Blood Moon's Flight
In the Gao Fu Dream World, he slowly opened his eyes.
He's back.
Memories flooded back like a tide.
The Mutual Aid Association's mission. A five-person team. Smile in the puddles. The fake teammate who was still passing on information before melting away. He runs, it chases, he has no way to escape.
He was stopped by the woods, surrounded by five Smile. And then... and then he arrived at that damned little town.
"Holy crap..."
He sat Gao Fu, bent over, and gagged.
Blood Moon. Holy crap!
You've lied to me, Akaishi!
He understood everything. The "Laughing" ghost story eventually Corrosion him, but his Constitution was too strong; the ghost story couldn't kill him, thus attracting the [Corruption] of the Blood Moon.
He was pulled into that illusory town, and if he completely succumbed there, believing himself to be the "outsider who came to cure his laughter disorder," then he would truly become a part of the Blood Moon.
"Thank goodness, I have absolute control over my Dreamscape."
Gao Fu around for a while, I was just about to lie back down for a long, deep sleep.
The boundaries of the Dreamscape trembled violently.
Something has broken in.
Gao Fu suddenly stood up and looked up at the edge of the Dreamscape.
A crimson figure was coalescing. Its aura was powerful, chaotic, and carried the putrid stench of Blood Moon, like a nightmare itself crawling out of the Abyss.
Gao Fu instantly guessed who it was and attacked in anger.
Let me show you the Dream Master's taste!
The Tower, phase two, boss room.
This was the first time Su Luo had played a card in this playthrough.
He held five cards in his hand, and his body was already covered with ten layers of elemental states—earth, wind, water, fire, light, darkness, lightning, ice, nature, and poison. These ten elements flowed around him, intertwining to form a dazzling halo.
The BOSS's shape is seven or eight parts similar to the Machine Fortress, with the same metal frame and the same energy core, but it is more than ten times larger.
Its health points reach a staggering 8,000, thanks to the combined effects of the Desolation Plague and online multiplayer modes.
Su Luo raised her hand.
[Subconscious Reasoning] consumes 1 point of energy and randomly grants +2 Strength.
[Elemental Collapse] consumes 2 energy and deals 8 base damage to all enemies. Damage is doubled for each different elemental state present on the user.
With the added strength bonus, 10,240 points of damage instantly killed the BOSS.
The Machine Fortress stood frozen in place. He stared at the wreckage of the BOSS, at the scattered metal fragments, and at the energy core within the fragments that shared the same origin as his own. His body began to malfunction again.
The next second, a bright blue light shone forth.
As before, the BOSS's remains liquefied and decomposed, turning into countless points of light that surged towards the Machine Fortress. The points of light entered his body.
At the same time, the rules of the Tower began to backfire.
The dark red aura of Desolation Plague, like sharks smelling blood, surged in from all directions, layer upon layer, clinging to Su Luo's body. The aura was so dense that it almost solidified, forming a dark red halo around him.
Su Luo shrugged, her tone calm. "It's obvious that I'll be punished by the Tower as soon as I make a move. You guys will have to hold the fort for the third level."
Iron Guard and Jingjing glanced at the thick Desolation Plague on Su Luo's body, then at the Observer who were also afflicted by the Desolation Plague, and nodded silently.
A few seconds later, the blue light dissipated, the Machine Fortress completed its fusion, and it stood up confidently. "Absolutely no problem! I've fully found the power, and I'll take care of the third level!"
Su Luo glanced at the Machine Fortress, then stepped forward and opened the BOSS treasure chest.
There is a cup inside.
[Coffee Dripper]
[At the start of each round, gain 1 bonus energy. You can no longer rest at the campfire.]
Although the boost to Su Luo isn't huge, the more the better.
Su Luo's plan for this playthrough is to hitch a ride with the Four Colors group to reach the higher levels, and then intervene when the Four Colors are unable to resist.
Only when the Desolation Plague accumulates to the point that even your own deck can't defeat it, do you use your true power to instantly kill it.
The door slowly opened.
Behind the door was a Chaos interplay of light and shadow, the texture of the space becoming more viscous, and the boundaries of vision blurred. That was the deeper layer of the Dreamscape —the third stage of the Tower.
Su Luo stepped across the threshold.
For a split second, he paused.
He turned his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of Dreamscape, looking towards a certain direction at the bottom of the tower.
Inside the Tower... it seems a new climber has arrived.
Su Luo blinked, then received a message on her Personal Channel and suddenly realized what was going on.
Xiao Luo brought in some things.
Su Luo withdrew her gaze, did not linger, and continued walking forward.
Behind them, the four colors passed by, and then the gate slowly closed.
The base of the tower.
The black jade ground Spread into the endless Void, forming a beautiful scene with the towering Tower that pierced the sky in the distance. Space lost its meaning here, and time seemed to freeze, until a distorted ripple broke the deathly silence.
A figure appeared out of thin air.
Scarlet.
It was a pure, unsettling red, not the color of flesh and blood, but like solidified Moonlight. The figure had no fixed outline, its edges constantly shifting. It had no facial features, no limbs, only a human-shaped, ever-surging crimson mass.
He is the [Blood Moon] itself.
Just over ten minutes ago, He was slowly growing above Zone 76, weaving His own domain with Corrosion and Vassal ghost tales, and then the man with the knife arrived.
With one strike, it shattered the main body; with another, it precisely shattered the Blood Moon Town, the Corruption Illusion Realm it had meticulously constructed. The strange tales it had cultivated evaporated instantly under the blazing sun, like ice cream.
Then, following the last thread of connection with the "Laughing" ghost story, He slipped into the Dreamscape of a Survivor named Gao Fu, whom He remembered.
He had previously used [Corruption] to pull him into the Blood Moon Town, fed him filth, and watched him slowly sink into depravity. In time, he would have become a complete part of Him.
But that Dreamscape did not belong to Him.
In his own Dreamscape, Gao Fu was the absolute ruler. He was being beaten down and had no power to fight back. Just as Gao Fu was about to completely suppress him, the Dreamscape suddenly trembled violently.
As if struck by lightning, He was flung out of that Dreamscape.
Then, there was an exaggerated suction force...
And then He came here.
Blood Moon stood still, trying to Spread its senses outwards, but found it couldn't; its power was restrained.
This world is incredibly vast, and the texture of space is strange. In the distance, a Tower pierces the sky, its tip gleaming with an eternal golden light, like some unreachable end.
His gaze fell downwards.
There is a creature there.
Shaped like Giant Whale, its enormous body resembles a magnified version of a Croc with a cracked bottom, its rough leather covered in wrinkles and weathered scars.
Most striking is its head, with six large, amber eyes that are staring at it without moving.
The Blood Moon is watching it too.
The two non-human creatures stared at each other for two seconds.
Blood-red Text began to appear before Him.
"Choose..."
The six-eyed whale accepted all offers, presenting four options for the user to choose from. However, it got stuck after the user made a choice, causing the user to lose the initial reward.