Chapter 201 Not Qualified

Chapter 201: No Right

Although Su Bai had lost his vision and couldn't see the current state of the Fog City Lord, he could sense the power surging within the surrounding shops.

This power seemed to share the same origin as the red moon, yet it lacked the bone-chilling cold associated with the moonlight. However, the more Su Bai understood the red moon's power, the clearer it became to him just how terrifying this power surge was.

Human players, including Su Bai, could only use their "talents" as a medium to construct a bridge between their innate abilities and the red moon's power within their bodies. This bridge was the "ability" they evolved through their talents, allowing them to more easily mobilize the power within when using their abilities.

The power surging through the Misty Shop at this moment did not originate from the shop itself but from the fiancé behind Su Bai. After all, the power accumulated by the Misty Shop so far only amounted to a thin layer at the bottom of a jar. In other words, the Ghost Witch who had appeared in the Misty Shop hadn't done anything yet; merely releasing the power within his body had caused a terrifying surge throughout the entire shop.

Even though the Ghost Witch's power had carefully avoided Su Bai, he could still perceive the surging force, raging like tidal waves. Yet, the Fog City Lord before him showed no movement aside from heavy panting, as if he had already lost the ability to resist under the assault of this power.

Let alone the fact that the figure currently standing in the Misty Shop was merely a puppet avatar created by the true fog within the city—even if the true fog form were to appear before the terrifying Eerie Entity that was the Ghost Witch, it would likely be powerless to struggle.

"But—" the Fog City Lord squeezed out words from the depths of his throat, "even if you are one of the earliest descendants, you still live under the red moon like the rest of us. Why do you have the right to control the life and death of others, while I... cannot?"

"Unqualified," came the Ghost Witch's icy voice. "But there is 'someone' falsely claiming to be a follower of the Ghost Witch, hunting ghosts everywhere, imprisoning countless ghosts, and even erasing all imprisoned ghosts under the identity of a 'Ghost Witch follower.'"

"The upheaval of the red moon left the earliest descendants with no time to deal with these trivial matters, but this time is different."

Su Bai could discern the cold and rigid tone in the Ghost Witch's voice. This mysterious fiancé didn't seem particularly inclined to engage with the Fog City Lord before him, yet for some reason, he was 'kindly' offering an explanation.

"Is it because of this human... ugh—"

Before the Fog City Lord could finish his sentence, the Ghost Witch's power surged forward like a gale. The Fog City Lord let out a stifled grunt of despair and fear, as if his throat had been seized.

In the end, the ghost controlling the entire Fog City before Su Bai fell completely silent, as if devoured, and the entire shop seemed to plunge into stillness.

What happened?

Had the Fog City Lord's puppet avatar vanished already?

Su Bai clearly understood why they needed to bring the fog's puppet avatar into the Misty Shop to find a way to quickly complete the game. Outside the Misty Shop, no matter where Su Bai and the other players killed the Mayor Bai puppet avatar in Fog City, the Fog City Lord's consciousness and power would instantly return to the true fog form. This was likely why the Fog City Lord acted so arrogantly within the city.

In this territory he created, he was invincible.

Even if Qing Lan's eyes could locate the core of the fog, that core would definitely not be within the Mayor Bai puppet. Thus, Su Bai, who appeared to be an ordinary human, could never reach the massive true fog form.

But as Xiao Wu had said, for the Fog City Lord to better witness the construction and destruction of Fog City, he must have left an important part of his spirit and power within the puppet avatar. Only then could he use the puppet's eyes to witness everything. So, if the Fog City Lord's puppet avatar was destroyed or devoured within the Misty Shop, that portion of spirit and power would be trapped within this special space, unable to leave.

Having lost a part of his spirit and power, the Fog City Lord would inevitably suffer heavy damage. In such a state, Su Bai and the other players might find it easier to locate loopholes and gaps to escape Fog City than when they lit the Eternal Lamp.

Hm.

Su Bai's mind was still sorting through the cause and effect of the entire situation when he suddenly felt a hand caress his face. It was definitely not Xiao Wu's hand but that of an adult—icy cold, as if devoid of all life.

The Ghost Witch.

Although Su Bai could sense that the Ghost Witch's power lacked the bone-chilling cold of the red moon, his hand was completely without warmth. For some reason, when that cold hand brushed against Su Bai's cheek, the touched skin began to feel strangely warm.

The hand slowly moved downward, gliding over Su Bai's neck like a doctor conducting an examination. The sensation of heated warmth clashing with the icy hand seemed to carry a peculiar force, causing Su Bai's entire body temperature to rise. He wondered if this Eerie Entity was up to something.

Just as Su Bai suspected he might be burned to melting in the next second, the cold hand did nothing further. Instead, it quickly withdrew, leaving only warmth on Su Bai's face and neck.

Shortly after the Ghost Witch's hand retreated, Su Bai felt Xiao Wu's hand, which had been covering his eyes, slowly release its hold. His vision began to return, and his previously paralyzed body gradually regained mobility.

The moment his vision fully restored, the first thing Su Bai noticed was that the Fog City Lord had completely vanished from the Misty Shop, now illuminated by warm lighting. The next second Su Bai turned to look behind him, but aside from Xiao Wu sitting on the counter, there was no one else—not even a ghost.

Suddenly, the Misty Shop, which had just been surging with power like a stormy sea, now held only Su Bai and Xiao Wu.

Su Bai even noticed that when he first turned around, Xiao Wu's eyes sitting on the counter were lifeless, their focus seeming somewhat similar to the patrol puppets created by the Fog City Lord. But soon, Xiao Wu's eyes regained their focus.

"Madam, I... Master had long heard of Fog City but originally thought it was just a clumsy imitator. Even upon hearing that fellow had been borrowing my...Master's name to do foolish things, he couldn't be bothered to deal with it. But who knew that fellow actually had ties to Master?" Xiao Wu said with an unusually mature tone, resting his chin in his hand. "It was originally part of the fog Master placed around his residence as a barrier. Now that this portion has been devoured by the shop, it can return to its original purpose."

"It's completely gone?" Su Bai was still astonished by the sudden silence.

"My... Master left that power in the shop, but for the Misty Shop at its current stage, that power is still a bit inconvenient to digest. It will take some time to process it gradually," Xiao Wu said helplessly, glancing at the glass jar on the counter, which was nearly empty. "Madam must continue to keep working."

"I know."

Even without Xiao Wu's reminder, Su Bai knew that his own power and that of the Misty Shop were nowhere near enough.

Although Su Bai couldn't immediately recall why, beyond the goal of survival, he felt driven to work so hard to gain power. Yet, deep in his mind, a voice seemed to always call out—

Get stronger, become even stronger!

For the arrival of that day!