Chapter 404
Shadow Silver Hunter Further Enhanced
Chapter 404 Shadow Silver Hunter Further Enhanced
The shadow stood silently in front of Guan Tong.
Guan Tong looked at it, realizing that to strengthen herself, she definitely had to start with this most frequently used ability.
Since acquiring the "Book Without Words," he has been continuously strengthening the shadow, gradually adding functions to it.
From its initial state as a simple, non-physical phantom, it gradually evolved to become capable of switching between reality and illusion, deforming, becoming more resilient, and sharing its five senses with Guan Tong... Just like Guan Tong, it too has been growing step by step.
Now that Guan Tong has entered the second stage of sublimation, it should grow along with it.
How can I strengthen you?
Guan Tong looked at the shadow, pondering the direction for strengthening it.
First, there are the most basic characteristics, namely its inherent strength, speed, etc.
These are directly linked to his main body. After his main body is greatly enhanced in the second stage of sublimation, his shadow will also automatically complete the corresponding enhancement.
Its tough defensive properties had been enhanced once before, but when Sissia fought Lucifer, the latter's [Fallen Angel Wings] could still cut through the shadows. Guan Tong knew that this did not mean that the shadows were not tough enough, but only that Lucifer had maximized the offensive properties of his wings.
If the basic characteristics remain unchanged, can the transformation between virtual and real be further enhanced?
"Illusion and reality... Previously, I could only be illusory or real at the same time. If illusion and reality could coexist, or if shadows could split and exist independently... that would be a great improvement."
Since a shadow cannot split into multiple individuals, all the parts that are separated must be connected to the main body. This means that blurring and solidification cannot coexist, which is a pain point.
For example, if someone attacks Guan Tong at close range, and Guan Tong simultaneously manipulates his shadow to launch a counterattack, if both attacks are synchronized, a problem will arise: while Guan Tong uses his physical shadow armor to defend against the enemy's attack, he cannot allow his shadow to become ethereal and enter the enemy's body to use an implosion attack.
It can be either a physical entity or a virtual entity at the same time; that's what shadows are like now.
After thinking it over, he did not pick up a pen to add any more words.
Since the reality and illusion are already on the pages, all he has to do is concentrate and make the "wordless book" fulfill his needs.
Guan Tong first tried to put forward the requirement: "Split into two independent individuals."
The shadow in front of me began to change, and a crack appeared in the middle of its body.
The crack grew larger and larger until it tore open into two separate, standing entities.
However, a thin shadow line still connects the two individual shadows.
Although the shadow line was as thin as a hair and not easily noticeable to the naked eye, it still represented the failure of the need to be realized, and the shadow could not truly split into two independent individuals.
“It seems that the ‘shadow’ can only exist as a single entity… Therefore, the real and the illusory coexist.”
Undeterred by the failure of the first requirement, Guan Tong turned her attention to the second.
His mental energy was rapidly depleted; his flowing mental energy, which had a maximum limit of a thousand points, was completely consumed in just a few breaths.
Just when he thought he had failed, he saw the shadow standing on his right gradually becoming transparent.
The shadow standing on the left, however, remains firmly in place.
Guan Tong's eyes lit up. She had succeeded!
He looked at the semi-transparent shadow on his right. Although it was not completely blurred, this was only because his flowing mental energy was insufficient.
As long as the upper limit of mental power is higher in the future, or the reserved mental power is used, then the two shadows, one real and one illusory, can coexist at the same time!
"very good."
Guan Tong was very satisfied with this, as it gave him another tricky way to attack when facing enemies.
His ability to manipulate shadows that could transform between reality and illusion already made him difficult for enemies to defend against; now, with both reality and illusion existing simultaneously, he would be even more unpredictable, enough to become a nightmare for his enemies.
After receiving the enhancement that combined the real and the illusory, Guan Tong did not move on but wanted to further develop the shadow.
He quickly drew upon a thousand units of his reserve mental energy and transformed it into his own flowing mental energy.
Then, he focused his efforts on the ability to "transform" to realize the needs.
Previously, the shadow's ability to transform was mainly reflected in its shape.
For example, his most common method is to transform shadows into hair-like lines to carry out actions such as infiltration, restraint, strangulation, assassination, eavesdropping, and surveillance.
Now Guan Tong wants to try to give it the ability to "disguise," to change its appearance.
He focused his attention, allowing the wordless book to materialize this need, and after a moment, his thousand flowing mental energy remained undiminished.
"...It seems completely impossible."
The fact that mental power has not diminished at all means that it is not that mental power is insufficient to meet the needs, but that the needs are simply impossible to meet.
This made Guan Tong realize that a shadow can only exist in a "pure black" form. It may be able to imitate the outline of another person's body, but it cannot transform into the real appearance of another person.
He wasn't too disappointed; the new ability to combine the real and the illusory had already greatly enhanced his shadow.
Then he turned to the third page of the book, the page containing the power of the Silver Hunter.
This multi-purpose shotgun helped him survive several crises in the early stages; without it, he probably would have been done for long ago.
Later, as the overall physical abilities of the stronger members of the Ascended continued to improve and their abilities were further developed, the lethality of this shotgun against enemies was greatly reduced. Of the three types of rounds—No. 1 (standard shot), No. 2 (slug), No. 3 (high-explosive)—Guan Tong now only occasionally uses No. 3.
On the contrary, functional bullets such as No. 4 smoke bombs and No. 5 electromagnetic pulse bombs may still come in handy in the future.
As for the other "grappling hook" function, it hasn't been used for a long time.
No wonder, now that he needs to move quickly, he either needs to use "Shadow Shift" or have his shadow transform into a large hand to carry him forward... the grappling hook is no longer of any use.
So the question is, what direction should we take to strengthen it?
Given the choice between destructive and functional, Guan Tong currently leans towards the former.
His current methods of attack, besides the shadow, consist of only a small space and the recently acquired swarm of nanobots.
While the former two possess formidable offensive capabilities, they also suffer from the problem of intelligence leaks.
This was evident in his previous battles with Jun Misawa and Lucifer.
Misawa Jun deduced that his teleportation had a time limit and that his small-space attacks had to be used at close range.
Lucifer even prepared a special light orb prop that could suppress the spread of shadows.
All of this demonstrates that the enemy will not only passively take the hits, but will also gather intelligence on him and carry out targeted countermeasures.
"The taller the tree, the more the wind will blow... If I want to maintain my advantage, I must constantly update and master attack methods that the enemy does not know."
The Shadow's attack methods are too well known, and the small space and nanobot swarms must be used at close range, making it impossible to disengage.
Therefore, a new, powerful, and long-range attack method is what Guan Tong needs now.
He took out the "Silver Hunter" from his storage ring; its metallic luster was warm yet sharp.
"It's time to add a new type of 6 round."
Now that we've decided to add more bullets, the next step is to refine the requirements.
Guan Tong's needs are very simple, only two: immense power and long-range guidance.
The immense power is easy to understand; it means having the ability to deliver a decisive blow. Specifically, a single shot must consume all the flowing mental energy generated. Imagine how powerful a bullet that requires 1000 mental energy to generate would be.
Long-range guidance is equally important, especially the "guidance" aspect. Guan Tong had tried to write it before but failed. Now that he has entered the second stage of sublimation, he wants to try again.
Once the need was specified, he focused his attention and poured all his flowing mental energy into the pages of the book.
The pages of the book emitted a light, and gradually, the silver gun placed in front of them also began to change.
Seeing this, Guan Tong thought to himself that there was hope! When he developed the "grappling hook" function for Silver Hunter, the appearance of the gun also changed.
Change is the mark of success.
He saw that the gun barrel had been lengthened, with a rectangular support on top, and a bulky, oval-shaped projectile resembling a torpedo was mounted on it.
At the same time, a new line of text appeared on the small electronic screen built into the gun.
1 No. 6 bullets
It was generated!
Guan Tong knew the mission was accomplished when he saw the guns deform, but he couldn't be sure until the small screen displaying the number of ammunition appeared.
He immediately checked the details; the newly generated missile number 6 was named "Mind-Guided Missile".
Generating one of these missiles requires the maximum amount of mental energy that Guan Tong currently needs, which is 1000 points per missile.
This missile is not guided by radar, infrared, or laser; its guidance method is very special and requires "psychic locking" of the target.
This kind of mental energy locking requires prior contact with the target's mental energy. In other words, if Guan Tong wants to exert its guiding ability, it needs to first fight the target or make contact with the opponent's mental energy through other means.
Of course, it can also be launched directly without affecting the missile's power, but then it will lose its guidance effect, and if the enemy is fast enough, it can dodge it.
"A missile that costs 1000 points of mental energy to fire... its power must be astonishing."
Guan Tong immediately grabbed his gun and went out into the depths of the valley.
This uninhabited area was the perfect place to test the power of weapons. He picked up the Silver Hunter, switched to the No. 6 round, and pulled the trigger at the distant mountain wall.
"Whoosh-!"
The black torpedo-like missile on the support burst out with a sharp whistle. Its initial speed was extremely fast, and it continued to accelerate after launch, crashing into the mountain wall hundreds of meters away in an instant.
"boom!!!"
With a loud tremor, the surrounding forest and fields seemed to shake, rocks and dust flew everywhere, and a large, bowl-shaped hole appeared in the mountain wall.
The bottom and edges of the cavity were a deep red color caused by high temperature. Guan Tong manipulated the shadow to take himself over to check. As soon as he got close, he could feel the scorching heat wave hitting him.
"What terrifying power... No wonder it's a missile with a single hit per thousand targets..."
Looking closely at the huge cavity that could fit dozens of people, Guan Tong deeply felt the power of this missile, which was dozens of times more lethal than the No. 3 high-explosive bomb.
Of course, this one shot is enough to generate dozens of No. 3 rounds.
"It seems I need to stockpile a few more of these No. 6 missiles before heading to France. Those cultists who worship the Fire Thief must have studied my data extensively. This kind of high-powered attack, which they know nothing about, might come in very handy later."
(End of this chapter)