The King of Black Fog

Li Changzhou turned off the "Control Dopamine," feeling his thoughts grow heavy, a symptom of decreased intelligence.

He looked at the wild boar carcass at his feet; he had long prepared to butcher the meat, but now he found it bothersome.

Carrying meat would hinder movement;

The game was ending soon;

It was fine to go a day and a night without food in the desert; this time was no different;

He might encounter more animals later;

All these thoughts made him negative and lazy.

After days of research and observation, Li Changzhou found that his 7 points of genius intelligence largely manifested in diligence.

He could put knowledge into action instantly if it benefited him, but with his intelligence lowered to that of an average person at 5 points, he started to find ways to slack off.

While studying, he played with his phone, checked himself in the mirror during classes, thinking how damn good-looking he was, and relied on attribute points and humanoid black mist during training.

He wiped the rainwater off his face, somewhat sobered, and turned to shout over his shoulder to Yang Qinglan, "Give me the dagger!"

They were so close, yet they had to shout to hear each other.

Not to mention the wind, the sound of the heavy rain was loud enough, like being submerged in a flood of noise.

Yang Qinglan handed over the dagger.

"Brother! What are you going to do!" Li Qianxia shielded herself from the arrow-like raindrops.

"Cut some meat! We'll need to replenish our heat and energy shortly!"

"I'll do it—"

"You keep watch!"

Li Changzhou used the dagger to cut out the pig's liver and tenderloin.

He also cut a thin strip of pigskin, using it as a string to tie the meat together.

FInally, he set down Yang Qinglan, stripped off her outer garment, spread out the left half of the pig's fat and skin over her back, and then firmly wrapped her in the garment.

He tossed the right half to Li Qianxia, telling her to put it on.

The pigskin and fat acted like insulators in the cold weather, preventing the loss of body heat.

The pig was lean, its layer of fat only film-like, but it was better than nothing and could later be used to make torches or cooking oil.

Yang Qinglan was only momentarily confused when stripped, but as she faced away from the wind and rain, barely able to keep her eyes open, she understood his intention when she saw him pick up the fat.

"What about you?!" she asked loudly, straining her voice.

Her voice was still soft, as her average constitution could withstand the heat of the desert, but not the chill at this moment.

Li Changzhou didn't speak; he simply smiled and pressed the back of his hand against her icy face.

Yang Qinglan felt a warm comfort.

However, Li Changzhou's touch was icy, tender, and smooth; he almost wished he could press his face against hers to breathe warmth on her neck and fiercely kiss her.

The side effect of decreased intelligence came again—lust.

He quickly withdrew his hand and hoisted her back onto his shoulders.

At that moment, Li Qianxia also had the fat and pigskin situated correctly and, holding the blood-red "Mosquito Style Blood-sucking Gun" in her right hand and shielding her face with the left, continued advancing on the mountain trail against the wind and rain.

"Qian Xia!"

Li Changzhou quickly caught up, falling in step behind his sister.

Li Qianxia turned back, puzzled.

"Your strength is lesser! Aim for the weaknesses! Rely on accuracy and speed for a vital strike!"

Li Qianxia wanted to speak but instead chose to nod vigorously, indicating she understood.

In such strong winds, if she didn't cover her mouth with her arms, her face would be contorted by the wind.

The only sounds were the roaring of the wind; the world seemed on the verge of collapse.

The terrain was getting steeper, the wind fiercer, and the rain thick as fog, blanketing the land.

Exhausted, Li Qianxia turned her face to lean against the rock wall, barely maintaining her stance to rest.

Li Changzhou also halted, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

When he inadvertently looked down, he saw a pair of eyes staring at him from a deep crevice at his feet.

Li Changzhou's body bristled, his originally warm body suddenly shrank as if a candle flame had encountered a gale, almost being blown out.

He instinctively wanted to activate "Control Dopamine," but he forcefully restrained himself.

The person in the crevice, like a ghost emerging from a grave, reached out and grabbed his ankle.

Yang Qinglan's body trembled, and even with such heavy rain and wind, she closed her eyes, buried her face, but still sensed the danger through her exceptional perception.

But before she could react, Li Changzhou rotated his hips, channeled all his strength into his right foot, and kicked out forcefully.

The powerful strength, enough to kick a 140-pound wild boar like a soccer ball, erupted swiftly, striking the man's head and directly kicking him off the cliff.

Li Changzhou gasped for air, his soul still in shock, his heart pounding as if about to leap out of his chest.

The man's hand, clenched like a chain around his ankle, tore off a lone arm that swung ceaselessly in the gale, spilling blood like a red flag in the wind.

He kicked a couple of times and then stomped with his foot to finally kick the severed arm off.

Li Qianxia did not turn around; she hadn't noticed anything.

"Are you okay?" Yang Qinglan asked anxiously.

Li Changzhou took a few deep breaths before replying, "I'm fine."

After a long while, as his heartbeat gradually calmed, he began to lament the loss of the man's identity card.

To cling to that spot in such weather, with such immense finger strength, it was unknown what his instincts and skills were.

If he had used "Control Dopamine," he might have been able to handle the situation calmly, thinking of a good solution.

But he dared not.

He now had an intelligence score of 5, and each use of "Control Dopamine" would consume two points, so he dared not let his intelligence drop further.

In his birth village, there was a woman with intellectual problems who once stuffed peas into her ears while her family members were shelling them.

He had happened to see it and could not understand why she would do such a thing.

Later, the village doctor came and, after much effort and some bloodshed, managed to extract the pea from her ear.

The intellectually challenged woman, held down on a bench throughout the procedure, screamed like a slaughtered pig.

He truly feared the decline of his own intelligence, feeling that jumping off a cliff would be quicker, contemplating to leap down right there.

"Watch your step!" Li Changzhou shouted to his sister.

Li Qianxia nodded again, buried her head against the gale, and moved forward slowly, stepping deep and shallow.

Her face now felt as if it had been beaten stiff.

As they continued upward, the rain lessened and turned into a mix of rain and snow.

Tiny snowflakes mingled with raindrops pelted her face, cold and painful, with hail intervening midway.

Her entire strength was just enough to balance the fierce gale; even a slight increase in coldness or wind force would tip the scales and immediately overwhelm her.

However, seemingly due to the atrocious weather, they encountered no more lurking enemies or animals.

Finally, they reached the ridge, standing at the boundary between the west and east sides.

Li Qianxia stood motionless in front.

Yang Qinglan, her face turned iron blue from the cold, her hair disheveled, looked as beautifully haggard as Lin Daiyu gazing over Li Changzhou's shoulder, puzzled:

"What's wrong?"

As she spoke, Li Changzhou stepped forward two paces, and they both also stood still.

Below the mountain foot lay a lush green earth, with grass densely carpeted and undulating eastward.

A gentle breeze brushed over it in waves, like ripples.

The melting snow from the mountain formed dozens of streams, meandering intricately like tree roots across the meadow.

Near the streams, flowers bloomed vibrantly, a splatter of colors like rainbows laid upon the ground.

The scene in front of them was majestic and beautifully captivating, enchanting, and bewitching, making one's spirit soar and linger involuntarily, utterly enraptured.

Li Changzhou felt as if they had passed through the Heavenly Ladder and arrived in Heaven, and if they waited a bit longer, fairies would come to greet them.

"Hey—, you're so slow!"

The three looked in the direction of the voice. There were no fairies, only a little radish undressed, elf-like, swinging briskly toward them from a nearby cypress grove.