Lauren hurriedly ran out of the town's borders and silently let out a long sigh of relief.

He could endure the poverty and confinement caused by the pervasive gray fog and restricted movement!

He wanted to walk freely in the sunlight. Those people from the Fog Lock faction were all liars, spouting nonsense about fog being a blessing from God!

Why did God cover their eyes?

On those nights, Lauren would always hear a voice in his ear saying to him: Come quickly, come quickly.

After crossing another small hill, Lauren arrived at the woods on the outskirts of the city.

He seemed to hear that voice calling to him again: Come quickly, come quickly.

Lauren felt even hotter, and scalding sweat slid into his eyes, stinging slightly.

A firefly flew in front of him, as if guiding him in the right direction.

Lauren's body was no longer under his control; he simply walked forward stiffly, into the boundless night, under the crimson moonlight.

The annoying, ubiquitous fog seemed to transform into a thin veil, gradually tearing apart, breaking apart, and being left behind as he moved forward.

Lauren thought he had finally escaped the gray fog; he was free.

That's how it should be.

But why are his eyes so painful, and why are his limbs out of control?

Sweat streamed down Lauren's forehead as he realized that the voice that had been calling to him all along was probably not a messenger of light, but rather a voice trying to drag him into hell.

Lauren felt a pang of regret; he wanted to go home. He should have listened to Greta.

They were all demons; the demons seduced him.

Just when Lauren was in utter despair, a man dressed like a savage grabbed him.

The man asked, "What's your ID?"

Lauren opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

The man muttered, "An NPC? He doesn't look like he's been poisoned. I wonder if the locals have any antidotes."

The man looked at Lauren as if she were a big, fat sheep.

Little did he know, Lauren was even happier than he was.

If this stranger is sacrificed, will he be able to return to the embrace of the gray fog?

The night grew even darker.

-

Greta tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, because of her childhood sweetheart's escape.

But she dared not move around in the room, fearing that her family downstairs would notice something was wrong.

At that moment, Greta suddenly heard a deep, hoarse voice, a voice that seemed to come from the sky yet was right next to her ear.

The voice said:

"The clock of time in the Divine Tower struck seven times, its deep sound piercing through layers of clouds and mist. The messenger of the gray mist, invited by the heavens, came to protect you on your journey and clear away the thorns along the way."

It was like a divine revelation.

Greta sat up abruptly, her eyes widening in shock.

Before she could even consider whether she was hallucinating from excessive worry, she heard seven solemn and sacred bells ringing out.

Greta was deeply moved. She immediately changed from sitting to kneeling, put her hands together on her forehead, and prayed devoutly.

"God has mercy on mankind."

-

Day 2

A clay bodhisattva crossing a river can hardly save itself.

Xia Ning used a bottle of [Basic Nutritional Agent] before her stamina returned to 116.

Today's drops were [Turbid Nutrient Solution] and [Basic Antidote].

The little sister blinked her big, bright eyes as she watched Xia Ning prepare breakfast.

After putting on a show last night, Xia Ning wasn't in a hurry to make her appearance; after all, she needed to maintain a certain air of sophistication.

She did her morning exercises and ate breakfast in the cabin before wiping her mouth and preparing for the next day.

"There are currently 9 out of 10 players remaining on this map."

One player was lost in just one day?

Xia Ning knew that the player had not died of natural causes, and the fog debuff was not that severe.

"Gurgle~ Gurgle~"

The little sister flapped her wings and swayed in front of Xia Ning, then tilted her head and looked outside.

Xia Ning: "You want to take me somewhere?"

younger sister: ヾ(?Θ?)〃

Xia Ning patted her bottom, stood up, and said, "Let's go."

She opened the wooden door and let her younger sister lead the way.

Her sister led her downhill, in the direction Lauren had fled. In the woods on the outskirts, there was a stream. The water was not clear; on the contrary, it was murky and foul-smelling.

Xia Ning thought to herself, "Luckily, I brought my own food and water."

Otherwise, you'll be drinking foul water and eating savage meat, leading to food poisoning sooner or later.

Xia Ning followed the stream deeper into the water and was surprised to find a scarecrow in front of her.

There are no farmlands here and no need to scare away crows, so why would someone erect a scarecrow?

Xia Ning stopped in front of the scarecrow and cautiously used her [Greatsword] to split it open.

Then she saw that the scarecrow's interior was not supported by wood, but by a human skeleton!

A circular magic circle was drawn on the top of the skull with black ink, and the sunken eye sockets were filled with green vines that seemed to shimmer faintly.

The cold wind swirled up withered leaves and grass clippings, stirring up the thick fog that rose early in the morning.

Xia Ning couldn't help but shudder. Just what kind of world was this dungeon set in?

She initially thought it was a zombie apocalypse scenario, but instead, she found a scarecrow containing a real skeleton, with a game instruction line on the skeleton—

[Saints (Digested)]

Xia Ning rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

Calling this thing a "saint" is absurd. The key point is that it's not "transformed" but "digested." What digested it?!

"Gurgle~ Gurgle~"

The younger sister called out twice more.

Xia Ning looked in the direction of the sound, and then she found it in the bushes—

Lock pick (can open all locks, 2 uses remaining)

It's a game item.

Xia Ning picked up the prop and turned around again.

...The scarecrow, along with its skeleton, has disappeared.