Chapter 32 BEAM-0248 Beside Sang Li, there was another...
"Walk."
The large screen not far away suddenly flickered.
A blurry yet eerie image slowly emerged.
Like a broken television set.
It was Sang Li's back view.
In the painting, she is wearing today's clothes, standing alone in the mall.
The colors on the screen were strangely eerie, as if they had been smeared with dark red paint.
Ominous, insane.
Sang Li's breath hitched, a chill ran down her spine, and she snuggled into Lu Jin's arms: "This is bad, do I really have that much charm?"
Lu Jin suddenly turned his head to observe his surroundings, his eyes darkening.
"Don't speak."
However, at this very moment...
As if some invisible switch had been flipped, the previously frozen crowd suddenly began to move in unison.
But it's not a return to normal.
Yes, they rushed towards them like madmen!
The surging crowd looked like zombies who had seen living people; their eyes were glazed, their expressions blank, and they made small, shrill, hoarse noises.
"Hold on tight!"
"Lu Jin!!!"
The power of the crowd is unstoppable, like wasps.
There are too many.
It's too dense.
"Grab me!"
"Someone is pulling me!"
They were separated!
"Lu Jin!"
In the blink of an eye, Sang Li was pushed and pulled, and countless forces swept her into the surging crowd.
“Sang Li!”
Lu Jin shouted, and the crowd almost swallowed up Sang Li's figure in a second, leaving only three scratch marks on his arm.
He rushed towards the direction of Sang Li's voice like a madman.
It must not be lost, it absolutely must not be lost!
Sang Li's vision was a mess, and her chest felt constricted, making it hard to breathe.
All around her were expressionless faces, which swept her forward.
She could barely see Lu Jin anymore.
I don't know where I'm going if I keep walking like this.
No, find a fork in the road and run out.
Instead of waiting for Lu Jin to find her, she should at least get to a safe place first.
She will be crushed to death, suffocated, or even trampled to death by the crowd!
Side.
All the side entrances to the mall are emergency exits!
Sang Li gritted her teeth and squeezed to the side, finding a gap. She pushed aside the people blocking her way and rushed out towards the side door.
The crowd didn't follow.
It was as if their only task was to separate the two.
Sang Li stopped, panting, and looked back. The noisy crowd stood outside the exit, staring at her with their heads tilted, as if separated by some invisible wall.
Was it because I had stepped outside the sphere of influence of the "person in the painting"?
may be.
After all, the "person in the painting" cannot control the entire world.
Sang Li turned and ran into the corridor marked "Emergency Exit".
That's great, there are no ads here.
There was no poster.
Therefore, it should not be within their sphere of influence.
The mall was filled with images and posters of people, which is why the crowds were kept under control.
The corridor was narrow and long, with cold white walls extending endlessly on both sides.
Sang Li walked forward, preparing to find an escape route, and took out her phone to call Lu Jin.
After ringing twice, Lu Jin answered the phone.
"Where!"
Lu Jin sounded even more anxious than expected.
Sang Li looked around and finally found a sign: "I should be on the E34 staircase, looking for the exit. Nobody is following me."
Lu Jin sounded like he was running, his breathing heavy: "E34, wait, I'm at 39, it should be soon."
Upon hearing Lu Jin's voice, Sang Li calmed down.
She walked forward little by little.
How much further?
"It's not far."
Where is the crowd?
"It's over."
Sang Li, holding her phone, said, "Then, hurry up."
"I'm at E35, almost there." Lu Jin's voice was tense.
"Um."
Sudden.
A crisp sound, as if something had exploded.
Sang Li quickly turned around.
lamp.
The light that led into the corridor at the corner just now went out.
Then.
The other lamp in front of that lamp also went out.
All the lights are slowly going out.
Darkness engulfed everything at a visible speed.
The passage before them suddenly became twisted and terrifying, like the gaping mouth of some enormous monster.
Hearing Sang Li's rapid breathing, Lu Jin comforted her, "Stop where you are, don't move, I'll be there soon."
Sang Li: "It's so dark, I can't see anything."
"It's okay, just stay where you are."
When it was Sang Li's turn, the light above her head went out.
There was no light source left in the corridor.
Sang Li leaned against the wall, seeking a sense of security: "Are you here? Lu Jin, I've missed you a little."
“Lu Jin…”
"Lu Jin?"
There was no sound on the other end of the phone.
"Are you there?"
Sang Li dared not breathe.
There seemed to be a strange smell mixed in the air.
It was damp, rotten, and had a faint smell of blood.
Is it still possible to move forward?
still……
Should we backtrack and return the way we came?
Sang Li's mind was in complete turmoil; both of her paths were blocked.
Lu Jin really is...
No cell phone signal!
Nobody's showing up!
What exactly do you want?!
Sudden.
“Sang Li”.
It was Lu Jin's voice.
Sang Li suddenly turned around.
The lights in the distance had come on sometime earlier.
Under the only light.
Lu Jin stood there.
They've arrived.
It's finally here.
Sang Li walked over tremblingly. Fortunately, Lu Jin made it in time this time.
She'll definitely yell at him when she gets back, yelling at him for not holding her tight enough.
"I am coming."
She slowly approached, slowly moving towards the only source of light.
The corridor was deserted, except for a small beam of pale, almost icy light hanging at the end, like a silent, open eye watching over me.
Lu Jin stood there, motionless, eerily quiet.
Sang Li's heart was pounding, and the closer she got, the more uneasy she felt.
Because Lu Jin did not come forward to meet him.
At the very least, give her a hug.
Something's not right.
This is not Lu Jin!
This is a painting!
Click.
In an instant, it was as if some fragile barrier had shattered.
Stiffness, coldness, and eeriness are spreading.
This is a painting.
When did it appear?
Stared at by the painting, she was frozen in place.
Like being caught in a predator's net, the eyes can't help but sink deeper and deeper, unable to escape.
Despair crept up from her feet and wrapped around her neck like vines.
Sang Li's breathing became shallower and shallower.
Without a sound, the surrounding darkness began to writhe, as if something in the depths of darkness had quietly opened its mouth and swallowed her.
at the same time.
Lu Jin stopped between E35 and E33.
The license plates here are all odd numbers; there's no E34 at all!
Sang Li.
What about Sang Li?
The phone line is constantly busy.
Sang Li disappeared before his very eyes.
***
The corridors of the administration building were lit by blindingly white lights.
Lu Jin kicked open the warehouse door of the Administration Bureau.
His eyes were deep and his lips were downturned.
All the paintings seized from BEAM-0248 have been contained in a high-security anomalous art containment area. This area is kept under constant lighting, and access is restricted to designated researchers with mission authorization, and must be equipped with Class A cognitive shielding devices. Any personnel entering the BEAM-0248 containment area must undergo psychological testing to ensure they possess strong cognitive resistance.
But he ignored it.
At this time, the front of the collected BEAM-0248 painting was sealed with an anti-reflective glass cover, and there were no mirrored reflective objects on the ground and walls facing the painting to prevent accidental touch from triggering abnormal effects.
Lu Jin frequently traveled to and from this warehouse during this period.
He discovered that the content of the painting had changed.
It's like a medieval castle from a classic oil painting, white like something out of a fairy tale.
Originally, these paintings were all different.
“I checked the surveillance footage. Sang Li disappeared near the emergency exit. We only found a poster there, which I had someone bring back,” Yu Qi said.
Tang Lan was distressed: "She should have already entered the painting."
According to the pending and incomplete BEAM-0248 file.
Victims who gaze at the artwork depicted by BEAM-0248 for more than 3 seconds will experience intense emotional illusions and a feeling of mental freeze. If the gaze exceeds 10 seconds, the observer will be gradually "absorbed" into the artwork's dimension, becoming a part of it.
[All those who enter the painting typically "return to reality" within 3-72 hours, but generally experience moderate to severe cognitive impairment, dream disturbances, sensory loss, or personality distortion, and completely forget their experience within the painting.]
[BEAM-0248 possesses the authority to control victims who enter the artwork; it can "write" those sucked in into the artwork's script, making them characters within its creation, performing specific tasks or delivering lines.]
Tang Lan: "On the bright side, maybe Sang Li will be back in 72 hours."
Lu Jin looked at him and asked in return, "Do you think that's possible?"
"...Well, there is some hope."
They all knew the allure of Sang Li to abnormal individuals.
And I witnessed it.
I never expected that the person in the painting would have such great power to control the crowd.
Lu Jin stared intently at the painting before him, his eyes filled with horror.
"I can't wait any longer," he whispered. "Prepare to break open the entrance, I'm going in."
"Are you crazy!" Tang Lan's expression changed, and she quickly stepped in front of him. "BEAM-0248 is a mental interference anomaly. Forcibly invading it could cause brain damage, or even death!"
Lu Jin ignored him and instead stared straight at the end of the corridor.
The painting has changed again.
The area around the castle looked as if it were in full bloom with flowers.
One after another, they were pink.
It's as if BEAM-0248 was specially prepared for Sang Li.
Disgusting!
A figure is vaguely visible in the painting.
Wearing a white princess dress, she looked as if she were standing on a castle balcony, gazing at the flowers in the distance.
It's Sang Li.
Beside her was a young man in a black suit.
BEAM-0248?
Lu Jin remained expressionless, but the bloodshot veins in his eyes deepened.
Holy crap!
"Captain Lu!" Yu Qi panicked as well, because the painting of the person in the picture never changed in real time.
This is a provocation.
Zhou Fangyang, who hadn't spoken until now, said, "Our team went in before. Some of them went crazy, and some went missing. We need a complete rescue plan, to analyze the passageways, and to prepare a mental barrier. If you go in now, it's tantamount to suicide."
Yu Qi added, "Last time, the D tactical team, equipped with anti-psychological interference helmets and frequency modulation interference guns, entered the painting. Later, communications were lost, and after the team members left the painting, they exhibited obvious traumatic behaviors, such as repeatedly raising their glasses, laughing, and dancing, and were in an extremely disordered state. That's why this project was handed over to us."
“I don’t need a complete plan.” Lu Jin’s voice was low, hoarse, and cold, each word like ice.
He wants to go in.
He will be fine.
Sang Li will be fine too.
Given Sang Li's personality, she should be cursing herself to death by now.
Moreover, Sang Li was hungry.
I haven't seen the movie I've been wanting to see yet.
"Prepare the weapons," he commanded.
He was ready.
Tang Lan panicked and grabbed his wrist tightly: "Boss, if you go in and manage to stay rational and launch an attack, everyone in the painting, including Sang Li, will be swallowed up by this painting. Don't forget, the painting is alive, and the people live in the painting. The painting cannot be destroyed, or everyone will be doomed!"
“Then we won’t bring any weapons.” Lu Jin stared at Sang Li’s blurry outline. “I’ll call Bai Heng and have him prepare the sedative medication. I’ll keep in touch with you. Based on my information, Yu Qi, you’ll make the battle plan, Tang Lan will provide technical support, and Zhou Fangyang, you’ll need to complete the entire BEAM-0248 file and find a breakthrough.”
"receive."
"Boss, be careful."
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