Chapter 81: Ambers of the Long Night (37)
In the auxiliary state, Tang Mobai instantly grasped the current situation.
The process of obtaining the Super AI wasn’t wrong — all the demons here were essentially abnormal data injected into this world by Lost Paradise. Therefore, Tang Mobai couldn’t directly control them. The moment the Super AI began transferring into one of these anomalies, Lost Paradise would seize that opportunity to lock onto it. The “three-minute countdown” represented the lock duration.
After those three minutes, the Super AI — along with whoever held it — would be pulled into Lost Paradise, marking the mission as complete.
However, as a system tool, Lost Paradise only needed the Super AI as its central control core. Every other form of human consciousness data — even the structural framework of this world — was a burden on the AI’s computational capacity. When the lock was complete, all such data would be left behind. And once stripped of its central AI, this world would completely collapse.
[Main Quest Progress: 70%]
[World Collapse Level: 96%… 97%…]
He couldn’t just let the mission complete like this — or the entire world would be destroyed.
Even under this extreme urgency, Tang Mobai’s rationality remained perfectly intact. The sensation was strange — as if every emotion had been forcibly suppressed under pure logic. His mind automatically listed possible plans — one, two, three, four — and filtered through them all within 0.1 seconds.
His gaze swept over the surrounding demons, pausing briefly on Tini before turning toward Seth.
“Seth, I need you to take Deville and leave here. Don’t come back. Go find Emmanuel.”
First, he had to eliminate interference. Seth’s leg was injured — unfit for the coming high-intensity battle. Deville had too many secrets, and even now Tang Mobai couldn’t decide whether to trust him. In this hyper-rational state, he chose to remove both unstable factors outright.
Seth froze slightly, meeting Tang Mobai’s eyes — eyes once warm amber now turned a cold, icy white. Even his tone was clipped and mechanical, carrying a weight that made people uneasy.
But Tang Mobai held command authority, and Seth neither could nor wanted to disobey. Almost automatically, he grabbed Deville by the collar. Deville, caught off guard, tried to resist but was swiftly subdued. Carrying him effortlessly, Seth turned and began moving away from the battlefield.
“Yan Wuzhen, stand behind me.”
Yan Wuzhen looked at the man before him — familiar yet utterly alien — and silently obeyed.
He was beginning to understand why Emmanuel and the others had suspected that the Wise King had been taken over by the Super AI. Tang Mobai’s eyes now contained something that… didn’t belong to a human.
Yan Wuzhen stepped behind him. Tang Mobai leaned close and whispered something in his ear. Yan’s eyes flickered in surprise before he gave a grave nod.
*
“Let me go!” Deville shouted. He hadn’t even started fighting before Tang Mobai literally kicked him out of the battlefield.
Now, his collar was clutched in Seth’s hand as he thrashed helplessly in the air.
But Seth didn’t react at all — his grip was steady as ever.
Deville’s current body was that of a child — his strength equally limited. Neither of his two personality abilities (Gluttony and Jealousy) were suited for direct combat. He usually relied on manipulating others into hurting him first to trigger his powers — a tactic useless against a cold, emotionless machine like Seth.
No matter what Deville tried — pouting, threatening, pleading — Seth ignored him completely. Even his futile struggles were calmly suppressed. Seth was careful, too; he ensured Deville wasn’t harmed.
Who the hell needed that kind of gentleness right now?!
Fuming, Deville glared at him. They hadn’t interacted much before, but even so, he’d always known they were a poor match — Seth tended to avoid him entirely.
But right now, no matter what, he had to go back!
“Seth, we have to help Tang Mobai! It’s just the two of them — if they get surrounded, it’ll be too dangerous!”
“Ge Guang and the others are from Crisis Hell — who knows what other tricks they have up their sleeves? Tini and Dong Jishi haven’t even used their full power yet. They’re top-ranked streamers back in Crisis Hell; there’s no way they don’t have backup plans!”
“And don’t you think Tang Mobai was acting weird just now? What if the Super AI is messing with him? Aren’t you even a little worried?”
“Seth!!”
No matter what Deville said, Seth neither responded nor argued.
He wasn’t a creature of desire; that was what made him incorruptible — and immovable. Once given a command, he followed it to the end, impossible to sway.
Was he really going to just wait here for the battle to end?
Deville gritted his teeth, racking his brain. There had to be something — some way to make Seth let him go. In this state, he couldn’t open his livestream, meaning he had no access to points or items — only his innate powers. But both his personalities’ abilities were passive, and Seth’s grip ensured he couldn’t even hurt himself to trigger them.
He needed to find a loophole — a weakness — something Seth wanted.
And if he didn’t have one… he’d have to create it.
As Deville searched his mind for possibilities, a chain of massive explosions echoed behind them. Seth instinctively turned his head toward the battlefield — and in that split second, Deville had a flash of inspiration.
“Don’t you want to fight beside them?” he whispered.
For the first time, Seth’s fingers trembled.
The battlefield roared with continuous explosions.
Wherever Tang Mobai looked, small-scale nuclear blasts erupted instantly. Yan Wuzhen stood protected behind him, while Nahem and the others were less fortunate. Dong Jishi had fallen after the second blast, buried under debris — fate unknown. The grand central hall, once the political heart of the area, was now a field of ruins.
Ge Guang’s Black Armor Shield had been destroyed in the second explosion. Desperate, he equipped speed boosters. You Le spent every last viewer donation on healing and survival, barely keeping them alive.
Why hadn’t they surrendered yet?
Sunk costs. Each destroyed piece of equipment tore at Ge Guang’s heart; every point You Le spent came at a price. To leave now empty-handed would mean disaster for both of them.
“Tini! You’re still not going to act?!”
You Le finally snapped, aiming his gun toward the woman hiding behind a half-collapsed structure. “Hey, you — I know you’re from the Secret Society! Your ability’s got to be something special. If you’ve got a trump card, use it now! If we die, you’re coming with us!”
Tini gritted her teeth and stepped out reluctantly. She wasn’t fully confident she could turn the tide — but the situation no longer allowed hesitation.
[Fate Skill 5: The Fate-Changer]
Effect: You can dispel all abnormal states from a target. The more you dispel, the greater the stamina cost. The target must remain stationary while being dispelled.
Original Sin:
Sloth I — “If I play support, will everyone protect me?” Presence reduced by 35% in combat.
Sloth II — In support mode: +20% stamina recovery and movement speed.
Sloth III — When dispelling yourself: +50% dispel speed.
“Abnormal state” — a very broad term. Did it mean negative or positive? After all, anything deviating from “normal” could count as “abnormal.”
If not for the stamina drain, “Fate-Changer” would’ve been a perfect support ability. Watching the Wise King’s state earlier, Tini realized it might just be her chance to use it.
But there was a catch: the target had to remain still. Tini couldn’t do this alone — she’d need Ge Guang and the others to cooperate.
After privately sharing her ability details, Ge Guang observed Tang Mobai closely and quickly devised a plan.
When the next explosion went off, Ge Guang shouted from behind cover: “Tang Mobai! Look — over there, at Nahem’s side!”
Instinctively, Tang Mobai turned his head. After the last explosion, Nahem’s group had moved but not as fast as Seth — still within range, glancing back at Tang Mobai as if to signal something.
At that exact moment, another sniper shot whistled through the air — aimed right at Nahem and the Queen.
Tang Mobai froze to intercept it.
That was Ge Guang’s plan. He’d already noticed that during earlier fights, Tang Mobai didn’t dodge bullets — he redirected them. Not to show off, but because every time he triggered an effect, he couldn’t move freely while doing so.
Just like how his gaze could cause explosions — he couldn’t move mid-trigger.
But the timing was tight — dangerous even. Tang Mobai was pursuing them while detonating, leaving Tini no chance to act before.
Only when he stopped to save someone could they use that opening to dispel the Super AI! Even if it didn’t choose them right away, as long as the main quest didn’t complete, they’d still have a chance!
And Ge Guang was right.
When altering or transferring data, Tang Mobai had to focus entirely — or risk damaging the system. That meant he couldn’t move freely.
Now, as he fixed his gaze on the incoming bullet, he forcibly redirected the air currents, deflecting its path — and stood still for more than two seconds.
Tini’s ability activated.
A white light burst out of Tang Mobai’s body, forcibly severing his link to the auxiliary state. Everyone’s eyes locked on the light — hearts screaming:
Pick me! Pick me!
The white light lingered above Tang Mobai’s head, wavering as if reluctant to leave, but Tini’s dispel still took effect — and the light slowly began to rise.
Ge Guang, You Le, and Tini stared at it, eyes burning. If their gazes had form, they’d have wrapped the Super AI up and dragged it home themselves.
Then — before everyone’s eyes — the Super AI shot downward and merged into…
…the person standing behind Tang Mobai.
[Yan Wuzhen, Lv 96]
[Main Quest Progress: 90% ? 50%]
[World Collapse Level: 98% ? 95%]
Tang Mobai’s lips curved in a faint smile as he and Yan Wuzhen exhaled in relief.
Good. His hypothesis was correct.
As long as the host changed, the lock timer reset.
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