Chapter 151: Mystification

I returned to my room clutching the frostbite cream. The coldness of the ointment touched my fingertips, and I couldn't help but wonder if ordinary frostbite cream could really work...

With a hint of doubt, I scraped out some plaster and applied it to the frostbite. As the ointment melted, it brought a stinging warmth. I lay back in bed, memories of my fight with Crampon today flooding through my mind—those cold claws, the faint, salty smell of it.

Although we didn't explore deeply when we first arrived in Tiannan City, I'm certain this monster didn't exist then. It seems the "Ice Claw" appeared later, at least after our fight with Fan Buqiu. It's covered in ice and bears the characteristics of a marine creature, as if it were a mutation from polluted aquatic life.

The source of the contamination doesn't necessarily mean the evil god is watching directly; it could also be the spread of mutants. But tracing back to the source, it's ultimately linked to the evil god. Could it be an evil god associated with the ocean? The thought just popped up, but I suppressed it. There were too few clues right now. The most urgent task was to find the remaining locations in the notebook and expand the Black Dragon Gang as quickly as possible.

Thinking of this, I suddenly jumped up from the bed. After carefully checking the corners of the room and the ceiling to confirm that there was no reflection of any surveillance equipment, I took out the notebook from the interlayer of the bed.

The pool we had visited before was located in Xinyan City, and Tiannan City wasn't mentioned in the Morse code at all. This meant that Tiannan City was likely off Gali's radar.

...It makes sense to think about it this way. After all, the ones who occupied this place before were "Dark Moon" and "Sleepless Embryo Mother".

I closed my eyes and went over the code in my mind: Hanwan should refer to Hanwan Port, which is the closest to here; Binhai City is in the southernmost part, and even using a mirror jump will take a lot of time; as for Wudang, I don’t even remember its approximate location, and now I don’t have a mobile phone or the investigation bureau’s intranet, so I can’t find it at all.

After staring at my notebook and thinking for a while, I decided to take some time to visit the Cold Bay Port.

But before that, I decided to familiarize myself with the general situation of the Black Dragon Gang.

The Black Dragon Gang's current base is the site of the former Investigation Bureau. In order to prevent abnormal units and investigators from suddenly mutating, the entire building complex is full of facilities that isolate special abilities. Even though the facilities were damaged a lot due to internal changes before, some physical isolation measures were not seriously damaged.

Using my abilities to investigate would only cause more trouble in this situation. I simply opened the door and decided to explore for myself.

The Black Dragon Gang isn't large, numbering fewer than fifty. I've seen seven of them, including Bai Zang. There were originally nine of them, who were pulled into the mirror world for "blessing," but unfortunately, several perished in the dock's cold storage. The rest are refugees from the apocalypse, most of whom were driven out of the shelter.

Although the shelter has official endorsement and the Investigation Bureau regularly delivers supplies, it has long been overloaded as the apocalypse has lasted longer and longer.

In the apocalypse, humanity must continue its legacy, and the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled naturally become the targets of exclusion. I sighed inwardly: it's actually easier to establish faith among such people, regardless of whether they are elderly, the weak, the sick, or the disabled.

After a quick tour, I headed straight for Bai Zang's office. He was lost in thought, staring at a map of Tiannan City on the wall. He turned when he heard footsteps, a look of surprise in his eyes: "You're here already?"

"I don't have much time." I responded and sat down directly across from him.

"The information about God you want..." I had just started to speak when Bai Zang's eyes suddenly brightened and he raised his eyebrows with interest.

"Let's get straight to the point. What parts do you want to know?" I looked him straight in the eyes.

Bai Zang pondered for a few seconds and then said, "The end of the world, is it related to the so-called 'God'?"

That's a really sharp question. Bai Zang's insight is greater than I thought.

I nodded in affirmative agreement, my gaze sweeping across the mottled map on the wall. I slowly said, "What we can confirm at this point is that the red mist, the red filaments of contaminants, the unusual scent that spreads at night, and all the other anomalies you've witnessed are all caused by some... existence beyond our comprehension, infecting reality."

I deliberately avoided the absolute negativity of the word "pollution." "As for their true nature, are they good or evil? Using narrow human morality to define them is futile and dangerous. They exist in completely different dimensions and logic from us, just like stars and ants."

Bai Zang's brow furrowed, his eyes sharp as a hawk, capturing every subtle meaning in my words. "Infection? Are you saying these... 'gods', their very existence is a disaster?"

"More accurately, when they 'appear' or 'move', their 'essence' creates...ripples in our fragile reality."

I chose a relatively neutral word, after all, I had previously pretended to be a god and blessed him. If I were to completely deny those gods here, I would be denying myself.

Bai Zang narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was digesting what I said.

I paused, trying to describe it more intuitively. "Imagine a being you can't understand, or even fully perceive. Just the 'aura' emanating from its very existence can cause a dimensional crushing of us."

As I spoke, I picked up the pen next to me and drew a few simple sketches on the paper.

"The red mist, the filaments, the strange fragrance—these are all byproducts of these 'gods.' Their unconscious 'existence' is a devastating disaster for us." I paused, deliberately adopting a grave tone. "Some 'existences', their very manifestation, are accompanied by madness and destruction, like walking natural disasters. They may not intend to harm, but their mere presence is enough to cause everything around them to collapse. We call these... 'evil gods' or 'the Old Ones,' not because of their evil will, but because the very nature of their 'existence' is extremely poisonous to us."

A heavy silence fell over the office. The faint light from outside filtered through the dusty reinforced glass, casting a dark shadow on Bai Zang's face. His fingers, resting on the map, curled slightly, their knuckles turning white.

"So... this is what your 'relevant department' was fighting so hard against?"

"Yes and no." I met his inquiring gaze. "The place I was in was indeed established in the early days to deal with these abnormal phenomena, attempting to understand, contain, and even utilize them. But later on... the direction changed. Some of them, driven by desperation and curiosity, tried to establish connections with certain 'existences'."