Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Chapter 22 Doll
The doll's eyes sparkled with a starlight-like brilliance, making her already beautiful face even more captivating.

This caught Li Yelai off guard, and he sensed that his colleague's emotions had changed drastically.

The dolls, of course, brought surprise and excitement.

In her childhood, she was suddenly cursed. Her loved ones abandoned her in fear.

This forced her to leave her hometown and wander the wilderness.

A young girl walking in the wilderness should have been the weakest prey.

But she has transformed into an existence that even wild beasts, bandits, and even monsters from the virtual realm avoid.

She is the embodiment of fear, a being that terrifies all things.

Her appearance would send even the fiercest beasts fleeing in terror, and her voice would make even the most ruthless bandits lose control of their bowels in fear. Her presence alone would make even the strangest creatures roaming the wilderness tremble.

And so, loneliness became her eternal companion.

Nothing could harm her, and nothing could communicate with her.

It wasn't until several years later that she was discovered by an official expeditionary force and brought back to the giant city, where she was able to communicate with humans again.

Even so, she was still lonely.

Years later, she grew into a graceful and beautiful young woman.

But no one could look directly at her face, and no one could hear her voice.

She could only wear a mascot costume that didn't reveal any skin and hold up a signboard with words that could be displayed when communicating with her colleagues.

Even though her colleagues were kind and warm to her, she still felt pain.

She longed to chat and interact with her colleagues normally, and to go shopping with friends like everyone else. She also wanted to be hugged like a normal person.
And now, she finally sees hope.

The doll looked at Li Yelai, her eyes sparkling, but reason ultimately made her suppress the urge to confide in him.

He then put the hood back on.

She knew what was important and what was not; right now, she had to kill this illegal psychic!
So she picked up the billboard and replied to Li Yelai.

[Go far away, I'll be right back (｀ω)]
"Sure thing, I'm the kind of person who listens to advice! I'll treat you to a meal next time!"

Li Yelai readily agreed; a psychic of his level shouldn't get involved in such matters. Since he wasn't going to make a deal with 'Mr. Shadow,' he naturally had to run away.

So he immediately ran out of the alley to meet up with the other staff who had surrounded the area.

Meanwhile, the young man under the black umbrella, who was being attacked by both captains, was in a very sorry state.

Overwhelmed by fear, he was unable to take any countermeasures and was directly hit by the lightning bolts unleashed by the moon shadow and the dragon claws mimicking the furnace.

His skin was charred black from the electric shock, and his shoulder was pierced and torn open.

But he immediately broke free from his state of fear after being attacked.

The black umbrella in his hand flew up on its own, blocking the even more violent lightning bolts unleashed by the moon shadow.

At the same time, he spat out a mouthful of dark green liquid.

After the liquid hit the ground, it began to spread rapidly, turning into a rapidly expanding swamp.

From the swamp emerged a bizarre head holding a meat cleaver. The head had sparse hair and a swollen face; it was clearly a human face but looked like a toad.

The bright green eyes were fixed intently on the furnace that it wanted to approach.

The furnace's expression changed slightly: "This guy can actually enslave the strange Dao Lao ghost? Speed ​​up the evacuation!"

The other personnel surrounding the area changed their expressions and quickly distanced themselves.

This naturally included Li Yelai.

"What is a Dao Lao Gui?" Li Yelai asked as he ran.

"A bizarre monster that appeared before the calamity, possessing deadly poison!" A colleague who had never seen it before gave a brief introduction: "In short, it's very dangerous. Once contaminated, ordinary people will basically die within ten seconds, and even psionicists will be in trouble. Erect a psionic barrier!"

Li Yelai's heart skipped a beat. This was a bustling downtown area with a lot of human activity.

If this stuff spreads, the consequences will be unimaginable. How many people will this thing kill?
At the same time, because it was in a busy urban area, the handlers dared not use some weapons and capabilities of mass destruction.

Seemingly sensing Li Yelai's worry, the handler whispered, "Don't worry, comrade, several colleagues have already gone to evacuate the people. Moreover, with both captains and the doll attacking at the same time, this guy can't escape."

On the other side, the young man under the black umbrella spat out blood and sneered, "You think you can take me down just because I suffered a small loss? I dared to come to the giant city alone, naturally I have my own reasons!"

Dark mist spewed from his mouth, nose, and wounds, instantly enveloping half the alley and spreading rapidly outwards.

Li Yelai, who had retreated far away, could even hear the thunderous sound of iron hooves coming from within the mist.

"Everyone on alert!"

The handler and his colleagues immediately assumed a defensive stance, seemingly preparing to meet the attack.

Li Yelai also drew his scarlet longsword and prepared to shake the silver bell.

However, before the summoned creature could emerge from the black mist, the mist suddenly sank and dissipated, and the young man with the black umbrella suddenly knelt on the ground.

The swamp where Dao Lao Gui was located began to collapse.

This does not mean he gave up resistance or knelt down to surrender.

A terrifying pressure slammed directly onto his body, forcing him to the ground. Even the black mist and swamp he had summoned dissipated under the pressure.

The surrounding ground began to crack and sink rapidly.

He himself was forced to kneel on both knees under the immense pressure, sinking into the pressure and unable to move.

He could only raise his head with difficulty, trying to use some kind of ability, but he failed.

It's the doll that's made its move!

She raised her advertising board and slammed it down, and a tremendous force pressed down on the young man with the black umbrella.

And then she raised the billboard again and slammed it down.

That terrifying pressure doubled again!
The young man under the black umbrella struggled to lift his head, only to have it slammed forcefully into the ground.

Bones were broken, muscles were torn, internal organs fell out through the wounds, and blood flowed into the cracks in the ground.

It looked like a mosquito that had been swatted.

Even though his body was broken and mangled, he still did not die.

He was under immense pressure, reaching out to the black umbrella as if to put up some kind of resistance.

But under the doll's control, he couldn't even control the black umbrella. No matter how he reached out, the black umbrella wouldn't get close to him.

After the black mist and swamp were suppressed, the furnace stood prominently on the rooftop.

He glanced at Li Yelai, who was dozens of meters away, and then laughed, "Young man, let me show you the power of Wanxiang!"

Then, he took a deep breath. The next instant, a huge, ferocious dragon head phantom appeared behind him.

The dragon opened its eyes and raised its head backward.

Then, it spewed out a mouthful of scorching dragon flame!

Myriad Paths, Mimicry - Dragon's Breath!
The blazing flames instantly filled the alley, and the young man with the black umbrella was engulfed by the fire before he could even let out a wail.

Even from tens of meters away, Li Yelai could feel the terrifying heat wave crashing against his psionic barrier.

This is the universe! Mimicry, imitation, and adaptation for one's own use!
However, within these flames powerful enough to melt steel, a shadow rose into the sky.

It wasn't the young man with the black umbrella, but the black umbrella itself!
It soared into the sky, its speed creating a sonic boom. It flew towards the towering city walls at incredible speed.

However, the next second, bolts of lightning struck down from nowhere.

The black umbrella was hit precisely, causing it to pause briefly, but it still flew rapidly towards the high wall.

Their speed was so great that no one could continue to resist.

"Damn it, so the black umbrella was the real thing! You son of a bitch...%%￥Grandma (*&……&（#￥@” Moon Shadow, holding a long sword and shield, was now cursing loudly, having just unleashed the lightning.

The harshness of the words startled Li Yelai, who turned to ask his colleague, "Does Captain Yueying's curse require cursing?"

"No, you're overthinking it." The colleague covered his face: "He's just plain rude."

"Oh"

Soon, the fire died down and the dark alley was cleared.

The body of the young man under the black umbrella was discovered; it was undoubtedly burned to a crisp.

The Dao Lao Gui was also burned to ashes, and the remaining toxic remains were safely disposed of.

The furnace's fiery inferno, imbued with psionic energy, has only one drawback: it takes too long to charge up before it can be fully unleashed. It requires about two seconds.

But with the doll's gravity suppressing it, the flaws disappear, and it becomes a raging fire capable of burning everything.

Li Yelai specifically asked the furnace captain.

It was learned that this was the ability the Forge gained during its fourth awakening.

It's said that it took over a thousand merit points to gather the main materials. And it's said that Li Yelai can now consider saving merit points to prepare potions, and so on.

However, Li Yelai believes he is still some way from his fourth awakening and doesn't need to consider it for now.

Fortunately, the operation did not result in any casualties or harm to the public.

But since an alley was burned down, the finance department of the East City branch will probably have some headaches.

Li Yelai, the person involved, returned to the branch office and wrote a report as required.

Meanwhile, an investigator dispatched from headquarters personally questioned Li Ye about the cause of the matter.

"The black umbrella disappeared northeast of the giant city. We have dispatched an expedition team to investigate along the way. However, it is uncertain whether there are any enemy accomplices in the giant city. You must be careful and pay attention to your surroundings. If you find any danger, sound the alarm immediately." The investigator was very kind: "You did a good job, successfully containing the danger in the alley. For this, the Border City No. 3 Department will award you twenty merit points as a reward."

"Thank you." Li Yelai smiled. He hadn't actually participated in the battle, yet he'd still managed to earn twenty merit points. What more could he ask for?
Adding the previous twenty-five points, he now has forty-five merit points.

The anti-psy helmet plus shipping costs only 90 points, and he's already halfway there.

"Then, the second question," the investigator continued with a smile, "did you see the face of the processor 'doll'?"

Recalling that stunning face, Li Yelai nodded: "Yes."

The investigator paused, then continued, "How do you feel?"

"She's quite a pretty girl," Li Yelai replied honestly.

"Well, it does look beautiful in the photos, but... anything else?" the investigator asked curiously. "Don't you have any other thoughts? Did you feel any fear?"

Now, Li Yelai has also realized that the curse of the doll is something that is feared by the outside world.

Everyone, whether it's Cheese, Yang Chen, or even the more powerful psionicists.

No one could look directly at her face; even a sliver of skin revealed could fill all living beings with terror.

The sound she made could even terrify creatures in the virtual realm.

Therefore, she usually lives in the East City branch, and she has to wear a thick mascot costume every time she goes out, which is also the origin of her code name.

In the past, people would either use billboards or type on a communicator to communicate with others.

In a way, her curse is the opposite of her sister Li Yunyan's.

What they have in common is that they are all in pain.

But for some reason, Li Yelai was not affected by their curse.

The younger sister's curse was that she was afraid of strangers, but she was not afraid of Li Yelai. Li Yelai initially thought that it was because he was her blood-related brother that she was unaffected by the curse.

Now, Li Yelai can even see the doll's true appearance directly.

'Is it Mr. Shadow? Is it because of His existence that I am not affected by these curses? Or is there some other reason?' Li Yelai pondered in his heart and said, 'No, I did not feel any fear.'

“Very good.” The investigator nodded and said, “It seems your curse resistance is extremely high!”

"Is it rare?" Li Yelai asked tentatively.

“Rare, extremely rare,” the investigator responded. “But it’s not unheard of. Different paths of psychics have varying levels of curse resistance, but there are also those who are born with extremely high curse resistance. In a giant city far from us, there is a processor who was born with extremely high curse resistance. There are even born anti-psychics. It’s simply a miracle of humanity.”

"Looks like I'm in luck." Li Yelai felt a little relieved.

“That’s right, and it’s also a good thing for the doll.” The investigator laughed. “You know about her curse; she’s too lonely. We were all worried that she would be crushed by loneliness and become twisted.”

"Fortunately, you can communicate with her normally now. Therefore, headquarters hopes that you can interact with the doll more often and not let her feel too lonely and depressed."

"From my personal perspective, you're not losing out at all."

Li Yelai nodded: "I will."

“Very well, then I won’t stay any longer.” The investigator stood up, shook hands with Li Yelai, and left the room.

Li Yelai, however, was lost in thought. He realized he had come under the radar of certain organizations, and given his Myriad Faceless abilities, he would inevitably attract their attention sooner or later.

They can either capture them for research or kill themselves to be transformed into psionic weapons.

These are all threats; I must become stronger immediately.

Furthermore, my sister can't stay in the old apartment anymore. I need to confront her about it.
Thinking to himself, Li Yelai pushed open the door, but was taken aback.

Because there was a snowman doll wearing a red cape standing outside the door.

After noticing Li Yelai come out, the doll raised its hand, and words appeared on the billboard.

[When are we eating? (*^▽^*)]
(End of this chapter)