Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Lin Yi's figure completely merged into the shadow dimension, and the surroundings were no longer the familiar material world, but a bizarre and surreal shadow dimension.

Not far in front of him, a man dressed in a black priest's robe was staring at him.

The other party seemed completely unprepared for someone to suddenly intrude into this dimension in this way. He froze on the spot as if petrified, his shock almost overflowing from under his hood.

Lin Yi could vaguely see countless extremely fine energy lines extending from the body of the black-robed priest. These lines, like the control strings of a puppet, penetrated the barrier of the shadow plane and connected to a certain direction in the outside world.

Puppet master! Lin Yi instantly realized.

The one controlling the two eerie black-robed puppets outside the door was none other than the guy in front of him.

Instead of monitoring through conventional means, he concealed himself in a relatively safe shadow dimension and used this unique energy line to remotely control puppets in the real world to monitor them!
In the blink of an eye, there was no need for any communication or hesitation.

While the other party was still in a state of extreme shock, Lin Yi made his move.

The opponent instinctively tried to manipulate the energy lines to counter or defend, but it was too late.

Lin Yi's fist, like a super-heavy cannonball, was unpretentious and relied purely on strength and speed to crush the black-robed priest in the abdomen.

"puff--!"

A dull, teeth-grinding tearing sound rang out, as if a thick, soaked cloth had been forcibly ripped apart by tremendous force.

The black-robed priest's body suddenly folded at an exaggerated angle, his eyes bulging out like dead fish, almost popping out of their sockets.

Lin Yi's fist pierced his abdomen without any resistance, and the terrifying force burst out of his body, creating a huge bulge on the robe on his back, which then tore open, spraying out fine pieces of blood and flesh, almost breaking him in half at the waist.

A jagged hole appeared in its abdomen, with fragments of broken internal organs, torn muscle tissue, and bone scattered everywhere, staining the surrounding area a deep red.

Outside, at the hotel room entrance.

Just as Gulu was on high alert, he suddenly noticed something amiss—the two black-robed puppets outside the door, which exuded a cold, locking aura, suddenly collapsed without warning, as if all their support had been removed, turning into two lifeless piles of tattered robes and some unknown material, which lay sprawled on the ground.

The uncomfortable feeling of being spied on vanished instantly.

"Hmm?" Gulu gripped the dagger tighter, a hint of surprise and uncertainty flashing in his eyes. "What happened? The control was broken?"

Lin Yi dragged the black-robed priest, whose abdomen had been pierced, out of the shadow plane as if he were dragging a sack of rags, and returned to the hotel room.

Gulu, who was intently watching the door, was startled by the sudden appearance and instantly reversed his grip on the dagger, assuming a defensive stance.

But when her gaze fell on the dying man in Lin Yi's hands, she immediately understood.

"Wow! Got a big fish?" Gulu sheathed his dagger, walked briskly forward, and disdainfully nudged the black-robed priest who was slumped on the floor, as if inspecting a piece of junk. "Those two things outside suddenly fell apart because of this guy? Where did you dig him out from?"

Lin Yi released his grip, letting the judge named Murdoch collapse to the ground like a lump of mud, blood still seeping from the huge wound in his abdomen, quickly spreading a large dark red stain on the carpet.

"Yes, he ran right into the shadow plane. The energy lines on his body are directly connected to the two puppets outside."

Gulu crouched down and carefully examined the uninvited guest.

Gulu squatted down and carefully examined the uninvited guest with great interest.

The other person's face was contorted and pale from extreme pain and rapid blood loss, and cold sweat soaked the hair on his forehead, but one could still vaguely see a hint of sinister and meanness. He looked to be quite old, but at this moment he was left only in a wretched state on the verge of death.

The black priest's robe he wore was made of a special material that seemed to absorb light slightly, making it harder to discern details in dim light. However, the extremely fine embroidery on the cuffs and collar subtly formed a distorted symbol.

"People from Hell Organization?" Gulu raised an eyebrow and looked at Lin Yi.

“He hasn’t said yet, but it’s pretty much true.” Lin Yi said, taking a few steps back and leaning against the sturdy-looking single chair by the window. He clearly only took charge of logistics and providing support, leaving the interrogation to Gulu.

"It's up to you. Get all the information you need. The more detailed, the better."

Upon hearing the words "It's up to you," Gulu's eyes lit up instantly, a cruel excitement flashing within them.

She had been repeatedly humiliated by Lin Yi, and was seething with anger and frustration, looking for a place to vent her anger.

At this moment, a sandbag that seemed to have a fairly strong vitality was right in front of me, it was like a pillow for someone who was sleepy.

"Hehe, no problem~" Gu Lu grinned, revealing two sharp little tiger teeth, but the smile looked particularly creepy against her current expression. "Just you wait and see, I'll make sure he finds out exactly how many times he's spied on women bathing and how many times he's secretly cursed his boss since he was a child! Just don't forget to cast a healing spell on me later, this guy looks like he's almost bled to death, he's not very durable." As she spoke, she kicked Murdoch's limp calf with her toe.

Lin Yi nodded slightly: "Don't worry, you won't die."

Having received Lin Yi's assurance, Gulu's smile became even brighter, almost radiant, but beneath this radiance lay a chilling ferocity.

She rubbed her hands together excitedly, then reached into her personal storage space.

With a series of clanging metal sounds and the soft clatter of glass bottles, she magically produced a whole bunch of oddly shaped gadgets: slender crochet hooks gleaming with a cold light, precision tweezers covered with fine barbs, a small bone saw with blood grooves, several glass bottles containing strange liquids of different colors, and even a packet of special salt and a small jar of buzzing, bizarre beetles.

The black-robed priest, who had collapsed to the ground, seemed to sense the extreme danger. He struggled to regain some consciousness from his semi-conscious state, and when he saw the tools in Gulu's hands, his eyes were instantly filled with immense fear.

He tried to struggle, but the severe injury to his abdomen rendered him unable to move even a finger, and he could only make a hissing sound as he breathed out.

"Don't be afraid, it'll be quick, I'm very good at it." Gulu said the most terrifying words in the sweetest tone, picking up the long, thin crochet hook. "Let's start with the simplest questions to warm up, okay? First question: Who are you? Where are you from?"

The priest kept his mouth tightly shut, his withered lips pressed into a pale line. Although his eyes were filled with fear, a trace of stubbornness remained. He seemed to be trying to gather some remaining strength to end his own life.

"Tsk, naughty." Gulu pouted, and the crochet hook in her hand precisely pierced a specific acupoint on the other person's arm.

"Uhhh-!!!"

A suppressed yet still incredibly shrill scream burst from the priest's throat. His muscles tensed instantly, his eyes bulging and bloodshot. This pain far surpassed ordinary physical injury, seemingly affecting his nerve endings and the very surface of his soul.

“Answering incorrectly, or not answering at all, will result in punishment. That’s the rule.” Gulu slowly and deliberately, even with an air of artistic appreciation, gently turned the crochet hook, admiring every uncontrollable spasm in the other person’s body. “Shall we do it again? Who are you? Where are you from?”

“...Kill...me…” the priest squeezed out the words through clenched teeth.

"That's so boring. You can only experience more 'wonder' by living." Gulu pulled out the crochet hook without any mercy, pulling out a small strand of muscle fiber.

She casually wiped the blood-stained crochet hook on her priest's robe, then picked up the tweezers covered in fine barbs. Her gaze began to wander over the other person's body, as if selecting the starting point for the next work of art. "Looks like the warm-up wasn't enough. I need to add some 'spice' to get you talking."

The next hour was undoubtedly the longest and most terrifying hellish journey of his long life for this judge of the Hellish organization.

Gollum perfectly embodies what "artistic cruelty" means.

She has an exceptional understanding of human anatomy, knowing how to inflict maximum pain while avoiding the real fatalities, and cleverly combining strange tools and potions.

Lin Yi sat by the window, watching expressionlessly, occasionally raising his hand to cast a healing spell.

As the healing spell's light fell, the priest's terrible wounds healed instantly, and even the "parts" that Gollum had cut off and thrown aside regenerated in an instant.

But the physical body's intactness and the forced maintenance of life force allow the recurring pain to be inflicted on the ravaged consciousness indefinitely.

Each treatment meant the beginning of a new round of torture, and the abyss of despair was dug deeper and deeper with each treatment.

The screams, which started out shrill, gradually became hoarse and weak, until finally only unconscious convulsions and hoarse sounds remained.

Gulu got so caught up in the fun that he almost forgot the original purpose of the interrogation, completely immersed in showing off his "exquisite skills" until Lin Yi coldly interrupted, reminding him and asking a few key questions, which barely brought the topic back on track from its near-pure torture.

Finally, when Gollum reluctantly stopped using the small bone saw covered in blood and flesh scraps, Murdoch, the chief judge of the Silent Order, had completely turned into a puddle of still-breathing mud.

Saliva and foam unconsciously dripped from the corners of his mouth, and his body would occasionally twitch nervously. He was no longer responsive to any external stimuli, clearly having suffered a complete mental breakdown and was only a hair's breadth away from becoming a true idiot.

"Tsk, how boring. It's already broken? Your mental fortitude is too weak, and you call yourself a judge." Gulu shook the blood and slime off his hands with some dissatisfaction, stood up, and stretched his slightly sore wrists. "But I've basically asked everything that needed to be asked."

Gulu kicked the "humanoid object" at his feet and said, "This guy is called Murdoch. He is a chief judge of the 'Silent Order' under the 'Hell' organization. Their order is responsible for dealing with all kinds of 'heretics,' and their most important task recently is to hunt down all beings marked by the 'Lord.'"

"Master?" Lin Yi caught this key word.

"Yes, when he mentioned 'the Lord,' even in that state, he revealed an instinctive fear. According to his intermittent account, the so-called 'mark' is actually a kind of sensory imprint of their 'Lord.' When someone makes deep contact with the 'Sleeping Echoes' and tries to trace its source, they will be perceived by the 'Lord' and marked. And their 'Silent Order' can track this mark through a special ritual or ritual implement."

Gulu pointed outside the door: "Those black-robed puppets outside are called 'Silent Sentinels.' They are war puppets created by the Order using special methods. They have no self-awareness and are completely controlled remotely by Inquisitors like him through those shadow energy lines. Their mission is to find the marked, monitor and surround them, prevent them from escaping, and wait for the arrival of the 'watchdogs'... uh, they call them 'Purifiers.'"

"The Purifier... a watchdog..." Lin Yi pondered. "It seems the nickname the Research Society came up with is quite apt. How much does he know about the 'Purifier'?"

“Not much,” Gulu shook his head. “This guy’s level might not be high enough, or the relevant information is being strictly blocked. He only vaguely knows that the ‘Purifiers’ are true, pure hunters under the ‘Master’s’ command. Their forms seem to be unpredictable, they are incredibly powerful, and they seem to possess some kind of privilege, able to directly cross the boundary from the so-called ‘Depth of Nightmare.’ Once marked and successfully locked onto and surrounded by the Silent Sentinels, the ‘Purifiers’ will definitely appear; it’s just a matter of time. Their cult sounds more like a ‘Sentinel’ or ‘vanguard’ responsible for marking, tracking, and surrounding targets in the early stages.”

"Where is the headquarters of the Hell Organization? What is their relationship with 'Nightmare' and 'Echo'?" Lin Yi asked the most crucial question.

Gulu shrugged: "He's very tight-lipped, or rather, his memories of that subject may be under a very strong restriction. Every time he's asked about the specific location and the true identity of the 'Master,' he gets a severe headache and even shows signs of soul instability, almost annihilating himself. All we know is that their headquarters seems to be hidden in an extremely secretive subsidiary space or special realm of the City of Slumber, known as the 'Mourning Monastery.'"

She paused, then added, "However, he revealed an important piece of information: inquisitors like him all possess a core artifact used to connect with and control the Silent Sentinels, and it also serves as the key and token to return to the 'Mourning Abbey.' His one, it seems, was just smashed by your punch..." Gulu pointed to the large hole in the priest's abdomen that had begun to slowly heal itself, and there did indeed appear to be some fragments of metal and crystal inside.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi glanced at the fragments, seemingly lost in thought.

Although they couldn't directly find out the exact location of the hideout, they confirmed that Hell's organization was behind it all, and that they were closely connected to "Echo" and "Watchdog," which was already a huge breakthrough.

More importantly, the other side is organized and has a base, which means... we can take the initiative to attack.

Lin Yi stood up and walked to the side of Judge Murdoch, who was almost unrecognizable as a human.

Gulu looked at Lin Yi: "What do we do now? Get rid of this piece of trash? Will the 'watchdog' or more sentries find us based on him?"

Lin Yi did not answer, but instead extended his finger and touched Murdoch's brow, allowing a trace of extremely subtle abyssal power to seep in.

Sure enough, a very subtle mark was buried deep in the other party's brain, which would be automatically triggered once the host died or lost consciousness for more than a certain period of time.

"As expected, he had a backup plan." Lin Yi sneered.

He channeled the power of the abyss, carefully enveloping the mark, but instead of destroying it immediately, he used his exquisite control over energy to begin modifying several of its parameters extremely slowly.

A moment later, Lin Yi withdrew his hand.

The tracking mark still exists, but its target and triggering conditions have been altered by him.

"Alright," Lin Yi said to Gulu. "Now, this mark will only send a false message to its companions saying 'Mission complete, returning,' and the location will be set in a random area outside the City of Sleep."

After settling things off, a brief silence fell over the room.

Gulu looked at Lin Yi, eager to try: "What's next? Go find that damn 'Mourning Monastery'? Those persistent ghosts actually dare to set their sights on us."

Lin Yi's eyes flashed with a cold light. Passive waiting was never his style. Now that he knew who the mastermind was, and that the other party was clearly determined to fight to the death, the best defense was offense.

“Of course.” Lin Yi’s voice was icy. “If I can’t find Nightmare, can’t I find them? Since they have close ties with ‘Echo’ and ‘Watchdog,’ their lair likely contains the information we need about the source of Echo!”

Moreover, the opponent's ability to accurately mark and track is too much of a threat to Lin Yi's subsequent plans, and it must be eliminated.

Given the research society's intelligence network and in-depth understanding of the Sleeping City, they must possess information about the Hell Organization and even the 'Mourning Monastery'. Even if it's not the specific entrance, it must contain important clues.

Lin Yi had thought this through very thoroughly. Don't be fooled by how Hell is touted as something extraordinary; if it were truly powerful, it wouldn't be hiding everywhere. (End of Chapter)