Chapter 297: War: Secret Invasion

【Apostle No. 9999090919, Tier 1 Dimensional Apostle, trial beginning.】

【Golden Eagle Federation (War Mode)】

【Trial Synopsis: Beneath the mundane lies hidden the mystery bestowed by gods, a mystery as inescapable as fate...】

【Trial Mission: Prevent the Nightmare Walker from completing the sacrifice to awaken the god, the Maiden of Secrecy.】

【Trial Difficulty: F~??? (Extremely Easy~Unknown)】

【Trial Reward: Qualification for return, choice of special skill.】

【Trial Failure: None.】

【Note: The trial world belongs to the Nightmare Space; mission type is Secret Invasion.】

【Note: The Paradise will provide a complete identity and corresponding language pack, but this identity is only guaranteed to be fully effective among natives of the trial world.】

【Note: This mission will not issue any other types of missions besides the trial mission and will not drop treasure chests, but corresponding Paradise Points and War Points will be issued upon settlement based on the Apostle's performance.】

【Warning: It is forbidden to mention or reveal anything related to the Dimensional Paradise during the trial; otherwise, trial qualification will be stripped, the mission will be judged a failure, you will be forcibly repatriated to the Paradise, and 10 points will be deducted from all attributes.】

【Warning: If mentioning or revealing anything related to the Dimensional Paradise causes serious losses, severe punishment (including erasure) will be administered according to the regulations.】

——

Chu Chu Danqing clutched his head as a massive influx of memories flooded his mind, feeling as if it were about to explode.

Fortunately, the Paradise provided after-sales service, and its technology was quite adept, quickly smoothing out the chaos in his mind.

This allowed Chu Chu Danqing to instantly grasp all the memories of a man named William Hamlet.

He was an ordinary office worker, living an ordinary life on an ordinary salary.

Barring any accidents, he would have lived his whole life just like that.

Until recently, a commissioned legal team found William with a legacy document.

A distant relative of his had passed away, and William was the nearest heir.

He had been left a Count's title, a manor, some factories and shops, and a substantial bank deposit.

But to inherit this vast estate, he could not handle it remotely—especially since it involved a title—so he had to travel there in person to process it.

So, he boarded a carriage, bringing along a guide and the legal team, and set off.

Everyone, eager to receive their payment sooner, unanimously agreed to the guide's suggestion to take a shortcut.

One really shouldn't take shortcuts sometimes.

The shortcut was fine, until an accident occurred.

They were attacked by something; the guide died on the spot, and William and the legal team fled in a panic, eventually becoming separated.

William had been a real person and was still alive until recently.

But upon Chu Chu Danqing's descent, the Paradise forcibly erased him and replaced him with Chu Chu Danqing.

When Chu Chu Danqing opened his eyes, he was in pitch-black darkness.

He was currently in a dim, gloomy cave, and his clothing had changed from the Chinese style to a Western style.

It wasn't just the clothing; his appearance had also changed.

One could only say that a "complete identity" was truly extraordinary; his entire person had undergone a heaven-and-earth transformation.

This applied not just to him, but even to Da Bao, Da Gu, and the Pure Yang Heavenly General, all of whom had shifted to match the Western style of this trial world.

"I wonder what identity the Paradise gave Da Bao," Chu Chu Danqing muttered, glancing at Da Bao, whose style had also shifted.

Da Bao noticed the change too and waved his claws, but finding it didn't affect his combat ability, he quickly ignored it.

He didn't care about such trivial matters at all.

"What is your identity?" Chu Chu Danqing asked Da Bao.

He didn't hold much hope, as Da Bao's status in the Paradise was merely that of a permanent summoned object.

"Lit-tle Chu's... bod-y-guard," Da Bao replied haltingly.

Hearing this, Chu Chu Danqing instantly understood that Da Bao had an identity, but it wasn't as effective as his own.

The simplest difference was the lack of complete memories; at most, he possessed some common sense.

Da Bao's identity was fake, while Chu Chu Danqing's was real; that was the distinction.

However, because Chu Chu Danqing's real identity existed, it could fully legitimize Da Bao's fake one.

As for Da Gu and Da Bai, they had no identities; one was being held by Chu Chu Danqing, disguised as a legal tome, and the other was inside Chu Chu Danqing's mind.

They didn't need identities at all.

"Da Bao, what's the situation?" Chu Chu Danqing asked. He didn't quite understand the circumstances or how to proceed with the mission.

However, according to the identity's memories, he had to find the legal team first and then head to Mayflower Bay to inherit the estate.

The Paradise wouldn't have given him this identity for no reason.

Perhaps obtaining that inheritance would reveal information about the Maiden of Secrecy or help him complete the mission more smoothly.

But to inherit it legitimately and legally, he needed the legal team and the legacy documents.

Therefore, he had to find them as soon as possible.

Da Bao scanned the darkness and replied, "I have... a kind of... un-com-fort-a-ble... feel-ing."

"Malice?" Chu Chu Danqing asked.

Da Bao shook his head. "No, just... un-com-fort-a-ble."

Clearly, with Da Bao's intelligence, he couldn't effectively describe the sensation.

Chu Chu Danqing couldn't grasp it either, as Da Bao's description was too vague; he was a clever woman unable to cook without rice.

"Alright, stay alert," Chu Chu Danqing replied. "Can you smell anyone else? We need to catch up with them quickly."

Da Bao sniffed and said, "Yes, but... it's dark... can Lit-tle Chu... see?"

Chu Chu Danqing narrowed his eyes. "You think it's dark too?"

He felt it was normal to be dark, as he had no perception buffs, but it was strange that Da Bao felt it was dark too.

Da Bao's perception had talent and skill buffs; theoretically, this shouldn't have happened.

"Yes, I can... see," Da Bao replied.

This was very strange. He could see, yet he felt it was dark.

Chu Chu Danqing instantly understood: there was some kind of influence in the environment.

During the descent, the identity memories included not just personal history, but also common knowledge about the Nightmare Space and Nightmare Walkers.

The Nightmare Space was similar to the Death Kingdom; they were high-pressure missions where most failures resulted in erasure.

The difference lay in their leanings: if the Death Kingdom was about the underworld, the Nightmare Space was about taboos.

The paths of the Nightmare Walkers under his command mostly resemble taboo modifications, unspeakable beliefs, sanity-shattering enhancements, and so on.

Just like the spellbook Chu Chu Danqing once had, in the hands of a Nightmare Walker, it might have been the most harmless item with the lowest cost.

Death Messengers were just murderous, but Nightmare Walkers were pure lunatics.

Extending this, Chu Chu Danqing felt uneasy. Since this trial world belonged to the Nightmare Kingdom, the local god was likely some kind of Evil God.

This was not good news for Chu Chu Danqing.

Especially the mission difficulty, ranging from F to a question mark, which meant this was definitely not a Tier 1 trial world.

On the surface, it might seem like an "Extremely Easy" difficulty, but anything involving a god was beyond his current level.

Chu Chu Danqing thought that besides the base reward, all subsequent rewards depended on his performance.

What if he signed a god as an ally?

Regardless of whether the god was benevolent, there were definitely angles to exploit.

If the god was benevolent, the Paradise would inevitably increase its investment, making it a key to winning this trial world.

If it was malicious, it was even simpler: trick it first, then communicate with the Paradise after returning to see if it had any value.

If it had no value, he'd just break the alliance; he'd already gotten the performance points, and he didn't believe the god could chase him back to the Paradise.

If it did have value, he'd just sell it to the Paradise.

Given the Paradise's generosity, it would certainly give him a sufficient reward.

Of course, the idea was great, but implementation was difficult.

Barring any accidents, the level of this trial world was likely far higher than the one Guo Ming was in.

Trying to trick such a powerful being... he'd be lucky if he didn't get caught immediately.

The god would likely see through Chu Chu Danqing's little schemes at a glance.

So success depended not just on planning, but on having enough opportunity.

"Let's go. We need to catch up with that group; they are the key to the mission," Chu Chu Danqing said.

"I'll... car-ry... Lit-tle Chu," Da Bao said, and promptly picked him up.

The cave was rugged and difficult to walk through, and with the poor visibility, it wasn't convenient for Chu Chu Danqing to walk himself, even with his high attributes.

Besides, with Da Bao's size, carrying Chu Chu Danqing wouldn't affect anything at all.

Chu Chu Danqing naturally agreed.

Following the lingering scent, they moved forward. Da Bao's eyes grew increasingly scarlet in the cave, emitting a faint glow.

At the same time, Chu Chu Danqing noticed wisps of Blood Rage power emerging around Da Bao.

"What's the situation?" Chu Chu Danqing asked immediately.

"Some-thing... is... fol-low-ing... us," Da Bao said in a low voice, his claws already extended.

Chu Chu Danqing scanned the surroundings, but couldn't see a thing.

The difficulty of a War Mission was indeed high.

In a normal trial mission, it would be impossible to encounter such trouble right at the start.

Da Bao's perception was top-tier among Tier 1s, excluding those Apostles specialized in perception and scouting.

Yet even so, he could only sense that something was following them without being able to pinpoint its location.

Otherwise, with Da Bao's strength, he would have dropped Chu Chu Danqing and pounced on the enemy to fight head-on.

"ROAR!" A low growl suddenly came from ahead.

Da Bao stopped instantly, activating his Rending Claws as Blood Rage power flooded his entire body.

He didn't show any weakness, roaring back, his voice far more resonant than the enemy's.

Da Bao didn't usually roar, but that didn't mean he couldn't; after all, his name had the word "beast" in it.

(End of Chapter)