Chapter 145: The Giant Moon

Aside from the Awakeners, who possessed the capability to protect themselves, not a single ordinary person dared to claim they were unafraid of the impending catastrophe. This terror deepened relentlessly as time marched forward.

As night gradually approached, panic morphed into a heavy shadow that blanketed everyone's heart. The crying of infants sounded exceptionally piercing at this moment.

In the center of the stadium, the area around the altar—previously packed with people—was now cleared into a dozen-meter-wide open circle, with even those on the periphery continuously packing up their belongings and leaving.

The inheritance crystals that had once provided ordinary people with a sense of security now resembled terrifying monsters, causing everyone to give them a wide berth.

Most people had already learned that the monsters would emerge from this altar tonight; even those who hadn't were bound to have heard the talk circulating among the crowd by now.

Consequently, those who had originally gathered near the altar were now fleeing from the area, terrified of staying close.

Looking down from the second floor, the stadium below was in complete chaos, filled with a continuous stream of noisy clamor.

Members of the four major factions had already stepped forward on their own initiative to maintain order. Their words still carried significant weight, and the menacing, dark barrels of the guns in their hands instantly quieted the restless crowd.

Under their coordination, the people in the arena soon began to evacuate in an orderly fashion, heading toward the residential compounds just outside the stadium.

Although those areas were somewhat chaotic and usually avoided by most, nobody could afford to care about that anymore. Compared to those violent thugs, the unknown demonic beasts were far more terrifying.

Furthermore, with everyone moving outward in a massive group, the shared presence of so many people bolstered their courage, dispelling much of their fear.

Besides, with such a massive event transpiring tonight, even the local thugs were too busy hiding and running for their lives to bother troubling the crowd.

Standing by a second-floor window, Kong Zhe looked down at the chaotic scene below and could not help but sigh, filled with a medley of emotions.

In his past life, he had been just like these people—consumed by confusion and fear in the face of an unknown boss battle, forced to follow the general tide and retreat toward the edges of the safe zone.

Little did he know how many opportunities to grow stronger that choice had caused him to miss. Thinking back on his cowardly self from back then, he even felt a trace of scorn.

If he had been just a little bolder back then, even just a tiny bit, he wouldn't even have needed to fight directly. Simply standing at the periphery where the Awakeners and the boss clashed would have given him a high chance of scavenging some treasures.

Of course, he was completely different now. In this lifetime, before the disaster had even begun, he already possessed insight into the future and had prepared himself to face the boss head-on in pursuit of greater benefits.

After watching for a short while, just as Kong Zhe was about to leave, he faintly overheard a conversation between two Awakeners in the distance, which caused him to frown.

Approaching the window, he pricked up his ears to listen closely. Relying on the sharp hearing of a high-level Awakener, he quickly and clearly distinguished the voices from over there.

"Hey, have you heard? In tonight's boss battle, that boss is going to drop top-tier treasures!"

"Of course I've heard, but who knows where that rumor came from? Is it actually true? The announcement earlier didn't mention anything of the sort; it only talked about reputation points and things like that."

"Well... I think it's true. After all, with so many people spreading it, it can't be completely groundless, right? Maybe it's some kind of hidden reward... And think about it, whenever we kill a level-one mob, it drops a silver coin or two. For a boss that powerful, there's no way it drops nothing when it dies, right?"

"That... well, that makes sense!"

Such conversations were simultaneously taking place in multiple corners of the venue, causing Kong Zhe to furrow his brow deeply.

How did so many people already know about the boss dropping loot?

Almost instinctively, Kong Zhe thought of a possibility: Could Guo Xuemin have leaked the information?

"Little brother!"

Just as Kong Zhe was pondering, a familiar voice rang out beside him. Turning his head, he saw Guo Xuemin—the very person he had just been thinking about—walking toward him with a few subordinates in tow.

"Little brother, how is it? Are you getting used to staying here?"

Guo Xuemin walked closer, patted Kong Zhe on the shoulder, and laughed heartily.

"It's pretty good!"

The two exchanged some initial pleasantries. During their conversation, Kong Zhe noticed that when Guo Xuemin looked at him, there was a distinctly suspicious look on his face.

Kong Zhe rolled his eyes inwardly, roughly forming a guess in his mind. Sure enough, growing weary of such tedious small talk, Guo Xuemin rubbed his chin and casually inquired whether Kong Zhe had left his room earlier.

"No, this is my first time coming out."

Kong Zhe had a rough idea of what was going on. It seemed the other party wasn't the one who leaked the information either; otherwise, he wouldn't be asking like this.

Shrugging, Kong Zhe pointed outside the window: "Let's be direct. I'm a bit puzzled myself now. I originally thought the leak came from your side, but it seems not!"

"Is that so..."

Guo Xuemin scrutinized Kong Zhe carefully. Finding no trace of falsehood on his face, he believed him by seven or eight parts.

More importantly, neither of them had any reason to leak this information, as doing so would only invite trouble upon themselves.

Furthermore, he had actually stationed people to patrol the vicinity all along. If Kong Zhe or anyone else had come out in the middle of it, he should have received a notification almost immediately.

Guo Xuemin then nodded, patted Kong Zhe's shoulder, and sighed, "Sorry for suspecting you! I didn't mean any harm; it's just that this whole affair blew up rather suddenly."

"It's nothing..."

Kong Zhe shook his head.

This piece of news was important if you considered it so, but negligible if you didn't. Judging by the demeanor of the Awakeners downstairs, it was clear they were merely repeating hearsay without any concrete evidence, meaning the impact on them would be limited.

However, Kong Zhe then instinctively glanced at the few men standing behind Guo Xuemin.

Guo Xuemin indeed had no reason to leak the information, but the same could not necessarily be said for the men behind him.

During their previous private discussion, these individuals had all been present. At the time, Kong Zhe had subtly hinted at having a private negotiation with Guo Xuemin alone, but perhaps due to security concerns or a lack of trust in a stranger, Guo Xuemin had not dismissed them.

Noticing Kong Zhe looking at his subordinates, Guo Xuemin immediately understood his implication and said without hesitation, "You can rest assured about that. These few have been my loyal confidants for a long time; it's impossible for them to betray me!"

Since the other party had put it that way, Kong Zhe had nothing more to say.

After a few more pleasantries, Guo Xuemin laughed it off and promptly left with his men.

Clearly, he was still very busy, with a mountain of matters awaiting his attention. Not only did he need to reorganize personnel deployments, but he also had to hold a meeting with the bosses of the remaining three sectors shortly to discuss the specific arrangements for dealing with the boss tonight.

Guo Xuemin had also invited Kong Zhe to attend the upcoming meeting. According to their agreement, during the meeting, they would proactively provide the other sector leaders with intelligence such as the boss's skill data.

Of course, they wouldn't provide the complete picture; they would conceal a considerable amount of information and even intentionally misrepresent certain details—such as the boss's drops, which they would fiercely keep under wraps. In short, they would maneuver the situation to their own advantage as much as possible.

Despite the invitation, Kong Zhe could not be bothered to get involved in such matters. Moreover, he had no desire to show his face in public, so he excused himself by claiming he had other business to attend to.

The setting sun bled like crimson. In the lingering glow of the evening afterglow, the towering buildings of the city resembled giant beasts with wide-open jaws, poised to devour anyone.

Amidst the panic of everyone in the medium-sized safe zone of the stadium, this destined night of unrest slowly drew back its curtain.

"Awoo!"

A wolf's howl echoing from afar completely heralded the arrival of nightfall.

First, darkness blanketed the surroundings as usual. Then, the layers of dark clouds in the sky were forcefully ripped apart as if by a giant pair of hands, and the night sky—absent for many days—was finally revealed once more to the eyes of the people in Jincheng.

Surrounded by twinkling stars and occupying the highest point of the sky like a monarch guarded by courtiers, a gigantic full moon hung proudly.

The crisp, pale moonlight washed over the earth like flowing water, dyeing the entire ground in a silvery white.

At this very moment, within the medium-sized safe zone of the stadium, everyone—regardless of gender or age, whether eager Awakeners or uneasy ordinary citizens, and no matter what they were doing—stopped what they were working on, raised their heads, and stared in shock at the colossal disk in the sky, their jaws dropping so wide they could not utter a single word.

"W-What is this?"

Kong Zhe was standing in a corner of the stadium bleachers when a somewhat hoarse voice came through the walkie-talkie in his ear.

"Didn't I tell you before? Tonight is the night of the full moon!"

"I-I know that... but I didn't expect the so-called full moon to be this absurd..."

Xue Feifei's voice trembled slightly, and the shock she felt at the moment was palpable: "This moon is way too huge!"

"Y-Yeah, Brother Kong, I've lived this long, but it's my first time seeing such a massive moon!"

Hong Ling's tone over the walkie-talkie was equally shaky.

"It's really, really big... but, it's so beautiful... so beautiful..."

Beside Kong Zhe, Xiaolei's cheeks were slightly flushed, her hands clasped over her chest as she gazed mesmerized at the giant full moon in the sky, murmuring continuously.

"Well, I suppose that's true..."

Kong Zhe shook his head with an amused smile, glanced up at the moon in the sky, and a grin crept onto the corner of his mouth.

It was no wonder the three women were shocked; the moon hanging in the sky at this moment was truly gargantuan, occupying nearly a third of the entire night sky, and was countless times larger than the original moon. Even with ordinary human eyesight, one could now clearly see the varying craters and shadows upon the lunar surface.

And thanks to this giant moon, the night on Earth was illuminated almost as brightly as day.