Dark Walker

Su Wu curled up as tightly as he could, using the stair railing for cover as he cautiously watched the door downstairs where the noise had come from.

He was extremely tense.

At this point, any unexpected development could ruin the entire simulation.

People were the biggest wild card of all.

Before long, through his night-vision goggles, Su Wu saw a woman push open the door. Perhaps she was too nervous; she pushed a little too hard, making the door creak.

The sound carried far through the dark stairwell.

Had Su Wu not switched off the sound-activated lights beforehand, that sound alone would have been enough to kill them both!

Su Wu's temples throbbed.

The woman, too, was startled by the creaking door. The phone in her other hand suddenly slipped free and fell to the floor.

The falling phone alone would not have affected the situation now that the sound-activated lights were off.

But her fingers had happened to touch the phone's screen.

The screen lit up.

The dark blue lock screen illuminated the area around her, casting a huge, distorted shadow.

"Damn it!"

A chill shot from Su Wu's tailbone straight to the crown of his head. He turned to run upstairs!

The stench of decay lingering around his nose suddenly grew faint, becoming almost imperceptible in an instant.

Stunned, he looked back and saw-

Something as thick and sticky as asphalt surged from the distorted shadow around the woman, enveloping her slender body faster than thought!

Before she could scream, the "asphalt" plugged her mouth.

Crunch, crunch, rip!

Teeth-grating sounds came from beneath the coating of "asphalt," which then abruptly scattered!

Pink fragments of flesh lay strewn across the gray-white floor tiles.

A bloodstained hand landed on the steps. Its fingers suddenly spread toward Su Wu, then slowly curled shut.

The phone's screen went dark.

In that final instant, Su Wu saw the black asphalt form a human shape facing him.

The Shadow Wraith merged into the darkness and vanished without a trace.

Yet the faint stench of decay once again lingered around Su Wu's nose.

Thoughts raced through his mind. The Shadow Wraith can only kill one person each time it appears-the woman was already dead before the phone's screen went dark, but the Shadow Wraith didn't attack me again!

Its target must be whoever is closest to the surrounding shadows!

That was why the woman had died.

This was a simulation, but before long, it would become reality.

The palm gripping the Gang Cave was slick with sweat. Forcing himself to rein in his thoughts, Su Wu stepped through the blood spattered on the stairs and edged down to the first floor. With trembling hands, he took out the key, opened the electrical panel, and switched off the power to the entire apartment building.

Half the woman's head lay beside his foot.

A faint electronic voice sounded in his ears: "You have independently acquired the temporary talent: Dark Walker (white)."

"Dark Walker (white): You can adapt to darkness relatively quickly and possess a limited ability to see in the dark."

"Whew..." Su Wu slowly exhaled, shutting out the electronic voice and emptying his mind.

Only a door separated him from the outside world.

Yet that single door could become an insurmountable gulf.

Although Su Wu often passed through the building's entrance, he had never paid attention to how many light sources there were outside.

Only after the simulator appeared had he taken special note of them: there was a streetlight to the left of the exit, angled toward the entrance;

if he went right down the alley outside the building, there was another streetlight on a utility pole at the corner.

He could not turn those lights off.

Su Wu could only hope the Gang Cave in his hand would work, stopping the Shadow Wraith the moment he stepped into the light and it appeared after him.

Maybe the Shadow Wraith is confined to this building?

Turning the handle, Su Wu pulled open the building's entrance door.

He did not hesitate for even a moment. As soon as the door opened, he broke into a sprint exactly as he had rehearsed countless times in his mind, heading straight down the alley to the right!

The orange streetlight cast a broad swath of shadows at the corner,

the light from the sky stretched Su Wu's shadow long,

and the instant his shadow fell across the ground, the faint stench of decay abruptly grew overpowering!

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

Su Wu's heart pounded wildly. He did not even need to look back to know that the asphalt-like substance was surging from his shadow, ready to kill him in the next instant!

Raising the Gang Cave to his lips, Su Wu puffed out his cheeks and blew hard into the bone flute!

"Waaaahhhh-"

A sound like a ghost's wail, like the howl of someone in excruciating pain, burst from the bone flute and instantly rang through the alley, which was less than a hundred paces long!

A bone-chilling cold swirled against Su Wu's skin!

Gusts of crimson wind poured from the Gang Cave, enveloping Su Wu and sweeping away the stench of decay around his nose!

The bloody wind condensed into the bones of a hand wrapped in silvery sinews. Its five jagged, branching finger bones suddenly seized the Shadow Wraith closing over him and tore a gap through it!

Su Wu had no time to consider what had happened. Seeing a chance to survive before him, he ducked his head and charged through the gap!

He dropped the Gang Cave,

one end of which was still pouring out bloody wind. The skeletal hand extending from it draped part of the Shadow Wraith over its bones, becoming a black hand knotted with muscle and sinew.

As the light from the sky and the streetlight fell upon that arm, it swelled to dozens of yards tall, reaching the height of the apartment building!

Wedged between the two apartment buildings, the pitch-black hand rose high,

then slammed its dozens of newly split fingers down at Su Wu-

Boom!

The blow smashed an enormous crater into the ground.

Su Wu was buried beneath it.

You died.

The temporary talent Dark Walker (white) has disappeared.

This simulation has ended.

Rating: C+.

Comments: The path to survival is right before you. Keep trying!

Rewards: C+ rating base reward: 50 Origin Jade; acquired the temporary talent Dark Walker (white): +1 Origin Jade; evaded the Shadow Wraith's pursuit twice: +6 Origin Jade; Talent Upgrade Talisman (green) ×1.

The following items can be taken out of this simulation...

A dial floated before Su Wu's eyes. His emotions settled as he watched the entries appear on it one by one.

Option 0: Talent-Pain Transfer (white).

Option 1: Talent-Dark Walker (white).

Option 2: ORPHA head-mounted monocular infrared night-vision goggles.

Option 3: Key to the main electrical panel of Building 6, Peaceful Garden.

Option 4: Remote control for the stairwell's sound-activated lights in Building 6, Peaceful Garden.

The talent I acquired in the last simulation actually still appears among the options on the dial.

Does that mean something like a talent will appear every time in the future, as long as it has appeared among the available options once? That would certainly be convenient.

Su Wu hesitated briefly between Options 0 and 1. In the end, he spent 50 Origin Jade to purchase Option 1-the talent Dark Walker (white).

Pain Transfer was a good choice too, but right now he needed Dark Walker more. With that talent, he could reduce his reliance on external equipment such as infrared night-vision goggles.

You have obtained the permanent talent-Dark Walker (white).

After the electronic voice sounded, Su Wu immediately felt a cool sensation flow through his eyes. His eyesight seemed to have improved slightly.

"Use the Talent Upgrade Talisman to upgrade Dark Walker."

His simulation rating had earned him a Talent Upgrade Talisman (green), which could upgrade any white talent to green.

Without hesitation, he used it on Dark Walker.

Upgrade successful!

More cool energy poured into his eyes. Su Wu took off the night-vision goggles and looked around the darkened room, discovering that his vision in the dark was now almost as good as it had been while wearing them.

Even a green talent could achieve this much!

After just one use, the night-vision goggles were already ready for retirement.

I'll resell these in the fishing group later.