CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 63: THE AFTERMATH OF THE FOG

"Oh, I forgot." Laziel smacked his own forehead. His face turned serious. "That’s right. Have you seen a small, snow-white fox? She always hisses when people try to get close to her..."

Zerra glanced at Cassias then shook her head. "What fox? I have been in my room the whole night."

Doubt crept onto Laziel’s face.

Zerra cleared her throat and asked, "You picked another fox?"

"No, that’s still Cassias’ fox. He..." Laziel glanced at Cassias who had no intention of explaining. "He had brought her along with him."

"She can’t stay away from me." Cassias suddenly opened his mouth. His tone was gentle. "You don’t need to worry. I will find her myself."

Zerra’s face twitched when she heard that. Who couldn’t stay away from him? It was slander, absolute slander! If possible, she wanted to stay hundreds of kilometers away from him.

Soon, they no longer continued the topic and dispersed. They had to prepare to help this rural residential area clean their place of any danger. It was a repayment for allowing them to stay during the fog.

Jake had come earlier, knocking on their door and informing them about the latest conditions. There were many mutated animals found in a few houses; then followed by zombie growls. Whoever lived in those houses had turned into zombies.

"What do you all want to eat? Grab a few bites before you go," Scott asked them rather awkwardly. "There’s still some meat remains from yesterday."

They didn’t refuse.

With Scott’s fire ability, they quickly finished cooking simple meals in the kitchen. He did a quick seasoning with salt, as long as the food was edible and thoroughly roasted. They wouldn’t know whether there would be viruses there and didn’t want to take the chance.

"Scott, how many farm animals remain in your barn? Do you want to check if there’s any that might turn into mutated animals?" She asked.

Laziel nodded in agreement. "Yes, we can help you deal with them."

Scott seemed taken aback. He fell silent for a moment. A flash of reluctance crossed his face before he sighed. "You all should deal with other people’s houses first. Their condition might be more urgent than my place."

None gave objection to his words. After they finished their meals in minutes, the three of them came out of the house.

Jake was already outside with Nyra and Darren. He cracked a smile when he saw the three approaching. "I hope you guys had a pleasant stay."

He craned his neck to look behind them. "Scott isn’t joining you guys?"

"He is busy with something," Laziel answered him. He turned his head to take a look at Scott’s house. They couldn’t even see a shadow of Scott from outside.

"That’s fine." Jake waved his hands off. "I will go to visit him myself later." He turned to the five of them. "I want to thank all of you on behalf of our residents here for helping us."

Darren nodded politely. "That’s what we should do. You all have given us a place to stay, after all."

"Oh, right, Mr. Valez. Some of our residents are interested in joining the Moon Cloud city base." He fell silent for a moment before he continued his words, "but we might have to see if they are still alive or not."

There were around eighty people in total. One third of them have awakened their powers, which made this place a moderately safe settlement as long as they were united. They could band together to save themselves from outside danger.

At least, that was the impression they got from this place.

"How many people?" Darren asked silently, doing calculations.

"I have asked them. Around thirty people want to go," Jake murmured. His gaze turned hopeful as he waited for Darren’s confirmation.

Darren was contemplating their vehicles and the possibility of them bringing a few more people. If they squeezed themselves among the cars, it might be possible.

"I will discuss it with Henry. It should be possible," he said.

They divided themselves into two teams. Jake had the power of the wind, and it was unknown whether it was the effect of the fog; he actually leveled up to the third level.

He was in the same group as Zerra and Cassias. They were knocking on the first house.

"Anyone inside?" Jake knocked on the door.

The house was oddly quiet. Zerra craned her neck as she glanced at the glass window. "Are there people in this house?"

"There should be." Jake muttered with certainty. "They were the first people who had come here with me. Let me check through the window."

He walked toward the window, sticking his face to the dusty glass. After a moment, he turned around. "I think we should open the house forcefully."

Zerra used her senses to scan some parts of this large house. She squinted her eyes, and her breath became ragged in an instant. This house... she remembered that it was one of the first houses that should have housed their team mission members.

Some of the Brown family’s people should live here. Ordinary ability users might not recognize this house, but she did with her enhanced senses!

Her hand clutched Cassias’ arm. She turned to him with her eyes widened.

Cassias gave her questioning eyes. She swallowed, considering how to tell him.

"I think we should open the door forcefully." Jake suggested again, his voice laced with worry.

"Wait," Zerra opened her mouth to stop him. "Try to call the names of your friends."

"The names of my friends?" Jake thought that it was a good idea. He turned and began to shout, "Daisy, Blake..."

There was still no response, and the worry in Jake’s eyes became more obvious. He muttered under his breath, "I hope they are alright."

Cassias narrowed his eyes. "Do you know if their rooms have any windows? We can try to call them from there."

Zombies were quite sensitive to sound. Zerra’s suggestion was to test the water whether there would be zombies inside who got attracted by their shouts.

Jake’s eyes visibly lit up at Cassias’s suggestion. He slapped his own forehead. "Why didn’t I think of such a good idea? Let’s go, Miss Zerra and Mr. Virethorn."

They headed to the side yard. The vegetation on the ground and potted plants look visibly a bit wilted after over a day of fog. They were either going to mutate or die.

Only a few were tenacious enough and still looked fresh. Zerra was a bit tempted to take in some of the fruit trees, but she knew that her space was incapable of it at this time.

"If anyone is inside? Answer me!" Jake shouted again. "We just want to make sure that you are all fine."

There was still no response.

He steeled himself, then told Zerra and Cassias, "We should just go inside through this glass window..."

Seeing that there was no objection, Jake requested them to take a few steps back. In his hand, the wind appeared in blade shapes. They flew toward the window, shattering the glass.

"You have nice control of your ability," Cassias commented. Zerra also looked over curiously.

"It’s because of the crystal cores..." Jake trailed off. "I am not sure whether the two of you know about it yet, but crystal cores can help us upgrade our power if the power attribute is suitable."

"Where do you know about it?" Cassias asked again.

"Someone told me," Jake muttered. "The person used to live in this place, but I am not sure if he has left or not yet. His whereabouts are sometimes unknown."

As Jake explained, he conjured another batch of wind blades. He was getting rid of the jagged glass remnants at the edge of the window frame.

His attention was attracted by the window, which was now sizable enough to form an entry to the house. "Let’s go inside."

They followed Jake, jumping through the window as high as a meter and a half from the ground. However, the sight that greeted them made them suck in a deep breath.

"This..." Zerra trailed off as they headed to another room. The door to the bedroom was unlocked, yet the inside looked like a storm had raged in it.

A faint stain of blood painted the blanket and then the floor. They quickened their steps, realizing that some people might be in danger.

Jake opened another room; the living room. The sight there made them completely stunned.