Chapter 192 Encountering Players Again

Chapter 192: Another Encounter with Players

Occasionally, Su Bai felt that Fog City resembled the Misty Shop in certain ways. For instance, the Misty Shop's mysterious aura stemmed not only from its elusive yet omnipresent nature but also because, to ordinary people, it always seemed to exist in a mist or a mirage—tantalizingly close yet impossibly distant.

Time within Fog City was almost stagnant, while according to Xiao Wu, time in the Misty Shop had completely ceased. Su Bai had personally verified this. This time, Jin Zheng and Jin Yi could observe ghosts moving in the dense fog from inside the shop only because Su Bai and Xiao Wu had disguised it as an ordinary grocery store, temporarily restoring the flow of time within the premises as its owners.

Though one was a city and the other a small shop, there indeed appeared to be some similarities. However, compared to Fog City, which was as dazzling as fireworks but fleeting and prone to collapse at any moment, the Misty Shop’s stability in time control was something Su Bai didn’t need to worry about at all. The sense of security that allowed Su Bai to sleep soundly was far beyond what Fog City could offer.

Recalling Xiao Wu’s dismissive remarks about the Fog City Lord, Su Bai suddenly felt that the reason the Fog City Lord was called a "clumsy imitator" might not only be due to his penchant for creating puppets like that puppeteer but also because of Fog City itself.

However, if Xiao Wu was unwilling to reveal the answer, Su Bai would find it difficult to obtain the information he sought. It might be better to wait until after his meeting with Mayor Bai to press for details.

After leaving the Misty Shop, Su Bai, aided by Jin Zheng and Jin Yi’s lighting equipment, observed that the foggy area outside remained largely unchanged—neither better nor worse. After all, even if many Fog City residents were nearby when the fog descended, the number of those who mutated within it wasn't infinite. Once all Fog City residents had mutated, the situation could hardly deteriorate further.

However, Su Bai had no idea what was happening beyond the foggy area.

"Meow."

Just as Su Bai noticed the ghosts in the fog moving toward them, drawn by their scent, and before he could warn Jin Zheng and Jin Yi to prepare for battle, he heard the black kitten’s faint meow. When Su Bai looked down at his left wrist, he saw the cat-shaped ceramic beads on the black peace bracelet transforming into numerous black streaks, far outnumbering the beads, as they flew into the surrounding fog. Deep within the fog, invisible to the Jin brothers, these streaks morphed into cat spirits of various forms, pouncing directly on the ghosts preparing to attack Su Bai and his companions.

These cat spirits had no physical form and weren't even true eerie entities; they were more like manifestations of power.

Thus, even though the cat spirits didn’t possess devastating offensive power against the ghosts, if they were harmed, they would merely scatter and revert to black streaks, returning to Su Bai’s wrist. After these injured cat spirits recovered for a while, they could be deployed again.

To the ghosts in the fog, the cat spirits’ combat ability wasn't particularly strong, but their sheer numbers meant these little creatures, while grappling with the ghosts, also relieved much of the pressure on Su Bai and the Jin brothers, making Su Bai’s journey considerably easier.

After leaving the Misty Shop, Su Bai decided to lead Jin Zheng and Jin Yi toward Central Square. After all, in Fog City, the main roads connecting to Central Square at the heart of the pentagram were easier to recognize. As long as they left the side paths and returned to the main road, they could navigate their way out of the foggy area and reach Central Square.

Mayor Bai’s office, where he often appeared, was also near Central Square.

"It feels like the number of ghosts has decreased."

"There seem to be more cat meows."

Jin Zheng and Jin Yi couldn’t see the cat spirits wrestling with the ghosts in the fog; at most, they could only hear faint meows coming from the mist, which added to the eerie atmosphere of the foggy area.

"It sounds like there are people talking too." Afraid of disturbing any nearby ghosts, Jin Zheng and Jin Yi spoke in very low voices, so soft that even Su Bai could barely hear them. The fact that the two brothers could communicate at such a volume might be one of their innate abilities.

Su Bai also heard voices not far away—not cat meows or the meaningless growls of attacking ghosts but clearly the sound of people talking. One of the voices sounded like Feng Zhe. The two groups must have entered the foggy area around the same time, so running into each other in the fog was within Su Bai’s expectations.

It was easy to lose one’s way in the fog, but if someone kept making noise despite the danger, even without the Jin brothers’ talents, they could discern the direction of the other party as they drew closer. So, as the voices moved toward Su Bai’s group and grew clearer, Jin Zheng and Jin Yi could accurately pinpoint the newcomers’ location.

"Ke Dapeng?" The Jin brothers quickly recognized a familiar voice and mustered the courage to raise their volume. "Ke Dapeng, is that you?"

"Huh?" A puzzled response came from not far away, accompanied by the ongoing struggle against ghosts and occasional cat meows. "Did anyone else hear someone calling my name?"

The reactions from both sides made Su Bai abandon his plan to detour around the trouble once again. After all, though he disliked trouble, he wasn’t afraid of it.

Most of the time, it was the "trouble" that grew uneasy because they had caused trouble for Su Bai.

Besides, Feng Zhe wasn’t really trouble—just a guest Su Bai preferred not to get too close to.

"Ke Dapeng." Jin Zheng cautiously called out again.

"That voice… could it be the Jin Zheng and Jin Yi brothers?" The other party seemed to have a good memory.

"Are they players?" As Feng Zhe’s voice rang out, the fog around Su Bai and the others visibly stirred, as if disturbed by wind—likely Feng Zhe had used wind blades nearby?

"I’m surprised anyone besides us has managed to hold out until now." Feng Zhe’s tone sounded astonished.

Several hours had passed since they entered the foggy area. For ordinary players, surviving countless ghost attacks while disoriented and with limited visibility was indeed difficult.

Feng Zhe’s wind blades were quite effective in dealing with the foggy environment, lightening the load for his team.

"Yeah, a pair of twins surnamed Jin we met earlier. Not very familiar," the player named Ke Dapeng quickly explained. "Given their mediocre skills, I’d have thought they wouldn’t sound so lively. Maybe they just entered the fog?"

He spoke as if he didn’t care that Jin Zheng and Jin Yi were nearby.

"We’re not twins." Jin Zheng weakly retorted, sensing the other’s lack of enthusiasm.

"Maybe they have a very powerful companion." Feng Zhe emerged from the fog, looking exhausted as he glanced toward Jin Zheng and Jin Yi.