Dean Wu heard Han Ning but didn't answer immediately, his expression turning to one of concern.
"The fog is so thick right now. It would be better to wait for it to clear up a little before you go check. I'm worried about your safety."
Han Ning shook his head. "It's fine, Dean Wu. You've seen my Silver Lotus Wood. Its Purification ability is very strong. This thick fog can't hurt me."
Besides, he was just going to a windowsill on the second floor for a look, not running outside. There was hardly any difference between being on the first or second floor anyway.
"We don't have a high-powered flashlight, but we have a regular one. I'll have someone get it for you now." Dean Wu had seen Yin Yi help purify toxins for others before, so he didn't try to dissuade Han Ning any further. Instead, he turned and murmured something to a teacher beside him.
Upon hearing this, the teacher ran to a small pack in the corner of the crowd, pulled out a black, regular flashlight, and walked over to hand it to Han Ning.
"Thanks."
Han Ning took the flashlight, cradled Yin Yi in his arms, and walked into the thick fog under the watchful eyes of the teachers and students.
The moment he stepped into the mist, Yin Yi acted like a large vacuum cleaner, sucking the surrounding white fog into its body and creating a pocket of air large enough for Han Ning to breathe.
TAP, TAP, TAP...
His rhythmic footsteps echoed through the quiet dormitory building.
"h… e… l… p"
The faint cry continued to reach his ears, intermittent and weak.
Flashlight in hand, he followed the sound to a windowsill on the right side of the second floor. First, he used his naked eye to survey the area below.
From this windowsill, he had a clear view of the gate on the south side of the dormitory building and the area beyond the perimeter wall.
The light rain outside the window had gradually stopped, and the dense white fog had thinned slightly.
Using the faint daylight, Han Ning looked toward the gate.
About thirty meters away, behind the black iron gate, the vague silhouette of a person was repeatedly banging on the metal.
A few Iron-toothed Snakes slithered about a meter or two behind the figure, but for some reason, they weren't attacking it.
'Is it really a human?'
Han Ning frowned.
The fog was too thick and the distance too great for him to make out the person's face.
The situation was bizarre. Iron-toothed Snakes were known to attack any human on sight, yet these ones were ignoring the figure calling for help as if it didn't exist at all.
Just as Han Ning was trying to make sense of it all, the figure at the gate started to do something new.
It seemed to have grown tired of banging on the iron gate and instead began trying to climb over it to get into the dormitory area.
Seeing this, Han Ning subconsciously tightened his hold on Yin Yi.
The dark figure's movements were incredibly stiff. It took a full several minutes for it to laboriously clamber over the spikes on top of the two-meter-high gate, finally stumbling and falling into the dormitory grounds.
It moved like a zombie from a movie, dragging one foot as it shambled slowly toward the entrance of Building A.
When it had shambled to about fifteen meters from Building A's entrance, Han Ning finally got a clear look at the figure's face.
It was a middle-aged man with dark skin and East Asian features.
"Southeast Asian?"
Han Ning gently patted Yin Yi's body and whispered, "Yin Yi, hit that figure with a Silver Thorn. Use the minimum power."
"Boop boop~"
A second later, a faint green light flashed.
The low-power Silver Thorn struck the strange man in the abdomen, knocking him back several dozen centimeters and sending him crashing to the ground.
"AGH!"
A pained howl erupted from the man's mouth. The sound was utterly bizarre—not human at all, but more like the roar of a wild beast.
The strange man struggled to his feet, a large amount of blood beginning to pour from his abdomen.
As he moved, his intestines and organs spilled from his abdomen onto the ground, leaving a long, red trail behind him.
"Kill it."
Han Ning now understood that this wasn't a person at all. It was a monster, through and through.
'Or perhaps, it was once human.'
Another streak of green light flashed.
The monster's body below the chest instantly exploded into several pieces.
Even so, it continued to drag itself toward Building A with its trembling arms.
Its hollow, lifeless eyes were wide open, and a hoarse wail escaped its mouth.
Han Ning felt for the Compound Bow on his back. Then, bracing himself on the windowsill with one hand while holding Yin Yi in the other, he vaulted over the edge.
THUD.
Like an agile cat, he landed lightly on a patch of shrubbery on the ground floor.
Taking the Compound Bow from his back, Han Ning drew an arrow, nocked it, and slowly approached to within ten meters of the monster, carefully watching the creature as it struggled to crawl forward.
The crawling monster noticed Han Ning. It shuddered, twisting its upper half around to fix its lifeless gaze on the human before it.
"Haha!"
Then, like a lecher who had just spotted a beautiful woman, it suddenly burst forward with terrifying speed. Propping itself up on its hands like a hyena, it lunged violently at Han Ning.
Before it could even get halfway into the air...
A bright green light flashed.
The frenzied monster instantly exploded into a shower of blood.
'What the hell was that thing? Are there other humans in this wasteland?'
Once Han Ning confirmed the monster was completely dead, he strode forward. Enduring the foul stench, he examined the fleshy remains scattered on the ground.
"Hm? What's this...?"
His gaze shifted, and amid the bloody mess, he spotted a wriggling black worm.
The small black worm was about the length and thickness of an adult's index finger. It was trying to crawl away from him.
It wasn't moving quickly. Yin Yi leaped from Han Ning's arms, ambled slowly up behind the worm, and extended a slender branch, poking it.
The thorn easily pierced the worm's body, impaling it.
"Boop boop!"
As if presenting a prize, Yin Yi held the struggling little worm up to Han Ning.
Han Ning took a few steps closer to get a better look at the worm.
At this close range, he could see its body was covered in segmented folds. It had no eyes, but it did have a mouth full of sharp spikes.
A high-pitched, shrill hiss emanated constantly from its mouth.
As Han Ning listened to the hissing, his head suddenly felt heavy, and his vision filled with a dense field of gray specks.
The sensation was very similar to the symptoms of low blood sugar.
"Yin Yi, finish it."
He clutched his head, staggered back a few steps, and waved his hand dismissively.
Yin Yi flung the worm to the ground and stabbed it again with a thorn.
The little worm went still.
'This must be some kind of Soul Beast. Don't tell me... it was controlling that Southeast Asian man?'
Han Ning muttered to himself, took out a pair of gloves and put them on, then tentatively reached out to touch the small worm's body.
The instant his finger made contact with the worm, a system prompt sounded in his mind:
[Spiritual Energy +0.1]
[Energy +0.01]