Sea God... Goddess of the Night... whispers.
Reading this, Wu Shuang felt complete dread wash over him.
Could the gods and the Demon King of this world be the exact same thing?
Can this fucking place even count as a fantasy world?
It seemed like it could, but something felt completely off everywhere.
Wu Shuang took a deep breath. He had a feeling that Li Yan was hiding things from him. There was no way they didn't know this fact; they were likely concealing it on purpose. Right now, he just wanted to ask about it.
However, the chat function was currently cut off, so all he could do was wait. He could only hope daylight would return, or else nothing but death awaited Wu Shuang.
He began inspecting his injuries. Since he was in a state of Red Humanity, he couldn't feel much pain, so he had to check by the lantern light to locate any scrapes or broken skin. He applied Spoiled Holy Blessed Grease to each of them to prevent infection and speed up healing.
He also applied ointment to the swollen, purplish bruise on his left arm before strapping his shield back on. The danger wasn't over yet, and battle could break out at any moment.
Even if he died, he would take at least three or four living corpses down with him. He wouldn't die for nothing.
...
He wasn't sure how much time had passed.
Wu Shuang had even dozed off for a bit. Waking up with a start, he immediately checked the burning lantern, then glanced at the scattered body parts and bones on the floor, letting out a long breath of relief.
Thank goodness. No living corpses had broken in, the door was securely shut, the corpse hadn't resurrected, and everything was fine.
The reason this Resurrection Ritual Circle had triggered was likely because he had stepped inside it earlier. Furthermore, this resurrection... judging by the priestess's resurrected state, it seemed more like some form of necromancy controlling corpses. It had absorbed a portion of his Humanity, as the skull had glowed with the same red light as his current Humanity color.
Of course, this was merely a guess, but Wu Shuang had no interest in testing it right now, nor did he intend to resurrect this pieced-together corpse just to dismantle it again.
He checked the chat room and found that updates were showing again, which meant the night had passed. However...
Online Count: 9.
Seeing this number, Wu Shuang was stunned. He even rubbed his eyes and checked again as if suspecting he was seeing things, before his pupils shrank tightly in shock.
It was real!
Only nine Heroes remained online in Zone 127, down from sixty or seventy before.
Looking at the chat room messages, Wu Shuang's expression turned even grimmer.
It wasn't just Gulf Town where night had fallen—other places were no exception. This sudden darkness had caught everyone off guard, not to mention that many were still in the middle of Main Quests.
If the information appraised by the system contained no lies or fabrications...
Then the blessing of the Goddess of the Night... no, the Black Beast's blessing was truly real, though to humans, it felt far more like a curse.
Living corpses would be significantly empowered, and monsters too. If they weren't killed quickly enough, these living corpses and monsters could even resurrect and become far more terrifying... causing what seemed like a favorable situation to reverse in an instant, just as Wu Shuang had experienced earlier.
So...
"What do I do? The senior Heroes who were helping me with my quest are all dead! That monster mutated, and now it's tearing down buildings!"
an Apprentice Hero posted. He had survived only because he was huddled in a hiding spot.
However, the photo he attached showed a grotesque monster that was hard to describe. It was almost impossible to tell what it had originally been, possessing seven or eight legs connected to a chaotic mass of flesh. Bone spikes protruded from its body and joints, looking quite similar to the "zombie" Wu Shuang had seen earlier.
In addition, it had over a dozen arms swinging various weapons wildly like a windmill. Even buildings couldn't stop it, causing destruction akin to a tornado tearing through a parking lot.
There were four or five other Heroes in similar situations, all Apprentice Heroes who had received backup, with almost identical outcomes.
Others had died alongside the Official Heroes who came to assist them. Now, everyone was plunged into despair, at a complete loss for what to do.
Wu Shuang also felt the situation was dire. He opened his friend list to ask for advice, but froze instantly—Li Yan's avatar had dimmed... or rather, gone dark.
This meant Li Yan was dead as well; he had likely been one of the supporters.
Even though Li Yan was just a stranger he had only exchanged a few messages with without ever meeting face-to-face, Wu Shuang still felt a heavy weight in his heart, fully realizing the gravity of the situation.
Fortunately, Dr. Zeng's avatar was still lit, indicating that the Hero Alliance in Area 53 hadn't fallen... or at least hadn't been wiped out entirely.
But here in Zone 127...
"What do I do? This monster is about to tear through to where I am!"
the Apprentice Hero cried out in despair in the chat channel, but no one could help him. Only a lucky few, including Wu Shuang—those who hadn't joined the Hero Alliance or whose turns hadn't come yet—had escaped major danger.
"Run, quickly! It's still daylight out. Staying inside the house is a death sentence. Run away and find a more hidden shelter," Wu Shuang suggested.
"But this thing is smashing everything everywhere! Where am I supposed to hide?!"
"Just run for your life first!"
Wu Shuang said. After a moment's thought, he added another line.
"The Official Heroes who came to support you were carrying weapons and ammunition, as well as Teleportation Stones. Find those items... or their remains, and at least get a Teleportation Stone. Once you teleport away, you'll be safe!"
Wu Shuang quickly came up with an idea, but it was useless.
Setting aside whether the Teleportation Stone could even be found, this method was fundamentally impossible because Apprentice Heroes could only record coordinates and couldn't actually use Teleportation Stones to teleport. That was a privilege reserved exclusively for Official Heroes.
"This..."
Wu Shuang had no other options left and stopped replying.
A few minutes passed, and the person asked no further questions. It was unclear if they had managed to escape, but the online count dropped by one again, and soon after, by another.
In the end, Wu Shuang simply left a message in the chat channel warning about the terrors of the night—that living corpses and monsters would grow stronger and faster in the dark, and might mutate into even more nightmarish forms when near death. He advised everyone not to fight them at night, as it would easily make matters worse.
After giving a brief summary, he stopped checking the chat room.
Otherwise, watching these people die in despair would feel awful, even though Wu Shuang didn't know any of them.
Yet because of this, Wu Shuang's Humanity rose a bit further, breaking past 100 and continuing upward until it stopped at 113. Its color turned blue, and the courage and confidence that combat and killing had brought him completely vanished, leaving behind only profound fear.
He took a few minutes to compose himself before standing up again. Since daylight had returned and it was only one o'clock in the afternoon, he had to hurry and make his move, escaping back to a shelter where he could sleep in peace...
Wu Shuang suddenly paused and looked at the clutter piled in front of the exit, especially the shovel jammed against the door serving as a temporary latch.
"No... I can't run. If I run, I'll truly die.
"After coming all this way with such difficulty, I have to complete the grave digging quest before leaving, or all my efforts along the way will be wasted.
"It's actually pretty safe here. Even staying temporarily wouldn't be a problem—it's even an excellent hiding spot..."
Wu Shuang changed his mind, deciding to stay for a day or two and wait until he completed the quest to dig three graves before considering leaving.
Rate on N.U.
