Chapter 175: Dark Boundless Realm 30
Time passed midnight, and it was now August 20, the early morning of the fourth day since the return.
Current time: 00:36.
After several consecutive nights of night patrols in the Old Industrial Zone of Tonglin City, Kui Xin felt a bit fatigued. She decided to go home and sleep immediately after work tonight, planning to catch up on some rest during the day tomorrow. There would surely be many things to deal with in the future, and Kui Xin needed to maintain a good state to respond to sudden crises.
She lifted her foot and kicked the corpse of a xenomorph, flipping it completely over.
The body beneath her feet was oddly shaped, resembling a mass of squirming dark green slime, with several “cores” encapsulated within its semi-transparent body. She sliced the writhing xenomorph in half, but instead of dying, it split into two halves, both capable of independent survival. Only by destroying its “core” did it stop moving.
Most of the xenomorphs that surged from the “Gate” tonight were unfamiliar to her. She encountered a monster with eighteen eyes on its forehead, a creature that emitted ultrasonic attacks, a being covered in grotesque flesh tumors that made one want to vomit at first glance, and this mass of “slime”…
Some varieties of xenomorphs Kui Xin had never seen before during her studies at the Investigation Bureau. Did the Bureau’s database not have records of related information? Or were these xenomorphs’ details classified, and her rank insufficient for her to learn them? If only Adam were here; she could have asked him.
Kui Xin wandered along the southern edge, searching inward to outward according to her route. This area had mostly been cleared by her, and after searching for a long time, she had yet to encounter her next prey.
She exhaled and stretched her aching shoulders.
According to the legend of the Seven Days of Blood, after the descent of the ancient gods, some xenomorphs began to exist actively in the world, and many of the monsters in the folklore of the Second World were based on these xenomorphs. Conversely, some xenomorphs fell into a deep slumber, never to appear before humans.
This meant that people’s understanding of xenomorphs in the Second World might only be the tip of the iceberg. For things they had seen, people might analyze and learn, but how could they understand things they had never seen before?
Kui Xin adjusted her wrinkled clothes from the battle, intending to stroll through another area to confirm the situation.
The xenomorphs surging from the “Gate” tonight had average combat power, posing no threat to her. The “Gate” only opened for an instant before closing, and the number of xenomorphs that emerged during that brief moment should be few.
What worried her was whether the “Dark Gate” would open at midnight every day, releasing a large number of xenomorphs?
Just like the phantom cities in the sky, which initially appeared only for a few seconds but began to linger longer in the air…
It was like boiling a frog in warm water.
At first, everything seemed normal, with no impact on the world. But as events unfolded, the situation became increasingly difficult to control.
Kui Xin walked slowly along the path, not intending to conceal her form.
She had noticed that the aggressiveness of this batch of xenomorphs seemed very strong; they would surely attack as soon as they saw her. Kui Xin took herself as bait to lure the xenomorphs.
After a few minutes, a puddle of black sludge silently crawled to her feet, and a small black hand formed, stretching out from the goo and tugging at her pant leg.
“What is it?” Kui Xin looked down, puzzled, at the Shadow Double.
The dark hand pointed to her pocket, where her mobile phone was located. Since entering combat mode, she hadn’t taken her phone out to check.
Realizing this, Kui Xin took out her phone and indeed saw a message from Su Rong.
“Sis Xin, I’m so tired. The Shadow Double has been maintained for a long time. It’s draining my stamina; I can barely hold on. At most, it will dissipate in another twenty minutes. If I don’t allow the Shadow Double to stabilize and attack, and keep it in an amorphous state, it won’t consume as much of my energy.”
“Okay. Just act within reasonable limits without putting your body under serious strain,” Kui Xin replied.
Su Rong: “Mm! You too, Sis Xin!”
The Shadow Double had strong combat power, with speed and stealth. When it attacked, its arms would naturally form into knife shapes, boasting significant cutting ability. It could be described as an almost perfect offensive ability.
Tonight, the Shadow Double showcased its value, fighting alongside Kui Xin and helping her deal with one or two not-too-difficult xenomorphs. Moreover, Kui Xin made a surprising discovery—the Shadow Double could learn.
If it made a mistake in positioning or timing in one battle, it would adjust itself in the next encounter to avoid errors.
The Shadow Double was like Su Rong’s avatar but had a degree of independence, serving as her powerful guardian. The Shadow Double’s strength temporarily made up for Su Rong’s weakness in combat, rendering it quite useful.
Upon unlocking her phone, Kui Xin realized that not only had Su Rong sent a message, but He Kangshi had also messaged her.
“The news about the xenomorphs appearing in Tonglin City has been posted on the forum by that player who popularized the Seven Days of Blood legend. The forum is in an uproar now. Augus also contacted me, asking if Remover 233 is in Tonglin City; I haven’t replied to him yet.”
After this message, He Kangshi sent a few more.
“Boss, I’m currently patrolling the transitional zone between the suburbs and the city center. It seems like a few players have rushed to the Old Industrial Zone in the suburbs to eliminate xenomorphs; they’re facing difficulties and need someone as a backup, a last line of defense, so I’m stationed here.”
Following this message, He Kangshi sent: “Boss… I ran into two players on the street; they’re also here for night patrol.”
After reading the messages, Kui Xin replied to He Kangshi: “Report.”
Since she had control over He Kangshi’s phone, she utilized data manipulation to send a vibration alert to remind him.
On the other side, He Kangshi, feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket, hurriedly took it out, cautiously glancing at the two players he had just met and said, “Let me report to my family that I’m safe.”
The male and female players nodded in understanding, “Got it, got it.”
He Kangshi quickly replied: “Boss, I’m fine, I teamed up with them temporarily, and it’s inconvenient to message while I’m with others. Don’t worry, I’ll stay alert.”
Kui Xin sent a “Good” back and, reassured that He Kangshi was alive, didn’t press further.
Getting to know more players was beneficial for He Kangshi, and it could provide a useful advantage for her.
He Kangshi was also a card in Kui Xin’s hand, a means of emotional support. He took risks by warning ordinary people not to enter Crimson Soil, earning the respect of many players. Among all players, he was regarded as an upright person.
Organizations belonging to upright individuals couldn’t be too bad, and the organization capable of protecting He Kangshi must wield considerable power; he could even become a beacon for the “Black Snake” and “The Shadowless” since he had substantial recognition.
He Kangshi put his phone down and said amicably, “Let’s start patrolling along this line.”
The male and female players nodded.
He Kangshi maintained a distance of several dozen meters from them as they walked in the same direction.
After all, it was a wide-range night patrol, and there was no need to be too close; a bit of distance made things feel safer, especially since they were unfamiliar with each other.
The male player whispered, “Don’t you think he looks a bit… familiar?”
“Familiar? Isn’t he the one…” The female player gave him a knowing look, “I remember him vividly; he had hundreds of thousands of female followers, and he cosplayed as Maicyo…”
Before his disappearance from the game world, the streaming player, Old Kang, was at least a million-follower content creator, and being recognized by fans on the street was a common occurrence… Though He Kangshi had changed his hairstyle, put on plain glasses, covered his face with a mask, and altered his dressing style, the two players still recognized him.
Because they were his fans, the kind that watched every episode.
“Don’t blow our cover,” the male player said.
“I understand; we’ll just pretend we don’t know,” the female player added.
At this moment, He Kangshi was unaware that his disguise had been seen through at a glance; he felt a bit smug, thinking his disguise was a success…
…
The black sludge serving as a scout crawled to Kui Xin’s feet again and reached out to tug at her pant leg.
“Mm?” Kui Xin raised an eyebrow.
The dark hand pointed to the left front and made a downward chopping motion.
“Is there a xenomorph?” Kui Xin stepped forward.
The dark hand quickly extended a finger and shook it, signifying denial.
“Injured person?” Kui Xin realized.
The black hand made a motion that signified “correct.”
Without hesitation, Kui Xin ran toward the location indicated by the Shadow Double. She deftly navigated through the bushes and weeds and soon saw a male player sitting half-leaning against a tree not far away. One of his legs was bleeding, twisted unnaturally, and it seemed the internal bones had shattered, leaving the flesh without skeletal support, appearing limp.
“Extraordinary ability: Night Vision, Grade E… Effect can allow normal sight in darkness.”
He possessed only one extraordinary ability, without flesh regeneration ability, and it was merely Grade E; he was not a heterogeneous blooded.
Kui Xin remained vigilant, keeping a safe distance from the player while scanning her surroundings to prevent a sudden appearance of xenomorphs.
She called out, “Hey!”
The player slightly moved his head but seemed too weak to raise it. He emitted a weak sound, “Help… help me…”
Before Kui Xin could make a move, the Shadow Double lurking at her feet suddenly stirred, lunging forward and unfurling like a porcupine, exposing its full array of dark, sharp spikes, blocking Kui Xin’s path.
Someone was ahead!
A low, somewhat deep male voice suddenly reached Kui Xin’s ears.
“Uh, the prey has taken the bait.” He stepped out from the shadows.
From his build, he was about the same height as Kui Xin. His voice was clear, but he was obviously quite young, though it carried an air of gloom.
As he appeared, Kui Xin noticed his extraordinary abilities… he possessed multiple extraordinary abilities!
