Chapter 878

Long'an Base district, Wangjiang Military Region.

Lord Chu An, the human-form third-rank mutant with codename 02 that you had us track has been spotted in the South Sea War Zone.

A thousand-strong Awakened Ones squad, inside the armored vehicle, Chu An listened expressionlessly to the Long'an Military's report, setting down the documents in his hand:

Then we'll make some trades with the survivors inside the South Sea War Zone, having them lure the enemy westward for a distance.

His expression stalled, the soldier responsible for reporting froze.

He didn't really understand the meaning behind Chu An's doing this.

The codename 02 mutant is none other than the third-rank little boy who once appeared in Linjiang.

He had already left the Linjiang three-province area three months ago, only reappearing a few days ago.

Of course, it's not that they have the ability to track third-rank entities.

But rather, each time he appears, he moves with a large corpse horde, and survivors along the way often see that terrifying figure floating in midair.

At present, for most Awakened Ones, third-rank mutants are nightmare-like existences.

The No. 02 mutant is already far enough from them; why make people lure it even farther?

You know, nobody wants to run into a third-rank; trying to lure it farther would likely cause heavy casualties among Awakened Ones.

The price Long'an would have to pay would probably not be small.

Moreover...

Other Safe Zones fear third-ranks, but Long'an might not.

Lord Lin An, aren't you the world's strongest? I've heard slaying a third-rank isn't difficult.

As if seeing the officer's doubt, Chu An merely glanced over flatly, his eyes carrying an indisputable air.

We must definitely lure it to near the coastline and contact the local Safe Zone.

No matter the cost, we can accept it.

Facing that gaze, he, who had been a soldier even before the apocalypse, could only respond doubtfully.

Even without reason, they can only obey orders.

For Long'an Base, Chu An is the second-in-command under Lin An, possessing half of the core authority; to outsiders, he is practically Lin An's shadow.

The vehicle body shook.

After issuing the order, Chu An turned his head again to look at Jing Tian, who had been seated inside the vehicle all along:

How far has the white mist spread?

He asked calmly; Jing Tian furrowed his brows slightly, then pointed to a battle map before him:

Roughly speaking, it's almost spread to the vicinity of the original military region.

The range is about 13 square kilometers. Compared to before, the white mist's diffusion speed has increased greatly.

His expression was worried.

The white mist is the meme event that the original Wangjiang Military Region had evaded.

No one knows how this white mist came about, but under its threat, the original Huanjiang Military Region only then established a Safe Zone in the districts.

Thus, when Lin An initiated the death match, that newly built Safe Zone could not support the original faction.

Regarding this, Long'an has always retained a deep impression.

There are too many matters.

Lin An originally intended to handle this meme himself, but due to the Heiyu mission, this operation was handed over to Chu An and him to resolve.

However, Jing Tian only felt completely clueless.

After a brief pause, he slowly spoke up to add:

Colonel Chu, we previously found in the Huanjiang Military Region's records how they initially dealt with it.

Including just recently, I also sent people in.

But without exception, any Awakened One who entered, regardless of strength, would commit suicide.

It's very troublesome, and no one could bring out any clues.

Although casualties weren't many, some things are unsolvable.

Jing Tian recalled the three squads he had dispatched; each squad was led by a second-rank, and one of them even mastered some special skills, a mental-force squad capable of harming spiritual entities, heading into the mist.

But according to their real-time transmitted audio, there was only a repeating monotonous broadcast.

They couldn't recount the broadcast's content orally, nor could they record it.

But everyone conveyed back the same meaning.

Listening to that broadcast for a long time, people would gradually fall into fantasy.

Finally, under abnormal despairing emotions, they would end themselves.

From start to finish, they never encountered an enemy, nor even saw any anomalous phenomenon.

The mortality rate among those who entered is extremely high; even if one's strength is greater, it seems only the resistance time lengthens a bit.

Either death or madness.

That white mist region was also designated a forbidden zone by Long'an.

He nodded.

Chu An looked at the area Jing Tian had marked out, pondering for a moment:

I'll lead a team in; you just stay on the periphery.

The white mist's diffusion speed has increased; if it continues at this pace, it will soon permeate the vicinity of Long'an.

As Long'an Base gathers a large population, it cannot withstand such losses.

You're going yourself!?

Eyes wide, Jing Tian instinctively wanted to speak out to stop Chu An from putting himself in danger.

In his thoughts, although Chu Colonel's intelligence was extremely high, his strength was too weak.

Entering the First Level leads to madness in about twenty minutes, followed by suicide.

The Second Level is better; one can hold out for about half an hour.

And Chu An...

If Chu An hadn't personally admitted he was an Awakened One, he wouldn't even sense the other's spiritual energy.

He clearly remembers that the first time they met, Zhang Tie almost killed Chu Colonel with a single punch.

During this time, he hasn't seen Chu Colonel go out to hunt mutants at all.

Impressive—Chu An has gradually polished himself to the peak of the First Level relying on the base's spiritual energy.

Chu An lifted his glasses, his expression unchanged, and said calmly:

"Resolving the Meme incident has little to do with strength."

"Whether you go or I go, if we can't find the problem, being stronger is pointless."

"Sending more Awakened Ones in would be tantamount to suicide."

"You know, as the death toll from the Meme incident rises, its terror increases exponentially."

"It's obvious the white mist will spread faster—just someone nearby wandering in, plus the deaths of our personnel who entered during this time, have worsened the situation."

He shook his head.

Obviously, the Meme incident near the Wangjiang Military Region can no longer be delayed.

An Jing Tian looked at Chu An, wanting to say something but unable to speak.

After a moment, he drew a deep breath, his expression grave, and gave a bitter smile:

"Then you must be careful."

"You are important to Long An—or rather, to Lin An."

"Tell me what you need, and I'll send a few strong squads to cover your advance; if any problems arise, they can respond immediately."

Seeing An Jing Tian's uneasy expression, Chu Colonel merely gave a stiff smile.

"It's fine; don't worry about me."

"I can go in alone."

???

Like an early winter morning.

Before the expanse of white mist, a figure slowly stepped inside.

Behind him, thousands of Awakened Ones watched nervously as Chu An entered the white mist, their faces filled with worry.

Faint, incomprehensible broadcasts echoed in waves.