Chapter 3: An External Manifestation?

Shen Yu lifted his hand slightly. The gray mist that had been drifting nearby was instantly drawn toward him, converging in his palm and emitting a soft glow that illuminated the surrounding darkness.

This darkness was the true form of the Gray Mist Space.

As for the gray mist itself, Shen Yu had discovered it by chance shortly after gaining access to this space: whenever he performed good deeds and helped others, he would receive it. The more capable and significant the person he helped, and the greater the assistance provided, the more gray mist he would obtain.

As for the function of this mist…

Omnipotence.

That was exactly right—it was omnipotent. Whether it was crafting objects, strengthening his body, curing diseases, acquiring new technologies, or even bringing the dead back to life, it could do it all. It could even shatter the fundamental rule that living beings could not survive within the Gray Mist Space.

It was merely a matter of quantity.

Shen Yu had once attempted to resurrect an ant that had been poisoned to death, and the process consumed all the gray mist he had earned from tutoring over a hundred impoverished children. In other words, while the mist was omnipotent, it was not inexhaustible. This was the reason Shen Yu had involved himself in the medical industry; among all the ways to earn gray mist, saving lives yielded the greatest amount.

"The end of the world..." A shadow of gloom surfaced in the depths of Shen Yu’s heart.

As the master of the Gray Mist Space, he naturally understood its immense power. What were wealth and influence compared to this? With enough gray mist, Shen Yu could obtain everything humans could imagine, from immortality to omniscience and omnipotence. His original plan had been to accumulate initial capital through trade, then acquire medical technology through the mist, accelerating his growth step by step. Sooner or later, he would obtain everything he desired and perhaps even change the future of human civilization.

However, the sudden, looming apocalyptic crisis had completely shattered that plan.

Looking at the current situation, the meteorite heading toward the human home planet was clearly extraordinary. Of the three known meteorite incidents, Shen Yu’s current abilities were insufficient to resolve even one of them, and those were merely the prelude to the arrival of the largest one. He could not even imagine what would become of human civilization once that final impact occurred.

He lacked the confidence to survive such a catastrophe. Even if he could hide within the Gray Mist Space, where would he obtain more gray mist if human civilization were truly wiped out? Without sufficient mist, he could not bring his parents and family inside. That would be nothing more than a lonely, pathetic existence.

"I must do everything in my power!"

Shen Yu was not the type to sit idly by and wait for death, especially not when he possessed such a miraculous space. To die within a few years or spend the rest of his life alone in the Gray Mist Space would be a death he could never accept. Furthermore, the Gray Mist Space possessed other, yet-to-be-discovered capabilities. This was not merely a hunch; it was the answer he had received from using the mist.

He composed himself and went to the warehouse. After ensuring no one was around, he tapped his finger, and the gray mist dispersed, swallowing everything within the building. He then moved on to the next warehouse.

Six months ago, when news of the meteorites was made public, he had used the mist to perform a prediction out of caution. At that time, he had exhausted all his supply just to receive a warning: "Crisis is coming." Shen Yu had realized then that this crisis was no trivial matter, so he began his preparations.

The doomsday bunker was only one of his projects. He had built hidden underground bases overseas, purchased and renovated islands, and stockpiled various goods—especially firearms and food. The latter was his guarantee of survival, while the former was his guarantee of safety. Most of these had already been stored in his space, and he intended to take the remainder he had recently prepared as well.

The meteorite incident that had just occurred in the Western Union would lead to the death of hundreds of thousands in an entire city. With the spread of information on the internet and the loosening of restrictions by the international elite, it would likely trigger massive upheaval worldwide, and social order would face an unprecedented shock. These overseas warehouses would no longer be safe, and supplies would become nearly impossible to purchase. Therefore, he had to act quickly.

However, just as Shen Yu arrived at the fifth warehouse, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Someone was there!

The intuition granted by the gray mist allowed him to retreat back into the swirling fog the moment he stepped out.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A hail of bullets tore through the spot where he had just stood. He could hear noisy, foreign voices in his ears.

"Fuck, what was that?"

"I don't know. I just saw a cloud of gray mist, and someone suddenly popped out?"

"An alien?"

"Looked like a human to me?"

"Be careful!"

"This fucked-up world, you never know what you're going to see!"

"Hurry up! Move all this stuff out!"

Shen Yu’s heart rate accelerated slightly. Peering through a space fissure the size of a finger, he listened to the voices outside, his brows furrowed. They were so fast!

This warehouse was located in the Western Union, far from the city where the meteorite crisis had broken out. Clearly, some people were reacting with extreme speed. It was highly likely that the individuals involved in the procurement of these goods knew that large quantities of food and weapons were stored here. Even though the apocalyptic crisis had not yet fully unfolded, Ming-shu Ji was right: the collapse of order would arrive even sooner than the end of the world itself.

Calling the police was likely useless now. So—

Shen Yu scanned the dense array of weapons scattered throughout the warehouse. Should he fight fire with fire on the spot, regretfully abandon this warehouse, or retreat first to mobilize his company’s armed forces or find partners to resolve the situation?

But just as Shen Yu was about to make a decision, an indescribable tremor swept through his entire body!

He had felt this sensation once before—the very moment before that car accident occurred. It was impossible to describe in words; it felt as though the sensation did not come from his body, but from the depths of his soul. As if by instinct, Shen Yu stared fixedly at a certain point within the gray mist.

"What is happening?" he asked himself, the answer seemingly bubbling up from within.

At that moment, the gray mist at the spot he was watching began to churn violently.

Two figures emerged!

Shen Yu had long since tested that no life other than himself could survive in the Gray Mist Space, but that was no longer the priority. With disbelief and an inexpressible joy, he stared at the two figures.

One wore clothing resembling that of ancient times; he had long hair, carried a long sword, and possessed a handsome appearance with an extraordinary temperament.

The other was completely different. His body was covered in structural components that were indistinguishable from either exoskeletons or mechanical prosthetics. He was tall, with bulging muscles and many details that exuded a technological aesthetic, looking like a powerful warrior who had stepped out of a cyberpunk world.

The faces of these two individuals also held expressions mixed with shock and surprise.

No one spoke, and no one was on guard. The moment they saw each other, they already understood everything.