After adapting on the ship for a period of time, Nina has become accustomed to facing the small difficulties in the process of studying - including but not limited to shadows floating up from the spirit world, demons appearing from the deep sea, and changes in the books themselves. In addition to her hard training, she has made great progress in controlling her own power.

The specific manifestation is that even if she raises her leg and kicks with a 6000°C force, she can ensure that the bedding on the bed next to her will not be ignited.

The dazzling light passed by suddenly, and the demons from the depths of the world were instantly reduced to ashes under the power of the sun. There was not even enough time for any burnt smell to remain in the air - there was only the warm smell of the midday sun after drying the bedding.

The last Deep Hound attracted by the book was left alone in the center of the room. Even though it was a chaotic and unintelligent Deep Demon that acted only on instinct, this terrifying creature still seemed to be in a short daze. It seemed unable to understand why it suddenly lost its two companions. Now, in front of it was Agou, who was being grabbed by the chain by Shirley and leaning over to growl. Behind it was Nina, who was walking forward step by step, shrouded in glory like the scorching sun.

The terrifying pressure coming from behind was far greater than that of the "companion" in front of him that looked a little abnormal.

The Deep Demon subconsciously turned his head and met a gaze as hot as the sun.

Nina lowered her head slightly, her hair was completely dyed with a layer of golden light, and dazzling light emanated from her seven orifices. The power of the ancient sun was burning under this human body. She stared at the demon, and the demon's bones burned directly in her eyes.

Shirley was frightened. She had never seen Nina angry before. She even thought that this usually sunny and cheerful friend would never get angry. But now she knew she was wrong - Nina was obviously very angry.

Her rage rose like a solar prominence, and even if the dissipated heat was restrained, the light was still dazzling enough to burn one's soul.

When Shirley was getting more and more nervous and finally couldn't help but speak, Nina finally spoke - she opened her mouth, and the scorching plasma flames escaped from the corners of her mouth, and her voice was like a roar:

"My homework!" Her voice was filled with grief and indignation. "My test paper! My reference books! And Shirley's homework! They were all torn to pieces by these dogs!"

The Wrath of the Sun shocked the demons so much that they lost their ability to move. Shirley was even more shocked when she heard this, and she almost laughed out loud: "Really? I don't have my homework either?"

But she reacted the next second and quickly stopped Nina who was about to kick her for her homework: "Ah wait! Let's save this devil's life first! Agou has something to ask!"

Nina had her feet raised at this time, but she subconsciously stopped when she heard her friend's call, and glanced at Shirley out of the corner of her eye: "What else is there to ask - isn't it just the Deep Demon that came over to mess with people while they were reading? Several were killed on the boat..."

"But it's daytime!" Shirley cried.

Nina was stunned for a moment, then suddenly reacted.

It is daytime now. Although there is a lot of fog outside and the sky has become dark as evening, in terms of time, it is daytime now - the time when Vision 001 still shrouds the world.

The city-state is safe at this time, and reading will not attract invasion from the darkness - why do these dark demons appear?

Nina's gaze (6000°C) immediately fell on the last Deep Hound.

Bathed in the radiance of the stars at a very close distance, smoke began to come out of all the bones of the demon - it struggled instinctively, as if it wanted to open a crack and return to the deep sea, but its instinctive escape was instantly interrupted.

Agou interfered with the crack that had just appeared and had not yet taken shape around the demon.

"Can you tell me anything?" Nina restrained some of her strength and looked at Agou curiously. "Didn't you say that normal Abyssal Demons have no intelligence and can't communicate at all?"

"They may be brainless, but if we really investigate, we can find out something - they have memories, and some continuous fragments will occasionally appear in their chaotic minds." Agou shook his head, as if his mind was a little buzzing after the headbutt with another Deep Hound just now. "Don't worry, Deep Demons have their own way of 'communication'."

"What means of communication?" Nina and Shirley asked in unison.

"...Not very pretty," Agou muttered, and slowly walked towards the Deep Hound, which had gradually stopped struggling under the scorching sun. Then, it raised its head and looked at Shirley, "Close your eyes, Shirley."

Shirley was stunned for a moment and closed her eyes obediently.

There was a short growl, a struggle, and then the sound of bones being torn, crushed, and chewed. Amid the teeth-grinding crunching sounds, the demon's violent struggle lasted only a moment.

After a while, Shirley tentatively opened her eyes and saw that there was only a small pile of black dust on the floor in the middle of the room, which was dissipating rapidly. Agou was standing next to the pile of dust, and Nina was standing opposite in a daze. After a long time, the scorching sun glow on her body gradually dissipated, and she exclaimed: "Wow——"

Shirley guessed what happened after she closed her eyes. She looked at Agou with a complicated expression: "Actually... I didn't..."

"You'll have a nightmare. I know you." Agou shook his head, gritted his teeth, and spat to the side with some disgust, "Pah."

"Did you hurt your teeth?"

"This kind of demon who can't even recognize words is like chewing a stone. I can't squeeze even a complete sentence out of it. It's a pity that this guy is also chasing knowledge." Agou complained about his illiterate fellow with disgust, showing his confidence and pride as a cultured dog. Then he lowered his head, as if he was seriously perceiving the information he had just "exchanged".

After a moment, it raised its head in confusion and looked at Shirley and Nina: "Strange... The remaining memory of this Deep Hound shows... It has never felt the suppression of Vision 001..."

Shirley and Nina looked at each other in surprise.

"But now...it's clearly daytime..."

Shirley muttered subconsciously, slowly walked to the window and looked out.

The increasingly dense fog has enveloped all the streets. The thick mist and high-altitude clouds are like layers of curtains covering the frost. In this thick curtain, the sky is already dim like dusk, and you can't even see the facades of the buildings across the street in the distance.

But there was still a ball of light in the sky, that was where the sun was - it was indeed daytime, and it was indeed Vision 001.

"Nina, look," Shirley pointed to the sky, "the sun is right there..."

She stopped suddenly.

Deep in the thick fog and clouds, the bright light trembled quietly a few times, and then spread out around like a reflection in the water.

It seemed that, from the very beginning, it was not the sun - it was just a visual afterimage that remained above the city-state when the curtain rose.

Above the frost, the sun disappeared.

※※※

At the same time, in the central area of ​​the city-state, deep underground directly below the boiling gold mine, in the ancient and dusty second waterway.

The fog in the city did not spread underground, and the slight abnormalities on the surface would not affect the actions of the exploration team - in the deep and deserted underground world, the church's guardian troops were strengthening the advance base they had just established in a tense and orderly manner.

Steam walkers glided through the wide sewer corridors like spiders. High-power searchlights swept every dark corner of the corridors. Multi-barreled machine guns slightly adjusted their angles on the turrets on both sides of the "Spider" shell, always alert to shadows that might be lurking in the dark forks. Silent monks in black robes prayed silently in the bunkers at the crossroads, gathering their strength for the subsequent advancement. Elite senior defenders guarded the sentry posts and gates at various intersections, with lanterns hanging around their waists, canes in one hand and specially modified shotguns or large-caliber revolvers in the other.

The Second Waterway has been ruled by darkness for too long. Carrying out an exploration mission in this dim place is more like declaring war on a kingdom of terror that has gradually become distorted and deformed than "investigating" something.

The enemy could be anything, the enemy is darkness itself.

A strange hissing sound was heard from a fork in the road in the distance, mixed with the sounds of some huge limbs crawling and wriggling. Two steam walkers that were on guard at the intersection reacted immediately. Four powerful flash bombs were first fired from the front of the spider body. Immediately afterwards, the guards on the walkers manipulated the rotary cannon and fired a round of strafing in the direction of the strange sound. Amid the deafening roar, the darkness expanded violently, as if something was injured and was about to emerge from the darkness.

Twelve silent monks in black robes stood up from behind their cover, raised the scriptures in their hands, pointed their bandaged arms at the darkness, and shouted in unison.

In the darkness, a pale flame burned, and together with the barrage of bullets fired by the steam walker, it burned the things born from the invisible darkness into ashes.

The restless darkness calmed down again, and the fork in the road gradually turned from pitch black to dim, and then to bright - the light spread normally to the intersection, illuminating the situation there.

There was nothing there, only craters of varying sizes on the walls.

And a faint, quickly dissipating stench in the air.

Agatha withdrew her gaze from the fork in the road in the distance.

A fork in the road was recaptured, and the guardian troops dispelled another darkness from the underground world - but for the entire huge Second Waterway, this was just a tiny corner.

She wasn't here to deal with those "forks in the road".

"Take me to that door."

The gatekeeper turned his head slightly and spoke to the subordinate beside him.