Ordinary people, Lone Wolf Players, and secret organizations were all compelled to act around the supernatural event occurring in the Misty Territory of Yin City.
Eventually, the ascent of the Mirage Dragon shattered the agonizing wait.
Everyone, including the Special Affairs Bureau agents stationed around Qianhua Road, stared at the sky agape.
The semi-vapor form of the Mirage Dragon stretched endlessly out of sight. The Drought Demon, sitting on its back, constantly emitted a solemn and majestic radiance akin to the sun, brightening the city below as if it were daylight. It was as though dawn had broken.
No one tried to follow the Mirage Dragon to stop her from leaving. She first rose slowly above Yin City, circling as if searching for something. Then, before the Special Affairs Bureau's helicopters could get near, the Mirage Dragon stopped hovering and bolted into the sky at terrifying speeds.
Her flight was so fast that neither helicopters nor the most advanced fighter jets could catch a glimpse of her tail. They could only silently watch as the semi-vapor Mirage Dragon flew higher and higher, blending into the stars.
As per past practice, supernatural incidents with no significant impact were simply covered up. Minor supernatural events were routinely obscured with reasons like road construction, demolition of dilapidated buildings, or traffic accidents. For major, damaging supernatural events, they could only be concealed with explanations such as chemical plant accidents, mudslides, landslides, or other natural disasters.
But now, facing a supernatural event witnessed by the entire population of the Eastern Hemisphere, what excuse could be made? Surely they couldn't claim that billions of people had collectively succumbed to hysteria?
The Special Affairs Bureau did not have the manpower or resources to erase the memories of all these people...
Of course, right now, people even more anxious than those in the network supervision division were the Special Affairs Bureau personnel stationed in the Qianhua Road area.
According to information previously relayed by Ash, the Mirage Dragon's departure signified that the Demon Prison would lose its "prison guard." The demons inside would then be released from their greatest constraint...
All weapons were aimed at the Misty Territory around Qianhua Road and its vicinity immediately.
The agents on the front lines, their palms slick with sweat, gripped their weapons tightly.
The thick fog ahead did not dissipate directly after the Mirage Dragon had left; instead, it gradually faded away bit by bit.
One minute, two minutes...
In the uneasy wait, the first to emerge from the Misty Territory were not the anticipated demons, but squad after squad of elite teams previously dispatched by the Special Affairs Bureau into the mist...
These players had clearly experienced intense combat. According to them, they had been wandering in the shallowest layer of the Misty Territory, never getting a chance to delve deeper.
Halfway through their exploration, the number of demons scattered throughout the mist—most of whom had shackles on their feet—began to decrease. Some team members even witnessed demons being dragged away by the shackles on their feet, pulled into the depths of the dissipating mist and into the ground itself.
Subsequently, as the mist further dissipated, the members of the elite squads inexplicably found themselves transferred to the area around Qianhua Road.
Both the elite squads and the Special Affairs Bureau were dumbfounded and confused.
Minutes later, to their astonishment, they discovered the fog around Qianhua Road clearing at an accelerated pace. Within a few short breaths, it completely vanished, revealing the city's original appearance and the excavation marks left on Qianhua Road's surface from prior construction.
There were no demons, no Demon Tide—it was as if nothing had happened.
Was this... the end?
The Special Affairs Bureau was hesitant. After members of the Heterodox Academy amped up the output of the River Map Array, they tentatively concluded: the Demon Prison seemed to have escaped...
Furthermore, according to the reports from other cities' River Map Systems, the Demon Prison, carrying residual Energy from the Misty Territory, was moving rapidly underground, quickly heading west.
Eventually, it stopped near Kunlun Mountain.
Regardless of how the Special Affairs Bureau would react, no one in the city noticed that several figures appeared in the corners of Yin City as the Mirage Dragon departed.
"This is really... thoughtful."
Li Ang, floundering in the sea, exchanged a helpless, wry smile with Miss Chai, who was floating on the surface.
When the Drought Demon and Mirage Dragon left, they hadn't forgotten the players who had intruded. Nor had they forgotten the ordinary people—the Datura patients dragged into the Misty Territory by the Datura organization—or even some of the unlucky individuals previously engulfed by the mist.
They swept everyone up with the mist and, in passing, took them out of the Misty Territory.
Moreover, the Drought Demon seemed to know what the players wanted. Instead of dumping them all in the abandoned subway station teeming with Special Affairs Bureau members, it scattered the players along the coasts of Yin City. This was mainly because Li Ang had helped open the door. As for why they were thrown into the sea, that was likely the Drought Demon's small punishment for their attempt to pollute the Mirage Dragon.
As for the unconscious ordinary people, they were all placed in a certain part of Yin City Port.
From Li Ang's position, he could clearly see port authorities discovering the comatose group that had suddenly appeared. He believed it wouldn't be long before Special Affairs Bureau officials arrived to rescue them.
PFFT—
Li Ang spat out a mouthful of seawater. He strained to see the other players also soaked in the sea in the distance but didn't greet them. Instead, he called over Miss Chai, asking her to drag him like a fish towards the shores of Yin City.
The System's notification about the mission's completion chimed in his ear, but Li Ang, submerged beneath the surface, paid it no mind.
Lying beneath the water's surface with his eyes open, he gazed through the shimmering light at the perfect full moon in the sky, where a black speck had suddenly materialized.
This world... it's getting more and more interesting...