The King of Black Fog

"Arena?" Li Changzhou touched his face, looking out the window perplexedly.

White Beach, breakwaters, and trees in the distance appeared flattened, spanning across a coastal highway.

The university Changzhou attended was in Ming City, an inland city. The nearest coastal city, Song City, was a one and a half hour ride by high-speed train.

He might have slept for one and a half hours, but it was impossible for there to be a direct bus between the two cities.

"I get it," Changzhou put down his hands, crossed them in front of his chest, "it's another illusion."

"It's not an illusion," Qian Xia said.

"Then it's a dream, I am still asleep."

His sister extended her hand and pinched his arm.

"Hiss!" Changzhou bent over in pain, cradling his arm.

"Big brother, listen to me!" Qian Xia's expression was grave.

"You—you wouldn't need to pinch me for me to listen," Changzhou managed to say, wincing.

"This is for earlier when you slapped my butt," Qian Xia still looked serious, "Big brother, the apocalypse is coming."

"The apocalypse? Are you about to say, since it's the apocalypse, Money is useless, and I should treat you to lunch and buy you a juice?"

"We'll talk about that later," his sister didn't outright reject the proposal, "Do you know about mass extinction?"

Changzhou gently rubbed his arm, the pain came quickly and left just as fast.

At that moment, a ding-dong sounded, and a broadcast came on in the bus again.

("Arena 59631" has arrived at the station, please be careful when doors open, and mind your step when disembarking.)

"We should get off first," the girl in the hat spoke.

Qian Xia took a deep breath and nodded in agreement.

Changzhou, seeing his sister was not joking, realized that something was amiss—indeed, ever since he first saw the humanoid black fog, he knew it was only a matter of time before things became strange.

But he didn't expect the strangeness not to be with him, but with this world.

When disembarking, Changzhou glanced at the driver's seat, where there was no one; the instruments were lit on their own.

Once they all got off, the bus immediately drove away, leaving them at the coastal highway's bus stop.

There was no sheltered waiting area, no benches, no commercial or public welfare advertisements, not even a roof—only a bus stop sign.

Quiet, that was Changzhou's first impression of the surroundings.

There were no people, no seagulls, no cicadas chirping, and even the sea was like a piece of glass, still and unmoving; the sun scorched everything fiercely.

"What's going on?" he asked Qian Xia, slightly uneasy.

"Look at the bus stop sign, and you'll understand," the girl with the baseball cap answered.

Changzhou looked at her.

In an instant, he felt as if the universe had contracted, at this moment, at this small bus station, on this girl.

Skin as white as snow, limbs slender and delicate, her neck like a lily, white and elegant.

Her waist slim, and her bosom not overly large, but beautifully shaped like tempting peaches.

Her legs were straight and long, not extremely thin, just slightly plumper.

The most captivating were her eyes, clear and bright, dreamily open, incredibly moving.

An unparalleled beauty, her aura coldly enchanting.

Changzhou's expression, swiftly shifting from uneasiness and tension, became calm and composed, he glanced at the two and moved towards the bus stop sign.

Behind him, he heard Qian Xia whisper, "My brother's started to show off."

Sister!

Whose sister are you?!

"It shows," the girl with the cap replied.

Want to die.

Want to jump into the sea.

Changzhou steadied his emotions, glanced at the humanoid black fog that had been standing in front of the bus stop sign since disembarking.

Not knowing where the face of the humanoid black fog was, if it had eyes, nonetheless it moved aside, giving the space to Changzhou.

With the black fog no longer obstructing, Changzhou's gaze fell on the bus stop sign.

[Station Name: 59631 Arena]

[Terrain: Deserted Island]

[Next Bus Arrival Condition: Fewer than 10 lifeforms remaining on the island]

[Messages from Outstanding Lifeforms in This Arena]

[Message 1: To evolve, or to be destroyed, that is the question (Modern Shakespeare)]

[Message 2: Humans...tasty...baa! (Goat)]

[Message 3: Ad spot for rent (Chubby Chen forever loves Hatsune Miku)]

"It seems there's nothing useful this time," Qian Xia moved closer to him.

"Don't hold out hope, in this game where anyone could become an enemy, nobody will share powerful secrets with others," the girl with the baseball cap also came over.

"I know, but I can't help but wonder," Qian Xia said regretfully.

"You two," Li Changzhou looked at them, "what exactly is going on here?"

The center of the universe turned her head and explained:

"Simply put, nature is preparing for the sixth mass extinction, and a part of life has been chosen to prove its value and obtain the opportunity to survive."

"We've been chosen?" Li Changzhou asked subconsciously.

"No, you haven't. It's your sister who has been chosen," the girl in the baseball cap said indifferently.

Li Changzhou looked toward his sister, and then his sister gave this reason, "It's because you have weak kidneys."

"I—" Li Changzhou started to speak but then stopped, having nothing to say, speechless.

"Carry on, how do we play this game? You two seem to have done this before. Also," Li Changzhou's gaze shifted to the girl in the baseball cap, "what's your name?"

"Oh, finally asked, still pretending it was an afterthought, putting it at the very end of a bunch of questions." His sister sabotaged him.

"Figured as much," the girl in the baseball cap nodded.

"...Can we talk about serious matters?" Li Changzhou disliked Li Qianxia.

"You weren't chosen, but my instinct is 'Twins', whose effect is to pair up with a close person, so I could swipe the card for you, and that's why you're here."

"By the way," Li Qianxia added, "that train ticket was bought by Qing Lan and me with our money—you owe us."

Qing Lan, what a nice name.

"Yang Qinglan." Yang Qinglan said, her tone sounding like she knew what Li Changzhou was thinking and reported her last name to avoid confusion.

"Li Changzhou." Li Changzhou nodded lightly, "not kidney deficient."

"You now also have an 'Identity Card', see what your instinct is," Yang Qinglan seemed uninterested in whether his kidneys were deficient or not.

"'Identity Card'?"

Li Changzhou was puzzled when suddenly his brain recalled something—two things, to be exact.

Meanwhile, Li Qianxia explained, "Since you're here and you know the concept of 'Identity Card', it will come out on its own; let me see your instinct quickly!" she said, somewhat impatiently.

What appeared in Li Changzhou's memory were two cards the size of identity cards, one black, one white.

He first tried to recall the details of the black card, matte with blue fireworks outlining the text.

[Nickname: "Unnamed"]

[Name: Li Changzhou]

[Value: 1 (26/100)] (Twins)

[Instinct: Physical Enhancement] (You are very obsessed with and confident in all aspects of your body)

[Instinct: Twins] (Value fully shared, instinct effect halved, backpack fully shared, money fully shared) (No one likes your brother more than you) (Source: Li Qianxia)

[Skill: "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned"]

[Strength: 5] (Normal person)

[Agility: 5] (Normal person)

[Intelligence: 7] (Genius)

[Constitution: 6] (Average professional athlete)

[Perception: 2] (Normal person)

[Charm: 9] (Leading man)

[Equipment: None]

[Backpack Slot: "Empty", (Li Qianxia: "Mosquito Style Blood-sucking Gun")]

[Money: 0 coins (Li Qianxia: 2 coins)]

"What physical enhancement, it's clearly a third-rate instinct, obsessed and confident about one's body in all aspects?" On the other side, Li Qianxia, whose information was synchronized, cried out.

"If you dislike it, you can refuse it," Li Changzhou said dismissively.

He then focused his memory on the other white 'Identity Card', feeling a bit curious.

[Nickname: "Unnamed"]

[Name: Li Changzhou]

[Value: 1 (0/100)]

[Instinct: Mysterious Black Fog (Unknown·Incomplete)]

[Skill: "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned", "Unlearned"]

[Strength: 5] (Normal person)

[Agility: 5] (Normal person)

[Intelligence: 7] (Genius)

[Constitution: 6] (Average professional athlete)

[Perception: 2] (Normal person)

[Charm: 9] (Villain boss)

[Equipment: None]

[Backpack Slot: "Empty"]

[Money: 0 coins]