Chapter 86 The Shadow's Further Strengthening
[The Safe Zone is Shrinking]
As the Firebringer's voice rang out, the black wall surrounding the island shrank further.
The location of the Holy Grail Church was already near the edge of the black wall; it would be swallowed up the next time the safe zone shrank.
At this moment, the first team to arrive at the church was momentarily stunned by the densely packed undead at the entrance.
As the team closest to the church, they rushed over immediately after receiving the news to see if there was any chance to seize it.
They didn't believe that the team that obtained the Holy Grail was necessarily very strong; it was likely just luck that they had discovered this hidden treasure.
Therefore, they devised a plan: after grabbing the Holy Grail, they would immediately run towards the black wall! That's right, they planned to take the Holy Grail to the edge of the black wall and then threaten the pursuing stronger teams.
"If you dare attack our team, we'll immediately throw the Holy Grail into the Black Wall, and no one will get it! If you want the Holy Grail, trade points for it. Send someone from your team to kill and eliminate us, and we'll give you the Holy Grail if we get a high score and secure a ranking!"
This way, they might be able to achieve a big win with a small investment, allowing even a weak team to reach the top ten and claim the rewards.
However, the plan was beautiful, but the first step, "seizing" it, went wrong.
"Big brother, am I seeing things? Why are there so many undead here?"
"Are they guarding the church?"
"...It's more likely that someone from the team inside has some item or skill that can summon these things."
The captain had barely finished speaking when one of his teammates accidentally entered the undead's 30-meter range. Instantly, one undead, followed by many, roared and charged at them!
"Holy crap!"
"Big brother, should we retreat?!"
"Roar!!!"
For a weak team, dealing with a few undead individually is easy. But facing an attack from hundreds of undead simultaneously is extremely dangerous.
The group immediately considered retreating, but before they could run far, they discovered that the undead had stopped their pursuit and all returned to the church entrance as if receiving some kind of command.
"Just as I suspected!" the captain said. "I guessed right. These undead must have been summoned by someone in the Grail Team, and they're under their command!"
"Listen, we need to devise a strategy. One of us will lure the horde away, and the remaining four will take advantage of the situation..."
Before the captain could finish speaking, he suddenly realized his teammates had stopped moving.
He glanced at the team roster; all four of his teammates' names were blacked out, leaving him completely stunned.
When...?
"Heh, is this all the strength your team has to come and join the fun? You're really overestimating yourselves."
A disdainful female voice sounded behind him. Before the captain could turn around, he felt a sharp pain in his neck as a delicate, small dagger silently sliced open his throat.
A petite woman, having wiped out the entire team, twirled her dagger and turned to say, "My assassination skills aren't bad, are they?"
However, she froze the next moment, for standing not far behind her weren't her teammates, but five indistinct strangers.
In the team roster, the names of her teammates were all blacked out.
"They're not the only ones who overestimate themselves; you include them too,"
one of the five said. The woman holding the dagger gritted her teeth and turned to flee. But she had only taken two steps when she felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if something had pierced her body.
A bullet? The enemy had a weapon? And a silenced one at that!
The woman reacted quickly, but it was too late. The next moment, she was shot in the back of the head and instantly killed.
One of the five men was holding a silenced pistol. The man next to him praised, "Captain, you truly deserve the title of National Shooting Champion; your accuracy is as reassuring as ever!"
"Alright," the captain said, holding the pistol. "Don't get entangled with those undead guarding the gate. Xu Wei, distract them, and we'll rush in and seize the Holy Grail."
"Yes, sir!"
The woman named Xu Wei quickly rushed into the horde's perimeter and ran towards the side of the church, drawing them away from the entrance.
The remaining men, led by their captain, immediately rushed to the entrance, but they were immediately met with a surge of undead.
"Still appearing in droves? Old Tie, clear the way."
"Leave it to me!"
The man called Old Tie pulled out his psychic weapon, a giant hammer more than half a man's height!
"Get the hell out of here!!!"
Old Tie roared, swinging the hammer and spinning it, smashing away all the undead surging from the entrance.
The group then rushed into the church, only to find it filled with white smoke, visibility extremely poor, and they couldn't see anything clearly.
"Immediately use reconnaissance drones to pinpoint the enemy's location."
"Yes, sir!"
Several drones flew out simultaneously, and the scan results were all consistent.
Besides them, there was only one person inside the church! "The Grail Team
only has one person?!" The person was in a corner of the church, and the captain immediately drew his gun and fired in that direction. Several shots were fired, but there was no reaction ; it was unclear whether they hit. But the next moment , one of the team members with special reconnaissance abilities shouted, "Watch out! An attack is approaching!" Boom! ... Another series of explosions erupted around them. This simple yet powerful bombardment instantly cost the group seven or eight valuable defensive items. "Charge in and engage in close combat!"
The captain took the lead, and the group rushed towards the scanning location, but they were blocked by a black wall after only a few steps.
"What is this?!"
"I'll break through the wall!" Old Tie roared, swinging his giant hammer and smashing it against the black wall. A strange scene unfolded.
The "black wall" seemed soft; the spot hit by the hammer caved in, then quickly returned to its original shape.
Before Old Tie and the others could even react, similar black walls rose up all around them, completely blocking out the light. They were plunged into darkness, unable to see anything.
"What is this?!"
"Use it—"
Before their voices could finish, countless sharp spikes emerged from the black walls, piercing through all four of them. Then the black walls collapsed, and all four perished, eliminated.
"What a rare luxury..."
After their deaths, not far from them, Guan Tong's figure emerged from the mist.
Constantly shifting between reality and illusion with his shadow, coupled with the energy drain from solidifying it into a large volume, consumes tens of points of mental energy per second on average. Without the "Infinite Mental Energy" buff, he could never afford to abuse his shadow to this extent.
"In just over a minute, several teams have arrived... These are the ones nearby, and many more are on their way. Many of them should be stronger than this one,"
Guan Tong thought, glancing at his [Wordless Book]. He had already added words to the first page.
The original "Transforming Entity Guan Tong" now had two more words added before it: "Five Senses," becoming "Five Senses Transforming Entity Guan Tong."
Indeed, the reason Guan Tong could accurately attack the teams rushing into the church while hiding in the smoke was because he had imbued his shadow with the five senses:
sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
With this ability, the shadow, once solidified, could fully or partially utilize its sensory abilities according to Guan Tong's will.
Guan Tong had just activated the shadow's visual senses, sharing what the shadow saw with himself, allowing him to see others even in the fog.
Combined with Silver Hunter's No. 4 smoke grenade, unless the enemy possessed the ability or item to see through the fog, or had a way to dispel it, he would generally gain the upper hand in battle.
Besides the "five senses," he also tried writing more powerful words like "indestructible," "teleportation," and "invisibility," but all were ineffective.
Guan Tong believed this was likely related to his insufficient mental power limit. Even if he could write the words with unlimited mental power, the mental power limit prevented him from realizing them.
Therefore, he focused on practical enhancements that could be used immediately.
At that moment, more commotion arose outside, and more and more teams arrived. Guan Tong had already sent his shadow to transform into an eye shape, hanging on the brickwork at the church entrance to monitor the outside situation.
After sharing vision, he could see that the teammate who had been responsible for drawing away the horde of zombies had fled, presumably scared off by the completely blacked-out team list.
Shortly after she ran away, several teams, totaling dozens of people, arrived outside the church. However, instead of attacking, they started fighting amongst themselves for the right to enter!
Guan Tong almost laughed, but this infighting was good; it allowed him to focus on strengthening himself. Otherwise, facing a multitude of attacks, even if he could handle it, his strengthening speed would be slowed by distraction.
Just like converting his stored mental energy through the third page of the [Wordless Book], this process required a certain degree of concentration.
"I currently have the Holy Grail for 3 minutes, leaving 27 minutes. If I use all of it to convert stored mental energy, with my maximum of 132 points, at a conversion ratio of 10:1, the conversion process takes 3 seconds, converting 13 points every 3 seconds… Under undisturbed conditions, 27 minutes is enough to store 7020 points of mental energy!"
This number was undoubtedly exaggerated, but Guan Tong knew it was unrealistic. First, 27 minutes without interference was impossible. Let alone 27, with more and more teams arriving, he'd be lucky to have 10 minutes of undisturbed time in total!
Secondly, compared to simply accumulating mental power, he considered further strengthening the [Book Without Words] more important. Now that "Shadow" had gained the ability of the five senses, "Silver Hunter" definitely needed further enhancement as well.
"Boom!!!"
Just as Guan Tong was thinking about strengthening, a loud noise suddenly came from the roof of the church. Someone had launched an attack from above!
Accompanied by a large amount of broken bricks falling from above, a large figure also descended from the sky, landing with a thud in the middle of the church.
Guan Tong looked closely and was immediately shocked.
What broke through the roof was not a human, but a light white humanoid mecha over three meters tall!
There are such props? Is this person a mecha anime fanatic?
"Zzzzz—!"
There was obviously a human pilot inside the mecha. Accompanied by a crackling sound, a lightsaber-like weapon appeared in the right hand of the mecha, and a mechanical voice came from the mecha.
"Listen up, you hiding in the fog! Hand over the Holy Grail and I'll let you go!"
"..."
Guan Tong stared at the mecha, ignoring everything else, and unleashed dozens of No. 3 rounds at it with his Silver Hunter!
"Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom—!"
"Looks like negotiations failed, so don't blame me for taking it by force! Super Shield, activate!" A
light
purple shield covered the mecha, neutralizing all the No. 3 high-explosive rounds.
Guan Tong was somewhat surprised, but not panicked. He knew very well that such a powerful mecha would consume a huge amount of mental energy per second, and the pilot didn't have an infinite mental energy buff, so it definitely wouldn't last long.
"Power Sword Combo!"
The mecha pilot shouted, moving swiftly and slashing at Guan Tong with his lightsaber!
This mecha can even lock onto my position in the smoke?
Although Guan Tong had his Shadow Armor covering his body, he still used his grappling hook to grab the wall and quickly leave his spot to avoid being attacked.
The mecha turned to give chase, but the next moment, a large number of shadows "climbed" onto its body. Although they couldn't penetrate it, they pulled it tightly, making it difficult to move.
"What are these dark things? How disgusting! Take them away!!!"
Guan Tong heard the disgusted voice coming from inside the mecha and figured the pilot was probably a young girl.
He immediately targeted its weakness, deforming the shadows. In an instant, all sorts of disgusting shadows, shaped like feces and tentacles, were spread all over the mecha!
This tactic actually worked! The driver, yelling "Get out of here!", swung his lightsaber, severing the shadows binding him, and charged straight out of the church, seemingly forgetting all about his mission to seize the Holy Grail.
Guan Tong, seeing this, was speechless: "...What a weirdo."
Chapter 87 Silver Hunter Enhancement and Clearing Time
. Central area of Holy Grail Island.
In the deepest room of a magnificent castle stood a tall, handsome man with long, flowing golden hair.
Four women with high noses and deep-set eyes surrounded him. Before them lay a chest inlaid with numerous gemstones.
"Beautiful ladies, this exquisite treasure chest perfectly complements your beauty. Would anyone like to open it themselves?"
The man looked at the four women, who all shook their heads.
One of them said, "Adam, you should open this precious chest yourself."
The man named "Adam" smiled charmingly, "Since you ladies are so modest, I will open it."
Adam then used five keys to open the chest.
Inside, a dazzling golden light revealed a wealth of valuable resources and items, as well as an ancient parchment scroll.
Adam didn't touch the props. Instead, he picked up the parchment and opened it. On it was written a line: "I have placed the legendary Holy Grail in an abandoned church. If you want it, go and get it." "
Oh dear," Adam sighed regretfully, "What a pity, it's leaked information."
He casually tossed the parchment aside. One of the women in his group picked it up, and the other three women read the contents as well.
One of them exclaimed in surprise, "It seems the secret of the 'Holy Grail' is hidden in this parchment. Logically, only those who reach the castle in the center of the island and enter the deepest room to open the treasure chest will know... How did the team that got the Holy Grail early know?"
"Who knows?" Adam shrugged. "Maybe it was just luck."
The four women looked at each other, and one of them asked, "Adam, are you really not going to try to get the Holy Grail? With your strength, you can definitely succeed."
"You all know me. I don't like using violence." Adam shook his head slightly. "Besides, I know that Lucifer will definitely try to get it. It won't be easy for me to protect you all from that violent maniac."
The four women were moved by his words and said, "Adam, you don't need to worry about us. Besides, dying on this Holy Grail Island isn't really dying, it's just being eliminated!"
Adam looked at them with pity: "Although you won't die, the pain of death is real, and I don't want you to experience that pain."
"Adam..."
"Bullshit! Someone actually got here first!" At this moment, a rough and abusive voice came from the doorway, instantly destroying the tender atmosphere between Adam and the four women.
The four women glared furiously at the doorway, where another team was crowding the entrance, led by a burly man.
"Five women?" the man scoffed. "There's even a team like this? Hand over the items you took from the gem box! Otherwise—"
"Kill!"
The four women beside Adam instantly attacked, slicing the man into pieces in the blink of an eye. His teammates, shocked, rushed to defend themselves, but quickly met the same fate.
Inside the room, Adam watched this scene, sighing and shaking his head. "Sigh, when will humans stop fighting and killing each other? Wouldn't it be better if everyone lived in peace and had more children…?"
…
[23 minutes remaining until the Holy Grail's ownership is determined]
Every team could clearly see this notification, which appeared every minute, telling the teams vying for the Holy Grail how much time they had left.
Now, after the mech broke through from the top, destroying the church's structure, the other teams followed suit, using their weapons and items to damage the church walls.
They thought this would leave the Grail team nowhere to hide, exposing them to the public eye and making them easy targets.
But the moment the church was completely destroyed, what everyone saw wasn't the Grail team, but a sky full of white fog!
No one could describe how dense the fog was; it was overwhelming, covering everything.
Originally, only teams rushing into the church would encounter the fog. Now that the church was destroyed, Guan Tong stopped pretending and frantically fired No. 4 smoke grenades and No. 3 high-explosive grenades in all directions.
Anyway, he had no teammates, so he didn't need to worry about friendly fire. Everyone else was an enemy.
The teams trapped in the fog were dumbfounded. On the one hand, they couldn't see anything, and on the other hand, they could be killed by explosions from who-knows-where. In addition,
they were attacked by seemingly endless, constantly emerging undead. The explosions, the roars of the undead, and the battle cries of the contestants... made everyone feel like they were in some kind of purgatory!
The most critical issue was that the person wielding the Holy Grail seemed to have blended into the crowd, making it impossible to pinpoint their location. This caused most teams to engage in chaotic, haphazard fighting.
Guan Tong, clad in shadow armor, was concealed within the crowd by the thick fog. He continuously summoned undead while indiscriminately firing his Silver Hunter weapon, all the while pondering how to enhance it.
He had just tried adding the word "guided" to give the No. 3 missile a tracking and striking capability. This would increase his accuracy against fast-moving enemies like the "Mother Converter."
However, after adding the word, the materialization failed. This indicated that his current mental power limit didn't support this.
Then, he heard a buzzing sound in the sky,
and a sudden inspiration struck him! This inspiration was related to the reconnaissance drones flying around, which were a real problem for him. He only had one jammer in his temporary backpack, which he had already used.
Therefore, if he could jam these drones and any other devices that could track and monitor him, it would greatly help him conceal his whereabouts in the future.
The three letters immediately jumped into his mind.
"EMP!"
EMP stands for Electromagnetic Pulse, which is extremely destructive to electronic devices, and it was undoubtedly exactly what Guan Tong needed to deal with the drone problem!
He immediately added the words "Electromagnetic Pulse" before "Smoke Claw Gun" in the [Wordless Book], recalled Silver Hunter, and took it out again.
Luckily, he had the "Infinite Mental Power" buff, otherwise he really wouldn't dare to do this. After all, recalling and taking it out like this would clear all the stored bullets—but now with the buff, it didn't matter, he could generate bullets while firing!
After resummoning Silver Hunter, Guan Tong noticed that the gun body hadn't changed, so he chose to generate bullets. Under the 1-4 categories, a new No. 5 bullet appeared!
Success!
The moment he saw the No. 5 bullet, Guan Tong immediately chose to generate it.
He discovered that it required a whopping 50 points of mental power to generate an "Electromagnetic Pulse Bullet," which was incredibly expensive.
After generating it, he immediately pulled the trigger in the air.
"Zzz—!"
What shot out of the muzzle wasn't a bullet, but a deep blue beam of light!
The beam exploded in the air, sending sparks flying from the drones flying within a certain radius, which then plummeted to the ground.
"Not bad!"
Although the effective range of this electromagnetic pulse wave wasn't very large, only about a dozen meters in radius, it was enough for him.
In a critical moment, it could at least be used to destroy drones, cameras, and other surveillance equipment, reducing the enemy's ability to track him to some extent.
"That's enough adding words to the wordless book."
Guan Tong checked the time he had left to hold the Holy Grail; 21 minutes remained. He planned to use some of this time to store mental energy and Silver Hunter bullets, but the former required focused, undisturbed concentration.
In this chaotic environment, with his thick shadow armor constantly being attacked by random items, it was impossible to calmly complete the conversion.
So…
Guan Tong's eyes changed slightly: "Looks like it's time to clear the area."
If anyone thought that continuously firing a mixture of No. 3 high-explosive shells and No. 4 smoke grenades was cruel enough, they simply didn't know what Guan Tong's truly ruthless methods were.
For him, his most capable assistant was always his "shadow," and with the buff of "infinite mental power," the shadow could create a truly terrifying inferno.
With a thought, Guan Tong rapidly channeled a massive amount of mental power, transforming it into spike-shaped shadows that spread from the ground within the smoke.
"...This is also for efficiency in clearing the area; hopefully, no one will be traumatized,"
Guan Tong thought. His maximum mental power output per second caused the spiked shadows to materialize!
In an instant, all the spiked shadows solidified, and the contestants standing on them were pierced without warning, dying in pain and unspeakable fear!
Even those who weren't hit were terrified. Some, witnessing their teammates suddenly pierced by several black spikes, screamed in terror and collapsed.
Guan Tong named this move "Thorn Shadow Killing Array."
In just a few seconds, it claimed the lives of hundreds, even thousands, of contestants in the white mist.
Despite the smoke obscuring the view, many witnessed the horrific scene firsthand.
The vast majority of the surviving contestants instantly collapsed, unable to bear it any longer.
They completely lost the will to fight, abandoning their quest for the Holy Grail and sprinting headlong in one direction, hoping to escape the fog and end this nightmare.
Some succeeded, some failed, but those who made it out barely had time to celebrate before they found a group of over fifty people blocking their path.
Leading them was the "Alpha Wolf" of the Tulip Federation.
To arrive quickly, he had ordered the weaker members to contribute any speed-enhancing items, allowing this small group of about fifty people to reach them in less than ten minutes.
"Destroy them!" the Alpha Wolf commanded. The wolf pack immediately launched a coordinated attack on the groups fleeing from the white fog!
These wolf pack members were extremely ferocious, fearless, and tightly coordinated. Therefore, even though hundreds escaped from the white mist, they were quickly wiped out by this elite pack of fifty, with only a few managing to escape.
Some members of the pack wanted to give chase, but the alpha wolf stopped them. The alpha wolf gazed at the vast expanse of white mist not far ahead and said, "That group has held the Holy Grail for too long; we must seize it as soon as possible… Hmm?!"
Suddenly, as if sensing something, the alpha wolf looked up at the sky, its pupils instantly contracting.
High above, it saw a figure with jet-black wings, suspended in the air! This instantly reminded it of a name the Federation intelligence agency had specifically warned it to be careful of.
"It's Lucifer of the Soro Empire… He really came!"
Chapter 88 Combat and Restraint
Lucifer hovered high in the sky, looking down.
Following the guidance, he knew the team possessing the Holy Grail was in that vast cloud of smoke. But the fact that so many contestants had fled in terror from the smoke earlier, coupled with the fact that the Holy Grail hadn't changed hands yet, clearly demonstrated the strength of the Holy Grail team.
Perfect.
Lucifer hated fighting the weak; to him, it was utterly boring.
For him, fighting the strong was even more appealing than the Holy Grail itself.
But before that, he had to get rid of these troublesome guys…
Lucifer's gaze fell on the tightly packed wolf pack, quickly locking onto the alpha wolf, who was also looking at him with wary eyes.
Whoosh—!
Black wings flapped, and Lucifer swooped down at incredible speed. Before the wolf pack members could even see clearly, several were already eliminated.
"Attack!"
the alpha wolf commanded, and all the wolf pack members with ranged items or skills used them.
However, Lucifer's flight speed was too fast. Non-targeting items and skills all missed, and targeted attacks seemed to be absorbed, causing almost no damage.
This shocked and bewildered many in the Wolf Pack.
"What's going on?!"
"His wings are too fast! We can't hit him at all!"
"Damn it, his wings are too powerful. Those things should consume a lot of mental energy, right? How can he keep flying like this?!"
Hearing the Wolf Pack's whispers, the alpha wolf suddenly realized that the Federation's intelligence agency's speculation might be true!
Since the establishment of the Tulip Federation, the intelligence agency had been dedicated to collecting information on powerful Ascended individuals worldwide through various means.
Lucifer of the Soro Empire was undoubtedly one of the best Ascended individuals; his black wings had become his personal trademark.
Moreover, Lucifer had almost no sense of secrecy, sometimes even deliberately revealing his location to attract powerful opponents to fight him.
Therefore, after studying Lucifer's combat records, the intelligence agency made a speculation:
Lucifer possessed the ability to replenish his mental energy by killing enemies in battle!
"Wolves, heed my command!" Realizing this, the alpha wolf immediately ordered, "Withdraw from the battlefield immediately!"
If Lucifer could truly replenish his psychic energy by killing enemies, then the wolf pack would become his life support, continuously supplying him with psychic energy! The wolf pack
obeyed without question, immediately following the alpha wolf's command and retreating en masse.
Lucifer, seeing this, did not pursue, but looked at the only remaining alpha wolf.
"Lucifer, I know you can replenish your psychic energy by killing enemies, and perhaps your wings have other special abilities. But now that I'm alone, how will you replenish it?"
Lucifer said indifferently, "Of course, with your life."
The alpha wolf sneered, rolling up his left sleeve. A hawk tattoo appeared on his left arm, glowing as psychic energy was injected.
Whoosh!
The tattoo's light suddenly enveloped the alpha wolf's entire body, and the next moment, the human vanished without a trace, replaced by a gigantic hawk with a sharp beak and talons!
"Beast transformation ability, huh?"
Lucifer's eyes flashed with excitement. The next moment, he proactively flapped his wings and charged towards the transformed alpha wolf!
After transforming into a giant eagle, the alpha wolf's mental energy was rapidly draining away every second. He knew he only had ten seconds at most; if he couldn't kill Lucifer within ten seconds, he would be the one to die!
He let out a high-pitched eagle cry, flapping his massive wings and colliding head-on with Lucifer's charge!
The two passed each other in an instant.
A chunk of flesh appeared in the eagle's mouth, bitten off from Lucifer's face, though it had originally intended to bite his throat.
Lucifer, however, held a broken wing in his hand, plucked from the eagle's body.
"Roar!"
A deafening roar sounded from behind. Without turning his head, Lucifer flapped his wings and his body suddenly rose, dodging the attack from behind.
He looked down and saw that the eagle had now transformed into another beast, a black bear. But this transformation was incomplete; only its upper body was bear-like, while its legs were human-like!
Lucifer knew this was a sign of insufficient mental energy. He himself was the same; if he couldn't continuously replenish his mental energy during battle, his flight time would only last less than half a minute.
It was time to end it.
Lucifer threw away the eagle wing he had torn off and swooped down at full speed!
*Thud!*
After another collision, the black bear fell to the ground, and Lucifer held a heart in his hand.
"Lucifer… I won't let you go…"
the alpha wolf, now back in human form, said with difficulty. Having his heart ripped out in his beast form, he would suffer a fatal wound upon returning to human form, one that couldn't be healed by ordinary medicine or items.
Lucifer ignored him. After the alpha wolf died, the wings on his back immediately absorbed the latter's life force, replenishing his depleted mental energy.
His gaze fell on the smoke, hoping the members of the Holy Grail team would be stronger than the alpha wolf, putting more pressure on him.
…
The Thorn Shadow Killing Array far exceeded Guan Tong's expectations.
Not only in terms of the number of casualties, but more importantly, its visual impact was extremely strong, scaring away a large number of participants.
This gave him a rare moment of peace.
He immediately turned to the third page of the [Wordless Book] and began to continuously convert his mental energy into reserve mental energy.
This was undoubtedly preparation for the post-match period; the more he reserved, the more confident he would be.
Crucially, using the Holy Grail buff here to store more would greatly save him time.
Successfully writing and manifesting the "Full-Functional Shelter" saved him at least several months. If he accumulated more mental energy and more Silver Hunter ammunition, those short 30 minutes could save him a full year!
In other words, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he developed a year faster than other Ascended through this challenge.
This was undoubtedly important for Guan Tong, because he had no organization or power to rely on and could only depend on himself. Therefore
, he had to firmly grasp this opportunity. Only in this way could he continue to act independently and have the confidence to fight against those malicious organizations and groups on his own.
[18 minutes remaining until the Holy Grail ownership is determined]
Guan Tong enjoyed more than three minutes of peace, silently converting 800 points of his reserved mental energy.
At this moment, the low growl of the undead came from the edge of the smoke.
Guan Tong opened his eyes.
Someone else is coming?
He thought that after the previous clearing, there would be more quiet time, but he didn't expect a team to come so quickly... Hmm? Just one person?
Through the vision provided by the shadow, he saw that only one person had entered the smoke range.
The person was very tall, nearly two meters, and kept heading towards the center of the smoke after entering it.
Guan Tong raised his Silver Hunter and fired a No. 3 bullet in that direction.
"Boom!"
At the moment of the explosion, the figure suddenly took flight. Guan Tong was surprised to find that a pair of black wings had unfolded on the back of this person.
"...First it was a mecha, now someone has wings. Participating in this challenge has really broadened my horizons."
Guan Tong thought, not too nervous.
He knew that no matter how fancy the ability, it was all driven by mental power. The more powerful the ability or item, the more mental power it consumed; this was almost a fundamental logic.
Now that the person had wings and could fly, the mental power consumption in flight must be extremely fast, and it would be difficult to sustain.
Whoosh—
the next moment, the figure flying high in the sky flapped its wings and swooped down towards the center of the smoke.
"Shadow, grab this birdman down for me."
With a thought, a large number of shadows instantly transformed into several large black hands, grabbing towards the swooping person.
Swish swish swish swish!
The shadowy hand reaching for Lucifer was severed by his wings in the next instant. Although it quickly recovered, it opened a path to Guan Tong.
Furthermore, he used high-frequency wing flapping to disperse the surrounding smoke, allowing him to see clearly.
Those wings not only flew, but were also incredibly sharp? And they even dispersed the smoke.
Guan Tong now knew that the newcomer was no ordinary person, likely a top-tier Ascended Being.
He immediately summoned numerous shadows, erecting walls in front of him to block Lucifer's approach.
Lucifer didn't hesitate, directly cutting through the walls with his wings and rushing in, but he immediately realized it was a trap.
Inside the walls were more walls, layer upon layer, seemingly endless. Similar black walls appeared above his head and behind him, blocking out light the instant they sealed off.
Lucifer's vision was instantly plunged into darkness, unable to see anything.
This was the same tactic Guan Tong had used against the group that had entered the church first.
No matter how powerful you are, once your sight is taken away, you will immediately be trapped and suffocated by the shadows.
Lucifer was indeed powerful, breaking through more than a dozen black walls in succession. However, no matter how fast he destroyed them, he couldn't match Guan Tong's speed in generating them.
The time it took him to destroy one black wall was enough for Guan Tong to generate ten more.
When Lucifer broke through the twentieth black wall, his mental energy finally ran out of steam and dried up without replenishment.
His "Fallen Angel Wings," without any mental energy supply, automatically retracted. Lucifer looked up and said, "You must have the special effect of the Holy Grail to possess so much mental energy."
"If it were a fair fight, I don't think I would lose to you. Although your abilities are powerful, they are countered by my Fallen Angel Wings." "
But a win is a win, and a loss is a loss. If I have another chance, I will definitely win back. Remember my name, I am Lucifer."
Lucifer?
Guan Tong heard the voice coming from inside the shadow wall and his expression became somewhat strange. He remembered the second rule of the [Ultimate Marathon], and the nickname of the second-ranked person was Lucifer. Could it be the same person?
It should be him... He has those wings that allow him to fly at extremely high speeds, so it's not surprising that he achieved good results in the running rules.
Moreover, Guan Tong believed Lucifer wasn't entirely wrong. Without the Holy Grail buff, Lucifer's incredibly fast and sharp wings did indeed have some effect on his shadow.
But clearly, there was no fairness in this post-apocalyptic era. You can use wings to counter my shadow, and I can use my ability to see hidden rules to gain the upper hand.
If he could, Guan Tong would love to talk to Lucifer, but his time was extremely precious; the Holy Grail buff only lasted for a dozen minutes, and he simply didn't have time to chat.
"See you in the next challenge, if there is a next time." After saying this, Guan Tong activated the Thorn Shadow Killing Array again, and Lucifer, trapped within the shadow wall, was immediately pierced through by several sharp shadow spikes and eliminated.
Having dealt with this troublesome enemy, Guan Tong glanced at his vision; 16 minutes remained.
"Time's almost up, I need to hurry.
Chapter 89 Unique Reward
[The Holy Grail has been held continuously for 30 minutes]
As the Firebringer's voice rang out, all the surviving teams on the island stopped moving.
"The Holy Grail... hasn't changed hands even once."
Almost everyone thought that the Holy Grail, under such fierce competition, would change hands at least several times, but that didn't happen. The
team that initially found the Holy Grail held it until the end.
All the teams that hadn't joined the fray and participated in the competition had the same thought: Was that team so strong? No team could defeat them and take the Holy Grail?
But that didn't really concern them. If there was anything to it, it was that the challenge's time had been drastically reduced.
The original 24-hour challenge had ended in less than 10 hours.
[The team holding the Holy Grail has been confirmed; the first Ascended Challenge has ended]
After the Firebringer finished speaking, all the surviving Ascended were drawn away from the ground by gravity, flying into the sky, just like when they had been teleported here.
[Team rankings have been determined based on total team points]
[First Place: Shadow]
[Second Place: Adam, Marty, Elisa, Amanda, Claire]
[Third Place: Dragon Soul, Black Shark, Flying Eagle, Night Owl, Silver Fox]
[Fourth Place: Orochi, Moon Fate, Faceless]
[Fifth Place: Snow White]
...
The list of the top ten teams was displayed before each participant, causing great shock among them.
"Shadow? Could it be the Shadow who got first place under the second apocalyptic rule?"
"How come it's him again?!"
"His team only has one person? One person gets first place? How did he do that?!"
Somewhere in the air, the four girls in Adam's team, ranked second, were astonished when they saw the top ten list: "Lucifer isn't in the top ten? And those guys from the Tulip Federation..."
"They probably failed in the Holy Grail competition. With their strength, it would have been easy for them to get into the top ten if they had played it safe, but unfortunately." Adam sighed, "So, those who love war will perish, even the strongest are no exception."
"But this 'Shadow' is terrifying! It seems he will be your formidable enemy in the future, Adam!"
"Don't say that, Amanda, I don't like making enemies. If I could, I'd like to join forces with him to fight against the apocalyptic rules."
"...Adam, you're too kind, you'll be used by others in the future!"
Adam didn't say anything more, just smiled.
The five people in the third team were also discussing the rankings at this moment.
Captain Long Hun said, "Of the five apocalyptic teams in the Countermeasures Research Lab, only our first and fourth teams made it into the rankings. Teams two, three, and five didn't make it at all."
"Teams three and five have already failed twice in a row. Will they be eliminated?" Silver Fox asked.
"It's hard to say. But the captain's decision not to compete for the Holy Grail is undoubtedly correct," Black Shark said. "With so many people fighting, the risk is too high. Luck is more important than strength."
In a multi-person battle, even if a small team is strong, its strength is limited. If four or five other teams are attacking you together, there is still a possibility of being defeated unexpectedly.
Therefore, Captain Long Hun made the decision to give up competing for the Holy Grail and prioritize gaining points to maintain the ranking.
Now it seems that this decision has at least secured a place in the top three for the Northern Star Kingdom.
"Black Shark is right," Captain Long Hun said, "but I think that 'shadow' is definitely not just relying on luck."
The other four nodded in agreement. Luck alone cannot hold onto the Holy Grail for 30 minutes.
"During the second rule period, I remember there were many videos online… saying that they believed 'Shadow' was from our Northern Star Kingdom and hoped he would reveal his secrets to clearing the game. That 'Shadow' and this 'Shadow' should be the same person, right?"
"Not necessarily. Only the number is fixed; nicknames can be changed at any time. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of Ascended Beings named 'Shadow.'"
Night Owl, who had been silent all along, slowly said, "After this challenge, the whole world will definitely want to find out who 'Shadow' is. Moreover, in order to protect the Holy Grail, his abilities and items have definitely been exposed to many Ascended Beings… If he uses his abilities easily in the outside world afterward, his identity will likely be identified."
"Hehe, Night Owl, it's rare for you to say so much. What, are you trying to find him?" Silver Fox asked with a smile.
Night Owl said, "Of course. Who wouldn't want to see a strong person? And if he really is from our Northern Star Kingdom, the higher-ups will definitely want to recruit him into the official team."
[Top ten teams, ranking rewards have been distributed]
[Participant "Shadow's" team receives an additional special reward due to acquiring ownership of the Holy Grail]
[The first Ascended Challenge has concluded; teleportation activated]
As the Fire Thief's voice faded, everyone was sucked into a black hole, just like when they arrived.
When light returned, they were all back at their pre-teleport location.
Guan Tong stood in the supply storage room, looking at the sunset outside, a faint smile on his face.
"This competition was definitely worth it."
Without a doubt, he was the biggest winner of this challenge, without exception.
Even though his Silver Hunter abilities—smoke bombs, high-explosive bombs, and Shadow…—were exposed to some extent, inevitably leading to a high-level search, it was all worthwhile compared to the rewards he received!
He used the fourth page of the [Wordless Book], gaining his own portable refuge; he also enhanced Shadow's five senses and Silver Hunter's electronic interference capabilities... These were all huge improvements for him.
And his gains didn't stop there.
"Personal Terminal,"
Guan Tong called out, bringing up the terminal panel.
[Name: Guan Tong]
[Nickname: Shadow]
[Title: Lawkeeper]
[Mental Strength: 134 (134) (3120)]
[Ascension Coins: 387]
[Overall Bioinformation Evaluation: Excellent]
In this match, after about 8 hours, his mental strength limit increased by 2 points. Compared to the previous average increase of one point every 7 or 8 days, this was undoubtedly exaggerated.
Guan Tong knew this was related to the frequency of battles; he had previously speculated on this. The more intense and frequent the battles, the faster the mental power limit would increase.
However, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that he had used the Holy Grail buff to accumulate over three thousand points of mental power!
This exaggerated amount was enough for him to use for quite some time. If he encountered real danger, he could use it to turn the tide, or even temporarily suppress multiple enemies single-handedly.
In addition to his mental power reserves, he had also stored a lot of Silver Hunter bullets. Guan Tong looked at the electronic screen; the numbers on it were truly reassuring.
97 bullets of size 1; 58 bullets of size 2; 215 bullets of size 3; 136 bullets of size 4; and 61 bullets of size 5.
If he were to store these bullets using his own mental power, he didn't know how long it would take. Now, with the Holy Grail buff, he felt that these generated could last him at least half a year.
If battles weren't frequent in the future, they could last for a year or two without any problem.
Besides these self-generated bullets, Guan Tong still had real rewards to check.
He opened the storage box on his terminal, where two more treasure chests had appeared.
[First Ascendant Challenge Champion Chest - Glory Level]: Opening this chest grants a random reward.
[Holy Grail Ownership Chest - Unique]: Opening this chest grants a random reward. Items from this quality chest have a unique characteristic.
"Finally, another Glory Level chest..."
Guan Tong remembered the last time he got a Glory Level chest was when he won first place, during that marathon event.
The [Gene Optimization Serum] he found in that chest not only significantly increased his mental power limit but also allowed him to feel his body being continuously optimized, which greatly satisfied him. He
wondered what good stuff he'd get this time.
Moreover, the second chest's quality was "Unique," a first for him.
"The description says the items have a unique characteristic, meaning that what I get, others won't be able to get again..."
"Let's do it one by one."
Guan Tong opened the first champion chest.
[Title Obtained: Winner]
Title?
Guan Tong was somewhat surprised. Aside from the survival chest he opened after the first event, he finally saw another title reward.
Unlike the previous "Order Keeper" or "Order Breaker" titles, this one is more than just a title; it comes with additional attributes.
[Winner]: Wearing this title increases the natural recovery speed of mental energy by 100%
—a double increase!
Guan Tong was very satisfied with the title's attributes.
For a lone wolf like him, mental energy recovery speed is crucial; recovering even one extra point at a critical moment could decide the outcome of a battle.
Although he currently has over 3,000 points of reserve mental energy and doesn't have an immediate need for faster recovery, it's clear this title will be very powerful later on.
Guan Tong immediately chose to equip it.
His "Order Keeper" title had been on his stats for months; it was time to change it.
After changing the title, Guan Tong opened the unique-quality treasure chest.
He was eager to see what unique item he could get.
[Gained Ability: Teleportation]
"I got an ability?"
This was the first time Guan Tong had gotten an ability from a chest.
After checking the ability details, he took a deep breath.
[Shadow Swap]: Consumes 10% of your maximum mental power to swap positions with an object related to your mental power. Cooldown: 10 seconds. This ability is unique.
"This...it's perfect!"
Guan Tong, upon seeing the skill effect, almost immediately realized he could use this ability to swap positions with his "shadow" at crucial moments! Whether it's for dodging enemy attacks, launching unexpected surprise attacks, or even traveling long distances, it can be incredibly useful.
Moreover, its consumption isn't high; using 10% of your maximum mental power to exchange for a chance to survive at a critical moment is a huge win.
"As expected of a unique ability, the effect is incredibly powerful."
Guan Tong liked the ability more and more as he looked at its effects, wishing he could get more unique treasure chests to open and see.
"Since this is the 'First Challenge,' there should be a 'Second,' 'Third,' and so on, right? I must try to get the hidden rewards and the unique rewards again."
Although the next challenge seems far off, Guan Tong had already made up his mind.
After a period of excitement, he gradually calmed down.
Although he had won first place and obtained the hidden reward, at this moment, that was all in the past.
In another half month, the new post-apocalyptic rules would be released. Before that, he needed to do more preparation and must not become arrogant or complacent because of this challenge.
"More than anything else, I need to test the 'all-functional shelter' written on the fourth page of the wordless book."
After Guan Tong finished writing it, although he successfully materialized it, he only glanced at its appearance before putting it back in the book.
Because at that time, he was holding the Holy Grail, and as long as he could make sure that the materialization was successful, he didn't have time to go inside and take a look, let alone study in detail how this shelter was "all-functional".
Now that he had returned from the Holy Grail Island, the most important thing was to study this shelter first, and then consider where to place it.
Although it could be summoned from the [Wordless Book] at any time and returned to its pages at any time—this process consumed mental energy. According to his tests on the island, summoning it once consumed his maximum mental energy limit.
Therefore, unless there was a need to leave, it was best to keep it temporarily in one place.
However, it wasn't too late to consider the placement later; for now, he should summon it and go inside to take a look.
Guan Tong thought to himself and went outside. His neighborhood was usually deserted except for him, so he simply summoned it in the open space between the two collapsed buildings.
The moment the shelter appeared, Guan Tong's maximum mental energy of 134 points was reduced to only 2 points; materializing it consumed a full 132 points.
"...Without the Holy Grail buff, it's really a bit strange."
Guan Tong shook his head, trying not to think about how enjoyable the "infinite power" was, and stepped towards his shelter.
Chapter 90 The Book Page Shelter:
The Post-Apocalyptic Rules and Countermeasures Research Lab.
After the first Ascended Challenge, the person in charge, Gao Liangwei, held a small meeting with Dr. Zhang in his office.
"How did the five teams perform?"
"I think they did quite well," Dr. Zhang said. "The first team, Dragon Soul, got third place. The fourth team got fifth place."
Gao Liangwei nodded: "With so many teams, it's quite good that two teams got a ranking. Especially that little girl, I didn't expect her team of one to actually do so well."
Dr. Zhang said, "To be honest, I haven't seen a more powerful mental power item than her mecha yet... If there's any flaw, it's that she's young and not very mature. Also, she's withdrawn and can't get along with others, which is why she was the only one on the team."
"Let's not talk about her for now. Let's talk about the eliminated teams, the second, third, and fifth. How were they eliminated?"
"I asked," Dr. Zhang said in turn. "The second team was unlucky and encountered the Wolf Pack team from the Tulip Federation. They were outnumbered and had no choice but to be eliminated."
"The Wolf Pack team?"
"Yes, the Federation teams all agreed on a meeting point before the competition. After entering the island, they headed to that point, gathered together, and used their numerical advantage to eliminate teams from other countries."
Gao Liangwei said coldly, "It's amazing they came up with this idea, but I have to admit it was effective."
"Yes. If their 'alpha wolf' hadn't died, they would definitely have gotten a ranking... In short, the second team died at their hands. The third team... the elimination situation of the third team was rather special."
Dr. Zhang recounted what he had heard from the team members. After listening, Gao Liangwei's face turned very gloomy: "If that's the case, then Gu Fei, as the captain, bears an unshirkable responsibility!"
"I think so... I chose him as captain because of his considerable talent in close combat and his willingness to fight. Now it seems that was a mistake, my oversight."
"What about the fifth team?"
"According to the members of the fifth team, they were defeated by the 'Shadow' when they went to compete for the hidden treasure 'Holy Grail'. This 'Shadow' also successfully survived to the end and got first place and the hidden reward."
"Who exactly is this Shadow? Can we find out as soon as possible?" Gao Liangwei asked.
Dr. Zhang thought for a moment and said, "Currently, due to his battles with multiple people, some of his abilities have been exposed. First, he can summon the living dead that appeared in the Fifth Rule; second, he can create explosions and smoke in a small area; and third, he can manipulate shadow-like things to kill..."
Gao Liangwei immediately said, "Pass this information on to relevant personnel in various places and tell them to keep a close eye out. If they discover anyone using similar abilities, they must report it immediately."
"Okay, I'll take care of it in a bit."
"Shadow is first, Dragon Soul team is third, so who is the second team?"
"The second team is Adam's team."
"Adam?" Gao Liangwei seemed to have heard of this name before, "Could it be..."
"Yes, he is a member of the 'Eden Project' carried out by the Soro Empire. According to a secret investigation, all the participants in the project were sent to an island called 'Eden Island.' Their process of conceiving the 'Son of God' takes place on that island.
As for this person named 'Adam'... it is said that he is the most favored candidate for 'father.' His four teammates also seem to be his wives, who will bear his children."
"..."
Gao Liangwei was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.
But this was ultimately the Soro Empire's plan, and he couldn't interfere. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Is there a count of the number of participants in this challenge?"
Dr. Zhang shook his head: "No. But there aren't as many participants as you might expect, because many qualified people from various countries chose to discard their invitations—after all, before the competition begins, nobody knows what the format will be. If it turns out to be a real life-or-death battle, some people don't want to take that risk."
Gao Liangwei understood.
As the saying goes, "A wealthy man doesn't sit under a dangerous roof," some people of higher status were unwilling to participate in such an ambiguous competition. They preferred to concentrate resources and systematically deal with the rules of the apocalypse, which felt safer.
"Regardless, only a minority of Ascended individuals will participate in the challenge. Most others don't really care about the competition; they're more concerned with passing the next rule, which is our main task."
Gao Liangwei added, "Also, starting today, remove Gu Fei from the Apocalypse Squad training program. His performance has been extremely disappointing!"
"...Understood."
...
Guan Tong walked to the shelter's entrance, not rushing in, but first examining its exterior.
Frankly, it was quite different from the shelter Guan Tong had imagined. From the outside, it looked like a small wooden cabin, not much larger than the property storage room he currently lived in.
"A wooden shelter...it's really reassuring,"
Guan Tong muttered as he walked in. The scene inside gave him the feeling of walking into a cheap hotel room costing 30 yuan a night.
There was a bed, a wardrobe, a wooden table with a stool, a bathroom, and nothing else.
...This is too rudimentary!
Guan Tong picked up the blank book. Sure enough, it clearly stated "Full-Function Shelter," but this was anything but.
Could it be a massively scaled-down version, like the initial "Shadow Outline"?
Guan Tong thought it was highly likely.
However, he wasn't exactly disappointed.
He quickly discovered a few bright spots.
There were electrical outlets in the room; the bathroom faucet worked; the toilet flushed; and the showerhead worked.
But after testing everything and assuming the shelter had unlimited water and electricity, he discovered his mental energy had silently dropped from 2 points to 1.
"...?"
Guan Tong paused, then realized, "Does the shelter consume mental energy while it's in existence?"
He immediately tested it and found it to be true.
After the shelter is summoned, it consumes 1 point of mental energy every 10 minutes it exists.
That means if Guan Tong wants it to be maintained 24 hours a day, he'll have to consume a fixed 144 points of mental energy daily.
"Before, I recovered 1 point of mental energy every 5 minutes on average. After equipping the 'Winner' title, it dropped to 1 point every 2.5 minutes, which is 576 points in 24 hours."
He can afford to stay there, but constantly paying "room fees" is somewhat annoying.
But what can he do? He desperately needs a portable shelter, and having water and electricity is definitely more convenient; at least he can take a shower every day.
However, the shelter's defense is very low, which he's not satisfied with. It's made of wood; it can be destroyed by fire without any other attack.
This leads him to conclude that it must be a scaled-down version of the full-featured shelter. Perhaps once his mental energy cap increases, he can upgrade it by summoning it again.
"Mental energy cap... I need to increase it as soon as possible."
Guan Tong's current cap of 134 points is certainly more than an average person's, but he still feels it's far from enough.
However, there are very few ways to enhance it; Guan Tong has only discovered two so far. One is through gene optimizers, and the other is through frequent, intense battles.
Not only is the former extremely rare, but the latter is equally unpredictable.
Aside from special circumstances like the Challenger Tournament, there aren't many real-world battle scenarios. Moreover
, Guan Tong is currently trying to avoid making any rash moves.
He knows that after the Holy Grail defense battle, many people have some understanding of his abilities. Countless people are currently searching for him worldwide, so it's best to keep a low profile.
There's no such thing as having it all, so Guan Tong decided to take it one step at a time and wait for the sixth rule to emerge.
"Let's rest for a bit."
During the eight-hour Challenger Tournament, Guan Tong's mind was almost constantly under high tension. Now that he's relaxed, fatigue is creeping in.
He lay on the bed in the shelter, looking at the blank book in his hand, thinking, "What would happen if I were in the shelter and tried to put it back into the blank book? Would I go in with it?"
"...Never mind."
Guan Tong didn't want to risk his life recklessly. What if he really went in and couldn't get out? If he really wanted to try it, he'd just buy a hamster and keep it indoors, then he could try it out himself outside.
Lying in bed, drowsiness washed over him, and he quickly fell asleep.
Nothing happened that night.
The next day, he woke up, took a shower, and while his hair was drying, he took out his phone and scrolled through the internet.
There wasn't much discussion online about the challenge that had ended the previous day, but there were a few trending posts.
One of them, with over ten thousand replies, was about none other than himself.
The post was titled "In-depth Analysis of the Abilities of the Champion Ascended 'Shadow'!"
Guan Tong clicked on it and saw that the poster was someone who had participated in the challenge and said he had gone to fight for the Holy Grail, ultimately dying at the hands of "Black Thorns."
Guan Tong knew that the "Black Thorns" the poster was referring to was the materialized "Thorn Shadow Killing Array."
The poster then went on to give a serious analysis, some parts correct, some wrong. The correct part was that "Black Thorns can shapeshift," while the incorrect part was the analysis that the shadows "laid up landmines" and so on.
However, what made this post popular wasn't the poster's analysis, but rather a comment in the thread.
A user with the ID "White Snow Without a Trace" commented: "Shadow is a psychopath who likes tentacles and poop!"
Guan Tong, upon seeing this comment, almost immediately recognized the guy piloting the mecha.
Not only did he recognize her, but many other contestants also recognized her from the ID.
"White Snow Without a Trace! The fifth-ranked player in the challenge?!"
"That white mecha!! I saw it too!"
"White Snow God, do you remember me? I was killed by your lightsaber in one hit!"
"I saw that mecha too! It's the coolest mental power item I've ever seen, I'm so envious!"
Many contestants who had seen the mecha on the island replied one after another.
Guan Tong definitely wasn't in the mood to reply. He thought this guy dared to wield a power sword and yet was scared away by something disgusting; he was truly a weirdo.
Besides, he was really concerned about Lucifer. The latter said his wings were called "Fallen Angel Wings," which were indeed quite powerful and even somewhat restrained his shadow.
Although that guy was a foreigner and she probably wouldn't run into him normally, Guan Tong, being a person with a sense of crisis, kept thinking about it and how to deal with an enemy who could restrain her.
Previously, relying solely on the grappling hook, she definitely couldn't outrun Lucifer, that winged "birdman." But with the "Teleportation" ability, combined with the shadow's enhanced vision, she could have the shadow quickly teleport to a far distance beyond Guan Tong's field of vision. Then, activating the ability would allow her to achieve ultra-long-distance teleportation.
But simply pursuing escape wasn't a viable strategy; she needed to think about how to win.
Guan Tong pondered for a while, and once her hair was almost dry, she put the matter aside and went out to conduct experiments at the shelter.