Chapter 16: The Ultimate Mission

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They had assumed that the monster, which even a minor celebrity could handle, was at most like a rabid tiger—a dangerous but manageable threat. Yet, they were gravely mistaken. The serpent demon possessed speed far beyond that of ordinary people, and its strength was formidable. Unless one could kill it in a single blow, humans stood no chance in close combat. And these were elite soldiers, trained for agility and quick reflexes. If it were ordinary people, no matter how many came, they would be devoured all the same. Should such a monster be unleashed, it would pose an immense danger.

Just then, from within the black void, a third batch of serpent demons was disgorged. The well-equipped special forces, already struggling, had no way to protect Qin Hao and Zi Hui. Without interference from these soldiers, the serpent demons’ primary targets remained Qin Hao and Zi Hui.

With a thud, the serpent demons landed on the stage of the auditorium, all rushing toward Qin Hao. But now, Qin Hao was no longer the same as before. His bones were strengthened, the power in his muscles even more astonishing—if his previous strength was three hundred kilos, now it surged toward four hundred, rivaling the might of the serpent demons.

Qin Hao strode boldly onto the theater stage. One serpent demon, dropping from the black void, lunged at him with its jaws. Qin Hao stood his ground, bringing the Star-Slaying Divine Blade down in a sweeping arc. In an instant, the demon’s lower jaw was split open, the wound more than a meter deep, as if the blade had cleaved the creature in two.

Still, the serpent demon bit down, its sharp teeth seeking to pierce Qin Hao’s skull. But his arm rose, and he struck the demon’s teeth with a powerful punch. The serpent demon’s teeth were sharp enough to tear through flesh, but their real threat lay in their strength. They were not as fine as razors—otherwise, they would slice their own tongue—so Qin Hao regarded them as mere hard stones crashing toward him.

His punch landed squarely on that stone. The massive forces collided, and a crisp crack echoed through the hall. Blood gushed from the serpent demon’s gums, its teeth twisted askew, some knocked clean out by Qin Hao’s blow. The pain was overwhelming, and the demon immediately retreated.

Three other serpent demons advanced, but Zi Hui intercepted them. With four serpent demon corpse puppets under her command, she blocked their assault with ease.

Qin Hao faced one serpent demon alone, growing ever more reckless. He tossed the Star-Slaying Divine Blade, guiding it with his mental tendrils to pierce through the back of the demon’s neck. The serpent demon fell dead.

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The fierce battle was witnessed by people on the other end of the network.

“They’re out. Zi Hui has come out again.”
“What happened? Why did everyone disappear just now?”
“I’m at the scene. I heard the special forces went in, but so many have died! Ah, they’re retreating now.”

Outside the Grand Theater, Commander Bai Zhiyi ordered the special forces to withdraw. At the temporary command post, an array of images played across the LCD screens—feeds from the cameras they had installed inside. Even Bai Zhiyi himself was shocked by the strength displayed by Zi Hui and Qin Hao.

In barely half an hour, he realized that the two before him were no longer employing mere human abilities. Even the best-trained special forces were no match. Thirty lives had been lost for this realization, and Bai Zhiyi felt the weight of responsibility nearly bend his spine. All because of his own unilateral decisions.

“Seal off the Grand Theater. No one is to enter,” Bai Zhiyi shouted.

Yet the consequences of his error had been set in motion, and Qin Hao and Zi Hui now bore the burden. Over a hundred people had entered, resulting in two hundred serpent demons. Even with the spatial portal delivering only four at a time, Qin Hao and Zi Hui had to hunt them relentlessly, or risk being overwhelmed.

For two full hours, neither caught a breath. Zi Hui felt her mind growing foggy—a sign of mental exhaustion. In contrast, Qin Hao grew braver the longer he fought. The Gene Devouring Technique consumed not only the genetic material in blood, but also vital life force. This replenished Qin Hao’s stamina rapidly; after three hours of combat, he felt no fatigue.

Two hundred serpent demons lay slain. It was now the early hours of the morning. At that moment, a voice echoed in Qin Hao’s mind.

“Ding. Mission Predictor activated! Main mission detected to have changed, will update in ten minutes.”
[Survive—Ultimate]
The Claw Civilization will dispatch its most powerful creature for one final attempt on your life. Due to repeated breaches of the peace treaty by the Claw Civilization, if you survive, you will receive compensation from the Peace Alliance.
Mission completion condition: Defeat the final enemy.
Fixed mission reward: 5000 Hero Points.

Qin Hao drew a deep breath. The final enemy? What would the Claw Civilization send?

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Countless creatures of the Claw Civilization flashed through Qin Hao’s mind. He knew that whatever came would be far stronger than the serpent demons. This mission differed greatly from the first he had experienced before reversing time. Now, his task was to strengthen himself as much as possible in a short span.

Not only himself, but his temporary ally as well: Zi Hui.

Zi Hui looked at the four spatial black holes hovering above the stage, then turned to Qin Hao. “Is there more? Is the mission still not over?” She was nearly in despair. Her mental strength was dwindling; unless someone appeared to witness her battle, worship her, and fear her, she had no way to recover. But if more people came, the mission’s difficulty would only increase—then they would all perish together.

Zi Hui could only pin her hopes on Qin Hao. “Do you have any other way?”

Qin Hao opened the Hero System’s marketplace.

“Let’s buy something.”

Zi Hui straightened. Yes, they still had the Hero System provided by the Peace Alliance. No matter how clear they were on its true nature—knowing the Peace Alliance was not really a benevolent ambassador—in a crisis, this system could be humanity’s lifeline.

Qin Hao checked his Hero System.

Remaining Hero Points: 52,182,080.

Fifty million!

He could purchase five divine-grade items.

“I still have over thirty million,” Zi Hui said.

At first, the livestream viewers were all Zi Hui’s fans, but as the battle intensified and four hours passed, the audience had shifted. Now, countless people were watching; Zi Hui’s identity mattered little. Qin Hao’s prowess surpassed Zi Hui’s, and he now had more Hero Points than her.

Divine-grade items were unique—once bought, they vanished from the store. Otherwise, Qin Hao could endlessly purchase resurrection cards. Now, the question of what the two should buy next was worth careful discussion.

Ordinary items could overlap broadly, but only divine-grade items were truly unique.

Qin Hao knew what items Zi Hui possessed, but none could improve her combat effectiveness now.

“Perhaps there’s one that suits you perfectly. Want to take a gamble?” Qin Hao asked.