Streams of people and vehicles moved along the streets, a cacophony of honking, shouting, urging, crying, and running feet.
The unease in people's hearts spread like a plague, throwing nearly half the city into anxious disarray. The chaos was more pronounced the closer one was to the repair zone.
Fortunately, hundreds of brightly colored official vehicles were parked at various corners of the downtown area. Their loudspeakers, in conjunction with the city's broadcast system and thousands of grassroots workers, helped maintain order as the crowd moved towards underground shelters.
Omnipresent surveillance deterred those with malicious intent from stepping out of line. Grassroots workers were also granted greater operational authority than usual.
By now, residents of the target area had all been evacuated. Several armed helicopters equipped with searchlights hovered above the repair zone.
From the aerial command observation post, dense fog was seen continuously emanating from the middle of Qianhua Road. This fog was particularly "sticky and heavy," clinging to the ground and spreading like gray moss in all directions. Over time, the fog gradually rose.
At its epicenter on Qianhua Road, the fog had reached a height of twenty meters.
The gale generated by the low-flying helicopters did not disturb the fog's spread. Even the high-wattage searchlights mounted on the helicopters failed to penetrate more than a meter into the dense miasma.
The Misty Territory continued its spread, silently engulfing every obstacle.
Whether they were skyscrapers, roadside vehicles, drones flying into its depths, or scout robots advancing along the ground, the Misty Territory consumed them all. It did so without a sound, quiet and serene.
Any attempt to scout the Misty Territory from the outside was like a clay ox entering the sea: it vanished without a trace, never to be heard from again.
It was as if these mists did not exist in the human world at all, completely cut off from the Mortal Realm.
Helicopters continued to patrol the skies. Meanwhile, on the ground near Qianhua Road, command posts had already been erected using temporary modules.
Bright searchlights hung from high-rises on both sides of the street. The middle of the road was cordoned off with barbed wire, anti-tank caltrops, and other barricades, forming the first line of defense, which included sandbag emplacements and machine gunners.
Behind this first line stood a large iron gate spanning the street, flanked by even denser machine gun turrets. Positioned behind the gate was a battalion of motorized infantry, ready to advance at a moment's notice.
These battalions comprised assault, reserve, cover, fire support, obstacle clearing, demolition, command, holding, escort, special, and airborne assault teams. Additionally, special squads from the Mobile Detachments were integrated both ahead of and behind these formations.
While the destructive power of players was clearly no match for the concentrated artillery fire of a modern, organized military force, their cunning tactics and survival skills were assets that conventional units lacked.
The Mobile Detachments were tasked with advancing into the fog to gather intelligence. Should the situation deteriorate, they were prepared to charge alongside the motorized infantry or cover their retreat.
Ordinarily, the personal safety of Mobile Detachment players was paramount, as the death of any player constituted a significant loss.
But now, Yin City lay directly behind them.
Positioned behind the assault formations were rocket launchers, Flamethrowers, engineering corps, CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) defense soldiers, artillery pieces, mortars, and anti-tank missile systems, all ready for deployment.
These units would provide cover for the assault formations as needed and also formed the third line of defense, positioned after the initial assault teams.
With such defensive arrangements ringing Qianhua Road from various streets, they were confident they could repel even a fully armed, modern amphibious landing force emerging from the fog.
The problem was that what they faced might not be "human" at all.
A shrill, loud howl, unmistakably bestial and unlike any human cry, erupted from within the dense fog. Illuminated by searchlights, those at the vanguard of the defensive perimeter clearly saw a colossal, bizarre, non-human silhouette moving as if swimming through the fog.
The silhouette gradually approached the edge of the fog. Its specific features remained obscured by the mist, but its bodily structure was discernible.
It stood at least seven to eight meters tall, possessing a grotesquely large, conical head that extended backward. Its relatively narrow and elongated neck sat atop incredibly broad shoulders, as wide as a horizontally placed truck.
Extending from either side of its shoulders were mantis-like forelimbs, resembling the blades of wind turbines. Both the upper and lower edges of these limbs were lined with jagged, sharp serrations.
The silhouette's waist, much like a mantis's, tapered abruptly. Its hind limbs were hidden in the dense fog, remaining indiscernible.
Behind this "mantis," a dozen soft, narrow tentacles floated and writhed.
The towering figure at the edge of the fog seemed frozen, motionless. Only the tentacles behind it stirred, moving as if with a will of their own, flailing wildly and casting a pall of dread over the troops at the forefront of the defensive line.
The fear of the unknown and the fear of death are instincts inscribed into the very essence of life.
The commanding officer of the perimeter, Xing Hechou, who was also one of the Captains of the Yin City Mobile Special Response Team, shouted, "Hold your positions! No rash movements!"
Before his words faded, one of the tentacles behind the silhouette suddenly tensed and vibrated, then casually lashed out at a skyscraper already partially devoured by the Misty Territory.
BOOM—
The skyscraper, half-swallowed by the Misty Territory, erupted as if struck by a heavy siege hammer. Its outer walls burst, sending countless shards of glass and concrete bricks showering like a torrential downpour toward the barricades at the front of the defensive line.
Xing Hechou leaped up. A tower-like, rectangular, semi-transparent white crystal Shield had appeared in his hands.
The crystal Shield instantly extended and expanded in mid-air, swiftly transforming into a massive crystal ramp angled against the ground, blocking the incoming debris.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sound of concrete and bricks striking the Shield was like a sudden, violent downpour that just as quickly subsided.
Before Xing Hechou could react, the giant "mantis" silhouette recoiled as if suddenly attacked. It was dragged backward, its two enormous, wind-turbine-like forelimbs gouging deep scars into the concrete roadway as it was pulled away.
...
Xing Hechou frowned, watching the turbulent fog gradually settle back into silence, his expression unreadable.
WHOOSH—
A gust of wind rustled through the fog. Then, several figures, even larger and more grotesque than the "mantis," silently materialized at the edge of the Misty Territory. Their pairs of glowing red eyes stared quietly at the mortals on the street below.
After a long moment, the demonic figures slowly retreated. Everyone distinctly heard the sound of chains dragging across the ground, as if from beneath their own feet.