The edge of the mist was only about ten meters away from Su Zhan and Wang Mingyuan.
Wang Mingyuan's gaze sharpened as he said in a deep voice, "Let's go, head inside."
Su Zhan stared at the thick fog, his brow tightly furrowed, yet he remained motionless.
He could clearly sense the terrifying energy fluctuations within the mist.
He had absolutely no idea what was inside.
And the unknown was always the most frightening.
Moreover, this mist had suddenly appeared right beside them.
It was too coincidental.
So coincidental that it felt like someone had set up a trap specifically waiting for the two of them to walk into.
Even with Wang Mingyuan by his side, he didn't dare to gamble.
When the mist had descended previously, he had no choice—he was enveloped within it, so he could only fight.
But now he had options. He could completely pretend he hadn't seen it, which would maximize his personal interests.
Was this kind of thing worth risking?
He wasn't some hero, nor did he have such noble convictions.
Besides, he still had too many unfinished matters.
The authorities were nurturing him, and he would naturally repay them, but definitely not by taking risks before his wings had fully grown.
And the biggest reason was that with Wang Mingyuan beside him, he couldn't use his Aberrant form, let alone absorb the essence from Mist creature corpses.
Therefore, entering the mist with Wang Mingyuan offered no benefits, only endless risks.
Wang Mingyuan turned his head to look at him, his gaze piercing: "Hesitating?"
Su Zhan didn't answer, but his silence said everything.
Wang Mingyuan's expression turned serious: "We are Awakeners, enjoying resources tilted by the authorities. Where do those resources come from?
Including taxes paid by countless ordinary people. Now they're in danger, and since we've encountered it, we can't just stand by and do nothing."
Wang Mingyuan paused, his voice softening: "Su Zhan, you're my student, but I won't force you. Forcing you would be useless anyway. Now I'll give you two choices...
First, stay here and notify the Aberrant Purge Division.
Second, come with me to rescue people."
Su Zhan's brow remained tightly furrowed.
Reason told him that waiting for backup was the optimal solution.
But Wang Mingyuan's gaze made it impossible for him to easily say no.
Wang Mingyuan had helped him too much.
From saving him from Doberman before his awakening.
To providing protection and guidance after entering Vermilion Bird Academy.
If he retreated now, how would Wang Mingyuan view him?
"...I'll go with you."
Su Zhan finally spoke.
He didn't have such lofty spiritual convictions.
He wasn't doing this to save people unrelated to him.
But because he didn't want Wang Mingyuan to be disappointed in him.
Wang Mingyuan looked at him deeply, seeming to see through his thoughts but not pointing it out, simply nodding.
He raised his right hand.
The next second.
A layer of white spiritual energy, thin as cicada wings, emerged from his palm and instantly covered his entire body, forming a semi-transparent spiritual membrane.
Then, with a wave of his left hand, the same spiritual energy wrapped around Su Zhan's body and head, forming a protective layer on his skin surface.
"This is a spiritual barrier that can temporarily resist the mist's erosion. Stay close to me, don't get separated."
Wang Mingyuan grabbed Su Zhan's wrist with such force that Su Zhan felt some pain.
Su Zhan looked down at the flowing white spiritual energy on his body and nodded.
He felt somewhat nervous.
In this world, people were taught from childhood about the dangers of the mist.
This wasn't a domain mortals should tread.
Even as an Awakener, he had no objections to these concepts after his previous experience.
And now, he was about to voluntarily step into this forbidden realm.
"Let's go."
Wang Mingyuan spoke.
Su Zhan nodded and followed closely behind Wang Mingyuan.
One step in.
The world suddenly fell silent.
Thick fog coiled around them like a living creature, emitting faint corrosive sounds outside the spiritual barrier.
Visibility instantly dropped to zero.
Even Wang Mingyuan, who was right beside him, was reduced to a blurry outline.
The air was filled with a certain decaying smell.
Su Zhan's breathing unconsciously quickened.
He felt something watching them in the fog, its gaze viscous and cold, crawling slowly up his spine.
"Don't stop."
Wang Mingyuan's voice came through the thick fog, yet sounded exceptionally distant: "Stay close."
The grip on his wrist tightened further.
It felt like the only lifeline.
Su Zhan gripped back tightly, following that blurry figure, step by step deeper into the mist.
After what felt like an eternity...
So slow.
Su Zhan followed closely behind Wang Mingyuan, moving slowly through the thick gray mist.
His ears were filled only with his own heavy breathing and heartbeat.
Too quiet.
No wind sounds, no human voices, even footsteps were swallowed by the fog.
This eerie dead silence made every second feel infinitely prolonged.
Su Zhan could only count time silently in his mind.
31 seconds, 32 seconds, 33 seconds...
Wang Mingyuan kept pulling him steadily, his grip never loosening.
But the further they went, the thicker the mist became.
The corrosive sounds outside the spiritual barrier grew more dense, like countless tiny insects gnawing.
Cold sweat beaded on Su Zhan's forehead.
He kept feeling something moving through the fog, occasionally catching shadows flashing in his peripheral vision.
But when he turned to look, there was nothing but churning gray mist.
58 seconds, 59 seconds, 60 seconds...
Only a minute had passed, yet it felt like they had been walking for a very long time.
So long that Su Zhan began to wonder if they were just going in circles.
"Almost there."
Wang Mingyuan's voice was extremely low.
Making Su Zhan shudder.
Just ahead, the shopping mall's glass doors finally became vaguely visible.
They finally stepped inside the mall.
Outside the glass doors behind them, gray-white mist still churned, yet seemed blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to penetrate at all.
Su Zhan carefully surveyed his surroundings.
A seven-story shopping center, spacious and tall.
Similar to the Wanda Plaza from his previous life.
Looking up, the atrium featured a void design with spiral circular corridors rising on each level.
Dozens of shops were displayed on every floor.
The air inside the mall, though stagnant, no longer carried that decaying smell.
Bright lighting allowed clear visibility around them.
But...
The mall interior was filled with crisscrossing corpses and blood everywhere.
A hellish tragic scene.
This kind of scene couldn't be described excessively, otherwise moderation would intervene.
Even so.
Su Zhan let out a long breath, his tense nerves relaxing slightly.
He never wanted to experience that feeling of traversing through mist again.
Too eerie, too terrifying.
Those chilling gazes one after another, unknown what kind of creatures they were.
The unknown was truly the most frightening.
And now.
He understood clearly that the mall they were in had become a special pocket dimension.
This place didn't belong to the mist, but to reality, yet it felt like a piece of reality placed within the mist.
If they turned around and walked out now, they wouldn't return to the street they came from, but would completely enter the mist world.
The only way out was to wait for the mist to naturally dissipate.
Wang Mingyuan released his wrist, the spiritual barrier still covering his body, emitting white light:
"Only about 2 minutes have passed since the mist descended, yet the mall interior has already become like this. This means..."
"It means there's a significant time flow difference between inside and outside."
Su Zhan continued the thought: "Otherwise the originally bustling mall wouldn't have changed so dramatically."
As he spoke, he took out the silver twin blades from his backpack.
He always carried these weapons with him.
Or rather, since he had just arrived in Jiang City and didn't even have a fixed residence, there was nowhere to store them.
With these weapons, combined with his Life Soul, he could maximize his offensive power.