Chapter 244: Fog Mountain Sanatorium

The air in the training room was as viscous as coagulated plasma.

Ouyang Feng was shirtless, his lean muscle lines forged like steel, sweat streaming down, reflecting a sharp glare off his skin.

He wielded the Death Dragon with fierce vigor, the blade cutting the air and emitting a sharp screech.

Each slash, each sweep carried a resolve as decisive as burning one's own boats.

He closed his eyes, replaying the scene inside the Tai Tao City Air-raid Shelter over and over in his mind.

Chen Shao's scarlet left eye casually rewrote the laws of physics, shocking him to his core.

That sense of helplessness was like a poison sting, piercing the proudest corner of his heart.

"Again!" he growled low, his blade moving even more fiercely, as if to tear that humiliation apart together with the resistance of the air.

The blade's flash flickered like an angry black dragon, roaring as it surged toward the void.

Yet each imagined "heavy strike" was met with a chest‑thudding tremor like a muffled thunder, an illusion of being struck by an unseen force.

"Just this is not enough," he stood braced on his sword, his chest heaving violently.

The flame of resentment in his eyes not only failed to extinguish, but burned ever brighter.

He knew that Chen Shao possessed power sufficient to dominate the laws of physics.

It was a terror that transcended bodily limits, surpassing ordinary weapons.

And he, Ouyang Feng, once the Federation's ace, could only, like a brute, use his flesh to resist that inhuman might.

This realization scorched his reason.

During a break, he opened the training room door, and a flood of noisy voices poured into his ears.

In the Corridor, several action team members whispered, their conversation like a dull blade, slowly yet precisely cutting through Ouyang Feng's attention.

"Did you hear? Jiang Yuan is leading a team into the Fog Mountain Sanatorium Weird Domain."

"Really? A place as terrifying as the Weird Domain, and they still intend to go in voluntarily."

"There's no choice; the Director issued a death order, this time we must bring back the Anomalous Property Items. After all, Jiang Yuan is a master of the Weird, and he also possesses Anomalous Power, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Jiang Yuan. The Shadow Lord whom Wei Gong held in high expectation.

Ouyang Feng's eyes darkened. He had seen Jiang Yuan in action and knew that the young man also harbored a power beyond the ordinary.

A kind of power he had long coveted.

He did not linger in thought, heading straight for the Director's Office.

"Captain Ouyang! How did you… Sss!"

The guard outside the office, midway through speaking, inhaled a cold gasp and instinctively stepped back two paces.

The man before him exuded an aura as heavy as an ancient, unchanging black iron, each step bearing a crushing pressure.

He wore a combat suit over his shoulders.

Ouyang Feng ignored the guard and pushed the office door open directly.

"Wei Gong!" his voice was hoarse, bearing the fatigue of overtraining, yet infused with an undeniable will.

Wei Gong sat at the desk, a cup of clear tea beside him, wisps of white vapor rising.

He didn't lift his head, but leisurely set down the brush in his hand, the tip leaving a vigorous mark on the rice paper.

"If the mind is unstable, the characters will be written poorly," Wei Gong said lightly.

Ouyang Feng ignored those irrelevant words, his gaze fixed straight on Wei Gong's eyes, which seemed cloudy yet actually perceived everything.

"I heard Jiang Yuan is leading a team into the Fog Mountain Sanatorium Weird Domain."

Wei Gong finally lifted his head; in those eyes there was no surprise, no blame, only a calm scrutiny.

"Yes, this is part of the Night Watcher Project."

"I want to join," Ouyang Feng said, his tone as concise as a blade drawn from its sheath, without any hesitation.

Wei Gong set down the tea cup, lightly tapping the desk, producing a low thud.

"Your current mindset is unsuitable for undertaking such a mission."

"Director, I need power," Ouyang Feng stepped forward, the aura of self‑torturing training, saturated with blood and iron, instantly filling the entire office.

His fists clenched tightly, his knuckles whitening from overexertion.

Wei Gong's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly.

"Rashly confronting the Weird, you may die. Even, you may mutate," Wei Gong's tone sounded like stating an indisputable fact.

"Die?" Ouyang Feng scoffed, his voice laced with unabashed sarcasm, "I'm not afraid of death. I want to become stronger."

"I need to experience the Weird firsthand, to master it. The Night Watcher Project is precisely to find a New Human who can wield the Weird. I must become that candidate."

Wei Gong studied him, silent for a while. In the office, only the light tapping of Wei Gong's fingertips on the desk remained.

That tapping sounded like weighing, calculating.

Finally.

"Fine," he finally spoke, his voice calm and strong, "Since that's the case, I give you this chance. But remember, it is your own choice, and the price you must pay."

Ouyang Feng did not hesitate, replying in a deep voice, "I understand."

"Go then, prepare to depart," Wei Gong waved his hand, picking up the brush again, as if everything had settled.

Ouyang Feng said nothing more, turning and leaving.

He knew this was not merely a mission, but a high‑stakes gamble, wagering his life and his future to chase that power.

When Ouyang Feng arrived at the landing pad, the transport aircraft's engines roared loudly.

Jiang Yuan, Liang Wen, and the trembling Li Qi were already in position.

Jiang Yuan wore a brand‑new Black Combat Suit, his back straight, his gaze calm and focused.

The custom Card Bag at his waist swayed gently in the wind, a flash of cold metal glinting. He was like a blade sheathed, ready to be drawn.

Liang Wen sported a sleek black windcoat, wearing fingerless gloves, adjusting his hair in front of a mirror.

He mutters words under his breath, as if rehearsing some kind of entrance proclamation. His over‑the‑top, chuunibyou demeanor forces a strand of absurdity into the tense atmosphere.

Li Qi curls up in the corner, gray‑white mist flickering around him, his face filled with despair and fear.

He hugs his knees, his body trembling uncontrollably, occasionally letting out a few tiny whimpers. He is like a broken doll shrouded in shadow, dragged harshly into this storm.

Ouyang Feng, bearing a long sword, makes his final entrance.

He looks at no one, nor does he speak to anyone.

His gaze merely sweeps over Li Qi, lingers for a brief second, then walks straight to the rearmost corner of the transport aircraft, backs against the cabin wall, and closes his eyes.

He exudes a chilling aura that says "keep away," separating him from this world.

The transport aircraft begins to glide, then suddenly accelerates, the hull shaking violently, finally soaring toward the heavens.

Outside the porthole, the sea of clouds churns, an orange‑red sunset being devoured by an endless lead‑gray cloud layer.

As the flight altitude climbs, a peculiar oppressive feeling seeps through the hull.

After a long while.

Li Qi suddenly opens his eyes; his pupils contract sharply, his complexion drained of color.

He trembles as he looks toward the porthole at the area shrouded in dense Gray Mist.

There, a black mountain range with blurred contours slowly rises from deep within the clouds.

It resembles a lurking giant beast, silently opening a Bloody Maw.

"Mist… Fog Mountain Sanatorium…"

His body convulses violently, as if he has seen the most terrifying sight.

The black mountain range, wrapped in Gray Mist, is like a projection of hell upon the mortal world.