Chu Qin's words made Chu Xiu secretly click his tongue.

The so-called Black Era refers to the time when the Abyss first descended.

At that time, human society was unprepared for it, and only a few bold explorers had ventured into the Abyss and luckily returned.

Of course, these fortunate ones also received the Abyss's gifts.

Thus, the first batch of people who obtained Extraordinary Power from the Abyss began to try and use these powers to gain benefits on Blue Star. Initially, they barely stayed within the limits of the law, but as they tasted the sweetness, their bottom line was gradually lowered. After the number of Awakened surged, a dark era came.

In that era, all the order that humanity once took pride in collapsed. It wasn't just the oppression of the Unawakened by the Awakened but also the mutual plundering among the Awakened. The originally peaceful world turned into a dark forest of mutual slaughter.

At that time, the Awakened were divided into two factions: one enjoyed this survival-of-the-fittest environment, while the other wished to restore the order before the Abyss's descent.

Eventually, after a long struggle, under the leadership of the "Eight Celestial Kings," that dark era was ended, and on the ruins, a new order was established.

Chu Xiu was, of course, not fond of such "justice triumphs over evil" stories. In his view, it was nothing more than mutual warfare between two interest groups, where the victor becomes the king, and the loser becomes the outlaw.

No matter which side won, they would establish a similar order, aiming to better exploit the latecomers, further widening the gap between ordinary Awakened and the ruling class to prevent the rule of the Eight Celestial Kings from being shaken.

For example, the policy forbidding the trading of Cause and Effect Points could indeed be said to prevent the price of Cause and Effect Points from maliciously skyrocketing, leading to social collapse. After all, for those high-tier Awakened, money already means nothing. If the control were lifted, the price of Cause and Effect Points could easily be inflated to over a hundred thousand.

At that time, the number of people entering the Abyss would increase significantly, causing a plethora of social issues, such as population reduction, labor shortage, inflation, etc. If everyone went to explore the Abyss, who would farm? Food would not grow from the ground just because there is money.

To some extent, strictly prohibiting the trade of Cause and Effect Points does help maintain social stability.

But on the other hand, it can also be seen as exploitation by the upper class of the lower class.

The principle is quite simple: where do the Cause and Effect Points bought at low prices go? Who allocates them?

Of course, Chu Xiu had no interest in overthrowing exploitation. After all, he didn't sell Cause and Effect Points, nor could he extract any from himself. Instead, the current order was conducive to his development, with his invincibility at the same tier allowing him to maximize returns within the rules.

If he returned to the Black Era... who knows when he might encounter a big shot slaughtering the city, and incidentally get wiped out himself?

"Generally speaking, several such forces appear each year, and there's no need to worry about them, but..."

Chu Xiu thought of the Hexagram symbol and asked:

"Are all the members of this Extreme Dao human? Could there be forces from other worlds involved?"

This question made Chu Qin pause, and after a long while, he said, "You mean... this Extreme Dao might have something like an Evil God's Relic? No, I think they're quite different from ordinary cult organizations."

Chu Xiu didn't ask anything further. It seemed Chu Qin knew nothing about the connection between Extreme Dao and the Outer Realm Demon.

During their conversation, the stronghold appeared in front of them, and at that moment, the returning duo happened to see Shen Tuhu leading a group away.

Chu Xiu didn't intend to meddle, but Chu Qin frowned and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Mind your own business," Shen Tuhu replied unpleasantly, waving his hand as the others followed him away.

Chu Qin grabbed the scholarly, bespectacled young man at the end of the team: "Song Zhiwen, what's going on?"

Song Zhiwen glanced ahead cautiously and whispered, "He's heading to the central city district earlier than planned because the nest is gone, and I can't stop him."

At this, Chu Qin raged in disbelief, "Is he crazy?!"

According to the normal plan, it would take two days to digest the nest and Warrior Tier, then first send High Tier Awakened to conduct preliminary exploration and research in the outskirts of the central city district, before organizing manpower to enter after detailed analysis.

Rushing in like Shen Tuhu does, the danger level is extremely high!

And this danger, of course, he couldn't possibly face alone, instead forcing others to act as cannon fodder to clear the way!

Chu Qin wanted to stand up but was stopped by Song Zhiwen: "Sister Qin, you're not in any condition to stand out, and those following him went voluntarily."

"Doesn't everyone know the risks? But Shen Tuhu offered a high price. Taking a gamble this time means being set for life."

Hearing this, Chu Qin was helpless.

And Chu Xiu naturally wouldn't meddle. After settling Chu Qin, he returned to the top of the office building to wait silently.

After patiently waiting for a while, his expression changed as he suddenly looked in a certain direction.

There, faint smoke was rising.

A smile appeared on the face beneath Chu Xiu's mask.

"It's finally started."

...

At the same time, fifteen kilometers away from Chu Xiu, in front of a mall, the roar of heavy machine guns echoed across the sky.

This nest was located in the underground parking lot of a large mall, and at this moment, three heavy machine guns firing .50 caliber armor-piercing bullets were arranged in an intersecting pattern, forming a tightly woven firepower net, releasing hundreds of rounds in a second!

Countless Corpse Demons surged out from the nest entrance, only to be shattered by the massive kinetic energy of the bullets. The terrifying energy of the heavy machine gun bullets even caused large blood mists to erupt from the parts of the Corpse Demons that were hit!

Even after shattering the bodies of the Corpse Demons, the bullets, even when torn to pieces, still carried a large amount of kinetic energy, turning into fragments that shot backward, causing an even larger range of fragment damage!

These fragments seemed to transform into a metal storm capable of tearing everything apart, completely sealing off the nest's entrance.

Even the Corpse Demons that managed to rush out were surrounded by Awakened who had already been positioned nearby. Helplessly alone, they couldn't pose any trouble to the team of Awakened.

"Fire!"

In the interval while the heavy machine guns cooled, incendiary bombs were thrown toward the vicinity of the nest. The flames, fueled by the liquid, quickly formed a sea of fire, with the acrid stench of burning flesh wafting for hundreds of meters.

At this time, more Awakened fetched high-explosive grenades, dropping them into the sealed nest, causing extensive casualties immediately.

Listening to the delightful sound of experience points increasing continuously in their ears, all the Awakened present showed genuine smiles.

With the cooperation of a large number of lethal weapons, dealing with these low-intelligence corpse demons was completely a one-sided slaughter.

A moment later, no more corpse demons rushed out of the entrance of the nest, leaving only piles of corpses.

Lin Yang, the warrior tier awakened in charge of this stronghold, shouted, "Everyone, don't let your guard down. The real challenge begins now!"

"We are advancing into the nest!"

"Just like we practiced before, remember these four words: fortified walls and clear fields! Never advance rashly. After completely clearing a layer and establishing a new defense line, then move on to the next level!"

"Remember, our goal is no injuries!"

"Yes!" The other awakened responded excitedly.

"Good!" Lin Yang, full of enthusiasm, drew out the long sword from his waist, ready to lead the team into the nest.

But at this moment, someone suddenly noticed something, pointed sharply to the roof of a building, and screamed in terror, "Boss, look there!"

"Hmm?" Lin Yang looked up, his pupils suddenly shrinking, his expression changed drastically!

His abnormal reaction made the other awakened also look. On the rooftop of a nearby residential building stood a menacing "corpse demon"!

This corpse demon was far taller than ordinary corpse demons, its sharp claws as fierce as ten long blades glinting coldly in the sun.

"It's a new-type corpse demon! Could it be, could it be that the 'Dark Night Monarch' is here?"

All the awakened became chaotic, even Lin Yang looked grim and shouted, "Don't panic! This is only one, perhaps..."

However, before he finished speaking, a low horn sounded to interrupt him!

"Woo—"

It was like the roar of an ancient beast, clearly ringing in everyone's ears, making all the awakened feel as if an invisible hand had gripped their hearts, overwhelming them with immense fear!

At the same time, one by one, new-type corpse demons emerged around them!

These corpse demons' eyes gleamed with bloodlust, resembling leashed wolves, ready to pounce at a command and tear them to shreds!

Even more terrifying, more elite new-type corpse demons appeared! Each emanated a powerful warrior tier aura!

"One, two, three, four... It's over, it's over, I'm going to die today!"

The more Lin Yang counted, the paler he became. These warrior-tier creatures reached over ten in just a few breaths, with unknown numbers hidden in the dark!

Others were even paler, some so frightened they couldn't stand, collapsing to the ground muttering, "Dark Night Monarch, it's really the Dark Night Monarch, he's here!"

They seemed to see the Death God beckoning them, their brains frozen in terror!

Then, a voice suddenly sounded from the crowd: "To the left! There seems to be no corpse demons on the left!"

Those words awakened everyone, who looked to find a gap in the encirclement not fully formed yet!

Lin Yang, delighted at the discovery, shouted, "Everyone, grab your equipment! Follow me to break through!"

He led the charge towards the gap, with others closely behind him, leaving no trace of an awakened on the vast square soon after.

Chu Xiu slowly walked out from the shadows, speechless as he glanced in the direction everyone fled.

"Dark Night Monarch? Who's the idiot who named it that, it's so corny!"

Unable to resist commenting, Chu Xiu shook his head and walked near the nest, initiating perfect refining.

The burning corpse demon bodies began to refine, merging into the bone armor, while the life souls not completely dissipated in the air were captured, becoming nourishment for the ghostly legion.

In no time, all these resources were absorbed, and without wasting time, Chu Xiu waved a hand, sending a large number of ghosts rushing deeper into the nest.

...

On the other side, Lin Yang and others, who had luckily escaped, were still patting their chests with lingering fear.

Lin Yang didn't know why, but after hearing that eerie horn sound, he suddenly lost all fighting spirit, with only escape in his mind.

Coming to his senses now, he looked back at the direction of the nest, his eyes flashing with unwillingness.

"I can't believe we're so unlucky to run into the Outer City District's boss, the Dark Night Monarch!"

"Quickly send a message to the other strongholds!"

"Yes!"

Chu Xiu didn't know that due to his terrifying power, many strongholds had already deemed him the ultimate boss of the Outer City District.

And a boss is naturally meant to be hunted; everyone wouldn't just let him continuously seize the awakened's resources.

Yesterday, a large number of analysts worked through the night, not only to rework plans and speed up actions, but also planning how to take down this "big slab of meat"!

"An outdoor ultimate boss, if a monster of this strength could be killed, it would almost certainly drop [Perfect] quality equipment, maybe even a [Legend]!"

Excitement flashed in his eyes.

But unfortunately, he also knew he couldn't take on this big trophy alone. All strongholds had agreed: if any word of the Dark Night Monarch came, they would immediately broadcast it on all channels and concentrate forces for the kill!

At that moment, the nearby analyst's voice rang out:

"Boss, someone responded!"

"Ye Junlin is on his way here!"

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