Chapter 495 - 429: Title Upgrade, The Scarlet Retreats

Chapter 495: Chapter 429: Title Upgrade, The Scarlet Retreats

The moment the prompt appeared, Guan Tong chose to consume it.

At the same time, a flurry of thoughts flashed through his mind:

’This Red Halo, which humanity called the "Source of Fear," is apparently named the "Wailing Furnace." It’s just like how humans once called the monster that turned corpses into the Living Dead a "Screamer," but its true name in the hidden rules was "Mother Transformer." And since this "Wailing Furnace" can be absorbed by my title for experience, it means that, just like the Nanomites Swarm, it must be some kind of special life-form.’

But this was different from the piece of the Nanomites Swarm he had split off. For one, that small cluster of Nanomites Swarm didn’t provide enough experience to level up his title. For another, the Nanomites Swarm had strategic value, so Guan Tong had decided to keep it for the time being instead of feeding it to his title.

Now, the experience from this "Wailing Furnace" was enough to level up his title directly. Since Guan Tong couldn’t control it at all, his only choice was to consume it and use it as a stepping stone for his title.

After he made his decision, a net of golden light appeared and bound the "Wailing Furnace."

As the golden light intensified, the Red Halo gradually dissipated, and the entire red Consciousness Space trembled and crumbled along with it.

Countless shrill screams suddenly erupted from within, a mixture of various tones. There were human screams, as well as screams in some unknown languages, making Guan Tong’s head feel like it was about to split open.

’Are these the screams of the victims? Or...’

Listening to those sounds, Guan Tong could barely think straight. Fortunately, the process didn’t last long. Seven or eight seconds later, the "Wailing Furnace" was completely devoured by the net of golden light.

A new prompt appeared.

[Title upgraded to ’Middle-Level Civilization Observer’]

Guan Tong was slightly stunned.

’Middle-Level? It seems leveling up once isn’t the limit; this title can be upgraded further. I wonder if the title’s effects have changed now that it’s at the middle level.’

Just then, as the "Wailing Furnace" dissipated, the red Consciousness Space completely shattered into fragments.

Guan Tong felt his consciousness instantly pulled away. The next moment, he was back in reality, inside his own body, sitting on the metal chair.

’...Is it over?’

He blinked his sore eyes, which then widened slightly.

Outside the porthole, the eerie crimson color was receding from Terra Star.

The Apocalypse Rules weren’t supposed to end for another day, yet the crimson was already retreating from Terra Star. The implication was self-evident!

A few seconds later, several cries of alarm came through the room’s communicator.

Zhang Minglu’s voice was particularly loud.

"Guan Tong! Why is the Crimson Fear on Terra Star disappearing? Did you defeat the Apocalypse Rules?!"

"...I suppose so."

Guan Tong couldn’t say for sure, but he was fairly certain that the "Wailing Furnace" was the core of this particular rule. Since it had been devoured as an experience pack by his [Civilization Observer] title, the Apocalypse Rule would naturally end early without its core support.

This was somewhat similar to how the Living Dead in that area had stopped transforming after he killed the [Mother Transformer].

"My God! You actually managed to do something like that!" Vilanko’s shocked voice followed. "It’s simply unbelievable! What in the world happened during those fifteen minutes?!"

’Has it only been fifteen minutes...’

Guan Tong checked the time. It really had been fifteen minutes.

But his reserve Psychic Power was down to just a few tens of thousands. It was clear how much power had been consumed by the "Wailing Furnace’s" counterattack during that final stage, when he felt like the Stability Anchor Totem was about to burn through his palm.

He glanced at the palm of his right hand. The Stability Anchor Totem was still there, and his hand was completely unharmed. But the pain from before had been excruciating, and now, due to the psychological impact, he was still feeling some phantom pain.

"Just now..."

Guan Tong started to speak but didn’t continue.

He had already revealed quite a few of his abilities and secrets, but it was all within an acceptable range.

Things like Shadow and Silver Hunter—if others knew, they knew. It was impossible to hide them anyway, since Guan Tong often relied on them in battle.

But his most core secrets could not be revealed. The [Wordless Book] was a given, but his [Civilization Observer] title and his [Sensing Malice] passive ability were also crucial and could not be exposed.

That being the case, how to explain what happened in the Consciousness Space to the others required some careful consideration.

However, before he could deliberate for more than a few seconds, Zhang Minglu said, "Whatever happened, looking at you drenched in sweat, you must be mentally exhausted. You should rest for half an hour. After that, we have something important to tell you!"

Hearing this, Guan Tong raised a hand to wipe his forehead and indeed found it covered in warm sweat.

It seemed that even though everything had just happened in the Consciousness Space, his body had still been affected.

Considering he had felt dizzy and nauseous in that space, endured two incredibly realistic, terrifying scenes, and then suffered intense burning pain to capture the "Wailing Furnace"... for all of that to result in just a bit of sweat instead of a total collapse from exhaustion was a testament to his amazing physical constitution.

Although he didn’t know what "important matter" Zhang Minglu wanted to tell him, he really did need to rest first.

"I’m going to go wash up. I’ll be in the main cabin in half an hour."

...

「Dream Ship One」

Inside the cockpit, Robert sat before the control console, clutching a keycard with a built-in chip. The card was inscribed with the words "Team Leader - Wei Xuan."

Zhang Minglu and the others had guessed correctly. The reason Robert was able to obtain the highest operational authority for Dream Ship One was because he had used Wei Xuan’s keycard.