Chapter 69: Thick Fog

The two men sped up, catching up to Gong Xiao ahead. Ding Longyun chuckled and asked, “Gong Xiao, what do you feel like eating tonight? I’ll cook it for you.”

Gong Xiao smiled slightly. “Brother Ding, you’re too kind. Whatever everyone else is eating is fine with me.”

“Then let me think… how about congee tonight? I feel like I’ve been running hot these past couple of days, so some congee should cool things down,” Ding Longyun said, winking at Su Li.

Gong Xiao replied, “I have no objection.”

Su Li shrugged and said, “Me neither.”

Chatting casually, the three reached the top floor. Ding Longyun opened the door, and Xu Xuehui ran out to meet them, her small face alight with excitement at seeing the three of them.

“Well, little girl, did you get bored waiting here all alone?” Ding Longyun chuckled.

Xu Xuehui nodded. Su Li noticed a lot of sunflower seed shells in the trash can on the side. He commented, “I don’t know if she got bored, but she certainly cracked a lot of sunflower seeds.”

At this, Ding Longyun burst into hearty laughter, and Xu Xuehui’s face turned red.

Su Li shook his head. “I truly don’t understand why kids love snacks so much. I honestly don’t find them very tasty.”

Ding Longyun checked the time and said, “Everyone quickly rest up. We’ll continue the hunt at 7:30 sharp tonight. Su Li and Gong Xiao, aim to break through to Level 4. Little girl, you aim for Level 3.” He looked at Xu Xuehui as he spoke.

Su Li nodded. He still needed 17 Spiritual Sources. His chances of breaking through to Level 4 tonight were high.

Gong Xiao’s eyes lit up. “Will there be that many monsters tonight? I still need quite a few Spiritual Sources.”

Ding Longyun assured her, “As long as we throw enough corpses down, we can certainly attract many monsters. But we need to manage the amount carefully to avoid luring monsters we can’t handle. We’ll decide what to do as the situation develops.”

The three changed into their swimwear. Su Li and Ding Longyun took the two beds in the living room, and Gong Xiao took Xu Xuehui into the bedroom to sleep in the other two beds.

Ding Longyun only slept for half an hour before getting up to prepare dinner.

Su Li slept much more soundly. As his strength increased and his physical condition improved, his appetite grew larger, and his sleep became deeper. A strong body requires sufficient nutrition and adequate rest.

He was woken up by Gong Xiao’s voice.

“There’s such a thick fog.”

Gong Xiao’s surprised voice drifted in from outside. Su Li was startled awake. He squinted and slightly raised his head, seeing the door to the corridor was open. Gong Xiao and Xu Xuehui were standing outside the corridor, looking out the corridor window.

“What fog?” Su Li sat up on the bed. He grabbed the jacket placed nearby and put it on while getting out of bed.

“There’s a very thick fog outside. It’s so strange for this weather to have fog,” Gong Xiao looked back at him, then returned her gaze to the outside.

Su Li walked out and was also surprised by what he saw in the corridor.

It was almost 6:00 PM, and night was about to fall. But on the distant water surface, white mist was rising. As far as the eye could see, there was surging fog. Objects a few dozen meters away were only blurry shadows, and anything farther was completely obscured.

“Such a thick fog? This is the first time I’ve seen this.” Ding Longyun, wearing a floral apron and holding a spatula, also walked out.

Xu Xuehui gripped the corridor railing, silently looking at the distant white mist. Her gaze slowly dropped, and she suddenly spoke: “So many.”

“So many what?” Su Li followed her gaze downward. He too was surprised to see a large number of dark shadows suddenly appearing in the water not far from the building, enveloped in the fog.

Since the figures were distant, he couldn’t clearly make out what monsters they were. He guessed they were likely Corpse Beasts or Sea Spiders. The water surface was churning like boiling water, and the shadows were densely surfacing—a highly unusual sight.

“So many monsters…” Xu Xuehui murmured, a faint glow slowly rising in her eyes.

Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun also saw the dark shadows emerging from the water below and couldn’t help but gasp.

“Are they startled by the fog? Are these things coming out early?” Ding Longyun frowned. “Everyone grab your weapons and be careful. This situation is very strange.”

Without being told, Su Li and Gong Xiao had already rushed back into the room. When they came back out, Gong Xiao was holding her machete, and Su Li was carrying his iron rod and the steel shovel, which he handed to Ding Longyun.

“Let’s wait and see. If they don’t come here, we can ignore them.” Su Li stared at the continually emerging dark shadows below. Although the monsters presented a great opportunity to gain Spiritual Sources, he felt uneasy about the fog. He sensed that something was wrong and decided that unless absolutely necessary, they should avoid a direct confrontation.

Ding Longyun acknowledged this, agreeing with Su Li’s assessment.

The large number of dark shadows that surfaced did not climb the building. Instead, they scattered in all directions. In a moment, the shadows dispersed completely, moving away from the building.

“Are they… fleeing?” Su Li’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Ding Longyun asked, “Fleeing? What do you mean? Why would they flee?”

Xu Xuehui suddenly chimed in, “Because of fear.”

Su Li and Ding Longyun’s hearts sank at her words. Gong Xiao pressed her: “How do you know they’re afraid? And what are they afraid of?”

Su Li said soberly, “Xuehui, what exactly are you seeing?”

Xu Xuehui’s eyes were wide open. She stared at the surging mist in the distance and murmured, “So many creatures… are fleeing… boat… so many corpses…”

The fog gradually spread, extending into the corridor and enveloping them in a thin layer of white mist. The sky grew darker.

Su Li, Ding Longyun, and Gong Xiao all stood beside Xu Xuehui, listening to her fragmented words. A sense of unease rose in all of them.

“Xuehui, what boat are you talking about?” Gong Xiao opened her phoenix eyes, looking into the distance, but could only see the vast whiteness of the fog. Nothing else was visible.

“A boat… Has a boat appeared in the distance?” Su Li knew Xu Xuehui’s vision was far superior to theirs. Her sudden mention of a boat—could a vessel be approaching from afar?

If a boat had appeared, did that mean a rescue team had arrived?

Ding Longyun clearly had the same thought as Su Li. He urgently asked, “Xuehui, how big is the boat? Quick, look! What kind of boat is it?”

If it was a small boat, like the kayak Gong Xiao arrived in, it might be other survivors. But if it was a large ship, it could very well be a vessel belonging to a rescue team from another location, which would mean they were about to be saved.

(End of Chapter)