Chapter 62: Mist

What is going on?

Ding Mo's attention was diverted,

and only then did he realize that the Mist had already enveloped them within a mere few minutes.

The streets became disorienting, and even the sound of music coming from some unknown shop in the distance became intermittent, like a radio with a poor signal.

This Mist, coming from who knows where, was clearly not right!

"Be careful, stay alert!" Gu Zixu stared intently at her surroundings with her jade-green eyes.

But after a moment, the situation seemed to stabilize, and nothing happened.

So the group continued forward, only being a bit more cautious.

Ding Mo held Xiao Yu's hand as they wove through the Mist.

The Mist was unnaturally thick.

Half an hour later.

The Mist thinned out a little, but the group stopped in their tracks with grim expressions.

They were lost.

All around them, unfamiliar streets came into view.

The strange feeling in Ding Mo's heart grew stronger.

They had clearly been heading back the way they came, so why did they end up here after walking for so long?

"Where... is this?" Zhang Yunfan seemed to have recovered a bit by now; having sobered up, he looked around, his expression also extremely grim.

Seeing this, Gu Zixu temporarily set him down and took out a map,

but after looking at it for a moment, her eyes widened slightly.

"What is it?" Ding Mo couldn't help but ask.

"We are..." Gu Zixu's lips moved, and she replied:

"If the map is correct, we are currently near the city center."

The city center?!

This sentence caused a long silence in the air.

They had clearly been walking toward the outside, yet they had inexplicably returned to the city center?!

Has space been distorted...

Next, the group tried a few more times and discovered that no matter how they walked, as long as they entered an area where the Mist was thick, they would eventually head toward where the Mist was thin.

And it was very obvious that everyone had noticed: the outskirts of the city were where the Mist was thickest!

This likely meant...

"Damn it!" By the side of the road, Zhang Yunfan cursed weakly:

"What on earth is going on!?"

He looked to the side at Ding Mo and Gu Zixu, who were standing by a car,

"Can you contact the Processing Bureau?"

Gu Zixu pressed a hand to her earpiece, and after a moment, she shook her head:

"We've lost contact."

In front of the Wall,

Lu Tianxu gazed at the Mist gradually enveloping the entire city, his eyes flickering incessantly.

"Attention all units, maintain the highest state of alert!!"

In the Mist, the group walked in vain.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Ding Mo always felt that the light in the Mist was growing dimmer.

Was the Mist too thick?

No... Ding Mo suddenly realized something.

Almost at the same time,

Dong—! Dong—! Dong...

6 times! The bell rang a total of 6 times!

Which meant it was already 6 o'clock!!

How could it be so fast!?

According to Ding Mo's perception, from the moment they set off from the assembly point, only about an hour or so had passed!

Has time been distorted as well... Ding Mo gritted his teeth and shared his thoughts with Gu Zixu and Zhang Yunfan.

"I have the same suspicion." Gu Zixu's expression was slightly serious.

She said: "I'm afraid we must stay here tonight."

It was already 6 o'clock, which meant it was about to get dark.

The Immigration Code stated:

"If you need to stay in this city, please choose any residential area to check into; the security guard belonging to it carries all keys to the residences not yet occupied."

This meant that from now on, they had to find a residential area where they could check in.

Otherwise, when night fell... Ding Mo couldn't help but picture the 'child mannequins' in the Shopping Mall.

When it was pitch black at night, where couldn't those things go?

It was just that,

"Are we really going to spend the night in this city?" Zhang Yunfan muttered, his gaze unable to help but drift toward the distance.

The sky had grown dark, and at this hour, the city was lit up with lights; brightly illuminated restaurants and hotels were everywhere.

Behind the curtains of their private rooms, streaks of bright yellow light leaked out, and amidst the shifting shadows of people, it seemed as if they were clinking glasses!

The night here was clearly very wrong! It seemed even more sinister!

"Time is running out; let's use the map to find a nearby 'Residential Complex'," Ding Mo said.

Although they did not know why they couldn't stay in a hotel or inn, the rules were written that way, so they had best not violate them.

A moment later,

The group passed through the dim streetlights and the quiet intersection, arriving before a Residential Complex.

This appeared to be a mid-range residential complex. High marble steps wound upward around a central fountain, leading all the way to the locked black iron gate of the complex.

At the four corners were carved small streetlights and statues of innocent angel infants. A cultured, elegant atmosphere washed over them.

However, behind the elegant decorations and architecture, within the gaps of the iron gate, there was only a thick fog; coupled with the unmanned Security Booth and the pitch-black, hard-to-see light, it made the interior of the complex look shadowy and indistinct, exuding an ominous aura.

The stone plaque on the gate was engraved with: 【Eastern Provence】

The group arrived at the bottom of the steps and looked up.

The Residential Complex was deathly quiet and shrouded in fog, which made Zhang Yunfan's heart start to beat a retreat.

"Must... it really be this one?" Zhang Yunfan glanced at the dried-up fountain and couldn't help but swallow his saliva as he said:

"How about we pick another one?"

His voice, already lacking vigor due to his injuries, sounded like a faint whisper from the underworld, now laced with fear.

"Other places are too far and are not being considered," Gu Zixu said, shaking her head as she surveyed the complex.

Ding Mo nodded in agreement,

Then, his gaze suddenly shifted toward the end of the road.

There, a team... how should he put it, a convoy of vehicles was driving along.

They were different from ordinary sedans; they were mostly tricycles, snack carts, and other small mobile food carts.

They were loaded with gas tanks, grills, and iron pots—cooking utensils!

It was clearly a convoy of roadside Night Market stalls!

Barbecue, stir-fried noodles, roast chicken, pork rice, and hot pot... and so on.

It was just that, no matter which one it was, there was no one on them!

Those snack carts were driving along the empty streets, "self-driving" toward a certain direction.

Throughout the whole process, no one was involved.

The streetlights shone down upon them, as if guiding their way forward.

"Let's hurry inside," Ding Mo said, his speech slightly hurried after seeing that the others had also discovered this scene.

What happened to the "no Night Market in this city" promise!?

The Night Market convoy was about to pass right by them!

Subsequently, Gu Zixu leaped a few times, vaulted over the iron gate, and found the key from the unmanned Security Booth.

The group filed inside one after another.

Hiding beside the Security Booth, the group watched the convoy pass by.

Suddenly,

An inexplicable fragrance drifted over?

It was... the charred, savory scent of protein being grilled over charcoal!

But it was not the smell of chicken, lamb, pork, or beef; it did not resemble any animal meat Ding Mo had ever smelled.

But it was inexplicably fragrant!

An incomparable temptation, stemming from biological instinct, that made it impossible to resist!

A sound of swallowing came from Zhang Yunfan's mouth. While Ding Mo found it eerie, just as he was about to warn him,

He discovered that his own mouth was also secreting saliva uncontrollably! It wouldn't stop at all; his mouth felt as if it were possessed!

He had no choice but to keep swallowing—"hunger" began to assault his consciousness!

Now that he thought about it, he had basically survived the whole day on unpalatable dry rations; he really wanted to eat something savory and spicy...

A strange thought popped into his mind—he actually wanted to go down and buy something to eat!

Ding Mo was startled and hurriedly concentrated his focus to resist this temptation!

They were already so far away, probably a distance of several dozen meters, yet the scent was still so alluring!

If they had encountered it head-on on the road, he feared... Ding Mo turned his head and discovered that Gu Zixu had already knocked out Zhang Yunfan, who had unconsciously taken a step forward.

Ding Mo had only eaten unpalatable dry rations and had almost been unable to resist the temptation, let alone Zhang Yunfan?

He was injured and had lost too much blood; his resistance to this fragrance would likely be even more difficult.

After a short while, the convoy moved away, and the "fragrance" that exuded an abnormal temptation gradually dissipated.

The group finally let out a sigh of relief.

Only then did they realize with a start that they had already used all their strength just to resist this "temptation" a moment ago.

They had no mental capacity left to think about anything else.