Chapter 47: Ambers of the Long Night (3)
When Tang Mobai’s consciousness finally returned, he had no idea how much time had passed. The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting in a chair. The surroundings looked like a cross between a meeting room and a dining hall—sleek, metallic silver décor with a clean, futuristic aesthetic.
A blond man stood with his back to him, gazing out the window. From the faint vibrations underfoot and the scenery speeding by outside, Tang Mobai guessed they were aboard some kind of high-speed transport.
“You’re awake?”
Before Tang Mobai could gather more information, the blond man turned around—instantly, the entire room seemed to brighten. Tang Mobai squinted slightly, recalling the last words he’d heard before losing consciousness.
“Who are you?” he asked cautiously.
The blond man didn’t answer. He simply walked to the far end of the long table and sat down, facing Tang Mobai directly.
“Don’t you already have the answer in your heart?”
“What answer? I don’t know,” Tang Mobai feigned ignorance while quickly opening his livestream interface.
The long-awaited viewers instantly flooded in.
[Something huge happened, streamer!]
[Damn, the anchor got caught too!]
[What? I just joined—what’s going on? Isn’t this supposed to be a reward world?!]
[No! Everyone thought it was a reward world because a B-rank world shouldn’t be this hard. Normally, half the players die during early exploration. But this one was way too smooth—everyone got complacent. Turns out it was a trap!]
[A trap! It’s the native people’s trap! Almost 90% of the demons in the instance have been captured!]
At this point, not only were the viewers in chaos, but even the expert teams monitoring in reality were caught completely off guard. When Tang Mobai closed his stream earlier, the analysts had switched to other demons’ livestreams to collect intel. They’d spent a long time carefully drafting strategies based on the information the “mission world” had shown—everything to assist Tang Mobai’s next moves.
But plans couldn’t keep up with change. In just two or three minutes of inattention, the entire situation had flipped.
From what they could gather from the other streamers’ captures, the snowy wasteland and mining base weren’t real at all. Everything had been a holographic illusion created through advanced technology. Tang Mobai and the others were actually in a distorted spatial zone.
They called it “distorted” because, to the naked eye, they were inside a dome about five meters high and roughly the size of a football field. The explosion crater was still there—but according to the locals, Tang Mobai’s bomb had damaged the central control system, which caused the “full-area projection” to collapse.
That raised a question, though: the bomb’s blast radius had been five full kilometers. In a space barely the size of a football field, how had they not been caught in the explosion themselves?
The only explanation was spatial folding technology. The hall merely looked that small, but its interior space could expand infinitely. While the explosion had appeared close, they were actually still very far from the epicenter. The NPCs here were likely equipped with tech that allowed them to move freely within that folded space.
One by one, the captured demons’ livestreams went dark. The analysts worked frantically, switching feeds, recording and screenshotting everything they could before every stream was forcibly shut down.
In the end, the last frame captured was a snippet of text on the hall wall.
The stream’s auto-translation kicked in—capable of parsing even alien scripts—and when the analysts saw what it said, every single face twisted in disbelief.
[Dear players, please play responsibly~]
“This is… ridiculous,” Gong Wen murmured. “This place… is a game room? Of an advanced civilization?”
“So… all of this was fake?”
Even after hearing the answer, Tang Mobai still felt as though he were dreaming. This was a B-rank tech-type world? That was cheating—no, it had to be a dream.
He pinched himself.
“Ow—damn, that hurts.”
“How about now? Convinced this isn’t a dream?” The blond man rested his chin on his hand, smiling as he watched Tang Mobai’s every move. “Looks like I don’t need to explain—you already learned the truth from your communication channel.”
Tang Mobai froze, his gaze finally leaving the chat feed to focus fully on the blond man. “So, you’re people from this world?”
“Yes,” the man replied. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Emmanuel Bello. Nice to meet you, Tang Mobai. I hope we’ll get along well from now on.”
Tang Mobai instinctively swallowed. “You… you know my name—you—”
How long had they been watching? Wait—don’t tell me they’d been watching since the explosion, through all the arguing and chaos?!
I’m doomed, Tang Mobai thought.
“Yes,” Emmanuel said calmly. “Not only your names—we know you’re from Lost Paradise, your guild structure, your organization’s hierarchy, everything. We’ve collected precise data. I also know you have an emergency escape method—but I’d advise you not to use it.”
The moment Tang Mobai thought of opening the Demon Mall—no, more accurately, the moment he even entertained the idea of escape—an electric jolt ran through him. It wasn’t painful, but his whole body went numb, frozen in place.
Five seconds later, the paralysis faded, though his limbs still felt heavy and unresponsive.
“That’s why,” Emmanuel sighed, “to prevent escape, we implanted a microchip under the skin at the back of your neck. It detects brainwave patterns associated with certain trigger words—so please, don’t try that again.”
This feels way too familiar, Tang Mobai thought. Isn’t this just like the slave collars from the last world?! Again?!
He let out a long sigh, then slowly sat up once his body responded again. “Where are my companions?”
“They’re also on this ship. Don’t worry—they’re fine.” Emmanuel pressed a button on the table. A screen unfolded, showing a cell-like room. Just as he said, Yan Wuzhen and Seth were both unharmed. Before Tang Mobai could speak, the image vanished.
“But before you reunite with them, I’d like you to hear my proposal.” Emmanuel smiled. “I overheard your argument with your teammates. I didn’t expect a demon like you to think that way. Honestly, it moved me a little—that’s why I wanted to talk face-to-face.”
[Moved? More like paralyzed with fear.]
[Wait, what argument? What’d they fight about?]
[No clue. Must’ve been after the stream cut. Still, compared to others, Tang Mobai’s group got off easy. You should see the other guilds’ streams—brutal.]
[No wonder it’s a B-rank world… brutal as hell.]
[Hey, come to think of it—didn’t those guilds invest tons of points and time to clear this instance?]
[Yeah, all down the drain. Painful but hilarious.]
[Guess all the “loot” they found was just bait laid by this world’s natives. Tragic. I almost feel bad for them.]
[Light a candle for the fallen, folks.]
The unaffiliated viewers were laughing it up, while demons who had invested in this world were too broken to even type. They couldn’t bear to check their own guild streams anymore—it was too painful—so they silently camped in Tang Mobai’s instead.
Tang Mobai glanced at the comments. He didn’t need to think hard to realize: the locals must’ve been observing everything the demons did in their “game world,” maybe even using those events to test their intentions.
If he reversed the situation—if his world were invaded by demons who toyed with it for fun—
…then all he could do was pray there was a special corner of hell reserved for them.
Tang Mobai swallowed nervously. “W-what do you want to talk about?”
“No need to be so tense,” Emmanuel said gently. “We don’t intend to retaliate for what you did here—after all, none of this was real. I captured you for my own reasons. I need your help to leave this world… and reach Lost Paradise, to find hope that can save ours.”
Tang Mobai blinked, startled.
“To be honest,” Emmanuel continued, “our world is on the brink of collapse. Our scientists are doing everything they can, but there’s no visible path to salvation. However, perhaps Lost Paradise holds that hope. After all, you come from another realm—another system of laws. Maybe what’s unsolvable here can be solved in your world.”
[Ah, so that’s why they captured them.]
[Kind of clever, actually.]
[Uh-huh, but he doesn’t realize how restrictive the Lost Paradise invitation rules are…]
“Mr. Emmanuel, I understand what you’re saying,” Tang Mobai said carefully. He could empathize—because in a sense, they were alike.
Emmanuel’s home was on the edge of apocalypse. He sought a way to save it. And while Tang Mobai’s own world wasn’t in crisis yet, everything he’d done in Lost Paradise—climbing higher, gaining strength—was for the same reason: to prepare for possible catastrophe.
But there was one problem. If Lost Paradise had an invitation system, why hadn’t Tang Mobai brought more people in himself?
Because that system was deeply flawed.
“You see,” Tang Mobai said tactfully, “Lost Paradise’s invitation rules come with certain conditions… and they might be hard for you to accept.”
“I know,” Emmanuel said. “To invite someone from another world, your mission score must be A-rank or higher, and the invitee must have played a crucial role in helping the demon complete the mission. Only then can the system acknowledge them. Correct?”
“You even know that?” Tang Mobai was stunned. “Then you should also know—it’s impossible.”
After all, how could one save their world by first destroying it? Before finding hope, their world would already be gone.
“No,” Emmanuel said meaningfully. “It’s possible. What if I told you I can help you complete your mission without harming this world?”
“That’s impossible!”
Inside a cell elsewhere, Yan Wuzhen’s voice rang out furiously. “You can’t trick Lost Paradise. The world’s collapse level is absolute. If you don’t contribute to that destruction, the system won’t acknowledge your progress.”
“Calm down, Mr. Yan Wuzhen.” Outside the cell, the secretary adjusted his glasses and produced a prepared glass tank. Inside were a slice of bread—and a nest of ants.
Yan Wuzhen and Seth approached calmly and stopped before the glass tank, separated by a fence.
“What does this mean?”
“If we assume our world is like this glass tank,” the secretary said lightly, “then if demons like you came here to complete a mission—what would you do?”
“Destroy the glass tank,” Yan Wuzhen answered without hesitation.
Seth asked, “Or flip over the soil?”
The secretary shook his head. He didn’t do anything—he just took away the bread.
Yan Wuzhen frowned. “You mean, as long as you take away the ants’ survival resources, that counts as accelerating the apocalypse? I won’t deny that logic. Demons before us have targeted water supplies or farmland in other mission worlds, but doesn’t that still count as harming the world itself?”
“For the ants in our world, there’s only one ‘bread’—the Super Brain,” the secretary explained. “You can think of the Super Brain as a massive system that allocates social resources. It has penetrated every aspect of our lives. People in our world could go one or two days without food or water, but we cannot survive even one second in a society without the Super Brain… it’s that vital.”
“So once you complete the main mission—to seize the Super Brain—this world will naturally collapse. But according to our research, even after you complete the mission, Lost Paradise doesn’t reclaim the rewards.”
Just like how the Jade Society took the Philosopher’s Stone from Rao’s world—Lost Paradise didn’t force a recovery. It doesn’t care what demons obtain in their task worlds; its only goal seems to be bringing those worlds to ruin.
Yan Wuzhen suddenly understood. “So you want to exploit a loophole? After completing the mission and earning Lost Paradise status, you immediately bring the Super Brain back here?!”
The secretary nodded. “Yes, that’s our plan.”
“Is that even possible?” Tang Mobai’s mind froze. “Isn’t that… like bugging Lost Paradise?” Though, admittedly, he’d done similar things before.
“I don’t know,” Emmanuel said with a wry smile. “This is my first time trying it too. But right now, it’s the only method I can think of to give our world one more chance at survival.”
Indeed, based on Lost Paradise’s nature, if they didn’t finish the main quest, more and more demons would keep being sent to wreak havoc.
Previously, they had been trapped inside the “illusion,” but since Emmanuel had destroyed that, other demons probably already knew the truth and wouldn’t fall for the same trick again. So their only way out was to finish the mission—thus earning Lost Paradise’s recognition while also creating a path to save their world.
Even if they failed, things couldn’t get much worse.
“So how do we obtain the Super Brain? Do you know where it is?” Tang Mobai asked.
“Of course I do.” Emmanuel blinked. “In a sense, you already have it.”
“Huh?” Tang Mobai froze.
Emmanuel pointed at the back of Tang Mobai’s neck. Tang Mobai instinctively touched the small raised spot there.
“This chip isn’t just a tool I use to restrain you—it’s also a fragment of the Super Brain. Only about one ten-millionth of it, but try saying ‘open panel’ in your mind.”
Tang Mobai hesitated but obeyed. Soon, a faint blue holographic panel appeared in front of him.
[Tang Mobai Lv.0]
“It’s showing your name and level, isn’t it?”
Tang Mobai nodded. “Yeah. What does this level mean?”
“Everyone in our world is tagged with a level by the chip,” Emmanuel explained. “That level is a composite value derived from your intelligence, morality, physique, aesthetics, and labor contributions. In our society, the higher your level, the more resources you control.”
“What does that mean?” Tang Mobai still didn’t quite get it.
“Let me put it this way—do you have a universal medium of exchange in your world? Something used to trade goods?”
“Money!” Tang Mobai blurted.
“So that’s what you call it.” Emmanuel smiled faintly. “In our world, that concept no longer exists. When we gained the Super Brain, the monetary system became obsolete. It was replaced by a universal social hierarchy. In our society, anything money could buy—and even things money can’t buy—can all be obtained through level.”
“The Super Brain coordinates everything—education, medicine, resources, entertainment. As long as you have the right level, you can access them all. If your level is high enough, you can obtain anything in this world… including the Super Brain itself.”
At this, Emmanuel’s eyes flickered with a complicated light. “The current holder of the Super Brain is Queen Opatra. Her level is 100—the highest among all humans—and she possesses nearly all the world’s resources. To allow her to govern the system freely, the Super Brain must reside within her.”
“In other words, if you reach level 100, the Super Brain will transfer to you.”
Seth frowned. “But how can you be sure we could reach that level? Compared to your civilization, we’re not even prehistoric apes. You people have technology so advanced your elementary students could crush our PhDs in pure knowledge.”
The secretary explained, “First, you’re outsiders—foreign beings. That means you have no history or data in this world. Even your chips were just installed, so in the Super Brain’s calculations, you’re like newborn infants.”
“Besides, since you come from another world, our technological trees might not align. If you demonstrate abilities beyond an infant’s scope, the Super Brain will classify you as ‘geniuses.’ Geniuses are the quickest to rise in level and receive resource prioritization.”
“Second, the place you appeared in doesn’t represent our world’s real technological level.”
“What do you mean?” Yan Wuzhen frowned.
“I mean, you’re just unlucky,” the secretary said bluntly. “You happened to land in the Lost City—and the Lost City is a lost civilization. Just look out the window.”
Yan Wuzhen and Seth deadpanned. “What window?”
They were in a sealed underground prison.
“Whoa…” Tang Mobai pressed against the glass pane, staring blankly at the view outside.
It was called a city, but outside wasn’t a full metropolis—just clusters of derelict structures. Yet even in ruin, their distinctive sci-fi aesthetic and awe-inspiring architecture hinted at the civilization’s once-mighty brilliance.
“That area,” Emmanuel pointed at a building they were moving away from, “used to be the entertainment district of that civilization. Unfortunately, the technologies there are fixed in place—far beyond what we can dismantle or reproduce.”
“I found you all inside there,” he added. “Of course, other mercenary groups found you too, so we had to split you up.”
Tang Mobai wasn’t listening—his eyes were locked on the ruins, and he murmured, “What on earth happened here?”
“I don’t know,” Emmanuel said softly. “The deeper we explore and witness the wonders of that civilization, the more fear we feel. If even a civilization of that level couldn’t escape destruction… what hope do we have of saving our own world?”
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
