57: Chapter 57 Let's do it, remember to leave some alive.

In the small grove outside the camp, the light was filtered thin by the dense foliage.

Gu Changming leaned against a thick tree trunk, his posture relaxed.

He glanced at the status panel for "night erosion"—which he had already looked at countless times—then looked up at the gloomy sky through the gaps in the trees, bored out of his mind.

This was the place he and Qin Lie had agreed upon yesterday, and it was almost time.

He just didn't know what that kid was going to give him.

As he thought this...

Suddenly, his ears twitched.

Footsteps. And they were being deliberately lightened, as if someone were trying to hide their presence.

Gu Changming turned his head and looked over.

The bushes were pushed aside, and Zhang Zhenhai stepped out.

He was fully armed, even more so than in the Secret Realm, wearing heavy breastplates and pauldrons, gripping a Broad-bladed Greatsword with its tip pointing diagonally toward the ground.

Seeing Gu Changming looking at him, Zhang Zhenhai's eyes darkened. Then, as if to bolster his courage, he suddenly bared his teeth in a stiff, vicious grin.

"What? Didn't expect this?"

As soon as he spoke, the surrounding bushes rustled one after another as figure after figure emerged.

Nearly ten people, all fully armed with blades or heavy hammers, vaguely formed a loose encirclement around Gu Changming.

Only after all his men had stepped out did Zhang Zhenhai relax slightly.

"If you expose that many shadow crystal cores in public, you should expect to be robbed."

He admitted that Gu Changming might be quite powerful.

So, this time he hadn't just brought his own team; he had also brought along another team of comparable strength.

With ten people, he didn't believe they couldn't take him down.

Gu Changming stopped leaning against the tree and straightened up. Acting as if he hadn't seen the people closing in from all sides, his gaze remained fixed on Zhang Zhenhai's face.

"I really didn't expect this," Gu Changming said slowly. "I thought you guys would show up a bit later."

His original plan was to get the item from Qin Lie and then deal with these people on his way out.

He hadn't expected them to be so impatient.

As for exposing his possession of so many shadow crystal cores earlier... part of it was actually just to bait the hook and lure Zhang Zhenhai and the others in.

However, Zhang Zhenhai's brow furrowed; he didn't understand what that meant.

Then, Gu Changming moved. He swung the backpack that had been casually slung over his shoulder to his front, unzipped it, and reached inside to rummage around.

This action caused the encirclement to tense up instantly. The people behind Zhang Zhenhai instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons, shifting their stances to prepare for any sudden attack.

Zhang Zhenhai also held his breath, staring intently at Gu Changming's hand.

A second later, Gu Changming pulled his hands out of the bag. What he was holding wasn't some lethal weapon, but several flashlights.

Gu Changming weighed the items in his hand, glanced around at the nervous crowd, and gave a light shrug.

"Sorry, I didn't expect so many of you to show up," Gu Changming apologized. "I didn't prepare enough, so just make do with these."

Before they could react, he raised his hand and casually tossed the flashlights toward Zhang Zhenhai and those standing near him.

Zhang Zhenhai and the others caught the flashlights in a fluster, their faces filled with bewilderment, completely unable to figure out what was going on.

Right then, Gu Changming raised his right hand and snapped his fingers with a crisp sound.

"Snap."

The moment the sound faded, the fragmented shadow beneath his feet, cut by the branches and leaves, suddenly began to writhe violently!

Like boiling ink, the shadow rose upward against all logic... In the blink of an eye, a two-meter-tall behemoth with a twisted and hideous silhouette, composed entirely of pure shadow, appeared before everyone.

"The... Shadow Devourer..." Zhang Zhenhai's Adam's apple bobbed as he squeezed out the words in a dry voice.

The others in the encirclement also looked terrified; during the last Assessment, this thing had caused them no small amount of fear.

How could this damn thing... be in this guy's hands?!

Gu Changming acted as if he didn't see their fear, his tone remaining flat. "Weren't you curious how I killed the Shadow Devourer and where my shadow crystal cores came from?"

"Now, you can try it for yourselves." Gu Changming tilted his head. "You're welcome."

"Oh, right." Gu Changming seemed to remember something and pointed at the flashlights they were holding. "The moment strong light hits it, the Shadow Devourer's movements will stiffen. That was in the official push notification, right? Remember to use them."

After speaking, he turned his gaze to the motionless Mimic Beast beside him and nodded, signaling it to start.

The moment he nodded, the Shadow Devourer's figure blurred. In the next instant, it lunged toward the nearest armed man with heart-stopping speed!

Screams rang out continuously in the grove...

...

Inside the camp.

Qin Lie carefully held an object wrapped in cloth, hurrying toward the small grove outside the camp.

Just as he stepped past the iron fence at the edge of the camp, he suddenly paused, frowning slightly as he listened.

Strange... I thought I heard some weird noises just now.

He shook his head, dismissed the thought, and continued walking briskly toward the meeting spot with Gu Changming.

Reaching the clearing in the woods, Qin Lie stopped and looked around.

"Not here yet?" he muttered to himself, taking a few more steps forward, intending to go deeper.

But just then, Gu Changming's figure emerged from the shadows of the dense forest.

Seeing him, Qin Lie breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to greet him.

"I thought you hadn't arrived yet."

Gu Changming had his usual faint smile as his gaze fell on the item in Qin Lie's hands. "Is this the thing you wanted to give me?"

"Yeah."

Qin Lie nodded and handed it over while unwrapping the cloth. Inside was a pair of gloves that were pitch black, made of a material that looked like leather but wasn't, with a matte finish.

"This is a special item I made according to a blueprint I obtained."

Gu Changming took the gloves. Simultaneously, a translucent notification box silently appeared before his eyes.

"[Name: nightwalker gloves]"

"[Traits: In environments shrouded in darkness or shadow, the wearer's form can briefly resonate with the shadows, granting the ability to perform short-distance, silent teleports between continuous shadowed areas.]"

Seeing the description, Gu Changming's eyes lit up. Wasn't this description exactly like the Shadow Devourer's ability?

Being able to move through dark environments at will, ignoring the restrictions of obstacles.

Although this ability had some environmental limitations, it could be considered "bug-level" in the early stages.

Gu Changming looked at Qin Lie. No wonder the guy was so obsessed with crafting it.

"Not bad, right?" Qin Lie's tone was a bit proud.

"It really is quite good," Gu Changming smiled, then asked, "You only made one?"

In the next second, Qin Lie immediately pulled out his own "nightwalker gloves" from his pocket and said with a chuckle, "I didn't fail; I succeeded on the first try and made two pairs."

"Great." Gu Changming smiled. "Then... until next time."

Qin Lie's mood calmed down, and he nodded. He was about to say goodbye as well, but in the next second, his gaze caught the bloodstains on Gu Changming's clothes.

"Are you hurt?" Qin Lie asked, staring at the crimson spots on Gu Changming's clothes.