Light Fortress
Chapter 115 - 103 I Just Want to Survive

Chapter 115: Chapter 103 I Just Want to Survive

The descent of the palm made Gu Shen’s whole body shudder.

He instinctively wanted to turn around and counterattack.

The silver light of the Truth Ruler had already started to flicker, but when he turned around and saw the face of the man, all his preparations dissipated, turning into confusion—

A tall man wearing a helmet, his expression resolute, shook his head at him.

Hu Danian?

Gu Shen had never expected... that this guy was still alive.

He was certain that the motorcycle that fell at the entrance of Yuan Dan Street was Hu Danian’s vehicle, but on closer thought... the dried-up skeleton did not match Hu Danian’s robust physical features. The skeleton was relatively thin, and at that time, he had subconsciously believed that the deceased was Hu Danian himself.

Hu Danian was still alive!

This should be the only good news so far.

"Not possible."

Hu Danian communicated this will with his gaze.

So the two of them slowly backed away until they exited the factory area and came to the side of a nearby collapsed stone wall.

Hu Danian crouched in the fog, lowering his voice, "Are you crazy, kid? Why did you run here?"

"..."

Gu Shen felt his words had been stolen once again.

Seeing Gu Shen’s helpless eyes, Hu Danian immediately understood something, his brows furrowed, "Does Shi Li have something to do with this seal case?"

"Yes... more precisely, the Changjiu Foundation."

Gu Shen said meaningfully, "This is all the Changjiu Foundation’s planning... although I don’t know exactly what they intend to do. But if this thick fog were released somewhere else, its lethality would not be so simple."

It sounds crazy, but the fact may be... that today’s dense fog on Yuan Dan Street is just an experiment by these madmen.

The fog spreading across an entire block, immersed long enough, could kill even a Transcendent!

"Who is that dried corpse?" Gu Shen asked, frowning.

"A... person whose name I don’t know. When I saw him, he was on the brink of death, just lying at the entrance of Yuan Dan Street," Hu Danian said with a somber, complex expression, "The dense fog has enveloped Yuan Dan Street and some nearby areas. Those who have inhaled a small amount of the fog show mild symptoms, only being contaminated by the spiritual imprint of the seal, and can recover normally after Dream Interpretation... That poor man must have accidentally entered the core area of the fog, lost his way, and could not find the exit, so he was completely exhausted by the fog, drained of his spirit and flesh."

After hearing this, Gu Shen slowly bowed his head.

When he finally found the exit of Yuan Dan Street, it was already too late to save him... What a desperate situation that was.

"Just now, why didn’t you let me go in?"

Gu Shen continued, "I have already confirmed the presence of the seal... it’s inside those abandoned factories."

Hu Danian looked at Gu Shen with a complex gaze.

If he remembered correctly, Gu Shen’s mission was to track Shi Li, so he must have just entered this block recently, at most twenty minutes, and he found the factories?

This guy really is a genius.

He sighed softly, then extended his hand, "I also confirmed the location of the seal, down to the specific factory... The price I paid was an entire afternoon, and this."

Hu Danian took off the glove on his left hand, and visibly, his palm’s skin texture had developed age spots and layers of wrinkles, as if he had aged twenty years.

"This...?"

Gu Shen’s pupils contracted, incredulous.

"This pervasive fog on Yuan Dan Street can completely disorient anyone within it, even Transcendents are not exempt, and the only way to leave the fog is by luck."

"From my deductions, if all this fog were released, it could envelop half of the old city area... I don’t know why, but the majority of the fog is trapped within that factory, which means, the location of the seal is the most dangerous place," Hu Danian lowered his eyes, his voice tinged with a hint of irony, "My original thought was the same as yours, since we can’t leave Yuan Dan Street, we should destroy the seal and stop this pollution... but merely by touching the inner wall of that factory, my hand... turned into this."

Skin aging.

Flesh decaying.

These injuries are not untreatable... but what’s certain is that, even with the best treatment, Hu Danian’s left hand has aged at least "twenty years" in terms of lifespan.

"I have confirmed that there are no other people in this block. The madmen of the Changjiu Foundation might be reckless, but they wouldn’t stay here just to be consumed by the fog, and the factory that houses the seal doesn’t need anyone to guard it... because no one can enter it." Hu Danian covered his mouth, suppressing his cough, and gasped, "This is definitely not a so-called C-level seal... The Transcendent anomaly inside the factory is at least A-level, beyond what either of us can handle."

Gu Shen was silent for a moment before saying, "But Shi Li entered the factory... that shows the Changjiu Foundation has a unique method."

"You... don’t think you’re some savior, a hero, do you?" Hu Danian’s face showed helplessness, he chuckled silently, stretching out his left hand, "The Changjiu Foundation can get in, can you? Look at my hand... this is what happens when you mistakenly think you’re the protagonist of a novel."

"If I had observed more carefully, I wouldn’t have made such a mistake."

Hu Danian’s hand trembled continuously, but his voice was extraordinarily steady.

"The best thing now is just to wait a bit longer, wait for Shi Li to appear from the factory, and we just need to follow him to leave ’Yuan Dan Street’... As for this damn fog, let the Judges of the Judgement Institute deal with it."

Hu Danian grinned, baring his teeth, "Little brother, take my advice, if you don’t have the strength of Deep Sea Ninth Layer, don’t wade into these troubled waters."

Yes.

Hu Danian was very right.

This was indeed the best method... If everything really went as smoothly as planned, then Gu Shen wouldn’t mind proceeding this way.

He crouched quietly behind the stone wall and suddenly asked this question.

"What if Shi Li leaves the factory and we lose track of him?"

Hu Danian froze for a moment.

"Then... we’ll keep grinding it out bit by bit." he said gravely, "Our spiritual power is much stronger than that of normal people, and we can last longer in this foggy environment."

"You wandered around Yuan Dan Street in the fog all afternoon. The district isn’t large, yet you still couldn’t find the direction... Logically speaking, even if you were to touch the stone walls, trying bit by bit, and moving step by step, you should have found the exit by now."

Gu Shen chuckled softly and slowly said, "Why do you think that poor man from the old city district only found the exit when he was about to die... Do you think that’s a coincidence? Is this street something you can leave by pure luck, or... can only the dead leave?"

Hearing this, Hu Danian felt chilling shivers.

"Since you’ve been searching for an exit in Yuan Dan Street all afternoon, then just now... did you see Shi Li’s figure?" Gu Shen lowered his eyes and asked again, "In this dense fog, both extraordinary abilities and naked eye vision are suppressed to below five meters. We can’t see Shi Li at all, let alone track him... To put it more unpleasantly, even pessimistically, can you be sure that Shi Li is still in that factory right now?"

"Your meaning is..."

Hu Danian’s voice trembled slightly.

"This thick fog has a special barrier, separating people from certain sceneries in front of them... It’s like a blinding method. That’s why we’re going round and round here, because like that skeleton, we are clueless people on Yuan Dan Street... about to die."

Gu Shen calmly said, "But Shi Li is different, I guess the Changjiu Foundation likely has a breathing technique specifically for dealing with fog, allowing one to come and go freely without being disturbed by the fog."

Hu Danian sat on the ground, somewhat desperate.

Only now did he realize... how difficult it was to track Shi Li.

Most likely, the other party had already left.

And he was still waiting here doing nothing.

"Then... what should we do?"

At this point, he could no longer think of a better solution. For some reason, Hu Danian turned his gaze to Gu Shen... Remembering their first meeting at the bar, this young boy didn’t even understand the impact of basic skills like drafting.

Clearly a fledgling in the extraordinary world.

How long had it been?

In the foggy street of Yuan Dan... his analysis was calmer and more objective than his own.

Maybe, Gu Shen had a solution?

As an old pro who had navigated the rivers and lakes for many years, Hu Danian always believed in relying on his own hands in times of crisis, not expecting others to bring him luck...

He felt ashamed for the involuntary sound he had just made.

"I have a way."

Gu Shen contemplated for a long time and articulated slowly, "Actually, the method is really simple, but there’s only one chance... and it must require your full cooperation."

"... Speak."

Hu Danian perked up and quickly sat up.

"All of this is based on the premise that Shi Li hasn’t left Yuan Dan Street and is still inside the sealed factory..." Gu Shen slowly said, "What we know for sure now is that Shi Li doesn’t know there are other people staying in Yuan Dan Street. So, he doesn’t know of your existence, nor mine."

"Of course, we also don’t know what exactly he came to Yuan Dan Street for."

"If we let him complete his mission and leave like that... then it would be at least a day before his next visit."

Upon hearing this, Hu Danian somewhat grasped Gu Shen’s intention.

"You want to... expose yourself deliberately?"

"Exactly." Gu Shen nodded calmly, "But... only one of us will expose ourselves. The other one will launch a surprise attack."

"A surprise attack?"

Hu Danian was stunned. This method was indeed simple... but it carried great risks.

"Those madmen from the Changjiu Foundation, they are all reckless!"

"Shi Li in the records of the Sincere Heart Association is at Deep Sea Fourth Level, but it’s likely a false report; his real strength could be as high as the fifth or sixth level... I’m definitely not his match in a direct confrontation, and even with a surprise attack, there’s not much chance of winning," Hu Danian gritted his teeth, "... this method is too rash. Maybe we should wait a bit longer, if a High Order Transcendent from above comes to break the game, we could still be rescued successfully."

"What if... the fog inside the factory dissipates before they arrive? You know, the Changjiu Foundation are all madmen, daring to deploy sealed items in the old city district, they must be prepared to go down together," Gu Shen said lightly, "Do you want to stay here waiting for a rescue from above? I also want to be saved... but I don’t want to become one of those corpses on the street, nor do I want to put my fate in someone else’s hands."

Hu Danian looked blankly at the young man.

He fell completely silent.

"If you want to live, and are willing to trust me, let me launch the final attack. I am confident I can end this," Gu Shen said softly, "I don’t want to be a savior, nor do I want to be a hero... I just want to survive."