"You died." "The temporary talent Koi Blessing (white) has disappeared." "This simulation has ended." "Rating: B−. Comments: Out of the wolf's den and into the tiger's lair. Life is always this painful, isn't it? Rewards: 100 origin jade as the base reward for a B− rating, +1 origin jade for acquiring the temporary talent Koi Blessing (white), Talent Upgrade Talisman (blue) ×1, Talent Upgrade Talisman (green) ×1."
Including the three origin jade from before, Su Wu now had 104 origin jade.
The base reward for a B rating was a three-digit amount of origin jade? Pretty generous.
To earn a C rating, I had to grasp the patterns of the fiends' movements and make some worthwhile attempts. Did earning a B mean I had to successfully escape the area a fiend covered?
Then, to earn an A, would I have to actually hurt a fiend? Could those things really be killed?
Su Wu mulled it over. The frustration he had felt after the red lantern took his head had faded considerably thanks to the generous rewards.
His mind began racing, analyzing and organizing all the details.
For now, I'll call the red lantern that appeared outside the residential complex and could silently sever people's heads the "Lantern Fiend."
I've encountered this kind of fiend before-in the simulation at Cloud Dragon Temple.
In that brief glimpse, I saw red lanterns covering most of Mingzhou. They had even spread into the countryside.
Clearly, unlike the Shadow Fiend, the Lantern Fiend covered most, if not all, of Mingzhou. The danger it posed was on an entirely different level!
Judging by this encounter, it seemed to have the ability to instantly switch every light on the street on and off. When the lights went out, the Lantern Fiend began killing.
But I still can't be sure how it kills. Does anyone touched by its red light lose their head?
Or does it kill completely at random, so that even someone caught in the light won't die unless they're chosen?
The former could be avoided. With the latter, I'd just have to leave it to fate. I hope it isn't the latter.
Beside a cake shop on the street, there was a little temple whose light was completely different from the Lantern Fiend's red glow. Why hadn't I ever noticed a temple there before? Next time I enter the simulation, I need to check that temple first.
For Su Wu as he was now, the Composure talent was nothing short of god-tier.
Even though it was only green quality, it still allowed him to pick out numerous subtle clues and draw the most reasonable conclusions from the situation.
So he used a Talent Upgrade Talisman (blue) to raise Composure to blue quality.
Composure (blue): One who harbors thunder in his breast yet keeps his face as still as a tranquil lake is fit to be appointed a supreme general. You possess caution far beyond that of ordinary people and the insight of a renowned general of antiquity, allowing you to swiftly work out the choice most advantageous to you even amid utter chaos.
After upgrading the talent, Su Wu only felt his mind clear. He experienced no other changes.
He settled himself, then spent 50 origin jade to select a talent from the simulator's list of items he could bring out: Koi Blessing (white).
The sooner he acquired this talent, the sooner he could reap its benefits.
His tests with the Gang Cave and the Imperial Bell had confirmed that the improvements mysterious items gave him were real.
After acquiring Koi Blessing (white), Su Wu also used a green Talent Upgrade Talisman to upgrade it.
Koi Blessing (green): Your luck stands out among ordinary people, making it easier for you to acquire mysterious items.
The remaining talent in the simulator, Pain Transfer (white), was actually very useful too. But since no fiends had appeared in reality yet, its usefulness was less pronounced.
After redeeming Koi Blessing (white), Su Wu still had 54 origin jade, enough to redeem Pain Transfer as well.
But that would leave him short of origin jade again, giving him very little room for error.
So he planned to run a few more simulations and save up some origin jade before redeeming Pain Transfer (white).
Gathering his thoughts, Su Wu stared at the dial in the darkness and said, "Begin simulation!"
"Hah-hah-"
Su Wu stood outside the entrance to his apartment building, panting as sweat kept streaming down his face.
In this simulation, he had descended three floors and encountered seven people trying to escape. None of them had made the necessary preparations.
Either someone's phone suddenly rang, or a young man came straight out with a flashlight in hand. They had all died horribly.
If Su Wu hadn't prepared thoroughly, stopping silently at every turn in the stairs and waiting until they were killed before passing through, they could very well have dragged him down with them.
Their deaths had revealed an excellent tool for diverting disaster onto someone else: the High-Powered Flashlight.
The High-Powered Flashlight could instantly cast a straight beam of light, creating large patches of shadow wherever it shone. The Shadow Fiend would emerge from those illuminated shadows without fail and kill whoever stood beside them!
That young man had killed his parents and younger sister this way before finally getting himself killed.
An ordinary flashlight's beam wasn't focused enough. Its light scattered in every direction, casting shadows that would instead get the wielder killed first.
Committing this detail to memory, Su Wu stopped hesitating. He pulled open the building's entrance door and took off running!
He had plenty of experience now and knew exactly where to go.
The instant the stench of decay appeared, he blew the Gang Cave-but just before doing so, a thought flashed through his mind: Could ringing the Imperial Bell directly immobilize the Shadow Fiend too?
In the end, however, he followed his established routine.
The instant the Gang Cave sounded, a mass of red vapor surged from its holes. A skeletal human arm wrapped in sinews emerged from the vapor and abruptly tore open the Shadow Fiend enveloping him!
Su Wu seized the chance to run through the opening. His other hand already held the Imperial Bell, ready to ring it the moment the arm bones merged with the fragments of the Shadow Fiend!
But this time, things did not go as Su Wu expected.
Instead of tearing at the Shadow Fiend to coat itself in a black membrane, the arm waving within the red vapor suddenly bent back. The joint at one end of its bones attached firmly beneath Su Wu's ribs!
A pain like having his bones ripped out and their marrow sucked dry shot straight to the top of Su Wu's skull!
In that instant, even his Composure talent failed him. An agonized howl burst from his throat: "Aaaaaah-!"
No human could bear pain like this!
Su Wu was filled with bitter regret. Why hadn't I redeemed Pain Transfer?
Regret, regret, regret!
Pain, pain, pain!
The sinews around the arm bones spread through his entire body from beneath his ribs. Amid the agony, it felt as though slender bloodsucking leeches were constantly writhing inside the wound, making it hurt even more!
The skeletal arm kept swinging beneath Su Wu's ribs.
Through the excruciating pain, Su Wu noticed that whenever his body trembled, the skeletal arm trembled with it!
It could even-obey the commands from his brain-
Whoosh!
The Shadow Fiend, which had just been torn wide open, pulled itself back together and assumed a humanoid outline. In an instant, it crossed several paces and swept over Su Wu!
At that moment, the skeletal arm beneath Su Wu's ribs reached out, tore another opening in the Shadow Fiend, and ripped off a piece of black membrane to wrap around its bones.
The skeletal arm became a pitch-black arm corded with muscle and sinew!
As the pain eased, Su Wu sprinted toward the corner of the alley to his right!
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