End of Days Game: I'm the Only One Who Can See the Hidden Cues

Chapter 159: Temporarily Sealing the Instance

Near the entrance of the Shadow City instance, Howard was still patiently awaiting Jeremy's return.

Although Howard believed that Jeremy wouldn't encounter any real danger within the Shadow City instance, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt.

After all, Jeremy had been inside the Shadow City instance for quite some time.

"General, I think we shouldn't wait any longer." Howard's subordinate suggested softly. "Jeremy's strength ensures that he wouldn't face any major threats inside the Shadow City instance. Why don't we return to the camp and prepare for the upcoming operations instead?"

Howard shook his head.

"Since I've decided to wait for him here, I will certainly wait for him. Besides, I believe the Shadow City instance is not as straightforward as we might think."

"If the difficulty of the Shadow City instance were normal, we wouldn't be able to handle other instances at all. After all, without Jeremy, we couldn't even tackle the Shadow City instance."

Howard's words left his subordinate deeply discouraged.

Initially, Howard and the others thought that without Jeremy, their operations would merely proceed at a slower pace.

Who could have imagined that without Jeremy, they wouldn't be able to clear a single instance?

"I'll head back to the base first. After all, there are many affairs that need attending to there." Howard's subordinate said, realizing he needed to return promptly. Hence, he approached Howard to convey this message.

Howard nodded.

"There's nothing left for you to do here. You should head back as quickly as possible."

Upon receiving Howard's order, the subordinate departed swiftly.

Not long after his subordinate had left, Howard heard strange noises emanating from the entrance of the Shadow City instance.

Howard slowly walked towards the entrance of the Shadow City instance, intending to discern the source of the peculiar sounds.

Just at that moment, Jeremy suddenly burst out from the entrance.

Howard's expression showed a hint of surprise, for he noticed a look of sheer panic on Jeremy's face.

"What happened? Why did it take you so long to come out? Did you encounter danger inside the Shadow City instance?"

Howard fired off three questions to Jeremy in quick succession.

Enjoy tales from m-vl _emp _yr.

However, Jeremy did not answer any of his questions. Instead, he panted heavily and said, "Quickly seal the entrance to the Shadow City instance! There's no time for idle talk!"

Although Howard did not fully grasp Jeremy's words, he chose to trust Jeremy's judgment after everything they had been through.

He and Jeremy immediately returned to the camp they had set up near the entrance of the Shadow City instance. The camp was stocked with a significant amount of explosives.

The two of them quickly piled the explosives at the entrance of the Shadow City instance and then detonated them.

The explosives were not capable of destroying the Shadow City instance, nor could they obliterate its entrance. Their purpose was to collapse the mountain around the entrance.

In this manner, the entrance to the Shadow City instance was completely sealed off.

Moreover, since every instance that descended into the real world was bound by specific rules, once the entrance was sealed, the monsters unable to reach the entrance in time could no longer emerge from the instance.

Having successfully sealed off the Shadow City instance, Jeremy finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thankfully, we acted quickly enough, otherwise, Moonlight City might have been swiftly annihilated." Jeremy said with lingering fear.

Howard remained deeply puzzled, as Jeremy had yet to answer any of his questions.

"What exactly did you encounter inside the Shadow City instance? When you rescued us from the instance, didn't you say its difficulty level wasn't that high?"

"The difficulty level of the instance is indeed not particularly high. However, in the deepest part of the instance, there exists an unexpectedly terrifying entity. This entity is far more powerful than all the monsters in the instance combined."

Jeremy directly mentioned the presence of The Dark Tree at the deepest part of the Shadow City instance.

"Let me be straightforward with you. In the deepest part of the instance, there's a Dark Tree growing towards the surface. If the Dark Tree reaches the surface, a multitude of dark creatures will emerge.

If we cannot destroy the Dark Tree, it will not stop growing. Moreover, if the Dark Tree continues to grow, it might eventually extend into the world of the gods.

I recall mentioning to you before that the masterminds behind the apocalypse game's descent are the planners. And those planners are what I referred to as the gods."

Jeremy stopped at this point, knowing that Howard would piece everything together.

An exceptionally rare expression of shock appeared on Howard's face.

He asked Jeremy in disbelief, "Are you saying that The Dark Tree can ultimately connect the real world with the apocalypse game world completely? Wouldn't that mean the total destruction of the real world?"

Jeremy nodded in affirmation, indicating that was exactly what he meant.

Upon receiving Jeremy's confirmation, Howard sat on the ground, utterly stunned.

"How can this be?! If a low-difficulty instance like Shadow City has such a terrifying entity as The Dark Tree, doesn't that mean we have no way to handle the other instances?"

Howard muttered to himself.

Jeremy felt that Howard was under immense pressure at the moment, so he calmly walked over to him.

"You don't need to be so stressed right now. After all, The Dark Tree has only just begun to grow. Moreover, we've successfully sealed the entrance to the Shadow City instance.

This also means that The Dark Tree won't be able to obtain more nutrients to accelerate its growth rate. It will take at least about a year for it to reach the surface.

We just need to find a way to destroy The Dark Tree within this year. I can't possibly combat such a powerful entity on my own."

After hearing Jeremy's words, Howard seemed to remember something.

He abruptly stood up and grabbed Jeremy's hand.

"What are you doing? I warn you, even if I can't fight The Dark Tree, I can easily defeat you." Jeremy warned Howard.

Although Jeremy didn't know what Howard intended to do, he was extremely annoyed by his actions. Therefore, he felt compelled to warn him.

"Didn't you say we need to find a way to destroy The Dark Tree? I'll take you to our camp right now. We have a lot of data there that you haven't seen before."

After saying this, Howard quickly led Jeremy to the edge of the camp.

There, a fully operational helicopter was parked.

Howard didn't instruct his subordinates to wait for him here, as he was perfectly capable of piloting the helicopter himself.

"What are you standing there for? Get in quickly! Now that we're aware of The Dark Tree's existence, we can't afford to waste a single moment."

Thus, Howard flew the helicopter, taking Jeremy back to the base at maximum speed.

On the way back to the base, Jeremy made a call to Emma and Claire.

"In the upcoming period, it's very likely that I won't be able to meet you. I need to go to our military base in the outskirts of Moonlight City to review the data there.

You must take good care of yourselves, and if you have the time, you should also look after Ritchie. If Bonnie comes looking for me, just tell them I'm at the military base in the suburbs."

Jeremy felt it was imperative to arrange everything for his teammates.

Over the phone, Emma and Claire agreed without hesitation.

Because they all knew that Jeremy had to address the imminent danger facing Moonlight City.

As for why Jeremy didn't call Bonnie, it was because he thought it might be somewhat inappropriate to contact her now.

Bonnie had already returned to her parents' place, which meant that calling her could potentially alarm Benjamin.

Jeremy certainly didn't want Benjamin to know that Moonlight City was currently facing an unprecedented and massive threat.

While Jeremy was en route to the military base in the outskirts of Moonlight City, Bonnie received a call from a long-lost friend at her home.

"Why did you suddenly think of calling me? I remember it's been a year and a half since we last met." Bonnie said, sounding extremely delighted upon receiving the call.

After all, the person calling was her dearest friend.

The reason they hadn't seen each other for a year and a half was simply because Bonnie had come to Moonlight City for her studies.

A melodious and clear voice came from the other end of the line: "The reason I'm calling is to give you a heads-up. The place you're currently in, Moonlight City, is extremely dangerous. You need to leave as soon as possible."

Upon hearing the warning, Bonnie felt a bit puzzled.

After all, her dear friend was all the way in the capital, so how could she possibly know that Moonlight City was perilous?

"How do you know that Moonlight City is extremely dangerous? In fact, you don't need to worry about me because my own abilities have grown much stronger than before. Besides, we have sufficiently powerful federal troops stationed here."

Bonnie did not mention Jeremy, as she felt it unnecessary to let too many people know about his existence. After all, the conflict between Jeremy and Kean had not yet been resolved.