Chapter Two: [2.4 The Veil of Mist]

Lily looked at the children seated before her, recalling once more why she had chosen these particular ones.

Stevenson possessed an exceptional sense for colors, a skill that would allow him to quickly help the team distinguish anomalies within the 2.4 Mist. Sandro loved video games, even more so than Ander, making his reaction time likely the fastest in the orphanage, with sharp dynamic vision to match. Dunn was a talker, but his powers of deduction were formidable, his mind working at lightning speed, often reminding Lily of a certain actor from the early twentieth century nicknamed “Curly” who famously portrayed the great detective Sherlock Holmes. Camille was the only girl Lily had chosen; she was much stronger than Lily herself, almost a Barbie made of steel (this child spent most of her time near the orphanage gym equipment).

Seeing the children looking at her eagerly, not understanding why Lily was so grave in calling them here today, Lily cleared her throat and spoke in a solemn tone:

“Based on Aiden’s and my assessment, it’s highly likely that the ‘Screening Patrol’ team led by John encountered some inescapable danger or something else entirely, so the orphanage needs to send a second team to search and assist them.”

She outlined the problem at hand, then continued, “I’ll be leading this search and rescue, and Aiden will be coming along. The few of you are the best candidates I could think of after careful consideration.”

She paused, and sure enough, Dunn immediately raised his hand to signal he had a question. But Lily pressed her hands down gently, indicating that he and the others should wait, and went on:

“Though I believe you’re the best choices, that doesn’t mean I have the right to force any one of you to join Aiden and me in this venture. The fact that John’s team hasn’t returned tells us one thing: something out there has changed for the worse.”

“Therefore, I need you to clearly understand the risks of this operation—Mr. Dunn, could you help everyone by recounting some relevant information about the 2.4 Mist?”

Called upon, Dunn immediately stood up, offered a graceful bow, and after a brief moment’s thought, began to recite with familiar ease:

“In 2024, at 2:04 a.m. on February 4th, Kyongzhou time, the phenomenon codenamed ‘2.4 Mist’ appeared suddenly above the city, and within 2 minutes and 4 seconds, covered the entire globe at a speed beyond human reaction, unaffected by polar magnetic fields. Its overall shape mirrored that of Earth, as if a thick shroud of mist had enveloped the planet.”

“The name ‘2.4 Mist’ was given by the nation of Xia; ‘2’ and ‘4’ are the pronunciations of the Arabic numerals in their language, because the formation and many properties of the mist are tied to the numbers 2 and 4, with 2 always preceding 4.”

“The 2.4 Mist gathers at an altitude of 2.4 kilometers, forming a rolling, unceasing sea of cloud, churning at a speed easily visible to the naked eye.”

“That’s enough, thank you for the patient explanation, Mr. Dunn,” Lily quickly interrupted, nearly forgetting how talkative he was—even at only fourteen, his mind was sharp, and his memory quick and precise.

Dunn opened his mouth, but finally sat back down, realizing he’d started reciting passages from the book “A Detailed Study of the 2.4 Mist.”

“As Dunn just described, the 2.4 Mist appeared six months ago, shrouding our city of Dunlun, along with the entire world.

“For those beyond the ‘Wall,’ it appears as if ten years have passed, though the reason is still unknown. The mist has rendered all human communication useless, stripping us of the freedom to soar the skies.”

Lily dropped the formal address for Dunn and continued, “Sunlight can only reach the earth in a very limited way, and our vision is blocked at a strict twenty-four meters.”

She drew a deep, grave breath and went on, “In other words, unless John can make a sound to let us know his approximate location, our search will be hellishly difficult, as we can only see within twenty-four meters around ourselves.”

“Though up till now, John and his ‘Screening Patrol’ have shown us that the 2.4 Mist merely exists and is harmless, whenever people from beyond the ‘Wall’ come to exchange that canister with us, they’re dressed thickly, with masks on their faces—Aiden says those are gas masks.”

“Now that John hasn’t returned, it’s very likely something bad or strange has happened with the mist outside, making this search extremely dangerous.”

“You are free to choose whether to go or stay—please don’t feel any pressure.”

With that, Lily closed her eyes, listening for any sign from the children, not wanting to add to the burden on their young shoulders.

After five or six seconds, Lily opened her eyes in surprise.

None of the children had left, not even Stevenson, whom Lily thought most likely to bow out first; all sat there, eyes determined, gazing at her.

At that moment, Dunn once again raised his hand—this time, both hands.

“First, I raise both hands in favor of this mission. Second, I’d like to ask, when do we set out?” Dunn rattled off in a rapid-fire manner.

“There’s no set time yet; I need to discuss it with Aiden, but at the latest, the day after tomorrow,” Lily replied just as quickly.

The reason Lily didn’t immediately decide on leaving tomorrow was because she had something she needed to verify at dawn the day after tomorrow.

Only she, Hugh, Aiden, and John knew about this matter—a secret they all shared.

It was true that she needed to consult with Aiden, but not about the time of departure; rather, she needed to discuss the feasibility of what she planned to confirm.

After sending the children off, Lily went down to the orphanage basement. In the storeroom filled with all sorts of “junk” John had gathered on his outings, she found Aiden—and, to her surprise, Hugh was there as well.

“Hugh, what are you doing here?” Lily asked, somewhat awkwardly.

“Hmph...” Hugh flicked out a single, dismissive word before burying himself again in searching for anything that might prove useful.

Lily instinctively touched her face. It seemed Hugh already knew what she was planning to do behind their backs.

How was it that Aiden could never keep a secret from Hugh? It was truly...

“Aiden, Hugh, there’s something I need to discuss with you... Isn’t the day after tomorrow my birthday? So, do you think—”

“Lily, are you insane? You saw what happened to John—do you think that was some magic trick, a grand illusion?”

It was as if a fuse had been lit—Hugh immediately straightened up, glaring fiercely at Lily.

“But you saw John’s abilities too. If we want to bring him back, we have to rely on that kind of power!” Lily retorted, equally unyielding, meeting Hugh’s gaze across Aiden.