After Jiang Kun called for help from the system, that indescribable colored light ignored all distance and abruptly appeared before his eyes.
Colors washed over his retinas, but more terrifying was the subsequent sense of dizziness that pierced his soul.
Jiang Kun felt a surge of ultimate terror rise in his heart.
When he used to watch horror movies, he often criticized the protagonists for standing dazed and screaming when they encountered danger.
Now he understood. This was the most instinctive reaction of a living being facing a threat; rational thought was nearly impossible.
‘I'm going to die!’
He felt a deep sense of regret. Penetrating so deep into the heart of the Hu City anomaly had been somewhat reckless.
It was true; ever since binding with the system, his ego had unknowingly inflated, leading him to believe he was the protagonist of the story.
Now, with his life hanging by a thread, he could only rely on the system, his final trump card.
He hoped the system had an HP lock mechanism that could keep its host alive.
In the next second, the colored light crashed into Jiang Kun's body.
There was no feeling of physical impact. His vision suddenly went black, only to be filled immediately with an endless sea of variegated colors.
The strength left his body, and he slumped limply to the ground, his cheek pressing against the cold earth. His consciousness flickered like a candle in the wind.
He could feel himself weakening rapidly as his life force was being siphoned away by the colored light that had invaded his body.
Just as he was about to lose consciousness...
In the center of his vision, amidst the boundless, frenzied colors, a moon suddenly appeared.
The moon did not hang in the sky; it manifested directly within his sight, somewhat dim and not very bright.
The moment the moon appeared, the chaotic colored light that had been surging wildly seemed to meet its nemesis and was driven away by the moonlight.
‘A moon?’
‘Why is there a moon here?’
‘Wait, does the night sky of the Deep Red Continent even have something that bright and round?’
Jiang Kun's final thought was consumed by confusion before his head lolled to the side, and he fell into a deep coma.
Meanwhile, in the top-floor office of the Wang Group, Yue Shi's brow furrowed slightly.
He saw Jiang Kun collapsed on the ground, and he saw that eerie colored light.
The colored light was temporarily forced back by the moonlight.
Yue Shi keenly caught a familiar aura within that mass of colored light.
The colored light also sensed Yue Shi's gaze. It condensed itself, no longer showing aggression toward the gaze cast from the void. Instead, it hovered quietly like a shifting cloud of sunset mist.
A thought crossed Yue Shi's mind. “Tree of Truth?”
The interior of the colored light rippled slightly, and a gender-neutral chuckle drifted from the shifting colors.
Though there was no verbal response, the laughter itself was a tacit admission.
A flash of realization crossed Yue Shi's eyes.
Back in the book world, whenever a plant-based supernatural incident occurred, the Tree of Truth was the first thing that came to mind.
He hadn't expected to see this old thing again on the Deep Red Continent.
He knew the Tree of Truth wouldn't die so easily in the apocalypse of the book world; it must have escaped as well.
However...
“How did you end up in this state?” Yue Shi asked, his face full of confusion.
“Where is your Inverted Divine Tree body? Was it chopped down for firewood, leaving only this bit of remnant soul?”
The Tree of Truth was not angry and did not answer directly. Instead, it asked, “Why are you here? Is this cybernetically modified human your subordinate?”
“You could say that,” Yue Shi did not deny it.
“Did you cause this disaster in Hu City?”
“What are you trying to do?”
The Tree of Truth said mysteriously, “I have my own purposes. As for you, surely you won't stop me?”
The two tested each other.
Even though the Tree of Truth had lost its divine tree body and was only this mass of colored light, its presence had not diminished at all. In fact, because its form was so elusive, it seemed even more mysterious and dangerous.
Yue Shi quickly weighed his options.
The Tree of Truth's state was clearly abnormal, and its motives for causing trouble in Hu City were unclear.
Now was an opportunity. Taking advantage of its weakness, he might be able to completely consume this mass of colored light.
Thinking of this, Yue Shi's voice carried a hint of malice. “Stop you?”
“I'm curious how much more you can take in your current state.”
“Heh heh,” the Tree of Truth chuckled.
“I knew it. You've never had good intentions.”
“How about this? As long as you don't get in my way, I'll tell you a great secret.”
“A massive secret about the world, about reality, and about the relationship between books and reality.”
The Tree of Truth's voice was full of temptation.
Yue Shi remained unmoved. “What secret?”
The Tree of Truth said with great solemnity, “Be sure to be a good human!”
Yue Shi: “...”
“Are you mocking me?”
Tree of Truth: “Don't misunderstand. I'm being sincere.”
“I shouldn't have wasted my breath on you.” Yue Shi felt that the Tree of Truth was just blustering to stall for time, so he decided to strike.
The Tree of Truth seemed to have anticipated this, and that gender-neutral laughter rang out again. “You're still the same as before—irascible, suspicious, and lacking in patience.”
As the words fell, the condensed mass of colored light gently shattered, turning into countless microscopic colored specks that vanished into the surroundings.
Yue Shi's attack hit nothing but air.
He immediately scanned with his Insight vision but could not capture any trace of the Tree of Truth.
That old tree demon had vanished completely, like a drop of water merging into the ocean, leaving behind only this land of lush vegetation.
“He ran fast,” Yue Shi snorted coldly and withdrew his gaze.
The Tree of Truth had always been mysterious and not quite right in the head. This appearance had revealed very little information, and its purpose remained a mystery.
But what was certain was that its state was indeed unique.
Still, was that phrase “be a good human” just a simple taunt, or was it some kind of cryptic hint?
Yue Shi frowned in thought for a moment, unable to make head or tail of it.
...
Jiang Kun was shocked awake.
The environment was cold, and he was losing body heat. His mechanical body had detected that he was in shock, and to ensure his safety, it had activated emergency mode, attempting to wake him with electric shocks.
He opened his eyes, took a few rapid breaths, and looked around blankly.
He was still in that eerie forest. The felled giant tree lay nearby, surrounded by several mummified corpses of local investigators and signs of a struggle.
‘I'm not dead?’
He touched his face, arms, and body in disbelief.
Everything was intact!
Aside from some physical weakness and extreme mental exhaustion, he had no injuries, and he hadn't turned into one of those terrifying mummies.
The horrific sensation of his life force being drained had also vanished.
‘What happened? Where is that colored light? And that moon...’
His memory was a bit muddled; his final impression was of endless colors and a moon.
‘Did the system save me?’
He immediately called for the system and pulled up the interface.
A pale blue, semi-transparent screen expanded in his vision.
【Mission 1】: Hu City Anomaly. (Completed)
Mission Description: Travel to Hu City and investigate the truth behind the recent massive loss of population.
Mission Reward: Randomly awaken one supernatural power; System points x1000.
Status: Reward distributed.
Points Obtained: 1000.
Randomly Awakened Supernatural Power: Hidden.
【Hidden】:
Physical Invisibility: Makes the user transparent and undetectable by conventional optical, thermal, and acoustic means.
Psychological Invisibility: Interferes with an observer's attention, reducing the user's presence.
Occult Invisibility: Provides anti-prophecy and anti-divination effects, making it impossible to track movements through causal links.
Jiang Kun's eyes widened as he stared at the word “Completed” and the ability description below.
The mission was just... finished?
How?
He only remembered almost being killed by that colored light before falling unconscious.
Had something happened while he was out?
Or was it that simply coming into contact with the core of the Hu City anomaly counted as completing the mission?
After all, it was only an investigation mission, not one to eliminate the culprit.
He couldn't figure it out.
But it didn't matter—the rewards were real!
One thousand points... he wondered how many good things he could exchange for once the store opened.
And then there was this 【Hidden】 ability.
Jiang Kun's heart rate suddenly accelerated, and a surge of joy washed away the lingering fear and exhaustion of his near-death experience.
No direct offensive power? That wasn't a problem at all.
In this era where technology and mystery coexisted and surveillance was everywhere, a powerful stealth ability was worth far more than ten offensive ones.
This was a god-tier skill. It could save his life, allow for infiltration, enable reconnaissance, and let him do many things that weren't convenient to talk about openly.
“I've hit the jackpot! This time I've really hit the jackpot!” He couldn't help but grin.
Earlier, he had been regretting venturing into such a dangerous area, but now he only wanted to say that a man needs a bit of an adventurous spirit!
He struggled to his feet, stretched his aching limbs, and immediately tried to use the Hidden ability.
A subtle sensation instantly enveloped his body, as if layers upon layers of feathers were pressed against him.
He looked at his hand; it was already transparent. His presence had also become extremely low, as if he had merged into the background of the environment.
What a great ability!
It was a super practical, god-tier auxiliary function.
After the initial euphoria, his reason quickly returned.
Jiang Kun remembered the storage chip in his pocket, the one he had removed from the camera.
It contained a recording of the colored light's appearance and the horrific footage of it instantly turning people into mummies.
This was first-hand information, an absolute exclusive scoop.
The Anomaly Management Bureau was currently pulling its hair out over the situation in Hu City, desperate to find the root cause but having no way to start.
If they knew someone had clear footage of the culprit...
Jiang Kun's eyes lit up.
Money was just the baseline.
He could completely demand a higher price, like advanced equipment, or use it to escape the exploitation of the capitalists.
In short, the bureau would definitely be willing to pay a heavy price to save Hu City and control the spread of the disaster.
As long as he wasn't too greedy, he was set for life.
Jiang Kun quickly gathered himself, hiding the storage chip close to his body, and scanned the surroundings warily.
The colored light was gone, but the forest was still dangerous.
He didn't linger, quietly and quickly heading back the way he had come.
His mind was already racing, calculating how to use this video and his new ability to maximize his own interests.
Rate on N.U.
