Chapter 429: Title Upgrade, Scarlet Retreats |
The moment the notification sound rang out, Guan Tong chose to consume it.
At the same time, many thoughts flashed through his mind:
This red halo that humans called the "Source of Fear" seemed to have its real name as "Wailing Furnace."
Just like how humans had called the monster that could transform corpses into the living dead the "Shrieker," but its name in the Hidden Rules was "Matriarch Converter."
And since this "Wailing Furnace" could be absorbed by the title to gain experience, it meant that, like the previous Nano Swarm, it was a special type of life form.
But unlike the split-off piece of the Nano Swarm, on one hand, the experience provided by a small portion of the Nano Swarm wasn't enough to upgrade the title. On the other hand, the Nano Swarm had some strategic value. So Guan Tong had decided at the time to keep it temporarily, not feeding it to the title.
Now, the experience provided by this "Wailing Furnace" was enough to directly upgrade the title. Moreover, Guan Tong couldn't control it at all. He could only choose to consume it, letting it become a stepping stone for the title.
After he made his decision, a web of light formed by golden energy appeared, binding the mass of the "Wailing Furnace."
As the golden light blazed, the red halo gradually dissipated, and with it, the entire red conscious space trembled and collapsed.
Were these screams from the victims? Or...
Listening to those sounds, Guan Tong could barely think straight. Thankfully, the process didn't last long. After seven or eight seconds, the "Wailing Furnace" was completely devoured by the golden web surrounding it.
A new notification appeared.
[Title has been upgraded to 'Intermediate Civilization Observer']
Guan Tong was momentarily stunned.
Intermediate? So one upgrade wasn't the limit. This title could continue to be upgraded further.
And he wondered if the title's effects had changed after reaching Intermediate.
Just then, as the "Wailing Furnace" dissipated, the red conscious space completely shattered into fragments.
Guan Tong felt his consciousness instantly pulled away, and the next moment, he returned to reality, back inside his own body sitting on the metal chair.
...It was over?
He blinked his dry, sore eyes, then widened them slightly.
Outside the porthole, the eerie scarlet color was receding from Terra.
The rule still had a day left, but the scarlet was retreating from Terra. The implications were crystal clear!
Within a few seconds, several exclamations burst from the communicator in the room.
Zhang Minglu's voice was particularly loud.
"Guan Tong! Why is the Scarlet Fear on Terra disappearing? Did you defeat the rule?!"
"...Sort of."
Guan Tong couldn't say for sure, but he could roughly confirm that the "Wailing Furnace" was the core of this rule. Since it had been devoured as an experience package by the [Civilization Observer] title, without its core support, this Doomsday Rule would naturally end early.
It was somewhat similar to when he had killed the [Matriarch Converter] back then, and the living dead in that area had stopped transforming.
"My God! You can actually do something like this!" Weilan Ke's shocked voice followed immediately. "This is absolutely incredible! What the hell happened during those fifteen minutes?!"
Only fifteen minutes had passed...
Guan Tong checked the time. It really was only fifteen minutes.
But his reserve Mind Power was down to just a few tens of thousands. That showed how much consumption the "Wailing Furnace's" counterattack had caused in the final stage when he felt like the stabilizing anchor totem in his palm was burning through.
He glanced at his right palm. The stabilizing anchor totem was still there, and his hand was completely intact. But the pain from before had been absolutely bone-piercing, and even now, the psychological aftereffects left him with phantom pain.
"Just now..."
Guan Tong started speaking, but didn't continue.
Quite a few of his abilities and secrets had been exposed, but they were all within acceptable limits.
Shadow, Silver Hunt, and the like—if others found out about them, so be it. He couldn't hide them anyway, since he often relied on them in battle.
But his core secrets couldn't be leaked. The [Wordless Book] went without saying. The [Civilization Observer] title and the [Killing Intent Perception] passive ability were also extremely critical and couldn't be exposed.
With that in mind, how to explain to the outside world what had happened in the conscious space needed careful consideration.
But before he could deliberate for even a few seconds, Zhang Minglu said, "Whatever happened, judging by how soaked in sweat you are right now, you must be in a pretty rough state mentally. Take half an hour to rest. Then we have something important to tell you!"
Hearing this, Guan Tong raised his hand and wiped his forehead. He actually felt a handful of hot sweat.
So even though everything had happened in the conscious space, his body had still been affected.
Thinking about what he had endured in that space—first dizziness and nausea, then two horrifyingly real terrifying scenes, and finally the searing pain from grabbing the "Wailing Furnace"... the fact that he only broke out in hot sweat instead of collapsing outright was already a testament to his incredible physical resilience.
He didn't know what "important thing" Zhang Minglu wanted to tell him, but he really needed to rest first.
"I'll go wash up. I'll be at the main cabin in half an hour."
...
"Dream Boat One" Rocket Spaceship.
In the cockpit, Robert sat in front of the control console, clutching an authorization card with a built-in chip. Written on it were the words "Team Leader - Wei Xuan."
As Zhang Minglu and the others had guessed, the reason Robert could obtain the highest operational authority for "Dream Boat One" was because he had used Wei Xuan's authorization card.
After discovering that the "Empire Pioneer" had entered Tianshui Star's orbit, he immediately maneuvered "Dream Boat One" to change trajectory, pulling away from Terra's orbit and heading straight for the former.
However, just as the scarlet retreated from Terra, Robert, who had been expressionless, suddenly shook all over. A glimmer of clarity flashed in his eyes. Then he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
At the same time, on Tianshui Star, many people who had fallen into a state of acute stress due to the Scarlet Fear's influence also began to show similar symptoms. The light of regained rationality appeared in many eyes, and then they lost consciousness and fainted...
...
There was no way to shower or bathe in space. Guan Tong used a spray bottle to mist a small amount of particle water onto his body, then wiped himself down with a damp towel.
After that, he went to the rest cabin, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes to rest.
Compared to his physical exhaustion, the mental fatigue from those fifteen minutes was far more severe.
If he didn't have to go to the main cabin later to communicate with the ground center, he would have just wanted to pull the covers over his head and sleep straight away.
"Terminal Panel."
After blanking his mind for a moment, Guan Tong silently called up the panel.
[Name: Guan Tong]
[Nickname: Shadow]
[Title: Intermediate Civilization Observer]
[Mind Power: 1093 (1093) (36251)]
[Ascension Coins: 6,430,170]
[Overall Biometric Rating: Perfect]
The title name had already changed. Guan Tong didn't rush to check its effects. Instead, he first looked at his Mind Power growth.
He remembered that on March 1st, he had officially broken through the thousand-point Upper Limit, entering the Second Stage of Ascension. After that, in the nearly one month up to today, the 29th, his Upper Limit had actually increased by 93 points!
Growing this much was directly tied to entering the Second Stage of Ascension and having his biometric rating become "Perfect."
Now, his natural daily Mind Power upper limit increase could reach about 3 points, meaning 90 points in a month. Combined with the gains from additional stimulation, he had achieved this astonishing growth rate.
This once again validated the "strong get stronger" first-mover advantage theory in Mind Power research. Over time, the gap between top-tier Ascendants and ordinary Ascendants would only widen.
In the past, multiple ordinary Ascendants could still rely on a numbers game, wearing down a strong Ascendant's Mind Power until it was exhausted to win. But as the gap grew, the effectiveness of this tactic would only diminish.
Guan Tong had no doubt that, following this trend, top-tier Ascendants would eventually become extremely difficult to take down with a numbers game. To eliminate them, you would either need cutting-edge human technology or another top-tier Ascendant to step in.
As one of those "top-tier" Ascendants, Guan Tong wasn't particularly excited either. It was probably because he was used to it. After all, he had maintained his lead from the very beginning.
Besides, looking at the amount of reserve Mind Power he had left, he wasn't excited at all. In fact, he was alarmed and shaken.
Between what he had saved up himself and what Beixing's official had transferred to him this time, the total reserve Mind Power had been three million. Now, only a little over thirty thousand remained. The consumption was unimaginable.
This made him unable to avoid a lingering fear: if he had dragged things out any longer in that conscious space, once his Mind Power was exhausted, he might very well have been in mortal danger.
"This operation was still too rushed. The preparation wasn't sufficient enough."
Planning this operation only in the last few days before the rule ended would inevitably lead to such problems. If he had started preparing on the first day of the rule's release, or in the middle phase, there would have been much more room for error.
Guan Tong reflected inwardly. He had to remember this lesson. If a similar situation arose in the future, he must prepare in advance.
Then, he opened the title interface to check the upgraded title's effects.
[Intermediate Civilization Observer]: Wearing this title grants the passive ability "Eye of True Sight" and the active ability "Scarlet Furnace."
[Eye of True Sight]: When your Mind Power is higher than the target you are observing, you can discern the effects of the abilities or items they are using.
[Scarlet Furnace]: Expend Mind Power to hijack a target's consciousness and place it within the Scarlet Furnace, subjecting it to the fear generated by the furnace. The strength of the effect depends on the amount of Mind Power expended.
[Note]: The history of the universe, the lost civilizations, gain meaning through your gaze. Note: This title can be upgraded by absorbing special life forms. Currently absorbed special life forms: 1.
[Absorbed Special Life Forms]: Wailing Furnace
After reading the upgraded title's effects, Guan Tong was deeply shocked.
He hadn't expected that, by devouring it through the title, he had "seized" the power from this rule, turning it into an active skill he could voluntarily activate!
As long as he expended Mind Power, he could hijack a target's consciousness and trap it in the "Furnace"—that eerie red conscious space. Just thinking about it was mind-blowing.
Could it be... that the "Human Transmission Source" Zhang Minglu had mentioned earlier worked on a similar principle?
No, that wasn't right!
Guan Tong looked at the Nano Swarm glove on his left hand. The "Transmission Source's" situation was more like this thing!
In other words, he had originally obtained a small fragment of the Nano Swarm. The ability of that small fragment was only transformation and decomposition of objects it touched—because what he had gotten was incomplete, so the ability was incomplete too.
And the Human Transmission Source from this rule had likely been the same as his situation—it had only obtained a tiny fraction of the "Wailing Furnace's" power. As a result, it couldn't control that power at all. As long as it made eye contact with someone, the power would activate!
Because Guan Tong had used the title's effect to devour the entire "Wailing Furnace," it was as if he had obtained its complete power. In other words, if he invested enough Mind Power, he could also create the terrifying scenes he had seen in the conscious space for his enemies—the horrifying sights represented by thousands upon thousands of "red dots"!
"If that's the case, then if I let the title absorb the Nano Swarm now, would I gain a new ability?" Guan Tong's heart stirred, but then he dismissed the thought himself.
"...No, the Nano Swarm in my hands is just a tiny fragment. Unless I absorb the entire 'Nano Swarm Hive Mind' that descended on Tianshui Star back then, I might have a chance at obtaining its complete ability."
But regardless, what he had already gained was enough to excite Guan Tong.
The acquisition of a new ability meant he had one more powerful trump card!
Moreover, this trump card broadened the scope of his ability types.
Until now, almost all of his abilities were physical in nature. Shadow, Silver Hunt, and so on—they all killed enemies on a material level. But [Scarlet Furnace] attacked enemies on a spiritual, conscious level. This was a type of ability he had never had before.
Guan Tong also noticed that, aside from gaining a new ability, the notes for the title had also changed and increased.
The changed notes now clearly stated that the way to upgrade the title was by absorbing special life forms, and it even listed the number and names of those already absorbed.
Looking at the "Wailing Furnace" in the absorbed list, Guan Tong thought, "What kind of life form is this 'Wailing Furnace' exactly?"
Since the Doomsday Rules descended, humanity had encountered quite a few special life forms.
The Matriarch Converter, Sound Hunters, Kimos Star Beasts, Spore Parasitoids, Nano Swarm Hive Minds... if there was one commonality among these life forms, it was that they all had physical forms.
But this "Wailing Furnace"... Guan Tong certainly didn't think that mass of "red halo" was a physical form—because it didn't exist in the real world at all! It only existed in mental space, in conscious space!
Just a mass that seemed to be a mixture of many fear-consciousnesses, and it could actually be a life form?
This made Guan Tong can't help but sigh: The universe was truly vast, with all kinds of wonders...
After his moment of wonder, he thought again: he wondered if this thing had intelligence.
Because earlier, Zhang Minglu had played him the audio recording of that woman from Luruiguo speaking. From what he heard in that audio, there was clearly someone having a conversation with her.
If the one speaking with her was this "Wailing Furnace"—this mass that seemed to be a collection of fear-consciousness—then it should be evidence of its intelligence... but in the conscious space, Guan Tong had never heard it say anything throughout the entire ordeal.
But he had indeed sensed its emotions. Back in the conscious space, he had directly felt its deep, profound malice through [Killing Intent Perception]... without that malice, he wouldn't have been able to pinpoint its location in the first place.
"It most likely has intelligence. Otherwise, the [Civilization Observer] title probably wouldn't have judged it as a special life form and absorbed it..."
Guan Tong's conclusion was based on a previous attempt of his.
After he obtained the Nano Swarm and discovered the title's upgrade path, he had tried using a parasitized form as an experience package. The title simply didn't recognize it.
Based on the current situation, parasitized forms weren't considered intelligent life forms at all. Well, it made sense—those monsters were entirely driven by a combination of the spore's "spreading instinct" and the host's own "memory and cognition." Where would any intelligence come from?
After thinking this through, Guan Tong lay there for a little while longer, then got up and headed to the main cabin to contact the ground center.