Chapter 18: Mission Accomplished

Zi Hui’s expression was complicated.

Qin Hao had revealed so much information—far more than she knew herself. She wanted to ask how he came to possess such knowledge, but there was no time for questions. In the midst of battling the monsters, where would they find a spare moment to talk? Even now, she was too pressed to ask.

Within the pitch-black void of the spatial rift, a new color finally emerged—a gleaming, emerald-green insect leg stepped forth. Four legs moved in unison, each one bristling with barbs that sent chills down the spine at a glance.

Then its massive body followed—a creature resembling a spider, yet unlike the other two monsters before it. This one was covered in hard, armored scales, and lacked the compound eyes typical of such beings.

It leapt down from above, all eight of its legs stabbing deep into the ground with a sickening, squelching sound. The legs were so sharp they pierced right through the floor. With a swift motion, it withdrew them and began to move rapidly.

Qin Hao immediately recognized the creature.

Venom Demon Spider!

This was the most terrifying beast the Claw Civilization could unleash in the early days of the apocalypse. If ten armed regular people could defeat the Serpent Demon, then even a hundred elite special forces soldiers, equipped to the teeth, would stand no chance against the Venom Demon Spider.

Its aura was even more dreadful than the last, but to Zi Hui’s surprise, it did not seem as terrifying as she expected. This sensation had appeared since she had pushed her evolution to the limit of a Level One Evolver. The Serpent Demon before had filled her with dread, but now, without that suffocating fear, Zi Hui immediately launched her counterattack.

Black, translucent threads linked together the corpses of fifty Serpent Demons. Zi Hui controlled them, sending them surging forward. The corpses gaped their maws, ready to bite at the Venom Demon Spider.

The spider moved with alarming speed. Without even opening its own jaws, it tore the Serpent Demons apart with its razor-sharp claws. Though the Serpent Demons lacked scales, the ease with which they were shredded made Zi Hui’s heart pound with terror.

The Venom Demon Spider was too fearsome—it seemed as though it could slice through reinforced concrete as if it were paper. Zi Hui grew even more hesitant to approach.

At that moment, however, Qin Hao’s mental tendrils erupted forth. Having reached the limit of a Level One Evolver, his psychic field now extended five meters, and its reach had grown even wider.

In an instant, every piece of metal within the grand theater trembled violently. Before their eyes, the metal contorted, twisting and reshaping itself into hundreds of long spears.

Each spear became a lethal point, all aimed at the Venom Demon Spider on the stage.

A barrage of metal spears shot out, sealing off every possible escape route, forming an impenetrable array. Two of the spears pierced the spider’s massive body, pinning it to the ground.

The next moment, the surrounding spears twisted again, each transforming into a deadly blade, all plunging toward the Venom Demon Spider. In the span of a few heartbeats, its entire body was riddled with countless sharp metal weapons.

Annihilation.

This terrifying monster was dead—just like that.

Zi Hui stood stunned where she was.

A burst of starlight exploded from the spider’s corpse, and more than a dozen Star Energy Crystals scattered across the floor.

Above them, the enormous rift in the ceiling closed instantly, not hesitating for even a second.

[Survival mission complete. Completion: 2/100.]

Qin Hao and Zi Hui both heard the voice of the Hero System in their minds.

Out of a hundred, only two survived. Zi Hui could hardly believe it. Qin Hao, on the other hand, had expected this outcome—in fact, Zi Hui’s survival had already changed the fate she once faced before time was reversed.

The system continued its prompts in their minds.

[Reward: 5,000 Hero Points]
[Hero Qin Xiao, you have performed outstandingly in this mission. The Peace Alliance will grant you a random reward. Please proceed to draw.]

A moment later, Qin Hao saw a roulette wheel appear in the void before him.

Ten colors marked the wheel: gray, white, green, blue, purple, yellow, orange, pink, red, and rainbow.

“A random reward wheel,” Qin Hao thought, heart quickening.

Who would have thought that after only a week since his rebirth, he would encounter the wheel once more? The smallest section, the rainbow, represented the divine-level reward. He had won his time card from such a wheel in the past. From gray to red, the rewards scaled from weakest to strongest. Draw gray, and one might get nothing more than a stone.

Depending on the degree of mission completion, the size of each color section changed. For this mission, white and blue occupied eighty percent, gray ten percent, with the remaining seven colors making up the rest.

“Draw now?”

“Draw,” he said.

The wheel began to spin, and Qin Hao quickly called out, “Stop.”

The wheel slowed and finally came to rest on the blue section.

A blue beam of light shot from the rift above, materializing as an object shaped like a flashlight.

But Qin Hao knew exactly what it was.

“A Star Energy Gun?”

Intelligent species from different civilizations had different shapes and customs. The Peace Alliance had not yet collected human weapon forms, so except for divine weapons, which could be shaped by imagination, most items appeared as they were originally made and arrived on Blue Star via spatial technology.

Of course, as humanity’s survival continued, this would gradually change.

Qin Hao took the Star Energy Gun, while Zi Hui received a white-class reward—ten Star Energy Crystals.

“Is it really over?” Zi Hui was still struggling to process what had happened.

Qin Hao nodded.

He tucked the Star Energy Gun into his clothes and, with a sweep of his mental tendrils, gathered up two-thirds of the Star Energy Crystals from the ground, leaving the rest for Zi Hui.

“Until we meet again,” Qin Hao said.

Zi Hui hadn’t expected him to leave so abruptly and quickly called after him, “At least leave me your number, so we can stay in touch.”

“There’s no need,” Qin Hao replied, shaking his head.

There was no need to stay—it wouldn’t be long before the true disaster arrived.

Moving swiftly, Qin Hao darted backstage and slipped out the rear exit of the grand theater.

Meanwhile, Bai Zhiyi, who had been monitoring everything within the theater, frowned deeply.

“Is it over this time?”

“It seems so, Commander. The black rift has vanished, and perhaps no more monsters will appear.”

“Should we go take a look?” This time, Bai Zhiyi hesitated. He had acted rashly before and sent good men to their deaths. Now, he was more cautious.

Fortunately, not long after, Zi Hui emerged from within.

She looked exhausted, her flawless makeup smeared, and blood stained her face. But as she stepped out, every person present subconsciously held their breath, feeling an overwhelming pressure.

It was as if they weren’t looking at a mere human, but at a life form far more powerful than themselves.

Such was the power of evolution.