Inside The Black Mist

"Captain, you need to come and listen to this," said a member of the Sun Spear Squad, poking his head out of the Falcon vehicle.

Adam looked over. "What's going on?"

The team member's face looked troubled. "We can't contact the base, and we're receiving some strange signals."

Strange signals?

Tianyang suddenly had a bad premonition.

Adam walked over quickly. After exchanging a glance with Yun Ze and Wang Liangyi, they followed him. Finally, Tianyang and Gu Gang also squeezed next to the vehicle.

The vehicle's door was open, and the control panel in the cockpit was playing a voice message, "...It's so dark and cold... Where is this? Someone come save me. Can anyone hear me? I need help..."

The voice was mixed with electronic noise, with poor signal reception. There were occasional sharp, scratching sounds against the wall, adding a sense of terror to the message.

Hearing this message, almost everyone could imagine a scene; in a dark and cold space, someone was anxiously seeking help while something nearby scraped a sharp object against the wall, filling the air with danger and fear.

Adam tapped on the control panel screen, trying to switch channels, but each one received the same message.

"This is very abnormal."

Adam jumped out of the vehicle, his thick brows nearly knitting together. "All channels are being interfered with. If that's the case, we won't be able to contact the base. At least, real-time communication will be difficult."

Yun Ze asked, "Is it possible to contact the source?"

The team member in the vehicle shook his head. "Tried, but there was no response, only a mechanical repetition of the same content."

Adam turned back and said, "Then send an encrypted message to the base. That's the only way we can proceed."

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The team member nodded and began drafting the message.

Tianyang squeezed in. "I just remembered something. I was once involved in a Star Pillar recovery mission. During the mission, we received a distress signal. But it turned out that the signal was sent by a type of dark creature. It posed as a living being and was able to interfere with electronic signals. I’m not sure how it managed to do that."

Adam's face tensed. "Are you suggesting that the signal we're receiving now might be interference from a dark creature?"

Tianyang nodded vigorously. "It's very likely."

Yun Ze exclaimed, "If that's the case, their goal must be to isolate us. My God, is this something dark creatures can do? Are they capable of tactics?"

Adam wasn't surprised. "High-level dark creatures are intelligent beings, so it's not surprising that they can use tactics. Mr. Wang Liangyi once said that there are three Shadow Knights in Gemstone Town. Those beings have the ability to command dark creatures. It’s normal for them to use certain tactics. But I didn’t expect that dark creatures would have the kind of ability Tianyang mentioned."

Tianyang stepped forward. "If we don't eliminate the interferer, we won’t be able to contact the base. Even if we send encrypted messages, I doubt they won’t be intercepted by the dark creature. Here’s the plan, I’ll find and eliminate the interferer. I know what it looks like."

Adam hesitated before responding.

Yun Ze shook his head decisively. "Let my people handle this. You’ve just been through a major battle; it’s time for you to rest. Just share the information about the interferer with us, and I’ll take care of the rest."

Tianyang looked at Adam, who nodded. The youth then described the horn-headed creature he had seen in Metropolis to Yun Ze and the others.

After receiving this information, Yun Ze quickly left to find an Ascender and sent them a signal tracker to handle the task.

Adam pulled Tianyang aside and said quietly, "He doesn’t trust you."

"I know."

Tianyang sighed lightly. "He’s worried that I might take the opportunity to run away once I leave the camp."

Adam laughed. "This Yun family disciple is known for his cautious nature. Otherwise, the Yun family wouldn’t have let such a young man manage the mines and base activities here."

Tianyang waved his hand, trying to dismiss the unpleasant thoughts. "Forget it, let’s not worry about him. By the way, Adam, can you tell me about the Shadow Knight and their attendants? I haven’t heard of such creatures before."

Adam found a clean spot to sit, pulled out two food bars, and handed one to Tianyang.

Tianyang shook his head. "I’m not hungry."

"Eat!" Adam insisted, forcing the food into his hand. "On the battlefield, you never know when the enemy will strike, so whenever you have the chance, you need to rest and eat to be ready for the next attack."

Tianyang felt it made sense, so he tore open the packaging, and took a bite.

Adam bit into a piece of the food bar and chewed while saying, "The Shadow Knights and their attendants, as well as witches and treants, are classified as “Old Darkfolk.”

"Old Darkfolk?" Tianyang had never heard of this term before.

"Yes, Old Darkfolk." Adam took a sip from his water bottle. "In almost every Inverse Universe, there are some very ancient dark creatures. These beings have existed for a long time, and this type of dark creature usually has its own unique ”traditions.””

"Take our Inverse Universe 127 as an example. Among the Old Darkfolk we've discovered, witches leave behind unique symbols wherever they go and bring certain worship practices to other dark creatures."

"As for Shadow Knights and their attendants, they typically reside in sealed spaces. Their tradition is to protect certain things—things they believe to be important, or things designated by some other force."

"But what distinguishes Old Darkfolk from their peers is that tradition is just one characteristic. The most important feature is that these dark creatures show almost no signs of evolution."

Tianyang was taken aback and took another bite of his food bar after a moment. "So, do other dark creatures show signs of evolution?"

"Exactly." Adam finished the remaining food bar quickly. "During our exploration of the Inverse Universe, we've discovered some things, such as some frozen dark creatures. Not in our current Inverse Universe, since exploration here is still new and we haven’t found such things yet. But in some of the higher-numbered Inverse Universe, similar discoveries have been made."

"Corpses, images, textual information... these all indicate that there are some very ancient types of dark creatures. They have stopped evolving, retaining certain behavioral habits that have been passed down. These are known as Old Darkfolk."

"Other dark creatures, however, evolve and adapt over time. Take Mad Dogs and Mysterious Archers, for instance. Fifty years ago, Mad Dogs were half the size they are now, and they mostly resembled young ones. As for Mysterious Archers, when they were first discovered, they used bone arrows. Now, they not only use firearms but energy-based weapons."

Tianyang frowned. "In just fifty years, the rate of evolution is so rapid?"

Adam sighed heavily. "Yes, and some researchers of the Inverse Universe believe that while we explore these realms, we are also stimulating the ecological systems of these dark worlds. The Inverse Universe adjust the evolution speed and extent of dark creature in response to these stimuli to combat us*”invaders.”*"

Tianyang remained silent, suddenly feeling that perhaps people should give up on exploring the Inverse Universe. Unfortunately, this was not a decision he could make alone.

Moreover, as long as the Inverse Universe held Star Pillars and resources not found in the outside world, people’s enthusiasm for exploration wouldn’t be stopped.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of building explosions came from outside the camp. These were the obstacles Adam had previously set up to hinder the dark creatures.

Adam stood up, and Tianyang followed him to the rooftop of a small building. From here, they saw a cloud of dust rising near the camp. The surrounding streets had mostly been sealed off, leaving only one road leading out of town.

If there were no surprises, explosives would be planted on that road. This would delay the dark creatures if they needed to withdraw from the town.

Through the rolling dust, Tianyang vaguely saw some figures moving towards the camp. Using his tactical vision to zoom in, he saw that they were members of the Sun Spear, but they appeared to be in a panic as if something was chasing them.

The next moment, Adam’s communicator rang. "Captain, they’re coming! Wanderers, a large number of Wanderers are coming!"

Adam took a sharp breath and shouted down the stairs, "The dark creatures are launching a second wave of attack. All personnel, prepare for battle!"

He repeated this several times.

The personnel who were resting in the camp jumped up upon hearing Adam's alarm, quickly grabbing their equipment and headed to their positions.

Tianyang also took out the Death Knell, infused it with Star Essence, loaded three bullets, and then drank a bottle of replenishing liquid.

Adam glanced at the enormous handgun with curiosity, wondering how Tianyang had suddenly acquired such an exaggerated weapon. But there was no time to waste. The blond, muscular man jumped down to personally oversee the camp's defense.

Before long, the personnel who had gone out to set traps and demolish buildings returned, quickly joining the camp’s defense.

Tianyang took up a position on a section of the wall. The Ascender, who had been assigned to protect this line of defense, had been sent by Yun Ze to eliminate the interference signals. Tianyang took over his duties, leaving the machine gun firepoint on the rooftop to a regular soldier.

In the camp, everyone was on high alert. Before long, from the front where the buildings had been blown up, Wanderers began to crawl out of windows, doors, and other gaps.

They moved stiffly and shakily, but their steps were determined as they approached the camp.

Adam shouted, "These things are just cannon fodder. Don’t waste too much energy on them. Open fire only when they get closer, especially snipers; your targets are the more dangerous Mysterious Archers. Don’t waste ammunition and energy on the cannon fodder."

On the wall, Tianyang silently drew the Crimson Moon Warblade and held an assault rifle in the other hand. His job was to deal with any Mad Dogs or attendants that tried to scale the wall, ensuring they didn’t breach the camp.

However, Tianyang found it strange that in the black tide that had already spread across the street, there were only Wanderers everywhere. Not only were there no Shadow Knight, but there weren’t even any Mad Dogs to be seen…