43: Chapter 43 I rejoice in the darkness, saving the lost sheep.

"May it be so..."

Fanatical and crazed voices intermingled as more and more people turned into flesh and blood, converging toward the altar.

In the midst of these chaotic sounds, Chu Xuan's mind was on the verge of losing control.

"Chu Xuan, wake up! Wake up!"

Qin Qing's voice was very weak, but it was like a needle piercing into his mind. Chu Xuan suddenly snapped awake. Realizing what had just happened, a chill ran down his spine. Checking the time again, there was only a little over a minute left.

"Quick, destroy the altar! Use this!"

Qin Qing struggled to get off Chu Xuan's back and with great effort, took a palm-sized cylindrical grenade from her combat belt; its outer shell felt like plastic.

"Quick! Pull the pin and throw it directly!"

As Chu Xuan took the grenade, Qin Qing continued, "This is a DSY191 type 52mm thermobaric grenade. It has a killing radius of 25 meters and its secondary combustion can reach temperatures of 3500 degrees, which is enough to blow up the altar."

"Impressive!"

Chu Xuan was slightly surprised. He had originally thought Qin Qing would use some Transcendent Skill or some never-before-seen special item, but he hadn't expected it to be so hardcore.

But on second thought, it made sense. After all, she was an official operative. When dealing with these Strange Creaturess, one should use overwhelming firepower.

His thoughts flashed in an instant, and Chu Xuan did not delay. He roughly estimated the distance. He had trained in grenade throwing during his university military training, so he wasn't rusty. While Qin Qing was speaking, he had already pulled the pin and hurled it with a swing of his arm.

Bang!

Boom—!!

First came a roar, followed by an even more violent explosion. A massive shockwave and a current of burning air swept across the surroundings.

Chu Xuan had already pulled Qin Qing down with him to take cover, but he still felt a wave of heat on his back.

When he looked up again, he was thrilled to find that the flesh and blood altar no longer existed. Charred flesh and blood were splattered everywhere, and he could even smell the aroma of roasted meat.

The strange pattern that had been suspended above the altar had now become a faint phantom. The dense clusters of tumors that had emerged had also retracted. Although the light it emitted remained, it was gradually dimming, as if the three-dimensional pattern would disappear in the next second.

"We finally succeeded..." Qin Qing breathed a long sigh of relief, looking very weak. "We have to leave quickly. The Promotion Ceremony failed, and the Night Demon will wake up soon..."

Before she could finish, Qin Qing's gaze subconsciously flickered toward the crowd still kneeling nearby. Her expression suddenly changed. "Quickly check the System page to see if there's a task completion notification!"

"No, the task is still ongoing!"

Chu Xuan followed Qin Qing's gaze, and his heart suddenly leaped into his throat. Only five people remained in the kneeling crowd, but they had not stopped praying, still repeating their chants and shouts.

And the time prompt on the System page was still ticking away.

[3:59:08]

...

[3:59:09]

...

[3:59:10]

Three more people melted and dripped away one after another, turning into flesh and blood that flowed toward where the altar had been. Although the three-dimensional pattern above was flickering in and out of existence, it still hadn't disappeared.

"Not good, the ceremony's power is still there. Carry me over there! The spirituality required for the Promotion Ceremony must have been sufficient long ago; what's left is just a formality. Once all the Clones have been sacrificed, it will obtain the [True Authority]..."

"One of the two people ahead must be the Night Demon's true body, and the other is just a Clone. We must kill the Clone beforehand; we can't let the ceremony continue!"

While Qin Qing was speaking, Chu Xuan had already hoisted her onto his back.

"Are there any more thermobaric grenades? Wouldn't it be better to just blow them all up?"

"No! A Specter of the Night Demon's level is extremely sensitive to danger. If it senses a threat, it will wake up immediately. Besides, those thermobaric grenades would at most only injure it. While they could interrupt the ceremony, we wouldn't have time to escape and would certainly be killed by the Night Demon."

The distance of over ten meters was covered in just a few strides. At this moment, the last two people remaining raised their hands simultaneously and bowed down. Under a faint, holy glow, their fanaticism undiminished, they shouted the prayer text at the top of their lungs:

"With flesh and blood as the ladder, with wails as the movement..."

Chu Xuan had already seen the process. After three bows, someone would rip open their chest and abdomen, letting the devoured flesh and blood tumble out from their belly, while they themselves would turn into flesh and blood, converging toward the altar.

"Don't wait any longer! The Night Demon has already noticed us and might mimic the Clone's action of tearing open its own abdominal cavity. We must make a choice as soon as possible; we can't wait until the last second! Otherwise, once the last Clone dissolves under the ceremony's power, it will be too late!"

Qin Qing immediately drew her blade and handed it to Chu Xuan, saying urgently, "Your talent should be related to precognition, right? Find the Night Demon's Clone and cut off its head!"

Chu Xuan hurriedly took the blade, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

His talent was experiencing what would happen after waking up in a dream. If he were still in the dream, he could have just taken a reckless gamble and picked one.

But now the dream was over; this was happening in real-time. If he struck the Night Demon's true body, it would wake up immediately, and both he and Qin Qing would die here.

Another dilemma...

Wait!

Chu Xuan's whole body suddenly shuddered; he already knew what to do.

Raising his palm, he slammed it onto the shoulder of the person nearest to him. With a thought, Mind Reading began!

[Transcendent Skill: Mind Reading (Uses remaining: 1)]

[Mind Reading: You can select a target by touching their body with your palm and read their inner thoughts. (Note: Please use in moderation, otherwise you will fall into a state of lethargy.)]

In an instant, a strange, hysterical voice entered his ears: "Almost there, almost there. The True Authority, the embrace of the Gods..."

Along with this voice came one disorganized image after another, like movie clips, flooding into Chu Xuan's mind all at once.

...

—In a small room, people sat in a circle, arguing heatedly. Who is the werewolf? Who is the good person? Someone shouted, "It's night, everyone close your eyes," and someone shouted, "Werewolves, please open your eyes..."

...

—On a phone screen, twelve numbers were lined up in two columns. Microphones appeared next to the boxes representing player avatars as everyone spoke in turn, discussing "Gold Water" and "Silver Water," or werewolves slipping up...

...

—On an ordinary day, in a dormitory bathroom, while staring at a werewolf kill livestream on a phone, a pitch-black crack suddenly appeared. Black mist billowed out, and the groggy images flickered repeatedly as everything before his eyes became blurred.

When he stood up from the toilet and his gaze fell on the mirror, everything gradually became clear. The corners of that strange mouth slowly curled up: "Such strong obsession. In that case, I can only use [Day and Night] as the killing rule... Lost child, I shall lead you into the embrace of God!"

...

—In one similar night after another, blood-red covered everything in sight.

...

—In the rest hall on the second floor of a spa club, on the neatly arranged massage sofas, countless severed limbs and splattered blood flickered in the darkness under the light of an LCD TV.

A strange tone echoed faintly: "I rejoice in the dark night, saving the lost lambs. Tonight, I finally take this crucial step. From now on, my name shall be... Night Demon!"