Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 78 An Extraordinary Starting Point

The cold screen lit up, and a few simple lines of text seemed to carry immense weight:

Identity verification successful

Name: Xu Yan

[Code: 7X-GHOST]

[Level: Silver Contractor]

[Permission Level: 3]

Time seems to have frozen.

The staff member's nonchalant expression shattered instantly, replaced by incredulous astonishment, which then turned into a hint of fear.

He stood up abruptly, his voice trembling: "I...I'm so sorry, Mr. Xu! I was blind! I'll get you a replacement badge right away!"

All the snickers and whispers around them stopped abruptly.

Those who had initially looked down on the trainees now had their expressions frozen, as if an invisible hand had gripped their throats.

Silver III!
Everyone present knew what this meant—it meant that the seemingly ordinary man in front of them was already a seasoned individual capable of independently handling E-level obsession and resentment-related supernatural events, enjoying priority in handling such events within a specific area and correspondingly high operational benefits.

The so-called "contractor" system is a cruel yet efficient mechanism by which the center "contracts" the "dirty work" and "dangerous work" that ordinary people cannot handle to people with special abilities, and gives them corresponding power and remuneration.

The staff frantically searched for the safe.

At the same time, the surveillance camera high up clicked and turned, flashed red light, and the image was transmitted to another dimly lit monitoring room.

Lin Lan stood in front of the screen, her brows furrowed.

"The nursing home assignment was clearly rejected by the center." Her voice was icy, like a blade cutting through ice. "Yet you still intervened. Judge, do you really think no one will notice?"

From the shadows, a gaunt figure wearing frameless glasses slowly emerged. The judge's voice was hoarse yet composed: "For ten years, I have used every means at my disposal against Xu Haoyu, but I still haven't found that thing... Targeting his son was merely a last resort to force him to talk."

Lin Lan sneered, her eyes as cold as frost: "You tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead. You not only failed to get what you wanted, but you also let the Soul-Suppressing Iron be lost in the chaos. Do you know what that means?"

The judge remained silent for a moment, his eyes growing even colder: "Since he dares to come, let the assessment do the screening for us. Only those who survive the Mirror Realm... can be considered pawns."

Lin Lan's gaze flickered slightly, but she didn't press the matter further. Instead, she turned to look at the surveillance watermark higher up. The cold symbol flickered, as if someone was silently watching from the deeper darkness.

“I hope you understand,” she whispered, “that I am not the one who is truly watching all of this.”

The judge's lips curled into a cold smile: "Therefore, we need not hold back. I have prepared a 'special' test for Xu Yan. If he truly is the key to Xu Haoyu's hidden secret, then let it burn even brighter in the furnace."

He tapped his finger in the air, and an encrypted command was sent to the assessment system.

[Command details: Candidate Xu Yan (7X-GHOST), Mirror Realm environment parameters increased by 15%, spirit aggression tendency increased by 1.]

The red light on the monitor screen flashed suddenly, and the scene went silent, as if the conversation had never happened.

The next moment, the staff finally took out a square badge that gleamed with a cold silver light and respectfully handed it to Xu Yan with both hands.

The commotion in the arena abruptly ceased, and all eyes turned to the cold, silver light emanating from his chest.

As he handed it over, he lowered his voice, his tone filled with unprecedented awe: "Congratulations on successfully applying for the Gold-level assessment. Once you pass, you will truly step into the extraordinary realm... a completely different world and level of power."

These words, like a pebble thrown into a still lake, created silent ripples among the surrounding, deathly silent crowd. The Gold Rank is an insurmountable chasm between the mortal and the extraordinary, a ticket to true power and secrets that everyone here would fight tooth and nail for, even risking their lives to obtain.

Xu Yan accepted the badge expressionlessly and, under Chen Zhiwei's gaze, which held a hint of encouragement and a smile, pinned it firmly to his chest.

That cold, metallic touch felt like a declaration.

He didn't look at anyone around him, but at that moment, the calm aura he exuded made him stand out from the restless group of trainees, making him dazzling.

With their silver badges, they entered a higher-level waiting area.

The space here is more spacious and there are fewer people, but the atmosphere is more stagnant.

An invisible current seemed to flow through the air, and everyone waiting there was like a cheetah poised to pounce.

The chief examiner, "Leng Guang," soon appeared.

She was dressed in a crisp, dark gray uniform, her face frozen.

As her gaze swept over Xu Yan, a casual "suggestion" she had received a minute earlier from the judge's faction flashed through her mind: to appropriately increase the difficulty of the candidate's exam to test his limits. She loathed this kind of interference in her jurisdiction, but the factional infighting at the center was everywhere.

"Attention, everyone." Suppressing her displeasure, she announced in a completely emotionless voice, "Gold-level promotion assessment, first stage—'Mirror Realm Hunt,' the rules are as follows."

She paused slightly to make sure everyone's attention was focused.

“You will be randomly divided into groups of four and placed into different simulated areas of the ‘Mirror Realm.’ The assessment environment and spirit configuration for each group will be exactly the same.”

"Mission Objective: Eliminate all pre-set spiritual threats within the designated time. The methods of elimination are not limited, but the final score will be based on efficiency, resource consumption, and completion rate."

At this point, her tone remained unchanged, but she revealed the most brutal core rule:
"But please note that only one person from each group will advance in the final round."

"Once the spirits in the area are cleared, the 'competition session' within the group will automatically begin. The session will continue until only one person remains standing, or until someone voluntarily withdraws."

Her icy gaze slowly swept over the crowd, as if assessing the ambition and calculations in each person's eyes.

"Ultimately, the five first-place winners from all groups will qualify to participate in the second stage of the assessment."

"Remember, the center needs elites who can seize victory in dire situations, not just gentle cleaners. The rules have been read. Grouping will begin in ten minutes."

As soon as he finished speaking, an invisible yet heavy pressure instantly enveloped the entire waiting area.

Team up? No, that's like raising a treacherous snake.

Former competitors may one day become enemies that you must eliminate yourself.

Cooperate to quickly eliminate the spirits, then stab them in the back? Or go their separate ways from the start?

The air seemed to freeze.

Xu Yan felt the cold power belonging to "Abyss" deep in his dantian throb slightly at this moment, as if it was excited by this cruel rule.

He suddenly realized: the greatest danger was never the competitors in front of him, but whether the ferocious beast within him would completely break free of its shackles in this life-or-death struggle.

And this, perhaps, is precisely the real purpose behind some people for forcing him to this place:
Alternatively, one could harness this forbidden power and step over the corpses of everyone to enter the extraordinary realm;
Or they will succumb to their fate and become the last prey to nourish this ferocious beast.

There is no third way.

(End of this chapter)