Chapter 3: Main Quest · Final Stage (Pending Activation).
The Abyss quest had no time limit, a large-scale quest that could be undertaken in any world, and with its cumulative nature, there was no rush to complete it. As for the special quest, the secret mission of "Dudu Gugu," there were no leads for now, and with a deadline of over 140 days, it wasn't restricted to any specific world either.
With that in mind, Su Xiao actually only had the Main Quest · Final Stage and the 「Hunt List · Blood Pact」 Bounty · 5 · Old Times left to complete. Thinking back on the many matters since arriving in this world, and now looking at the task list filled with completed quests, there was a strong sense of accumulation.
He led Bubu Wang out of the Dark Zone. Now, the Dark Zone didn't have a single ghostly shadow; even returning the same way was fine, without worrying about attracting a siege of dark creatures.
As soon as Su Xiao stepped out of the Dark Zone, he noticed something different about the sun above. It wasn't dim, but its color was too deep, almost taking on a dark red hue. The epic feel was fully loaded, and combined with the faintly blackening sky background, a sense of impending catastrophe washed over him.
Just then, the communicator in his pocket vibrated. He took it out and answered, hearing Caesar's voice. After a brief exchange, he ended the call.
The good news was that Caesar had successfully restored the ancient parchment, completing the 「Solar Source Stone Creation Secret Art.」 The bad news was that Su Xiao, upon understanding the spell's structure, determined that the current Blazing Sun Star could not produce the original version of the 「Solar Source Stone.」
It seemed the plan to create the 「Solar Source Stone」 had failed, but as long as his thinking was broad enough, creating an Abyss Invasion version of the 「Solar Source Stone」 was also feasible. If used properly later, this 「Special Solar Source Stone」 would be no different from a normal one—no, it might even be more powerful.
What needed to be done now was to gather the materials required to create the 「Solar Source Stone」 as quickly as possible. Su Xiao glanced at the 「Dawn City · Side Quest · Dark Invasion」 in his task list, and his thoughts became clearer.
...
Dawn City, evening, Southern District · Tasha Port, Pier 5 residential area's tram station. The tram stopped, and Secretary Youyouna, who had just finished a day's work and particularly disliked driving herself, got off.
As it turned out, life without an orange sack was incredibly wonderful. Youyouna hummed a low tune as she walked into an alley, a shortcut home. If she took the main street, it would take at least five more minutes. A few years ago, Youyouna wouldn't have taken this route, but now the Southern District was ranked third in public safety among Dawn City's 26 districts. Walking through this four-meter-wide alley, there was no risk other than the aroma of food from the cooking smoke.
Youyouna, pondering whether she had missed anything in her work today, suddenly saw, ten meters ahead, a person, a dog, and a demon hawk sitting on the steps beside a house. This made her stop immediately.
Without her glasses, Youyouna squinted to see clearly. After recognizing them, she immediately turned to leave, but as she turned, she saw the Iron-Blooded Bull standing behind her, blocking the way, holding an orange sack in his hand. Youyouna, about to be kidnapped for the second time in three days, began to put on a pained expression.