Surging Black Mist

"Are we just going to let this fire burn? We're not putting it out?"

Outside, flames shot into the sky as the forest burned. If left unchecked, no one knew how long the fire would burn or how far it would spread.

"The fire brigade is on its way. If all else fails, let it burn. There's nothing we can do under the circumstances."

What else could she do? Without those powerful weapons, they had no way to clear out the monsters in a short time. Eliminating the monsters was what mattered most. They could figure out how to put out the fire afterward.

"What's going on? Why did the meteorite break apart?!"

While Lu Chengchuan's group was talking, the experts who had gotten out of the vehicles discovered that the meteorite had suddenly cracked open. Black mist poured frantically from within, rapidly swallowing the camp.

The soldiers rushed forward and pulled the experts away. Lu Chengchuan rose to his feet, a familiar feeling stirring within him at the sight of the spreading mist.

"Commander Li, leave with them." Zhou Yaning realized something was wrong and quickly had the soldiers take the others away, while she stayed behind to see what was happening.

The black mist spread quickly. If they did not leave now, something might happen. Li Shiwen could only have the soldiers escort the experts away.

The experts were frightened as well. There had been gunfire and screams earlier, and they had hidden inside the vehicles, barely daring to breathe loudly. Now that this sudden change had occurred, all they wanted was to flee for their lives.

Under the soldiers' protection, the experts and their assistants hurriedly climbed into the armored vehicles.

"Are we still moving the stone?"

As the black mist drifted toward them, everyone quickly backed away, afraid it might be poisonous. While retreating, Lu Chengchuan turned and asked Zhou Yaning what they should do.

"Put this on first. The meteorite... we'll deal with it later."

Zhou Yaning handed him a military gas mask. She did not know whether it would help, but he should put it on first regardless.

As for the meteorite, they might not have a chance to deal with it anymore.

The egg-shaped meteorite split into several pieces, and even more mist poured out. As the black mist expanded, everyone kept retreating. The armored vehicles left first, and the soldiers stationed on the outer defensive line also received orders to withdraw.

Lu Chengchuan and the others retreated more than ten kilometers away. Before leaving, Zhou Yaning had someone carry off a piece of meteorite debris.

The black mist continued spreading outward until it covered an area more than ten kilometers around the meteorite before finally stopping.

"Mm... it's the same on my end. It's all black mist... Okay, we took a fragment... We're heading back now..."

Zhou Yaning hung up the phone, her expression grim.

"I received word that five meteorites have been discovered within the country, and all of them cracked apart at the same time. The director wants us to bring the meteorite fragments back. Come back with us, and I'll give you what I promised."

Before anyone could ask, Zhou Yaning explained the situation. Her final sentence was directed at Lu Chengchuan.

He had not come here to work for free. They had already agreed that the Investigation Bureau would provide him with the martial arts manuals he wanted, while Lu Chengchuan would work for the Investigation Bureau.

In the vehicle, Lu Chengchuan checked his gains.

In just one night, he had gained eighteen years and sixty-one days of lifespan, bringing his remaining lifespan back to around thirty years.

A little after two in the morning, Lu Chengchuan and Zhou Yaning returned to the central Armed Forces Department.

Anyang City was far from peaceful that night. It was not just the Armed Forces Department; many residents could not sleep at home. They had heard the booming explosions outside the city and feared that an army of monsters might attack the city, leaving them too scared to sleep.

At the central Armed Forces Department, Zhou Yaning had someone store the meteorite fragment, then took Lu Chengchuan to rest.

Not long afterward, a new internal cultivation manual appeared in Lu Chengchuan's hands.

Lu Chengchuan spent two years of lifespan to raise it to perfection. Looking at the string of martial arts listed in his martial arts panel, he had three Yellow Grade techniques that could be fused, but he did not want to fuse them for the time being.

Fusion required ten years of lifespan. Even if he fused them, he would not have enough lifespan left to raise their level, so he planned to save up more first.

He still had to kill monsters. Without killing monsters, he would not even have the "capital" to improve his martial arts.

In the morning, Lu Chengchuan did not go home. Zhou Yaning said they were going back to the forest to take another look.

Lu Chengchuan boarded a helicopter and flew with several Investigation Bureau members toward where the meteorite had landed. From a thousand meters up, he could see vast stretches of scenery below.

Half an hour later, the helicopter returned to the site. The fire had burned until dawn before it was extinguished. A large section of the forest was now gray, and beyond that gray area lay another expanse of black mist.

"The black mist has expanded again! It's now twenty-three kilometers from the center!"

Zhou Yaning took out a ranging device. She found last night's coordinate point and compared it with the current edge of the black mist, discovering that it had expanded outward by several more kilometers.

Fortunately, there were no villages or towns around the forest. Otherwise, a large number of people would have needed to be evacuated, creating another massive workload.

"Have you found any monsters?" Lu Chengchuan asked.

Zhou Yaning lowered the device and shook her head. "No traces of monsters. The ground forces haven't found anything unusual either."

Unlike the black mist that had suddenly appeared before, this one covered a vast area, yet there were no traces of monsters. That was another baffling matter.

"One strange thing after another. What the hell is going on..."

Lu Chengchuan looked up at the sky. The world was changing too fast. All kinds of things had happened in just one month, yet they had figured out almost none of them.

"Fly forward! Fly to these coordinates!"

Zhou Yaning told the pilot to fly forward. The black mist covered a huge area, but it was not very tall. The ground forces had measured it, and its height was only around ten meters.

"You're not thinking of going down there, are you?"

Judging by her stance, she wanted to enter the black mist and investigate. The situation inside was unknown. Was she really just going in?

"The ground forces have entered before. They didn't detect any hazardous substances. Mr. Lu, come down with me. The rest of you wait here." Zhou Yaning did not just intend to go down herself; she wanted to drag him along too.

"I have to go too? Are you sure there's no danger?"

Lu Chengchuan did not want to take the risk. This was different from killing monsters—killing monsters earned him lifespan, while this concerned his life. There might not even be monsters or energy cores in the black mist. He would probably gain nothing from going in, and might even face danger. He truly did not want to enter.

"Where did all that drive you had for killing monsters go? You're scared of entering a patch of black mist?"

"How could I compare to Captain Zhou? There are only two people in my family. If something happens to me, what will my family do?"

"If something happens to you, the state will support your family. I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of? I have a big family. If you want, my family can even look after your mother in her old age."

Zhou Yaning insisted on dragging him down. Lu Chengchuan was speechless. This woman usually looked like she did not like talking, but once she started, her mouth just kept going.

"Enough, Captain Zhou. You talk more than my high school homeroom teacher. Let's go in and get out quickly. Stop talking already." Lu Chengchuan agreed, only begging her to stop talking.

"Xiao Ling, get us some ropes."

Seeing that he had agreed, Zhou Yaning turned and told Xiao Ling to bring out ropes.

They tied on ropes just in case. If they truly encountered danger, the helicopter could pull them upward. The black mist was not some special space, so they could escape directly.