Volume Two: Life and Death at the Speed of the North - Strange Fog

Grey Starling Shopping Mall, the non-existent 101st floor --

In the room lined with gray and black cloth strips, Yu He sat behind his desk as usual, reviewing documents. The documents were all about the latest developments in the competition. Although the competition was being run by Garde and others, Yu He's long years in business had made him a worrier. He couldn't put his mind at ease unless he personally reviewed everything.

"So, what brought you here, from the Void Realm?"

Suddenly, Yu He looked up at the empty space in front of him and uttered a sentence.

"..."

Silently, several gray-black strips of cloth appeared out of thin air in front of them. The strips twisted and swirled, forming a small vortex. The depths of the vortex were pitch black, as if connected to another space.

Then, a human figure appeared in the vortex, its upper body emerging.

It was a strange person completely wrapped in gray-black strips of cloth, with no skin exposed, including the face, resembling a color-changing mummy. Because it was wrapped in cloth, its gender was indiscernible, but the person's body was extremely slender, so slender that one doubted whether it was even human.

"You must be tired from traveling so far. How about a cup of tea?"

Yu He reached out, and a tea set and a can of tea appeared out of thin air in front of him. However, this strange man from the Void Realm clearly had no intention of drinking the tea.

"The Leader... is getting impatient..."

The Void Realm being spoke; the area under the cloth strip, roughly where its mouth should be, twitched slightly, emitting a voice that was neither clearly male nor female, and somewhat hoarse.

"... Yeah?"

Yu He's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.

"I think Sick Spider and Stone Strike are enough. Although they are not high-ranking members, they both have combat power comparable to high-ranking members. Especially Stone Strike, he can completely fill the vacancy of Blood Fiend and become a new high-ranking member. It's a pity that this guy only thinks about fighting the strong and is willing to just be a combatant."

"..."

There was no reply from the Void Realm, Yu He sighed in boredom.

"Alright, which high-ranking official does the Leader want to send this time? You and I are both here, Blood Fiend's fate is unknown, Yusuo Zai involved, Madam is still in the West Saint Continent, Little Nuonuo is a shut-in, and the rest are... Huang Huo? Or Anubas?"

"It's Gustav."

This time, Yu He not only froze, but his movements also stiffened.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't waste time joking around..."

"Tsk!"

Yu He slammed his fist on the table and slumped back in his armchair. His expression was extremely complex, a mixture of dissatisfaction, annoyance, and deep apprehension.

"To send the second-in-command so easily, Leader, you really don't play by the rules..."

At the Fog Hidden Valley, thick white fog filled the air, beneath which lay a filthy swamp, and a huge, blood-red sphere loomed in and out of sight.

With a whoosh, the blood sphere dissolved into bloody liquid, revealing a silver-gray SUV.

"Phew... I'm lucky to be alive..."

"Thanks to you, Sister Ye."

"Using blood as a buffer is surprisingly effective."

"You flatter me. Compared to that, where are we now?"

"Well..."

Thick white fog hung outside the window, and below the car lay a damp, swampy area—it didn't look like a good place at all.

Givinia looked around, her expression turning somewhat unpleasant.

If I'm not mistaken, we've fallen into... Fog Hidden Valley.

... Huh?

""Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh???????"

"... Anyway, let's get out of the car and check out the surrounding area."

"Can't you just Mind Projection?"

"Mind Projection only projects consciousness into the distance; the five senses don't become sharper. Although you can tell which direction to go, the details nearby are blocked by the fog."

"I see. Then one person can stay and watch the car, and the other three can go and scout around the area..."

"I've come to look at the car!!!"

Ally suddenly screamed, startling me. Her face was deathly pale, her lips white, and her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, trembling... Oh right, Ally's terrified of ghosts, and this Fog Hidden Valley is notoriously eerie, no wonder...

"Then you can watch the car, and I'll go out with Sister Givinia and Sister Ye, okay?"

Please help me!

Hey Ailin, don't spoil your sister, you siscon!

And so, we set off.

At first we were talking as we walked, but after less than five minutes, no one spoke anymore.

Because the atmosphere was just too oppressive.

As far as the eye could see, there was only a white mist, and nothing could be seen more than ten meters away. The ground beneath one's feet was a muddy swamp, and one wrong step and you would get covered in mud. Most importantly, it was so quiet here. There was no sound of wind, water, birds, or insects. Only a chilling silence pressed on the eardrums, making one feel extremely restless.

Looking back, we could barely make out the way we came. If we hadn't brought glow sticks for marking, we definitely would have been... wait, what?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something flash by in the thick fog, moving so fast that I didn't even have time to react.

"What's wrong A Ye?"

"... Be careful, something's not right in this creepy place."

"Why don't we stop and rest for a bit? Who knows what dangers are lurking in the fog? We can't just keep wandering around like this."

"Good idea."

We found a relatively dry spot to sit down, ate some dry food, and replenished our fluids.

"Um, should we really continue exploring...?" Ailin asked timidly.

"There's nothing we can do about it; we need to find a way out as soon as possible."

"But looking at this fog, I always feel so--Eee..."

Ailin suddenly screamed, her little hand trembling as she pointed behind us—

""What's wrong!?""

Givinia and I turned around immediately, but there was nothing behind us.

"It's over... it's over..."

"What's past?"

"Just now, a child ran past you from behind..."

"!?"

A bone-chilling cold suddenly shot up my spine, an indescribable fear filled my brain, and a large amount of blood flowed out of my body. I was ready to fight at any moment.

"..."

However, nothing happened.

"Hey, Ailin, are you sure you didn't see that wrong?"

"Ah, now that you mention it... I am indeed a little unsure..."

"Alright... let's continue."

"Wait, A Ye!"

"Givinia?"

Turning my head, I saw Givinia half-squatting on the ground, tightly gripping her left arm, her face looking very pale.

"You hurt your hand?"

"Look at this..."

As Givinia slowly rolled up her sleeves, I couldn't help but gasp when I saw the strange sight before me.

It's a handprint.

A purplish-black, palm-shaped bruise appeared on her arm, starkly contrasting against her snow-white skin, as if she had been violently scratched!

"I suddenly felt someone grab me, but when I turned my head I saw nothing, but there was something on my arm..."

"This... this... this can't really be haunted, can it?!"

"Elder sister!!"

Ailin suddenly screamed, her expression extremely tense.

"If it really is haunted, it's too dangerous for my sister to be alone in the car! Let's go back right away!"

As she spoke, she forcefully dragged Givinia and me back, but--

"... Where are the glow sticks?"

All the glow sticks we used to mark the route and planted in the ground have vanished! All that's left is a white, foggy wall, making it impossible to tell where we came from!

"What... what are we going to do! My sister... my sister... my sister—"

"Calm down, Ailin! You must stay calm, especially in situations like this!"

"But..."

"Hey, what's that? A tree?" I suddenly pointed to a spot about ten meters to my left, where I could vaguely see the shadow of a large tree.

"Should we go take a look?"

"Sure, this tree can serve as a landmark."

Upon reaching the tree, we realized it was an extremely large old locust tree, with pitted bark, haphazardly extending branches, and a rather twisted overall shape that made it unappealing to look at.

"This is the first time I've seen plants in Fog Hidden Valley, and it's all so eerie..."

I muttered to myself as I walked around the tree, and after I had walked about halfway around, I saw it.

The first thing that catches the eye is the long, thick rope hem that almost reaches the ground.

Look up further.

Feet and arms hanging limply, a white robe stained with blood, long black hair like tattered cloth, a tongue sticking out, and empty eyes wide open like copper bells due to lack of oxygen.

A person who committed suicide by hanging.

And he must have been dead for a long time.

This is the first time I've ever seen someone hang themselves.

"Hey..."

An anomaly has occurred.

The woman's drooping head suddenly lifted, her empty eyes narrowed into crescent moons, and her cracked mouth split open to the sides, reaching all the way to her ears before stopping, revealing sharp, white teeth.

"Hehe, hehehe, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

The piercing, eerie laughter nearly shattered my eardrums. Terrified, I hastily retreated, but the female corpse instantly broke free of her hanging rope and lunged at me, baring her teeth and claws!

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Writing this chapter reminded me of the Ghost Blows Out the Light series I stayed up all night reading in junior high school O(∩_∩)O