Strange Phenomenon in the Dense Fog

After waking up, Zheng Yichen washed his face and pulled open the curtains to look at the thin mist outside. This was a characteristic of Longcheng, and he had long been accustomed to this fog. This characteristic did not affect the lives of the locals.

Bare-chested, he looked at himself in the mirror, carefully rubbing the slight wrinkles on his skin. Then he put on his clothes, left his residence, went downstairs for breakfast, and began his plan for the day.

He needed to find a suitable target. He wanted to find a mutated chicken.

Although he could find other anomalies, to get the proof, the license, as quickly as possible, it was best to choose the simplest and fastest option. Anyway, choosing that kind of thing would not affect what he planned to do later.

This was not a task in a game where the final reward was determined by the score.

"Xiaoqing, are you going fishing?" The owner of the breakfast stall asked Zheng Yichen with a smile, looking at the tools he brought with him.

"...Yes, and you can just call me Changqing." Zheng Yichen paid the bill, his expression barely holding steady. The name he used externally was Changqing. It could be used as a name or a codename, and there were no problems with using it.

Part of the reason he used this name was because of this world. When he first arrived, he didn't completely start over. He was in the initial stage of cutting half of it and regrowing. He saw an advertisement on a public television on the roadside about the meaning of names.

It looked somewhat like Earth's fortune-telling based on names. Generally, such things wouldn't be broadcast on television, right? Zheng Yichen, who paid attention, used 'Changqing'. He had no acquaintances in this world, so whatever they said went.

However, being called 'Xiaoqing' by the breakfast stall owner, with whom he had become familiar, made him feel strange every time he heard it.

Would he encounter someone named Fahai in the future?

"Then be careful. The weather forecast says there will be dense fog today." The breakfast stall owner took the money and reminded Zheng Yichen.

"I will be careful." Zheng Yichen picked up his bag and left. Longcheng experienced heavy fog from time to time, but dense fog rarely occurred throughout the year. When it did, one really had to be careful.

When this kind of weather occurred, Longcheng would basically stop operations.

He took out his phone and checked the weather forecast. The dense fog was expected to appear in the afternoon, so it wouldn't affect what he planned to do later. If he was lucky, he would find the target he was looking for quickly. If he was unlucky, he would find a nearby hotel to stay overnight.

Anyway, he was alone in this world, so going on a spontaneous trip wasn't a big pressure.

However, his luck today seemed not so good. He used to be able to find anomaly spots every few days, but after waiting for more than two hours, he found nothing. Was it the influence of the impending dense fog?

Looking at the river not far away, Zheng Yichen felt an urge to cast a line. Since he hadn't found the target he wanted in this place, then... cast a couple of times? He was already here anyway.

A few minutes later, Zheng Yichen sat by the river, cast his fishing rod, and looked intently at the river covered in thin mist. Fishing could also yield anomalous creatures.

Even a proper chicken farm could catalyze an anomalous old hen due to the large number of chickens. A place like a river was also very likely to spawn something abnormal.

The fish in the river today seemed dead.

"..." Zheng Yichen checked the time, picked up his bag, and left. If he waited any longer, the dense fog would arrive, and at that point, it would truly be impossible to distinguish people from animals within fifty meters, and he could easily step into the river while walking.

The vegetable market was temporarily open due to the dense fog forecast. Even though there was still an hour before the predicted dense fog arrived, they wouldn't let the money they could earn slip through their fingers.

Muttering to himself, Zheng Yichen arrived at a nearby hotel, deciding not to go back. There wasn't enough time. The vegetable market was closed, let alone the train station.

The hotel room rate had tripled...

"Other places are charging even more, you have to consider the timing." The middle-aged innkeeper smiled brightly. Anglers, once hooked, don't think too much about it.

"Understood." Zheng Yichen clicked his tongue inwardly. Triple the price, so be it. It wasn't exactly a violation on their part, as there was a forecast for heavy fog. One should be prepared for such things when going out in this weather.

He had to admit, there were quite a few people who courted disaster. Looking at the list of names and times on the registration form, it served as a disclaimer. It was mainly to prevent people from deliberately courting death by sneaking out during the heavy fog. Once they signed their names and registered, the inn would have no responsibility for whatever happened afterward.

The heavy fog in Longcheng was accompanied by more anomalies. It was said, only said, that even Hunters tried to avoid going out in such weather. Zheng Yichen wasn't entirely sure how it actually was; he learned most of his information about these matters online and from the news.

Only by truly joining this circle could one gradually understand the situation.

Besides Hunters, there was another group of people who liked to roam around in foggy weather, much like the storm chasers on Earth before his transmigration. They knew it was dangerous where tornadoes appeared, but they still chased them to record their changes and grandeur.

Heavy fog wasn't a tornado, but the anomalies that appeared in such weather were worth recording. The authorities had relevant recording projects, and some idle people in the private sector also did it. Although the authorities didn't encourage such behavior, they couldn't resist humanity's desire to court disaster.

Also online, Zheng Yichen had seen short recorded clips. Visions of Doomsday had appeared in the dense fog, much like a Mirage. The clarity wasn't high, but the general details could be seen. Someone had specifically compared these clips but couldn't find a specific location.

Then, there was no follow-up to the matter.

It satisfied the curiosity of ordinary people without revealing more secrets or anomalies. Even if there were, they weren't things ordinary people could understand.

The heavy fog predicted by the weather forecast wouldn't last more than ten hours. As long as one stayed at the inn for a night, they could travel normally the next day.

He had chargers and power banks. Although the signal would be affected by the heavy fog, most of that signal was maintained by signal towers. The network signal at the inn was generally okay.

It didn't affect browsing information online or communicating with netizens in this world. On the forums, Longcheng netizens said they were used to this kind of thing. In foggy weather, they could occasionally see the distant fog churning, as if some monster was fighting, which was more exciting than some blockbuster movies.

Netizens from the outer city expressed their disbelief. "No pictures, no evidence. If you want us to believe it, then post a picture!"

Browsing the forum made Zheng Yichen a little restless. Posting a picture, what a big deal. He glanced at the time; it had been over an hour. He immediately stopped his planking exercise, rubbed his shoulders, and pulled open the curtains.

He had to say, the weather forecast was really accurate. It had only been light fog before, but now the outside was filled with rolling dense fog. The fog lights on the roadside were already on, yet visibility was still low.

Zheng Yichen clicked his camera and took a picture of the dense fog outside, then quickly uploaded it to the forum. A fresh [photo].

The heavy fog was a major characteristic of Longcheng, so Zheng Yichen, after uploading a photo, also began to appreciate this weather. The mist in the distance seemed to be torn apart, churning and surging as if being sucked away by some unknown entity.

"???" Looking at the video on his phone, then at the changes in the fog in the distance... Huh? Such a coincidence?

"Quick, quick, quick! We've really encountered an anomaly! We're going to make a fortune this time!" Zheng Yichen, who had just opened his phone, heard a shout from next door. He poked his head out.

The person next door also saw Zheng Yichen and looked a little unnatural. But upon seeing the bag on Zheng Yichen's shoulder, they immediately realized: "Brother, you're also preparing to..."

As he spoke, the person made a gesture of sneaking out.

This was the third floor, but the other party was well-prepared, with ropes ready. It was easy to leave.

"Go separately?" Zheng Yichen said.

"That would be best."

Companionship breeds rivalry. The Mist Walkers of Longcheng had team actions, but those teams wouldn't stick together. It wasn't just one person who could capture this; recordings from a distance were all the same and had little research value. Recordings from up close were different.

They couldn't cover all angles. Zheng Yichen's suggestion was perfect; acting separately was the best way to get along. There was more than one research institute that bought such recordings.

They used ropes to escape, while Zheng Yichen climbed the wall to escape.

Honestly, if that anomaly was too far away, he wouldn't have had many thoughts about it. But the problem was that the anomaly was too close, estimated to be no more than two hundred meters away.