"On the twenty-third, we arrived at Dai Town, a beautiful rural town, but it had long since lost its former peace and beauty. It now looked like a gorgeously dressed dancer standing onstage, waiting for one customer after another to arrive."
At the small inn where they were staying, Ren Ziling paused with her fingers over the keyboard. Looking at the folder on the screen titled The Strange Casebook of Ren Ziling, she frowned and quickly deleted the two lines of text.
She picked up a cup of hot tea and went to the window, gazing at the dense fog beyond the town.
She had heard that the fog was still spreading. In a few more days, it would probably cover the small town as well. The people in town were already worried, and many had fled with their families.
Some merchants, however, had chosen to remain in town at this time—not for any other reason than the almost limitless business opportunities. Travel expenses were several times higher than usual, and even a bottle of water sold for the price of one at a major tourist attraction. Their customers were, naturally, the various media outlets that had come after hearing the news.
Of course, whether there were any other people besides the media was unknown. The local town government had already issued a notice: everyone here had to evacuate within three days at the latest.
As a reporter with dreams who did not want to become a slacker, Editor-in-Chief Ren had failed to get the newspaper's owner to approve this trip. She had therefore resolutely used up her accumulated paid leave, dragged Lizi and Akiko along, and come here armed to the teeth. If they found nothing, she would truly suffer a devastating loss.
Ren Ziling rubbed her brow and