People and vehicles moved along the streets, a cacophony of horns, shouts, urgings, cries, and hurried footsteps blending together.

The unease in people's hearts spread like a plague, plunging a good portion of the city into anxiety and panic, especially those areas closer to the repair zone.

Fortunately, hundreds of brightly colored official vehicles were stationed at various corners of the city center, equipped with loudspeakers broadcasting messages in coordination with the city's broadcast system and the efforts of thousands of community workers, guiding the populace in an orderly fashion toward underground shelters.

Ubiquitous surveillance cameras deterred petty criminals and those with malicious intent, discouraging them from crossing the line—community workers were also granted greater authority than usual.

By this time, all residents within the target area had been evacuated. Armed helicopters equipped with searchlights circled above the repair zone.

From the perspective of the airborne command post, thick fog was continuously emerging from the middle of Qianhua Road. This fog was remarkably "dense and heavy," clinging tightly to the ground and spreading like gray moss. As time passed, the fog gradually rose,

reaching a height of twenty meters at its highest point, the center of Qianhua Road.

The strong winds generated by the low-flying armed helicopters did nothing to impede the spread of the fog. Even the high-wattage searchlights mounted on the helicopters' sides failed to illuminate even a meter into the fog.

The fog continued to spread, silently engulfing everything in its path.

Whether it was tall buildings, roadside vehicles, or drones and reconnaissance robots that flew or moved into it along the ground, the fog swallowed them all without discrimination, silently and tranquilly.

Any attempt to gather intelligence from outside the fog bank was like throwing a mud ox into the sea—gone without a trace.

It was as if these mists did not belong to the human world, completely isolated from reality.

Helicopters flew back and forth in the air.

Meanwhile, temporary modular structures had already been erected on the streets near Qianhua Road, serving as operational command posts.

Bright searchlights hung from the tall buildings on both sides of the street. Barricades such as barbed wire and anti-tank obstacles, along with the first line of defense comprised of sandbags and infantrymen with machine guns, were set up in the middle of the road.

Behind the first line of defense was an iron gate spanning the street, flanked by even denser machine gun turrets. Behind the iron gate was a motorized infantry battalion ready to advance at any moment.

These motorized infantry battalions were comprised of assault teams, reserve teams, cover teams, fire support teams, obstacle clearance teams, demolition teams, command teams, stronghold teams, escort teams, special teams, and air assault teams. In front of and behind them were special teams composed of Mobile Task Force units.

Admittedly, against a modern, well-organized force, the destructive power of the players was insufficient to match concentrated firepower. However, the players possessed bizarre abilities and survival skills that a conventional force lacked.

The Mobile Task Force's responsibility was to advance into the fog to collect clues and, when the situation deteriorated, to charge alongside the motorized infantry in surprise attacks (or cover their retreat).

Normally, the personal safety of Mobile Task Force players would be of utmost importance; every player death was a significant loss.

But now, Yanshi was behind them.

Behind the assault formation were rocket launchers, flamethrowers, engineer detachments, nuclear, biological, and chemical defense troops, artillery, mortars, and anti-tank missile systems—teams ready to go.

These teams would provide cover for the assault formation when necessary, serving as the third line of defense after the assault formation.

With teams organized like this, surrounding Qianhua Road in the middle of each street, they were confident they could repel even a fully armed, modern amphibious assault force that emerged from the fog.

The problem was that what they faced might not be "human."

A shrill, piercing, inhuman beastly howl echoed from within the fog. The officers at the forefront of the formation used the searchlights to clearly see what looked like a massive, grotesque, inhuman silhouette swimming within the fog.

The silhouette gradually approached the edge of the fog. Due to the fog, its exact features were unclear, but its body structure was visible.

It was at least seven or eight meters tall, with a deformed, oversized, cone-shaped head extending backward, and a narrow, slender neck (relatively speaking). Below the neck were extremely broad shoulders, comparable to a horizontally placed truck.

Extending from both sides of the silhouette's shoulders were mantis-like forelimbs resembling wind turbine blades, covered in jagged, sharp teeth on both the upper and lower sides.

The silhouette's waist and abdomen also constricted sharply like a mantis. Its hind limbs were hidden within the fog, making them difficult to see clearly.

Behind the "mantis," a dozen or so soft, slender tentacles floated and swayed.

The giant figure standing at the edge of the fog seemed to freeze in place, motionless, except for the tentacles behind it, which moved on their own as if possessing their own consciousness, wildly flailing and projecting fear onto the troops at the front of the formation.

Fear of the unknown, fear of death, was an instinct etched into the very essence of life.

Xing Hechou, the commander of the formation and one of the captains of Yanshi's Mobile Task Force, shouted, telling everyone not to act rashly.

Before he could finish speaking, one of the tentacles behind the figure suddenly tensed and trembled, casually lashing out at a tall building that had been swallowed by the fog.

Boom—

The tall building, half-engulfed by the fog, exploded as if struck by a heavy battering ram. Countless shards of glass and concrete bricks rained down on the barricades in front of the formation.

Xing Hechou suddenly jumped up, holding a tower-like, rectangular, translucent white crystal shield in his hand.

The crystal shield instantly expanded and spread in the air, transforming into a giant crystalline slope resting diagonally on the ground, blocking the flying concrete bricks.

Clang clang clang,

The sound of concrete bricks hitting the shield was like a sudden, fleeting downpour.

Before Xing Hechou could react, the giant "mantis" silhouette seemed to be suddenly attacked, violently tilting backward as if dragged by something. Its two giant forelimbs, comparable to wind turbines, dug deeply into the ground, leaving two deep gashes in the concrete pavement.

“…”

Xing Hechou frowned, watching the turbulent fog gradually return to calm, and remained silent.

Whoosh—

The sound of wind echoed within the fog. Several demonic figures, even larger, more imposing, and more bizarre than the "mantis," silently appeared at the edge of the fog, silently staring at the mortals on the street ahead with pairs of glowing red eyes.

After a long while, the demons slowly retreated. Everyone heard the distinct sound of chains dragging on the ground beneath their feet.

Wan Jia Xiong Meng