In the dimly lit space,
A figure, similar in shape to a Night Demon but with messy hair and wearing a white lab coat, sat on a small stool, staring intently at the young man before him.
"I understand."
Su Qi sat on the sofa, taking a sip of tea, appearing more like the owner of the space. He softly said, "It was those terrifying outsiders last year who transformed you into this form, but miraculously, you haven't completely lost human consciousness. Each night, you regain your thoughts and have discovered in your blood an antibody that can heal that virus."
Su Qi had just sat down here, listening to the gruesome human Night Demon recount the events that had taken place in the city of Srilan over the past twenty years.
"Do the people in the Tower know of your existence?"
It shook its head, then added, "After all... I'm quite dangerous now. I lose consciousness and turn into a Night Demon during the day, and at night, when many Night Demons appear, it seems they see me as an anomaly. I can only experiment on my own."
"So that Night Demon just now was a product of your experiments."
"Yes, unfortunately, it can only recover for a certain amount of time... and it wasn't successful." It sighed, "I'm missing something very important."
"What is it?" Su Qi had already sensed the essence of the main storyline.
"It's the original entity of the virus, the cause of the calamity and the terrifying infection."
"And it's located within the Night Demon Nest."
-----------------
Inside the Tower.
After hearing about the experiences from this city.
Everyone understood their desperation and predicament.
Old Tomato showed a sympathetic look. He knew that triggering the next key part of the main storyline was now crucial, so he asked,
"How did those outsiders from before... help you?"
"Twenty years ago, the virus outbreak wasn't without warning. The sky suddenly turned red, as if stained with fresh blood. Then a large oak tree under this cloud layer suddenly sprouted blood vessels and... from that tree, the virus started to spread."
"And those outsiders said, as long as the tree is destroyed, the source of the virus annihilated, everything could end."
"I see."
The sharp night guardians immediately knew what needed to be done next and promptly asked, "Where is it?"
Bearded Man grimaced and said, "It... is in the Night Demon Nest."
Upon hearing this, their expressions stiffened.
"How could this possibly be accomplished?" Ah Qie's voice trembled slightly. One Night Demon was already so terrifying, not to mention a whole group. He was reluctant to face those horrific monsters again.
Fortunately, the night guardians, Old Tomato, and Xun Xiaohuan were all still able to keep their composure.
"This is a Difficult Dungeon. Logically, the main storyline wouldn't issue a zero-probability success mission; there must be some other way."
Old Tomato spoke, "Night Demons fear ultraviolet light. This is a very important countermeasure."
"Indeed," said another night guardian calmly. "We don't necessarily have to fight the Night Demons, just lure them away from their nest. The real target is still the virus source."
With a plan in mind, everyone felt slightly more relieved, but it was just a slight relief.
"It's still... too difficult."
During the day, nearly all the Night Demons stay in their nest, so they can only operate at night, and at night... they now lacked even the courage to step outside.
"I want to ask... can the Tower help us?" Night Guardian looked towards the elder since, if their own strength wasn't enough, perhaps they could rely on the power of these people.
The old man did not immediately agree but instead sadly commented with a wistful smile,
"We, too, wish to kill the Night Demon, destroy the tree, but... we can't afford to be worn out anymore. Today, out of over a hundred people in the Tower, less than thirty can fight."
The gaze of the night guardians darkened.
Indeed, they had no assurance of victory, and it was hard to persuade the other party to take the risk.
"But... we will provide you with all the information provided by other outsiders," the old man handed a notebook to Nightwatch, "It contains quite a lot of information."
Nightwatch looked through it, and inside were not only various detailed points within the City, but also a lot of annotations and analysis on the Night Demon's habits and weaknesses.
He looked at the signature.
"Kran... is this the owner of the notebook? Is he still in the Tower, to be able to understand Night Demons in such detail!"
"He's already dead…"
The old man silently shook his head, "He was a respected, great scholar, who had been studying Night Demons and ways to heal the infection for twenty years, but last year, he was captured by those demons, they injected him with a large amount of infected blood, and after he transformed into a Night Demon, he never appeared again..."
And at this moment.
An information popup appeared before everyone, and the main mission refreshed again.
[Main Mission 2]
[1. Using the notebook, find the remaining armory]
[2. Find something Kran lost, which might reveal something new]
[Choose one of the missions]
"It seems like there indeed is a turning point, Kran is the key figure," Nightwatch's eyes lit up; since the main mission didn't send them directly to the Night Demon Nest, it means there are other means to lower the difficulty.
Xun Xiaohuan shook his head, "Don't get too excited, we don't even know where to find the things Kran left behind."
Bearded Man whispered, "If it's about that, it should be written in the notebook…"
"Hmm? Let me see…" Ah Ti leaned over, flipped through, and then his hand trembled, "Here's Kran's note, he says… 'Even though Night Demons turn into monsters, they seem to retain some human consciousness and often return to familiar places; maybe I can heal them and bring back their consciousness.'"
"Damn!"
Ah Qie's eyes widened, "So we have to find the Night Demon Kran turned into, and then follow it?"
"He wears a white lab coat and has a birthmark on his back; he's easy to recognize," supplied Bearded Man.
"Is that something easy to recognize about!" Ah Qie shouted.
"How is that even possible!"
Night Demons only appeared at night, meaning they had to act at night, identifying that particular Night Demon was like finding a needle in a haystack, let alone amidst a multitude of other wandering Night Demons!
"Indeed… the first task is more practical and simple, able to enhance our combat strength quickly, but the second task is a steep increase in difficulty, although it looks like it would definitely make a breakthrough progress or even provide rewards, but…" Nightwatch deeply sighed.
Too hard!
And at that very moment.
In that dim, enclosed room, Su Qi sat drinking tea, flipping through various notebooks provided by the host, all filled with records about Night Demons.
He paused briefly.
Looking at the mission box that suddenly popped up in his view.
Su Qi's eyes flickered, and he spoke, "Oh, Mr. Night Demon… could you pour me another cup of hot water?"
"Of course."
This Night Demon, who looked just like any other but still maintained human consciousness, nodded gentlemanly and poured Su Qi a cup of hot water.
They had already established cooperation and were planning.
It gave a slight, bitter smile, "Also… calling me a Night Demon still feels a bit odd, could you please change the title?"
"How so?"
"Just call me by my old name, Kran."