The moon shone bright and the stars were sparse.
The bell rang for the end of evening study class. Students trickled out form their classrooms in tows and threes, chatting and laughing as they walked through the night. After a day of grueling study, this was perhaps their most relaxing time.
No homework, no teachers — just a few close friends by their side. They could head home, take a nice bath, and climb into bed for a comfortable rest. What could be better?
But cutting through these scattered groups, a massive squad of more than a dozen people suddenly emerged, marching steadily and orderly toward the school gates.
At their center, a black-blindfolded youth was like the filling in a dumpling, wrapped up tightly on all sides.
Such a large formation immediately drew the attention of all the surrounding students.
"Actually… I can walk home by myself, really," Lin Qiye's lips twitched slightly as he spoke somewhat helplessly. "I can see just fine. It's just that my eyes can't handle bright light…"
"Don't say another word, Lin Qiye!" Jiang Qian interrupted him speaking with righteous conviction. "We promised your aunt we'd take care of you, and we will keep our word."
"That's right, Qiye. Our houses are in the same direction anyway — its all all on the way."
"Mine too"
Lin Qiye: …
To be honest, he would have preferred to be the one left out. Having spent so long in darkness, he wasn't accustomed to being cared for by so many people. It made him deeply uncomfortable.
Of course, Auntie and Yang Jin didn't count — they are family.
Still, since everyone's intentions were genuinely good, he couldn't very well say anything. He could only follow helplessly follow the crowd forward.
"I need to turn right at that intersection ahead, but I can walk with you a bit further."
"This is where I turn. I'm heading off — see you tomorrow."
"…"
As they walked further from school, the classmates surrounding Lin Qiye said their goodbyes one after another and departed. After a few minutes, only five people remained by his side.
The previously noisy atmosphere gradually quieted down, and suddenly there was plenty of space. Lin Qiye let out a long breath of relief.
"Do you guys think… that mist will really revive and swallow all of Daxia?" Li Yifei asked, turning his head curiously as he shouldered his backpack.
"Didn't you hear what those experts said? The probability of the mist reviving is very small. It probably won't change at all for the next hundred years. As for what happens after that… well, we won't be around then anyway, so why worry about it?" Jiang Qian rolled her eyes.
"Come on, you know perfectly well that what those so-called experts say is the most unreliable thing ever. What if we finally mange to get into university and haven't even had a change to enjoy life yet when the mist swallows all of Daxia? Wouldn't that be a total waste?"
"So that's your excuse for slacking off every day instead of studying seriously?" Jiang Qian stepped directly in front of Li Yifei, her expression turning grave. "I should remind you — Mrs. Wang already said that if you come in last place on this exam again, you'll have to move your desk right next to the podium."
"I know, I know." Li Yifei laughed sheepishly.
"Though, honestly, I really don't think the mist can revive again." Wang Shao, who was walking at the front, suddenly spoke up. "At the end of the day, the mist is just a natural phenomenon. After reaching a certain critical threshold, it gradually recedes — just like the Ice Age. Once glaciers covered the earth, but as temperatures rose, they slowly melted away, and a new era followed."
"I know what you're talking about — that's the Natural Disaster Theory, right? It has pretty high acceptance these days," Jiang Qian nodded.
"But what if… the mist isn't a natural phenomenon at all?" At that moment, Lin Qiye, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.
Wang Shao paused, then laughed. "Qiye, you don't actually believe what those so-called theologians say — that the mist is connected to supernatural forces, do you?"
"It's the twenty-first century. We should believe in science. There aren't that many ghosts and spirits in this world," a classmate named Liu Yuan added.
Lin Qiye didn't answer. Whether or not things beyond science existed in this world — he knew that better than anyone. It just wasn't necessary to tell outsiders.
Li Yifei muttered quietly, "I actually think if those things really existed, the world would be a lot more interesting."
"Why are we even talking about this useless stuff? These aren't things we should be worrying about anyway. Instead of standing here debating whether the mist will revive, we'd be better off sleeping in during the three-day Day of Survival holiday," Jiang Qian said with a laugh.
"Exactly! Holidays are what really matter!"
***
At the same time, in the old district of Cangnan City.
A man was carrying a warning sign on his shoulder, walking unhurriedly along a desolate, dimly lit street. The aged streetlamps cast faint light, stretching his shadow longer and longer…
He glanced at his phone, walked to the entrance of a certain narrow street, and stopped.
"That's it…"
He muttered to himself, lowered the sign from his shoulder, and set it upright.
Under the flickering streetlamp, the sign's shadow appeared and disappeared. Against its black background, bright red words were extremely eye-catching!
— NO ENTRY AHEAD!
The man leaned against the streetlamp, lit himself a cigarette, took a deep drag, and opened his earpiece.
"Captain, the third sign is in position."
"Copy that. Begin."
"Yes."
Still holding his cigarette, the man walked up to the sign and placed his thumb against his teeth, biting down hard!
A drop of blood welled from from the wound. The man crouched down and used his blood-stained thumb to draw a long horizontal line across the three words 'NO ENTRY AHEAD'!
His eyes focused, and an inexplicable aura burst forth from him as its center!
He raised his head to gaze at the black night sky, murmuring in a voice only he could hear…
"Forbidden Ruin, 'Unrestricted Domain'"
The next moment, the fresh red bloodstain on the sign before him rapidly faded, as if being absorbed. Then the three words 'NO ENTRY AHEAD' flashed with crimson light!
The man plopped down on the ground, let out a long breath, and complained.
"Damn it, got drained again…"
At that moment, if anyone had been looking down at Cangnan City from the sky, they would have seen three points of light flickering near the old district, then rapidly sketching out a dark red equilateral triangle with these three lights as vertices!
The instant the triangle formed, half of the old district covered by it seemed to be erased from the map, gradually fading from view…
Yet from ground level, the old district was still the same old district.
At the same time, at the center of this triangle, six figures in dark-red cloaks shot across the sky like lightning!
The man leading them looked up at the dark red sky, reached back to grip his blade handle, and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Ghost Face elimination operation — begin."