Tap~Tap~Tap~
Black Blade's boots tapped on the tar-covered road, moving at a leisurely pace as if he were just an ordinary passerby—if one ignored the mask he wore and the sword hanging at his waist.
Stopping about fifty meters away from the abandoned building, Black Blade paused and slightly turned his head, his eyes under the mask focusing on a specific spot.
There, emanating a faint glow, appeared to be a guard room. With Black Blade's vision, he could make out the silhouettes of two figures within.
A guard room in front of an abandoned building?
Fang You had looked up information about this building. It had been abandoned for over a decade. The construction had almost been completed when, seemingly due to the developer's financial issues or some other reason, work had stopped, leaving the building without a buyer ever since.
It truly was abandoned.
Through Black Blade's eyes, he clearly saw the building's dilapidated exterior, with some areas overgrown with wild grass. However, the guard room at the front of the building seemed newly built.
It wasn't old, and it had power, had people.
This is...
Combining the current state of the abandoned building with what he knew, Fang You had a guess, but this made things more troublesome—all he wanted was to quietly eliminate a few minor Mysterious Evils.
Suddenly, options popped up on the game interface.
"Please choose:
"① 'I am Black Blade. Why should I explain myself to anyone?'—Walk straight through the main entrance."
"② 'Discretion is paramount. Do not draw attention.'—Enter from the side."
"Option countdown: 5, 4, 3...."
A circular countdown marker rotated steadily.
Not much time remained.
Oh ho, I can even micro-manage on the spot?
Fang You quickly glanced at the options. Number two, definitely number two.
He was unsure in what form his instructions reached Black Blade, but after a brief pause, Black Blade moved aside.
Circling to the side of the abandoned building, which had no door, he found an open window on the second floor, accessible from the outside.
Of course, it was over four meters up, but Black Blade stepped back a few paces, then rushed forward. With a forceful step, he leapt into the air, using the outer wall to push himself up slightly, and in one bound, he caught hold of the second-floor windowsill.
Then, flexing his arm muscles, he easily lifted his entire body, flipping over the sill to enter the second floor of the abandoned building.
The whole process was as smooth as flowing water.
Whether it was picking locks or vaulting through a window, indeed, brother Black Blade was exceptionally skilled at these tasks, showing an especially experienced side in these respects.
Upon entering the abandoned building, Black Blade immediately activated the Mysterious Evil tracker.
Of course, he had also used it outside the building, confirming that the taint around this particular window was faint, which is why he chose this spot to enter.
The interior was darker, the floor littered with debris, but neither Black Blade nor Fang You paid much attention to their surroundings.
Instead,
Grey-black! A world of grey-black!
The wind of filth swirled around, grey-black spots everywhere, traces left by Mysterious Evils!
If before, using this ability to find Mysterious Evils was like searching for elusive clues at too great a distance, now the problem was an abundance of clues, they were everywhere, as if Mysterious Evils littered the ground, as if the entire abandoned building was a nest of Mysterious Evils.
Maybe, it wasn't just like that.
Black Blade looked down; not far away, a 'puddle' was slowly shifting across the floor.
Spotted, a wild Mysterious Evil!
And it seems rather weak?
Having deployed Black Blade on seven or eight missions, encountering Mysterious Evils each time, Fang You could now consider himself experienced.
Even if it was just theoretical experience.
He immediately noticed that this minor Mysterious Evil was weak, small in size, with faint marks, one that couldn't be any weaker.
Perhaps there was no need for a slash, maybe just a few swipes with a novice's sword would suffice to dispel this small Mysterious Evil.
A two-star mission for this?
It was clearly impossible.
Fang You relied on the game hints to easily detect this, and so did Black Blade, except he drew on his extensive experience.
The corruption in the wind was too thick.
Mysterious Evil, this one was not the source.
Black Blade slowly drew his blade but did not strike; instead, he held it in hand and skirted around the little Mysterious Evil that he spotted.
"It seems the little Mysterious Evil hasn't noticed Black Blade?"
"But in the previous encounters, Black Blade seemed to immediately attract the enmity of Mysterious Evil upon entrance."
"Is this little Mysterious Evil too weak or..."
"Does Black Blade possess some unique ability?"
The panel didn't display this.
Fang You thought, his eyes glued to the screen of his phone, not daring to relax his vigilance in the slightest.
He hadn't forgotten that Black Blade was currently deep within the den of a two-star Mysterious Evil.
Just one word, very! Dangerous!
As the one providing long-range technical support to Black Blade behind the scenes, he certainly wasn't just sitting idly by; in addition to issuing a few micromanagement commands to Black Blade at crucial moments, he also bore the most important responsibility—tactical retreat.
The Angel Envoy Black Blade could be deployed for a maximum of one hour, during which time Fang You could interrupt at any moment, allowing Black Blade to return to standby.
The entire return process wasn't instantaneous, but it was very quick, snapping the person back in a flash.
Fang You kept watch.
Black Blade meanwhile maneuvered through the dense corruption, visibility poor, but deactivating the ability to track Mysterious Evil at this time was out of the question.
He merely widened his eyes, searching.
Descending from the second floor to the first, he suddenly halted.
Before him, a dense swirl of corruption enveloped a terrible monster, almost like a ball.
He could just make out a figure hidden beneath the layer of corruption.
Seemingly countless giant snakes entwined together.
Sleek, bizarre, with a bloated lower half that opened and closed, emitting something invisible.
He saw it!
Although still quite blurry... Fang You wished he could zoom in on the game screen with two fingers.
At that moment, a game hint appeared on the side.
'Ding!'
'Hint: Mysterious Evil intelligence collected, identified as 'Serpent Mother', now recorded in the bestiary.'
'Hint: Two-star dispatch mission information updated, do you wish to view?'
'Hint: Do you wish to relay this information to the Apostle of Fate, Black Blade?'
On the bestiary, a large, hideous, and fearsome figure took shape.
The uploaded information was incomplete, but even through the game interface, Fang You's heart thumped wildly, a chill running straight to his crown.
And all the more so for Black Blade, who was a mere ten to twenty meters away from the Mysterious Evil Serpent Mother.
'Hint: Black Blade's sanity slightly decreased.'
'Hint: Black Blade's sanity slightly decreased.'
'Hint: ...'
'Hint: Black Blade's Mysterious value +0.02.'
'Hint: Black Blade's Mysterious value +0.01.'
Fearful that Black Blade would act rashly, Fang You hurriedly sent him a command to stand by.
Not far away, the Mysterious Evil Serpent Mother shrouded in the corruption seemed to have not noticed Black Blade, yet its massive body was moving, inching toward the entrance of the abandoned building.
It, the terrifying two-star Mysterious Evil, was on the move?!