30: Chapter 30 Trial Settlement

Chen Mo drove the pickup truck along the highway for half an hour before finally finding an abandoned gas station.

He parked the car, turned off the engine, and sat in the driver's seat to open the System interface.

[Memory Corridor Trial Completed]

[Kill Statistics: E-Class Ghost Shadow × 3]

[Time Taken: 18 hours 47 minutes]

[Evaluation: Perfect]

[Settling rewards...]

[Obtained: Night Stalker Sequence Certification (E-Class)]

[Obtained: sequence fragment × 24 (Kill Reward + Perfect Evaluation Reward)]

[Current Fragments: 200]

[Sequence Evolution Progress: 100% (Promotion Available)]

[Promote now?]

Chen Mo stared at those words.

100%.

Since the first day of Ghost Night, how many Ghost Shadows had he killed?

He couldn't remember.

Every single one had brought him a step closer to this goal.

He clicked "Yes."

Instantly, the golden lines within his body began to flow frantically.

It was a wonderful feeling, as if something was growing inside him, spreading from his chest to his limbs.

Those lines grew denser and brighter, finally converging into a single point at the location of his heart.

That point began to glow.

Golden light pierced through his skin, illuminating the entire driver's cabin.

Chen Mo closed his eyes, letting the sensation wash over him.

After an unknown amount of time, the light faded.

He opened his eyes.

The world was different.

He could feel everything around him—the sound of the wind in the distance, insects crawling in the roadside grass, even the dust floating in the air.

Pupil of the Sequence activated automatically.

In his golden vision, the world became clearer.

The lines that were once blurry became distinct, and every hidden detail surfaced.

[Promotion Complete]

[Current Sequence: Night Stalker (E-Class)]

[Abilities Fully Upgraded:]

[Darkness Affinity: All attributes at night +20% → +30%]

[Invisibility: Duration 5s → 7s, Cooldown 20s → 15s]

[Prediction: 7s (Unchanged)]

[Time Perception: Range 20m → 30m]

[New Ability: Sequence Perception (Can detect sequence fluctuations within 1km radius)]

Chen Mo looked at the data.

One kilometer.

Now, he could sense any Ghost Shadow within a one-kilometer radius in advance.

This was no longer just "detecting danger," but "controlling the situation."

He pushed open the car door and stepped out.

The night wind blew against his face, cool and refreshing.

He looked up at the sky; that golden heart was still there, but it looked smaller and further away than before.

It wasn't that it had shrunk; it was that his perception had grown stronger.

Just then, a System announcement rang out.

[Regional Announcement]

[Congratulations to the Chosen One "Chen Mo" for becoming the first E-Class Sequencer in this region]

[Promoted Sequence: Night Stalker]

[Promotion Evaluation: Perfect]

[This announcement is broadcast to the entire region]

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment.

The first?

He looked at his fragments—200 F-Class ones, which indeed converted to enough evolution progress for promotion.

But what about the others? Had those veterans who had survived for over a month still not promoted?

He thought of Old Li.

Old Li was E-Class, but he had promoted by consuming Transformed Ones, not through the normal path.

The others...

Perhaps they were waiting, or perhaps they didn't dare enter the Memory Corridor.

After all, in there, one had to face their deepest fears.

Not everyone could come out alive.

[The Regional Channel exploded instantly]

[Zhang Lie: Holy crap? E-Class? For real?]

[Anonymous: The announcement is out, how could it be fake?]

[Anonymous: Who is this Chen Mo? Never heard of him]

[Anonymous: He's the kill king from the first night]

[Anonymous: Damn, E-Class already in such a short time?]

[Lin Wei: Chen Mo, congratulations]

[Old Zhou: Congratulations, come sit at the Trading Post when you have time]

Chen Mo looked at the messages.

Lin Wei. The woman who wanted to cooperate with him to find the Old Driver.

Old Zhou. The person who had been helping him.

He thought for a moment and sent a private message to Old Zhou.

[Chen Mo: Is Old Li dead?]

Old Zhou replied quickly.

[Old Zhou: I don't know. He's been missing for a long time. You've seen him?]

Chen Mo was silent for a few seconds.

[Chen Mo: I have. He transformed.]

[Old Zhou: ...]

[Old Zhou: Are you sure?]

[Chen Mo: Positive. I almost died at his hands.]

[Old Zhou: ... I understand.]

[Old Zhou: You okay?]

[Chen Mo: Fine. Alive.]

[Old Zhou: That's good. Come by when you can, I have something for you.]

Chen Mo closed the private message.

He stood there, looking at the grey highway in the distance.

Old Zhou had something for him.

What could it be?

He sat back in the pickup and started the engine.

No matter what it was, he'd know once he got there.

The pickup drove onto the highway, heading toward Trading Post No. 1.

An hour later, the lights of the Trading Post appeared in his sight.

Chen Mo parked the car and walked into the supermarket.

Old Zhou was still behind the cash register; his eyes lit up when he saw Chen Mo enter.

"You're here."

Chen Mo nodded.

Old Zhou took out a metal box from under the counter and placed it on top.

"For you."

Chen Mo opened the box.

Inside was a syringe filled with a pale golden liquid.

[Item: D-Class Stabilizer]

[Effect: Eliminates side effects of D-Class and below potions]

[Current Status: Available]

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment.

"This must be very expensive, right?"

Old Zhou smiled.

"Expensive. But I owe you."

"Owe me what?"

"The matter with Old Li." Old Zhou's expression became complicated.

"He was my friend, but I didn't know he had become like that. If you hadn't told me, I might have been deceived by him."

He paused.

"So this is my compensation to you."

Chen Mo looked at the syringe.

Eliminate side effects.

He currently had the "Infiltrator" potion, and the side effect was that his shadow would attack him.

Although he had turned that side effect into a weapon, it would be better if it could be eliminated.

"Thanks." He put the box away.

Old Zhou nodded.

"One more thing," he said. "The news of you promoting to E-Class has spread. Many people are asking about you now."

"Asking what?"

"They want to meet you," Old Zhou said. "They want to cooperate, or... they want to take you out."

Chen Mo said nothing.

"Be careful," Old Zhou said. "E-Class is a good thing, but it's also a target."

Chen Mo nodded.

He turned toward the door.

"Chen Mo." Old Zhou called out to him.

Chen Mo looked back.

"Come back alive."

Chen Mo didn't answer.

He just pushed open the door and stepped into the night.

The pickup was still parked where he left it.

He got in and started the engine.

Next goal—

Deep inside the Reversal Tunnel.

Whether Old Li was really dead or not, he had to confirm it with his own eyes.

The pickup sped onto the highway, disappearing into the darkness.

In the rearview mirror, the lights of the Trading Post grew more distant.

Finally, they vanished completely.