Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 81: Mutation

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Mutation

The Sacrificial Blood Village is gone.

The only person still alive is Lu Bingyan.

Four streams of blood-red mist gather in the air, and the surrounding scenery quickly fades.

Mountains, grass, sky... everything in this world, except for them, turns black and white.

Then, the surrounding scene shatters like a mirror fragmenting, and Bai Yanliang isn’t seeing this for the first time. Thus, this time he observes carefully, watching... the process of the world collapsing.

Black... white... monotonous crumbling fragments fill every corner.

Bai Yanliang looks into the distance, seeing the sky already fragmented, the world a spread of black and white...

But just then, Bai Yanliang’s pupils suddenly shrink!

Even encountering a ghost would not cause such a severe emotional fluctuation, so obvious that even Yu Sheng sensed something was wrong with Bai Yanliang.

Though Yu Sheng was shocked by such a scene for the first time, she was more concerned about Bai Yanliang’s abnormality:

"Are you... okay?"

She followed Bai Yanliang’s gaze into the distance, not finding anything unusual.

Bai Yanliang did not answer her. At this moment, he truly felt a surge of shocking emotions.

Because what he saw just now... was a person!

Someone other than them!

Not black and white, but just like them, colorful and alive!

Bai Yanliang was sure that what he saw was definitely not an illusion.

Because... he and that person made eye contact!

It was a woman, a very young woman, her expression indifferent. She seemed, like Bai Yanliang, to be pondering the collapse of this world.

Then, her gaze met Bai Yanliang’s, and in that instant of eye contact, Bai Yanliang immediately felt the shock and incredulity conveyed in her indifferent eyes.

It seemed... she did not expect there would be other people in this world either.

However, she quickly disappeared, vanishing in a way very familiar to Bai Yanliang because... a blood-red mist completely enveloped her, exactly like the Fog Gathering.

Shock, questions, confusion, suspicion, Bai Yanliang experienced unprecedented intense emotions at that moment, even feeling his heartbeat intensify significantly.

Unfortunately, his time was running out too, as the blood mist descended, an eerie space emerged, and a vague human figure gradually appeared before Bai Yanliang.

He... returned to the Fog Gathering.

"Li Mu!"

"Great! You guys are back safely!"

Li Mu’s safe return made everyone very excited; his presence was like a shot of adrenaline.

Yet, at the same time, someone mentioned:

"It’s a pity... Teacher Yu can’t come back..."

"Yeah, and Huang Yourong... also Su Qian, they persisted until the end, but their names suddenly faded just now..."

As Li Mu was receiving everyone’s congratulations, his expression changed suddenly, and he looked up into the void.

Sure enough... Su Qian’s name was gone.

Yu Sheng and Lin Yan looked unbelievably into the void. How could this be?

"Her name faded just now?" Bai Yanliang asked.

"Yes... just now, one minute ago." Someone glanced at Bai Yanliang and lamentably said.

Bai Yanliang, Yu Sheng, Lin Yan, and Li Mu exchanged glances. If it was in the last minute that she died... then the reason was obvious.

She committed suicide.

Perhaps she had long been dead, at the moment Yu Hanzhou was killed by a ghost, she was already dead.

"Forget it... let her..."

Li Mu had experienced too much of this; he was about to offer some comfort to everyone but was suddenly interrupted by a voice.

"Li Mu, your name... seems to have become a bit strange?"

What?

Everyone was drawn to the voice, looking at the names gathering in the void.

Yet, one glance left everyone stunned.

What is going on?

Li Mu’s name is still first, still in red.

But... now it’s very pale, the color much lighter, looking like... it could fade away at any moment.

"How could this happen?"

Li Mu himself was completely at a loss. He had survived in the Fog Gathering for the longest time, but he had never seen this situation before; moreover... this happened to him.

"Does it mean Li Mu might be dying? If our names fade away, doesn’t it mean being killed by a ghost?"

This theory gave everyone the chills, does it mean Li Mu... is about to die?

But soon, someone countered: "No, I actually think this might be a good thing, maybe... Li Mu is about to leave the Fog Gathering? Think about it, we were sent into past worlds by the blood mist because our names were hanging there, right? Now that Li Mu’s name is half faded, if it fully fades, perhaps he will completely escape the Fog Gathering!"

The more this person spoke, the more excited they got, and the crowd, reconsidering, suddenly felt that what he said was not unreasonable!

Li Mu had survived a long time in the Fog Gathering, and this sudden change might indeed be a quantitative change leading to a qualitative change!

But no matter how the crowd debated, Li Mu himself wasn’t so optimistic; a qualitative change resulting from a quantitative one was very possible.

But it could also mean... moving from "simple" difficulty to "difficult."

No one knows what might happen in the Fog Gathering.

In truth, surviving this time was entirely because Bai Yanliang discovered a rule to eliminate that giant fierce ghost.

Though that rule remained vaguely defined for Li Mu even now.

If it weren’t for Bai Yanliang, that huge mountain-like ghost devouring everyone without incident would’ve been inevitable...

Thinking of this, Li Mu walked towards Bai Yanliang, extending his hand:

"Thank you, Mr. Bai."

The sincerity in his words was apparent to everyone, making them even more surprised.

Him again?

Last time, he took on the role of the resentful spirit, solving a task that was already impressive. This time, with Li Mu as the resentful one, he once again found the only way out!

Bai Yanliang.

This name finally resolutely etched itself into everyone’s mind.

Bai Yanliang shook his head slightly; if he were the only one, there was no way this could have succeeded.

Yet, as he was about to say something, a huge repelling force surged up.

Everyone knew the time was up.

...

Ye City, Qingyi Street No. 169.

Bai Yanliang pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard.

Though only a moment had passed in reality, three days had gone by in the Fog Gathering.

Even for him, there was now a deep sense of exhaustion.

Sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard, he was about to read for a while but unknowingly fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was already evening, the darkness deep, the courtyard filled with the night wind, and Bai Yanliang raised his head, not spotting any stars in the city sky.

Gao Fei was very busy, still not back.

Looking at the lonely courtyard, Bai Yanliang felt a fleeting sense of being in a different world.

He took out his phone, glancing at the time; it was already 12:30 in the morning.

Just as he was about to put down the phone, a call from an unknown number suddenly came through.

Thinking for a moment, Bai Yanliang pressed the answer button.

"Hello."