In the dense fog, a group of people walked along the road, flashlights in hand.

Sedans, vans, buses, ambulances—all the vehicles by the roadside were dead, with no sign of anyone inside.

A patron skilled in car repair tinkered for a long time but couldn't start a single one. According to him, all the vehicle parts were intact, and he couldn't find any malfunctions. Yet, the cars wouldn't start, and the specific reason for the failure remained elusive.

The drones Wei Linglan had brought out also couldn't fly normally in the dense fog, though the individual helmet-mounted thermal imaging scopes were still operational.

Scanning with infrared, they detected no signs of life other than the people from the restaurant—not even birds or stray cats and dogs. It felt as if they were the only ones left in the city.

People grew anxious, whispering amongst themselves. Wei Linglan's parents, walking at the rear of the group, hesitated several times before finally asking their daughter in a low voice, "Linglan... what in the world is going on here?"

Wei Linglan's father was an engineer, and her mother a home designer; the couple were both high-income, highly educated individuals. Their comfortable circumstances had allowed them to support Wei Linglan in pursuing the career she loved. They never expected that after not seeing her for several months, their daughter, whom they remembered as sensible and obedient, had transformed into a "strong woman" wielding a grenade launcher against rat monsters. She had also developed some mysterious official connections. Moreover, this strange environment completely contradicted their long-held worldview.

Li Ang, ever the professional who took his pay seriously, mimicked Wei Linglan's parents and asked with concern, "Yeah, Linglan, what exactly is happening here?"

Wang Congshan, equally frightened beside them, nearly choked. Even at a time like this, you're still acting? I give up.

Wang Congshan pinched Li Ang lightly in a spot hidden from view. He acted as if he didn't feel any pain, frowning and anxiously saying, "Linglan, did you... did you get exposed to nuclear radiation? Will you grow green, blue, or red scales? Will it affect our future children?"

Buddy, I only paid you two thousand, Wei Linglan thought, feeling a headache coming on. Honestly, you don't have to try this hard.

She chuckled dryly. Then, her expression turned serious. As she continued to hurry along, she softly told her parents, "Dad, Mom, I'm perfectly fine. Right now... I guess you could say I've been recruited by the government. Don't worry about me. I can't explain everything right now. Just stay close to me. Once we're out of this fog, I'll tell you more."

Wei Linglan's parents exchanged a look. Though filled with countless questions, they could only keep them to themselves.

After reassuring her parents, Wei Linglan couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Actually, she wasn't entirely clueless about the current fog-engulfed situation.

As an auxiliary member of the Special Affairs Bureau's Mobile Detachment, Wei Linglan's usual duties consisted of training and street patrols.

Training was straightforward: the Special Affairs Bureau provided basic skill training courses for players who came over to their side, such as foreign languages, hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, vehicle repair, and so on. Player qualifications were currently scarce, so each Mobile Detachment could be equipped with a full team of experts. These experts would collect various player data, assist players in coordinating with research teams for experiments, and guide player training during downtime.

In addition, the Special Affairs Bureau also issued various standard-issue equipment and items, encouraging players to engage in full-strength combat within specially designed arenas—provided it didn't result in death or permanent disability—to collect data and hone their combat abilities. After all, a dedicated medical team was on standby twenty-four hours a day, supplemented by medical items from the "Battleground game" in case of emergencies.

The official organizations were quite reliable. Their total callable resources and time-utilization efficiency far surpassed those of Lone Wolf Players. It was with the Special Affairs Bureau's support that Wei Linglan had rapidly evolved from a mere literary young woman into an above-average warrior.

As for street patrols—with the ongoing progression of the "Battleground game," various bizarre and highly hazardous incidents were emerging endlessly. The best solution was to dispatch the Mobile Detachment to patrol the cities continuously, discover anomalies early, convert them into missions, and then resolve them.

The Special Affairs Bureau not only maintained a shared mission log, but its upper echelons also selectively disseminated key intelligence to field personnel.

Wei Linglan was well aware that as early as a month ago, small-scale fog phenomena had begun appearing throughout Yin City. A sewer worker claimed his colleague had been swallowed by a mass of fog in the sewers. A homeless man reported hearing the screams and cries for help of a group of people in a fog-choked alley. A group of anglers were fishing by the river when a dense fog suddenly rolled in. When it dispersed, they discovered that a fellow angler on a small island in the middle of the lake had vanished. The search and rescue team found no trace of him, neither alive nor dead.

The fog phenomenon had already drawn the full attention of Yin City's Special Affairs Bureau, which had formed a specialized team to try and understand this anomaly.

All previous reports indicated the fog only appeared at night. Why did it happen during the day today? And it swallowed so many people at once... Wei Linglan silently mused.

None of the investigation reports on the fog phenomenon mentioned any survivors.

Just as Wei Linglan was pondering why the System considered "Hoshan Road 149" a safe place, a disturbance erupted at the front of the group.

A dense, rhythmic sound emerged from within the fog.

TAP TAP TAP. TAP TAP TAP. It sounded as if dozens of blades were tapping their tips against the cement pavement.

"AAAAARGH!"

A shrill roar echoed from the dense fog. The crowd grew agitated, their flashlight-wielding hands trembling uncontrollably.

Wei Linglan also grew tense. Her infrared detector showed nothing unusual, yet the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

Miss Chai, standing at the front of the group, remained unfazed, her hands clasped behind her back.

I can distinctly feel a dense Yin energy in the fog, she thought. It's likely a large group of Knife-driven Ghosts, totaling about... thirty or so? As time passed, the number kept increasing—forty, fifty...

The so-called Knife-driven Ghosts, according to Volume Twelve of *Search for the Supernatural* by the Eastern Jin historian Gan Bao, are a type of monster that haunts the mountains around Linchuan. They often appeared with fierce winds and heavy rain, their cries resembling human roars, and they could spray venom. Whatever was hit by their venom would swell instantly, leading to death within half a day.

This is troublesome...

Chai Cuiqiao resisted the urge to look back at Li Ang, subconsciously clenching her fists.

Ghosts could be roughly divided into two categories based on their level of consciousness.

The first type, like Chai Cuiqiao herself, was a Fierce Ghost. Born of hatred and rage, they possessed a clear consciousness for revenge, specific targets, and actively sought replacements. If they inhabited a place abundant in Yin energy, they might even embark on a path of cultivation, gradually becoming a Ghost King.

The second type consisted of monsters whose consciousness had been completely devoured by resentment. These ghosts not only had distorted forms but also possessed only a faint individual awareness, indiscriminately attacking any living beings in their territory.

Ugly, stupid, no future, but powerful.

The surrounding Knife-driven Ghosts belonged to this second type.

Chai Cuiqiao hadn't encountered Knife-driven Ghosts since her death; she had only heard of them at a banquet of demons. Knife-driven Ghosts were said to be divided into male and female, typically appearing in small groups in dark, damp areas of deep mountains.

Why would such a large group of these monsters appear in the dense fog?

The numerous Knife-driven Ghosts hidden in the fog surrounded the group but didn't advance. Instead, they silently amassed, their numbers growing, as they continuously jabbed the ground with their blade-like arms and feet. The tapping of their blade-tips on the ground was as dense as falling rain, punctuated by low, alternating howls.

Wei Linglan's finger rested steadily on the grenade launcher's trigger, but her shoulders trembled slightly. Her high Perception Attribute allowed her to clearly sense the oppressive pressure emanating from the fog.

We can't go on like this, Chai Cuiqiao thought, her face taut. She desperately wanted to turn and loudly ask Li Ang what to do. Facing these low-intelligence, bloodthirsty Knife-driven Ghosts, even Li Ang would probably have to fight them head-on. He wouldn't be able to pull off any clever tricks. So, do we fight here, or try to break out? I'm confident I can fight our way out with Li Ang, but the others here... we probably can't save many. Anyway, Li Ang will definitely prioritize saving that flirt surnamed Wang. Tsk.

Suddenly, the horde of Knife-driven Ghosts fell silent.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

Blade tips lightly touched the ground as a huge shadow strode forward, emerging from the mist.

It was a female Knife-driven Ghost, over three meters tall. Her upper body was roughly humanoid: eyeless, noseless, with a highly protruding forehead, a mouth full of fangs, and forearms that tapered rapidly, transforming into thick, sharp Bone Long Knives.

This female Knife-driven Ghost had pale skin and wore no clothes, but her upper body was covered with a layer of bone armor. Her abdomen was distended like an overinflated balloon, as if pregnant, while her lower body extended like a scorpion's, flat, with three pairs of legs on each side that had also transformed into Bone Long Knives.

Her overall form resembled a Scorpion King—grotesque and malformed, yet possessing a sort of savage, terrifying beauty.

So strong... Chai Cuiqiao pursed her lips. She could clearly sense the terrifyingly powerful aura emanating from the creature. In her past life, such a being would have been powerful enough to be called a regional Ghost King.

Especially the two flat, door-panel-sized Bone Knives that were its arms; they looked incredibly intimidating, likely capable of effortlessly demolishing a main battle tank.

Facing the trembling crowd, who dared not even breathe loudly, the Knife Ghost Queen let her arms fall naturally. Her door-panel-sized Bone Knives slammed into the ground, embedding themselves deeply in the cement.

What... is she thinking? Chai Cuiqiao wondered. She doesn't fight, nor does she retreat. Why?

Li Ang, who had a clear view of the Knife-driven Ghost horde through his Cat's Eye, took a deep breath. While feigning terror and pulling Wang Congshan behind him, he projected subtitles onto the inside of Chai Cuiqiao's faceplate: "From now on, follow my commands."

Chai Cuiqiao blinked silently, her hands folded in front, adopting the air of an aloof, otherworldly expert.

Li Ang continued to project: "Calmly turn your head and shout to us, 'Who here is the Gynecological Saint Hand?!'"