“Lately, there have been very few Grey Fog Creatures on the outskirts. If we run into any, we need to kill them quickly. Don’t waste time and let others see us.”
“Nowadays, people have ten thousand reasons to snatch your things!”
“It’s one thing if we can’t beat them, but getting robbed is truly frustrating.”
Zhao Jun, who was driving, reminded them, his tone filled with resentment.
However, after saying this, he clearly paused, and his eyes involuntarily looked back through the rearview mirror.
He happened to make direct eye contact with Su Aoxue.
“Cough, cough. I actually forgot about you. With you here, we could even go steal other people’s prey.”
Zhao Jun laughed awkwardly and looked away, finally letting his gaze rest on the Life Monitoring Instrument on the passenger seat.
Su Aoxue said nothing to this.
The Life Monitoring Instrument couldn’t have any major obstructions, otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to monitor.
However, the monitoring range was over 100 meters, while their visual range was only about 10 meters.
Thus, it became exceptionally useful in the open Gray Mist World.
“Is it on?”
“Brother Jun, same as always. It’s a bit slow to start up,” Jiang Yi said while fiddling with the Life Monitoring Instrument.
“It is an old piece of junk, after all. Take it slow, don’t break it.”
Zhao Jun sighed and then focused on driving.
Su Aoxue glanced at the Life Monitoring Instrument on the passenger seat.
Judging by its worn appearance and obvious signs of repair, the model was very old.
It was likely several versions behind the Life Monitoring Instrument shown by the academy; the one the academy displayed was the latest version.
With an old version like this, there was a risk of it smoking and exploding when a large number of life signatures appeared.
After a glance, Su Aoxue continued to look out the window, appearing very quiet.
Or rather, the atmosphere inside the entire car was very quiet, as no one was there to liven things up.
……
In the blink of an eye, nearly 2 hours passed, and Su Aoxue’s group had gained nothing during this time.
Along the way, the most common things they encountered were other patrols like themselves.
Grey Fog Creatures? They hadn’t seen a single one!
“Is this situation normal?”
“It doesn’t seem right, does it? How can we not encounter even one?”
Shi Lei rubbed his buzz cut, his expression looking a bit off, and a hint of fear seemed to leak into his tone.
The faces of the others in the car didn’t look much better, each with a different expression.
“It really is a bit strange. I just hope nothing big happens…”
Zhao Jun gripped the steering wheel slightly, his expression also appearing a bit worried. He was now in his 40s.
As a veteran who had fought in this Base City for 20 years, his abundant experience of over two decades told him that the number of these Grey Fog Creatures should absolutely not be this low!
At the very least, they shouldn’t go the entire way without seeing a single Grey Fog Creature!
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Jun suddenly spoke up. “Grey Fog Creatures aren’t very intelligent; they only hunt based on instinct. It’s impossible for those beasts not to approach the Base City, unless…”
At this point, Zhao Jun’s voice became heavy. “Unless a Commander Level Grey Fog Creature has appeared and issued orders to them!”
Zhao Jun voiced his worst suspicion. If a Commander Level Grey Fog Creature appeared on the outskirts of the Base City, it would be anything but good news. It could easily cause a Gray Mist Tide to siege the city.
But after saying this, he let out a breath, and his tone suddenly became lighter.
“Of course, that’s just the worst-case scenario. However, there’s no shortage of outsiders joining the patrol teams lately, and many A-rank Warriors have been deployed as well.”
“It’s also possible that those teams formed by A-rank Warriors are killing them too aggressively.”
Zhao Jun had a smile on his face, but it looked somewhat forced.
Although they knew there might be a risk of encountering a Gray Mist Tide, they still had to continue taking risks.
They couldn’t just go back empty-handed.
A driving time of just 2 hours meant they weren’t actually that far from the Base City; they could still continue further into the depths of the Gray Mist.
In Zhao Jun’s view, everyone present was someone who had experienced great storms, so he took the initiative to bring up the risks.
His meaning was more than clear—in his heart, he still hoped the team would move forward to look for opportunities.
Until Zhao Jun finished this series of words, the other four people in the car didn’t react much.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that no one suggested heading back.
Shortly after Zhao Jun finished speaking, the Life Monitoring Instrument suddenly let out a beeping sound.
“A life reaction has appeared. Two dots,” Jiang Yi, who had been watching the monitoring instrument, suddenly spoke up.
However, his tone wasn’t that excited because such things had been very common over the past 2 hours. What the Life Monitoring Instrument detected were people, not Grey Fog Creatures.
“I hope it’s Grey Fog Creatures this time. Otherwise, Old Zhao, we really should head back,” Shi Lei scratched his buzz cut, finally unable to stop himself from saying, “Continuing any deeper is too dangerous.”
“Don’t worry, Lei. I’m familiar with this area. Nothing will happen.”
As Zhao Jun spoke, he glanced at the Life Monitoring Instrument and stepped on the gas pedal to the floor.
Shi Lei seemed like he wanted to say something else, but in the end, he remained silent.
In the back seat on the left by the window, although Su Aoxue’s expression didn’t change on the surface, his fingers, hidden between his legs, were constantly twirling around each other.
‘From what they’re saying, is the probability of a Gray Mist Tide high? Did I encounter such a high-risk event the first time I came out to make money?’
Although Su Aoxue, sitting by the window, looked cold and indifferent, he had actually been listening intently while Zhao Jun was speaking.
After all, as a newcomer who was still in school and hadn’t truly experienced combat in the outer areas, listening more and doing less was the only thing he could do.
‘That muscular guy named Shi Lei seems to be feeling a bit afraid?’
‘Tsk… I hope the worst-case scenario doesn’t happen.’
Su Aoxue thought worriedly. Although he knew the danger was high, he really didn’t want to return empty-handed either.
Just as Su Aoxue’s thoughts were drifting, Jiang Yi’s voice suddenly rang out, filled with unmistakable excitement.
“The results are in! Based on the physical data and behavior, there’s a very high probability that they are Grey Fog Creatures!”
“Finally, we can start our business!”
“Get ready for combat. Try to kill them in a short amount of time, then we’ll go find the next one!”
Zhao Jun, who was driving, said excitedly, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.
In the passenger seat, Jiang Yi also began to load the Kinetic Pistol.
The perception range of Grey Fog Creatures was far stronger than that of humans, and those two Grey Fog Creatures had long since noticed the people in the car.
As they drove over, those Grey Fog Creatures were also rushing toward them.
As the two sides drew closer, Su Aoxue tilted his head to look and could already see two creatures glowing with red light appearing about 10 meters away.
Those two Grey Fog Creatures were roughly 2 meters tall, less than 3 meters, with somewhat thin bodies that were nevertheless full of power.
They stood on two legs, their bodies hunched, and had about one to four eyes.
Their skin was greyish-white and hard, and their four arms were broad.
The outer layer had grey armor that looked like actual plate armor, capable of forming a shield. Ordinary firearms would be unable to break their defense.
At that moment, a gunshot rang out. Jiang Yi, who possessed an Augmentation-type Ability, held a pistol out of the window and fired the first shot.