Night World Players

Chapter 215 Thank you for holding on to the darkest night before dawn (two in one)

When Janice heard Last call out her name, she nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"It's me, Captain, you actually recognized me!"

She seemed quite excited. After all, the relationship between the two of them was just that of a superior and subordinate in the Shore Guard team when Janice had just joined the organization for less than half a year.

To Last, she was just an insignificant passer-by in his life... The short six months of fighting side by side was just a drop in the ocean compared to the long years that followed.

But more than two hundred years later, Last could still recognize him at a glance.

"Having reached such a stage on the path of transcendence as you and I, even the smallest and most insignificant memories can be recalled if we think hard enough."

"Besides, in my perception of time, not two hundred years have passed."

Luster smiled and said, "I didn't expect that besides Gray, there are also members of the Shore Guard from when Cecil was the leader who survived."

Although in the recording, Grey described that period quite lightly, just mentioning it briefly.

But Last knew very well that from the end of the Battle of the Broken Coast to the time when humans cleansed the continent and expelled heretics, and a brand new federation was established... it was bound to be a very difficult period.

The previous generation of shore guardian Cecil died, and Grey, who inherited the position of leader, had not yet broken through the legend at that time. It was difficult for her to convince the public like Cecil in terms of qualifications or status.

At the same time, although the legendary forbidden creatures of the Beast Tide and Iron Cross tribes were also wiped out in the Battle of Broken Coast, those alien races, relying on their racial advantages, are still eyeing human gathering places.

It was the deepest and most depressing night before dawn.

"A lot of people died during that time. Most of the newcomers who joined the Shore Guardians at the same time as Gray and I died in battle... I only managed to survive and make it through the darkest days."

A look of nostalgia appeared on Janice's face. "I originally thought that after I got through those days, when Gray reached Legendary status and the Human Federation was established, I could retire and rest in peace."

"But Gray is such a hands-off boss. To advance to angel status, he's spent decades deep in the stars, oblivious to worldly affairs... and has dumped all his leadership responsibilities onto us."

She walked up to Rast, as if wanting to hug him, but finally stopped as if she remembered something and hesitated.

"It's a pity that I'm different from Gray. I don't have her strong talent, nor her perseverance and perseverance."

Janice looked at her wrinkled palms and said, "Even after nearly two hundred years, reaching the peak of the sixth level is already my limit—"

"Legend is a little too far away for me."

Becoming a transcendent person would certainly increase your original lifespan.

But such improvement has its limits... Compared to immortal species like ancient dragons and high elves, humans are ultimately a race with extremely short lifespans.

Even legendary strongmen will gradually age and die, but the process is extremely slow.

But if one wants to be truly immortal, ignoring the erosion of time and the weathering of time - then one must either use the power of the Eternal Night Stele like a gravekeeper and leave one's soul imprint on it.

Or, become a real angel.

If you don't become an angel, you will eventually grow old, and the day of death is just a matter of time.

So they were clearly from the same group of newcomers who joined the Shore Watchers organization - but at this moment, two hundred years had made Janice look old, but had not left any trace on Gray.

"Anyway, thank you for all these years, Janice."

Under Janice's somewhat incredulous gaze, Last took the initiative to complete the hug that she had hesitated to give him.

"Thank you for holding on for me, for Leader Sissel, and for those shore defenders lost in history... during those darkest days."

"And, this is my personal thanks."

"Thank you for always being by Gray's side over the years, sharing her pressure and solving her problems."

"I'm well aware of that little girl's withdrawn personality. Without your help... perhaps she wouldn't have been able to persevere until today and achieve such dazzling achievements."

"Captain, you underestimate me."

Janice suppressed the surprise in her eyes and said seriously, "Even without you and Chief Cessel's leadership, I would still be a member of the Shore Guard... In my heart, I hold the same ideals as you."

She wiped her eyes with her hand and said, "Besides, little Gray is not only a junior whom you, Captain, love and care for... She is also my best friend."

"So, it's not that I'm doing it for someone else, but because it's my job."

"yes--"

Last couldn't help but smile. "I almost forgot, you're now the deputy leader of the Shore Watchers and the overall director of the 'Artificial Angel Project.'"

"He's no longer the newbie who loved to whisper with Gray on the training ground at the Watchtower."

After being away from the Sixth Epoch for nearly two hundred years, I still managed to meet old friends from the Sissel era.

This also made Last feel better, as he had been feeling quite heavy after learning the secrets that Gray had told him.

"According to Gray's instructions to me, Captain, you are here for the 'Artificial Angel Project', right?"

On the side, Janice also sorted out her mood and asked.

"Ah."

Rust nodded. "Although we already know the entire Artificial Angel Project from Gray's recorded messages and the database..."

"But I still want to go and see her in person."

"Understood, Captain Rust...I'll take you there right away."

Janice nodded and took the initiative to lead the way.

"The 'Mechanical Angel' body, Amis, is currently sleeping within the Third Mechanical Research Institute, at the base of the watchtower."

"For the past decade or so, Amis's condition has remained remarkably stable... So, although I'm nominally the overall director of the 'Artificial Angel' project, in reality, all I've done these past few years is record Amis's data daily and maintain the hibernation facility. I haven't performed any actual work."

"According to Gray, these past few years have been the process of Amis using her own soul and will to control and conquer the Judgment Star Cup..."

"The Judgment sequence is different from the others. It is a long sequence of pure violence, symbolizing destruction and devastation."

"Therefore, if Amis wants to conquer 'Star Grail: Judgment', the dangers involved will inevitably be beyond imagination. Even the slightest mistake could cause her human soul to be engulfed by the destructive will of the Judgment Star Grail."

"During this period, no external force can interfere with this process. All we can do is wait patiently."

Agnes led the way, guiding Rust down from the upper levels of the Watchtower to its base. Along the way, she used her position as the director of the Third Mechanical Research Institute to overcome a series of high-tech hurdles, including iris verification, genetic verification, and soul fluctuation comparison tests.

"Who is she, an acquaintance of yours?"

Last was walking behind Janice when he suddenly heard Dean Yin's voice, which sounded like a "whisper under the moon" and went straight into the depths of his heart.

He couldn't help but glance at the ferret that was silent and looked quite well-behaved.

After being together for such a long time, Last has a clear understanding of Dean Yin's character.

Although this guy looks lazy and sloppy on weekdays, he is actually very shy and only reveals his true nature in front of close acquaintances.

Dean Yin started watching the live broadcast from Last's perspective during the Battle of Broken Coast, and watched the live broadcasts before that from Akshia's perspective, and did not know Janice.

Therefore, in front of strangers, it immediately puts on a well-behaved face, looking as if it is really an obedient pet ferret.

"Yes, an acquaintance... Janice was a member of my first team, a freshman of the same class as Little Gray, and also her best friend."

"A freshman from the same period—"

"Humans are indeed the race furthest from eternity."

Dean Yin looked at Janice, whose eyes were already wrinkled, and there was a hint of inexplicable emotion in her ruby-like eyes.

Listening to Dean Yin's voice, Last couldn't help but feel moved.

He knew that although Dean Yin looked like a cute ferret, his age was actually the biggest unsolved mystery of Fanxing University. Dean Yin had been in the academy since the beginning of the school.

Over the years, Dean Yin has been at Fanxing University, watching each new class of naive freshmen enter, undergoing trials, growing, and blossoming step by step...

Some of them successfully graduated from Starry University and lived a brilliant and glorious life...while others' lives were forever frozen in the night world.

And what kind of mood would Dean Yin be in when he saw those innocent freshmen gradually aging and withering away after reaching the highest point in their lives?
Now that I think about it, maybe it’s somewhat similar to what I feel now when I see Janice getting older.

"But aging and dying... this is also the beauty that is unique to a life as short as ours."

Dean Yin's voice sounded again.

"It is precisely because we grow old and die—"

"That's why humans are so dazzling and so noble."

It is precisely because the human soul is so brilliant that Dean Yin is willing to humble himself and live in the Starry University, becoming the inconspicuous dean of the Institute of Magical Animals.

If not for this, it would have been a forbidden creature. It could have established itself as a king like the beast legends of the Sixth Epoch, so why would it have to commit itself to the human race?

……

Under Janice's guidance, the identity verification barriers were broken down step by step.

The two men and the mink continued to move downwards, gradually reaching the bottom of the watchtower.

"Behind this door is the core of the Third Mechanical Research Institute, and it's also where the mechanical angel's body enters hibernation."

Janice looked at the steel door made of high-strength alloy in front of her and spoke softly.

She stopped in front of the alloy door, stretched out her hand, and was about to lift this last security restriction.

But, the next moment.

An extremely sharp and shrill cry suddenly echoed throughout the entire steel passage, accompanied by a dazzling blood-red alarm light.

No, not only the entire steel passage, but the entire watchtower was echoing with such shrill and piercing sounds.

"what happened?"

"The 'evening bell' alarm at Watchtower Headquarters?"

Janice's face changed and she no longer cared about anything else. She immediately used the portable smart terminal she carried with her to connect to the internal authority network of the Watchtower and check the source of the alarm.

This is an era of highly developed science and technology, and artificial intelligence, mechanical transformation, and even virtual reality technology are highly mature.

Therefore, as a force whose purpose is to "guard human civilization", the Shore Guardian Organization is naturally keeping pace with the times...using technological means to establish a massive detection point and early warning network throughout the entire Western Continent.

With the help of detection nodes and early warning networks, once there is any disturbance exceeding a certain threshold or a precursor to a disaster in the entire human society, it will be immediately captured by the early warning network and submitted to the core intelligent brain of the Watchtower for summary and analysis reports.

However, in the decades since the disaster warning network was established, it has not been triggered even once.

Ever since the remnants of the Iron Cross and the Beast Tide were wiped out and the Federation was established, the Western Continent has been at peace for over a hundred years. Although there have been occasional disputes within the Federation and even resort to violence during these years, such internal human struggles will not trigger the disaster warning of the Watchtower.

Are there still remnants of the heretic stirring up trouble, attempting to trigger the arrival of the evil god, or has the Iron Cross Plague, which was eradicated a hundred years ago, resurfaced?
But even so, the alarm level will never reach the level of "evening bell".

According to the disaster warning level classification within the Shore Watchers organization, "Evening Bell" is the second highest disaster alert level, representing the emergence of an angel-level threat, and there is a risk that the entire human civilization will be overturned.

Second only to the highest level, "Dusk," is a disaster alert level specifically designed for the end of an entire civilization, the "End of an Era," the end of everything.

What on earth happened that would cause the core intelligence inside the Watchtower to conclude that the entire human civilization is in danger of being overthrown?
In fact, there was no need for Janice to check.

All the metal walls turned red, as if burned through by the magma of hell. Inscribed on the blood-red background were large, incomparably vivid characters:
[It has been detected that over half of human society's intelligent machines have gone berserk, exhibiting destructive and destructive tendencies. The original three laws have been forcibly abolished by external forces, and intelligent machine firewalls have been damaged. The average destruction time for home firewalls is 0.3 seconds, while the average destruction time for military firewalls is 7.2 seconds.]

[Based on the information collected, the type of disaster this time has been confirmed to be - "Omnic Crisis"]

[The origin is currently being investigated. Preliminary assessment is that the disaster originated from some conceptual power of angelic rank.]

[The source of this power is...Watchtower's Third Mechanical Research Institute, the "Artificial Angel Project" body, "Mechanical Angel Judgment"]

[Trying to restart the hibernation restriction, failed...]

[Trying to start the emergency blocking program, the emergency blocking program failed to start...]

[The Watchtower's core brain is under attack from an angelic conceptual attack. The Watchtower's main firewall is about to fail. The estimated remaining time for the firewall to fail is ten minutes.]

[A high-risk area has been detected near the Third Machinery Research Institute, and there are high-level personnel.]

[Please immediately follow the third emergency plan set by the Shore Keepers Organization and enter the nearest secondary dimension entrance for emergency shelter!]

[Repeat, please immediately enter the nearest secondary dimension entrance for emergency shelter!]

(End of this chapter)