Transforming Succubus: Almost Doomsday

The challenging path that troubled everyone had been swiftly traversed in just a breath's time, as all the paintings suddenly turned pitch black.

Before the crowd could understand what had happened, Guang Tongchen's voice was already heard:

"It's done, there indeed is a switch on this side. Do you want to try something else to see if you can get across?"

Zhou Baiyu threw another button.

This time, the now pitch-black paintings showed no response.

"How… how was this done? Was that teleportation?"

Sandajiayu and Yirisanfan were both stunned.

The two realized that since arriving at this scene, it had mainly been a display of Jiang Xianwu's prowess followed by Guang Tongchen's performance...

In between, the snow demon occasionally played a role, whereas, as warriors of the Storm Justice, they contributed a bit in the first act but largely coasted through the rest.

"Stay calm, we're just equipped with the standard growth."

Luoma Guiji, for once, wasn't looking sullen but instead revealed a smile.

After Zhou Baiyu finished testing, he took the lead and guided everyone towards the end of the passage.

They soon regrouped. Not curious due to being a Sky Eye and knowledgeable about many other occupations, the snow demon was unfazed.

Luoma Guiji had seen the chairman's Divine Skills before and was just surprised that they could get through this passage.

Gui Fu, Zhou Baiyu, and the two warriors from Storm Justice were more curious about how Guang Tongchen managed it.

Guang Tongchen explained:

"The second rank of a Concealer is called Dark Walker, and upon advancement, one gains a skill called Invisible."

"This skill allows Concealers to achieve invisibility in light and shadow for a short time, making their weight, scent, sound, and form completely undetectable."

"I only needed to make sure that I could get through the sixty-meter corridor before Invisible ended."

Such a terrifying ability.

Sandajiayu thought for a moment, this was essentially an absolute disappearance.

If you were to confront a Concealer directly, watching them vanish could allow you to constantly move around, but if you were unaware that you had entered a combat situation beforehand...

Then it's very possible you could be killed quietly without notice.

However...which has a higher priority, the Sky Eye's ability to see through concealment or the Concealer's ability to hide?

...

...

The narrow passage soon opened up, revealing the immense library ahead.

Brown wooden bookshelves reaching six meters high stood like walls.

The space between the shelves was approximately one and a half meters, with eight rows of shelves, four rows on each side.

Each bookshelf was labeled by category, and the vast shelves housed many reference books.

These mostly contained various kinds of knowledge; the more arcane the subject, the higher it was placed on the shelf.

It seemed as if the former wealthy individuals were convinced the world would end and gathered a large amount of knowledge that might be used for "post-disaster reconstruction."

In the middle of the bookshelves on either side, there was a spacious reading area.

Looking beyond the reading area, what everyone saw made their skin crawl.

A myriad of black tentacles intertwined into a six-pointed star pattern.

The tentacles writhed incessantly, and the crimson eyes upon them all opened after everyone entered the library.

This scene reminded Zhou Baiyu of the structures in the Hanging Corpse Hospital and made Guang Tongchen think of the Nightmare Bridge.

The rest of the group's attention, however, was on the center of the massive six-pointed star, where a young woman lay suspended by the black tentacles in slumber.

The black corrupt entities seemed to have merged with the woman.

She wore a tattered laboratory isolation suit, exposing some of her skin.

Her isolation helmet had long rolled away to a corner, and her disheveled hair draped down as she was suspended by the tentacles, like a heretic awaiting judgment.

"Is this the hostage? If we rescue her, does that mean we've cleared the level?" Yirisanfan asked excitedly.

Sandajiayu was poised for battle, Luoma Guiji spiritedly began chanting incantations, Gui Fu gripped her whip tightly ready to summon Shadow Leopard at any moment.

Fighting through the tide of monsters, then crossing the casino with a mere one-eighth chance of survival, and finally through the corridor of deadly paintings...

They had at last caught a glimpse of hope for passing this level.

But just as they were about to act, Zhou Baiyu and the snow demon simultaneously shouted:

"Watch out!"

Three black figures suddenly appeared.

Yirisanfan instinctively wanted to use "Evil Thought Attraction," but the terror emanating from the black figures dulled his reaction...by a second.

He felt fear!

This was a distinct kind of monster, not on the same level as those outside!

The intense pressure from the shadowy monsters made Yirisanfan falter in an instant...

But this was not the time to feel fear.

The next second, Yirisanfan's head was brutally torn off by one of the shadows, as if he were a mere toy doll.

His eyes were filled with horror, and then his view began to spin chaotically.

Gurgling, his head hit the ground.

Yirisanfan fell in battle.

But no one could afford to care about him at that moment, as the situation was critical.

In the same second, Luoma Guiji shielded Zhou Baiyu and Gui Fu shielded the snow demon.

The sound of clashing swords resounded once more! Guang Tongchen dodged an attack from behind and silently appeared behind the assailant.

A decisive strike, and the sword's glint flashed!

The shadow dissipated in an instant, or rather, it wasn't a shadow but countless dark blood-vessel-like entities that rapidly withered as the host died...

In the end, what appeared before Zhou Baiyu and the others was nothing but a monster's corpse, hardly different from the creatures outside on the deck.

The other two shadows, having recognized the biggest threat, instantly filled the library with black smoke.

That wasn't smoke but countless minuscule corrupt entities.

Only upon touching their opponent did these tiny, corruptive byproducts manage to burrow into the opponent's body, subsequently inducing corruption!

Fog and smoke swirled around, everyone's corruption level was rapidly increasing.

A fisherman exclaimed in alarm,

"We're doomed!"

He had never seen such a scene before, he could face those huge monsters, but he was defenseless against the invasion of these tiny creatures.

The others, including Zhou Baiyu, also felt that their doom was inevitable.

But Guang Tongchen did not!

Guang Tongchen's gaze was sharp as a sword, he exerted himself to stand up straight, and his saber had already been sheathed without anyone noticing.

But with his step back, the endless night instantly enveloped the entire library.

Zhou Baiyu's first reaction was to think that he had accidentally touched his watch and summoned the Dark Night Calling.

But he immediately realized that was not right...

This was inside the cabin, where there were lit candles. This was not nightfall... but rather—

the arrival of "Darkness."

The sword light tore through the dark. It was as if the dark world suddenly had a breach.

Then the breach kept expanding, with more and more sword lights flickering within, like numerous cracks slashing through the darkness!

Bang!

At the moment the dark night shattered, it was as if the entire space was broken, and the world without light was once again illuminated.

Guang Tongchen's breathing was somewhat rapid, his face slightly pale, his hand holding the sword trembling slightly.

The smoke that filled the sky had dissipated, leaving only two monster corpses on the ground.

Dark Night Calling, a skill that could be learned after leveling up to a Hidden Owl.

If Concealers could become invisible, making themselves seem non-existent, then Dark Night Flash was an ability that made everything around them non-existent for an instant.

Zhou Baiyu felt as though he had entered another world, where his body could even pass through those solid obstacles, and he felt as light as air.

He roughly guessed the principle behind it.

"This skill must be a very powerful one. First, it summons a swath of darkness, within which all matter becomes unperceivable, just like Concealers, almost as if they exist in a void."

"But those two monsters were the exception, they were still corporeal and could be attacked by the chairman."

"And because we were in a void state, those smokes wouldn't even touch us, so naturally, we wouldn't be affected by them..."

"Such a terrifying ability, damn, the chairman is just too cool."

Rendering oneself, allies, and the entire environment "Absolutely Concealed," then striking down the foe in the dark of night.

This ability made Zhou Baiyu rethink his understanding of Guang Tongchen.

In two consecutive stages, Guang Tongchen demonstrated strong brute-force clearing abilities,

This mighty power made Zhou Baiyu extremely envious, and he also shared a more uplifting speculation:

"We just need to rescue the hostages now, and then we can complete the mission. Let me hazard a guess."

"So-called Endless Mode might mean that even after completing the mission, we won't return to the transit station. We'd stay here forever."

"But in fact, Endless Mode does have a way out. If I'm not wrong, as long as we achieve an SSS rating, we can leave this place."

"Because an SSS rating would change the future, and it is the only future, this region would no longer be a conscription area, and naturally, there would be no special mode anymore."

While Zhou Baiyu's analysis was just speculation, it did make sense, and it inspired everyone.

"Right! If this area no longer exists, naturally we would go back!"

Tongchen had felt for a while that he would likely perish in this conscription.

So he had been dispirited, his eyebrows drooping, but hearing Jiang Xianwu's words now, he appeared quite agitated.

Guang Tongchen walked slowly towards the woman:

"I'll rescue the hostage; let's see what our clearance rating turns out to be."

As soon as he finished speaking, Guang Tongchen's figure flashed, and the tentacles entwined around the girl were instantly severed.

The woman, who seemed to have been asleep for a long time, opened her eyes, her expression somewhat perplexed:

"Who are you... Are you here to save me?"

After saying this, the woman passed out again.

"Yes, you're safe now." Guang Tongchen was actually very concerned about this woman who might be Dr. A's granddaughter...

What kind of impact would she have on the future of humanity? In the version 2.0 Nightmare Bridge, he seemed to have not heard of her.

Zhou Baiyu didn't have time to browse through the books in the library when the huge cruise ship sounded its horn to dock at the pier...

At the same time, a message popped into everyone's mind.

[Clearance Performance Rating: C grade.]

[Unlocked Achievement: Futile Effort (attained by 2% of pioneers)]

[Summary: Songjiang Port is finally reached, but the journey isn't over, a new cycle is about to begin, please collect new clues in the last minute. Whether evil or justice, with your efforts, they amount to nothing.

Endless Mode Punishment—In the next cycle, the corruption value of all members will be increased by +7.]

C grade?

How could it be C grade? Zhou Baiyu could not accept this result.

Along the way, they had cooperated with each other, overcome various difficulties, and finally rescued the hostage before the giant cruise ship docked at Songjiang Port.

How could that be a C grade?

C grade meant that he and the chairman and others had barely cleared the mission.

In fact, C grade and SSS grade clearances are two completely different trajectories.

It's like in the Gu Tower, where a C grade clearance might be surviving by sheer power, but in the end, Bai Ling would be devoured, and the Seamstress would become a bug-level existence.

Whereas an SSS grade clearance would lead to a brand-new future, significantly influencing the future.

The actions of pioneers often missed the mark by a hair's breadth but resulted in widely divergent outcomes.

Questions and answers always came together, just as Zhou Baiyu puzzled over why they only got a C grade.

The various doubts from before suddenly connected,

a terrifying speculation appeared in Zhou Baiyu's mind.