Chapter 181 The Eerie Things in the Dense Fog

Chapter 181 The Eerie Presence in the Thick Fog

"I heard that Jin Zheng and his brother have played more than one game with you. You must have spun quite a few lies during that time to make Jin Yi so utterly devoted to you, right?" Lei Ming and Xia Anan, oblivious to the approaching presence in the thick fog, continued their heated argument.

"None of your damn business! They're at least a thousand times better than a shameless, self-serving scumbag like you. Do you even realize that once this rope is tied, it takes half an hour to untie? If some powerful specter gets close, we're dead!" Xia Anan’s voice rose to a shrill pitch.

"And who was it that just tried to sneak off into the fog with all the gear while I wasn’t looking? Don’t think I’m blind—if you really had escaped into the fog, by the time some powerful ghost showed up, I wouldn’t even have anyone left to die with." Lei Ming’s vicious tone made it clear he genuinely wished to drag Xia Anan down with him.

"So what if I took all the items? They were mine to begin with!" Xia Anan declared, as if stating an undeniable truth.

"Didn’t you steal those items from those two brothers? I heard their ability doubles everything—perhaps even their luck is doubled—which is how they managed to find these rare items that ordinary players hardly ever encounter. And then, when they got to you, they just simply became yours?"

Xia Anan clearly bristled at Lei Ming’s accusation.

"These are what I deserve! Whether it’s money or these items, they are all rightfully mine! In both the real world and the nightmare world, I’ve poured my heart and soul into getting these things—dealing with men I despise and those ancient, decrepit Fog City people, playing the sweet, innocent fool for Jin Zheng and Jin Yi, those idiotic brothers who have nothing but luck. I smiled until I nearly vomited just to earn their so-called trust. Isn’t it only right that I take some things from them? Work demands wages; doesn’t my effort deserve a reward?"

*Thud—!*

*Boom!*

No sooner had Xia Anan’s furious outburst ended than a series of incredibly heavy footsteps echoed through the thick fog, as if an invisible giant were lumbering through the mist. From time to time, the sound of collapsing buildings could be heard. The sheer magnitude of the commotion brought Lei Ming and Xia Anan’s argument to an abrupt halt.

The footsteps drew closer and closer to their location, but all they could see was an impenetrable darkness obscured by the fog—they couldn't discern any colossal, unknown entity.

"Turn on the flashlights." Su Bai, who had been quietly listening to Xia Anan and Lei Ming’s argument alongside the Jin brothers, suddenly spoke.

"Huh?" The Jin brothers were momentarily stunned. After all, just moments ago, they had been branded "unlikable men" and "idiot brothers" by their familiar teammate and their dream girl. All pretense and deception had crumbled in that instant, shattering every impression they had held.

The Jin brothers, especially Jin Yi, hadn’t yet managed to piece their shattered hearts back together, nor had they recovered from the foolish risk they took for Xia Anan by venturing into the foggy area. Now, with the colossal commotion drawing nearer in the fog…

Hearing Su Bai suddenly tell them to turn on their flashlights, their minds struggled to process the command.

"E-even if we turn on the flashlights, w-we still won’t be able to see anything, right?" Jin Zheng was slightly more composed than his dazed younger brother. Trusting Su Bai implicitly, Jin Zheng quickly activated his own flashlight, even reaching over to switch on Jin Yi’s as well, despite not understanding Su Bai’s intention.

Two beams of light pierced the darkness in the direction of the footsteps, but to the Jin brothers, the lights merely illuminated the fog immediately around them—nothing more.

Lei Ming and Xia Anan, not far away, should have noticed the appearance of the two light beams, but their attention was entirely fixated on the footsteps, and they failed to perceive the change in the nearby lighting.

Yet, Su Bai, using the flashlight beams, could faintly discern the form of the ghost whose footsteps sounded like an earthquake within the fog.

The figure somewhat resembled the slender blood ghost that had previously emerged from the Fog City people’s shells—tall and gaunt, with terrifyingly elongated limbs. The most significant difference was that the ghostly shadow in the fog stood as tall as a ten-story building. Thus, even though its steps were slow, the noise it made while walking was as deafening as an earthquake.

The mysterious ghost in the fog seemed drawn by Lei Ming and Xia Anan’s commotion, heading directly toward them. Although the fog made it impossible to accurately judge the distance between the ghost and them, it felt as though the creature could crush all five of them underfoot at any moment.

"We should leave. That ghost will be tough to handle," Su Bai concluded immediately.

"But…" Jin Zheng looked hesitant.

"Are you unwilling to let go of your former teammate, or are you hung up on those stolen items?" After overhearing Xia Anan and Lei Ming’s conversation, Su Bai no longer expected to glean any useful information about Su Xuan from Xia Anan. After all, he was still poor in the real world and owned no items himself.

"But…" Jin Zheng stammered for a moment before quickly collecting his thoughts. "Su Xuan had a habit of keeping a diary, and he always took good care of that shabby notebook. Only Xia Anan ever sneaked a look at it."

Su Bai understood that Jin Zheng wasn’t clinging to his former teammate or the items but was aware that Su Bai had risked entering the foggy area specifically for information about Su Xuan. Now, unsure if they would make it out alive, Jin Zheng was torn between surviving the mysterious ghost and figuring out how to offer Su Bai more "payment," hence his visible distress.

"I had no idea he kept a diary," Su Bai remarked. In his memory, the older brother who had always protected him possessed an impressive memory since childhood and never kept a diary. As for the Su Xuan whose personality had drastically changed, becoming obsessed only with alcohol and money, he was a complete stranger to Su Bai, and Su Bai had no way of knowing his habits.

"Jin Zheng, let’s just go," Jin Yi said, coming to his senses with a pained expression. "Let’s find a safe place first, tell this gentleman everything we know about Su Xuan, and then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Hurry, let’s go before it’s too late!" Jin Yi wanted to flee but couldn’t stray too far from Jin Zheng and Su Bai. If they got separated by the fog, they would likely become completely lost.

"Let’s find Xia Anan first." Su Bai had entered the foggy area to find Xia Anan, and he had come to the Eternal Lamp’s location for the same reason. What kind of person Xia Anan was didn’t matter—as long as she possessed the information he sought.

After all, Su Bai’s agreement with Jin Zheng and Jin Yi was only to "find Xia Anan." From start to finish, he never said anything about bringing Xia Anan out of the foggy area, did he?

"But that ghost…"

Su Bai turned to look at Jin Zheng and Jin Yi. For a fleeting moment, a flicker of blue fire seemed to flash in his eyes.

"Don’t worry. I still have some helpers."