NOVEL NEXT Chapter 125: “Night” Falls
Chapter 125: “Night” Falls
“Announcement: On Sunday! That is, within three hours on the morning of the day after tomorrow, try not to leave your territory. I received some inside information; the disaster is highly likely to strike the morning after tomorrow!”
“I hope all survivors in every region can unite as soon as possible…”
“In addition, I will now reveal the upgrade requirements for all higher-level territories…”
“The materials needed for a Level 4 territory are…”
“Level 2 Chariot…”
“Level 2 Underground Fortress…”
The blood-red message immediately appeared in everyone’s view.
The first few hours of the night were usually the most active time in the chat channel; it could be said that when Colin sent out this information, almost everyone saw it.
“The disaster is arriving early the day after tomorrow? Is this true? If it’s wrong, we’ll waste a lot of time…”
“Whatever the big shot says, that’s what it is. Has he ever been wrong? I’m not going out anyway…”
“+1 to the guy above…”
“Right, would the big shot lie to you for no reason?”
“Hey, I think I can upgrade to Level 4 territory now, thanks to Big Brother Colin…”
The chat channel was flooded with messages shortly after Colin released the material details. The words “Congratulations… Upgraded to Level 4 Territory” appeared in everyone’s minds. But this time, apart from the material information being related to Colin, everything else had nothing to do with him anymore…
And…
It might not have anything to do with him in the future either.
Colin was very clear that something would definitely happen the day after tomorrow, something that could be called a “turning point in history.”
The night was long and uneasy, and by early the next morning, influenced by Colin’s words, almost all lords began rapidly converting all resources into war capital and setting up corresponding combat layouts.
There was no other way; now no one dared to ignore or take lightly the words of the one named “Colin,” who topped the rankings. Especially after glimpsing the “Night” a few days ago, they instinctively felt fear and had to prepare with even greater urgency.
Although it seemed like the disaster was only moved forward by half a day, for the survivors, it was essentially like losing a whole day’s time.
Except for sleeping, chatting, and exchanging information, the night was almost useless for most people.
Since they had one day less to prepare, they had to work twice as hard today to make up for it.
In the world of endless fog, the foreseeable outcome of this day would be the emergence of one Level 4 territory, Level 2 war vehicles, and other advanced special constructs sprouting up like mushrooms after the rain.
Due to the announcement of more advanced construction materials, the prices of various materials began to soar, almost doubling in general.
This time, those survivors who lacked capabilities were forced to seek refuge with stronger survivors in their regions under immense pressure.
Because of Colin’s information release, their “retreat” was cut off, and they had no choice but to seek alliances.
This was exactly the scenario Colin wanted to see at the moment.
Humanity must unite with all their might to find a chance to survive in these terrifying events that offered little hope.
The time was too short—less than seven days. Unlike Russell and his group, they couldn’t even escape.
They had no way out.
Therefore, tomorrow would be the battle where Earth’s civilization puts all its efforts into one decisive conflict!
Victory means survival; defeat means extinction.
At this moment, Colin led everyone back inside the High Court and to the glaringly bright door to continue researching the “Light.”
However, an hour passed, and the research remained as fruitless as ever.
Colin was not discouraged.
He had not been without gains. At least from Shana, he learned that the “source of light” here emitted power that, although similar in essence to the “sun” she worshipped, was not the same.
It was too extreme!
When exposed to this pure, bright light that rejected everything else, everyone but Colin would feel a surge of fanaticism in their hearts.
This light seemed to have no “healing” properties, only “purification”—purification of everything.
“No wonder it’s a super material that can boost you straight to Stage Five…”
Colin mused.
He recalled Russell mentioning that Stage Five special talents could simultaneously handle multiple lord-level aberrations, and in one-on-one situations, depending on the talent’s direction, they might even be able to eliminate them instantly…
However, in their generation, only one such individual appeared, and he was of the defensive support type.
“I wonder if this ‘Light’ leans more towards offensive or supportive measures…”
Colin looked up at the stone throne, quietly pondering since the “hint” didn’t provide much clarity in this area.
He had a rope tied around his waist, one hand behind his back, and his palm opening and closing once per second to signal the people behind him that he was okay. If his hand stopped, Sanna would immediately pull him out of the hall to prevent any accidents.
Meanwhile, Sanna gazed at Colin in the hall with a worried look in her eyes, but what she couldn’t understand was why the light didn’t affect Colin…
Even when she stared at the stone throne for too long, she would feel some effects, but Mr. Colin was completely unaffected…
Why was that?
Colin also didn’t know why.
After some more exploration without further results, Colin decided to abandon his research here.
“I still need to study the ‘ghost wall’ near the High Court to see if I can extract that technique…”
Colin muttered as he glanced at the hazy areas near the High Court.
Entering the High Court from anywhere but the main gate led to a “ghost wall,” preventing people from reaching their desired locations as expected.
Colin had briefly experimented with this yesterday, and while it wasn’t particularly dangerous, anyone trying to walk straight ahead would inexplicably end up back outside.
Yesterday’s events kept him busy, so he didn’t have time to explore, but now, since there was nothing more of value inside the High Court, Colin planned to strip the “ghost wall” technology down to its core if possible.
This phenomenon also worked against mutants, and using it near their territory would ensure that most monsters would only approach from a single direction rather than all sides.
That would be far preferable to being surrounded from all directions.
With a radiant lantern in hand, Colin led his team toward the hazy area, constantly triggering hints.
Before long, Colin focused on a patch of seemingly disturbed ground and walked toward it.
However, no matter what he did, he couldn’t reach it…
[You realize that when you grasp the “source of light,” you will be able to uncover its secrets…]
“Oh, come on… I’ve been looking for you just to gain some extra power for tomorrow…”
Colin felt slightly exasperated.
Shaking his head, he led his team back to study the architecture within and around the hall.
It was clear that while the outer structures had a style somewhat similar to the inner ones, the inner and outer areas of the High Court were distinctly different in design.
The inner area appeared more cohesive, while the outer sections resembled “high-quality imitations” built in different eras.
Of course, these insights came from the “hints.”
Looking at the inner region of the High Court, Colin’s mind was awash with thoughts.
“The light that descended from the sky back then included not just the ‘source of light’ itself, but also this whole area?”
The key was that an entire area fell from the sky without shattering, showing only signs of impact…
Putting aside where it fell from, even based on descriptions alone, it must have dropped from tens or even hundreds of kilometers high…
The impact that left such a massive crater had undoubtedly surpassed the destructive power of many nuclear explosions…
Yet, the structures inside still remained intact.
The quality of this architecture was beyond imagination…
“Indeed, mysterious world artifacts defy common sense…”
Colin shook his head, putting aside further speculation…
Since exploring the High Court’s inner region didn’t seem to advance his historical mission progress bar, Colin stopped delving into it after three fruitless hours.
“Dr. Colin” resumed his role of “consulting doctor,” helping the strange characters around him fulfill their “special talent” wishes.
Soon…
Night fell once more.
As the night deepened with an increasingly heavy and oppressive atmosphere, everyone returned to their rooms.
After gathering some information in the chat channel, Colin saw that things were just as he had expected.
Nearly every region has achieved some form of unification and alliance today.
Whether through alliances, dominance, or other forms of cooperation, all personnel in each region had come together under Colin’s guidance.
All of this was done in preparation to fight against the impending doom.
“Incredible.”
Standing behind Colin, Russell sighed.
In the early and mid-stages of their generation, most people wouldn’t even consider forming alliances; meeting without stabbing each other could already be considered kind.
Forming alliances like this was nearly impossible.
Even when they did manage to band together, distrust and scheming were rampant.
“Dog-eat-dog” incidents were common.
In Colin’s era, however, with just a few words, he had managed to get most regions to form unified alliances—something that would have been unthinkable before.
After all…
Who could truly trust anyone else?
But somehow, after escaping civilization, Russell always felt that something was off about the people of his generation.
They were chaotic…
There was an indescribable sense of disorder.
Division, unrest, suspicion, and distrust pervaded everyone, almost defining the entire civilization’s history.
If not for being forced into a last-ditch effort, they might never have united…
Just when they escaped with the treasure map, Russell and the others opened their hearts and realized that none of them were truly evil at their core. In fact, they were all “good people” in a sense… But for some reason… Despite not being inherently evil, they had raised their blades against their own kind, with Russell himself having killed at least a couple of survivors…
When they first arrived together, there was laughter and conversation, but it took only a few days for suspicion to set in. Out of the dozens in Russell’s area, he was the only one still alive. Thinking back on it now… He couldn’t understand.
They had ample resources, no significant threats, no urgent crises… “Why did we, after meeting each other, choose to strike without hesitation?” Russell couldn’t help but feel lost. In the early and middle stages of their generation, every encounter with another person began from the presumption of guilt… They seemed to assume that strangers would inevitably harm them, so they had to act first. Even in the later stages, trust among them was rare…
At that time, trust within their civilization only existed in the “world channel”… You could only trust those you couldn’t see… But in Colin’s generation, despite having even less—harsher conditions, extreme food scarcity, and immense survival pressure… They received only one black bread as a daily task reward… Under such circumstances, cannibalistic events should have been more likely.
However, things turned out quite the opposite… When people in Colin’s generation met, they didn’t immediately turn on each other; sometimes, they could even collaborate and help one another. Despite the extreme poverty, with two loaves of bread barely enough for one person, why didn’t they fight? Why did they choose to unite in such life-threatening food shortages? The regional chat was even filled with a kind of “goodness.”
Why was this the case? Russell became increasingly perplexed… He even felt the urge to return to the disaster-stricken land to find out what really happened. Before the calamity struck, they had already fallen apart… In the early days when the special talents began to collapse, they couldn’t band together, and by the time they managed to unite and resist, it was too late.
“What are you thinking about?” Li Chou patted Russell on the shoulder.
“Oh, nothing…” Russell hadn’t intended to say anything, but after thinking it over, he decided to speak up. He called over Dr. Colin, who was “on call” nearby, and explained his unusual observations.
After an hour of discussion, Colin summarized simply, “It’s an abnormal societal atmosphere…”
“Yes, an abnormal societal atmosphere…” Russell nodded in agreement. Before the “crossing,” their society wasn’t as bad, but after the “crossing,” even with abundant resources, everyone seemed to have become vicious towards others in a short time. The whole society carried the underlying belief that “others are hell.”
After further discussion with Russell, it was concluded that due to some influence, perhaps Russ’s or someone else’s, the atmosphere had been turned away from cannibalism.
“If the talk back then had revolved around cannibalism, we might have gone down that road too…”
Colin recalled that the discussions on both the world and regional channels were filled with bleak topics and a depressive atmosphere. It wasn’t until he introduced the lantern and led initiatives like trading water that things started to change. The atmosphere wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t terrible either. Caution remained, but at least people didn’t judge each other guilty at first sight.
[You realize that, thanks to your efforts, such atrocities didn’t occur within your group.]
[You are seen by some as a “savior,” by others as a “bastard,” but are widely respected as “Mr. Colin.”]
Colin filtered out the insults and scratched his chin. “It seems we really didn’t go down that path…”
Using his insights, Colin confirmed that they had avoided that problem and decided to keep his lingering doubts to himself. By now, the night had come. Even if something was trying to incite division, there wasn’t enough time left.
As the night wore on, things remained unnaturally quiet. Despite the tension, nothing happened. Compared to the disturbances of previous nights—knocks on the door, glimpses from the window—this eerie calm made Colin feel even more uneasy. It’s the unknown that’s truly terrifying, not the things that have already happened and can be dealt with.
As the last hour of the night approached, Colin, who had barely slept, used his “world horn” one last time. This time, he didn’t announce any information—he had already given everything he had. He had drained all his knowledge and done everything he could, reaching his absolute limit. In the final hour before the disaster, Colin used the red font of “punishment” to send a brief blessing: “May we meet again after the disaster.”
Colin didn’t specify whether “after the disaster” meant later tonight or some other time, but he knew everyone would assume it meant later tonight, as he had said so yesterday… Of course, if the “punishment” turned out to be all that came, it would be easier to handle since he hadn’t set a specific time, preserving his credibility somewhat…
As the bright red text was sent, the chat channel, which had been dull and lifeless all day, suddenly came alive.
“May we meet again after the disaster!”
“Bless everyone, hope we can still chat like this then, keep fighting!”
“Stop talking like we’re gonna die, relax!”
“I’m XXX, wishing you all the best…”
“Whoa, aren’t you a celebrity… still alive, huh?”
“Careful not to use up tomorrow’s horn, it’s almost dawn.”
Messages of blessings filled the chat, lifting the heavy atmosphere, and everyone genuinely wished each other well. Shortly after, as the oppressive tension gradually eased, Colin realized… Dawn had arrived.
At this moment, Colin looked towards the high court and began moving again. With about an hour of “final preparation time” left, he would soon set out to sit on the stone throne. He had handed over all unnecessary items, including the “manhole cover,” to Sanna and others… He kept only the parchment scroll and some mysterious objects, transferring everything else…
Because the fusion required some time, during which he could do nothing. With nerves tightly wound, Colin made his last contact with the outside world before leading his team towards the grand hall with a strong religious style. Not long after, he arrived once more at the open doors, and with Sanna’s help, securely tied the ropes and stepped inside.
This time, he would not stop until he reached the highest position. And at that moment, a sense of calm washed over him; he was no longer as nervous. As he moved about ten meters forward,
[You realize that taking another step forward will bring about the disaster that affects everyone…]
So it really was “Beware the Night”…
Colin’s steps briefly paused but he did not hesitate to move forward. This time, they would face the disaster actively, rather than passively waiting for the countdown to end. At that moment, Colin felt a special force eagerly merging into his body. He instinctively looked up at the throne and the glowing entity above it… But suddenly, a deep fear and unease enveloped him, as if some unseen presence was watching him.
Colin took a deep breath to steady himself and continued up the path toward the stone throne without running, jumping, or slowing down. He passed by countless kneeling figures—thousands, maybe tens of thousands of corpses lining both sides of the path, leaving only the central road untouched. Colin alone walked this path, as it was considered a severe desecration for anyone else to do so. But only he could walk this path, ensuring no anomalies occurred.
Everything proceeded silently, as if following some unspoken design. Finally, the surroundings opened up, and Colin reached the base of the stone steps. He ascended them step by step, feeling strangely at peace as he approached the radiant form atop the gray stone throne. This glow “sat” on the throne, “gazing” down.
[You realize that a pivotal moment in history has arrived.]
Colin chuckled quietly, feeling strange calmness. Approaching the throne, his “intuition” surged, giving him a vague understanding of many things. Yet this understanding was blurry, as if he grasped some of it but not all… After a brief pause, Colin turned around as if guided by instinct, took a step back, and sat on the throne, resting his hands on the cracked stone arms.
The next second, an invisible shockwave burst out, instantly disintegrating all the corpses in the hall. The “Source of Light” was forcibly drawn into Colin’s body, merging with him… It tried to escape, but it was futile. Almost immediately, Colin’s focus was completely consumed by the fusion, leaving him unable to think clearly. Strange, snail-like tendrils sprouted from his body, reaching out to grasp the light, pulling it into him.
And in that moment… Blood-red words appeared vividly in Colin’s mind.
[Detected abnormal behavior by survivor Colin. “Punishment” is imminent. Countdown initiated!]
Punishment? Colin’s brow furrowed; he could feel something even more terrifying was about to happen!
[Ten…]
[Nine…]
Almost as soon as the countdown warning began, Colin’s vision blurred, as if everything before him was pixelated.
Suddenly, his heart clenched, and his sight froze. From the sharp edges of some structures in the great hall, strange “smoke” started spewing out, twisting and morphing in midair to form a mental entity of indistinct shape.
It was a creature resembling a slender dog with horrifying exposed fangs, a single crimson eye, and sharp claws.
An “inspiration” suddenly burst in Colin’s mind. Following this inspiration, Colin instantly understood the eerie being before him and realized that it was the source of the “judgment.” He understood why this eye felt so familiar!
“…‘Hound!’” Colin muttered as he stared at the creature.
Though it vaguely resembled a hound, its actual form had nothing to do with dogs; its appearance stemmed from the hunger and predatory nature inherent to its spiritual essence. It awakened a primal fear rooted in human genes, making it appear like a hunting dog eyeing its prey, creating this image in the mind.
The human eye couldn’t truly observe it; what allowed Colin to “see” it was a fear-born hallucination from his own soul.
And now, the “Hounds” weren’t just one but dozens of them, in various sizes! Any one of them possessed the terrifying power to kill a “Lord-class Mutant!”
Colin knew that even having a piece torn from any part of the body by these creatures would instantly kill a regular person, leaving no trace of life behind. Because of their eye, they would first target the victim’s head.
It seemed that they had been tracking Colin along some trajectory long before this, yet for reasons unknown, these terrifying mental entities had arrived six days late! Had Colin not fused with “Light,” they would have arrived even later.
But now, the “Hounds” had finally caught sight of their prey, and they immediately cast their predatory gazes upon him.
In the next second, Colin felt powerful dizziness and a sudden weakness throughout his body. His eyelids grew as heavy as lead.
They had launched some kind of unknown mental attack on him!
But…
What truly horrified Colin wasn’t these suddenly appearing Hounds…
It was something else…
[You realize you cannot let these ‘Hounds’ delay for too long; another true terror is swiftly approaching!]
Another thing… the Night?
“You’ve got to be kidding me, both at the same time!”
Colin realized that the immediate threat before him had to be eliminated immediately, or he would have no chance against the “Night!”
He could resolve this current “disaster” at some cost…
But this also meant almost giving up any chance of successfully “ascending.”
But he couldn’t afford to worry about that now!
Gritting his teeth, Colin lightly tapped the armrest with his left hand, casting a light that enveloped Shana and the others on the periphery. With great effort, he raised his right hand from the stone throne, preparing to forcibly unleash a power he barely understood, something even he didn’t know the name of.
At that moment, two bloodstained eyeballs unknowingly rolled out of his [backpack].
As the eyeballs fell to the ground, the entire space within the great hall visibly solidified.
Splat…
They hit the floor, their gray pupils coincidentally facing the horrific spiritual entities that had invaded from the system.
“Hahahahahahaha…”
A mad, ear-piercing, and contemptuous laugh erupted from the eyeballs. The entire murky space rippled as if on the verge of shattering.
The sound waves burst forth from the eyeballs like waves, repeatedly crashing against the gray world, shaking it as though it were experiencing a massive earthquake.
Even the black mist-formed spiritual entities were severely affected.
The “Hounds” were disintegrating!
Thankfully, Colin, seated on the gray stone throne, was not the primary target of the laughter. Though the sound gave him a headache, it didn’t cause him significant harm… just slight disarray of the Light.
At this moment, both the attackers and defenders were affected, with all actions disrupted by the sudden appearance of the eyeballs!
But just then, the laughter abruptly ceased, and the two eyeballs suddenly melted and merged, forming a strange, unknown, chaotic mist.
In the next second, dozens of swollen, bluish-black tentacles burst out from the chaos, grabbing at the Hounds suspended midair by the mad laughter.
The Hounds, already frozen, couldn’t dodge at all. In an instant, they were ensnared by the slimy, grotesque tentacles, covered in toothless mouths, crimson eyes, protruding veins, and sharp blood-red spikes.
Even the intangible spiritual entities couldn’t escape once grasped by these tentacles. They couldn’t even struggle, being slowly dragged into the chaos.
After that, the spiritual entities felt themselves falling into an endless void, their “ears” filled with the sounds of drums, flutes, and indescribable howls.
Soon, they vanished forever.
In less than three seconds, Colin realized that the judgment that had plagued him for six days had ended—ending almost comically!
Coming to his senses, Colin looked in horror at the “chaos” sprawled on the ground, fearing it would turn its tentacles toward him!
“What is this thing?!”
Colin’s heart pounded. He remembered that these two eyeballs came from the “Fallen Noble” task!
He realized…
Perhaps he had deliberately ignored their danger at the time…
But Colin quickly discovered his fear was unfounded.
After bringing a fate worse than death to those spiritual entities, the chaos formed by the eyeballs promptly evaporated, disappearing without a trace, as if it had never existed!
The entire sequence of events lasted barely three seconds!
But things didn’t stop there.
Almost simultaneously with the eyeballs’ disappearance, another impending terror burst forth!
In that instant, every survivor’s vision darkened, followed by an overwhelming pressure descending from the sky!
The night had fallen early!
An invisible pressure blanketed the entire world in just a moment!
At the same time, amid a heart-pounding sensation that felt like impending death, a line of writhing blood-red text exploded within the minds of all humanity:
[Beware of the Night! Beware of the Night! Beware of the Night!]
However, within less than a second, this line was forcibly erased from everyone’s minds by some terrifying power!
At that moment, everyone felt the crushing weight of a mountain, making any movement impossible—even heartbeats became laborious!
If not for the fact that their diseases had been cured at the moment of descent, many might have died from heart attacks right then.
If anyone dared to look up at that moment—whether indoors or outdoors, obstructed or not, anywhere in the world—they would see the last terrifying scene of their lives.
Above the sky, a massive black entity resembling a dark moon was descending.
If the planet beneath Colin’s feet were an “egg,” and the gray fog represented the “shell” barrier, then this formless, writhing darkness resembled a horrifying giant face pressed against the thin “shell,” protruding from the outside, ready to break through at any moment…
The “Night” had arrived!