Chapter 33: Mirror Night

Certain death.

Judging from the remaining descent time on the system, yes—there was truly no way out.

Even though Nanalia had delivered the intel ahead of time, for most challengers, it only meant knowing their death in advance.

It didn’t help the outcome.

“Come with me.”

The arrogant woman rose gracefully and beckoned to Wu Xiaomi with a finger.

Glancing at Nanalia’s expression and seeing that she didn’t object, Wu Xiaomi followed the woman out of the shrine.

“Do you want to survive?”

“Yes. Do you have a way to deal with those Mirror Demons?”

“Of course I do,” the woman sneered. “You think I’m like Nanalia? That useless idiot who just holes up in the shrine all day watching videos and doing nothing else?”

“Don’t insult my teacher—even if you’re right,” Wu Xiaomi protested with a pout.

“If you want to live, before the descent begins, go to Shirin City.”

Shirin City?

Wu Xiaomi had heard of it—it was in Zone D57, the location of Bai Xiaozhi’s academy.

Not too far from here.

“The Shirin City Museum is currently exhibiting a batch of newly unearthed items. One of them is called the ‘Ancient Sequence Resonator.’ It was just excavated from the Fallen Sun Hills… Get it before Mirror Night arrives, and you’ll survive.”

A museum. Excavated artifact.

No doubt it was a priceless item heavily guarded.

Ma’am, you’re giving me way too much credit.

What have I done to deserve this mission…

“Mirror Demons are immune to most sequences. With your refugee-level strength, the only way to fight them is to use the Resonator.”

The woman stretched lazily, enjoying herself. “Anyway, I’m not the one dying. You decide what to do.”

“How do I get it?”

“If you’re royalty or a senior member of the Natural History Society, you can borrow it with a swipe of your face. Or maybe you’re secretly a billionaire—so rich you could buy a country—then you could just buy it.”

“But I’m neither.”

Obviously.

“Then you’ve got only one option left… Tch. It’s your choice. Nothing to do with me.”

Her voice was elegant, but every word was a carefully crafted temptation leading Wu Xiaomi toward a crime.

Steal it.

If you want to live, but can’t afford it, and have no credentials—then you can only steal it.

But with her pitiful strength, how could she possibly get past the tight security of a museum?

And there was still the issue of distance.

Even getting there would be a problem.

“I can send two people to Shirin City. No more than that. Who goes is up to you. But getting back? That’s on your own.”

Two people.

To break through the museum’s defenses.

Wait…

Wu Xiaomi actually thought of someone perfect for the job.

Though that person seemed incredibly unreliable…

But if her ability was used for theft—it would be perfect!

“Please wait for me—I’ll go bring a teammate.”

Wu Xiaomi tapped the return button.

The random return glitch struck again. This time she landed straight into Lulutina’s bedroom.

“Wah! You scared me—!” Lulutina hurriedly hid her sketchbook and pencil.

“What were you drawing?”

“That’s a secret!” Lulutina’s cheeks flushed bright red as she quickly stowed the sketchbook into her inventory.

“Come with me. Time to prove you’re a worthwhile investment. After the descent, come find me in Harvest Village.”

“Huh??”

【Do you accept the team descent invite? Point cost sponsor: Wu Xiaomi】

Lulutina accepted in a daze.

Very soon, they returned to Harvest Village.

But since descent location defaults to last logout point, she landed nearby—thankfully not too far away.

Half an hour later, the woman pressed a hand on each girl’s head.

Sequence Spell – Void Rift.

They descended half a meter above the ground—Wu Xiaomi and Lulutina fell straight into a haystack.

“What exactly did you bring me for?”

“To steal something.”

……

Campfire Base. Kang Jie stood in front of a tent.

To save resources on housing, they had spent the budget on building walls instead.

As a result, the base looked a little rough around the edges.

But it had everything it needed.

“Tents will become towers. Grasslands will stretch into plains, then be built into continents. Oceans will flood between lands—until one day, we’ll move it back onto the molten iron core, where it belongs. That will be Earth—our home.”

Kang Jie murmured, satisfied.

“It’s over.”

The gate to the base was open. Han Nuo walked in and slapped a piece of paper against Kang Jie’s chest, expression icy cold.

“What’s this?” Kang Jie was confused.

“Ever heard of Mirror Night?”

“What is that?”

“It’s over. We’re all going to die on the next mission.”

Han Nuo sneered. And from beneath that usually composed exterior, Kang Jie saw a hint of madness.

Han Nuo… was actually panicking?

“You, you, and you,” Han Nuo pointed at the members inside the base one by one. “You all, and me—every challenger descended in the Manggu Mountains, Zones D50 through D58—we’re all going to die.”

Kang Jie didn’t respond. He read the document Han Nuo held.

Mirror Night?

Event time, descent window…

“Where did you get this? Is it reliable?”

“It’s true. And worse—everyone already knows.”

Kang Jie looked around.

The expressions of the members were gradually turning to fear.

……

In the living room.

Bai Xiaozhi was staring at the woman before her.

Like Wu Xiaomi, the woman liked carrying an umbrella—even indoors.

The parasol concealed her face, revealing only her soft, pink lips.

Her delicate fingers, wrapped in black lace gloves, lifted a teacup to her lips.

“You’re in perfect health,” the woman said.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” she set the cup down. “Have you ever heard of Mirror Night?”