The moon was bright, but the stars were few.
The bell signaling the end of evening self-study rang, and students walked out of the classroom in small groups, chatting and laughing as they made their way through the night. After a long day of fatigue, this was perhaps their most relaxing time.
No homework, no teachers, just a few friends by their side. After a quick shower at home, they could comfortably crawl into bed and rest. How wonderful, right?
Among the scattered crowd, a large group of over ten people suddenly appeared, walking in unison, moving steadily towards the school gate.
In the center of the group, a boy wrapped in black satin was tightly surrounded, looking like a dumpling stuffed with filling, wrapped up securely.
Such a large group immediately attracted the attention of all the surrounding students.
"Actually... I can walk home by myself, really," Lin Qiye said, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, speaking helplessly. "I can see, it's just that my eyes don't do well in the light…"
"No need to say anything, Lin Qiye!" Jiang Qian interrupted, speaking in a righteous tone. "We promised your aunt we'd take care of you, and we'll do just that!"
"Yeah, Qiye, our homes are in the same direction, it's on the way."
"I'm on the way too."
Lin Qiye: …
To be honest, at this moment, he would rather have been the one isolated. After being in the dark for so long, he wasn't used to the feeling of being cared for by so many people, and it made him uncomfortable.
Of course, his aunt and Yang Jin didn't count, as they were his family.
But since they meant well, he couldn't really say much. He could only helplessly follow the group forward.
"I need to turn right at the intersection up ahead, but I can walk with you guys for a while longer."
"I'm turning here, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
"…"
As they moved farther from the school, the students surrounding Lin Qiye began to say their goodbyes one by one. A few minutes later, only five people remained by his side.
The once bustling atmosphere gradually quieted down, and the space seemed to open up. Lin Qiye let out a long breath of relief.
"You guys think... the mist will really resurface and swallow up the Great Xia again?" Li Yifei, carrying a bag, turned his head curiously and asked.
"Haven't you heard the experts? The chances of the mist resurfacing are very low. It's unlikely that anything will change in the next hundred years. As for a hundred years from now... well, we won't even be around, so why worry about it?" Jiang Qian rolled her eyes.
"Sigh, you know, the experts' words are the least reliable. What if, after we finally get into college and haven't even had the chance to enjoy life, the mist swallows the entire Great Xia? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?" Li Yifei said.
"So, is that why you've been slacking off lately and not focusing on your studies?" Jiang Qian walked in front of Li Yifei, speaking seriously. "I should remind you, Mr. Wang already said that if you get last place again this time, you'll have to move your desk to the front of the class."
"I know, I know," Li Yifei replied sheepishly.
"However, I actually don't think the mist will resurface," Wang Shao, who had been walking at the front, suddenly spoke up. "After all, the mist is just a natural phenomenon. Once it reaches a certain threshold, it will gradually dissipate, just like the Ice Age. When glaciers covered the earth, as temperatures rose, they gradually retreated, and with them, a new era began."
"I've heard of that theory. It's called the natural disaster theory, right? It's gaining quite a bit of acceptance these days," Jiang Qian nodded.
"What if... the mist isn't a natural phenomenon at all?" At that moment, Lin Qiye, who had been silent up until now, suddenly spoke.
Wang Shao paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Qiye, you don't actually believe those so-called theologians, do you? That the mist is related to supernatural forces?"
"We're in the twenty-first century. We should trust science. There's no such thing as ghosts and gods in this world," a classmate named Liu Yuan chimed in.
Lin Qiye didn't answer. He knew better than anyone whether there was anything beyond science in this world, but there was no need to share such thoughts with outsiders.
Li Yifei muttered softly, "I think if those things were real, the world would be way more interesting."
"What's the point of talking about all this? None of this is our concern. Instead of fretting about whether the mist will resurface, it's more realistic to sleep in tomorrow during the three-day holiday for the 'Survival Day,'" Jiang Qian said with a smile.
"Exactly, holidays are what really matter!"
…
At this moment, in the old district of Cangnan City.
A man was walking leisurely down a quiet and dimly lit street, carrying a signboard. The old streetlights cast faint light, elongating his shadow…
He glanced at his phone, stopped at a narrow street corner, and muttered to himself, "This is it…"
He grumbled, then placed the signboard down carefully and adjusted it.
Under the flickering streetlight, the shadow of the signboard flickered in and out of view, and on its black background, several large red characters stood out clearly!
— No Entry Ahead!
The man leaned against the streetlight, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, then opened his earpiece.
"Captain, the third signboard is in place."
"Received, begin."
"Mm."
The man took a drag from the cigarette, walked up to the signboard, and placed his thumb on the sharp edge, biting down hard!
A drop of blood oozed from the wound, and the man crouched down, using his blood-stained thumb to draw a long horizontal line across the "No Entry Ahead" characters.
His gaze sharpened, and an inexplicable aura exploded outward from him as the center!
He looked up at the black night sky, and in a voice only he could hear, murmured…
"Forbidden Ruin, Wuji Void."
In the next moment, the bloodstain on the signboard rapidly faded, as though being absorbed, and then the four characters "No Entry Ahead" flashed with a red glow!
They slowly returned to normal.
The man sat down on the ground, exhaling deeply and muttering in complaint.
"Damn it, emptied out again…"
At that moment, if anyone were to look down at Cangnan City from the sky, they would see three points of light flickering near the old district, and then, from those three points, a dark red equilateral triangle was rapidly drawn!
As the triangle formed, half of the old district seemed to be wiped off the map, gradually disappearing…
However, from the ground, the old district still looked the same.
Meanwhile, at the center of the triangle, six black-and-red cloaks streaked across the sky like lightning!
The leader of the group raised his head to gaze at the dark red sky, reached back to grip the hilt of his sword, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Ghost Faced Man's Purge Operation, commence."