"A purple stone? Could it be more valuable than the Spirit Communication Cat's Eye?" Su Nan was surprised.
He remembered that the exchange price for the purple stone in reality was only 600 Demon Force. While it was higher than most items, it still fell short of the Spirit Communication Cat's Eye, which was on the second shelf, while the purple stone was on the third shelf.
Now, in his prediction, the Spirit Communication Cat's Eye didn't trigger his aura, but the purple stone did.
"This must be related to the direction of my prediction."
"My goal in this prediction is to find the most useful item for me."
"The fact that the prediction skipped the Spirit Communication Cat's Eye, which had the highest exchange price, indicates that it may not be very useful to me, at least not as much as this purple stone."
Su Nan thought of a possibility, and his eyes lit up.
"Continue!"
Even though he knew that the purple stone was not ordinary, he didn't stop.
He wanted to see if the prediction could reveal more information about the stone.
"You are drawn to the purple stone, and you understand that perhaps the value of this purple stone to you is higher than you imagined."
"You pick up the stone and carefully examine it. You find that the shape of this stone is very regular, which makes you suspect that it is not just a stone."
"Other than that, you haven't noticed any other unusual features. Regrettably, you have to temporarily put down the stone and continue to the fourth shelf to check."
"Not a stone? Then what could it be?" Su Nan's eyes showed curiosity.
The prediction only gave him a hint and didn't provide him with very useful information, leading Su Nan to speculate.
"Could it be like the dragon turtle egg from before, which appeared to be a stone but was actually an egg?"
This possibility wasn't out of the question. The purple stone was oval in shape, just like an egg. Furthermore, the exchange price of the dragon turtle egg was 580, which was similar to that of the purple stone.
"Could it really be another kind of exotic creature's egg, similar to the dragon turtle?" Su Nan thought it was increasingly likely.
"One minute later, you have looked through all the items on the fourth shelf once again, but you still haven't found anything that satisfies you, so you move on to the fifth shelf."
"Two minutes later, you have also thoroughly reviewed all the items on the fifth shelf, and you still haven't found anything that interests you. You have no choice but to move on to the sixth shelf."
"Three minutes later, you have once again examined all the items on the sixth shelf, but you still haven't found anything useful for you. You continue to the seventh shelf."
"The second prediction ends. Do you want to continue?"
"Continue."
There was one shelf left to inspect, so he naturally had to finish it.
"You come to the seventh shelf and find that it contains the fewest items, only twenty."
"You casually scan through these items, and suddenly, your luck comes into play again. You are drawn to a broken arrow."
"It's the same broken arrow that ranked second in exchange price just now!"
Su Nan's eyes lit up, and he looked excited.
"The broken arrow has existed for who knows how long. Its arrowhead is wrapped in thick rust, and only its outline can be vaguely seen. The arrow shaft is only half a foot long."
"You pick up the broken arrow and examine it closely. You discover that this broken arrow, apart from being exceptionally hard, doesn't seem to have any other special features."
"What you don't know is that this broken arrow contains a power capable of severely injuring a Demon King. As long as it is activated using the blood of a demon as a catalyst, this power can erupt."
"After a moment of hesitation, you decide to choose between the purple stone and the broken arrow. You ask the guardian of the treasury about the prices of both items, wanting to buy one of them."
"The elder tells you that the purple stone is worth 1,500 Demon Slayer Points, and the broken arrow is worth 2,000 Demon Slayer Points."
"You inquire why they are so expensive, and the elder tells you that the purple stone appears to be a precious material from ancient times, which can be used to refine treasures."
"As for the broken arrow, it is even more peculiar. Although it looks rusty, it is actually extremely tough, and even a King-level expert would find it difficult to damage."
"Hearing this, you finally choose the broken arrow."
"After taking the broken arrow, you don't leave immediately but use your Demon Slayer Points to purchase a batch of life-replenishing items."
"Two minutes later, you have spent 900 Demon Slayer Points to buy 5 bottles of Lifespan-Extending Pills."
"Three minutes later, you leave the treasury."
"The third prediction ends. Do you want to continue?"
"A broken arrow that contains the power to severely injure a Demon King!"
"No wonder it requires 900 Demon Slayer Points for exchange!"
Su Nan suddenly realized and was pleasantly surprised.
He had become quite strong now and could even compete against Profound-ranked demons with his Spirit-ranked abilities. However, when facing a Demon King, he had no means of resistance.
After looking at all the items on the seven shelves, he made up his mind.
Approaching the seventh shelf, he picked up the broken arrow and said, "Elder, I'll take this."
The elder in black furrowed his brow, finding Su Nan's choice of the broken arrow quite strange.
"Director Zhang, are you sure you want this broken arrow? This arrow, apart from being tough, doesn't seem to have any other function, and its value here is not the highest."
"No need to worry; I want this one," Su Nan replied without hesitation.
If we talk about value, indeed, this arrow could only rank second.
But when it comes to its effect on him, it could rank first.
The power to severely wound a King-level expert.
This is undoubtedly a trump card.
Used wisely, it might not be enough to hunt a Demon King, but it should be more than enough to handle a Peak Profound-level demon.
As for the purple stone that looks like an egg, he planned to exchange it later when he had enough Demon Slayer Points.
"Well, since Director Zhang has made his choice, there's no need for me to say more," the black-robed elder shook his head and stopped persuading.
"Elder, I still have over nine hundred Demon Slayer Points. I plan to exchange them for 5 bottles of Lifespan-Extending Pills."
"One bottle of Lifespan-Extending Pill costs 180 Demon Slayer Points, and five bottles would be exactly 900 points. Are you sure you want to exchange for them?"
"Sure!"
A few minutes later...
Su Nan left the county magistrate's mansion.
The Lifespan-Extending Pills had a better effect compared to the Jade Essence Liquid, with one bottle being equivalent to two. With the five diluted Lifespan-Extending Pills he already had, he should have enough life force this time.
"Now, it's time to obtain Wang Nan's side quest."
Checking the time, he realized there were just over 10 hours left until the countdown for the side quest began.
According to his plan, he had to complete three side quests on his own.
Zhang Yang was responsible for guarding the Martial King Temple, Lang Thirteen for attacking the Golden Mist Tower, and Wang Nan for handling the aftermath once Lang Thirteen dealt with the players.
Triggering the task to guard the Golden Mist Tower was also simple; all he had to do was go to the Golden Mist Tower, find a disciple of the Star Sect, and sign up to participate.
A little over ten minutes later...
He changed his appearance and successfully received the task under the identity of an ordinary outsider.
"Congratulations, you have obtained the 'Human Crisis' side quest. Please go to the quest menu for detailed information."
"Everything is ready, now I just need the quest to start."
"I wonder how many contribution points my three characters can earn this time?"
Unfortunately, the task didn't provide specific information on how many contribution points one would gain for hunting a Common-ranked demon.
He would have to wait until the task started to test it himself.
The contribution ranking appeared before his eyes.
Unsurprisingly, his three characters still occupied the top three spots.
And this was with only Lang Thirteen having completed one daily task today.
"The daily tasks are not urgent. When the side quest starts, there will be plenty of demons to hunt. Completing the daily tasks won't be a problem."
"It's almost two in the morning; I should get some sleep first and recharge my energy."
Checking the time, Su Nan exited the game.
...
The next day.
He woke up after a good night's sleep.
It was already 8 in the morning.
After having breakfast outside, Su Nan returned to his rented place.
With nothing to do, he habitually opened the forum and started reading.
"The situation for humans doesn't look optimistic. This time, the demon race is determined to wipe out humanity!"
"It's terrifying. Our Yellow Sand County has reportedly gathered four hundred Spirit-ranked demons this time, not to mention the countless Common-ranked demons. We only have three hundred Spirit-ranked warriors in Yellow Sand County. How are we going to fight this?"
"It's the same everywhere. The number of human warriors is too small. Our Silver Frost County isn't much better."
"In our Silver Frost County, there are over three hundred Spirit-ranked demons gathering, while our Spirit-ranked warriors number just over two hundred. We're lacking over a hundred in high-level combat power, not to mention the Common-ranked demons."
"If the demons are all gathering now, why don't the strong ones directly step in and wipe them out?"
"You think they don't want to? From what I know, most of the human powerhouses are currently being held back by the powerful demons and have no chance to take action."
On the forum, almost all the topics were discussing the upcoming node defense task.
Su Nan glanced at them briefly and couldn't help but feel alarmed.
Compared to human warriors, the demon race had a much larger population, with nearly every county having no chance to match their strength, whether they were Common-ranked or Spirit-ranked!
In the past, demons were scattered throughout the land, in mountains, rivers, and wildernesses, but now, under the orders of the Demon Emperor, the scattered demons were gathering, revealing the human race's disadvantage.
Even if the human forces from various major factions were mobilized, they would still be like small boats in a raging sea in the face of this tide.
"The human race is really in danger this time. If things continue like this, the final result of this task might be the extinction of the human race!" Su Nan's expression grew solemn.
It wasn't that he was pessimistic about the human race, but from the current situation, the human race was indeed on the verge of a crisis.
He could even imagine that once the Heavenly Abyss Seal was broken this time, the human race would undoubtedly face its darkest hour.
This darkness would be unlike anything they had experienced before.
Beyond the ancient times, this darkness could be even worse!
The possibility of the extinction of the human race is not unthinkable!
"The game 'Demon World' appearing at this time is very likely to be for the salvation of the human race."
"But it's a pity that the time given to players is too short!"
Su Nan sighed in secret.
If what he imagined really happened, it would be a fatal blow to the players as well.
Without the protection of the human race, even if players could resurrect, surviving in a world controlled by demons would be incredibly difficult.
Moreover, even in the upcoming third public beta of the game, when a large number of players entered the game, without the protection of the human race, it would be no different from sending them to their deaths.
Even if there were one billion players in the first public beta, in the end, it would be considered good if one percent or even one thousandth of them survived.
"Why think so much? If the extinction of the human race is indeed the trend, it's not something I can stop. I can't change it just because of me."
"What I need to do now is to become stronger as quickly as possible before the human race falls into complete darkness, using any means necessary!"
...
Time passed, and more than three hours went by.
In the blink of an eye, there was only half an hour left until the mission started.
Martial King Temple.
At this point, this place was packed with a large number of warriors and players, making it extremely crowded.
At the center of the Martial King Temple were the city guards led by Tian He.
There were around three to four hundred of them, but unfortunately, most of them were Common-ranked warriors, with just over sixty Spirit-ranked warriors.
This number of warriors was still far from enough when compared to the demons.
Outside the city guards was the Demon Slayer Bureau.
Compared to the city guards, the Demon Slayer Bureau's team was far behind.
There were quite a few Common-ranked warriors, around a hundred or so, but when it came to Spirit-ranked warriors, there were only a dozen!
Outside the Demon Slayer Bureau's team were a large number of players.
Apart from the newcomers in this public beta, there were only a few dozen veteran players.
Su Nan understood what was going on.
Most of the veteran players in Tianyun County had joined Zhou Cheng's God-Sealing Guild, Ma Hua's Arson Guild, and Li Ye's Town-Sealing Guild.
Coincidentally, these three guilds had joined forces and were all stationed at the Golden Mist Tower.
As a result, the only players who chose to guard the Martial King Temple were those solo players who didn't want to join a guild.
"Master Zhang Yang! Master Zhang Yang is here!"
"With Master Zhang Yang in charge, this mission is definitely secure."
Seeing Su Nan's arrival, the new player players all cheered with excitement.
Su Nan didn't pay attention to these players and quickly entered the Martial King Temple.
"Director Zhang, you've finally come!" Tian He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Su Nan.
Without Su Nan, it would be almost impossible for him, leading the city guards, to hold the Martial King Temple.
"Tian Leader, how long do you think you can hold out here without me?" Su Nan asked.
He had to go do Lang Thirteen's mission first, so he had to leave the defense of the Martial King Temple to Tian He for the time being.
Tian He thought for a moment and said with a serious expression, "The demon race is coming in force this time. There are about one hundred and fifty Spirit-ranked demons and five to six hundred Common-ranked demons at each node. We have far fewer warriors than they do."
"With our strength and some tactics, we should be able to hold out for more than twenty minutes."
"Twenty minutes? That should be enough." Su Nan nodded silently.
"What's wrong, Director Zhang? Why are you asking this?" Tian He reacted and asked in surprise.
Su Nan explained, "Don't worry, Tian Leader. I have something to do later that might take some time. I'll have to leave this place to you for now."
Hearing this, Tian He's heart tightened, and he quickly said, "Director Zhang Yang, what's so urgent that you can't wait a little longer?"
Su Nan reassured him, "Don't worry, Tian Leader. It won't take too long."
Another ten minutes passed.
There were just over twenty minutes left until the mission started.
Looking into the distance, you could vaguely see a large number of demons gathering several miles away.
All the warriors were on high alert, preparing for this battle that would determine the future of the human race.
About three miles away from the Golden Mist Tower, there was a place called Little Elephant Mountain, which was a gathering place for demons.
Su Nan transformed into a wolf demon and arrived here.
(End of this chapter)