breeze.

Despair began to spread like a tide in the hearts of some young operators. Some stared blankly at their screens, while others dropped their hands helplessly, the sound of their keyboards becoming feeble.

"How could this happen..." A crying whisper sounded in the corner.

Kasumigaoka Utaha took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She knew she couldn't panic at this moment. She was one of the commanders on the scene.

"All units, remain calm! Reassess the threat level in the port area and mobilize the reserve forces..." Her voice was a little hoarse from the long period of command, but she still tried to stay calm.

At this moment, a calm voice sounded behind her, clearly overwhelming all the noise and panic.

"This can't go on like this."

Kasumigaoka Utaha turned around suddenly and saw Lin Qing standing behind her, his eyes fixed on the rapidly expanding crimson. His expression was calm, as if the scene before him, which was enough to plunge all of Tokyo into panic, was just a trivial change on the chessboard.

"These are just split off individuals, the branches and leaves at the end." Lin Qing's gaze shifted from the screen to Kasumigaoka Utaha. "Somewhere, there must be a core mother hidden. She is the source of all these disasters, the poisonous tree that keeps spreading its seeds."

Matrix!

Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart was shaken, as if a bolt of lightning had split the fog.

Yes, they have been busy cutting down branches and leaves, but have ignored the deep-seated roots. If they cannot find and destroy the "mother body", no matter how many split bodies they contain, new Tomie will continue to appear.

"Shiyu," Lin Qing's voice brought her back from her thoughts, "integrate all the relevant data from the past month, including the locations of all Tomie individuals, their first appearances, victim-related information, and changes in energy intensity, into a three-dimensional dynamic map."

"I understand!" Kasumigaoka Utaha responded immediately, and the haze in her heart was dispelled a lot by this clear goal.

She quickly began operating the console, sending commands one after another through encrypted lines to the data center. The Foundation's vast intelligence system began to operate at high speed.

Soon, the main screen in the command center switched to a three-dimensional map covering the entire city of Tokyo, densely marked with dots of light and data streams. Each dot represented a Tomie individual who had appeared or was currently active. Like abscesses on the city's body, they were shocking.

Lin Qing walked to the screen and looked at the complicated map quietly.

Then, he slowly closed his eyes.

The S-level perception ability, [Mind Network], is launched with full force for the first time, targeting the entire Tokyo metropolitan area!

hum-

An invisible and indescribable wave suddenly spread out in all directions with Lin Qing as the center.

Kasumigaoka Utaha stood not far behind him. Although she couldn't see any tangible energy, she could clearly feel an indescribable sense of oppression. The air seemed to solidify in an instant, then transform into countless fine threads, extending infinitely in all directions.

Lin Qing's brows knitted slightly, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead...

The [Mind Network] covered the entirety of Tokyo, requiring an astronomical amount of information to be processed. The life breaths of tens of millions of people, the chaotic emotional fluctuations, the countless noises and electromagnetic signals generated by the city's operation... everything transformed into a surging data torrent, assaulting his perception.

It's like trying to find a grain of sand with a specific texture among billions of tons of sand.

He used the three-dimensional map as an "index" and began to filter, sift and search in the breath of life as vast as the ocean.

What he was looking for was the unique, original life breath belonging to "Tomie" that was full of extreme malice and twisted charm.

Time passed by minute by minute.

In the command hall, a pin drop could be heard. Everyone held their breath, nervously watching Lin Qing, his eyes closed in concentration. They knew this might be the only hope to break the current deadlock, or even completely end this nightmare.

Lin Qing's face gradually turned pale, but his mind was highly concentrated. His perception was like the most sophisticated radar, scanning every corner of this huge city inch by inch, from the bustling commercial center to the remote abandoned factories, from the top of the skyscrapers to the dark underground sewers.

The auras of countless marked Tomie individuals flashed through his mind, like fireflies in the darkness. But these were not what he was looking for. He was looking for the most dazzling, the most central flame.

Gradually, those scattered, fragmented auras of Tomie began to show some faint directionality within his vast sensory network. They were like streams, no matter how winding they were, they would eventually converge to the same source.

Finally, after an enormous amount of calculations and billions of minute comparisons, his 5.8 [Heart Net] suddenly focused on one point like a bird of prey locking onto its prey.

The aura of "Tomie" at that point was completely different from all other individuals. It was more condensed, more pure, more ancient, and also more... powerful, evil, and primitive!

There, it was like a black vortex that continuously spewed out filth and malice.

"found it."

Lin Qing suddenly opened his eyes, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

He stretched out his hand and lightly touched the huge three-dimensional map with his fingertips.

An inconspicuous area on the edge of the city was instantly magnified.

It was an art gallery that had been abandoned for many years.

Its mark on the map emits a dark red light as rich as the abyss, completely different from other Tomie individuals.

Lin Qing's lips curled up in a cold arc.

"It's time for me to meet the final boss myself."

He stood up, took a step forward, and walked alone towards the exit leading to the ground.

Chapter 83: Dialogue with Evil

Lin Qing's figure disappeared in the elevator leading to the ground.

No one knew where he was going, and no one dared to ask.

Only Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the locked dark red coordinate on the main screen with a complicated look.

Abandoned art gallery.

It stands quietly on the edge of the city, like a forgotten giant beast, silently gazing at the brightly lit city below.

This place may have once hosted the hustle and bustle and glory of art, but now only broken walls and traces of erosion by time remain.

The air was filled with the smell of decay and dust, and occasionally the night wind blew through the broken window frames, making a whimpering sound.

Lin Qing pushed open the heavy, rusty door.

squeak-

The door hinges groaned under the weight, sounding particularly harsh in the quiet night.

What hit me in the face was an even stronger musty smell, mixed with a faint, indescribable sweet smell, like rotten nectar or stale blood.

Dim light struggled to squeeze in from the broken dome and cobweb-covered windows, barely illuminating a corner of the museum.

Everywhere you look, the walls, the overturned easels, and even the canvases scattered on the cold floor tiles are filled with paintings.

These paintings have different styles, some have strong and unrestrained colors, some have delicate and graceful lines, some are full of abstract symbols, and some are so realistic that they are almost photographs.

But the strange thing is that there is only one protagonist in each painting.

A young girl.

She was either standing or sitting, either frowning or smiling, either wearing gorgeous clothes or draped with a light veil.

In some paintings, she is as pure as a lily in the morning dew, with innocent and ignorant eyes.

In some paintings, she is as charming as a poppy in the dark night, with her red lips slightly parted, revealing silent temptation.

In some paintings, she looks as mournful as a captive nightingale, with an inextricable sorrow locked between her brows.

In some paintings, she is ecstatic like a spirit who has been reborn, with a bright smile but also a hint of weirdness.

There are various shapes and styles.

But no matter how the expression changes or how seductive the posture becomes, that face clearly points to the same person.

Fujiang.

Lin Qing's footsteps echoed in the empty hall, and every step seemed to be stepping on the dust of history.

He walked through rows of dusty display cases and collapsed sculpture bases, heading towards the deepest part of the hall, and the sweet smell of blood became stronger.

There, there is a huge, twisted, abstract metal sculpture whose original shape is no longer recognizable. At this moment, it looks like a temporary throne full of evil beauty.

On the throne sat a young girl.

She was barefoot, with a pair of delicate, snow-white ankles, and her skin shone like ivory in the dim light. Her long black hair fell like a waterfall of the finest silk, cleverly concealing part of her body curves but adding to her alluring mystery.

That face was so perfect that it didn't look like a real person, as if it embodied all the favoritism and malice of the Creator.

Willow-leaf eyebrows, peach blossom eyes, delicate nose and cherry lips: any more would make them look gaudy, any less would make them look dull.

The small teardrop mole under the corner of the eye is the finishing touch, adding a bit of mysterious charm that is unforgettable at first sight.

She just sat there quietly, with a faint smile on her lips, and her eyes calmly watched Lin Qing walking slowly towards her.

That look didn't seem like he was seeing an intruder, but more like he was waiting to meet an old friend after a long absence.

matrix.

Lin Qing understood clearly that the Tomie in front of him was the source of all the split bodies and the trunk of the poisonous tree.

"You finally came."

The girl spoke, her voice ethereal and pleasant, yet with a strange sticky feeling, like the whispers of lovers. Each syllable seemed to carry an invisible hook that could easily hook away the listener's soul.

"I have been waiting for you."

Her voice was soft and charming, full of irresistible intimacy and dependence.

"My perfect man."

As she spoke, an invisible and indescribable force of charm, like a surging tide, swept towards Lin Qing silently but unstoppably.

This power goes beyond simple sensory stimulation. It directly acts on the most primitive desires deep in the soul and can amplify all the darkness and desires in the heart.

It is enough to make gods and Buddhas fall, drive saints and sages crazy, and make the most resolute will collapse.

However, the torrent of charm that was enough to make all male creatures in the world bow down and be willing to give everything for it seemed to hit an invisible, indestructible dam when it was still an inch away from Lin Qing's body.

【Mental Barrier】