Epoch of Twilight

Equipped with a mask and map each, Luo Yuan and Lin Feiyan made their way to Hot Springs City before daybreak. They made good time and in less than 20 minutes, they had arrived at the outer ring of the mysterious fog. From where they stood, they could smell a foul stench coming from the city. Also, there seemed to be something binding the fog as it was not spreading further at all.

Luo Yuan looked grim. He said to Lin Feiyan while putting his mask on, "I’ll go in first to see if everything is okay." Lin Feiyan rejected Luo Yuan’s kind gesture and said, "It’s okay, you can follow behind me."

Luo Yuan suddenly felt an intense chill spreading outwards from Lin Feiyan’s body and he immediately took a few steps back. The air around them started getting foggier, and it then turned into tiny ice crystals which slowly fell to the ground. Upon looking down at them, Luo Yuan noticed that even the ground was freezing up. Any fog within 10 meters of Lin Feiyan soon changed to ice crystals and fell to the ground. More and more of the fog started fading and very soon a huge part of it was gone.

Luo Yuan had his mind blown by this! He looked around and was shocked to see that all the fog within 100 meters had turned into a snow. The temperature was nothing less than -30 degrees Celsius now. "Let’s go! The residents did not manage to evacuate when the fog appeared in Hot Springs City. They have been in the cold for too long. I suspect that there will be many casualties." Lin Feiyan spoke while being secretly pleased that she impressed Luo Yuan though she did not show it on her face.

...

Lin Feiyan was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Before the apocalypse, her father was a famous entrepreneur with a net worth exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars. As the only child, she was brought up to be the heir of the business. But, as the start of the apocalypse drew closer, her family’s wealth began to vanish. Eventually, her parents and extended family members were killed by vicious mutated creatures. When she moved to the reconstruction area, all she was left with was her powerful evolved abilities as well as her leadership skills which were basically in her bones due to the way she was raised.

Even since she was appointed as the leader of Hope City, she had clearly been showcasing the wide arsenal of lessons that were taught to her by her parents. Although she was extremely harsh, her overwhelming power meant that everyone in the department was in awe of her. She was quick to hear about Luo Yuan when he managed to discipline the entire department and she was especially vigilant when he was promoted to be the deputy team leader.

Although there already was a deputy team leader before Luo Yuan was appointed, the previous person was very promiscuous and did not care much about the management. He simply obeyed whatever Lin Feiyan said. Although he was labeled ‘useless’ and ‘promiscuous’, working with him was considered a pleasant experience for her.

Meanwhile, Luo Yuan who had just arrived was viewed as overly ambitious despite having superior abilities to his predecessor. When Lin Feiyan was away, he took the opportunity to make Fang Peibin his apprentice and even seduced Wu Qianru. The mission was only two days long and he almost managed to make Wu Qianru his lover before the end of it! That was unbearable!

However, Lin Feiyan was a person with a plan! She would always refrain from doing anything impulsive. Before she embarked on this journey, she had come up with seven to eight different ways to suppress Luo Yuan’s cocky attitude. Unfortunately, he had been low-key the entire way so there was no opportunity for her to show what she had prepared for him. She only managed to use one strategy a while ago when she intentionally flaunted her power. It was a pity that she could not unleash all her abilities which would look too suspicious. Nonetheless, the journey would be a long one so she would have her chances.

...

Of course, Luo Yuan did not know what Lin Feiyan was up to. He was amazed as he was stepping on thin ice. Her evolved ability was extremely useful for this situation and even made their masks redundant accessories. Luo Yuan followed behind her into the foggy area as he was instructed but as they stepped in, something strange was happening. Luo Yuan’s sense was noticeably oppressed! While he could normally sense his surroundings up to 100 meters away, this power was reduced almost by half to about 60 meters. At the same time, he felt as though there was something pressing against his chest.

He became quiet and cautious knowing very well that he was probably stepping into an unknown mutated beast’s territory. It felt like entering into a fairy-tale when they observed the view from the inside as the entire Hot Springs City was engulfed in a fog. This illusion was way beyond his imagination.

In some ways, this would be the first time that Luo Yuan would encounter a real, level seven mutated beast. Although the mutated monsters that he had killed previously were strong as well, it was a totally different and incomparable life form. At least he had the option to retreat if he could not handle the mutated beasts. In reality, you would only live or die when facing a real, level 7 creature.

Because Luo Yuan’s attributes had just been upgraded, he did not have sufficient time to fully adapt to them yet. He could probably only perform at 30% of his full potential. In some sense, despite the upgrade, his unfamiliarity in battle would make his abilities even worse than before. In a real battle which is unpredictable, the crucial thing that determined life and death was one’s responsiveness.

Luo Yuan mumbled to himself suggesting that if he really did not have the confidence to defeat the creature when the time comes, the only thing he could do was to give up the mission and obey to the military’s instructions. After all, Luo Yuan was generally not an impulsive person either. Although the mission was important, life was even more important to him. He could see it clearly that there would be nothing left if he were to die.

Inside the fog, the two of them could see many people knocked out cold on the streets. Initially, Lin Feiyan stopped along the way and attempted to wake them up. However, a few attempts later, she gave up. It was an impossible task.

After a few hundred meters in, there were numerous soldiers who were also seem knocked out on the street. There were hundreds of them along with more than 10 armored vehicles that had crashed into the surrounding buildings. Furthermore, some of their engines were still running which suggests how recent the activity had happened. The soldiers who were investigating the place were stopped before they could reach a thousand meters deep.

"Hot Springs City isn’t small so it’s inefficient to look around like this. Do you have any better suggestions?" Lin Feiyan asked. Luo Yuan looked at the map, pointed at the hot springs lake and said, "It’s impossible that the fog would come out of nowhere. I remember from the notes earlier that this kind of fog is 60% water. Hence, I think the fog could not exist without a water source. My suggestion is that we start at the lake."

Since the city was named after hot springs, naturally one would expect there to be several hot springs around. The temperature of the hot springs in the city was approximately 80 degrees Celsius which meant that there were almost no signs of life inside it. Ever since the reconstruction area was built, the hot spring was widened to a lake so that the people could have access to water nearby.

Lin Feiyan’s eyes brightened up at this thought but soon she felt stupid for not thinking of such a simple thing earlier. She said, "Then let’s go there!"

"Wait, there’s something coming our way!" Luo Yuan said while staring into the fog.

His hearing ability allowed him to hear even the softest of sounds. For example, he could hear mosquitoes flapping their wings if they were within one kilometer of him.

Lin Feiyan listened in doubt but heard nothing. Just when she started suspecting that Luo Yuan was lying, there were heavy footsteps getting clearer in her ears.

It was a gigantic beast! Before it even appeared to them, the ground was already shaking and the buildings in the vicinity were probably damaged by its humongous body.

The sound was getting closer to them at a terrifying speed and it basically only took 10 seconds from the time Lin Feiyan heard it to the point where it appeared in front of them. It was 9 meters tall and 15 meters long with turquoise hair. Its pace was inconsistent though its limbs seemed strong. It was exuding an overwhelming power that could be felt from its aura. As it was charging towards them, there were sharp claws that looked like black machetes appearing from its toes.

It appeared to originate from the feline species based on its attacking style. Although it was completely mutated, its natural habits remained. Luo Yuan stared at the giant beast, tightened his muscles and waited for the right time to attack while grasping his saber tightly. However, before he could even move, Lin Feiyan plunged herself towards the beast at a blistering pace! In an instant, a cold, terrifying aura could be felt from her body once again. There was frost spreading around and Luo Yuan was also affected by the cold. He gave up on his plan to attack and took a few steps back instead.

A figure covered in ice charged towards the giant beast. It seemed like they were going to crash into each other as Lin Feiyan did not look like she intended to stop. Luo Yuan was initially concerned but he soon felt relieved as he noticed that the frost was spreading across the beast’s body and restricting its movements as it was approaching her.

When they were six meters away from each other, the beast could not move at all and even fell to the ground. Next, a small white punch landed on its body. Within a single breath, the giant beast was completely frozen.

Lin Feiyan was seen panting at this moment. Her face was red like it was burning while there was green smoke covering her body. As compared to the chilly weather out there, her body was at a relatively high temperature. It was like she absorbed all the heat from the surroundings into her own body. Even her battle suit was almost burnt! Luo Yuan could smell something burning and guessed that perhaps that was the reason why her clothes were loose so that it could cater to her strange ability.

A moment later, Lin Feiyan had fully recovered and was breathing normally again. She turned around to look at Luo Yuan and clenched her first saying, "This mutated creature is too weak, it should not be the one we are looking for. Let’s go!"