The moon shines brightly.
The bell rang after the evening self-study class, and students walked out of the classroom in groups, chatting and laughing in the night. After a day of suffering, this may be their most relaxing time.
No homework, no teachers, surrounded by a few good friends, they can go home, take a shower, and comfortably climb into bed to rest. Isn't that wonderful?
Among the scattered crowd, a large group of more than ten people suddenly emerged, walking in an orderly and steady manner towards the outside of the school.
In the center of them, a blindfolded teenager was like the filling of a dumpling, tightly wrapped.
This huge group immediately attracted the attention of all the surrounding students.
"To be honest… I can walk back by myself, really." Lin Qiye's mouth twitched slightly, and he said helplessly, "I can see, but my eyes can't tolerate light…"
"No need to say anymore, Lin Qiye!" Jiang Qian interrupted Lin Qiye's words and said firmly, "We promised your aunt that we will take care of you, and we will definitely do it!"
"Yes, Qiye, our homes are in the same direction, it's on the way."
"I'm on the way too."
Lin Qiye:…
To be honest, he now wishes that he was the one being isolated. After staying in the darkness for a long time, he is not used to being cared for by so many people, which makes him uncomfortable.
Of course, Aunt and Yang Jin don't count because they are his family.
But after all, they are well-intentioned, and he can't say anything, so he can only follow the crowd helplessly.
"I will turn right at the intersection ahead, but I can walk with you for a while."
"I have to turn here, so I'll go first. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
"…"
As they got further away from the school, the classmates surrounding Lin Qiye gradually said their goodbyes and left. A few minutes later, only five people were left beside Lin Qiye.
The originally noisy atmosphere gradually quieted down, and the space suddenly became more spacious. Lin Qiye took a long breath of relief.
"Do you guys think… the mist will really resurge and swallow The Great Xia?" Li Yifei, carrying his bag, turned his head curiously and asked.
"Haven't you heard what those experts said? The probability of the mist resurging is very low. Maybe there won't be any changes in the next hundred years. As for what will happen after a hundred years… well, we won't be here anymore, so why worry about it?" Jiang Qian rolled her eyes.
"Exactly, you know, those so-called experts' words are the least reliable. What if we finally get into college and haven't enjoyed life yet, and then the mist swallows The Great Xia? That would be a huge loss, right?"
"So that's why you're slacking off and not focusing on studying?" Jiang Qian walked up to Li Yifei and said seriously, "I have to remind you, Mr. Wang has already said that if you get the last place in this exam again, you will have to move your desk to the front of the podium."
"I know, I know." Li Yifei smiled awkwardly.
"But, I really don't think the mist will resurge." Wang Shao, who was walking in front, suddenly spoke up, "In the end, the mist is just a natural phenomenon. When it reaches a certain critical point, it will gradually dissipate, just like the Ice Age. When the glaciers cover the earth, they will slowly recede as the temperature rises, and a new era will come."
"I know what you're talking about. It seems to be called the theory of natural disasters, and it's quite widely recognized now." Jiang Qian nodded.
"But what if… the mist is not a natural phenomenon?" Just then, Lin Qiye, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.
Wang Shao was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Qiye, you don't really believe those so-called theologians who think that the mist is related to supernatural powers, do you?"
"It's already the 21st century, we should believe in science. There aren't so many supernatural things in the world." Liu Yuan, a classmate, interjected.
Lin Qiye didn't answer. He knows best whether there are things beyond science in this world, but there is no need to tell outsiders about these things.
Li Yifei muttered quietly, "I actually think that if those things really exist, the world would be more interesting."
"Why talk about so many useless things? These things are not what we should be concerned about. Instead of worrying about whether the mist will resurge, it's better to sleep in and enjoy the reality when the three-day holiday comes." Jiang Qian laughed.
"Yes, the holiday is the most practical!"
…
At this moment, in the old city area of Cangnan City.
A man was carrying a sign and walking calmly on the desolate and dimly lit street. The old streetlights cast a dim light, constantly elongating his figure…
He glanced at his phone, walked to a narrow street corner, and stopped.
"This is it…"
He muttered to himself, put down the sign he was carrying, and adjusted it.
Under the flickering streetlights, the shadow of the sign appeared and disappeared, and on the black background, several bright red characters were extremely eye-catching!
– No Entry Ahead!
The man leaned against the streetlight, lit a cigarette for himself, took a deep drag, and put on his earphones.
"Captain, the third sign is in position."
"Received, let's begin."
"Okay."
With a cigarette in his mouth, the man walked up to the sign and placed his thumb on his teeth, biting hard!
A drop of blood oozed from the wound, and the man squatted down, using his thumb stained with blood to draw a long horizontal line on the four big characters of "No Entry Ahead"!
His eyes narrowed, and an inexplicable momentum erupted from him as the center!He looked up at the black night sky, murmuring in a voice only he could hear…
"Forbidden Ruin, No-Restrictions Zone."
The next moment, the bright red bloodstains on the sign in front of him faded rapidly, as if being absorbed. Immediately after, the four big characters "No Entry Ahead" flashed red!
Then, it gradually returned to its original state.
The man sat down on the ground, taking a long sigh of relief, and began to complain.
"Damn it, drained again…"
At this moment, if someone were to look down on Cangnan City from the sky, they would find that near the old city area, three points of light were flickering. Then, using these three points as vertices, a dark red equilateral triangle was quickly drawn!
The moment the triangle was formed, half of the old city area it covered seemed to be gradually erased from the map…
However, from the ground, the old city area remained the same.
At the same time, in the center of this triangle, six black and red cloaks streaked across the sky like lightning!
The man leading the group looked up at the dark red dome of the sky, reached out to grip the hilt of the knife behind him, and squinted his eyes slightly.
"Operation Ghost Face Purge, begin."