Chapter Thirty-Six: Mission Failure

“Hmm? Your main mission is actually this?”

This was the second time Ember had expressed such surprise. Earlier, upon hearing that neither the expert nor Lu Renjia’s main missions were the same, he had begun to realize that different trigger clues led to different main tasks. For example, the three-person team could barely maintain the same mission objective, only lacking information related to “Anna.” Meanwhile, the main mission of the Fishscale Arm and his group had nothing to do with “rebuilding” the isolated island; instead, it was directly connected to the Dark Veil Storm.

This prompted Ember to start thinking along Lu Renjia’s lines.

The Foundation, the Scavengers, and the University were the three great powers of the Paradise World. Under their control, the once peaceful Maple Island had transformed into the abnormal project known as the “Isolated Island” due to a sudden Dark Veil Storm. At the critical moment of selecting the Guardian Knights, the island coincidentally experienced a Dark Veil anomaly. Although this was certainly the designer’s intentional design, from the game’s background perspective, many aspects seemed illogical.

How could three powerful organizations, able to forcibly abduct people across time and space, be unable to deal with the Dark Veil Storm on a mere isolated island?

Was it that they deliberately ignored it, or was there some hidden truth?

And if there was a hidden truth, could it be related to the Chaos Apostles who appeared in the game’s final CG?

Players in the closed beta who entered Maple Island city could not know the answer, but the live audience witnessed, through the desperate flight of two players, a failed operation involving the Dark Veil.

“Done! It’s all over! I told you from the start, don’t dawdle, don’t dawdle! Now look, we’re all finished!”

Not the Taoist, wielding his peculiar mystical staff, unleashed a chain lightning spell to forcibly paralyze the Shadow Devourer worms blocking their path. At this critical moment, he was too tired to maintain his usual charismatic pretense; all he wanted was to carve out a bloody path and escape the perilous zone of the Dark Veil Storm as quickly as possible.

“Oh! Now you blame me?”

The Sword Immortal was rather resentful, rapidly clearing obstacles with his sweeping area attack sword technique while retorting to his companion, “Who was it that thought he was such a mighty pillar, capable of completing all the main missions single-handedly and didn’t even want to bring me along? And what happened in the end? Without me, you’d be dead meat! Poor little pet! It barely broke through its life shackles and hadn’t yet enjoyed a good life before dying trying to save you.”

Crackling lightning flashed again.

Using a lightning strike on his wooden sword, the Taoist instantly killed two elite mini-bosses. He grumbled back, “You’ve got some nerve! If it weren’t for that lousy pet of yours, would we have wasted so much time? The Shadow Devourer worms on this mountain are strange, sure, but at most they’re just a leader boss. With our combined strength, it should have been easy to take them down with some time, and that shouldn’t have caused mission failure… Well, your pet did save my life after all, so I’ll hold my tongue.”

The Taoist shook his head, seeing no more encirclement ahead and the pursuing enemies retreating like a tide. Finally, they could stop to recover their strength. He sighed deeply to his disappointed companion.

“It’s all because we were careless. We didn’t expect the Shadow Devourer worms on this island to have a fourth form. The restraining items effective against the other three forms didn’t work on this one. Plus, the Dark Veil Storm pressed us hard and fast, which led to mission failure. To be honest, I bear the main responsibility. If your mantis pet could still be trained further, it would surely have played a key role.”

“Well, saying all this now is meaningless. Compared to the consequences of failing the main mission, losing a pet isn’t a big deal.”

The Sword Immortal sighed and pulled out the isolated island map, pointing to Maple Island city. “Next, we must hurry there and notify all other players to complete the assessment objectives as fast as possible. Otherwise, within fifteen minutes at most, the entire isolated island will be consumed by the Dark Veil!”

“Who would have thought that failing the main mission would mean the Dark Veil Storm couldn’t be stopped… If we fail the final assessment, the two of us are definitely taking the blame!”

...

“Ha ha ha! This is getting interesting—two veteran players live streaming their disgrace, it’s hilarious!”

“There’s no helping it. These two from Rivers and Lakes have actually done quite well. With a mantis pet from childhood stage as their aide, normal leader bosses are no match for them. The problem is the Shadow Devourer leader on that mountain is not only powerful but they didn’t have enough time to find a winning strategy.”

“Let it go. Since there was a live streaming accident in the end, these two will definitely take the blame. They can’t shake it off, and Singularity Corporation will become a joke too. Let’s see if the mission designers have any contingency plans. Otherwise, trying to rescue the situation forcibly could cause a big scandal!”

Amid the heated disputes in the closed beta player discussion group, the live stream suddenly cut to a game CG.

“Heh! What you say is what happens. Looks like the game planners anticipated this problem all along!”

...

An endless Dark Veil completely covered the sky above the isolated island, blotting out the sun and making it difficult for flying apparatuses to maintain balance in the storm. Several air drops were abandoned and retreated hastily, while the support equipment caught in the storm was shredded by the fierce winds within seconds.

Boom!

“Has it failed?”

A fist slammed on the table, causing ripples in the water and tea to spill out. The owner of the fist was a burly, rugged middle-aged man—the legendary demon hunter of the Scavengers known as “Sabre,” who was also the chief supervisor of the isolated island slaughter operation. Opposite him sat and stood two figures—joint representatives from the Foundation and the University: the Deputy Director of the Dark Veil Detection Department, “Sentinel,” and Associate Professor “Recorder.”

“Stubbornly holding on only makes things worse. If you don’t want the isolated island slaughter to end in complete failure, you should report the truth to higher-ups, my dear legendary demon hunter, Sabre,” Recorder said from the window, gazing at the island without turning his head as he delivered the final ultimatum.

Meanwhile, Sentinel, seated on the sofa, sneered coldly, “I already advised you an hour ago not to act recklessly. The formation of this abnormal island is extremely peculiar. At the slightest disturbance, the most rational move is to immediately terminate the slaughter operation. You’ve seen the situation now—the Dark Veil is completely out of control, spreading beyond the island, almost sealing off the sea and air around it. Hmph! If only—”

“Enough!”

Sabre roared, cutting off Sentinel’s rambling. He angrily gestured and reported the situation to his mentor, a nightmare demon hunter.

Unexpectedly, his mentor showed no surprise and then revealed information that shocked all three present.

“Just now, the University’s president sent a message: Associate Professor ‘Organ’ has defected!”

Associate Professor?

This was a powerful existence, just one life tier away from reaching the final level! Why would she suddenly defect? Moreover, Professor Organ’s identity was highly sensitive. It was precisely because of her strong recommendation that the three great organizations chose to launch the slaughter operation on the isolated island. Learning of her defection immediately made the three guess there was a hidden secret behind this operation.

“Then… what should we do? Terminate the slaughter operation immediately?”

“No! The isolated island slaughter cannot be stopped, even if the Chaos Apostles’ lair has appeared near the island.”

“What?!”

“No need to be surprised. Though we still don’t know the true goal of the Chaos Apostles, one thing is certain: the joint operation of the three great organizations cannot be interrupted by this storm, even if the mastermind behind it is the Chaos Lighthouse! Remember, behind you stand the Scavengers, the Foundation, the University, the Paradise World, and the strongest plane of existence. The Chaos Lighthouse is but a clown, momentarily rampant but doomed to be destroyed. The president has decided to personally handle this matter. You only need to prepare for the reception.”

“Yes!”

Upon hearing the president was coming, Associate Professor Recorder immediately straightened up and tidied his appearance. Then a familiar voice sounded nearby.

“Good. At all times, maintain the dignity befitting a scholar.”

A door suddenly appeared in the room, and a tall man in a gray suit stepped out. Recorder was startled and immediately bowed.

“President!”

“Hmm! Let’s get straight to business. You two, sit down. No need to be formal in front of me. I’m here to solve problems, not to accuse anyone!”

The tall man smiled and gestured for the tense Sabre and Sentinel to take their seats. Few could remain calm before him. The University president was one of the supreme beings in the Paradise World, inheritor and pioneer of the Three Laws of Mysticism, the most powerful wielder of mystic arts today, and the most profound scholar of spatial mysticism. Countless old-school magicians and sorcerers called him “the humanoid demon born from abnormal space” and “the destroyer of space” — a legendary figure.

Anyone who understood the weight of these titles would find it impossible to face him calmly. Hence, even though the tall man spoke plainly, these three powerful figures—who normally commanded the world—could not calm their nerves, especially Sabre, who knew he had made a grave mistake.

“The situation isn’t as bad as you think. The Chaos Apostles did intend for the [Lighthouse] to descend near the island, but I blocked it with a [Spatial Gate]. They realized they couldn’t break through my spatial seal, so they added another layer of spatial chains, resulting in a deadlock. Neither side can enter or leave.”

The University president concisely explained the current state, easing the tension among the three supervisors. Sabre couldn’t help but ask, “What about the Dark Veil Storm? If this continues, all new players are doomed.”

“Don’t worry. These newcomers aren’t ordinary people as we’ve claimed to the outside world. They carry the spark of life and, in some ways, are even more special than reality warpers!”

The president smiled softly, then suddenly seemed to realize something. “The spark of life… Yes! The most likely reason the Chaos Apostles are making such a big move is to seize the spark of life! If that’s the case… To prevent accidents, I can forcibly deliver support items into the island using the spatial gate, but the final assessment must continue. We cannot disrupt the fairness of the environment.”

“Hey! How about this: those who want support items can exchange them using slaughter points. After all, slaughter points were originally meant to be exchanged for various rewards after the operation. The Guardian Knight selection isn’t based on point rankings, so it’s like issuing rewards early. We can also stipulate that direct-damage items can’t be used in newcomer battles to maintain fairness.”

Having thought it through, the University president made the decision immediately. “Yes! Let’s do it this way!”