Chapter Twenty-One: Mist (Part One)

Pei Siying clenched her fists tightly, her expression dark and somber, yet she said nothing more.

When Li Luyan emerged, Yu Yue’s loud voice rang out again. Yu Yue said, “Oh, Sister Yan, you finally came out—”

Then, seeing the unfamiliar man following behind Li Luyan, Yu Yue was stunned. She asked, “Who is this? Don’t just pick up random men by the roadside.”

“Based on my experience from reading novels before the apocalypse—”

Before she could finish, Lin Youwei tapped her arm—not too hard, but enough to make her flinch—“Say less, cleaner.”

Yu Yue shrank back from the reprimand, watching Li Luyan approach.

“Help! Sister Yan, the useless fighter hit me!”

Yu Yue’s shout was loud enough to attract the attention of many around them. Everyone stared curiously at Yu Yue and Lin Youwei.

Lin Youwei’s ears instantly flushed red.

She parted her lips but couldn’t find the words, feeling as if her face were burning. At that moment, she wished she could disappear into the ground.

Obviously, Yu Yue was oblivious to this.

Seeing Li Luyan sit down not far away, Yu Yue pointed at the man sitting behind her and asked, “Sister Yan, so who is he?”

“My brother,” Li Luyan replied coolly, without a trace of emotion.

Yu Yue’s gaze flickered between Liu Qingye and Li Luyan’s face. After a moment, she said with a strange expression, “...Sister Yan, did your father do something to betray your mother...?”

Her voice grew emotional, almost on the verge of tears.

Li Luyan looked at her oddly. “Who said he’s my biological brother?”

“Ohhh,” Yu Yue scratched her head awkwardly.

Lin Youwei stared at Yu Yue’s rapidly reddening face, snorted coldly, and silently thought, even someone as socially bold as Yu Yue could get embarrassed.

When Pei Siying came out of the convenience store, Zhang Min, propping herself up on a fuel pump, stood and cleared her throat.

“We’ve rested long enough. Let’s keep moving.”

Some in the crowd were already weary, sighing deeply.

“Ah, I’m so tired…”

“We only rested a little while ago.”

“I can’t go on anymore.”

“Ugh, we shouldn’t have started walking; this is so annoying. I should’ve stayed at the gym.”

---

Yu Niaoniao glanced at the person and said, “Then just go back now. You haven’t gone far. You can make it before dark.”

The person immediately shut up, lowered their head, and silently followed at the end of the group.

“The sky’s getting darker. Minmin needs to keep stopping to rest.” Yu Niaoniao, carrying a large machete, quickly caught up to Zhang Min.

Zhang Min frowned at the dimming sky but thought of the nearly two months of travel ahead. Since monsters were still few and weak at this early stage of the apocalypse, traveling at night was feasible.

If they delayed, monsters would become harder to fight, and it might take ages to reach the base.

“Keep going,” she said shortly, offering no further explanation.

Li Luyan walked at the rear of the group, with Liu Qingye ahead of her, both heads bowed as they pressed onward.

She unconsciously rubbed the handle of her dagger, squinting.

Was it wet?

She looked up at the darkened sky. It seemed a thick gray blanket was spreading across the heavens.

Her instincts told her something was wrong.

“Sister Yan...” Yu Yue’s weak voice came beside her, strands of hair stuck to her sweaty face. “I’m so tired... How come you don’t sweat at all...?” She looked like a dog worn out after endless exhaustion.

“Oh... wait, you do have a little sweat on your forehead.”

“Shh.” Li Luyan cut her off suddenly, frowning as she stared upwards.

Yu Yue followed her gaze to the sky and widened her eyes. “What... what is that?”

“Fog,” Li Luyan replied tersely, her face darkening. “This isn’t right.”

Zhang Min ahead also noticed the odd fog. She exchanged a glance with Pei Siying, and they silently agreed—

Keep moving.

“Sis, this fog will be very interesting...” Liu Qingye suddenly stopped walking. When he caught up to Li Luyan and walked beside her, his voice was soft and low—like a ghost in the night.

Li Luyan froze. Mutants like them were linked. She couldn’t even beat him; if he said there were stronger creatures ahead, then she was definitely outmatched.

She looked at the group ahead—ordinary people—and her face turned as dark as ink.

No, they couldn’t keep moving forward.

She quickened her pace and blocked Zhang Min at the front. “We can’t go any further.”

Seeing Zhang Min’s equally grim expression, Li Luyan knew she had noticed it too.

But Zhang Min said, “Keep going!”

Li Luyan tried to argue further, but Pei Siying came over and patted her shoulder, raising an eyebrow. “Zhang Min has her own rhythm. Don’t worry.”

---

Pei Siying pulled a cigarette from her pocket, struck a match, and lit it in one smooth motion.

The smoke she exhaled slowly blended with the fog in the air.

“This fog won’t kill us psychics. The monsters inside are just low-level nuisances,” she said with a playful expression.

“The apocalypse just started; there won’t be any big monsters yet.”

Soon, the fog thickened, like a heavy quilt pressing down, making it hard to breathe.

But other than that, there was no other sensation.

“I’m so sleepy... what do you guys think...” Nearby, Lin Youwei’s voice was drowsy, drifting as if she might fall asleep at any moment.

The ordinary people around them seemed drowsy, but the psychics only felt the heaviness, nothing more.

This fog targeted ordinary people. Why? Was it meant to filter something out...

Li Luyan narrowed her eyes at the strange sky.

The fog grew thicker, sticky and damp, carrying a metallic stench. Lin Youwei’s eyelids grew heavier, as if something was holding her feet down. She just wanted to sleep...

Zhang Min and Pei Siying walked at the front, seemingly unaffected. Pei Siying even leisurely puffed on her cigarette, as if they were just out shopping.

The purple-clad girl standing in the middle of the group felt her eyelids flutter, but the boy in front of her was already slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

She wanted to sleep too... so sleepy.

Then, in the next moment—

“Ah!!!” A piercing scream shattered the silence, striking panic in everyone’s ears.

“What... what’s happening?”

“Li Xiao... Li Xiao... he...” The purple-clad girl’s pale face pointed toward a spot, her drowsiness suddenly lifting.

Everyone followed her gaze and saw a boy’s head twisted 180 degrees, grinning at them with a disturbing smile. His mouth split open, and his teeth had transformed into sharp, jagged fangs.

That boy was Li Xiao.

Seeing the scene, Li Luyan’s face turned as black as ink. She grabbed Liu Qingye’s arm. “Tell me, what exactly is going on?”

Liu Qingye glanced at the hand gripping his arm and grinned happily. “Hey... Sister’s holding my hand...”

“But it seems this fog doesn’t hurt Sister... though ordinary people may not be so lucky...”

Sure enough, the next moment—