Chapter 239: Chapter 239: 12 Hours

Everything happened in a split second, yet as silently as a shadow.

Just as the shadow thought it had Xu Qingsui’s life in its grasp, the dagger in its hand suddenly struck something and was instantly knocked out of its grip.

It truly hadn’t made a single sound, but for Xu Qingsui, the sudden surge of unease was her best warning. Being in such a world, she was naturally on guard against the shadows at her feet.

Seeing Lu Jingyu use Tan Lang to block a blow for her, she was inspired and immediately summoned the Crimson Chain.

While the shadow was still astonished that Xu Qingsui had managed to parry its attack, the Crimson Chain whipped out, cleaving the shadow’s body in two with a single strike.

Immediately, a wisp of black aura seeped from where the shadow had been severed. Xu Qingsui took a deep breath, inhaling the black aura into her body. The energy was swiftly assimilated, gradually turning into her nourishment.

After being attacked, the shadow’s energy went berserk. As if provoked, countless shadows suddenly surged from the ground, all pouncing toward Xu Qingsui in an attempt to drown her.

Xu Qingsui directly swung the Crimson Chain, slaughtering all these shadows before greedily absorbing the black aura they emitted.

As expected, the combat power of a mental-type spirit body was practically zero.

The initial shadow had been overly confident, believing its scheme was flawless. Thus, being effortlessly thwarted by Xu Qingsui dealt it a heavy blow. When it launched its next attack, it acted out of spite—all blind momentum and no strategy. Under these circumstances, their attacks were far too easy for Xu Qingsui to handle.

As Xu Qingsui absorbed the aura to her heart’s content, the physical body of the Shadow Mermaid outside grew stiff. With its spirit body severely wounded, it had completely lost its mobility.

Lu Jingyu quickly noticed the Shadow Mermaid’s condition and immediately retreated to Xu Qingsui’s side. However, he discovered that Xu Qingsui’s eyes were glazed over. Worried, he hastily called out her name a few times, but she acted as if she couldn’t hear him at all, offering no response.

Growing increasingly anxious, he tried several other methods to wake her, but to no avail. Lu Jingyu’s expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to grab her and leave, clarity suddenly returned to Xu Qingsui’s gaze.

The moment Xu Qingsui returned to normal, the Shadow Mermaid behind her crashed to the ground, entirely devoid of life.

Lu Jingyu was still immersed in the joy of her waking up, but upon noticing the Shadow Mermaid’s state, he froze, faintly grasping the implications of what had just happened.

Seeing Lu Jingyu’s reaction, Xu Qingsui knew her secret was completely exposed. However, having spent so much time together, she had anticipated this scenario and was mentally prepared. She simply waited for him to ask so she could explain.

Surprisingly, Lu Jingyu digested his shock all on his own. After meeting Xu Qingsui’s gaze for a moment, he actually opted for Chen Mo, keeping his doubts to himself. He understood that this must be her secret; although he was astonished, a secret wouldn’t be a secret anymore if it was laid bare.

His expression soon returned to normal. "This Shadow Mermaid is dealt with. Let’s quickly take care of the ones in the other teams!"

When he first realized something was amiss, Lu Jingyu had decided to follow them to investigate. After all, if the enemy had truly infiltrated their ranks, their people might die without even knowing how. At that moment, he and Xu Qingsui had stopped monitoring their assigned area and trailed one of the teams, waiting for the imposter to expose itself. And then, the inevitable happened.

By now, they fully grasped the meaning of the second rule. It was meant for the Shadow Mermaids. These creatures could actually create a one-to-one replica of a human—a bizarre and incredibly dangerous ability.

Worried that the Shadow Mermaids in the other teams would also make their moves, the two immediately hurried after them. As expected, the remaining Shadow Mermaids successively launched their attacks. Fortunately, everything was under Lu Jingyu and Xu Qingsui’s control. Repeating their earlier teamwork, one was responsible for the physical offense, while the other invaded the Sea of Consciousness to directly eliminate the spirit body and absorb the pollution source.

Xu Qingsui was quite surprised that Lu Jingyu hadn’t pressed her for answers, but since her secret was already out, she began using her abilities without any restraint to slaughter the Shadow Mermaids.

After the Shadow Mermaids died, the team members who had been paralyzed by the shadows at their feet all returned to normal. They were completely baffled, clueless as to what had transpired. This worked out well; there was no need to worry about them discovering Xu Qingsui’s secret too.

However, when a Shadow Mermaid died, it ultimately dissolved into a puddle of black water, while the team member it had copied was nowhere to be found.

Lu Jingyu’s face darkened. These people had followed him in; even if they sacrificed their lives, he needed to see their bodies. Only by bringing their bodies back could he give proper closure to the families of the fallen. He promptly warned everyone about the Shadow Mermaids, then ordered a search for the missing members.

Upon learning about the Shadow Mermaids, the team members were filled with terror. They didn’t even dare to look at the ground, terrified of being copied themselves. Fortunately, they soon found the missing teammates. The copied members were merely unconscious, their lives not in danger. This was definitely a silver lining, and the tense atmosphere eased significantly.

After reorganizing the squad, they set off for the third floor. The castle was only three stories high. Now that the first and second floors had been thoroughly searched, any remaining secrets would be on the third.

By this time, twelve hours had silently passed. Upon realizing this, Lu Jingyu kept a grave silence, his worry evident on his face. The team members understood what was troubling him and shared his concern.

But right now, they were inside the instance and could not afford to fret over the outside world. The only thing they could do was clear the instance as quickly as possible so they could return. No one thought about resting anymore. Led by Lu Jingyu, they marched up to the third floor.

Meanwhile, in the outside world.

When the twelve-hour bell toll echoed, seawater surged once again from the cracks in the chemical plant’s ground. Immediately after, monsters with human bodies and fish heads spewed out from the water.

The area around the chemical plant was already surrounded by operatives. Led by Chen Yunfei, they had been waiting here for a long time.

As the Mermaids erupted from the depths, everyone raised their weapons and charged forward.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.