This time I chose Paladin

……

Nie Weiyang sat in the office chair.

He was wearing an old-fashioned pair of wired headphones, a fixture of his Walkman.

【[Strange Item: No on-demand Walkman]-

Listen to the voice of your heart. -

Transform your own and others' thoughts into music to read their emotions and gain random buffs.

Prioritize using known tracks. You cannot specify playback content. Please explore on your own.

-

Love listening to music? Then you must be an interesting person. -】

An unknown country tune drifted through Nie Weiyang's mind, reflecting his own mood: peaceful, calm, not overly passionate or grandiose. Just like now, he simply stared quietly at the "bridge" that stretched to the sky on the surveillance screen, the bridge of destruction.

Above it, the Broken Hope Space Station had obscured the entire sky and earth. In his eyes, it now showed a population of '1'.

The entire shelter fell into a dead silence. People knew that everything they knew in the past had disappeared. There was a cry, and then there was a long cry...

Nie Weiyang took a look at the shelter's integrity, which remained at 65%, the number of survivors at around 3000, and the map with several large black areas on the edges.

Although the process was heavy and painful, and although it was really hard to take care of the eating, drinking, defecating, urinating and sleeping of three thousand people as soon as he opened his eyes every day, he always felt that it was too easy to pass the dungeon this time.

He had originally thought that in the second half of the plot, the system would assign him a few "security lines" to visit him...

So why?

Could it be that you haven't figured out how to deal with him yet?

Hope finally fell. The impact occurred, the broadcast stopped, the world was destroyed, and the dungeon was settled. All tasks were completed, but Nie Weiyang's sense of crisis grew. He had enough experience to upgrade to level 12, and he also had currency, boxes, and accessories... Everything seemed normal, which was actually a bit abnormal.

Just as he was waiting intently, a new prompt popped up from the bottom of the list:

[Obtained rare item: [Mind Prism Fragment·Light Energy] (Administrator No. 2)]

Another rare item? This time... for 'Administrator Number Two'?

Nie Weiyang froze for a moment before something dazzling appeared in mid-air, flashing past him and crashing into his mind. The next moment, vibrant colors flooded his vision, and he was back in the lobby of Shelter 4701, facing the empty control console.

Nie Weiyang was stunned for a moment. He sensed in his mind and found that in addition to the badge, there was also an irregularly shaped diamond-like crystal in the fog.

[[Strange Item: Heart Prism Fragment·Light Energy]-

Reflecting the brilliance of the soul. -

Appears to be an important material for synthesizing something.

Can convert its own mental power into light energy and release it outwards. The attack strength is proportional to the output mental power, and the strength limit is proportional to the total value of the mental attribute.

·Can only be used when in the [World BOSS-Second Administrator] state.

Nie Weiyang's spirits lifted. This was a magical tool for him! Although its use was limited...but 'Avatar Second Administrator'? What did that mean?

Perhaps due to the restrictions on the use of identities, the fragments of the Mind Prism were now completely unable to be removed from his mind. However, he pondered for a long time and could not find any function such as "incarnation".

Well, if you really can’t figure it out, just don’t think about it.

Nie Weiyang came back to his senses and stared at the groove where the "artificial destiny" was originally placed. A line of words was displayed on it: [[Token] 0/1].

'Keep the Token'...

Could it be that 'artificial destiny' is also a token of trust?

Nie Weiyang took out a stone from his backpack thoughtfully, on which the sword and shield emblem hidden in shadows shone brightly.

This is the keepsake of the 'Second Administrator', and it doesn't even have an introduction of its own... Well, that's mainly because the person who made it didn't fill in any text at all.

Nie Weiyang reached out and placed the token into the groove. A burst of light shone through the empty and quiet hall, and countless densely packed figures emerged, overlapping and passing by him.

He seemed to see familiar faces among them, but most of them were complete strangers. They passed by him as if they didn't see him. No... they really didn't see him...

Because it's just... an illusion.

A phantom that existed here long ago.

The token fell into the pit and naturally floated up, gently rotating clockwise, with the black and white logo on it slowly circulating.

The highest authority of Vault 4701 has changed. The current holder is [Administrator No. 4701]. Vault 1 has been assigned to [Administrator No. ]. Current Vault Integrity: %. Current Vault Functions: Closing and unlocking, creating instances, generating player clearance records within instances, generating player clearance records...

Dear [Administrator No. 1], congratulations on gaining management rights for [1] shelter. The [Avatar] function is now available. You can now enter the [Avatar: Administrator No. ] form around the shelters you manage. You can transform into the avatar state in the shelters you control. During a Level Red Public Hazard event, you can transform into the avatar state at any location. Your different forms will use the same attribute template, but the avatar form cannot use the main profession skills.

[Dear [Administrator No. 2], you have a new task: [Blood Moon Ascending], please check it out.]

[[Blood Moon Rising]: The Crimson Moon will kick off a grand journey! As the current sole World Boss, you must appear during the [Blood Moon Rising] event and be seen for more than 5 minutes.

The 'Avatar' function is now available. Please fill in the basic information and customize a unique appearance in the character preparation interface.

[Optional: Kill at least one player during the [Blood Moon Ascending] event.]

"..."

Nie Weiyang's face turned a little dark.

He knew that this crappy game wouldn't let him have an easy time.

He glanced at the avatar function, opened the list of permissions for the shelter, and, leaving aside a string of temporarily unavailable functions, fixed his eyes on the only option that was lit.

[Shelter Bonus]: Currently provides a 1% passive bonus to all attributes, increasing with the completeness of the shelter. Currently, 1/3 of the shelters offer this bonus. The completeness of the shelter can be increased by collecting [Underworld Crystals].

...Thank you for the invitation, it smells really good.

Nie Weiyang remained calm.

Chapter 46 The Blood Moon Rising!

three days later.

Langcheng.

"Where on earth did he go..." Xiang Feng rubbed his hands anxiously. He felt sick as he watched the moon in the sky grow redder and redder.

Many discerning people in the city saw that something was wrong with the moon, and people's hearts were naturally uneasy.

Although Xiang Feng knew what was going to happen and had done his best to prepare, no matter how much he prepared, it seemed not enough.

The rainy season was coming to an end, but people's moods had not improved. Instead, under the crimson moonlight, they had become increasingly depressed. If a bad thing happened, it was just a bad thing. But if a bad thing was about to happen, and no one knew what it was, it was torture.

Time passed minute by minute, and there was no sign of Nie Weiyang returning. Until a certain moment, when Xiang Feng had completely given up hope, two notifications popped up one after another.

[The [Rainy Season] event will end in 48 hours.]

[Level 1 Red Public Hazard Event - [Blood Moon Rising] has been added to the event list and will begin in 24 hours.]

Xiang Feng walked out of the tent and looked up at the sky.

The moon is rising.

It was a strange upward curve. No matter where they were, all players could see the moon rising from somewhere until it reached the zenith. This clear blood moon was turning cloudy and dark around its edges, leaving only a patch of light in the center, which grew brighter and brighter, like a seemingly unidentified eye.

Huge, terrifying. Blood-filled light filled the sky, splendid as a canopy.

People stared up blankly at the sky—in everyone's view, it was directly above them. Wisps of blood-red light emanated from the blood moon, like a network of blood vessels, enveloping the entire world.

In Lang City, Xiang Feng was stunned for two seconds, then suddenly came to his senses and grabbed Wei He beside him: "The reinforcement of the outer city fortifications is complete, right?"

Wei He had two huge dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes were hollow as he smiled broadly and gave a thumbs-up. "It's done. As long as they're not hit by missiles, they won't collapse even if I die. The construction guys originally wanted to use fiberglass concrete, but unfortunately they don't have the materials, nor the conditions to manufacture them..."

Xiang Feng nodded and put him back, then grabbed a clerk and asked, "Have you arranged for the non-combat personnel?"

The clerk also had huge dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes were hollow as he smiled broadly and gave a thumbs-up. "We're all maintaining the resource supply lines in the logistics department. If anything goes wrong, the people can quickly migrate out."

Xiang Feng nodded and put the documents back. He clapped his hands and looked around at the elite soldiers and generals with a solemn expression: "Very good, prepare for battle!"

"Yes!" The surrounding soldiers answered in unison.

Xiang Feng watched the troops he had single-handedly led disperse to various parts of Lang City. He watched as some combat professionals, who had been ordinary men just three months earlier, headed for their battle posts. He noticed some turning back to look at him, waving with smiles, and calling him "Captain Xiang." For a moment, his lip trembled, a quiver that didn't quite match his calm and serious exterior.

He didn't know how many of the people he knew would be alive after tonight.

He only knew that when faced with danger, nothing was right except to persevere.

"Old Nie..."

Xiang Feng sighed. He believed that Nie Weiyang was not someone who would die so easily, but when he thought of the information related to the "Second Administrator", he began to worry.

Could it be that Nie Weiyang encountered the BOSS of this world?

"I hope nothing happened," he muttered to himself.

If something happened to Nie Weiyang, it would be a major blow to Zhongzhou - at least to the Langcheng area.

……

When the sky turned completely blood-red, the dormant danger of the earth awakened. In the valleys, river bends, ravines, deep forests... the breeze was no longer fresh, and the smell of decay surged from the dampness, a mixture of blood, decay, and some indescribable pungent smell.

In Lang City, the soldiers stationed on the city walls became more and more nervous. Some of them could not help but repeatedly check the pistols at their waists. The touch of the cold metal seemed to give them some comfort.

"It's about to begin..." Wei He muttered to himself, clasping his hands together nervously. Xiang Feng and the others were on the other side of the city wall, all waiting for the same thing, the same disaster.

[[Blood Moon Rising] event is about to occur, countdown begins: 10...]

Far outside the city, from the bushes that had been cleared countless times, a creature crawled out - if it could still be called a creature.

It had a human-like torso, but its limbs were spider-like, their joints bent in opposite directions. Its head had almost completely atrophied, replaced by a gaping maw ripped from its chest, filled with spiraling teeth.

It quickly hid behind a tree, but stepped on a mine someone had planted. As the explosion lit up, it let out a scream, but behind it, a dense swarm of similar monsters crawled out of the darkness. Dozens of pairs of glowing eyes lit up among the grass, and high-pitched hissing sounds rose and fell, echoing in the night.

When people looked at them, a name introduction was refreshed -

[Dark Walker].

【9...】

"They're communicating with sound," a member of the information corps said to Xiang Feng with a serious expression, holding up a homemade telescope. "They may not be intelligent, but there's a pattern to their calls."

【8...】

Xiang Feng's eyes jumped, he cursed, and forcibly resisted the urge to give orders.

"Can you find a pattern?" he asked.

"Yes, but it would require the cooperation of a bioethologist," the other party said quickly. "If you really can't find one, someone with more experience in animal husbandry would also be fine."