Chapter 117: The Stormy Origin of the Viral Curse

As Shen Yan rushed toward the energy pillar, Yu Xiaotang suddenly turned around.

The half-piece candy stick in her hand transformed into a crimson curved blade, which she viciously stabbed into Ye Shi’er’s chest.

This strike was swift and ruthless, as if all the Grudge Energy accumulated over ten years was concentrated in this single blow. Ye Shi’er didn’t evade it; instead, he stepped forward half a pace, allowing the blade to fully penetrate his heart.

“You’ve finally… returned.” His voice was as light as a dream murmur, yet a faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Shen Yan halted his steps, his mind exploding with a buzzing roar.

Not because of the sudden attack, but because his phone Terminal suddenly displayed a full-screen Warning, with green characters automatically scrolling:

【Detected High-Level Virus Carrier】

【Source: Devil Clan Primordial Seal Fragment】

【Initiate Homologous Purification Protocol】

The Code Flow started running on its own, as if the System had been taken over by something with higher Permission. Shen Yan tried to forcibly interrupt it, but as his fingers touched the Programming Pen, a reverse Data Stream surged up through the Tip of the Finger into his brain, causing his vision to black out.

When he regained consciousness, he saw Yu Xiaotang kneeling on the ground, her limbs entangled by black mist, like countless venomous snakes crawling upward. The demonic patterns on her clavicle began peeling off piece by piece, revealing ancient talisman seals emerging on the pale skin beneath—the patterns twisted like worms, still slowly writhing.

“No… this isn’t right!” Yu Xiaotang raised her head, her eyes reddened. “Those Memories, those Talisman Arrays… they’re not mine! They were forced into me!”

As she spoke, she tore open her collar, revealing a Rune on her chest that resembled a Countdown, starting from one hundred and decreasing.

“I am the Key.” Her voice trembled. “They created me for this day. Once activated, I must be destroyed.”

Shen Yan’s throat tightened.

He immediately summoned the Terminal Interface in his mind, attempting to write an inverse Emotional Anchoring Program to stabilize her consciousness. But as he entered the first line of Code, the string of characters was devoured by the black mist, instantly transforming into a death Command:

【Executor: Yu Xiaotang】

【Target: Shen Yan】

【Method: Heart Piercing】

“Damn!” Shen Yan violently shook his hand, nearly losing grip of the Programming Pen.

He knew it was over. This wasn’t a normal Virus; it was a High-Level parasitic entity capable of tampering with Source Code Logic, specifically designed as a trap for those with Spiritual Roots. It didn’t kill people; it made you kill the most important person yourself.

Luo Li roared angrily, Demonic Fire soaring upward to form a sealing Barrier around them. She stared intently at Yu Xiaotang, her tail bristling like a dandelion: “Don’t wait! Kill her now, and we can still prevent the System from collapsing!”

“Shut up!” Shen Yan snapped, his voice strained. “She hasn’t lost control yet!”

“But she will soon!” Luo Li’s gaze was sharp. “Look at her hands!”

Shen Yan looked down.

Yu Xiaotang’s fingers were turning purple, black liquid seeping from her nail crevices, dripping onto the ground and corroding small pits. She seemed drained of all strength, yet she still stared fixedly at Shen Yan, tears falling one by one.

“Please…” she pleaded tremulously. “Do it. I don’t want to become a monster that harms you.”

Shen Yan gritted his teeth, his fingers trembling as he traced movements in the air, trying to Recompile an isolation Program. But each time it nearly formed, it was corrupted by the black mist, and even the Terminal began flashing red.

【Warning: Host emotional fluctuations will accelerate Virus replication】

“I’m perfectly calm right now!” he shouted into the air, but even he didn’t believe it.

At that moment, Ye Shi’er slid down against the wall, collapsing to the floor. The bloodied knife was still embedded in his chest, his breathing faint. He raised a hand, his blood-stained fingertip tapping his own temple.

“Don’t let her die in vain…” he gasped, “Remember her real name.”

Shen Yan was stunned. “What?”

“She’s not Yu Xiaotang.” Ye Shi’er coughed up a mouthful of black blood. “That’s a false identity. Her real name… is ‘Chuxue’.”

Before he could finish speaking, his head lolled to the side as he fell completely unconscious.

Shen Yan’s mind exploded with the revelation.

Chuxue?

That little girl from childhood who always loved drawing Talisman Arrays and munching on candied hawthorn? That Talisman Dao genius who was treated as an experiment by her family and ultimately disappeared?

He remembered, ten years ago, in the underground Secret Chamber of the Yu Family’s old mansion, there was a stone tablet engraved with “Chuxue Sacrifice,” surrounded by incomprehensible Restriction Seal Runes. At the time, he thought it was a sacrificial ritual. Only now did he understand—it was a burial.

She had been resurrected, pieced together as a “Container” using Talisman Arrays and Devil Blood.

So her love for candied hawthorn was due to residual Memory; her ability to draw talismans was driven by instinct; her closeness to him was because the System Underlayer had programmed the task of “finding the Source Code holder.”

But her tears were real.

Her smile was real.

And her three attempts to save him by blowing herself up—those were real too.

“I don’t believe in fate.” Shen Yan suddenly laughed, a bit maniacally. “You say you’re the Key? Fine, then I’ll be the one who picks the lock.”

He grabbed the blood-red curved knife, its hilt still warm with Ye Shi’er’s blood.

Yu Xiaotang’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?!”

“Didn’t you want me to kill you?” Shen Yan stepped closer, the knife’s tip pointing downward. “Then I’ll do it now.”

She closed her eyes, tears slipping down. “Thank you…”

But the next second, Shen Yan abruptly raised his hand, twisted the blade, and plunged it fiercely into his own left shoulder!

Blood sprayed out, splattering across the Terminal Interface, instantly activating a hidden Notice:

【Detected guardian spirit voluntarily offering sacrifice】

【Permission granted to access the Heavenly Demon Dissolution Preparation Protocol】

The entire power plant shook violently, red lights flashing intensely as the black mist seemed to recoil in shock.

“You’re insane?!” Yu Xiaotang screamed.

“I’m not insane.” Shen Yan gritted his teeth and pulled out the knife, blood dripping down the blade. “If you’re going to die, wait until I’ve taken your name back first. The System wants you to be the Key? Fine, then I’ll be the hammer that smashes the lock.”

As he spoke, he raised the blood-stained Programming Pen and swiftly traced through the air.

【New Program: Name-Seizing Protocol】

【Target: Chuxue】

【Permission: Blood-bound contract, reverse rewriting of identity binding】

Lines of Code fell one by one, each stroke feeling like carving into his own flesh. His Mental Power was nearly depleted, his vision darkening at the edges, yet his fingers kept moving.

Yu Xiaotang suddenly struggled to crawl over, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Stop! You’ll die!”

“Then we’ll die together.” Shen Yan turned his head, locking eyes with her. “But before we die, I want the whole world to know—you’re not some Key. You’re Yu Xiaotang, my teammate, my trouble, my… family.”

As the last words left his mouth, the Terminal erupted in a blinding flash of light.

The black mist churned violently, as if something had struck its core. The talisman marks on Yu Xiaotang’s body began to crack, and though the devilish patterns continued to peel away, their speed slowed significantly.

“It’s working… it’s working!” Shen Yan’s voice trembled with excitement. “It’s afraid of this! It’s afraid of these chaotic parameters like ‘sense of belonging’!”

Luo Li stood nearby, the Demonic Fire still burning, but her gaze had changed. Watching Shen Yan, covered in blood yet grinning foolishly, her tail quietly retracted half an inch.

Just then, Yu Xiaotang suddenly convulsed violently, black blood gushing from her mouth.

“It’s too late…” she struggled to lift her head. “The System is taking over me… please… one last look… I want to see you…”

Shen Yan’s heart tightened as he reached out to wipe the blood from her face.

But the moment his fingers touched her cheek, Yu Xiaotang’s eyes snapped open, her pupils completely blackened. Her arm shot up, fingers curled into claws, aiming straight for his throat!

Luo Li reacted swiftly, the Demonic Fire instantly surging forward to separate the two.

Shen Yan staggered back, the wound on his shoulder tearing open, blood flowing freely.

He stared at the girl before him, both familiar and strange, feeling as if his heart were being torn apart.

“Xiaotang…” he whispered. “If you still remember me, don’t make me do this.”

Yu Xiaotang froze in place, her hands trembling, her face contorted in agony as if wrestling with something.

One second.

Two seconds.

Then, she slowly lowered her head and gently placed the hand stained with black blood into Shen Yan’s palm.

Next, she guided his hand to grip the hilt of the crimson curved blade.

The tip of the blade pointed toward her own heart.

“Kill me,” her lips moved slightly, her voice so faint it was almost inaudible. “This time… let me choose for myself.”

Shen Yan’s hand shook violently, the blade’s tip tracing a fine line across her clothing.

The red glow from the power plant reflected in his bloodshot eyes, like dying embers.

He did not move.

Nor did he let go.

The blade remained suspended in midair.

(End of Chapter)