Chapter 70: Ambers of the Long Night (26)
The slicked-back man hadn’t been in this world long before demons from the Beyond Guild arrived at the location they’d agreed upon. One of them, a newcomer, was meeting a “big shot” from Crisis Hell for the first time and was beside himself with excitement.
“Is it really that Ge Guang? The famous streamer? We actually get to meet someone that important?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s really him,” his senior said for the fifth time. “Remember to show some respect in front of Li Guang. If you make him angry, you’re on your own.”
“Got it, got it!”
In his head, the newcomer was already picturing an overbearing, cold, murderous great demon — just like in Ge Guang’s streams, where he was always effortlessly cool and intimidating. He must be the same in private…
They opened the door to the rented apartment, the newcomer full of anticipation.
First thing he saw: comic books and magazines piled all over the floor.
The newcomer thought, must be the human data this great demon possessed — definitely not his true self!
“Hahahaha, this game’s so fun! Oh? You guys are here! Come join me!”
A slightly nerdy-looking man was curled up on the couch, waving enthusiastically, utterly relaxed. “There’s even a co-op mode!”
…?
The newcomer froze. His senior, however, didn’t bat an eye.
“Lord Ge Guang, we should probably get down to business. We didn’t come to this world to play games.”
“Ah, Little Ye, you’re still such a bore. Fine, fine, come on over.”
The slick-backed man sighed and paused the game — just paused, clearly planning to resume later.
The newcomer: “???”
“Hmm? What’s wrong with this kid? You don’t like games?”
“Apologies,” Little Ye replied calmly, sitting beside Ge Guang. “He still has some unrealistic fantasies about high-tier hells. Probably thinks all great demons are cold-blooded monsters and villains.”
“Huh? Haha, but I’m not even a great demon,” Ge Guang said, scratching his head. “Compared to those freaks from the second or third levels, I’m nothing. And come on — this world’s about to end. This is a limited edition game! Wouldn’t it be a shame not to play it before it’s gone?”
“But aren’t we here to destroy this world?” the newcomer asked.
“Exactly! That’s why I have to play. It’d be a waste otherwise — these are priceless relics of civilization!” Ge Guang laughed heartily. “It’s valuable because it’s about to vanish.”
The newcomer’s eyes widened slightly — a faint chill ran through him.
“Alright, let’s handle business quickly. I want to keep playing after.”
“Understood.” Little Ye adjusted his glasses. “Lord Ge Guang’s goal is without a doubt the Super Brain, correct? How do you need us to assist you?”
“Hmm… first, set up a civilian rescue organization.”
“Understood.”
“Huh?? A rescue organization?” The newcomer was stunned. “Why?”
“Uhh… it’s a bit complicated,” Ge Guang muttered.
Little Ye explained, “Simply put, it’s the most efficient and stable way to seize the Super Brain. Thanks to Tu Xiao’s actions, we no longer need to waste strength fighting the Wise King — and honestly, none of us want to face that kind of monster anyway.”
“Exactly! Who in their right mind fights the administrator of a virtual world?” Ge Guang slapped his thigh. “We should avoid that if possible. Besides, that NPC Emmanuel already told us the path to victory, didn’t he?”
“Increase your level, become a crown prince candidate,” Ye confirmed.
The newcomer nodded. “I see — so we’re aiming to exploit the level evaluation system. But we can’t always get there in time, can we?”
If it were really that simple, the current head of the Rescue Bureau would’ve become Wise King already.
“Who says you can’t?” Ge Guang smiled. “If you can’t make it, can’t you create your own opportunity?”
Wait — did he mean… to stage it themselves?
A flash of realization struck the newcomer. Even as a fellow demon, he felt a chill run down his spine. But he had to admit — it was a brilliant plan.
Currently, the demons invading the native world from Lost Paradise fell into two types:
Those from Hungry Hell — no chips, unable to join elections.
Those from Crisis Hell — they had chips, were bound by restrictions, but could participate in the election.
If the Crisis Hell demons used the Hungry Hell ones wisely — combined with the secrecy of Lost Paradise’s communications — they could rapidly raise their ranks in this world.
Just like Tang Mobai and Yan Wuzhen once did… only this time, far crueler and utterly without restraint.
They would fan the flames of this burning world with a hurricane.
“We need to hurry,” Ge Guang said. “I’m not the only one who’s descended — the others will arrive soon. Keep the assassinations going; eliminate rival candidates to raise our odds.”
“Understood.”
*
Tang Mobai stepped out of the room and saw Deville peeking curiously out the window. He hesitated, then crept closer and whispered, “What is it?”
“Looks like someone’s approaching, but I can’t see clearly.”
Tang Mobai imitated his posture and looked outside — two familiar figures were coming into view.
Once he confirmed it was just them and they didn’t seem to be under duress, Tang Mobai stood and waved. “Over here!”
Finally, teammates!
After finishing off Red Waste, he’d sent his coordinates in the team chat, waiting to regroup with Yan Wuzhen and the others. But as they approached, Tang Mobai hesitated — Seth looked fine, but… why did Yan Wuzhen’s face look so dark?
Tang Mobai, I’m telling you — if you dare let go again…
Oh no.
“Tang Mobai!”
“I was wrong, I swear! I should’ve told you first!” Tang Mobai rattled off his apology at lightning speed, his years of experience in begging forgiveness shining through. “But I really couldn’t just leave him! I had my reasons — can’t explain them right now — it wasn’t just blind heroics!”
The blood-red sigil on his left wrist pulsed faintly. He couldn’t reveal Deville’s secret, and even if he tried, Yan Wuzhen and the others wouldn’t remember their past encounter with Deville in the Revival match.
Yan Wuzhen stopped right in front of him, black eyes meeting Tang Mobai’s anxious amber gaze.
“If you ever let go again,” Yan Wuzhen said coldly, “then I guess you don’t need this team anymore.”
Then, sweeping his eyes over the small boy beside Tang Mobai, Yan added icily, “Who’s the kid?”
Deville shrank back slightly. “I’m thirsty. Got any water?”
“There’s bottled water inside,” Tang Mobai answered automatically, glancing at Seth for backup. But Seth’s expression was distant, distracted.
“Seth?”
Seth blinked, then smiled faintly. “You’re okay. That’s good.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. You guys okay?” Tang Mobai asked hesitantly.
Yan Wuzhen being mad was expected — but Seth seemed… off.
“We’re fine,” Seth replied. “A small squad was tracking us, but Yan guessed their intentions, so we led them around until they withdrew this morning. We figured something must’ve happened to you.”
“Looks like it wasn’t you who got in trouble after all.”
Ah — news of Red Duke’s fall must’ve spread.
Even the largest, strongest team had been wiped out by Tang Mobai; the others wouldn’t dare make a move now.
Tang Mobai looked toward Yan Wuzhen, but Yan Wuzhen ignored him, heading straight for the kitchen to drink water.
Tang Mobai thought for a moment, then used one point to buy a cake from the demon shop (food prices in the instance were normal).
“Want some cake?”
“No. Go away.” Yan didn’t look back.
“You sure? It’s sweet.”
“No.”
“Sugar helps improve your mood, you know.”
“You’re so annoying.” Yan Wuzhen turned, only to see Tang Mobai’s face covered in cream as he pulled a silly face.
“…Not funny at all.” Yan Wuzhen turned away again — but the corner of his mouth lifted.
“Hey, you thought it was funny last time when you got hit with cream…”
A thread flicked through the air — Yan Wuzhen used it to flip the rest of Tang Mobai’s cake into his face.
“There. That’s funnier.”
Tang Mobai wiped off the cream helplessly. “Now that you’ve thrown the cake, you can’t still be mad. I never stayed mad at you that long.”
Yan Wuzhen snorted, glancing toward the living room — more precisely, at Deville — and lowered his voice. “What’s with that kid?”
Since he was asking, that meant the anger was mostly gone.
Tang Mobai scratched his head. “It’s… complicated. But I can’t tell you.”
Can’t, not won’t.
Yan Wuzhen’s gaze swept over him, lingering on his left wrist.
Tang Mobai had worn black gloves ever since the Revival match — one on each hand now, though before he usually only bothered with one. The gloves were combat gear, but Tang Mobai’s seemed ordinary, more like a way to hide something… perhaps one of the “benefits” he’d gained from that match.
Yan Wuzhen’s eyes narrowed. The glove wasn’t long enough to hide everything — a faint trace of red could still be seen at Tang Mobai’s wrist. Tang Mobai tugged it down awkwardly.
Yan Wuzhen’s expression sharpened instantly. Remembering what Tang Mobai had said before — I owe him — realization struck.
“You two made a contract, didn’t you?”
Tang Mobai didn’t answer. He didn’t have to — his face said enough.
Yan Wuzhen’s eyes darkened, and a flicker of killing intent rose in his heart.
That idiot — doesn’t he know that casually signing contracts in Lost Paradise is extremely dangerous? The reason why “Contract Scrolls” are the best-selling item in the Demon Mall is because those contracts, issued by the system itself, can’t be tampered with — the clauses are always printed clearly in black and white. But even so, Yan Wuzhen knew of several ways people had still managed to exploit loopholes in them. And this wasn’t even a written contract.
Still, such unwritten contracts had one upside — if either of the signers died, the contract would naturally dissolve.
“Forget it. If you can’t say, then don’t.”
Yan Wuzhen’s face remained expressionless; Tang Mobai couldn’t tell he was already plotting something. Thinking the matter resolved, Tang Mobai continued, “Since we’ve shaken off our pursuers, how do we get back to the surface world?”
“Only Seth can do that among us,” Yan Wuzhen said calmly. “Before, we could’ve had him carry us one by one, but now it’s impossible — the mechanical parts in his legs are damaged. Considering the height difference between the Lost City and the surface, the chance of something going wrong is too high.”
Tang Mobai sighed. “That’s… troublesome.”
They had no idea what was happening on the surface now — world collapse had already reached 90%. Yet they were still trapped inside this bugged-out zone of the virtual world, unable to do anything.
“Based on previous deductions, the Lost City’s appearance should mean the Super Intelligence is losing control of this world,” Yan Wuzhen said. “And its civilization and technology level should be higher than what’s on the surface. So, let’s look around — maybe we’ll find something useful. Some tech, maybe similar to what trapped us earlier in that game room.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Tang Mobai tried to perk up. “Actually…”
He shared his earlier observations. “It’s possible this Lost City used to be something like a university district or research area — the architecture reminds me of the venue where we held that academic exchange conference.”
“Given that the Lost Civilization and the current surface civilization are essentially the same, that’s not surprising,” Yan Wuzhen agreed.
“If it really was a place like that, there’s bound to be something left behind. Let’s split up and look.” Tang Mobai decided.
After settling their plan, Tang Mobai and Yan Wuzhen left the kitchen and told Seth and Deville about it. Neither objected. Deville smiled sweetly, “Wherever big brother goes, I’ll go.”
Then he suddenly noticed a sharp stare from the side and turned innocently toward Yan Wuzhen’s narrowed eyes — instantly, Jealousy’s personality raised its guard.
“Gluttony, don’t be alone with Yan Wuzhen later.”
“Why?”
“Just listen to me.”
Gluttony murmured an “Oh,” then walked over and grabbed Tang Mobai’s hand, tilting his head up. “Can I team up with big brother? I’m a little… scared.”
Tang Mobai blinked. “Sure. Then, Seth, you’ll go with Yan Wuzhen.”
No response.
“Seth?”
Seth came back to himself and nodded.
That was the second time Seth had spaced out that day. Tang frowned. “What’s wrong? Your legs hurt? Or something off with your body? Should I use points to buy a healing spell?”
Seth slowly shook his head. “No need. Healing magic doesn’t work well on me.”
Right — most of Seth’s body was mechanical. The shop did sell magic that removed all negative statuses, but the universal type was insanely expensive.
It really wasn’t fair. Normal demon streamers could buy healing abilities with points, but if Seth got injured… he’d probably have to return to Lost Paradise for repairs. Otherwise, one dungeon’s worth of points wouldn’t even cover the cost.
Tang Mobai sighed. If only he knew anything about mechanics — he’d at least try fixing Seth himself.
Before sunset, when the light dimmed again, they split into two groups, opening their livestreams to search the Lost City for anything that might help.
[Chat Comments]
[When’s the streamer going back to the surface? The Lost City’s getting boring. The real fun’s up there!]
[Yeah! Crisis Hell’s demons are out now — the war for the throne’s begun. The streamer would have a big advantage there.]
[Big advantage — in getting assassinated, you mean. You think they’re leveling up fairly? The easiest way is killing higher-ranked candidates. They’ve already started purging competition.]
[Doesn’t killing lower your rank?]
[Sure, that’s why they cooperate — let Hunger Hell demons without chips do the killing. Or some descending demons have whole guilds behind them.]
[Either way, high-rankers are targets. NPC or not, doesn’t matter. The streamer should stay out of that mess. With his current contribution and intel score, an A-rating’s already guaranteed.]
Tang glanced at the chat, frowned slightly, but said nothing — only sped up his search.
The Lost City’s structures weren’t too damaged; not even much dust had gathered. It felt vast and empty — as if everyone had vanished in an instant.
There were remnants of spatial-folding tech here and there — for example, not a single elevator existed anywhere. Tang Mobai had walked around a whole tower and found no stairs or passages to the second floor, until Deville accidentally stepped on a tile of a different color and blinked upstairs.
They found no transportation tech, though — maybe they no longer needed it. That folding-space tech alone could let someone move instantly anywhere on the planet.
Honestly, Tang Mobai really wanted that technology. But the tech gap was too big; there was no way to replicate it.
While searching, Tang Mobai secretly messaged Yan Wuzhen via his Lost Paradise wristwatch.
Tang Mobai: Find anything like vehicles?
Yan Wuzhen: No. Most tech here’s broken or out of power.
So — nothing useful there either. Tang Mobai sighed and sat down to rest.
Tang Mobai: Hey, don’t you think Seth’s been acting weird?
Yan Wuzhen: What do you mean?
Tang Mobai: He’s sluggish today. Keeps staring at me longer than usual.
Yan Wuzhen: …Your observational skills are always wasted on pointless things.
Tang Mobai: Seth doesn’t talk much, so I need to watch him more. You guys are my teammates — who else am I supposed to pay attention to?
Yan Wuzhen: …
Yan Wuzhen: Not for much longer.
Tang Mobai: ?
Tang Mobai shot upright. What was that supposed to mean? Was Yan Wuzhen finally fed up with him? Breaking up the team? No way—
Yan Wuzhen: The mission’s almost over. Seth’s not coming with us to Crisis Hell, so after this dungeon, we won’t be in the same team anymore.
Tang Mobai: Huh? Why not?
Yan Wuzhen: Leaving Hunger Hell has two official requirements — I told you those. But there’s also a hidden one, rarely mentioned because almost everyone meets it.
Yan Wuzhen: To enter Crisis Hell, besides an A-rank score and 5000 points, you also have to become a true demon — awaken your Sin and Fate.
Tang Mobai: I kinda get it… but Seth can’t meet that?
He’d only fought Seth once — in the Revival Match — but Seth was definitely strong. When he used his weapon systems, he could crush Tang Mobai easily. He’d never even considered that Seth might lack any desire to awaken.
Yan Wuzhen: Have you ever seen him really want something?
Yan Wuzhen: He doesn’t even care if he lives or dies. His survival instinct’s barely there — how could someone like that become a real demon?
Evil, in Lost Paradise, wasn’t just cruelty — it was desire, pride, the will to act freely and impose your will on the world. Every true demon was driven by an overwhelming craving.
But Seth wasn’t. He was too quiet — like a piece of furniture sitting silently in a corner. Even Tang Mobai sometimes forgot he was there, which was why he’d trained himself to pay attention to Seth.
But if Seth couldn’t awaken… once this world ended, he’d really be gone. Unless they didn’t ascend to Crisis Hell.
But that was impossible. Wen wouldn’t agree — and Tang Mobai himself couldn’t give up that path.
Did that mean he’d have to say goodbye to Seth?
Tang Mobai felt a wave of sadness. Then suddenly, a thought hit him — his eyes lit up as he looked at little Deville.
Deville shivered. “…?”
“Deville,” Tang Mobai said with a smile, “I wanna discuss something with you.”
After Tang Mobai explained his plan in full, Deville instantly refused. “No way! Absolutely not! I don’t like interacting with strangers!”
Tang Mobai was confused. “But you came to sleep in my bed the first night — and you slept fine, didn’t you?”
Deville froze. “Th-that’s…”
He didn’t even know why himself!
“Anyway, I haven’t interacted with Seth much, and I don’t like it,” Deville said stubbornly.
Tang Mobai tried again. “Really can’t?”
Deville gritted his teeth. “No means no.”
Tang Mobai: QAQ
Deville: …
*
Seth was in a laboratory, searching for anything useful, when he suddenly felt two intense gazes on his back.
He turned silently — to see two heads poking through the doorway, one large and one small. The taller one’s eyes gleamed brightly.
“Seth.”
Tang Mobai cleared his throat and pushed the reluctant Deville forward.
“Do you… want to suck an infant?”
After all — if the problem was that Seth had no desires, then the solution was simple: awaken one!
Luckily, Seth still had that peculiar “people-sucking” habit. Tang Mobai thought — hey, that’s close enough to lust (probably). Maybe he’d just gone too long without feeding, and his survival drive had dulled. Neither Tang Mobai nor Yan Wuzhen would ever let him actually feed on them, and he wasn’t close to any strangers, so Tang Mobai decided — time to use Deville.
Look! Not just a human — a child! No one can resist a cute kid. Practically every mammal finds babies adorable. Let Seth take one little sip — maybe his dormant desires would wake right up!
Of course, to convince Deville to go along with this… Tang Mobai had basically signed a stack of one-sided “unequal contracts,” practically selling his soul in the process. But after a long negotiation, he’d finally gotten Deville to agree.
Deville met Seth’s calm but focused gaze, sighed like a little old man, and took a step forward, pointing at his own head.
“Go ahead, you can touch it—for ten minutes.”
Although he didn’t quite understand their intention, Seth silently reached out and gave Deville’s head a good rub. Then he turned toward Tang Mobai.
Tang Mobai lowered his head helplessly. “Go ahead.”
Seth still had no idea what was going on, but he happily petted away until Tang Mobai and Deville finally couldn’t take it anymore, and he reluctantly let go.
Tang Mobai asked anxiously, “Did you feel any change?”
Seth: “Change? What change?”
Deville: “Told you it wouldn’t work.”
How could anyone awaken “desire” just from being petted by a human? What kind of desire was that supposed to be?
Tang Mobai bent over in frustration. This shouldn’t have failed. How could someone pet a little animal and not awaken the desire to live properly? …Should he bring Yan Wuzhen over too?
Seth still didn’t understand what they were trying to do, but seeing Tang Mobai so disappointed, he thought for a moment and said, “I found something here.”
“What is it?” Tang Mobai forced himself to focus. “Can it send us back to the surface?”
“Probably not. But it seems related to this Lost City.”
Hearing that, Tang Mobai looked over. “What is it?”
Seth picked up a piece of paper from the table. Without him doing anything noticeable, a holographic projection appeared on it. When Tang Mobai saw the image that materialized, he froze.
It was a face he and the others knew well—Emmanuel. He looked about thirty years old. This race of his resembled white humans from Tang Mobai’s real world—deep features that aged quickly. Emmanuel now had a beard and fine lines at the corners of his eyes.
What surprised Tang Mobai most was that Emmanuel was wearing a white lab coat—he looked like a researcher. Facing the camera, he was smiling brightly. Beside him stood Tu Xiao, also in a white coat, like a close colleague.
“This is… their photo album?”
“Not just that. Looks more like a log or record,” Seth said, swiping his hand to the side. The hologram shifted, showing text written in the world’s native script. With the Lost Paradise translation function, Tang Mobai could read it smoothly.
(January 19)
I’m dead.
Although my memories of death were deleted according to plan, the moment I saw this intact world before me, I realized the truth—that the real me is dead. It seems the consciousness upload project succeeded. The Super Intelligence is operating well. It has successfully simulated most of this world’s details. The remaining parts still need further coding.
When he read the first entry, Tang Mobai froze, emotions complicated.
“So it’s true after all…”
All the humans who uploaded their consciousness had already died in reality. They’d suspected it before, but suspicion was still just that—a guess. Tu Xiao had even theorized that the Super Intelligence had enslaved the real humans and was planning a rebellion.
Deep down, Tang Mobai had actually hoped Tu Xiao was right—that some humans had survived the apocalypse, merely deceived by the Super Intelligence. That would have made things simpler. Their goal could just be to destroy the AI—if the Super Intelligence vanished, perhaps the comatose humans in reality would awaken.
But Emmanuel’s log shattered that illusion. If all the humans here had truly died in the real world…
Then how could Emmanuel still enter Lost Paradise with them?
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
