Chapter 64: Grandeur

It turned out the middle-aged man was named Ding Gao, a Class B Fire Controller, one of the teams sent to support Mist City; the guy with the nest-like hair was Kong Kong Yueze, a Class C Earth Controller; the short-haired woman was Xing Xing Tongwen, a Class C Air Controller; all were his teammates.

After that deformed monster was crushed into minced meat, it still writhed on the ground, trying to reassemble; countless flesh tendrils stuck together and actually began to regrow.

Ding Gao extended a hand, and flames roared to life; within moments, the minced meat all over the ground burned to ash.

"With Captain Yang's support, isn't this Mist City crisis a piece of cake?" Ding Gao said meaningfully after the burning was done.

Yang Yi always felt there was something hidden in his words, yet she also wondered if she was overthinking it.

She had always been dull in social interactions, often unable to distinguish the hidden meanings in others' words; sometimes, years later, suddenly recalling a certain scene, she would only then realize: oh, so that was what he meant.

So, whenever she encountered a situation like this where words carried hidden meanings, and she couldn't immediately tell if the other person truly had ulterior motives, she would simply pretend she hadn't heard anything.

"I will do my utmost." Yang Yi said solemnly.

Ding Gao smiled without showing any emotion.

Xing Xing Tongwen looked at her curiously: "I heard you just resolved the crisis over in Wuming City? I even saw those brain-eating worms in the group chat, eek!" She shivered all over, "I'm most afraid of bugs!"

"What? Are they scarier than these deformed monsters in Mist City?" the nest-haired Kong Kong Yueze said.

"That's different; bugs are my childhood trauma, okay!" Xing Xing Tongwen rolled her eyes.

The awakened ones who came to support were stationed at the Lotus Hotel in Mist City.

Upon hearing that Yang Yi had arrived and single-handedly eliminated a 36-person collective monster, Mist City was greatly excited and immediately dispatched a special vehicle to pick them up.

On the way back, the nest-haired one mumbled, saying his squad had been hunting this monster for several days, and it looked like they were about to succeed, only for Yang Yi to swoop in and steal the credit.

Xing Xing Tongwen snorted: "Come on, we chased it for so many days and nearly got fused by it several times; if it weren't for Captain Yang, we'd still be completely in the dark!"

Having his old secrets exposed by his own teammates, Kong Kong Yueze looked embarrassed on his face.

On the way to the Lotus Hotel, Yang Yi sensed the solemn atmosphere of Mist City.

Pedestrians on the road hurried with anxious expressions, looking terrified; everyone kept a great distance from each other, as if fearing the stranger beside them might suddenly turn into a monster.

The city had also changed its schedule; during the morning and evening when the mist was thickest, everyone stayed indoors with doors closed, only venturing out when the sun came out.

But this greatly reduced people's travel and working hours; Mist City, once hailed as the "City That Never Sleeps," had now become a "ghost city" with no one in sight before night even fell.

Arriving at the Lotus Hotel, introduced by the researchers, Yang Yi and the others learned the specific details of this Class A threat.

These monsters were actually formed from humans; after some people entered the mist, some strange power took effect, fusing these people into deformed monsters.

"We once captured a monster for dissection and research, and found that once a person is fused by it, they lose their human self-will, even if their head remains intact," Professor Li said.

"The original spirit of these humans is also utilized and twisted by this strange power, resonating with the surrounding dark matter energy to attack ordinary people and awakened ones, causing a kind of mental paralysis—then fusing again to expand itself.

"The larger the volume of such a monster, the stronger the mental attack.

"One can imagine what kind of terrifying monster would form if the fusion continued without limit."

Yang Yi was startled and quickly asked, "How many people are missing now?"

Professor Li sighed, "The data counted this morning shows approximately 2,765 people are already missing, not counting those who live alone and cannot be contacted."

Wei Chang'an quickly asked, "Then how many of these monsters—such collectives—have been killed?"

"Including the 36-person collective you killed this morning, a total of 978 can be accounted for; the other nearly eighteen hundred people are still in a missing status."

Wei Chang'an turned pale with shock: "So, there might be a collective monster of nearly two thousand people hiding in Mist City?"

The 36-person collective encountered in the morning had been enough to paralyze them completely, leaving them unable to move; if a monster formed from a volume of two thousand people, just how powerful it would be, he dared not imagine.

Yang Yi's heart also trembled.

"Yes. And until now, we still haven't found the cause prompting the formation of these monsters. If we cannot find the underlying cause, even if we kill these monsters, new monsters will continue to emerge endlessly; this is the most terrifying part," Professor Li taught solemnly, then he looked at Yang Yi with hope:

"Captain Yang, it has already been 8 to 9 days since the incident occurred, and the situation is getting worse; now not only is the entire Mist City in a state of panic, but even Shu Province is becoming restless.

"All roads connecting Mist City are now blocked; some supplies are supported by neighboring cities. As long as the Mist City crisis is not lifted one day, the roads dare not be opened; if this continues, the people of Mist City, even if they don't die from this strange power, will soon be unable to hold on."

Facing Professor Li's expectant gaze, Yang Yi could only solemnly promise that she would do her utmost.

But she had no confidence in her heart at all, with no clue whatsoever.

Just after the situation was explained, the Mayor of Mist City, the Party Secretary, and others personally came to invite her, Wei Chang'an, Chen Chen Yushu, and the rest to dinner, wanting to "extend the hospitality of the host."

Probably the news that the Wuming City crisis was resolved gave them more confidence in Yang Yi; their attitude toward Yang Yi could be described as overly enthusiastic.

Their expectations and enthusiasm made Yang Yi feel even more pressure.

Because she had no confidence, Yang Yi felt too ashamed to eat this meal, so she politely declined, stating she wanted to immediately throw herself into this crisis, and that treating her to a meal could wait until the problem was solved.

What this group wanted was Yang Yi's guarantee; once they received her verbal promise, they were satisfied.

Walking out of the Lotus Hotel entrance, Ding Gao and the others were also getting ready to depart; they happened to see the Mist City leadership enthusiastically seeing Yang Yi out the door. Ding Gao sneered coldly and said nothing.

"Hey, truly worthy of being the number one awakened one; look at this style! Look at this grandeur!" Kong Kong Yueze said with a sour tone, "When can we have such treatment?"

"When you reach Class S!" Xing Xing Tongwen said; although she was also a bit envious, she was not jealous.

"This Mist City crisis is not some Fire Demon slaughtering the city that can be solved by brute force alone," Ding Gao said lightly: "Until now, the cause of the monsters' formation hasn't been found; even if we kill all these monsters, it won't help much. We might as well see what methods this 'God of Humanity' has..."