26: Chapter 26 Dude, you're in Shanghai too?

After speaking, Gu Changming looked back at his room, where all the lights were turned on, and shook his head.

Because humanity had passed the first Assessment, their levels had increased, allowing them to see supplementary rules that were invisible during the first Assessment.

[Supplementary Rule: Weak light sources will attract Shadow Devourers.]

However, it was this very supplementary rule that nearly cost the lives of billions of humans.

Based on this supplementary rule and their experience from the first Assessment, they naturally associated it with certain applicable methods.

If they couldn't make noise during Silent Day, did that mean they couldn't produce light during this Photophobia Period?

As long as not a single glimmer of light was emitted, they could safely pass this Assessment.

The official push notifications clearly thought so as well.

However, the reality was quite different.

Gu Changming opened his personal panel to check the details of this Assessment.

[Second Assessment: Photophobia Period]

[Rule: Evade the Shadow Devourers' hunt.]

[Supplementary Rules: Weak light sources will attract Shadow Devourers; there is only one Shadow Devourer within a certain area; Shadow Devourers hide during the day and emerge at night, becoming more active after dark; Shadow Devourers have an aversion to stable light sources; after killing one person, a Shadow Devourer will enter a brief period of rest...]

[Duration: 120 hours.]

[Failure Penalty: Death.]

[Hidden Rule: Cage of Light: When a Shadow Devourer is entirely covered by intense light, it will fall into a brief state of paralysis.]

That's right—it wasn't the humans who were photophobic, but the hunters pursuing them.

Those Shadow Devourers preferred to operate in the dark and were extremely sensitive to light; while weak light attracted them, higher intensity light actually repelled and disgusted them.

But because humans were low-level, they could only see the first supplementary rule, which led to a misunderstanding of the entire Assessment's content.

This resulted in everyone being sent notifications advising them to hide in the dark.

But if one truly hid according to those tips, it would instead put the Shadow Devourers in their comfort zone.

Even if one didn't create a weak light source to attract them, they would still actively roam and hunt humans.

Humanity didn't realize this until the final day of the Assessment, but by then, it was already too late.

Due to the misjudgment, humans had already suffered countless casualties.

Gu Changming closed his panel and looked up at the Mimic Beast.

He didn't even need to speak for his intent to be conveyed.

The crow transformed from the Mimic Beast nodded, flapped its wings, flew off the balcony, and rose into the sky.

Its crimson eyeballs slowly rotated, scanning the streets and buildings below.

This was the task Gu Changming had assigned it: find the location of the Shadow Devourer in his area.

Daytime was a relatively safe window; it was better to scout the opponent's position in advance than to be passive after dark.

After the Mimic Beast flew away, Gu Changming turned back into the living room. All the lights remained on, making the interior very bright.

Gu Changming sat down on the sofa, unlocked his phone, and tapped on the app with the minimalist icon and straightforward name: Civilization Ascension Mutual Aid Forum.

This was software the authorities had rushed out after the Civilization Advancement Assessment appeared, intended to facilitate communication and mutual aid for people everywhere when the Assessment began.

He entered the app; the interface was crude but the functions were direct. New posts were being refreshed every second, but most titles carried panic and pleas for help.

“Does anyone know what ‘weak light source’ actually means? Does a phone screen count?”

“The officials told us to hide at home and not turn on the lights. Is that actually reliable?”

“Everyone, stop looking at the forum! Phone screens also emit light—turn them off quickly and hide!”

“Five days... that’s even longer than the last Assessment.”

Gu Changming tapped on the local content and scrolled through the screen expressionlessly, constantly refreshing.

He was looking for a post made by an ID called 'Outsider'—a post containing logical deductions about the content of this Assessment.

In his previous life, he had happened upon this person's post by chance. At a critical moment, relying on the logical reasoning in the constantly updated posts, he had narrowly survived and even earned a B-rank rating.

Of course, Gu Changming wasn't looking for the person specifically to repay a debt of gratitude.

Rather, he wanted to use the other person's mouth to spread some of the information he knew.

This second Assessment caused heavy human losses because of the misleading supplementary rules. If people realized it in advance, hundreds of millions could survive. With that many more survivors, perhaps... human civilization could endure the final Assessment.

His finger paused.

Gu Changming saw the post he had seen in his previous life: 'Speculations Regarding the Rules of This Photophobia Period Assessment'.

“Greetings, everyone. I have some speculations regarding this Assessment. The supplementary rules might be incomplete. What we see might be just a part of the full rules, just like in the first Assessment.”

“The supplementary rule says: weak light sources will attract Shadow Devourers. There is a loophole here; the rule only mentions attraction, it doesn't explain the Shadow Devourers' active behavior patterns.”

“If they naturally hunt actively in the dark, then simply hiding light sources only eliminates one attracting factor; it doesn't solve the risk of being actively discovered.”

“Therefore, hiding doesn't necessarily mean you are completely safe...”

However, there were only a few scattered replies below the post, most of which were mocking.

“Thinking too much. Just do what the officials say.”

“Still trying to be unconventional at a time like this? Hurry up and turn off your phone, lest you attract a Shadow Devourer later and die without even knowing how.”

Gu Changming gave it a brief glance and then opened the other person's private message page.

Before he could type anything, the Mimic Beast's voice rang out directly in his mind.

“To the southeast, three hundred meters away, on the fifteenth floor of another building. Dark energy is condensing, matching the description. The target is currently moving slowly.”

Gu Changming nodded and replied, “Continue monitoring.”

Gu Changming looked back down at his phone screen. His fingertips paused for a moment on the virtual keyboard, and then he began to type.

...

Zhou Tunan leaned by the window. Sunlight streamed through the clean glass, lighting up the entire room.

Using the bright sunlight, he looked down at the views and comments on his post.

Without exception, they were all cold mockery and sarcasm.

“Another one looking for attention.”

“Stop with the blind analysis, Jiahao.”

The corners of his mouth twitched, revealing a helpless smile.

During the first Assessment, by a stroke of luck, he had managed to create a Sound Pressure Coverage and earned two hundred points.

So for this next Assessment, he felt that there must be some rules that hadn't been fully stated.

That was why he had posted on the forum, hoping it would be useful and help out a bit.

But looking at it now, it seemed no one believed him.

Just as he put down his phone and prepared to stop looking at the comments, the screen suddenly lit up. The notification bar showed a new private message.

He tapped it casually.

It was an unfamiliar avatar with an ID consisting of a string of unedited numbers.

The message was very short: “Buddy, I think what you said makes a lot of sense. I'm outside right now; the sun is shining and it's very bright around me, but I don't feel any danger.”

A flash of joy crossed Zhou Tunan's eyes. It was rare to find someone who agreed with his views. He then quickly tapped on the screen: “That was just my speculation, it might not be accurate.”

He sent it and stared intently at the screen.

Almost the very next second, the other party replied: “I looked at your IP. Are you in Hujiang City too?”