I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Beijing · 749 Bureau Headquarters · Three Basement Levels · Abnormal Signal Monitoring Center]

[Time: 15:30 PM]

Inside the enormous central hall, the cooling fans of hundreds of servers combined to create a low, white noise. The temperature here is maintained at a constant 25 degrees Celsius year-round, and the air is filled with the smell of ozone and instant coffee.

Since the "Kunlun Magnetic Field Anomaly" incident, this once marginalized department has become the front line of national security. The monitoring center has been expanded threefold, with dozens of top physicists and signal analysts watching the screens that represent the "truth of the world" around the clock.

Researcher Xiao Li, who was in charge of the "Listening" system (a psionic full-band radar), was idly twirling a ballpoint pen in his hand.

The waveform on the screen was smooth and regular, a normal breathing pattern of the Earth's magnetic field. Although recent data shows that global reiki concentration is rising extremely slowly, this change is like a frog being slowly boiled in water—subtle and gradual.

"Another peaceful day..." Xiao Li yawned and reached for the goji berry water on the table.

However, the instant his fingertips touched the thermos—

Sizzle—!!!

A sharp, piercing noise, like fingernails scraping a blackboard, suddenly exploded in his high-fidelity headphones without warning.

"what!"

Xiao Li screamed and flung off his headphones as if he had been electrocuted, jumping up from his chair and clutching his ears in pain.

Not only him, but all the audio monitoring equipment in the entire hall overloaded at the same moment, emitting a teeth-grinding howl. The red alarm lights spun wildly, turning the originally cool-toned hall into a blood-red hue.

"What's going on? Seismic waves? Or a solar storm?"

"Cut off the audio! Cut it off now! My eardrums are going to burst!"

"System overload! Data flow is overwhelming the firewall!"

The once quiet hall instantly descended into chaos.

The duty supervisor, Wang Sen, rushed over, his face ashen, and shouted sternly, "What's the panic! Switch to the backup line immediately and lock onto the signal source!"

Ignoring the still-ringing tinnitus in his ears, Xiao Li's trembling fingers flew across the keyboard. A few seconds later, the waveform of the culprit appeared on the main screen.

The moment the picture was seen, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

In the past, the spiritual energy fluctuations that were monitored, even those at the level of Kunlun Mountain, had waveforms that were smooth and harmonious, like an elegant sine curve, full of a rhythmic beauty unique to nature.

But what's in front of me...

It's a complete mess.

It's filled with jagged, sharp, and broken lines. It's like a madman's graffiti, or a writhing, living tumor. It has no pattern, no logic, only pure, chaotic noise.

"What is this thing..." Xiao Li muttered to himself, his face pale. "It doesn't fit any known physical model."

Wang Sen stared intently at the screen, his intuition as a veteran agent sending a chill down his spine.

"Have the analysis results come out yet?"

"Analyzing..." Xiao Li's voice trembled. "Reporting to the director, the signal source carries a special 'wave,' and at the bottom of this wave lies an extremely cold energy reaction."

"It's 'eating' the surrounding space." A physics PhD student next to him pointed to the data in horror. "Look here, the magnetic field readings near the signal source aren't fluctuating, they're 'disappearing'! It's devouring the physical rules of this region!"

Wang Sen's pupils suddenly contracted.

Devouring the laws of physics? This goes beyond the scope of "qigong" or "superpowers".

"Coordinates!" Wang Sen roared.

"Lock successful!" Xiao Li pulled up the satellite map, where a red dot was flashing. "Linjiang City, Old Town! Underground pipe network near Dachun Lane!"

Is it Linjiang City again?

Wang Sen frowned deeply. There had been too many unusual reports about Linjiang City lately. First, there was the resurgence of the Locked Dragon Well, then the suspected presence of a "master," and now this monster that can devour space.

"Intensity level?"

"The current energy reading is very weak, only E-level (entry-level). But its nature is extremely hostile, and it's moving very fast." Xiao Li looked at the data stream. "It seems... to be searching for something."

Wang Sen made a quick decision and grabbed the red secure phone.

"Connect to the Southern Military Region Special Operations Brigade. Find Zhao Feng."

When the call connected, Wang Sen's voice was as cold and hard as iron:

"Old Zhao, stop training. Something's happened in Linjiang City. Here are the coordinates. Bring live ammunition and be fully armed. Remember, the target this time might not be human, and might not even be a typical Earth creature. If things get out of control... heavy firepower is authorized for bombardment."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Sen stared at the jagged red waveform on the screen, a strong sense of unease rising within him.

"Encrypt and archive the audio file of this waveform," he commanded in a low voice. "File code: 'First Cry'."

[Linjiang City - Old Town Underground Pipeline Network]

[Depth: 5 meters underground]

dark.

Damp.

Putrid smell.

For humans, this is the city's dirtiest waste disposal system. But for that mass of "black mercury" that had just slipped in from the cracks in the floor tiles of the Gu family's ancestral home, this was the perfect breeding ground.

It has no name, no emotions, and not even a fixed form.

On the distant void side, it is merely the lowest-level consumable among billions of troops—a Void Beast Hunter (Active Fragment).

It floats upstream in the murky sewage of the sewer.

When it encounters rusty iron railings, it doesn't need to go around them; its body simply seeps through the gaps between molecules like a liquid.

[Warning: Energy reserves remain at 3%.]

[Warning: The physical laws of this plane are strongly resisting. The body is disintegrating.]

[Urgent Order: Locate a carbon-based host. Analyze. Recombinate.]

Cold, fragmented streams of information flashed through its core consciousness. It was not a living being, but rather a piece of malignant code with the ability to self-replicate.

It's hungry.

This hunger isn't about filling your stomach, but about maintaining your existence. If you can't find a physical form within three minutes, it will be "corrected" by Earth's realities and disappear completely.

"Squeak!"

Ahead, a huge sewer rat is crawling along the pipe wall. It has just found a moldy piece of bread in a pile of garbage and is guarding its food warily.

This rat was large and plump, like a kitten, with fierce glints in its red eyes. It was the ruler of this sewer.

But in front of it was a pool of black liquid that was defying gravity and flowing down the wall.

The mouse's instincts triggered a tremor from the depths of its soul. It was a despair faced with a natural enemy... no, it was a despair faced with some kind of predator from a higher dimension.

It wanted to run, but its limbs seemed to have lost control, and it remained frozen in place.

The pool of black liquid suddenly stopped.

It seemed to have "seen" the mouse.

next second.

puff!

The liquid suddenly sprang up, like a fishing net, instantly enveloping the mouse.

There were no screams.

There wasn't even a chewing sound.

There was only a chilling "sizzling" sound, like strong acid corroding metal, or like countless tiny insects gnawing on bones.

In the darkness, the black mass churned and contracted violently.

[Analyzing the target gene sequence...]

[Remove invalid segments...]

[Injecting Void Active Factors...]

Reorganization begins.

In just five seconds.

The black liquid slowly receded and seeped into the ground.

Only one "mouse" remained in the spot.

At first glance, it looked exactly like the mouse from before. Gray fur, pink tail, even the frequency of its whiskers twitching was identical.

However, if you look closely at its eyes...

Those eyes, which were originally the size of mung beans, were now a bottomless black, devoid of white or luster. Occasionally, a wisp of purple code would flash deep within the pupils.

The "mouse" moved its neck, and its movements quickly became fluid from the initial stiffness.

It opened its mouth, trying to make a sound, but instead emitted a low, metallic hiss that didn't belong to any rodent.

[Host Level: Extremely Low.]

Energy gain rate: Insufficient.

[Review: Inferior container.]

It is not satisfied.

This body is too weak; it can't even bear one percent of its power.

It needs a larger, stronger container that contains more bioenergy.

It raised its head and looked at the manhole cover above, which was emitting a faint light.

There, an even more enticing scent wafted from.

Larger flesh and blood, richer emotional energy (fear).

That's... the smell of humans.

The "rat" transformed into a gray afterimage, scurrying down the rusty ladder towards the ground.

[Gu Family Ancestral Home - Rooftop]

Gu Qing remained in the same position as before, sitting cross-legged in the shadow of the roof ridge.

His gaze pierced through layers of bricks and soil, locking onto the faint point of light moving rapidly underground.

That was a "psychic decoy" that he had just deployed, costing 500 faith points.

"Has it begun to evolve?"

Gu Qing watched as the point of light representing the void creature transformed from its initial unstable state into a weak but stable biological signal.

"It devoured a mouse and completed its first material reorganization." Gu Qing's eyes were indifferent, as if he were observing bacteria in a petri dish. "The terrifying thing about void creatures is their ability to mimic others without regard to reproductive isolation."

If left unchecked, this thing will eat rats, then cats and dogs, and then humans.

With each meal, it gains the genetic advantages of its prey and eliminates its weaknesses.

Give it a month, and it will evolve into a monster that is invulnerable to bullets and blades, and can even withstand firearms.

"System, where are Zhao Feng and the others?"

[Reply to Host: Task Force 749 has taken off urgently and is approaching the airspace of Linjiang City. Expected arrival at the contact area in 40 minutes.]

"40 minutes..."

Gu Qing glanced at the sky.

"The timing is perfect. This mouse has just had its fill of pleasure and is preparing to change into a bigger 'clothes'."

He stood up, the evening breeze ruffling his clothes.

He doesn't need to take action.

He is the screenwriter, the director, and the only audience member.

Now that the actors are in place and the monster has appeared, the climax of the first act is about to begin.

"System, minimize my 'presence.' I want to be an observer and see if humanity's courage and the guns in their hands can deal with the most greedy parasite in the universe."

Gu Qing turned around and went back into the house, gently closing the carved wooden window.

A few kilometers outside the window, the manhole cover moved slightly.

A jet-black eye peered greedily through the crack, gazing at this vibrant world.

The hour of twilight has arrived.