8: Chapter 8 The King of the First Night

The pickup truck drove on Highway 13 for another twenty minutes.

The road sign that said "End" never appeared.

Every time Chen Mo felt he was almost there, another identical road sign would pop up ahead, as if this road had no end at all.

He slowed down, and his Pupil of the Sequence swept over the road sign.

In his golden vision, the text on the sign was slowly writhing, like a living creature.

【Rule trap detected】

【Current road section: Loop section · Highway 13 End Section】

【Solution: Find the real exit sign or wait for a specific time】

【Current time: 2 hours and 17 minutes until Ghost Night ends】

Loop section.

Chen Mo recalled the loop trap he had experienced before on Fog Village Road.

That time, he broke it by killing the core, but where was the core this time?

He pulled over, turned off the engine, and got out of the car.

The night wind blew against his Face, carrying a damp, fishy stench.

On both sides of the highway was a desolate field, overgrown with weeds, with no buildings in sight.

Chen Mo looked up at the sky.

The golden heart was still there, larger and clearer than before.

It beat slowly, and with every beat, countless fine golden threads extended toward the ground.

The ends of those threads were embedded into the fields on both sides of the highway.

Chen Mo narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction of those threads—

There was something deep in the field.

A huge silhouette, pitch black, like a building.

He focused with his Pupil of the Sequence.

【Target discovered: Abandoned Church】

【Current status: Being eroded by the Source of the Sequence】

【Multiple Ghost Shadow reactions detected inside】

【Danger Rank: E-Class】

【Suggestion: Detour or explore in a team】

Abandoned Church.

That building he saw in the center of the abandoned town, how did it appear here?

Chen Mo quickly looked back at the road he had come from.

There was no town, only the endless highway.

But that church did exist.

It was being pulled by those golden threads, "dragged" here from somewhere else.

【Loop section solution conditions updated】

【Current loop core: Abandoned Church】

【Kill all Ghost Shadows inside the church, or wait for the church to be completely eroded by the Source of the Sequence】

【Countdown to complete erosion: 1 hour and 47 minutes】

【After erosion is complete, the loop section will automatically lift】

Chen Mo looked at the countdown.

1 hour and 47 minutes.

The time until Ghost Night ends is 2 hours and 17 minutes.

If he waited for the erosion to complete, he would still have a half-hour buffer to go to the Trading Post to rest.

But if something went wrong during this half-hour—

He looked at the church.

The black silhouette looked like a crouching giant beast in the night, its doors and windows were pitch black, and he couldn't see what was inside.

His Pupil of the Sequence swept over it again—at least five Ghost Shadow reactions, the exact number couldn't be determined.

Going in might mean death.

Waiting might mean survival.

But it might also mean waiting for something worse.

Chen Mo turned back to the car, started the engine, and made a U-turn.

He chose to wait.

But not waiting here.

He drove back the way he came until the silhouette of the church became a small dot in his vision, then stopped the car.

At this distance, even if the things in the church rushed out, he would have enough time to react.

Engine off, lights off, eyes closed.

Chen Mo leaned back in his seat, letting himself relax.

The third function of the Pupil of the Sequence, "Sequence Resonance," was still running, and he could vaguely feel the "fluctuations" within a few kilometers around him.

Those faint golden signals belonging to other Chosen Ones.

The closest signal was at the three o'clock direction, about two kilometers away, stationary.

The second signal was at the eleven o'clock direction, moving, not very fast.

The third, fourth, fifth—

More and more.

Chen Mo opened his eyes.

There were at least a dozen signals converging in this direction.

They weren't coming for him; they were coming for that church.

Ghost Night was almost over, and those Chosen Ones who had survived the first night were looking for a safe place to rest.

And this church, eroded by the Source of the Sequence, might be a "resource point" in their eyes.

Chen Mo restarted the engine and drove the car to a more hidden location.

A low-lying area in the field, surrounded by waist-high weeds for cover.

Then he turned off the engine and waited.

One hour and twenty minutes later, the first car appeared.

It was a modified off-road vehicle with searchlights on the roof and mud splatters all over the body.

It stopped by the highway, and three people got out—two men and one woman, all carrying weapons.

They stood by the roadside, pointing at the direction of the church.

Then they got back in the car, drove into the field, and headed toward the church.

Chen Mo watched through the gaps in the weeds as that car disappeared into the church's doorway.

Five minutes later, the second car arrived.

It was a van, much more low-key than the off-road vehicle.

Four people got out of the car, didn't go straight into the church, but circled around first, as if scouting.

Ten minutes later, they went in too.

In the next forty minutes, a total of seven cars and twenty-three people entered that church.

Not a single one came out.

Chen Mo looked toward the church; the golden lines there were becoming more and more intense, as if something was brewing inside.

Countdown: 30 minutes.

The church windows suddenly lit up.

It wasn't light, but that golden, eerie glow.

The light poured out from the windows, flowing onto the ground like liquid, and then... it opened.

The first person ran out.

It was one of the men from the off-road vehicle.

He ran stumbling, shouting something, but it was too far away to hear clearly.

He ran about twenty meters and suddenly stopped.

His body froze in place, and then... shattered.

Like a glass statue being struck hard, his whole body shattered into countless pieces, scattering all over the ground.

Golden threads poured out from those fragments and were sucked back into the church.

The door hadn't closed yet.

The second person ran out.

The woman from the van.

She was smarter than the first one; she didn't run in a straight line but ran in a zigzag pattern.

Then she shattered too.

At thirty meters, a second pile of fragments was scattered.

Chen Mo counted; a total of nine people ran out, all shattering within fifty meters.

Then the door closed.

The church windows also went dark.

Only those nine piles of fragments remained, emitting a faint golden glow in the field.

Countdown: 15 minutes.

Chen Mo started the engine.

He didn't rush toward the church but drove slowly and quietly toward the fragments.

Fifty meters.

Those fragments were fifty meters in front of him.

He stopped the car, opened the door, but didn't get out.

He reached out with his cleaver, reached the nearest pile of fragments, and pushed one over.

It was an f-grade fragment, complete and clean.

He pushed over a few more.

Nine piles in total, at least five per pile.

Chen Mo pushed those fragments to the side of the car one by one, then got out, quickly picked them up, and returned to the car.

【Acquired: f-grade fragment × 47】

【Current fragments: 66】

Chen Mo drove away.

After he drove five hundred meters, in the rearview mirror, the church door opened again.

Something walked out.

Not a person.

It was a huge... thing, woven from countless golden threads.

It had a human silhouette, but it was too big, at least five meters tall.

It stood at the church entrance, facing Chen Mo's direction.

Then it raised its hand and waved.

As if saying goodbye.

And as if saying:

See you next time.

Chen Mo stepped on the gas and accelerated away.

Twenty minutes later, the real road sign appeared ahead.

【Highway 13 · Exit】

【Enter Highway 7 in 500 meters】

【Ghost Night countdown: 0 minutes】

【Ghost Night ended】

Chen Mo glanced at the road behind him through the rearview mirror.

Only the endless highway remained, shimmering with a gray light in the morning sun.

He stopped the car, pushed open the door, and stood by the roadside.

The horizon turned pale, a real dawn, not the illusion of Ghost Night.

The air became fresh, and that damp, fishy stench disappeared.

In the distance in the field, birds were chirping.

Real birds.

【First Night Settlement】

【Kill stats: f-grade Ghost Shadow × 6, E-Class Ghost Shadow × 3, E-Class Elite × 1】

【Kill ranking: 1st place in this region】

【Reward: Vehicle storage expansion (upgradable to 50 slots)】

【Current storage capacity: 10 → 50】

【Extra reward: Sequence perception range expanded to 500 meters】

【System Announcement: Congratulations to the Chosen One "Chen Mo" for becoming the First Night Kill King in this region】

【Announcement scope: All survivors in this region】

Chen Mo looked at that line of text.

First Night Kill King.

He didn't feel anything.

Those kills were all forced, all for the sake of survival.

If he had a choice, he would rather kill none, just drive quietly and live quietly.

But this world didn't give him a choice.

The sound of an engine came from the distance.

Chen Mo looked up and saw three cars speeding toward him.

He didn't move.

The three cars stopped fifty meters in front of him, fanning out.

The door of the middle car opened, and a person got out.

About thirty years old, wearing a tactical vest, holding a machete in his hand.

Behind him followed a man and a woman, both dressed similarly.

"Chen Mo?" the person asked.

Chen Mo didn't answer.

"My name is Zhang Lie," the person took a step forward.

"Brother, you're awesome. First Night Kill King, taking out nine people by yourself? How did you do it?"

Chen Mo still didn't answer.

Zhang Lie's smile froze for a second, then returned to normal.

"Brother, it's hard to survive alone. Join us. We have three people, plus you makes four. We can go to more places, share resources equally, share safety. How about it?"

Chen Mo looked at him, at the three people, and at the three cars behind them.

His Pupil of the Sequence swept over—

All humans, all f-grade, all carrying weapons.

One of them had an injury, not too serious, but it would affect movement.

Their cars had supplies, but not many.

"No," Chen Mo said.

Zhang Lie's smile completely disappeared.

"Brother, give me some Face," his tone changed.

"You won't live long alone. We're not begging you; we're giving you a chance."

Chen Mo looked at him.

"I don't need a chance," he said, "and I don't need teammates."

He turned and walked toward his pickup truck.

"Stop," Zhang Lie's voice came from behind.

Chen Mo didn't stop.

He pulled open the car door, sat in, and started the engine.

Zhang Lie rushed to his car, his hand pressed on the window.

"Can't you fucking hear me?"

Chen Mo looked at the hand pressed against the window.

Then he stepped on the gas.

The pickup truck rushed forward, and Zhang Lie was dragged, stumbling and nearly falling.

After steadying himself, he roared at the departing pickup truck:

"You just wait! Alone, right? Let's see how long you can live!"

Chen Mo didn't look back.

He watched in the rearview mirror as the three people stood there, watching their figures get smaller and smaller, finally disappearing at the end of the highway.

【Regional Channel】

【Zhang Lie: That guy named Chen Mo, what's he acting tough for? How many days can one person survive?】

【Anonymous: First Night Kill King? Is that real?】

【Anonymous: The announcement was sent, how could it be fake?】

【Anonymous: Zhang Lie, did you provoke him?】

【Zhang Lie: I invited him to join the team, and he just drove away. What kind of attitude is that?】

【Anonymous: He took out nine by himself, how many did you three take out?】

【Zhang Lie: None of your business】

【Anonymous: I advise you not to provoke him. Anyone who can survive the first night alone and get Kill King is a ruthless person.】

【Anonymous: +1, either don't provoke this kind of person, or kill them at once, otherwise there will be endless trouble.】

【Zhang Lie: ...】

【System Prompt: Anonymous user "Old Zhou" has sent you a private message】

Chen Mo opened the private message.

【Old Zhou: Congratulations, King of the First Night. Interested in cooperating? Not teaming up, but trading.】

Chen Mo thought for a moment and replied:

【What kind of trade?】

【Old Zhou: I have the latest intelligence on the "Old Driver" here. You help me do one thing, and I'll tell you where he is.】

【Chen Mo: What thing?】

【Old Zhou: The church at the end of Highway 13, you should know it. The thing inside isn't dead, just dormant. I need you to confirm when it will wake up.】

【Chen Mo: Why don't you go yourself?】

【Old Zhou: I'm old and can't fight anymore. Besides, you just came back from there, you're more familiar with it than I am.】

Chen Mo was silent for a few seconds.

【Chen Mo: Okay. But not now.】

【Old Zhou: Okay. When you're ready, come to Trading Post No. 1 to find me.】

【Chen Mo: Good.】

The private message ended.

Chen Mo put the phone back in the storage box.

The sky outside the car window was getting brighter; Ghost Night had completely ended.

But new nights would come.

There would be many, many more.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly, stepped on the gas, and drove toward the unknown ahead.

In the rearview mirror, those three people's cars had completely disappeared.

Only the highway remained, extending infinitely.

【First Night Settlement Complete】

【Current status: Alive】

【Current fragments: 66 (f-grade)】

【Current abilities: Pupil of the Sequence (Elementary), Crisis Prediction (3 seconds), Sequence Resonance (500 meters), Night Vision (20 meters)】

【Current vehicle: Modified pickup truck (Durability 87%)】

【Next target: Trading Post No. 1 · Find Old Zhou】

Chen Mo glanced at the data and then closed the interface.

On the distant horizon, the sun was rising.

That was the real sun.

He narrowed his eyes, facing the light, and continued forward.

The highway forked ahead, one leading to Highway 7, one leading to an unknown area.

Chen Mo chose the latter.

Because the unknown is worth going to.

Because he was never the type to be content with the status quo.

Because—

He recalled what the director of the Orphanage had said:

"You child, there's always a drive in your eyes, don't know if it's good or bad."

Now he knew the answer.

That drive was the motivation to survive.

No matter how shitty this world is, no matter how hard the road ahead is.

He would keep driving.

Until the day he couldn't drive anymore.

Or, until the day he found the answer.

The sound of the pickup truck's engine faded into the morning light.

Behind him, on the Highway 13 road sign, some words appeared at some point—

"He left."

"But he will return."

"Because the road has no end."