Chapter 228: Chapter 228: The White Fog

Chen Ke and Ying Baiyi stood in the elevator in silence.

Ying Baiyi, bored, leaned against one side, staring blankly at the top of the elevator, while Chen Ke was checking the soul list, examining the big and small soul fragments one by one.

Whenever he crushed a soul, it would not only extend his life but also replenish his lifespan to the maximum limit unconditionally.

The most cost-effective time to use them was when his life force could no longer be replenished by the aura of killing and was nearly depleted. Using these souls could address an urgent need while also expanding the limit.

Moreover, for Chen Ke, souls were a consumable item. He could use them to open doors back and forth between the Great Void and the real world–who knows what else they would be good for in the future.

So, looking at the 42 souls in his hand, he did not crush them all at once. Instead, he picked out the smallest one, placed it in his palm–this soul could sustain him for an additional hour.

“duang!”

The white soul was crushed, like a wisp of white flame, floating out from between Chen Ke’s fingers and pouring into his body. The countdown of his life in the corner of his eye immediately returned to full value, 20 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.

Naturally, Ying Baiyi could not see the soul in Chen Ke’s hands. He only saw Chen Ke open his palm and squeeze.

“What’s wrong with your hand?” Ying Baiyi asked.

“Just a bit of a cramp,” Chen Ke replied evasively.

“Feeling nervous now?” Ying Baiyi smiled.

“Not really…” Chen Ke shook his head.

“You can’t fool me. When a person is highly tense, all their muscles stiffen, and movement becomes rigid. Did you get too tense just now?” Ying Baiyi smiled and prodded.

“The thought of being able to go back soon… I’m somewhat reluctant to leave this place…” Chen Ke said.

“Then you can stay behind after opening the door later,” Ying Baiyi said.

Chen Ke chuckled, and as they spoke, the elevator had reached the ground floor.

As the elevator doors opened, a cold breath faced them, as though a layer of frost had formed in the lobby. Ying Baiyi rubbed his arms and exhaled a breath of warm air, shivering involuntarily.

“What the hell… why is it suddenly so cold?” Ying Baiyi complained.

Chen Ke felt there was something eerie about the situation and immediately activated his Spiritual Vision to scan the surroundings. To his surprise, he saw that Sam and Diana, who should have been near the fountain outside the door, had disappeared.

Other survivors were also nowhere to be seen. Chen Ke’s range of Spiritual Vision scanning could not detect them, which left only two explanations.

The first was that the people had died. That was what Chen Ke feared the most.

The second was that they were forced to leave the hospital, retreating outside the range of Chen Ke’s scan.

“Chen Ke, aren’t you cold? I think you can open the door now. I’ll go and call everyone from outside to retreat together,” Ying Baiyi said.

Without a word, Chen Ke rushed out of the hospital doors, with Ying Baiyi not understanding the situation but closely following behind.

As the two men burst out of the hospital, the scene before them made Ying Baiyi’s heart sink, while Chen Ke was already mentally prepared.

By the fountain lay two bodies and an M14 rifle, a man and a woman… The man was one of the survivors Ying Baiyi had brought with him.

It seemed that an attack had occurred outside after they had gone downstairs, resulting in a gunfight.

It was uncertain what had happened to Sam and Diana. Sam might be alright, but Diana’s current condition was likely more bad than good.

Ying Baiyi pulled out his Spiritual Ability Pistol, and looked up at the sky.

“No… Not bird people…” Chen Ke shook his head, extending his palm to gently touch the white mist at waist height, only to find that the mist didn’t actually exist; it passed right through his palm.

Illusion Technique.

“That’s not right… Chen Ke, this mist… it’s a meme infection! The temperature around us hasn’t dropped…” Once calm, Ying Baiyi, as a level 9 agent, realized something was amiss.

“It looks like something nearby wants to play games with us,” Chen Ke said. Activating his Spiritual Vision, the world in his view turned into a monochrome blue hue.

“Let’s hurry up and leave through the door!” Ying Baiyi urged.

“We have to find them,” Chen Ke refused.

“They are definitely dead, no matter how far they ran! They are just ordinary people. A monster that can release a meme infection of such scale must be at least an A-level… They couldn’t have survived!” Ying Baiyi tried to dissuade him.

“Sam and Diana must still be alive; they must be waiting for us to rescue them.” Chen Ke shook his head, following the bloodstains on the ground forward.

“Chen Ke! Chen Ke… Listen, I know what you’re thinking, but think about it carefully. They can’t handle that kind of thing. Sam would’ve been the first to rush in, and all that would’ve awaited him is death; you know Diana’s condition best, she wouldn’t have survived either… Without Sam, how long do you think the others could hold on…?” Ying Baiyi caught up to Chen Ke, grabbing his wrist.

Chen Ke turned back to look at Ying Baiyi and said coldly, “Then let’s go find their bodies.”

Realizing he was unlikely to change Chen Ke’s mind, Ying Baiyi cursed under his breath and continued forward with him.

Chen Ke followed the bloodstains and bullet casings, finding another male body on the hood of a private car at a street corner not too far away, a survivor who had stayed in the same room as Diana.

Counting them up, Chen Ke realized that aside from the two men Ying Baiyi brought, only Sam, Diana, a female survivor, and two children were left.

If they were still alive, including himself and Ying Baiyi, it meant only the last 9 survived.

“No gunshots heard; Sam is smart, he probably realized ordinary bullets are useless against that monster and would only give away his position with the noise, so he must be hiding,” Chen Ke reasoned silently.

“It’s more likely they’re dead in some corner…” Ying Baiyi sighed.

“Hmph…” Chen Ke shook his head, sensing that the fog seemed to have lightened a bit, and suddenly realized he might be going in the wrong direction.

Perhaps this survivor had panicked and run from the group, dying here, with the creature being the source of the mist; the thinning fog could only mean they were getting further away.

“Ying Baiyi… Fire a shot,” Chen Ke said.

“What do you mean?” Ying Baiyi asked.

“Just shoot something… Fire a shot. Quick,” Chen Ke ordered.

“You maniac… You want to draw that monster over here?” Ying Baiyi instantly understood Chen Ke’s intention.

Chen Ke had intended to fire his own gun, but in a moment of excitement upon obtaining a huge amount of souls in the Administration Bureau’s underground containment facility, he had left his M14 on the control console…

“This is the quickest way. We attract it over and then go around to find the others,” Chen Ke said.

“Hmm… Get ready then,” Ying Baiyi, though reluctant, fired a shot into the sky.

The gun fired with a “bang,” the bullet speeding toward the pitch-dark sky, trailing a white tail of light, like a rocket soaring toward the cosmos.

The silver-white bullet casing fell to the ground, bouncing a few times, and producing a sharp tinkling sound.

The mist thickened.