Transforming Succubus: Almost Doomsday

Everyone present looked at Zhou Baiyu in surprise.

Had they got the hostage wrong?

Zhou Baiyu didn't beat around the bush:

"I found it strange from the beginning why the guild leader could silently take down those corrupt seeds so quickly, yet the other monsters still flooded in like a tide."

"Why did the corpses of the three gatekeepers in front of the library look no different from ordinary monsters after their death?"

"Everyone still remembers the content recited by the Snow Demon at the start on this ship, right?"

Everyone recalled for a moment and spoke with Guang Tongchen:

"When the apocalypse descended, this ship housed many wealthy individuals preparing to take shelter at sea. It is said that the Gonggong was essentially an end-of-the-world sightseeing yacht. Only the highest quality of humans were eligible to enter."

Zhou Baiyu nodded and said:

"Exactly, with so many wealthy individuals on the cruise ship, why would they imprison Dr. A's granddaughter? To me, those researching corruption are far more terrifying than this bunch of wealthy elites."

"Furthermore, everyone's corruption should be unique, but has anyone noticed that all the wealthy individuals... they all look exactly the same."

"Every one of them became hairless with crimson skin, which doesn't seem like corruption... it's more like—a bio-weapon."

"If it was corruption, as far as I understand, the first one to corrupt would definitely have killed all the others, not wait for so many people to corrupt together."

Zhou Baiyu's deduction struck everyone as incredibly bizarre.

"What about the woman then? She's trapped in the Hexagram Array by tentacles, and she's wearing a lab suit, she looks like she's Dr. A's granddaughter, right?" Fishing Every Three Days didn't understand.

Zhou Baiyu dropped a bombshell:

"The woman is the monster that kidnapped everyone on the ship, and these 'monsters' are the hostages we need to save."

"How... how is that possible."

The Wily Woman couldn't imagine that Jiang Xianwu would completely overturn the group's previous judgments in the first cycle.

Zhou Baiyu wasn't in a hurry and provided evidence bit by bit:

"Has the guild leader encountered a Demon King-level before?"

Guang Tongchen nodded.

"So the guild leader must have reached a conclusion during the silent death corridor, right?"

The crowd was puzzled while Guang Tongchen said:

"Yes, when I saw the arm appear in the painting, I speculated about the presence of a Demon King-level creature. But later I thought the three monsters killed were the ones."

"Thinking back carefully, though those three monsters guarding the library posed a great threat, they didn't exert as much pressure as a Demon King-level does."

Zhou Baiyu thought the guild leader was quite composed.

If the guild leader truly believed those three monsters guarding the library were Demon King-level beings...

Doesn't that mean the guild leader now has the strength to kill a Demon King-level on his own?

Zhou Baiyu nodded:

"My understanding of the Demon King-level is... their presence leads to the corruption of the environment around them, and the form this corruption seems to take... is black tentacles with dense, crimson eyes."

"Everyone think carefully, where have these things been seen?"

The Prostrating Kneeler and the Wily Woman exchanged glances, while the Snow Demon was the first to speak:

"It's the library... actually, what I saw was that all those books were products of corruption, already contaminated, but I didn't have time to say it then."

Zhou Baiyu asked:

"And when you saw that woman, did you get any information in your vision?"

"Nothing... there was something interfering with me," said the Snow Demon, with a touch of guilt.

However, Zhou Baiyu felt that the Snow Demon had already done very well in this cycle.

He nodded and said:

"That woman must be the Demon King-level, and she might indeed be Dr. A's granddaughter."

"The trial announcement mentioned—a massive cruise ship named Gonggong was slowly heading towards Songjiang Port, and the mysterious Dr. A's granddaughter was said to be hidden within. There's a rumor that Dr. A had discovered an antidote that reverses corruption through her experiments.

And following Dr. A's death, this research fell into her granddaughter's hands."

"But from beginning to end, the announcement never mentioned that the granddaughter was a hostage."

"The purpose of this woman's existence seems to be research-related, but the presence of those wealthy individuals on this cruise ship... was purely to avoid the apocalypse."

"These are two different groups of people. What I can think of..."

Zhou Baiyu paused, glanced over the crowd, and then voiced the terrifying conclusion:

"Dr. A's granddaughter did not inherit Dr. A's will but instead... used Dr. A's research to control the wealthy on the ship."

"She is the brain of these wealthy individuals; they are her insects, and she is the queen of this breed!"

"That's why every wealthy individual's corruption was the same, because it might not have been corruption at all. It could be some kind of ability she developed after her own corruption."

"So even though the guild leader killed those corrupt seeds without a sound, the other corrupt seeds still knew of our existence and attacked us ferociously."

This conclusion… or rather this speculation was too bold.

Everyone found it difficult to imagine this huge twist. The mule-riding kneeling soldier frowned and said,

"So we... killed the hostage and saved the bandit? But in doing so, we should have failed the mission. Not gotten a C-level evaluation."

Guang Tongchen said,

"But that woman, she indeed resembled a devil of high rank. The corruption was most dense around her, and it was after she awakened that the books in the library... all opened their eyes."

Zhou Baiyu explained,

"My guess is this: because the hostage did indeed survive."

"Although we killed quite a few monsters, most of the monsters, that is, those rich people, still managed to survive all the way until Tongchen docked at Songjiang port. We can indeed consider the mission completed."

"But since we failed to defeat the core target—the devil of high rank—things remained unchanged, only that they became minions for the devil of high rank."

"Because if we don't kill the woman... then all our efforts are wasted. In the future she might take these minions and become a power in Songjiang City... or maybe she'll be dealt with by some other, more terrifying power."

"And as I said earlier, only an actual change in the future can bring a high mission evaluation."

So that's how it is.

The cunning woman, mule-riding kneeling soldier, and the snow demon all understood.

For three days, Fish admired in secrecy. Jiang Xianwu was indeed extraordinary. Although his conjecture was incredibly bold, once he explained it, everything seemed to make perfect sense. He said,

"So we indeed ensured that the hostages reached the port, but even without us, those hostages would have arrived at the port."

"And to make our existence valuable and meaningful... that means—"

Guang Tongchen narrowed his eyes slightly, full of murderous intent, and said,

"Kill that woman."

In one round, Zhou Baiyu had switched the identities of the bandit and the hostage.

Once there was a target, everyone found their motivation again, although their corruption values had all reached dangerously high levels that could affect their emotions.

In the next phase, Zhou Baiyu also verified something...

That was that items altered by anomalies indeed would not be reset by the endless mode. Even the rewards obtained earlier would not disappear.

The syringe, speed cards, and stamina cards were all still there.

But they would not get any reward through the same phase.

Due to the durability of the "Western Leader" Zhou Baiyu had altered after the first completion being used up, he could only alter anew.

With the help of stamina cards, this time he easily altered a gambling table that had a constant point value of six.

But its durability was only 4/4.

"We few won't go. Snow demon, Brother Jiang, you go with the president," said the mule-riding kneeling soldier.

Jiang Xianwu thought carefully:

"If we don't go... you guys might not get a high mission evaluation. Because before, when Snow Demon and I cooperated, she only operated in one area, leading to a very low evaluation."

The mule-riding kneeling soldier said,

"It doesn't matter. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to get through the casino anyway. Surviving to claim a low rating is good enough for us."

Although the mule-riding kneeling soldier had a worried expression throughout the journey, he never hesitated to stand in front of his teammates.

He was extremely clear-headed at this moment as well.

Zhou Baiyu nodded and then glanced at Fish for Three Days.

Fish for Three Days said,

"I agree with Brother Mule-Rider. I'm sorry... I can't be of any help."

Zhou Baiyu didn't say much more. If his teammates were willing to give up a high evaluation, he actually thought... it was reasonable.

The three Gatekeepers, and even the high-ranking devil to be confronted later, would need Guang Tongchen to deal with. But Guang Tongchen might not be able to look out for others.

When it came to combat, he and Snow Demon would probably have to step back as well.

So Snow Demon, Jiang Xianwu, and Guang Tongchen started on their final journey.

The second gambling table had a high durability, so Zhou Baiyu did not need to alter again.

The three quickly passed the casino and soon passed the corridor of death as well.

To free up enough time to deal with their opponent before Tongchen arrived at Songjiang port, the three made no stops.

Guang Tongchen, who had already experienced one battle, easily killed the three Gatekeepers without even allowing them to release their black fog, completing a triple kill.

Once again, the three stood inside the library and saw the hexagram array formed by countless tentacles.

Zhou Baiyu and Ling Hansu consciously stepped back, fearful of becoming collateral damage in the forthcoming clash of titans.

Guang Tongchen then crushed half of the physical speed cards in his hand, and in an instant, several streaks of lightning wound around him.

Zhou Baiyu even saw the president's hair move on its own without any wind.

The next second, Guang Tongchen, like a piercing thunderbolt, thrust his sword at the woman!