Chapter 48

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Chapter 48: Moment of Truth

Bai Yan returned to the office of the Demon Hunt Agency and checked the time on his phone, realizing that the time flow in both worlds was identical.

“Perhaps I didn’t go to other worlds?”

Alan had said there were no surveillance cameras in the Demon Hunt Agency’s office, otherwise he wouldn’t have entered the Babel Tower so easily.

But even if someone discovers his sudden disappearance, he can devise many excuses, and there is no need to mention the matter of Babel Tower.

He recalled everything he had experienced at Babel Tower just now; it was like a dream. In a sense, it was only now that he had truly entered the extraordinary world.

After Bai Yan had been idle all day until late at night, he stretched lazily and took out his phone to check the latest updates on auto-play.

“Log records of Core Operator Nightsaber.”

“Attempt to use her abilities proficiently and further adapt to the ‘Nyx’s cover’.”

“The butler of Nightsaber didn’t make dinner on time. She attempted to cook by herself and failed. Mood -1.”

“Ordered barbecue. Mood +1.”

Indeed, in a sense, she still lives in a down-to-earth manner. Yet Bai Yan remains somewhat unsure of how to evaluate Nightsaber’s ability to survive.

In his impression, members who used Nyx’s cover would be plunged into visual darkness for a period. For the future King of Night, this cost could be considered a gain.

And that’s why Bai Yan had given that relic to her.

Then came Psychic Dancer’s log.

“Log records of Core Operator Psychic Dancer.”

“Attempt to use Sacred Rune Athena to activate dual self-abilities and control multiple targets.”

“Exercise psychic strength. DEX +1.”

“Record the roadmap of her family.”

“Eh.”

Bai Yan was somewhat surprised that Psychic Dancer seemed to have changed after the meeting, as she started to work hard like never before.

‘What does she intend to do? She’s even keeping a record of her family’s roadmap?’

Although he doesn’t yet know who Psychic Dancer is, it’s easy to tell from the video and accent that she’s a local resident of Tatsumi City.

And from her living conditions, Bai Yan could deduce that she was likely a member of one of the several prominent families in the Platinum Zone. After all, she lives quite extravagantly.

“It seems she has some plans, though I’m not certain what yet.”

Bai Yan looked forward to it!

He realized that he was somewhat anticipating the interesting things Psychic Dancer was planning to do.

Just at that moment, a sudden mission appeared directly on the screen.

“Sudden mission!”

“Urgent!”

“Moment of truth!”

The large red characters suddenly occupied the screen; Bai Yan narrowed his eyes, and his expression became serious instantly.

“Moment of truth” is a very important and special situation in Babel Tower. If the player doesn’t make the correct decision at these moments, it may lead to the game’s collapse!

In the first round, Bai Yan had failed to complete “Moment of truth” several times, half of which directly led to bad endings, while the other half also had obvious negative effects.

For instance, the bad end of Psychic Dancer.

Queen of the Scarlet Moon went mad and consumed her maid’s life in a dying state; Psychic Dancer’s loyalty collapsed entirely. During the auto-play, she was induced by the enemy and manipulated the blood to commit mass suicide.

Afterward, the Core Operators began to divide into two groups, and conflicts escalated until everything was in chaos…

Although Bai Yan still couldn’t comprehend why the maid, who appears in the logs during auto-play without even a name, was so important to Psychic Dancer.

Nevertheless, Bai Yan learned to value every “Moment of truth,” treating each like a crucial examination.

The subtitles appeared word by word.

“The butler under Nightsaber’s employ made a mistake while purchasing necessary resources, leading to him being targeted by the ‘workers’ of the sewer and reported to the Black Star Faction.”

“Please control Nightsaber to save the butler before he perishes.”

Bai Yan understood the situation. Nightsaber had eliminated too many cultists over the past fortnight, and had drawn the attention of various parties. No one could perfectly conceal themselves and their families.

Finally, the butler was discovered by the cultists while purchasing daily necessities.

The Black Star Faction isn’t a passive villain who merely takes beatings; on the contrary, they spare no effort in hunting down their enemies.

The “workers” in the sewer actually refer to certain beings living in the lower layers of the Otherworlds.

Most of them are ordinary people without strong convictions of justice or evil. They earn money by providing services to Super operators, such as selling intelligence. Sometimes they gain the opportunity to join the Super operators.

In fact, many cultists were originally “workers” who later joined the cult after their lives became increasingly desperate.

These people dwelling in the cracks of the lower levels of the Otherworlds comprise the majority of inhabitants.

Becoming a Super operator—even if only the lowest “origin level” Super operator—is actually an extremely rare and valuable opportunity.

Major forces that can directly create Super operators zealously guard their methods. The publicly available methods are either prohibitively expensive or impossible to implement.

Bai Yan reached out and clicked on “Moment of truth,” only to be astonished to discover that there were actually two members available for the battle!

“Yes! I finally have a team for combat.”

Bai Yan wasn’t surprised at all; in fact, group battles are extremely common in “Babel Tower.”

So, he lightly clicked on the screen, selecting the characters to be deployed for the sudden mission.

Nightsaber and Psychic Dancer.

——

There were no stars in the sky tonight, only a bright and solitary moon high above.

Huo Xin calmly parked the car by the roadside, stepped out, and took a deep breath of fresh air while gazing at the moon.

He loves the moon.

He had returned slightly late, worried that Mu Ling might be hungry.

Today, Huo Xin had gone to visit the graves of his former master and other hunters.

To ensure safety, he merely stood on a mountain one kilometer away and observed through a telescope to pay his respects.

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the former head and his wife’s deaths.

Huo Xin will forever remember that day when he was powerless and could only feel regret.

At that time, Mu Ling was severely shocked and lay unconscious for several days. When she awoke, she was somewhat different.

She rarely smiles anymore, always seeming worried and anxious. She doesn’t recall the specifics of that day but is very persistent regarding her family’s changes.

Indeed, Mu Ling wasn’t born with her current personality. No one is born filled with ideals of honor and a desire to fight, while hardly spending time thinking about themselves.

Recently, Mu Ling has grown stronger, but Huo Xin remains very concerned. Besides her identity as a crime hunter, what else does she possess?

At that moment, his nose twitched slightly, and he suddenly detected a strange scent.

In the nearby alley, two groups of black-clad individuals wearing grey masks silently emerged at the intersection.

They made no sound of footsteps; they were soundless, like ghosts in the darkness.

From among the many men in black emerged two distinctively shaped cultists who could immediately be recognized as the leaders.

One was a tall and robust man exceeding three meters in height. He had a slightly decaying body beneath his black belt. He also wore a gray mask with a broad smile etched upon it.

He wielded a giant white stone pestle over two meters long. It didn’t resemble a weapon so much as a simple large stone.

The other black-haired woman was only slightly over 1.6 meters tall, with a slender figure. No emotions were visible in her black pupils. She possessed delicate facial features, but her mouth was completely sewn shut with thread.

The woman in black calmly regarded Huo Xin, extending a palm with a human mouth upon it.

The mouth opened, revealing an unusually flat young male voice.

“I am… Mystery.”

“I hope to have a discussion with the owner of Babel Tower. We should not be enemies.”

Huo Xin’s eyes narrowed, and every muscle in his body tensed!

It’s him!

Mr. Mystery! The Black Star Faction’s high priest in Tatsumi City, the mastermind behind the destruction of the hunt families!

“Mr. Huo Xin.”

“I no longer harbor any grudge against the hunter. As long as you are willing to sign a ‘contract’ and help me contact the owner of Babel Tower, you may live here.”

Huo Xin’s expression became very complex.

“No grudge?” His tone grew increasingly heavy, and the anger in his words was impossible to suppress.

“You slaughtered so many crime-hunters and utterly destroyed the family I was loyal to. For so many years, I have been in hiding because of you.”

“And you destroyed Miss Mu Ling’s life. Joy, love, and laughter that she could have experienced were all taken away by you!”

“Now, you claim you no longer have any grudge?”

Huo Xin’s eyes grew increasingly red, his muscles swelled to inhuman proportions, and his facial hair thickened.

“But I have always harbored hatred for you!”

“I wish to tear you apart and devour you!”

The mouth on the black-haired woman’s hand continued: “So, it was actually a wolf raising up the hunter.”

The slim and exquisite suit was torn asunder. Covered in silver-gray fur, he appeared like a work of art under the moonlight, displaying all the charm that violent aesthetics could convey.

The tall werewolf stood in the moonlight, elegant yet filled with murderous intent. Its blood-red eyes contained years of accumulated hatred.

“Ooh!”

The werewolf howled mournfully under the moon!

“Because wolves were raised by former hunters!”