Night Watchman - Through the Veil

While browsing the internet for the latest news, Tang Yu stumbled upon a livestream link shared by a netizen featuring an exorcism.

At first, Tang Yu assumed that there were truly extraordinary people in reality capable of confronting evil spirits and demons.

However, after clicking in and reading the comments in the chat, he realized the person was just a charlatan, not to be taken seriously.

Still, Tang Yu was curious about how this charlatan performed his exorcism act.

After watching the stream with interest for a while, Tang Yu noticed many bugs, yet he still felt the streamer had some skill; there was clearly some preparation involved before the exorcism.

At the very least, the guy had memorized a lot of Taoist incantations.

Just as the comments in the chat said, even though they knew it was fake, it was still entertaining to watch like a variety show, especially the special effects, which were quite fitting and made for good background viewing.

With the netizens' teasing comments accompanying the eerie and terrifying style of the livestream, Tang Yu found it quite enjoyable.

But soon, Tang Yu could no longer laugh.

After the streamer declared the exorcism complete, the extra who had returned to normal suddenly underwent a strange transformation.

The netizens watching the stream all thought this was a scripted plot twist, but Tang Yu did not think so.

Not to mention the streamer's shocked expression, which clearly showed he was caught off guard by the extra's change.

Through the livestream footage, Tang Yu clearly saw faint purple mist emerging from the body of the extra, who was chained to the head of the bed, as he transformed.

At this moment, Tang Yu was certain that this extra had truly been demonized!

As the two worlds merged, various creatures from the Boundless Realm were slowly eroding the real world.

In particular, the two most terrifying forces in the Boundless Realm: evil spirits and demons.

The extra's transformation was very similar to the demonic possession Tang Yu was familiar with.

Perhaps because the two worlds had not yet fully merged, the demons from the Boundless Realm could not fully exert their abilities in reality and had to attach themselves to humans.

Yet, even a partial projection of their true form could easily kill a weak human.

Since he had seen it, Tang Yu naturally would not sit idly by.

At this moment, Tang Yu's consciousness manipulated the God-Demon Space, locking onto the area where the streamer was located via his IP address.

While probing with his consciousness, Tang Yu locked onto the demonic phantom inside the extra.

But just as he prepared to use the power of the "Giant Spirit God" to slay it, Tang Yu was pleasantly surprised to discover that the white-haired old man posing as a celestial master possessed a special soul—the very candidate he needed for a "Night Watchman."

As the saying goes, if you walk by the river often enough, you are bound to get your shoes wet.

But Jiang Su never imagined he would actually encounter evil spirits and demons.

The moment his chest was torn open by sharp claws, his eyes were filled only with fear and confusion; the intense pain made his body tremble uncontrollably.

In the face of a real evil spirit or demon, he knew he had no power to resist.

Because all his methods were fake.

As his consciousness gradually sank, he was unwilling to die, yet he could not fight off the waves of drowsiness washing over him.

Just as Jiang Su's life was completely extinguished, a vortex invisible to the naked eye formed beside him, subsequently drawing his consciousness into it.

When Jiang Su regained consciousness, he found himself in a strange place.

The gloomy sky churned with dark clouds, a bloody drizzle fell incessantly, a blood-red moon hung high in the sky, and beneath his feet lay crimson-yellow earth.

Out of place in this scene was a massive conference table in the distance.

There were seventy-two seats in total, each marked with a strange, flickering symbol.

"Am I dead? Is this hell?" Recalling his recent encounter, Jiang Su was filled with fear.

"You are dead, yet you are not!"

"Who, who is speaking!" Jiang Su immediately looked up at the sky.

The voice speaking came from the gloomy sky, resounding throughout the entire world.

"You do not need to know!"

The voice seemed to come from the chaos of the world's inception, echoing repeatedly in Jiang Su's mind.

"Am I really dead?" Jiang Su asked timidly.

Facing Jiang Su's inquiry, the voice in the sky did not answer; instead, an image appeared before him.

The image played the exact scene of Jiang Su being torn apart and killed by the demon-possessed extra.

Seeing this, Jiang Su finally confirmed that he was dead.

At this moment, his heart turned to ash.

"Now you have a chance to live another life, but accordingly, you must pay a price: use your life to protect something!"

Hearing these words, Jiang Su felt as if he had grabbed a lifeline:

"Can I really live again?"

"Yes, but from now on, you will no longer live for yourself. The choice is yours!"

"What exactly do you mean by what you just said?" Jiang Su hurriedly pressed for an answer.

"The old world has collapsed, and evil spirits and demons run rampant across the earth. I need a group of Night Watchmen to safeguard the stability of the human realm, and you are one of the Night Watchmen I have chosen!"

"The monster that killed me—is it one of the demons and evil spirits you speak of?"

"It is!"

These words suddenly made Jiang Su understand the responsibilities he would have to shoulder if he wished to be resurrected.

Faced with the choice, Jiang Su hesitated for a moment before looking up at the sky:

"I am willing, as long as you let me live again!"

Having wanted to achieve great things his entire life, he was unwilling to sink into hell just like that. Faced with the choice between life and death, Jiang Su ultimately chose life.

Even if he knew what he would have to face in the future.

"Go and pick a seat. From this moment on, you are a member of the Night Watchmen!"

The voice dissipated along with the churning dark clouds.

Jiang Su turned to look at the conference table, then walked toward it and sat down in a chair engraved with eerie green runes.

In an instant, Jiang Su's mind shook violently. Peals of bells echoed in his head, and at the same time, figures appeared before his eyes.

Connecting to the Nether, Exorcising Spirits, Carrying Mountains, Controlling Water, Borrowing Wind, Spreading Mist, Praying for Sunshine, Invoking Rain, Sitting in Fire, Entering Water, Obscuring the Sun, Riding the Wind, Cooking Stones, Spitting Flames, Swallowing Blades, Pot Heaven, Divine Walking, Walking on Water, Staff Liberation, Creating Clones, Invisibility, Reattaching Heads, Immobilization, Slaying Demons, Invoking Immortals, Chasing Souls, Capturing Spirits, Summoning Clouds, Fetching the Moon, Teleportation, Bestowing Dreams, Dismemberment...

There were 72 figures in total, and each figure had corresponding text above its head.

The image finally settled on "Connecting to the Nether."

Immediately, countless pieces of knowledge flooded his mind, and his head felt as if it were about to burst from the pain.

Soon, an intense, needle-like pain filled his entire body, becoming increasingly unbearable.

This sensation lasted for over half an hour before it finally dissipated.

At this moment, a status panel appeared before Jiang Su's eyes.

Jiang Su (Night Watchman)

Codename: Connecting to the Nether

Strength: Qi Refining Tier 3 (Qi Refining, Divine Wandering, Void Shattering, Spirit Devouring, Divine Might)

Inheritance Obtained: Zhong Kui

Abilities Possessed: Five Thunder Method (Novice), Demon Subduing Incantation (Novice), Universe Infinite (Novice)

Game Strength Conversion: None

Remaining Lifespan: 29 days, 23 hours, 50 seconds

Coming back to his senses, Jiang Su felt as if he had an inexhaustible amount of strength within his body.

The techniques in his mind felt as natural as if he had been born knowing them; he didn't need to think twice to know how to unleash them.

"Remember your duty. Your life is limited. Each time you slay demons and eliminate evil, you can extend the time you remain in the human world!"

Before Jiang Su could answer, the voice in the sky continued:

"Go back!"

As the words fell, cracks appeared in the world before Jiang Su's eyes, rapidly spreading across the entire realm until it collapsed with a roar.

When his vision cleared again, Jiang Su found that he had returned to reality.

It was still the same room, and before him was still the extra possessed by the demon; the scene was as if it had been frozen the moment he died.

"Ah!"

A terrified scream rang out, and the frozen scene instantly came to life.

Feeling the pain in his chest, Jiang Su instinctively raised his palm toward the demon in front of him and roared:

"Five Thunder Method, Immobilize!"

A warm current rippled in the palm of his right hand, then transformed into white lightning that crashed down onto the forehead of the extra possessed by the demon.

At that moment, the extra, whose face had been twisted and out of control, was suddenly frozen in place.