Re:Library

Chapter 680: An Escape Plan

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Is science nothing but a lie? Is magic the only truth in this world?

“The two are intrinsically the same. They manipulate the world, just in different ways.”

I don’t have time for these philosophical debates, all I want to do now is leave this hell of a city.

“You call this hell? This place still doesn’t qualify.”

What do you mean it doesn’t qualify? There’s a person dying every second in despair. They are either dying in the jaws of those monsters, or in the hands of their own fellow human beings. And then there’s those who are committing suicide because they see no end to this despair… If all that doesn’t qualify this place as hell, what does?

“They die simply because they are weak. Being killed by monsters or their own race only proves they are physically weak. Committing suicide is proof they are mentally weak. Especially those suicidal ones, if it’s not this crisis, there will be another crisis that triggers them… There is no need to feel bad for those who do not treasure what they have.”

Perhaps…

Somehow, it felt like the system was just strong-arming her point, but she wasn’t entirely wrong either. If one couldn’t even love themselves, how could they expect others to do so. If everyone was as powerful as me, they definitely wouldn’t die to those zombies either. Unfortunately, not everyone had the opportunity to undergo enhancements…

“Leaving the city isn’t actually as difficult as our valued host seems to think either. As long as our valued host is willing to force his way through those ghosts, Icy Inferno in hand.”

That’s it?

“That’s it. But this method will only allow our valued host to leave by himself. Because our valued host does not possess the strength required to protect his harem members from the attacks of so many ghosts.”

…

I swept my eyes slowly over the girls…

They seemed to have noticed that I was communicating with the system as well, that was why they remained silent, patiently waiting for an outcome.

There’s no way I can just leave on my own… If it means abandoning the three of them, I would rather stay behind as well!

“Good, at least our valued host has some backbone. As a special service, the system has elected to offer a second option. Please open up the Marketplace. There should be a magic spell called ‘Flame Incarnate’. It’s a skill that creates an aura of fire around a person’s body as a means of defense. It’s a famously useless skill, because fire spells tend to be weaker defensively… But fire is made for attacking in the first place. With how vulnerable those ghosts are to fire, merely touching the flames should prove fatal.”

In other words, even a useless skill can become godlike under the right situations…

I tapped on the skill’s price tag: only a hundred points!

Cheap!

“Because it’s useless.”

Other than flames, what else would counter those ghosts?

“Lightning -essentially any attack that is energy would prove very effective against them.”

I see now. Because they have no physical body, they are afraid of energy attacks, anything you would associate that counters the supernatural.

“Unfortunately, the harem members of our valued host are unable to employ such a skill for now. Trying to do so would result in their deaths.

Hold on… You’re the one who suggested it. And you’re already stealing your own thunder?

“Flame Incarnate requires SP to activate, requires SP to maintain, and requires even more SP when it burns a ghost. How much SP do the members of our valued host’s harem possess?”

Thanks to the system’s reminder, I realised the problem as well. The skill was definitely able to force a path out of the city, but the energy had to be supplied from somewhere.

With how many ghosts there were guarding the exit, allowing the girls to charge in now would be like tossing a match into an ocean… The two weren’t even on the same scale. Even drinking SP potions wouldn’t be able to mend this massive gap.

So you’re suggesting…

“Train. Keep slaying monsters diligently, and by the time you raise your levels somewhat, your harem should be able to leave Southern Plains on their own merits. And if everything goes well, our valued host may even uncover the true mastermind behind this tragedy. If the mastermind is gone, leaving Southern Plains wouldn’t even be an issue.”

Defeat the mastermind? If you ask me, waiting for rescue sounds a lot more reliable… Speaking of rescue, what the heck were those soldiers even doing? Can’t they figure out a way to save those civilians?

“Rather than depend on others, you would be better off relying on yourself.”

All right, all right… the only one you can count on in a pinch is yourself, am I right?

Since my fellow human beings aren’t trustworthy anymore, I can only work harder. Also, if there is a ‘Heaven’ in this world, why hasn’t it acted yet? Look at how many have died already… millions! That’s not a small number.

“Haha. Has our valued host heard of the saying, Heaven is blind?”

I have. What does that have to do with this discussion?

“Then what does our valued host think that saying means?”

That Heaven is impartial and objective?

“Close enough. The laws of this world, or Heaven, is a set of rules laid down by the Creator when he created the world. Such a system has no emotions, so everything in this world is equal in its eyes. Regardless of who stands at the top in the end, it’s just a matter of the natural cause-and-effect.”

Natural? That’s rich, weren’t you saying how the laws of the world were getting warped? Is that still considered natural?

“And how do you know that isn’t a part of the world’s plans?”

…

With my limited knowledge, I had no way to counter that question.

“What is happening now is a clash of two worlds. A fusion of worlds, so to speak!”

Two worlds? Fusion?

“That’s right, the two worlds are already beginning to fuse. As more and more of these invaders intrude upon Gaia, the laws of both worlds would clash even harder… Valued host, I highly suggest that this process be stopped as soon as possible, or the consequences would be dire…”

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

Chapter 679: No Way…

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Admittedly, what the survivors were discussing amongst themselves was of interest to me, but I had no intention of approaching them at this point.

The entire warehouse itself was surprisingly dry, not at all humid as you would expect from a dockside property.

Seeing as it was dinner time, the girls and I picked a quiet spot where we could gather before dismounting from our exosuits.

Having just stepped out of the cockpit, I began rummaging through my inventory for food, but I was quickly tackled aside by a frightened Qiaoqiao who had just dismounted her own exosuit.

“Big brother… that was so scary…” She wept, and given how much had been piling on her till now, she probably wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. At the end of the day, she was just an eleven year old kid; the fact that she held on so long was commendable in itself.

But being the good girl that she was, she did not cry for long.

With Qiaoqiao placated, I took out a large tablecloth and neatly laid it out on the ground. I gently lowered Qiaoqiao down onto the cloth first, then began laying out the food, at which point the girls took their seats without me asking.

We were all seated close to each other, proximity borne out of a palpable sense of insecurity in each of the girls, the difference being that Lixiang and Bitong were a lot better at hiding their fears. While the exosuits were designed to be easy to control, extended periods piloting them would still wear a person down, especially in stressful situations like battles. And once the tension of battle had well and truly passed, all that stressed and pent-up emotion came flooding back in.

Although… This close proximity afforded me a first-row seat to the slightly sweet, slightly warm smelling fragrance wafting off the girls… Ahhh… there wasn’t a sweaty quality to this smell either…but it had to be stressed that this wasn’t me being creepy… Absolutely, no.

By now, Qiaoqiao had mostly recovered while seated in my embrace. In fact, she was starting to lean in, eyes half-closed, and little face rubbing slowly against my shoulder like a kitten.

“Big brother smells so good…”

Hearing that, Lixiang leapt on me and began sniffing like a bloodhound.

Finally, after a long, drawn-out sniff, she calmly stated in the most matter-of-fact tone ever, “His Highness is an exalted Fallen Angel, it’s only to be expected that his body exudes only the most sublime of fragrances!”

What do you mean sublime? Can you not describe my body in such a creepy fashion! And I’m a guy -what do you mean ‘fragrance’?!

“Ke has always had a strange fragrance to him, ever since I’ve known him as a child. Without vigorous exercise, you can’t even smell it.” Bitong proceeded to nonchalantly pull Qiaoqiao off me. “All right. Stop troubling your big brother, it’s time for dinner.”

“But Qiaoqiao wants a hug…” Qiaoqiao vehemently resisted Bitong’s hands, clamping down on me even harder. “Qiaoqiao wants to eat with big brother!”

At that point, an invisible vein seemed to pop in Bitong’s head. Her lips cracked into a sinister grin, “Qiaoqiao… Do you want your big sister to hang you by your feet and beat you up?”

I immediately recoiled backwards reflexively when I saw that black grin on her face, pushing away Qiaoqiao without a second thought. “That’s right. Qiaoqiao, be good, don’t make your big sister angry.”

“Hmph. Qiaoqiao isn’t afraid.” Qiaoqiao muttered under her breath, but sulked away in the end.

Maybe you aren’t scared of her, but I am… you haven’t seen Black Bitong yet -you don’t want to go anywhere near that…

Now that Qiaoqiao was out of the way, our meal began in earnest.

Originally, this tablecloth was meant to be used for a picnic, but ever since our hotspring visit, we never had a chance to go on a picnic, what with all the zombie nonsense going on…

Dinner itself consisted of simple fare -bread and whatever snacks and condiments we picked up from the inn. While munching, we started discussing what our future plans were. More importantly, how to tackle those ghosts.

Lixiang took the lead in declaring confidently, “Those ghosts are employing a psychic attack that targets the soul directly.”

“Targets the soul?” I asked in disbelief, but the moment I did so, I realised how logical that conclusion was.

An accomplished writer of her own fictional life, Lixiang firmly stated in an ironically shaking voice, “Your Highness, that has to be a soul attack!”

Just the fact that those ghosts were able to pass through solid matter alone was proof that conventional logic did not work on them. The idea of a soul attack wasn’t that far-fetched. At the same time, that meant those deactivated exosuits were a result of the ghosts directly assaulting the pilots within.

However, all that talk about ghosts employing an intangible form of attack had yet to be proven. After all, they could have easily used some sort of physical attack after passing through the exosuit. Without inspecting one of their victims, there was no way to prove these theories.

The soul was still an unexplored realm on Gaia. To begin with, the entire atmosphere of this world was filled with spiritual energy. These invisible energy particles were the antithesis of anything soul-like. That was how Gaia remained ghost-free till now….

Because of that, no one knew how to deal with ghosts, not even the military who suffered immensely as a result.

All that begged the question: what are ghosts doing in Southern Plains? Was it because of that strange green fog, or perhaps something else?

“That’s because the laws of the world have been warped around the vicinity of Southern Plains.” As if on cue, the system suddenly chimed in with an explanation. “Rather, the laws of the world have begun warping with Southern Plains as its centerpoint.”

The laws of the world have begun warping?

“Valued host, your ever-helpful system has something to clarify at this point. The laws of the world do not just refer to the laws on Gaia, but rather the laws of the entire galaxy. Gaia is merely one of the many life-bearing planets in this galaxy. This planet forms just a tiny portion of the galaxy, but even such a tiny portion can effect change. In a lot of ways, the laws of the world can be likened to the ‘laws of Heaven’ -don’t the humans of this planet always use that term? That’s basically it”

So the laws of the galaxy, then? But what do you mean ‘warped’? And ‘laws of Heaven’… I thought this was a scientific world we lived in. Have I been living in a different world all this while? Am I the one that’s delusional?!

Shameless Self-promotion

Chapter 678: Run!

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

As the last rays of sunset crested the horizon, taking away with it the warmth of day, the ghostly figures above began to stir in their hunt for living offerings.

In spite of the soldiers’ warnings, the desperate survivors continued running forward single-mindedly. They had long wished to leave this hellhole, and now that the exit was just right in front of them…

“No! Something’s wrong, everyone get back now!” I yelled as loud as I could.

There were just too many things wrong with this scene -those strangely still machines, and that blaring warning by the soldiers ahead – something had to be up.

Unfortunately, it was already too late, or rather, there was no point from the beginning.

“Ke, there’s no point, it won’t work.” Bitong told me with a sigh.

She was right, no amount of persuading would work here… whether it was the exosuit-wearing survivors who had followed me the longest, or those unprotected survivors who only joined us near the tail end.

Even if they knew there might be danger ahead, the chance of leaving was too tempting to pass up. I could only pray that their luck would hold out.

However, if Southern Plains could be likened to a desolate desert, and us, desperate trekkers in search of water, then that exit that lured the survivors in with a false hope of escape was no doubt a mirage of death…

As those survivors drew ever closer to the exit, the ghosts began to dance wildly against a backdrop of ever diminishing light, as if the night was the herald for a horrific feast of the dead.

Like ravenous monsters, they dove at the survivors, passing through their metallic shells with no trouble at all, finally penetrating into the cockpit…

With every attack, the number of exosuits who went silent grew steadily. First they convulsed violently, then silence… Deafening silence, like they had been petrified into statues by some sort of medusa. Only the ghosts remained active, swimming about like fish in water.

“Shi- RUN!!”

“What’s going on… why are these monsters penetrating the exosuits…”

“Who cares about that now, we need to get out of here…”

Amidst the chaos, the exosuit-wearing survivors finally made the right choice. They frantically rushed backwards, as if the maws of death itself were on their heels. Yet it would seem that they were the maws instead…

Originally, I had arranged for the unarmored survivors to stand in the middle of exosuits as a way to protect them. Because the exosuit-wearing survivors had rushed ahead of the pack thanks to their enhanced abilities, these vulnerable survivors were now stationed in the very way of those who were supposed to have been protecting them.

Lives threatened, the exosuit-wearing survivors rammed through the unarmored survivors without any heed for their fleshly bodies. Lest one forgot, these exosuits had the force of a hover car when they struck!

Just like that, we had failed to prevent another tragedy…

“You…” The words were immediately stuck in my mouth as I watched the exosuits trample over living human beings in seconds… and I was helpless to stop them.

“Hii–” Qiaoqiao screamed as she tried to shield her eyes away from the carnage.

“We need to back away and put some distance between us and the ghosts.” There was no time to lose. I swiftly led the girls as far away from the exit as I could, hoping that those ghosts wouldn’t try and chase us. If I wasn’t wrong, this should be the first time ghosts had appeared in Gaia. Against an unknown foe like that, the only safe choice would be to run.

The ghosts continued chasing the survivors for another five hundred meters before they finally came to a stop. Or rather, they were swirling about an invisible boundary, one that they seemed deathly afraid of crossing.

Then like monsters in a game which had lost interest in the players, they abruptly turned around to return to the outskirts. From the looks of things, they were merely put there to prevent any human from leaving…

****, are they trying to turn us all into their own?!

Now that we were safe from the ghosts, I turned around to do a quick head count. Other than the girls and I, there were only twelve survivors left. All of them clad in exosuits… anyone not wearing one had already been trampled to pieces…

In the face of those ghosts, we were nothing but sitting ducks, well, running ducks. Because there was no time at all for anything else, by the time we came to a stop, we found ourselves in a remote location.

According to Bitong and her map, this was the port region, number B15. We quickly swept the area clean of zombies, then found a nearby warehouse to use as a temporary base.

We were safe at last. But strangely enough, no one dared leave their exosuits. Right now, the skies outside were dark -most likely past seven pm.

It was time for dinner, and even though the survivors weren’t too willing to leave their suits, their fragile human bodies said otherwise. Silently, they gathered around for a gloomy meal of rations we had brought out of Joyworks Game City.

Looking at them, I was suddenly struck by a sense of loathing. Selfish, was what they were. If they had really wanted to, they could have easily scooped up those unarmored survivors. Had they done that, everyone would have survived. All it would have taken was a couple of seconds…

But looking at it from another standpoint, their actions were only to be expected. As ordinary citizens, the best one could expect was for them to look out for their own interests.

Even so, I had made my decision to distance us from them. If they were able to trample over another human being so easily, they would definitely do the same to us if we were to ever find ourselves as helpless as those unarmored survivors.

Besides, they still had their exosuits with them – ordinary zombies shouldn’t be able to harm them. Unless those Scorpid skeletons popped up once more, they could look after themselves. And it seemed like those survivors had noticed my decision to distance ourselves as well, or perhaps they just couldn’t bring themselves to approach us after that mess.

Of the twelve survivors, only four were female. Their ages numbered around the twenties and thirties. As they continued eating, they discussed quietly amongst themselves. From time to time, they would throw us a look, only to look away the moment we noticed them.

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Devil Evolution Catalogue Chapters 674 to 677

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674 to 677 are out!

NOTE: The previous arc will have certain chapters either omitted or summarised, as voted on by patrons. The slice of life bits will skipped.

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» Chapter 674 «

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» Chapter 675 «

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» Chapter 676 «

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» Chapter 677 «

Chapter 677: Obstruction

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“Don’t worry, I’m here.” I did my best to comfort the little girl, even though I was basically shaking at this point. However, I had to stay strong. For Qiaoqiao’s sake!

Lixiang looked up in the direction of the fog, then in a solemn voice, said, “Your Highness, the skies bring ill tidings, I’m afraid this is an omen…”

“And it’s only getting worse as well…” Bitong muttered in disbelief. “Don’t tell me it’s going to reach us as well?”

Who knows… At this point, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen next. I can sure as heck guarantee that mere mortals cannot change the weather like that. At least, I haven’t heard of any technology that can drag souls!

The survivors were equally terrified by the sudden change. No one had the mood for resting anymore, and were already on their feet, raring to leave right this instant and distance themselves from the fog.

With how the sun was blotted in green, the entire city truly looked like a zombie hellscape at this point. The stifling pressure on us was almost unbearable. It would take a truly mad person to maintain his sanity in the face of such despair…

During that previous scuffle with the Scorpid skeletons, the Lans managed to flee from the scene, so we were well and truly the leader of the survivors now.

We had to lead them to the south, where we would either leave, or bump into a roving band of soldiers.

“We have to leave right now. We will head south, and if we’re lucky, we should be able to make it out.” I announced to the survivors before turning to 8931.

“Do you want to come with us? I don’t think there’s any reason for you to stay at this point.” I asked sincerely.”

“No. I intend to stay behind. Our last mission was to rescue the citizens. Seeing as this bridge is going to be a main focal point in that, I have to hold this position.”

“Uncle, are you sure? This place is scary, maybe you should come with us…” Qiaoqiao timidly whispered.

“I’m sorry, but I have to stay.” 8931 then sighed in resignation. “You all have exosuits, so I’m sure ordinary zombies won’t be able to harm you. As long as those Scorpids don’t pop up again, I’m sure the road ahead will only be easier… but the other citizens aren’t the same, they aren’t as fortunate… That’s why I have to stay…”

“3739. 5514. You guys as well?” Bitong suddenly asked the two officers.

“I intend to stay behind.” 3739 tried his best to say that casually. “Since I can’t even go back to the HQ, I want to at least catch a glimpse of our enemy.”

“I’m staying behind too. Even though I really want to go off gallivanting with a bunch of beauties… Truly, unfortunate.” While he might have said that, I couldn’t hear the least bit of regret in his voice.

Seems like they’ve all made up their minds. Even though their HQ and even their Chief is dead…

“I understand. Please be well.” Faced with their unrelenting resolve, I couldn’t help but be touched. For the briefest of moments, I even contemplated staying behind to help them. But I couldn’t do that… I had people I had to protect as well…

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we will see each other in the future too.” In contrast to my gloom, 5514 was just as boisterous as before, as if we weren’t saying our final farewells at all. “I hope the next time we meet, you’ll give me your autograph. And a photo too.”

Perhaps affected by his optimism as well, I happily agreed. “No problem. As many as you want, assuming you’re alive then.”

“Hahaha, there’s no need to assume there. Not while I have the Goddess’s autograph and photograph to look forward to!” 5514 grinned widely underneath his exosuit. “I’ll be sure to burn one copy for him as well…

Burn one copy… I see… So that’s how it is…

Exactly how many have died in this disaster already… Exactly who is so devious as to destroy an entire city like this… And how many more…

If I ever get the chance, I’m going to gouge his heart out and see if the blood running within is as black as its host!

Unfortunately, I didn’t even know who it was we were fighting against…

Having said our farewells to those brave policemen, I swiftly led the survivors southward across the bridge. Gone was the fatigue that had plagued us mere moments ago. In order to escape this hellscape, the survivors seemed to have found their second wind.

I took point this time, swinging away at any zombie I found with my hammer. Our flanks were covered by the two unmanned exosuits controlled by Bitong. Even though they had taken some damage in the last fight, any exposed surfaces did not matter much since there was no pilot inside to begin with. Following closely behind were Qiaoqiao and Lixiang. Like the head of a spear, we slew our way down south.

Whenever we bumped into any survivor, we would stop temporarily to allow them to join our pack. In order to prevent another tragedy, I had the best performing armed survivors handle the rearguard. At the very least, we shouldn’t have another repeat of the past where the survivors simply fled.

In the end, after a good number of delays in order to rescue survivors, we found ourselves at the outskirts around seven in the night. At which point, we stumbled onto what had to be the most shocking sight so far…

Thousands, perhaps even millions of black exosuits stood stock-still ahead. In the middle was a twenty-one meter tall, reddish mobile armor that was equally still..

There were no signs of battle anywhere. No blood, not even scratch marks. It was as if those suits were all empty…

High above, countless green apparitions swam about, their bodies elongating at times, before suddenly contracting into an almost biscuit-like shape. Their mouths were unnaturally wide open as they wailed in agony. However, no matter how hard they seemed to be screaming, we couldn’t hear a word. It was as if they were in an entirely different dimension from us…

“The survivors over there, please remain where you are. It is extremely dangerous here. I repeat, please do not come over… remain where you are…”

At the same time that we spotted the army, they spotted us as well.

Unfortunately, the soldier did not even get to finish his warning before some of the survivors started rushing towards the army.

“It’s the army, we’re saved!”

“Finally! We can get out of this place…”

The survivors rushed forward, completely ignoring those apparitions above. Then… disaster struck…

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Chapter 676: Ill Tidings

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Even with us helping to clean out the bridge, there were still a good number of zombies left. Northern Waters Bridge was a landmark in the city. Naturally, it was packed to the brim before the virus. It still was, but just with zombies. Zombies who weren’t cooperating with us in this clean up.

After that battle with the scorpion-tailed skeletons, the police officers were all worn out. 8931’s idea was to call for backup, but just as he tried to do so, he received shocking news instead. HQ had just been assaulted! His next thought was to rush to its aid, but barely a minute later, he received news of the Police Chief’s untimely demise…

“What!? The entire police headquarters is gone?!”

When I was told this news by him, I nearly jumped out of my skin. That was the main base of the police force we were talking about! Other than being guarded by exosuits, they also had mobile armors stationed there. In the confines of this city, there was basically no other area that was as well-defended. And for such a secure location to just be destroyed like that… Crap…

Who’s left now? The army? That’s right, it has to be the army…

“Leader, I want to return to HQ to have a look!” 3739 made the request, however he was quickly rejected.

“No, I forbid it. With his dying breath, the Chief gave the order to protect the civilians… We still have a mission to complete, and until it’s done…”

“But…”

“I know your feelings, but now’s not the time. Have you ever considered that if even our HQ can be destroyed so quickly, that means there’s a power strong enough to wipe out HQ before the Chief and the others could even react… Until we are sure that the enemy is gone, you returning would achieve nothing… In fact, you would have played right into their very hands.”

“As if those zombies are even worth fearing!” 3739 roared in defiance. “I can take care of them myself!”

“In other words, the ones who destroyed HQ weren’t even zombies…” 8931 answered in a calm voice that was almost spine-chilling. “Think about it, those scorpion-tailed Scorpid skeletons you just fought were resurrected by that mysterious foe. If they have the ability to reanimate a pile of bones… Do you honestly think that there are only Scorpid specimens kept in the city? If I’m not mistaken, our local museum even has a complete skeleton of a Mammuthus in its collection… that’s a Disaster-class right there. There are plenty of rich people who keep Primal beast skeletons in their collections as well. There’s a high chance those were reanimated as well.”

“Even so…”

“Idiot!” 8931 finally lost his cool at his stubborn subordinate. “Just use your brain for a second! Do you think I do not wish to go back as well? But we mustn’t forget our duty! Protecting the citizens is our mission right now! If you want to die, that’s your own business, but your death is not going to accomplish anything…”

3739 hung his head in silence for a good long while. Finally, a faint sobbing could be heard. “My younger brother was a comms officer in HQ…” Having said that, 3739 finally broke down.

“Sigh… I’m sorry… I was too harsh just now, but if you still insist on going back…”

“No… there’s no need for that… If he’s still alive, he would have contacted me already…”

From the looks of things, 3739 seemed to have come to terms with his younger brother’s death. However, I could still tell that he was extremely upset, even through that exosuit of his.

Finally, after a moment of silence, the cleanup resumed in earnest.

Even though Northern Waters Bridge wasn’t the only route connecting the north and south, this bridge was particularly famous amongst the tourists. Meaning, if any survivor were to have the same idea as us, they would most likely choose this bridge. That was why we had to clean up the bridge before leaving, else we would have already rammed our way through with our exosuits.

With everyone’s help, the cleanup took another half an hour, after which the zombies were completely wiped out, to the relief of a very exhausted crowd of survivors.

Those not used to such strenuous work were already down on their bums, resting and chatting.

8931 took this opportunity to move aside the zombie mountain so the survivors could pass through faster. Having done that, he turned to us and said, “After your break, you guys can leave… Even though I don’t think your odds are high, there’s still a chance…”

“Is it the army who is guarding the outskirts?”

When 8931 first hinted at a potential blockade, the first suspect I thought of was the army sealing off the city to prevent the virus from escaping. However, there shouldn’t be that many of them, else they would have already marched into the city.

So what was he trying to imply with that suggestion? Did he truly mean to just have us try our luck? After all, the soldiers of Gaia were no less professional than the police officers – I highly doubted they would just let us pass like that.

Illegally, then?

“Perhaps, but there’s no harm in trying. And even if you bump into soldiers, you guys could just stay under their protection.” 8931 laid out his reasoning, though that first bit was probably enough to get him fired.

I gave it some thought, then came to the same conclusion. Yet just when I was about to thank him for his advice, the skies suddenly darkened…

Rather, it turned green…

In what looked like the northeastern direction, an eerie fog started surfacing over the horizon, blotting out the sun in a green pall. Because of our distance to the source, all I could see were those clouds. Even so…

Trouble- something must have happened over there!

Soon after, the skies were filled with horrific wails. The dead were crying. Struggling, even. But no matter how much they tried, a mysterious force seemed to be dragging them towards the northeast.

As more souls started flying away, the green fog only grew thicker…

“Oh no! That’s the direction the army was supposed to enter the city… Don’t tell me…” I could hear 8931’s voice quivering at that point. The fear was palpable even from my standpoint.

“Are you saying the army is under attack?” I immediately asked, shocked just as much as he was. “That’s where the army is located?”

“Impossible… how could they even have the power to defeat the army… they have mobile armors with them…” 8931’s eyes were wide with disbelief, but all the clues led to one disturbing conclusion.

“Big brother… Qiaoqiao can hear some strange sounds…” Qiaoqiao shuffled up to me, clearly spooked by what was going on.

Shameless Self-promotion

Chapter 675: No One is Spared

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“Let’s go help out at the bridge as well.” As I said that, I turned around wistfully to look at the mangled human corpses around me, a pang of guilt running through me once more…

I’m sorry…

The girls seemed to have noticed my silence as well, their eyes staring at the dozen or so dead survivors before us, a mix of armored and unarmored…

We should have been more careful… this wasn’t an unavoidable situation…

“Let’s not dwell on this too much, all we can do right now is look after ourselves, as for the others… we will do our best.” I said to the girls with a sigh, though in all likelihood, that comforting was meant for my upset self. But even if we cried ourselves to death now, they weren’t coming back.

“Ke, you want to get into an exosuit first? I still have some spare exosuits over here.” Said Bitong, voice gloomy, though one could see she was trying to cheer up. “I’m sure the air outside smells really bad right now.”

In the battle just now, I had abandoned my exosuit midway, and though I did not get hurt or even touch anything unclean, the smell of blood was still strong on me. With so much death hanging in the air, her offer honestly sounded tempting.

As she suggested, I hopped into one of the exosuits she had been remotely controlling – the air immediately felt cleaner thanks to the built-in purification systems. Yet just barely a second after stepping into the machine, I heard Bitong muttering to herself.

“If I had just given those three spare exosuits to the survivors…”

Hearing that, I felt my heart wrench once more. “It’s not your fault, even if you had given them the suits, it would have caused more trouble in the end.”

The girls fell silent again.

If Bitong had really given the survivors those exosuits then, how were we to even apportion them? Everyone was a little selfish at the end of the day, especially when it came to their lives. There would have been no way to fairly give out the suits, and it would have sparked a conflict amongst the contingent. Rather than sow the seeds of envy and hatred, it would be better just to use those exosuits to fight off any potential foes.

Besides, I would feel a lot safer if there were three more exosuits guarding the girls – that was my little bit of selfishness.

Just like that, we solemnly walked up to the bridge, a pall of silence hanging over us all the while. Together with the survivors, we started helping out with the clean up.

“You have my thanks.” Seeing us volunteer to help, 3739 did his best to liven up his voice as he greeted us, though we all knew he was feeling the loss too. “Had it not been for you guys… we might not have even survived long enough for Captain to help us…”

Captain? That mysterious sniper and his detachable bits?

“It’s okay, everyone here is just trying their best to survive.”

“No need to be modest, I saw your performance just now. It was awe-inspiring, like a goddess of war from the legends.” One of the police officers, whose number was 5514, suddenly chimed in. “To be honest, I was really sweating buckets just now when I saw you leap out of your exosuit… Truly heart-pounding! If there is truly a goddess in this world, I’m sure it would be you with your amazing skills and perfect looks.”

“Ahem. I think there’s been some misunderstanding here. I’m a guy.” I immediately rebutted, head pounding a little at this point from annoyance. “Please do not twist my gender around like that, thank you very much.”

“No way! I’ve seen you in the photos before!” 5514 clearly had no intention of giving up on that delusion, it seemed. “You’re a waitress in that maid cafe in Phoenix City, right? My friend has your photo, he was taking part in some War for the Goddess, or something… I think it was some kind of money spending competition…”

As he said that, he only got more excited by the second, and I only got more uneasy. “I think you’ve got the wrong person.”

“Impossible. There can’t be another girl in this world as dazzling as you!” As if to prove his point, he whipped out a photo. “See. That’s you, isn’t it?”

Within that photo was me sitting on a throne, prepared especially by Aunty Qiao during that scam of a competition. Sister Qingshui was our hostess then…

(TL: ****. I’ve been spelling Qiaoqiao as Jiaojiao all this while… Also, I’m sure all these names are supposed to be Japanese… too late to change now… They function as Chinese names as well so…)

Essentially, whoever threw the most money my way would have the opportunity to hang out with me… A battle of the wallets, so to speak… Honestly, it felt a little wrong to me, but Auntie Qiao had already spent so much money for my sake, so I had to pay her back somehow…

Seeing the look of surprise on my face, 5514 smiled and said, “Besides, I’ve already checked your details – your gender is listed as female.”

Listed as female… I silently turned around to look at Bitong. Even through her exosuit, and even though she was remotely controlling a couple of exosuits right now, I could tell that her eyes were burning with murder right now as they stared holes into me…

Fine, fine…

“Hey, 5514, stop dawdling over there and do your work.” Another police officer, 8931 chimed in then. He was the exosuit that was wielding that beam sword just now. From his mature voice, he was probably the oldest here, and most likely the squad leader.

“Alright, whatever you say, leader.” Since his squad leader had already given the word, even he did not dare to linger any longer.

“I’m sorry for that… 5514 is a little off in the head. He can’t really feel much emotion… one of the deceased just now was his best friend who often visited him in the hospital…” 8931 explained apologetically. “He was supposed to be recovering in the hospital, but this mission was too urgent, so he was recalled as well…”

So he’s emotionally deficient then, no wonder he seemed a little weird just now. Who else would rattle on about some silly competition while standing in a pile of his dead comrades… Makes sense now…

Ever the inquisitive little girl, Qiaoqiao couldn’t help but ask in an innocent voice, “But if he’s crazy, why is he on the battlefield then?”

“Because this crisis came too suddenly. There weren’t enough policemen around. So as long as they were in Southern Plains, they were all called back…” As 8931 said that, I could hear the tiredness in his voice. “Not only 5514, as long as that policeman was able to move, he came back to report for duty…”

“Oh right, there’s been a question I’ve been meaning to ask.” I suddenly quipped, having thought of something. “Those twenty or so policemen just now, why didn’t they have an exosuit? Does the police force not have enough suits?”

“No. The police force has always maintained sufficient exosuits for its official members. As for those policemen you saw just now… they were all backup service members, administrative officers, and retired officers… They all volunteered to help out… even though they knew that there wouldn’t be enough exosuits…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be. This is a premeditated terrorist attack, there is no one in the city who is spared. As police officers, we have the duty to protect the citizens, even if that officer is no longer in service, or isn’t a frontline officer…” He said through gritted teeth. I had no doubt that if the perpetrator were to ever appear before him, he would immediately slice that person up into pieces.

“In that case, I salute you. You are all brave warriors.” There really wasn’t much else I could think of to say at this moment. Those officers who paid the ultimate price were all heroes deserving of our respect!

“At this rate, it shouldn’t take long before Northern Waters Bridge is cleared. You guys can cross over at that point, but…” 8931 paused at that point…

“What?” A sense of foreboding crept into me.

After some deliberation, he finally asked, “Are you planning to leave Northern Plains?”

“That’s right, it should only be another ten kilometers or so to the outskirts after crossing this bridge. As long as we keep heading south, we should be able to leave the city.”

“I’m afraid that last part might be difficult. The civilian net has been shut off, so you guys don’t know yet… The military lines are still open, and all I can tell you is that the exits have all been sealed off…”

“Sealed off? By who? The monsters?”

If it was just zombies blocking the way, we could just steamroll right through them. Those scorpion-tailed skeletons might prove difficult…

“Not monsters, it’s…” 8931 deliberately stopped at that point.

Not the monsters? That only leaves the humans then.

“In order to prevent the virus from spreading outside?” Bitong was the first to pick up on the answer. “That serum was extremely popular, but most of its customers were all in Northern Plains. In other words, there are barely any zombies in the other cities. Seeing as they can’t cause too much of a problem, the enemy’s main target should be this city!”

“You are right… Based on the information I’ve been given, the only city to have suffered is Northern Plains…”

Shameless Self-promotion

Chapter 674: A Mysterious Stranger

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

With the combined efforts of the survivors, the chaotic scene was swiftly brought to order, and with that, justice delivered to those monsters as well.

However, now wasn’t the time for a post-mortem either; there were still those policemen that needed helping. Yet the moment that thought crossed my mind, reinforcements arrived.

Back on Northern Waters Bridge, a scorpion-tailed skeleton was just about to sneak up on a white police exosuit, who was too preoccupied with other enemies to notice it. At that distance, it would only take another second or so before its tail found its mark. Thankfully, that tragedy never happened.

A beam of blue light suddenly cut across the skies like divine judgement, piercing the skull of the monster, simultaneously burning away the monster’s tail with the same shot…

A sniper?!

I turned in the direction of the shot, but found no clues as to who this mysterious shooter was. Based on that alone, I could tell that he had to at least be a kilometer away!

Then, a second beam of laser struck, piercing another skeleton just as it was about to launch into an attack…

Following that, a dozen foot-long detachable bits swarmed in out of nowhere, evenly split into two orderly groups, as they began searching for targets.

Having locked onto one, each individual group formed up into a rotating circle above each target, at which point they all fired in unison…

Accurate and deadly, these lasers all hit the same spot on their target’s skull, blasting open a hole and destroying the Soul Flame inside at the same time! Then without giving the monsters any time to react, they immediately sped off to their next target.

Before long, the battle was over, in no small part due to that mysterious sniper’s help. The three police exosuits were thoroughly battered after such a gruelling fight, but at least they survived. 3739’s run-and-gun tactics proved effective as well. While he might not have accomplished much in the end, he at least walked out of the fight uninjured. As for those two exosuits on the bridge, they were in a terrible state. Each of their armors bore the grim marks of their prey everywhere, sometimes mixed in with blood splats from a zombie. Fortunately, that was the extent of their losses. The defenses of their exosuits, and their piloting skills, proved up to mark in the end.

“Ding! Emergency Mission: Battle the Scorpion-like Monsters, complete! Administering rewards now… complete. Please confirm the contents…” Seeing as the system had acknowledged the end of the mission, that meant the battle was well and truly over.

With no enemies left, the three police exosuits returned back to their posts on the bridge. As for the detachable bits who suddenly barged into the battlefield… They were all gone now. The other party did not seem keen on making contact with us. Perhaps he had another mission to attend to. Either way, a debt like this did not need saying – should the opportunity arise, I will definitely repay him.

3739 and his comrades’ mission was to clear the bridge of zombies, so before another squad came to take over their shift, they couldn’t stop. In extraordinary times like these, it was their sense of honor and duty that drove them tirelessly onwards. But after experiencing the deaths of most of their squads, their mental and physical limits had long been crossed. Rather than merely doing their jobs, slaying zombies was a way for them to vent their frustrations. Whenever a zombie was unfortunate enough to reach them, they would viciously stomp on its head like you would grapes while making wine.

Now that there were no monsters to fight, the survivors were all conspicuously gathered around a lone disabled exosuit that happened to have me standing atop it. Even though I couldn’t see their faces through the exosuits, I could tell they were all shocked at the prowess I displayed. They were probably all marvelling at how such a ladylike person could hide such ferocity… ahem… I would be happy if they retracted that unnecessary adjective…

Naturally, I didn’t have time to waste on such trivial matters. I turned around to face the bridge, then in a voice as stone cold as my face, I said, “Let’s go help them.”

That wasn’t an order I had given, but unexpectedly, every single of the survivors started marching off towards the bridge, and actually began helping out with the zombies as well. While I might have said every single one of them… there were actually only half of the initial survivors left at this point. The rest had either fled with their exosuits, or were dead.

This time, 3739 made no mention of having the survivors stand aside to watch. Without those scorpion-like skeletons to threaten them, the remaining zombies had no chance of even harming the survivors.

In short, it was all over. For now, at least…

“That was amazing, big brother!” Jiaojiao waved her hands as she raced up to me, yelling in a voice that couldn’t have been louder even if she tried.

“His Highness’s bravery is unmatched!” Ever my adoring fan, Lixiang wasn’t about to lose out in this losing match either.

“That’s my little Ke!” Bitong was next to say, seemingly just as excited as the other two. “Ke was so brave just now…”

Leaping off the exosuits as before, I quickly landed on Bitong’s suit. Because she hadn’t taken part directly in the battle, seeing as she was controlling those three other suits remotely, hers was relatively pristine.

“Big brother, that monster alone was worth 50 points each!” Jiaojiao happily waved her hammer up and down, mimicking the scene of her smashing that monster’s skull. “Jiaojiao was so fierce just now, smacking down on that monster like it was nothing!”

As she said, the rewards this time were bountiful to match the difficulty of those monsters. At this rate, we would only need 10 such kills in order to get a decent Skill Card.

I activated my new skill reward, the Flame Whip, then checked up on my points. 174… Why is it so little?! I paused in shock for a second, then quickly remembered how I was still in debt, which meant every point I gained was cut in half.

Seeing as I killed six of those monsters just now, splitting the points in half would net me 150… what a scam…

You know what… I’m not even going to get angry anymore… It won’t be System Lady if she doesn’t try to scam me every now and then…

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Devil Evolution Catalogue Chapters 670 to 673

July 12, 2021 CatatoPatch Leave a comment

670 to 673 are out!

NOTE: The previous arc will have certain chapters either omitted or summarised, as voted on by patrons. The slice of life bits will skipped.

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» Chapter 670 «

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» Chapter 671 «

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» Chapter 672 «

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» Chapter 673 «

Chapter 673: A Frantic Fight Against the Scorpion-tailed Monsters

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Using the fleeing exosuits below me as a springboard, I reached the scorpion-tailed monsters in no time at all.

Perhaps it was because I had just slain one of their numbers, but upon noticing my presence, a fair number of them immediately abandoned their current prey, instead electing to rush at me, even going so far as to ignore the survivors running past them…

Speaking of survivors, the cruel irony of this whole tragedy wasn’t lost on me at all. Amongst all the survivors right now, the ones who joined us the latest had to be the most unfortunate. We had no exosuits for them, so I had them arranged right in the center of the contingent. Yet what looked like the safest place ended up being the opposite when the monsters suddenly ambushed us. I wasn’t even talking about the monsters killing them either…

Weighing in at one and a half tonnes, the entertainment exosuits easily had the impact of a hover car when they sprinted. In other words, amidst the mass panic of the ambush, the ten or so survivors without exosuits were crushed or smashed to pieces by the ones who were supposed to be guarding them… A veritable hell on Gaia for them…

Seeing the field of mangled corpses laid out before me, a wave of anger immediately consumed me. My body shook with fury, and my eyes turned red with blood…

I hated those monsters. I wanted them dead, every last one of them. At the same time, I hated those cowards, even armed with an exosuit, they still fled like mice. Above all, I hated myself for not noticing the monsters, and for not being able to protect those trampled people…

As more survivors fell, my heart only beat that much faster.

“RAWWWRR!” I let forth a guttural roar, born from my inner helplessness. I took one last leap off an exosuit, then took to the air like a bird!

At the same time, one of the canine/scorpion skeletons leapt as well. With its massive body more akin to a bull, it naturally radiated an oppressive pall. In terms of strength alone, it was leagues above me.

However, I had Icy Inferno with me! Knuckles white from gripping, I swung the mighty sword at the mid-air monster, slicing it apart with the force of my upward ascent. A clean victory. Unfortunately, that also meant that I was now on a descent straight into a pile of waiting monsters.

The bones of my fallen enemy still falling with a clang around me, I immediately kicked off the ground the moment my feet came into contact with the ground, twisting my body at the same, and narrowly avoiding a leaping skeleton. But that wasn’t the end either. The monster was now exposed at his flank, and I swiftly followed up with a spinning swing of Icy Inferno.

The impossible mix of fire and ice on its blade cut easily through its ribs. Then with another swing in the reverse direction, I cut its head! By the time it landed on the ground, it crumbled into a pile of harmless bones.

Revolution Slice was a counter move used during a dodge. Thanks to my superhuman reflexes, I was able to further master its intricacies. In fact, it almost felt like this technique was made for me! Like really made for me!

All right! It’s time for you monsters to become my stepping stones!

As the battle raged on, I only got more and more aggressive. Every slice of Icy Inferno left behind an inextinguishable flame on their bodies. Armed with Revolution Slice, I was able to safely avoid their attacks while launching an attack of my own. In barely a minute, I had sliced apart another four more scorpion-tailed skeletons. Even when they tried to surround me, I could easily cut through them when I dodged.

Even though these monsters were a lot smarter and faster than those zombies, they still weren’t a match for me in reflexes and sheer destructive power. Their tactics were swift but predictable – not a threat at all to me.

While I battled the monsters, I threw a glance in the direction of the girls from time to time. Roughly half of the monsters had been attracted by my actions, that left another half attacking the survivors, of which one unfortunate monster ended up attacking the girls.

Like a well-oiled machine, the girls backed away in unison. Bitong commanded the three unmanned exosuits to act as shields for them, forcefully grabbing onto the tail of that monster and locking down the monster in the process.

The force of three exosuits was more than enough to suppress that skeleton, especially when those three were all acting under one will. The first exosuit locked down the monster’s tail. The second jumped onto the monster’s back. The third locked the monster’s neck in a chokehold, completing the seal on its movements.

From the sides, Lixiang and Jiaojiao both wielded their hammers and began smashing its head, cracking open its skull in no time at all…

Hah… who would have thought that the girls would come through like that… and Jiaojiao was even crying just moments ago too… look at her swing that hammer now… In fact, she seems strangely practised in slamming that hammer down onto round objects… yikes…

Now that we had taken care of a portion of the monsters, the fleeing survivors began to realise that these monsters weren’t as undefeatable as they first thought. Especially after how they saw the girls gang up on that lone skeleton.

If even those young girls can do it, why can’t we? The older men amongst them were probably thinking. That’s right! In fact, some of them even voiced this thought out.

Soon after, a number of survivors began banding up into teams of four and five to take on the monsters. Lest one forgot, these exosuits still had weapons on them, though not very efficient ones. Emboldened, they began overwhelming the monsters with sheer numbers. A shield-wielding exosuit would first block the tail, while the others would then take the opportunity to dogpile on the monster. Following that, another exosuit would crack open the monster’s skull.

With a successful example to learn from, the entire morale of the contingent began to soar! Never would I have thought that these potatoes would mount a counterattack like that! Was this what it means to lead by example? The difference between “CHARGE!” and “WITH ME!”.

Thanks to the overwhelming numbers and inherently sturdy defenses of the survivors, the majority of our casualties ended up only being the initial few and those who were trampled to death…

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Chapter 672: Making a Move

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“The system just issued a mission.” I relayed to the girls. Thanks to Jiaojiao’s little incident earlier, I prepared a private channel for just the four of us beforehand.

“Mission?” Bitong asked in confusion. “Why didn’t we get it as well?”

“The systems you guys have are child systems; there won’t be any missions.” I quickly explained. “But you can still participate in mine.”

“Your Highness, what are these ‘missions?” Lixiang asked.

“Battle the scorpion-like monsters… is what the system said. Based on its name, it should be a monster slaying mission.”

“But they are scary…” Jiaojiao whimpered. “Those tails can pierce through our armors…”

“Mhm, I know. That’s why I’ve decided to handle them myself. You girls can take cover first.”

The girls did not have as much combat experience as I did. In a life-or-death situation like this, there was no denying that I did not rank their chances very high. In light of that, I wouldn’t want them to risk themselves.

Based on what I’ve seen so far, these beasts seemed to have retained their hunting instincts from life, and they weren’t as mindless as those zombies, so escaping might not even be an option. Especially not when these beasts seemed to be proficient in tracking and assassinations.

For the time being, I should be the one to test the waters. The girls… they could just find a nearby building to hide in first. That would allow me to hold the monsters in a choke point as well.

“Big brother… how about we just go… those monsters are scary… we can’t take them…” Jiaojiao was on the verge of tears at this point.

Still…

“No. Since the system has given out this mission, it must mean that I have the strength to take on these monsters then. I… watch out!”

Barely halfway through with my words, I suddenly spotted one of those canine/scorpion amalgamations circle around to our flank, a mere ten meters away from Jiaojiao’s pink exosuit.

No time to waste, I swiftly tossed the shield in my hands, right in the path of that leaping canine skeleton.

The exosuit shield sliced through the air, smashing right into the head of the monster, causing it to suddenly lose control and fall… right on top of a survivor’s exosuit…

Taking advantage of this, I took a quick step forward, and with a mighty swing of my right arm, smashed my hammer right into its skull.

Aided by the force of gravity behind it, the hammer cracked open a gaping hole in the monster’s head, revealing a wavering green flame within. Soul Flame slightly exposed and unstable, the undead monster started to lose control of its body, just like a human would.

I raised my hammer once more, my opponent still immobilized from the impact of the first strike, then brought it down with a vengeance… and again… and again… and again…

It was only at the fifth strike that the Soul Flame was fully exposed. On the sixth, I struck at the eerie green flame!

Finally, the monster went limp. The exosuit beneath could now climb to his feet and shake the massive skeleton off himself.

However, the fact that it took six whole swings of my hammer was a problem. Also, that survivor did not even leave behind a word of thanks before he sped off into the distance.

Yet just when I thought it was all over, the canine skeleton, which had half its skull missing at this point, suddenly jumped at me. It furiously tried to bite at me, giving me a right scare in the process.

Thankfully, the defenses of the exosuit held up to the leap, though barely. While I was staggered, the canine/scorpion skeleton thrust its mighty tail into my suit, actually penetrating the right thigh in the process!

Crap! Why is it still alive?! I even made sure to give it one last hit after I cracked open its head!

Adrenaline coursing through my veins, the suit seemed to react as well. The seventh and final swing of my hammer completely dislodged the Soul Flame from its head, causing it to fall to the ground. Without a Soul Flame to control it, the skeleton fell apart into separate bones.

“Valued host, the Soul Flame of an undead is mostly immune to physical attacks. Only energy attacks can harm it.”

Energy attacks? Like a laser or magic?

“That’s right. Our enemies this time seem to be quite a handful, be careful.”

Then can my Icy Inferno slay them?

“It can. Icy Inferno has anti-magic properties imbued into it. It does additional damage to devilish and incorporeal enemies.”

Got it.

I opened my exosuit, then retrieved the blade in question from my inventory. At the same time, I jumped out of my suit, and before even touching the ground, stabbed down into the lone Soul Flame.

The moment the tip of Icy Inferno touched the Soul Flame, it vanished, like it never existed to begin with.

It does work…

“Ding! Skill Card unlocked: Revolution Slice.”

Hearing that, I immediately opened up my inventory once more and began scanning through it. And there it was… a Skill Card… so these monsters do indeed drop items…

The system wasn’t lying? These monsters really do drop treasure? Is my luck finally taking a turn for the better? Regardless, loot is always welcome.

Without even considering, I activated the Skill Card.

Just like before, a familiar yet foreign sensation began flowing into my head, as if the knowledge was mine to begin with.

Sometimes, I couldn’t help but marvel at the workings of the system. Did this mean that the system could directly implant any knowledge I wanted as long as I had the points for it?

There really isn’t a better cheating tool than this, is there? Now, if it would just remove the point cost.

Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to bask in my triumph. I did not return to the exosuit, seeing as its leg was now injured and could just fail at any moment. Besides, it felt awkward moving around in an unfamiliar environment.

I leapt onto my former exosuit’s shoulder, then like a martial artist straight out of a novel, I nimbly took to the skies and dived at Bitong, who quickly stretched out her arms to receive me.

Ever since I learned the Revolution Slice, I felt my balance improve by leaps and bounds. Even standing on top of the exosuit, it felt like I was merely standing on flat ground.

“I’ve figured out how to handle these monsters. I’ll get rid of those behind us first. You guys take care in the meantime.” Then without giving the girls time to say no, I took to the skies once more with a nimble leap, landing briefly on top of another exosuit before taking off again…

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Chapter 671: Emergency Mission

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

The first swing of the policeman’s beam sword easily sliced through the tail of a canine skeleton. With a quick twist of his wrist, he continued with a slash downwards, taking off its rear right leg at the same time. Yet the canine skeleton didn’t seem to flinch at all, as it leapt right at the exosuit, leg or no leg.

However, the sword-wielding exosuit was already waiting for it, calm and collected as it stabbed the scorching blade of light into the monster’s head. A second later, it exploded in a flash of eerie green light. Despite its flashy appearance, this explosion did not cause any damage, but it did signify the disappearance of the strange green flame within its skull. With it, the entire canine skeleton fell apart as well…

Was that the force animating the creature then? Seems like we found a weakness in its head.

Still, while that creature might have died, the force of its leap remained. As its lifeless skeletal frame crashed into the exosuit, the suit visibly staggered, but that was the extent of its impact – seems like even a full-on charge from one of these beasts couldn’t topple an exosuit. Furthermore, its claws did not seem to leave much of a mark on the exosuit either. In other words, that scorpion tail was its strongest weapon, and strong it was.

As for the other exosuit on the bridge, he seemed to have fared worse. The moment he approached one of the beasts in melee range, he was hit by a tail attack. Fortunately, the tail wasn’t able to penetrate the exosuit this time. It merely left a sizable dent where it struck. In all likelihood, the exosuit could take another three or four of such attacks before the pilot within was hit.

That tail attack, it seemed, wasn’t as undefeatable as we first thought. That shocking one hit kill was most likely aided by the beasts’ running charge up the bridge. And that made sense as well. The area of the exosuit in question was the cockpit, it would have to be the sturdiest portion of the exosuit.

Under such conditions, the two exosuits on the bridge slowly retook the initiative from the canine skeletons. As they smoothly ducked and weaved in melee, they would throw in a few slices here and there. Whenever they couldn’t dodge an attack, they merely slammed head-on into the beast instead, easily sending it flying.

Speaking of flying, these two exosuits actually tried to take to the skies several times already. However, the canine skeletons were keen-eyed enough that they immediately sprung on them whenever they even attempted to do so.

Either way, I now had a clear idea of how these beasts worked -only its tail was a concern.

Yet just when I was about to relay this finding to the survivors, trouble struck. A dozen or so canine skeletons sprung up behind us!

“AH! They’re here… they’re right behind us…” One of the survivors immediately yelled in panic.

“I’ll take care of them! Don’t worry…”

“Ah crap… run… there are too many of them…”

“Steady now. Our exosuits aren’t that much different from the police ones, as long as we avoid those tails, we are fine.”

While I might have said that, it wasn’t exactly true that the entertainment exosuits were just as sturdy as the police ones. Initially, such a statement would be true. But the budget allotted to maintaining a game suit wasn’t ever going to be the same as maintaining a police suit. Whenever a part was due for replacement, whether due to shelf life or damage, they would be taken down. However, these parts would often get refurbished, then resold on the market. In the best case, an entertainment exosuit had the same defences as a police exosuit, but after constant refurbishments, could this second-hand car of an exosuit be reasonably expected to function as well?

The moment these monsters appeared, a portion of the survivors broke off from the main contingent in panic. There were also the braver ones who ran up to block the monsters. Unfortunately, good intentions alone wouldn’t cut it in front of the grim reaper.

Just as they were all prepared for a rousing battle, death came knocking on their doors…

The first survivor was immediately pushed back and injured while the second was summarily pierced by multiple tail attacks. Naturally, the pilot was a goner too.

As for the others, what did these survivors even expect with their sealed up weapons? They couldn’t just smash open their skulls with a hammer, could they?!

“He’s dead… dead… RUN!”

“Save me…”

Their bravado barely lasted ten seconds as they started to flee themselves. Unfortunately, the moment they tried to run away, the canine skeletons struck… Geez, did no one teach them not to show their backs to an enemy?

The fear of death was like a virus; once it spread, there was no stopping it. Once the first casualty appeared, a wave of panic washed over the whole contingent, and it wasn’t long before they began fleeing blindly.

“Everyone, calm down and maintain ranks…” Bitong tried to command the survivors to no avail.

“Big brother…let’s get out of here… these monsters are scary…” Jiaojiao said as she rode up to me in her pink exosuit. Even wrapped in a veritable metal fortress, there was no safety to be had at this point for the timid girl.

“Your Highness, the time has come for us to slay the demons!”

Compared to Jiaojiao, Lixiang was a lot more combative, but why did she turn from a magical girl to a character in a cultivation novel?

Regardless, running away wasn’t an option now. From the way these monsters seemed to be popping up in the dozens, there were most likely even more hiding out somewhere. And besides, if the police were to be routed completely, where were we to even run to? Thus, I decided to fight!

“Ding! System update… emergency mission activated… Loot system activated…”

Mission: Battle the scorpion-like monsters
Objectives: Slay all the scorpion-like monsters
Reward: Flame Whip. Activation cost of 5 SP. 2 SP per second while it’s active. Potency varies based on SP used.
Comments: Has our valued host heard of the term “loot farming”?
On failure: Permanent closure of the Loot function.

Naturally, the urgent nature of this mission meant that the system had already accepted the mission on our behalf. Still… What the heck is this Loot system? Are monsters going to drop items now?

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Chapter 670: Monster Assassin

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Hearing Jiaojiao’s abrupt suggestion, 3739 was stunned at first then swiftly shot her down. “That won’t be necessary. Protecting the city and its inhabitants are all part of our duties. Furthermore, if I’m not wrong, you’re still a kid, aren’t you? Children shouldn’t participate in such dangerous activities. Just find a safe spot nearby, the clean up should still take a while more.”

“There’s no need to worry about us! Vanquishing evil is the duty of all magical girls!” With just one simple declaration, Lixiang brought her middle schooler delusions to full bear. “This one accepts this mission on behalf of the Battle Angels Squad!”

“Battle Angels… Squad?” This time, it was my turn to be surprised.

“Your Highness.” She said with all the seriousness in the world. “The Battle Angels Squad is our team.”

There’s no way I’m acknowledging that middle school grouping! And when did we even form a squad? Why haven’t I been informed about any of this?!

I swear… whenever she opens that mouth of hers, I have to worry whether or not we are about to be embarrassed again…

“Woooo! Jiaojiao wants to be an Archangel then!” Jiaojiao, however, seemed to be fully onboard with the name.

“Ahahaha… I’m sorry…”

Even though I couldn’t see the policeman’s face, I could tell he was speechless right now. He wasn’t the only one as well, but just as I was figuring out how to break this awkwardness, something happened at the bridge…

A bunch of strange looking creatures surfaced from the water, clawing their way up the bridge’s structure, and quickly hopping onto the bridge itself…

These creatures were clearly canine in nature, even in spite of their current skeletal appearance. Feet planted on the ground, these canine skeletons still measured an impressive two meters tall. On their skulls were a pair of thick horns, their tails seemed to be joined to a scorpion tail.

Over ten such misshapen monsters swiftly climbed up the bridge with the agility of an assassin. The moment they popped over the horizon of the bridge, they leapt at the nearest police exosuit they could find!

Having fully engaged with the four exosuits there, the remaining five skeletal canines rushed towards the two squads of policemen in a perfectly coordinated manner. These were all normal policemen who weren’t protected by exosuits. In all likelihood, the sudden outbreak of this virus had caused a shortage of exosuits… Regardless, the canine skeletons were now rushing for these vulnerable targets…

The policemen themselves did not take long to discover this new threat. However, the following scene could only be described as horrific. Like a wolf rampaging amongst a herd of sheep, the canine skeletons tore mercilessly into their exposed flesh. A few swipes, stabs, and bites later, the twenty or so policemen were all mangled and dead.

Then, barely a second later, two of the four remaining exosuits were pierced by a canine skeleton’s scorpion tail. The wound was situated in the dead center of the exosuit, meaning the pilots within were most definitely dead as well…

With the sturdiness of these exosuits, the system estimated that an attack had to at least have the power of a Four-star. Meaning we were at least dealing with monsters as destructive as a Four-star! At least, these canines had such power during a sneak attack.

“Zhi! Qing! You monsters…. I’ll kill you all!” Seeing his comrades killed so easily before his eyes, 3739 immediately flew off into a rage. Without even wasting another word, he sped off towards the bridge.

“Big brother… we don’t have to join in, right?” Now that the monsters could easily pierce through a police exosuit in one strike, Jiaojiao smartly chose to abandon her earlier bravado.

“Indeed, these new foes of ours seem unexpectedly stronger.” It was Lixiang’s turn to voice her concerns. Even though she might not have said so explicitly, she wanted us to avoid this danger… In other words, run.

“Yes. Jiaojiao thinks we should find shelter first…” Jiaojiao meekly added on, her voice starting to tremble at this point.

Bitong, on the other hand, was direct as always in pointing out the crux of the problem. “But we have too many people with us, it will be hard trying to hide. Besides, if even the police can’t handle these monsters, then hiding won’t solve the problem in the long run… We need a plan…”

She’s right. We can leave now… but what then? Those zombies may not be a threat, but these scorpions clearly are. Once the police are gone, we are next in line… But even if we try to help now, there’s still the matter of that scorpion tail. Being pierced by that looks deadly! Especially since we have the same defenses as those police exosuits, but even worse weapons than them. Everyone here is just a normal civilian too. I think our ranks would collapse before even the enemy got to us….

Contrary to his earlier declaration, 3739 did not foolishly rush into battle right away. Instead, he started firing off a long-range barrage once he came within range.

His laser cannons could easily suppress a field of enemies within seconds. However, these weren’t ordinary zombies anymore. Even a direct hit by his laser merely left a scratch on their bones. Just based on that, one could tell that these new monsters were highly resistant to heat attacks.

With a new target, four of the canine skeletons immediately broke off from the pack and leapt towards 3739.

However, 3739 did not dare face them in direct combat. He immediately ducked to the left into a different street. As he continued retreating, he did not let up on his barrage.

Back on the bridge, the two surviving exosuits continued struggling against the canine skeletons. Exosuits were often armed with a wide variety of weapons that were customised to each person. However, a sturdy shield was a must. Such implements were particularly suited for close-range combat, and that was how these two even managed to survive the initial tail attack.

One of the exosuits drew out a longsword while the other drew out a black tube-like tool. The pilot seemed to have pressed some button, causing a two meter long, blue laser blade to sprout from its black opening…

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Devil Evolution Catalogue Chapters 666 to 669

July 12, 2021 CatatoPatch Leave a comment

666 to 669 are out!

NOTE: The previous arc will have certain chapters either omitted or summarised, as voted on by patrons. The slice of life bits will skipped.

Click the Link to Start Reading:
» Chapter 666 «

Click the Link to Start Reading:
» Chapter 667 «

Click the Link to Start Reading:
» Chapter 668 «

Click the Link to Start Reading:
» Chapter 669 «

Chapter 669: Northern Waters Bridge

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

After all the work we did, we ended up unlocking enough exosuits for everyone, with three to spare. Yet that wasn’t the most shocking thing we learnt today; that dubious honor had to go to the fact that Bitong could somehow control those three extra exosuits remotely!

There were no pilots to be had in these pilots -completely unmanned – though there were some delays in response time, and precise movements were impossible.

Bitong, Lixiang, Jiaojiao and I were the vanguard of this contingent. The Lans were our rearguard, while the remaining survivors formed the center. Then, right at the helm of all of us, were the three unmanned exosuits, controlled by Bitong as they cleared the path ahead of zombies.

After killing a few zombies, Bitong suddenly said, “They count.”

It was a weird declaration that had no heads or tails, at least not to outsiders. To us, however, her meaning couldn’t be clearer. Even zombies killed through remote means such as Bitong’s counted as part of her kill count. In other words, as long as the finishing attack was in some way linked to us, the points would be credited to us. Still, I couldn’t be sure if this rule held up even at long distances.

Roughly two kilometers of travelling later, we came upon some survivors hiding out in a building. Rather, they waved and called out to us for help. With regards to them, my opinion was still the same as before: if we could save them, we would. Thanks to that, our numbers swelled by another ten.

This time, we had no spare exosuits to give them. Thus, they had to hide amongst the main contingent, flanked on all sides by those with exosuits.

According to the map, we’ve arrived at somewhere known as Northern Waters River. This river spanned 200 meters across, and stretched up to a massive 250 km, cutting across the entire southern section of Southern Plains. According to our planned route, we had to cross this river at the Northern Waters Bridge, in order to leave the southern district of the city.

Had this been normal times, this river would be filled with cruises, ferrying wide-eyed tourists across its scenic waters. Unfortunately, the river as it was now was more akin to the River Styx with its deathly silence. Using my detachable bits as an aerial drone, we counted at least a dozen cruises floating eerily on the river. In all likelihood, they were now inhabited solely by zombies…

Speaking of detachable bits, these could normally be used to fire lasers, but an entertainment exosuit’s laser wasn’t meant to do damage. Still, its camera functions came in handy.

While surveying the river, we discovered that the bridge was currently held by five police exosuits, backed up by two fully armed squads of policemen.

As a side note, when the Northern Waters Bridge was built centuries ago, it was a landmark of its time. Now, it stood tall and proud as a famous ancient wonder. Anyone who visited the city had to have visited the bridge at least once, else it would have been a wasted trip. This bridge was one of the symbols of this city.

“Should we go over and help? There’s quite a bit of farming to be had there!” Suggested an excited Jiaojiao. Ever since attaining this exosuit, she seemed to have forgotten how to even spell the word ‘fear’. She practically leapt for joy when her adorable eyes spotted the pack of roaming zombies.

With a police blockade ahead that was currently engaged in battle, she immediately made that suggestion, without any thought at all for safety. And… that was where she messed up.

In order to facilitate passing down commands, all of us were on a public channel of communications. In other words, what she said could be heard by others as well, and some things were best kept a secret.

“Farming? Do you think we’re playing a game here?!” Bitong immediately chided the girl. While I couldn’t see her face from here, I knew she was just trying to remind the girl to keep quiet.

“Okay…” Naturally, Jiaojiao understood that as well, but she still had to act out the part of a dejected child. “It’s just less scary if this was all a game, that’s all…”

Nice job!

“We have a situation!” Charged with handling the detachable bits, Lixiang suddenly interrupted the well-acted play. “They’ve spotted us.”

Spotted us? Oh… you mean one of the police exosuits have spotted us…

The exosuit in question turned around to face his companions, seemingly conversing with them before waving in our direction -was he telling us to come over? Perhaps he was trying to figure out who we were, or which organization we belonged to.

Barely a moment later, the police exosuit had locked onto our location, and after performing a few acrobatic leaps over the period structures between us, he landed in front of us.

The police in the suit was numbered 3739. He did not reveal his face, but based on his voice, he shouldn’t be too old.

“Greetings. I’m a member of the Southern Plains Police Department (SPPD), serial number 3739. May I ask if you’re planning to leave the city? And where did you get the exosuits you’re currently wearing?”

The policeman immediately opened in an interrogative tone. However, he was merely doing job, so I couldn’t blame him there. More importantly, we hadn’t done anything wrong, and had even saved a lot of people; there was nothing to hide on our part.

“We’re all survivors here, most of us just came out of Joyworks Game City. That’s where we procured these suits.” Bitong answered on her own initiative. She was the one more used to such encounters, so there was no need for me to intervene. “Officer, these are all entertainment exosuits. You may check them yourself -none of the weapons have been unlocked.”

Having said that, Bitong took out one of her swords to show the officer.

Honestly, 3739 probably could have seen for himself that these were all entertainment exosuits, but protocol had to be followed. As for why no one seemed to mention the anti-theft system… Well. He never asked. He probably thought it was pointless to ask as well. After all, our lives were in danger right now. What was he going to do? Arrest for us something minor like arming ourselves illegally? Given our numbers, that would be suicidal.

As expected, he skipped over the topic entirely. “I’m sure your journey here must have been hard as well. But the bridge is still being cleared, it’s not safe to go over at the moment.”

“We can help too!” Jiaojiao suddenly chimed in. “Our exosuits might not have any good weapons, but they can still smack some zombies around. And more people would make cleaning the area faster.”

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