NOVEL NEXT Chapter 873: Unknown Item
'Red Night Event… Now… There's a red skull here…' Tundra mused as he wasn't sure about the purpose of the red skull here. It wasn't even mentioned in the system's event notification.
Anyway, he had to learn more about it before reporting to Shane, as the latter would just ask similar questions.
"Did anyone else touch it?"
"No. We used containment protocols immediately. It's been stable so far, but the energy signature is inconsistent. Cloud flagged it as a potential anomaly."
Tundra nodded slowly.
"Bring it to Reylin," he said. "She'll know what to do." Tundra said as he planned to tell Reylin to give it to Shane later on. After all, holding it with him would serve no purpose, it would just be an inconvenience to hold it since it could not be stored in his inventory.
The soldier then closed the box and saluted. "Understood."
As the Super Soldier walked off, Tundra stared at the ground for a moment.
A red skull that didn't register in the system.
That wasn't normal.
***
In the meantime, within the Eclipse Domain, Shane was in his command center and was looking at his table.
It had two red skulls on it.
They had been recovered earlier, one from a Bloodmarked Jumper Zombie near the northern gate, and another from a Corrupted Flying Zombie that was killed by one of the snipers and looted by the ground troop.
Indeed, they weren't dropped by Zombie Kings or Zombie Lords, but for some reason, Shane felt that they were important.
He had already tried interacting with them, but nothing worked.
Touching them did nothing. Applying pressure had no effect either. If he pushed harder, a repelling force would activate, sending a pulse through his arm and forcing him to step back.
They couldn't be stored in his inventory, and even those with high-level Appraisal Skill couldn't see through this item at all.
It wasn't just that, even Cloud's advanced scan protocols had failed to classify them…
Shane couldn't help but wonder about their purpose...
He had seen strange items before.
System events always had anomalies like the existence of the Secret Shop or the existence of Necromancer's Neutral Shelters, and other stuff…
But this was different. It wasn't just rare… it was unrecognized.
Soon, his interface lit up. Messages arrived from Tundra, Diana, and several other high-ranking Survivors. Each of them had found similar red skulls, and as expected, they had also failed to store or identify the item.
And each of them had sent someone to deliver the skull directly to him through the portal.
Shane didn't respond right away. He kept his focus on the two skulls in front of him.
'Hmm… Since they're not loot or even crafting materials. Just what is this thing?'
For now, he considered the possibilities. Could they be part of a new crafting system? No. There was no integration. Could they be linked to a new enemy type? Unlikely… Since Zombies weren't introduced like this. But could they be quest triggers? That was possible.
He opened the system event log again.
The Red Night Event had begun with standard parameters… Lord-tier threats, new classification of Zombies, point system, hidden mission, and others...
There was no mention of red skulls. Still, he knew better than to trust the surface details…
His eyes turned to hidden missions. It was common in Zombie Wave events. He had completed several in the past. Some required killing a specific number of zombies within a time limit. Others tracked how fast a zombie was defeated…
There were even missions tied to damage thresholds, survival rates, and even coordination between Clan Members. All of them were based on statistics. All of them were invisible until completed.
This felt similar.
Shane looked at the skulls again.
He could only guess that they weren't reacting because the condition hadn't been met yet.
These skulls weren't meant to be used yet…
'Interesting… I guess we'll just collect all of them for now.' Shane thought.
He closed the vault interface and sent a message to Reylin and the others.
[ Shane: Secure all red skulls. Do not attempt to destroy it. Treat as an event-linked anomaly. Await further instructions. ]
***
Shane finally turned his attention to the outside of the Eclipse Domain.
The battlefield was quiet now, but the damage was still visible.
Compared to the other shelters, Eclipse Domain had taken the worst hit.
Blood Talon Shelter had been attacked by two Zombie Lords. So had New Genesis and the Ironwall Bastion… but Eclipse Domain had faced four.
Four Lord-tier threats.
And yet, they had won.
This victory wasn't just luck. It was the result of their carefully planned defense.
His Mech Frames had been activated at the right moment, intercepting the second and third Lords before they could breach the inner perimeter. The Floating Fortress had done the rest.
It had remained cloaked above the shelter for most of the battle.
Only when the third Lord began charging a suppression field did Shane authorize bombardment. The stealth field dropped, and the fortress unleashed a barrage of Spirit-enhanced artillery.
The impact had neutralized two Lords in under thirty seconds.
That was the turning point.
Nonetheless, more than seventy percent of his active fighters had leveled up today. Some had gained one level and others had gained two.
It was a hard-fought battle, but the rewards were real. Even the support teams had gained experience or leveled up completely from coordinated defense and healing operations.
It was great news.
Just as he was reviewing the data, a message came through.
[ Laura: Commander, I've reached Level 55. I also completed my Level 50 ascension quest. I've obtained a new skill that enhances my Telepathy Talent. I can now control even a Zombie Lord for up to 3 seconds. ]
Shane paused as he didn't expect that someone would complete an Ascension Quest during this time… She didn't mention the change in her physique, which should be included in the reward, but Shane didn't mind it.
[ Shane: That's a significant upgrade. Can you confirm the control range and cooldown? ]