https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-244-The-First-Phase-of-the-Shadow/12850395/
Chapter 245: When It Comes to Team Wipes, They Come Swiftly
Chapter 245: When It Comes to Team Wipes, They Come Swiftly
Qin Muye was pondering something. Why, after all this time, hadn't his "team wipe engine" sent all his Shadow Management Bureau teammates packing?
They had been here for over two months, and everything had been calm and peaceful.
He didn't think it was because his temporary skill had stopped being problematic. More likely, it was because something was brewing—a crisis that could wipe out all his teammates at once.
"By this logic, does all of humanity count as my teammates?"
Following this train of thought, Qin Muye's imagination ran wild. If he hadn't come to this world, there would be no team wipe engine, and thus, the great cosmic upheaval might not have happened at all.
In that case, it was actually because he, this harbinger of disaster, had the ability to attract calamity without the corresponding protagonist's luck, yet was forced to do the protagonist's job.
If he succeeded, it would be a good thing; if he failed, he would run away.
Thinking this, Qin Muye bit back a curse. In a sense, the Instance World had also been deceived.
They had finally managed to produce a protagonist to save the world, but the "Lords of the Epoch" had replaced it with a counterfeit. Forget saving the world, it would be a miracle if he could save himself.
"Whatever, I need to prepare anyway." Qin Muye, who had been living in peace for two months, felt that his tranquility wouldn't last much longer.
"The shadow has already reached the solid shadow stage. Once it fully merges with the divine lamp, it can enter the third stage of shadow transformation."
Qin Muye looked at his shadow. After he had analyzed and further improved the divine lamp, he had implanted it into his shadow, which had transformed from a phantom shadow to a solid shadow over two months.
At the solid shadow stage, his shadow currently looked like a blob of slime, bearing no resemblance to others' shadows.
Other people's shadows, having intersected with the spirits and souls of their shadow wielders during the phantom shadow stage, took on human forms, similar to the little black figures in Detective Conan.
Initially, these shadows were somewhat crude, but they gradually developed to become more refined.
Once they became fully similar, they would collapse into a shadow cocoon.
However, Qin Muye's shadow was different. It had never intersected with his spirit and soul, and was entirely shaped by Qin Muye's hands. Therefore, it could only remain a blob of shadow, and being able to move at all was already a significant achievement.
Qin Muye wasn't concerned about its appearance; as long as it worked, that was all that mattered. Although he had inherited the artistic perspective of the Titan god race, it didn't mean he would be swayed by it.
He could appreciate beautiful things without needing to possess them himself.
Just like how he wanted to live a laid-back life, the "Lords of the Epoch" didn't necessarily let him do so. In his previous life, lying low might have been acceptable, but here, the cost of lying low was not poverty but death.
"Professor Li, something big has happened." Zongsi rushed over in a hurry.
"???" Qin Muye was taken aback. What, had his team wipe engine kicked in? How could something big happen so suddenly?
"The Yin Mountain Army's seal has collapsed, and the Shadow Realm has opened again. Qingjiao and the others have already rushed to seal it." Zongsi panted.
"Isn't that a good thing? Why is it a big deal?" Although Qin Muye suspected that those who went to seal it might already be wiped out, he couldn't say it outright, so he asked as usual.
"But the Shadow Realm hasn't been sealed, and all the team leaders have lost contact. We need to find a way to evacuate as soon as possible." Zongsi said.
Qin Muye silently praised Zongsi in his heart. Good friend, even when running away, he didn't forget to call him.
"But if we evacuate now, what about the Shadow Realm?" Qin Muye, of course, wanted to run, but he couldn't show his eagerness.
"I've already informed the headquarters. They have ordered us to ensure Professor Li's safety and escort you to headquarters as quickly as possible." Zongsi said, preparing to lead Qin Muye away.
"..."
Honestly, it was the first time Qin Muye had encountered someone who eagerly led a disaster magnet into their home. With the power of his temporary skill, he didn't even dare to summon more spirits.
The previous spirits had all shown signs of near-death, and if their numbers increased, Qin Muye feared real problems would arise.
"Alright, let's go then." Qin Muye said with a mix of reluctance and resignation.
He had developed feelings for this place. These people had gathered a large amount of information and intelligence for him, and they often brought him gifts, which, though small, were heavy in sentiment. They had also taken the blame for him on multiple occasions.
Qin Muye thought that the group had taken all the relics, and he himself had greedily acquired a lot of good things, but the others just didn't know it.
Every time, Qin Muye would let the Gospel Goblins go first to confirm and then pick what he needed. After he was done, he would tell them to go and open the relics, conveniently letting them take the blame.
For this, they even thanked Qin Muye.
Qin Muye and Zongsi hurriedly left the Shadow Management Bureau's base. The headquarters had already arranged a special plane, and they just needed to get to the airport and board it to leave.
However, just as their car left the base, the ground started to shake violently.
In the distance, a massive black shadow seemed to have broken free from its prison, its towering body connecting the sky and the earth.
"Ancient Shadow Monster! This can't be!!!" Zongsi, upon seeing the massive black shadow, was shocked and terrified, his voice trembling and distorted.
Shadow Monsters are classified into two main categories: regular and ancient.
Regular ones, like the black panther Qin Muye had encountered before, were not very powerful.
But the truly terrifying ones were the Ancient Shadow Monsters. These creatures were extremely large, with the smaller ones being as big as a fifty-story building, and the larger ones, like the one Qin Muye was seeing now, had their heads reaching into the clouds.
"This is not scientific at all," Qin Muye also complained.
Firstly, the size of the Shadow Realm entrance here was not big enough for the Ancient Shadow Monster to come out, let alone with the seal still in place.
The seal was not weak; under normal circumstances, the Ancient Shadow Monster would not be able to break through it.
"Professor Li, I think we might not need to evacuate now," Zongsi swallowed hard, his voice hoarse.
Qin Muye agreed. They indeed didn't need to escape; this thing seemed to be rampaging and preparing to eat the Shadow Users.
The Ancient Shadow Monster resembled a humanoid form, covered in black fur, with several heads on its shoulders. From a distance, one could see the heads of lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, and bears, and the black fur was adorned with patterns similar to those found on Shadow Stones.
The patterns looked chaotic but could form totem-like shapes when observed closely.
Shadow Monsters and Dead Shadows had no appetite for ordinary people; their food was each other and Shadow Users.
Now that they were in the human world, there were no Dead Shadows or other Shadow Monsters, so the Shadow Users and ordinary people were the unfortunate ones.
Yes, including ordinary people.
Although the Ancient Shadow Monster had no appetite for ordinary people, it wouldn't care about them either. With each movement, many ordinary people were trampled.
Such a massive body naturally had a great weight. If it stepped on someone, even a small amount of force would be enough to cause severe injuries.
"Zongsi, how confident are you?" Qin Muye asked calmly.
"Thirty percent chance of being chewed up, thirty percent chance of being swallowed whole, and thirty percent chance of being tasted slowly," Zongsi replied, regaining his composure and even managing a joke.
"So, we have a ten percent chance of survival?" Qin Muye was somewhat surprised; that was not a negligible probability.
But Zongsi shook his head: "No, the remaining ten percent is the chance that the Ancient Shadow Monster won't stop in time and steps on us."
"..."
Well, this guy was quite optimistic; it really was a situation of certain death.
So, Qin Muye thought, maybe he should take action?
After transforming, he might not be as tall or as big as the Ancient Shadow Monster, but with his various talents and skills, a few explosive strikes could kill it.
However, if he really did that, the casualties in the entire city would likely be even greater than if the Ancient Shadow Monster were allowed to rampage.
"Zongsi, don't you have any connections? At a time like this, shouldn't some divine warriors appear to kill this monster?" Qin Muye complained.
"I've already notified the headquarters. The divine warriors are on their way, but we might not have the time to wait. The bigwigs from headquarters need time to get here," Zongsi said calmly.
"If all else fails, we should struggle a bit. Sitting here waiting to die isn't good."
"There's no need to struggle. Struggling won't help. The divine warriors are here."
Just as Zongsi finished speaking, several streaks of light shot through the sky and struck the Ancient Shadow Monster.
(End of Chapter)
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