28: Chapter 28 First Blood

Everyone's heart gave a sharp twitch at this soft sound.

The cloying floral scent mixed with the stench of rot to form an indescribable, eerie odor that surged in with the dense fog, aggressively assaulting their sense of smell and making them feel nauseous.

Among the girls on the right side of the carriage who had chosen comfort, a few couldn't hold it in and immediately started dry-heaving, covering their mouths.

The resentment and unwillingness on their faces had long vanished, replaced by an intense, soul-deep fear that could not be dispelled.

The unknown is always the root of fear.

And at this moment, just outside the open carriage door lay a death trap shrouded in pink fog.

"Everyone, quiet!"

Just as the atmosphere was about to slide into the abyss of panic, Fang Che's cold, calm voice instantly steadied everyone's nerves.

He didn't even twitch an eyebrow, calmly raising his hand to make a tactical gesture, his gaze immediately turning to Mu Waner beside him.

Mu Waner's face was also deathly pale; that smell made her stomach churn violently.

She bit her lip hard, using the pain to stay clear-headed.

She knew this was the first moment to prove her value, and she absolutely could not mess up! Her heart was already in a chaotic panic, but she had to keep a composed front!

Meeting Fang Che's gaze, she nodded heavily, suppressing all her fear and discomfort.

The next second, she opened her eyes!

Her gaze pierced through the layers of pink fog, precisely locking onto the source of the smacking sound outside the carriage door.

Perched on a mangled corpse that was unrecognizable, there was a strange creature over half a meter long, its entire body a grayish, decaying color that was almost identical to the ground.

Its skin was constantly undergoing mimetic adjustments.

If it weren't for the Eye of Analysis locking onto its life information, it would have been extremely difficult to spot it at first glance with the naked eye!

[ Name: Mist-Hiding Beast ]

[ Level: LV1 ]

[ Attributes: Strength 2, Agility 5, Constitution 1, Spirit 1 ]

[ Skills: Environmental Mimicry, Weak Corrosive Saliva ]

[ Weakness: Fear of bright light, acute hearing ]

"Three meters to the right outside the door! A LV1 Mist-Hiding Beast!"

She didn't hesitate, immediately lowering her voice and conveying the key information to Fang Che as quickly as she could.

"Strength 2, Agility 5, Constitution and Spirit are both only 1 point! Very fragile! Its skills are Mimicry and Weak Corrosive Saliva; its weaknesses are light and acute hearing!"

Her voice trembled slightly with nervousness, but her words were incredibly clear, instantly giving all combatants an intuitive understanding of the threat outside.

After reporting the monster's information, she took a hurried breath and immediately added: "The real danger is the fog! The Eye of Analysis indicates that the fog contains trace amounts of neurotoxins and is corrosive; prolonged exposure will continuously weaken spirit and cause hallucinations, and equipment durability will also slowly decrease!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hearts of all the girls who had switched to low-level fiber armor gave a sharp jolt.

[ Special Effect 2: Anti-Poison! Reduces damage from plant-based toxins by 20%! ]

The equipment's attributes flashed in their minds.

So that was it! He had already anticipated all of this!

At this moment, the gazes of the fifteen girls in the left queue as they looked at Fang Che's back changed completely. In them, besides awe, there was added a sense of almost blind trust.

In the right queue, the faces of Li Wei, Lin Xinyi, and the others turned paler than the dead in an instant! They clutched their noses and mouths tightly, their bodies instinctively shrinking backward, treating the pervasive fog as a lethal poison.

The jealousy they had felt toward the high-quality equipment had now completely and utterly transformed into immense fear of death and endless regret for their initial choice.

For the first time, they felt so intuitively that the so-called safe zone and the land of death outside were separated only by a line they had drawn themselves, called cowardice.

And now, this line was telling them in the cruelest way possible that safety could never be bought by cowering.

Fang Che understood.

A LV1 mob, its only threat was mimicry. The core of this dungeon was quick combat and environmental resistance.

His gaze fell upon Jiang Ning, who was already eager to act.

Having just been roughly pressed against the wall and scolded, this unruly woman now needed nothing more than an opportunity to re-prove her status as the top combatant.

He needed Jiang Ning to cut open the first bloody path into the new world for the team.

Fang Che nodded slightly toward Jiang Ning.

No words, no commands, just a meeting of gazes.

Jiang Ning instantly understood his meaning, and her wild eyes erupted with a terrifying brilliance.

She grinned, revealing her stark white teeth, her smile filled with bloodthirsty excitement and a desperate eagerness to perform. She couldn't hold back anymore: 'I've been waiting for this chance to show off!'

She silently responded with two words using her mouth shape.

"Watch me."

Only then did Fang Che turn to the dense fog in front, issuing an order in a tone devoid of any emotion.

"Kill quickly."

Two words, unlocking the shackles of a beast.

Jiang Ning tightened her fingers, the cold hilt of the extra-produced standard katana almost embedding into her palm.

She crouched slightly, her muscles tensing instantly, and her sturdy tactical armor let out a faint creaking sound.

The air, sweet yet reeking of rot, not only failed to make her uncomfortable but instead stimulated her blood to boil.

Now!

Under the gaze of everyone in the carriage—whether awe, anticipation, fear, or jealousy—Jiang Ning moved!

She stomped her right foot hard against the ground, the metal floor emitting a dull thud, and she charged out, body low and aggressive!

The moment her figure stepped out of the carriage door, it was completely swallowed by the viscous fog.

The carriage was dead silent for a second.

Immediately following—

Squelch!

A dull sound of a sharp blade slicing through some kind of tough tissue came from the depths of the dense fog, clear as day!