Stein sat on the sofa, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at the box before him.
Initially, he hadn't noticed any problems because the item had no direct impact on him, and believing it to be valuable, he had kept it with him at all times.
However, when he placed his bag on the hotel table and went to the restroom, he was astonished to find the box inexplicably appearing in his pocket.
He then conducted some tests and discovered that he could not get rid of the box no matter what; he was stuck with it!
No wonder the man in the white robe hadn't touched it himself; it was a hot potato.
Another burden added to him felt like a mountain pressing down, making it difficult to breathe.
After a long period of contemplation, he stood up and dressed himself neatly.
If a way out couldn't be found, there was only one path forward...
...
After Wen Wen shared his deductions with Xun Qing, Xun Qing rolled his eyes and walked to the roadside, smashing his forehead against a concrete pole until it broke.
The others were also speechless. Originally, they only needed to find the person who took the Mist Box and then trap him in this cage.
But who would have thought that an unexpected intervener would appear? Approaching Stein could lead to an attack by Ting's hounds, and Stein could also perform minor time travel. Catching him in a short period was proving to be extremely difficult.
"Well... let's look on the bright side. We originally needed to catch two people; now we only need to catch one," Wen Wen said, raising his hand to break the awkward silence.
George took a deep breath and said, "Everyone, we have no other option but to act immediately."
"I will notify the Nimm City government and have the residents stay in their homes. According to the inscription, in the early stages of the mist, monsters within the mist cannot act in environments without fog. As long as the residents hide, there shouldn't be too many problems for now."
"Next is apprehending Stein. Although time travel ability is tempting, he has now been chosen by the Mist Box and can no longer be utilized by the association. Upon encountering him, there's no need to consider capturing him alive; after he reacts, simply kill him."
"After killing him, do not attempt to touch the Mist Box. I will bring in death row inmates from the local prison to become the Mist Box's next master..."
"Let's move, everyone!"
...
Wen Wen was speeding down the street, but his speed was considerably slower than usual. Due to the thick fog, he needed to maintain a speed below a certain level to avoid crashing into anything.
The so-called visibility of three meters wasn't just for ordinary people; even supernaturals couldn't see very far, and their various sensory abilities were greatly limited.
Judging by the extent of the fog and its ability to obscure supernatural perception, the item was at least a True Order containment object.
If the subsequent monsters were powerful enough, it might even be classified as a Cataclysm-level containment object.
It wasn't strange that Bai Du, an ancient monster who had lived for at least a thousand years, knew the location of the Mist Box. What was strange was why he chose to release it at this particular time.
The item could indeed plunge Nimm City into complete chaos, and if mismanaged, it was even possible to destroy Nimm City entirely. But that shouldn't benefit Bai Du.
After running for a while, Wen Wen stopped and snapped his fingers.
He switched one of his physiques to Tao Qingqing's vampire physique and summoned a large swarm of bats, dispersing them to search for Stein's whereabouts.
The fog could mask scents, obscure vision, and weaken supernatural senses, but it wouldn't affect sound waves. In such an environment, bats could be much more effective than ordinary supernaturals.
After sending the bats out, Wen Wen stood still, waiting for the results.
However, he soon detected something amiss again. He felt that after switching his physique, the fog around him had intensified. After sending out a puppet to investigate, Wen Wen discovered that this anomaly only occurred around him.
As the fog thickened to a certain extent, strange things began to grow within it.
"Monsters from the fog are about to appear... but why are they appearing around me first?"
After a brief thought, Wen Wen understood: the Mist Box was likely very sensitive to the aura of the containment facility!
The change occurred after switching physiques, and the act of switching physiques emitted a faint aura of the containment facility.
It was likely due to this characteristic of the Mist Box that Bai Du had Stein bring it out at this time. If Bai Du hadn't been injured, the current phenomena alone might have been enough to pinpoint Wen Wen's location.
While Wen Wen was contemplating, the surrounding environment had changed drastically. Before, it was nothing but dense white fog, which might have seemed fun to the carefree.
But now, something was clearly lurking in the fog, and things were moving rapidly nearby, yet Wen Wen struggled to determine what they were.
Hissing, whooshing, thumping, squeaking... all sorts of sounds reached Wen Wen's ears. With all his senses restricted, it was difficult for Wen Wen to ascertain what was around him.
However, Wen Wen wasn't overly panicked. The fact that the monsters hadn't attacked meant they feared his strength. Compared to the things in the fog, Wen Wen was more like a monster.
But this situation wouldn't last long. When the monsters gathered to a certain extent, they would inevitably attack Wen Wen.
Distant heavy footsteps could be faintly heard, indicating that a large creature was heading towards Wen Wen. Only when the creature approached a certain distance could Wen Wen vaguely make out its appearance.
The creature was shaped like a giant praying mantis, over five meters tall, with four enormous scythe-like arms in front.
Wen Wen cautiously moved closer and immediately overturned his previous assumption; the thing only resembled a praying mantis, but it was definitely not one.
Where the praying mantis's eyes should have been, there were two massive pustules, and within the pustules, wriggling small worms could be seen. The giant scythe-like arms were covered in twisted tubular worms, and other parts of its body looked utterly absurd.
It gave the impression that since no one needed to see it, it had simply grown haphazardly.
So, Wen Wen retreated a few steps. Ensuring he couldn't see the creature's face clearly, he clenched his fist and delivered a Void Shark Fist. The seemingly mighty and imposing giant mantis immediately shattered into pieces.
The enormous head rolled towards Wen Wen. Wen Wen couldn't help but gag. After blowing the creature apart, it became even more disgusting...