Inside The Black Mist

“This is Xun. She’s Dr. Luoshan’s student.”

“This is Xiaoniao…”

When introducing Xiaoniao, Tianyang’s expression grew somewhat strange. “I thought she was a mechanic before, but now it doesn’t seem like it... So, you’re a Night Walker too.”

Xiaoniao blinked and said, “I never said I was a mechanic. I just enjoy fixing machines; it’s more of a hobby.”

Well, Lao Xu liked planting flowers, the Captain liked drinking and flirting, and having a Night Walker who liked fixing machines wasn’t really that strange...

As Tianyang’s thoughts wandered, Xiaoniao enthusiastically took Xun’s hand. “Sister, you’re so beautiful and gentle. Are you Tianyang’s girlfriend? I never expected him to have a girlfriend like you. If I were a man, I’d be insanely jealous!”

Tianyang coughed awkwardly, and Xun’s face turned bright red.

“No, that’s not the case,” Xun quickly said. “I’m not his girlfriend, and... we should be about the same age, so you can just call me by my name.”

Indeed, women were sensitive about age, especially when the other party was also a beautiful young lady.

No, what I should be concerned about right now…

“Alright, if that’s what you want, I’ll call you Xun.” Xiaoniao’s expression was excited and joyful. “So Xun isn’t Tianyang’s girlfriend, which makes me relieved.”

The surrounding teens were puzzled.

What are you relieved about?

Xiaoniao looked at Tianyang with a beaming smile. “Because I really like Tianyang. When he caught me at the Yunxiang base, I thought, this must be a guardian sent by heaven.”

“Ah, it’s love at first sight!”

“What!”

Both Tianyang and Xun exclaimed in surprise.

Especially Tianyang, who not only turned red but was also flustered.

Xiaoniao took quite a turn there.

“So when I saw Xun earlier, I was worried. What if Xun also liked Tianyang? What if Xun was his girlfriend?”

Xiaoniao placed her hand over her heart and sighed. “Now I’m relieved. Since Xun isn’t his girlfriend, I still have a chance.”

“By the way, Xun, you don’t like him, do you?”

Xun’s heart raced, her ears turned red, and her face was flushed. She was at a loss for words.

“Our Xun doesn’t like Tianyang,” Luoshan said, appearing out of nowhere, placing her hands gently on Xun’s shoulders with a smile.

Xiaoniao’s eyes sparkled. “Really? That’s great…”

“Because our Xun actually loves Tianyang from the bottom of her heart,” Luoshan added slowly.

“Ah?”

“What?”

“What?”

The three young people were stunned, and Xun reacted the fastest. “Teacher, what are you talking about? I…”

Luoshan interrupted her. “Isn’t it? You used your contribution points to exchange for two emergency syringes for him. If that isn’t love, then what is?”

The beautiful, golden-haired, golden-eyed woman smiled at Xiaoniao. “Liking someone or loving someone isn’t just about words. At the very least, it should be like our Xun, putting it into action.”

Xiaoniao took two steps back, seemingly deeply shocked, and bit her pink lips. “I… I will prove myself through action too!”

Wait…

“Alright then, I look forward to seeing your performance.” Luoshan continued to add fuel to the fire.

No, I…

Xiaoniao clenched her fists and suddenly pointed at Tianyang. “Wait for me; I’ll show you!”

With that, the young girl walked away with determined steps.

I said wait a minute. Why did nobody ask for my opinion?

Tianyang was both amused and bewildered.

What’s going on here...

“Let’s go, Xun, we need to prepare too.” Luoshan pulled Xun along in another direction.

After walking a bit farther, Xun whispered, “Teacher, why did you say such strange things?”

Luo Shan laughed and replied, “You’re fine in every way, except that you’re too thin-skinned. If I hadn’t stepped in, your little Tianyang would have been snatched away by now.”

“What are you talking about, teacher? Stop joking around.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t say anything more.”

| Lighthouse Forward Base. |

Upon arriving at the base again, after leaving the station and walking into the base plaza, Tianyang noticed that there were more vehicles and personnel.

Everywhere he looked, there were supply vehicles transporting materials from the fort to the warehouse. These materials would then be sent to the Desolate Valley Town to provide strong support for the upcoming joint operation.

As for the personnel, they included the Night Walker teams that had arrived in batches over the past two days and a group of regular troops trained by the Iron Wall Legion.

There were no Ascenders among the regular troops, but their numbers were large, making them the main force on the battlefield.

The soldiers would operate war vehicles and various heavy weapons, using their numerical advantage to suppress the lower-class dark creatures.

As they walked through the plaza, the base’s broadcast repeated. “Officers with the rank of Second Lieutenant and above, please gather at the base’s operations hall! Officers with the rank of Second Lieutenant and above, please gather at the base’s operations hall!”

Han Shu instructed Yan Bing to organize the men to collect Raven Squad’s supplies from the warehouse, then led Tianyang and the others to the operations hall.

The operations hall was located on the west side of the base. When Tianyang and the others arrived, the hall was bustling with people coming and going.

Upon reaching the designated area for Raven Squad, just as they got settled, the broadcast in the hall started again. “Please be silent; the pre-operation mobilization meeting is about to begin. Generals are about to enter. Please remain calm.”

The broadcast repeated several times before the hall finally quieted down. After a moment, a tall woman with a slender figure stepped onto the high stage.

Her long black hair, parted in the middle, danced lightly in the air with her movements. Even though it was only a profile, her cold and stunningly beautiful silhouette made most people forget to breathe.

Her dark purple military uniform added a touch of stern military aura to her snow-white, cold plum-like demeanor. The golden stars and intricate patterns on her uniform’s collar and sleeves indicated her rank as a general.

Han Shu softly remarked, “The Storm General is here. She’s probably the only woman in the fort I can’t chase.”

Tianyang looked at him skeptically, thinking that the team leader's girlfriend might not be so numerous either.

Han Shu glared at Tianyang, “Are you thinking that my girlfriend doesn’t seem to be many?”

Tianyang quickly shifted his gaze to avoid provoking Han Shu. On the high stage, the female general had already positioned herself in the center, her white-gloved hands resting behind her, standing straight.

Though a woman, she exuded boundless sharpness. Especially her phoenix eyes, with their ink-like black pupils, seemed to radiate a tangible killing intent.

She didn’t speak, her gaze slowly scanning the entire hall. When she saw Tianyang, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Tianyang suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right eye. The starlight within him seemed to be stimulated, its activity reaching a peak.

The faint glow startled Han Shu, who saw a flash of light in Tianyang’s right eye, and the pain vanished without a trace.

The general’s lips curved into a barely perceptible smile. Her gaze left Tianyang and moved on to others.

As Tianyang’s starlight settled down, the faint glow quickly faded, returning to normal.

“What did you do!” Han Shu whispered urgently.

Tianyang looked aggrieved. “I didn’t do anything.”

“I don’t believe you,” Han Shu said, stroking his chin. “That woman on the stage is someone even I can’t provoke. Don’t stir up any trouble.”

At this moment, the female general cleared her throat. “Everyone present should know me. But here, let me introduce myself.”

“My name is Fei Mei, General of Storm, and the commander of this joint operation. Today, I will address two matters.”

The woman, still standing with her arms behind her, her expression cold, continued with a frosty voice: “First, this operation will open the War Rankings. The rankings will be divided into two parts, the squad rankings and the individual rankings. The basis for the rankings is naturally military achievements, so everyone should feel free to go all out and slaughter!”

Tianyang had never heard of the War Rankings before and looked towards Han Shu.

The latter, visibly excited, waved his hand and said, “I’ll explain later. Damn, the War Rankings are finally open. I might be able to move our squad’s quarters to the fifth floor this time!”

The hall buzzed with discussions. Most people seemed to know what the War Rankings were, and everyone’s face was filled with excitement and eagerness, as if they had received a huge stimulus.

At this time, Fei Mei raised a hand.

The hall fell silent again.

“The second matter is that the strategic objective of this operation is to flatten Desolate Valley Town. I believe you have seen the operational plan and know that the Black Prince has appeared in that town.”

The cold and proud general’s eyes shot a cold glint. “That thing is a candidate for the Black King. If left unchecked, a Black King might soon appear in the Inverse Universe, which the fort does not want.”

“So, we must prevent its emergence before the Black King appears! Therefore, I require you to kill every black citizen in Desolate Valley Town without leaving a single one alive!”

The last sentence, delivered with a murderous aura, made the air feel stifling.

At that moment, someone exaggeratedly shouted, “Willing to serve you, Your Majesty!”

Immediately, including Tianyang, hundreds of gazes in the hall focused on that person.

It was an extremely handsome man, smiling broadly, seemingly indifferent to the crowd’s attention, and fixated on the general on stage.

Han Shu whispered, “Remember this fool. His name is Qi Sihao. In the entire Sky Fort, he’s the only one brave enough to flirt with the woman on stage. If one day he gets poisoned and silenced, I won’t be surprised.”

“By the way, keep your distance from him. Foolishness can be contagious!”

Hmph!

Tianyang suddenly felt a bit dizzy, the objects in the hall appearing slightly blurred. After a while, things returned to normal.

The boy then realized that he wasn’t the only one feeling this way; many others had also fallen to the ground.

On the high stage, Fei Mei had already turned and left, clearly connected to the strange occurrence in the hall with her cold snort.

“Ha! She looked at me. After all these years, she finally looked at me.” Qi Sihao, who had been called a fool, was getting up from the ground.

Good grief, he was even bleeding from his nose, probably targeted by the power in the general’s cold snort. Yet despite this, Qi Sihao was overjoyed.

Tianyang’s mouth twitched slightly. Could it be... he really is a fool?

Could it be?