Eternal Night: I Have a Legendary Navigator's Manual

Lilia activated the stick-shaped beacon, confirmed it was working properly, and then fixed it to a window on the wall of the passageway that connected to the outside, ensuring that the signal could be transmitted normally.

After doing all this, she spoke to Roy and Zhong Xu behind her.

"alright!"

"Alright, let's get out of here quickly. I have a feeling that thing is hiding somewhere, ready to ambush us!"

Although Zhong Xu said that, he knew better than anyone that the dark red monster exuding extreme malice had no intention of letting them go.

The biting chill never dissipated, and the triggering of [Malice Perception] never stopped.

"Zhong Xu, what exactly was that thing you saw? Why do you seem a little... scared?!"

Lilia asked with a hint of doubt. Roy was in a similar situation; neither of them had seen any living creatures from beginning to end.

Perhaps Zhong Xu overreacted a little.

"I don't know, but we'd better get out of here quickly..."

Zhong Xu walked at the front, his pace quickening.

He couldn't confirm the monster's identity. The Nightwalker Species Encyclopedia contains many vaguely described creatures, and it's impossible to identify their species based on a mere glimpse of their appearance.

Perhaps because his perception was maxed out, Zhong Xu felt a sense of danger as soon as he saw the monster.

That was a far more dangerous being than any of the nocturnal creatures they had encountered before!

He tried to contact Golia's squad, but didn't know what they were doing and received no response.

Falcon said he had never seen such a monster before and advised them to prioritize safety and leave as soon as possible.

Although Roy and Lilia were somewhat puzzled, they had no doubt about Zhong Xu's judgment and quickly followed.

"Squeak—"

A very faint metallic scraping sound was mixed in with the footsteps of the three people, which was almost impossible for a normal person to hear.

But Zhong Xu's heart was in his throat at that moment. He was on high alert, and with his superhuman perception, the faint, ethereal sound pierced his ears like a thunderclap.

Something is moving...

Direction...above!

Zhong Xu suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing through the black mist, and saw a metal ventilation grille on the ceiling.

Through the crack, his gaze met a pair of incredibly scarlet eyes.

The monster has been inside the ventilation duct above its head!

No wonder that malice never disappeared, because the monster was watching them from above!

The dark red monster realized it had been discovered. It suddenly raised its head, and its pincer-like jaws clattered together, making a chilling "click" sound.

"Waaah—"

A deafening shriek erupted from behind the ventilation grille, its penetrating sound piercing through the ventilation ducts and reaching the ears of everyone present.

Zhong Xu felt as if his brain had been struck hard by a raised giant hammer, and the intense dizziness made him stagger.

He almost instinctively manipulated the portable energy cannon on his shoulder, raising the muzzle and activating it simultaneously.

Blue and white light spots flew out and exploded next to the ventilation grille, tearing off a section of the ceiling along with them.

The energy blast successfully interrupted the monster's scream, and the explosion hit the monster, but it failed to kill it.

The chilling feeling that 【malice perception】 inflicted on Zhong Xu did not diminish in the slightest.

He looked up and saw that half of the monster's face was destroyed by the high temperature and explosion, but what was terrifying was that the flesh on its face was constantly writhing, healing and recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Its blood-red eyes were fixed on Zhong Xu, as if trying to imprint his image deep into its mind.

Then, it disappeared into the pipe.

Ignoring it, Zhong Xu shouted at the other two:

"Don't just stand there! Let's go!"

His roar brought Lilia and Roy, who were still reeling from the scream, back to reality, and they immediately followed.

The three of them were running quickly through the passage, their loud footsteps echoing in their ears.

The monster didn't even attack; it merely let out a howl, which immediately immobilized all three of them in place.

If Zhong Xu hadn't interrupted it, all three people present would have been unconscious a few seconds later.

It's easy to imagine what would happen if someone fell into a coma.

At this moment, Zhong Xu felt a wave of fear. They had almost been wiped out!

Roy, panting heavily, couldn't help but ask:

"Zhong Xu, what's that thing?!"

"I don't know either!"

Zhong Xu shook his head. This black mist always brings all sorts of surprises and astonishments, tormenting everyone who enters it in an equal manner!

The three ran for a while longer, until they were almost too exhausted to continue, at which point Zhong Xu called for the other two to stop.

Just now, the chill brought by [Malice Perception] finally disappeared. Although I don't know why, the monster seems to have given up the chase.

Seeing this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and dared to stop and rest for a while.

They were still some distance from the exit, and Zhong Xu's idea was to rest in the lounge for a while and then run straight to the exit in one go.

But just then, the voice of Lu Ao, the vice-captain of Goliath's squad whom they had been unable to contact before, rang in Zhong Xu's ears:

"Hey? Zhong Xu, we were just underground, and communication was cut off. What do you need me for?!"

Zhong Xu was overjoyed and immediately told the other party what had happened on their side, as well as the monster's behavior.

But then, Luo's words caused his mood to plummet:

"What?! Run! Don't stop moving!"

"That thing is a Night Demon larva. All Night Demons can clearly sense everything within the black mist. No matter where you hide, it knows your exact location!"

"Moreover, they are highly intelligent nocturnal creatures who love to toy with their prey!"

"Send me your location, we'll come to your aid!!"

Wh...what...

Instantly, Zhong Xu felt a chill spread throughout his entire body.

The Night Demon knew their location perfectly well; perhaps they had been targeted ever since they entered the botanical garden.

No wonder those plants dared not continue to spread...

Previously unrelated information pieced together at this moment, and things kept flashing through Zhong Xu's mind.

In fact, there was no need to track it from the very beginning.

But it still appeared in front of Zhong Xu, deliberately letting him know of its existence.

But... but I judged whether I was being targeted by that monster based on [malice perception]... my abilities don't lie...

A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Zhong Xu's mind, a thought that, once it appeared, could never be stopped.

Night Demon, can you please hide your malice...?

"Click—"

A crisp sound, like bones clapping together, rang out above Zhong Xu's head.