Chapter 390
"Of course." Funina nodded without hesitation, her face darkening. "But we failed. Perhaps only those gentlemen at headquarters could defeat them."
"Then who killed them?"
"Uh, it's you."
"That settles it. Night Watchers wants to kill them, I'll kill them too, and I'm stronger than you. Tell me, if we all die together, wouldn't the Night Watchers come out ahead?"
Funina froze, blinked, and then nodded uncontrollably.
This was definitely a huge profit; if this demon had made the move, not a single Night Watchers from the Rosen Branch would have died.
"That's why I'm asking you to cooperate, to find the henchmen of the Night, and I'll take care of the operation. You'll suffer no losses, and you'll even eliminate a major threat and end this catastrophe. What's the Yuki?" Seeing that she had fallen into his trap, Yuuki launched a powerful logical offensive:
"If I'm not mistaken, this isn't the first time we've appeared in the Night Watchers intelligence, is it? How did each cataclysm end?"
Funina's identity was extraordinary; after reading through the headquarters' records, she fell into deep thought.
"When few of the night's claws remain, the tide of night will recede."
"Perfect answer. So who says the Night Watchers's Watch has to kill the minions? Wouldn't it be better if we killed each other more efficiently? As I always say, whether I can do it or not is my business. If I fail, the Night Watchers will suffer no loss whatsoever."
Oh, this.
Funina wanted to argue, but didn't know how. Yes, they could just kill each other and die together, why should we fight to the death?
But what about the Night Watchers's oath? They can't uphold their oath; if they can't win, they can't win. In the previous cataclysm, the Night Watchers suffered heavy losses, but the demons themselves were the ones who ultimately decided the outcome. In fact, according to the Codex, the 53rd Commander even cooperated with one side before the final battle.
She began to waver, shaking her head uncertainly. "Doing this would break my vow, and I can't accept it emotionally."
"You abandoned your comrades and ran away, already breaking your oath. What difference would breaking it one more time make? As for emotions?" Yuki sneered, almost certain of his victory. "Emotions are the most useless thing in the apocalypse. This path is called 'using barbarians to control barbarians.' Besides, I didn't kill your comrades. In a sense, I even avenged them. Why can't you accept that?"
True deception is using rigorous logic and harsh truths to persuade others, without needing empathy, cutting off all escape routes, and leaving the other party with only one choice.
Of course, Funina was not afraid of death, or even humiliation, but Yuki spoke the truth and reasoned with her, leaving this noble lady with no way to refute him. The unfamiliar concept of 'using barbarians to control barbarians' seemed to be engraved in her mind.
"She's so pitiful. She looked like she was going to die a heroic death, and you just fooled her with a few words." Mona squatted on the ground, resting her chin on her hands.
In the distance, the red-haired girl was huffing and puffing as she dug a pit to bury her comrades' bodies. This was the Night Watchers's oath; they didn't need graves, burying them where they fell was the highest honor.
The Rosen City was eerily quiet. Despite the mountain collapsing and the thick fog, no one dared to come and take a look. The inhabitants of the Dark Night Continent were all very law-abiding.
Matters concerning the night are handled by the Night Watchers; no one will interfere unless requested to.
"Because what I said is the Truth, and similar things should have happened before."
How did you know?
"Just a guess. True powerhouses don't care who they cooperate with, they only care about whether they can achieve their goals. If they want to protect the world, they need to end the instance as soon as possible, which the Night Watchers can't do on their own." Yuki snorted. The red-haired woman's micro-expressions confirmed his information.
Since there was a precedent, why should she hesitate? But Yuki was worried that other players might follow the same strategy, so she warned them not to reveal the secret.
If he were exposed, he would slaughter the Night Watchers of the five divisions as punishment, and it was Funina herself who caused their deaths.
"Such self-sacrificing individuals cherish their reputation and would likely not divulge a single word under internal interrogation unless they are absolutely certain of killing us."
"So that's why you went to her?"
"Yes, this kind of person is the easiest to control, and we're very lucky. She's not very strong, but she has a high status. If we keep this lead, we might be able to make contact with the higher-ups of the Night Watchers in the future."
A comprehensive grasp of the body, mind, and personality?
Mona glanced at the sorrowful red-haired girl and muttered, "How pitiful."
Then, Funina, having already filled the burial pit, moved back with a complicated expression. She felt ashamed for cooperating with the minions of the night, which undoubtedly violated her oath. Yet, she was also excited because Yuki was right; this was a path to save the world.
What do you want me to do?
"The Night Watchers have assistants, right? We'll be your assistants," Yuki said bluntly, having obtained this information in Oak Town.
Assistants, also known as spies, are generally used to find people who have escaped the darkness. Apart from players, there are very few such people. Each one is a good candidate for the Night Watchers. Therefore, spies are now also responsible for finding players and belong to another kind of Chaoyang District crowd.
The minions of the night as my accomplices... that sounds a bit odd, doesn't it?
Funina pursed her lips, took a backpack from her warhorse, and pulled out a mechanical carrier pigeon. She muttered incantations, but under the Devil's Vision, Yuki could see a strange energy being poured into it, turning the pigeon's black feathers white.
Sure enough, there was a way.
Upon hearing the first hint, Yuki sensed something was wrong. How could they contact other players using only newspapers and telegrams? Now it seemed the solution lay with the Night Watchers.
"The Black Night Messenger Pigeon is equipped by Night Watchers of level 5 and above. It's used to communicate with spies. It carries my scent and can find us no matter where we are," Funina explained, adding:
"Only the Night Watchers can activate it, so don't even think about stealing it. Even if you steal one from another Night Watchers, you won't be able to use it."
How afraid are you that I'll use your partner as a scapegoat?
Yuki reached out to take it, but the girl pulled it back, causing him to frown.
"You... you wouldn't use me against the Night Watchers, would you?"
"Before asking that question, ask yourself, what right do the Night Watchers have that I need to deal with them?" Yuki patiently countered.
Killing a large number of Night Watchers might yield upgrade points, but those can be obtained from players, and players cannot use the Night Watchers' weapons, Yuki never intended to hunt them.
That makes sense; they don't need to deal with the Night Watchers. Hmm, why do I feel like I've gotten a great deal?
She felt something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she mechanically mounted her warhorse and went back to the city, pondering as she went. As for the first task Yuki had given her, Funina was 200% enthusiastic.
Yuki her to contact her superiors and find out how many players had been discovered on the Dark Night Continent, their approximate locations, and their individual strengths.
"No wonder she's so eager; she can't wait for me to eliminate all the players, get out of here, and return the Dark Night Continent to normal."
Yuki watched the warhorse gallop away, stroking his chin. This was a foreshadowing. Since he could persuade Funina, the Night Watchers leadership also had a chance, or even didn't need to be persuaded; he was already looking for partners.
Can you unravel the secrets of the night? Who's better at it than the player?
Leaving that aside for now, he looked up and saw that the sky was gradually darkening, and the Third Night was about to begin. He turned around and looked at Mona with a half-smile.
"I told you not to rush, look, the lights are all back up now, aren't they?"
"Yes, yes, you're so awesome!" Mona wrinkled her nose, jumped up and hugged Yuki's hand, and tilted her head to look at the man's indifferent face.
This guy is really Taiyi.
Yuki disliked movies where the protagonist defuses a bomb at the last minute, gambling with trembling hands on which wire to cut to prevent an explosion. While that was certainly thrilling and exciting, he had already experienced that stage of the story.
The stronger one is, the higher the stakes, and the less thrilling the game becomes. Now, he prefers to be like a clock, calculating every minute and second, instilling a sense of powerlessness in others.
Yes, a sense of security.
The two returned to Rosen City and checked into the most luxurious hotel. One advantage of cooperating with Funina was that the Night Watchers endorsed them, so no one would doubt their identities.
Each mechanical carrier pigeon possesses unique energy fluctuations, making Christian Funina's identity even more convincing.
She is of royal lineage, ranked first in the 187th class of the Night Watchers Academy, and is the youngest Level 4 Night Watchers. Even if someone recognizes Yuki as a player, they would have to think twice and consider whether this is a secret mission from the higher-ups of the Night Watchers.
In addition, Yuki also learned a lot of information from her, such as being able to identify who had broken free from the Night, who had killed Night Watchers, and the complete set of teaching materials from the Night Watchers Academy, so as to understand these Night Watchers from a basic level.
From the content of oaths and work habits to organizational structures and power systems, such as the use of Soul Blunderbuss and sabers, and how to burn souls for tracking, defense, and flight, Yuki actually found quite a few similarities as he watched.
The colors of the Soul Lamp are not different, except that those of the Night Watchers are brighter. This ensures that they will not be easily extinguished by the Dark Night Tide, but it also means that in the darkness, distance makes it difficult to distinguish their identities.
Their appearance is entirely human; they have no animal ears or tails, so they don't need to use the Fool's Mask to disguise themselves.
"As long as we don't use Chaos Item or other Transcendental Grade powers, at least the players won't be able to tell. And the core of the Night Watchers' system is soul energy, which is what I'm best at."
"So, at certain times, I can impersonate Night Watchers?"
He stroked his chin. Actually, this wasn't anything special. He had already heard from Fei Lun that players of 'Aether Particles' loved to play as characters in the fantasy dungeons.
The challenge is how to make others believe it's true.
The luxurious room was warm and cozy with heating. Mona, wearing a thin nightgown, rolled around on the large bed, occasionally sitting up to eat a few raspberries.
Yuki was too lazy to stop this childish behavior. This girl was sharp-tongued, and her words, "Players can go without food and drink, but becoming a player and clearing dungeons isn't about being an ascetic," left him speechless.
"Hmm, the pace of this drama is starting to pick up."
It was seven o'clock in the afternoon, the streetlights were already on, and the street outside the window was still crowded with people moving about.
The natives weren't fools; anyone with a little knowledge could tell that the Dark Night Tide was spreading from the edge of the continent towards the center. The only way to deal with it was to run away; no one dared to gamble on whether their Soul Lamp would be extinguished by the tide.
As a major city in the west, Rosen City attracts people from the surrounding rural areas, and what Yuki sees is a human tragedy.
In their haste to leave, most people didn't bring enough supplies and were begging along the streets. Fierce military police patrolled back and forth with batons, and gunshots could be heard occasionally.
The locals, of course, did not welcome these outsiders. The two sides exchanged pleasantries physically, but then hunger led to chaos. Some houses were set on fire, and children separated from their parents were crying in the streets, either being knocked over by galloping warhorses or lured away with food by friendly men.
Looking further east, there was another congested traffic flow, except that the steam locomotives were loaded with supplies and escorted by military police, as if they were on a long journey.
A human tragedy, and then the Night Watchers of Rosen City was almost completely wiped out; tonight will be even worse.
Yuki disgustedly closed the curtains. He was Monster IV player, even on the verge of becoming epic, capable of wiping out everyone in Rosen City in minutes, yet unable to save everyone.
"I told you not to look at it. If you see too much upsetting stuff, you're bound to have a mental breakdown." Mona lay on the bed, flipping through a book while stuffing raspberries into her mouth, her two fair legs swinging up and down, looking quite relaxed.
Seeing her carefree demeanor, Yuki didn't know what to say. Her carefree attitude stemmed from experiencing too much, such as the Destruction Mission, where players were asked to directly destroy a world. As an observer, she was already being quite kind.
Only in situations like this would Yuki accept the fact that Mona was older than him; mental fortitude is something that must be forged through experience.
'Phew, this is only my third instance since ascending. If Mona knew the truth, she'd probably think I'm a little kid.' Yuki was still a 'newbie,' and his heart hadn't fully become that of a player. Hearing the cries outside always made him feel annoyed.
So he tried to concentrate.
First, use 5 enhancement points to upgrade Moonlit Ghost Step to Excellent. This increases movement distance and teleportation speed, allowing him to take another step forward and get almost within reach of that door.
Next, the refresh feature was extracted.
After the Vestment of the Unknown is upgraded to LV4, it has keyword settings, so Yuki won't have to force himself to choose one as before and then build a plan around him.
Now, based on the intelligence we have, we can set targeted keywords. After thinking for a moment, I quickly came up with an idea.
"Costume draw, keyword settings: [Strategy], [Intelligence]."
The familiar card-flipping process continued, and after a short wait, a strange card appeared before my eyes.
[Conceptual Craft Essence: The Charms of Journalism]
[After activation, it misinterprets a known piece of information, spreading extremely quickly and gaining priority attention. The more authentic the known information, the more credible it becomes. Used once. Effect range: all instances.]
What is this thing?
Yuki raised an eyebrow. He had originally planned to draw a Mystic Code, such as 'There's Only One Truth', to quickly gather information about the players, but instead, he received the opposite.
There are still too few keywords; it can only pinpoint a general area.
He shrank back onto the soft sofa, touching his furrowed brow. No one but him could understand this Conceptual Craft Essence, while Yuki only needed to see the effect to comprehend it.
Taking things out of context, prioritizing traffic, and grabbing attention—isn't this the allure of journalism?
But this charm isn't his only charm; he can only misinterpret known information, and he can't let Yuki himself create a script like "Shocking! The Night's Minions Are Actually Heroes."
"The effect is incredible; it has triggered causality, and the impact extends to the entire instance."
This is the significance of the 'Unknowner's Mystic Code'. It's not as simple and straightforward as Super Saiyan possession, but it offers many different ways to play.
"It works. I can think of a few clever tricks right now. Taking things out of context can be difficult, but it can also be easy."
As I pondered, the clock struck, extinguishing the last glimmer of light, leaving only two lamps burning in the room.
Yuki stared at the girl lying on the bed. Due to gravity, her dress hung down slightly, but it wasn't anything special; from his angle, all he could see was a flat, open chest.
I'll think about it later; this girl's about to start again.
Yuki already had plenty of experience, and sure enough, in just a split second, Mena Ryougi, who had been lying on the bed a few meters away, suddenly appeared in his arms.
Because five more lights were added today, and two of the Soul Lamp overlapped, illuminating most of the room.
Once you've done it once, you're more comfortable with Yuki naturally hugged Mona, his eyes carrying a hint of teasing.
"You're supposed to be a Monster III player, can you please stop being so afraid of the dark?"
"No, fear is fear, but there are no enemies now, why should I overcome it!" Mona argued vehemently, her two fair hands reaching out from under her sundress to hug Yuki's waist.
Like a koala, she really has no idol baggage whatsoever.
Yuki thought of her senior. Sometimes, even her senior or Hayasaka was terrified, but they always kept their mouths shut. As for Kaguya, she would rather die than show any fear.
The carefree veteran player from just now was in stark contrast to the little girl who was now afraid of the dark Yuki lowered his head and looked at Mona's comfortable, kitten-like expression. For some reason, he felt a sense of accomplishment.
Yes, the sense of accomplishment of being needed.
Chapter Six: Under Power, There Are No Classes
The night was as dark as a curtain, and the sounds of crying, smashing, and gunfire entered the house through the windows. Funina and her few dozen Night Watchers were simply unable to maintain order for hundreds of thousands of people, and the army and police were no different from civilians in the darkness.