The King of Black Fog

Ringing silence.

A deserted island without any sound, like a skeleton of ruins remaining, gloomy, terrifying.

"Your acceptance is strong," said Yang Qinglan softly from behind.

It wasn't strong; he had been frightened to the point of softness when he first saw the human-shaped black mist.

Then he was scared stiff again when he saw it standing beside his bed in the middle of the night.

After a week like this, anyone's acceptance would be strong.

"Just trying to act tough in front of my little sister," Li Changzhou brushed aside the branches blocking the path.

From the traces along the way, there once were animals living on this island. Where had they gone now? The world sure is mysterious.

He thought of something and while remaining vigilant of his surroundings, he asked, "This 'Value Game', it can't be told to outsiders, can it?"

"It can," Yang Qinglan's concentrated gaze was also drifting around.

"Then why didn't you tell me in advance? Could've let me prepare," Li Changzhou was even more puzzled.

"The information we already have provides no help for the mission, it only increases unease and anxiety."

Li Changzhou nodded.

He couldn't exactly say he trusted Yang Qinglan yet, but since even his sister hadn't taken the initiative to tell him, there must not be any help in it.

"Bro, are you scared?" The whisper-like voice of Li Qianxia came from behind.

"My back's all soft, what do you think?"

"Your back? Could it be because of overindulgence?"

"Can we move past this topic?" the brother said helplessly.

"But you just saw the doctor today, you're at your worst with kidney deficiency," Li Qianxia reasoned.

"Reject blind obedience, escape authority, don't blindly believe in doctors," Li Changzhou criticized sternly.

After the conversation, Li Changzhou's tense emotions and body eased somewhat.

After another silent advance, he stopped.

"What's up?" asked Yang Qinglan, who was focusing on the left, as she turned her head.

"Change direction," said Li Changzhou.

Yang Qinglan looked ahead, at the trees, bushes, narrow path underfoot, and the scorching sun overhead, no different from the previous scenery.

Li Qianxia, wary of what was behind, also looked over: "Bro?"

"Didn't notice anything, but intuition tells me to change direction," he paused then added, "You can also think I got scared."

After a silence of a second or two, Yang Qinglan said, "It doesn't matter which way we go."

The three of them changed direction, leaving the beaten path, wading into the river of wild grass.

Li Changzhou suddenly changed direction because the human-shaped black mist walking ahead had come to a sudden halt.

Over the past week, the black mist had also experienced such "disconnects", but in this environment, Li Changzhou couldn't help but care.

After they changed direction, it was as if someone returned to their computer from a toilet break, the black mist character moved again, indistinguishable whether it was walking or floating as it followed the three.

The silent path regained its quietness, exuding a contemplative atmosphere.

Then, rustling sounds, one strip after another of track-like grass blades broke free from the soil, bushes, and tree trunks.

The grass blades were densely covered with arrow-like sharp spikes.

The blades danced in the air, the spikes reflecting sunlight, casting an unnerving cold light, the path a chaos of demons, like the jagged maw of a shark.

Soon, the grass blades, like snakes, climbed to hidden spots in every direction of the path, and the forest was silent once more.

Having left the path, Li Changzhou slowed his pace, hoping the black mist would move ahead, but that fool kept following them, light and floaty like a ghost.

"Should we take a break?" Li Qianxia, wiping sweat, asked the others.

There were many trees around, they had been walking in the shade, but it was not cool at all, rather it was like a steamer.

Yang Qinglan glanced at Li Changzhou, who was leading the way; he was under more pressure than the other two, bearing a greater burden on his body.

"Go there." She pointed to a trench about ten meters away, which looked like it had been carved by a stream.

Li Changzhou let out a sigh of relief and strode forward.

He joked, "Rather than being so jittery, it might be better to let the enemy show up early and just..."

"Bang!"

A gunshot!

The bullet whizzed past Li Changzhou's shoulder.

"Damn!"

"Run!"

There was no time for chatter; the three of them sprinted off, pushing against the ground.

"Bang!" Another deafening gunshot followed.

The bullet struck the trunk of a tree behind Li Qianxia, shattering the bark and sending splinters flying in all directions.

Li Changzhou had never run so fast in his life; the wind, nervousness, and gunshots felt like knives tearing at him, making his face go numb.

With a whoosh, he was the first to slide into the trench.

After quickly catching their breaths, Yang Qinglan and Li Qianxia also dropped in beside him.

"Qian Xia!" Li Changzhou struggled to swallow his saliva but couldn't swallow anything, "Are you okay?"

Li Qianxia just shook her head, too nervous to speak, her pale face and rapid breathing said it all.

"Two shots... sniper rifle... that direction." Yang Qinglan's words were shaky as she weakly pointed in a direction.

Without showing his head, Li Changzhou risked a glimpse in that direction.

Nevertheless, their adversary raised his gun and fired another shot, sending dirt from the trench into the air.

The freshly fired bullet, smoking in the soft earth, had a pungent odor of gunpowder that filled the air.

"The other side's marksmanship is off, probably just exchanged for it after the last game," Yang Qinglan said after recovering, and like Li Changzhou, changed from leaning against the sides of the trench to lying prone on the dirt slope.

"Why don't you guys exchange for guns?" Li Changzhou looked at her.

"After each mission ends, the items and privileges one can exchange for are different," Yang Qinglan explained quickly.

Li Changzhou nodded.

Sure enough, it was all information of little practical use.

He glanced at his sister again; Li Qianxia was holding the "Blood-sucking Gun," trying to calm her emotions with deep breaths.

He looked away and, raising his voice slightly towards the direction of the sniper, he shouted:

"Brother! We've got three people here, close combat, a scout, you're a sniper, how about we team up? It's almost a guaranteed win this game!"

Yang Qinglan looked at him and said calmly, "I don't team up with people whose character isn't guaranteed."

Li Changzhou smiled, his smile tinged with inevitable nervousness, "First we fool him, if he's good, we cooperate; if not, we kill and take the gun."

Yang Qinglan's eyes, clear and attractive, looked him deep in the eyes, probably thinking... whether he's good or bad is uncertain, I know what you're like.

"Brother, what's your decision?" Li Changzhou shouted again.

The response was another gunshot, the exploded mud splattering onto Li Changzhou's hair.

"Fuck your mother, don't you know using a gun is illegal!" Li Changzhou was done being polite.

Yang Qinglan's brow furrowed slightly under her baseball cap, "My team doesn't allow swearing."

Li Changzhou shouted at the sniper again, "I love you! Baby!"

"Bang!" followed by another "Bang!" the opponent fired two shots in succession.

"See that? It's a fact: civility doesn't bring peace, only war can assure civilization," Li Changzhou panted.

Yang Qinglan took off her baseball cap, shook it to remove the mud splattered by the two shots, and at the same time, she turned to ask Li Qianxia, "Is there something wrong with your brother's brain?"

"No," Li Qianxia had also regained composure, lying on the slope like the other two, "The doctor said he's perfectly normal!"