Inside The Black Mist

Tianyang responded with a smile, though it was a bit weary. "I won’t die, but my back got hit by the Shadow Knight. I think it injured my internal organs."

Adam's expression changed. "You collided with a Shadow Knight?"

Tianyang nodded. "So now you understand why the Yun family's Ascenders didn’t return."

Adam's expression grew serious, and his eyelids trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly. "I really didn’t expect there to be four Shadow Knights in the town. It's too strange. Why would these things come here? If they were just hunting down that prospector, there wouldn’t be so many Shadow Knights acting together."

Tianyang thought for a moment and said, "Maybe they don’t want Gu Gang to leak anything about that underground base."

Adam’s face froze and, after a long pause, it finally relaxed a bit. "It seems you’re right. They are its guardians. Naturally, they don’t want more people to know that there’s something in that underground base. Something important!"

A sharp pain shot through Tianyang's back, and he couldn't help but let out a small cry. Adam noticed and laughed. "When Mr. Wang Liangyi comes out, I’ll have the Yun family let you use the medical pod."

Tianyang was taken aback but then said, "How can I accept that? I'm not the only one who got hurt."

Adam spoke in a tone that left no room for refusal. "It's settled then. I just heard from Yun Ze that he has already contacted the base. You saved everyone’s lives, so you deserve to be in that pod."

"When we get back, I’ll write a detailed report. You should get some contribution points. Oh, and if you have time, try to describe those dark creatures who were causing the interference as accurately as possible."

"Providing the fort with new information on dark creatures will also earn you rewards, including but not limited to contribution points."

"Alright."

Since Adam was so insistent, Tianyang didn’t refuse and simply agreed.

Sure enough, when Wang Liangyi came out, someone from the Yun family arranged for Tianyang to receive treatment.

Lying in the medical pod, with all his equipment removed, the young man finally closed his eyes in exhaustion.

He didn’t know how long had passed when he vaguely heard voices. Tianyang slowly opened his eyes, yawned, and found himself lying in a room in a small building in the camp.

He quickly reached out to his side and immediately felt the sheath of the Red Moon blade. A quick glance showed that the Crimson Moon Warblade, Death Knell, and his armor were all placed next to him.

Tianyang hurriedly put on his gear, finally feeling at ease. He moved a bit, and though his back still ached slightly and his breathing was a bit labored, his injuries had significantly improved compared to before.

In this condition, as long as he didn’t run into a Shadow Knight, he could still handle otherdark creature.

Since no one was disturbing him, Tianyang checked his Ascender status, and some information appeared in his mind.

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[Rank 1: Assassin

Class Abilities: Weakness Sensing, Instant Annihilation

Ascension Progress: 91%

Enhanced Field: Physique +1

Next Rank: Eradicator]

Tianyang exclaimed in surprise. His Ascension progress had reached 91%. It seemed that the events in Arid Valley Town, the defense of the camp, and taking down Zhou Wang had all significantly boosted his Ascension progress.

At this rate, it wouldn’t take long before he could max out his progress and advance to the next rank.

He couldn’t help but feel excited, wondering what abilities the Eradicator rank would bring.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and Adam walked in. The big man had bandages on his head and hands. Seeing that Tianyang was awake, Adam was momentarily stunned before breaking into a grin.

"You’re awake! That’s good. I was about to wake you up. Get ready; the convoy from the base is almost here, and we can head back."

Tianyang was surprised. "The base's forces arrived so quickly?"

"Quick?" Adam laughed heartily. "Not quick at all. You’ve been asleep for more than a day. It seems you slept quite soundly. Luckily, the dark creatures didn’t attack during this time. Otherwise, you might have been killed in your sleep."

Only then did Tianyang realize he had been lying there for a whole day. No wonder the reinforcements arrived as soon as he woke up.

"Go wash your face and eat something. We might run into some dark creatures on the road, so it’s best to be fully prepared," Adam said before mentioning he had other matters to attend to and leaving.

Tianyang took out some water and a food bar and started eating to replenish his strength. Meanwhile, in another room, Kong Zhang and his students were packing up various instruments.

When Yun Ze entered, the old man was instructing his three students. "Take out all the specimens and burn them. The experiments are done, and the data has been collected. These things are too dangerous to bring to the fort."

One student hesitated. "If we use sealed containers and expose them to light 24 hours a day, there shouldn’t be much of a problem. Besides, professor, although we’ve collected the necessary data, we still need the specimens for further research, right?"

"Absolutely not, Yan Kai!" Professor Kong's tone was firm and stern. "We already know that while these things' cells stop moving in the light, their cellular activity isn’t diminished. This means light only suppresses their growth. But if given the chance, they’ll seize it to reproduce!"

"If there’s any mishap during transport and these things leak outside the fort, it won’t be long before Sky Fort is overrun with spores!"

The student named Yan Kai mumbled quietly, "The specimens are so small. What could happen if we take some back?"

"Yan Kai!"

Professor Kong's voice became harsher. "How many times have I told you? When conducting Inverse Universe research, you can never be too careful. With your temperament, it seems you’re not suited for this line of work. When we get back, you should learn from another professor."

The expression on Yan Kai’s face changed instantly under his helmet, and he quickly said, "No, no, professor! I was just speaking casually. Don’t worry, I’ll be extremely careful. Please don’t send me away."

"No, I’ve already decided. That's final."

The student was about to continue pleading, but Yun Ze shot him a glare that forced the words back down his throat.

"Professor Kong, the convoy from the base is almost here. Let me accompany you to the vehicle to rest," Yun Ze suggested.

Kong Zhang didn’t object and, after giving a few more instructions to his students, followed Yun Ze out.

The other two students hurriedly began packing up the instruments, while Yan Kai stood frozen on the spot, unable to believe that he had just been dismissed by Professor Kong.

Professor Kong was an expert in Inverse Universe plant research and often needed assistants due to his frequent trips into the Inverse Universe. Working under him not only provided rich learning opportunities but also came with a generous stipend from the fort. More importantly, they were usually well protected, making the job much safer compared to other roles in the Inverse Universe.

Receiving a generous stipend while working in safety was an opportunity that would be hard to come by elsewhere.

But now, this was to be Yan Kai's last job.

And once news of his dismissal by Kong Zhang spread, other experts and scholars would unlikely hire him. This meant that Yan Kai would have to find another job, and no other job would be as easy as this one.

"Make way!"

"Seriously, don’t just stand there. Didn’t you hear what the professor said? Help us burn these things."

One of the students threw all the specimens into an incineration barrel, gave Yan Kai a glare, and shook his head as he walked away.

Yan Kai looked at the specimens, and suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

Two hours later, the base’s convoy arrived at Gemstone Town. Seeing the heavily armed soldiers securing the camp’s perimeter, the survivors finally felt a sense of safety.

They no longer had to live in constant fear.

The base had dispatched nearly half of its combat personnel this time. After all, the Yunxiang Base's military resources were limited. Furthermore, after learning that there were Shadow Knights, mid- to high-level dark creatures, in the area, the base didn’t dare to take any chances.

If they had sent insufficient forces, it wouldn’t have been a rescue mission but a death march.

Moreover, Tianyang was surprised to find that Shen Mozhu had also come. Although the base’s deputy director looked refined and scholarly, not like a warrior, the fact that he dared to come here personally indicated that he was no weakling.

This was confirmed when Wang Liangyi showed the deputy director great respect upon seeing him.

Tianyang believed that even if Shen Mozhu was slightly weaker than Wang Liangyi, he was undoubtedly a powerful figure of the same level.

Thinking back to the first time he saw this deputy director, who was then watering flowers, Tianyang couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.

After meeting with Yun Ze, Adam, and the others, Shen Mozhu instructed the survivors to board the vehicles in preparation for departure.

He then pulled Adam aside and asked in a low voice, "Where is the prospector?"

Adam glanced towards the small square to the east and replied, "He’s over there. I have someone watching him."

Shen Mozhu smiled with satisfaction. "Good. Make sure to put him in my vehicle later. There are some things I need to ask him personally."

Adam, picking up on his tone, inquired, "Deputy Director Shen, is it related to the underground base beneath Red Clay Town?"

Shen Mozhu’s expression shifted, and his gentle, harmless eyes behind his glasses grew sharp: "It seems that guy has leaked quite a bit of information. Adam, tell your men to keep their mouths shut about anything related to Hongni Town."

"If I hear even a whisper about Hongni Town at the base, I’ll hold you accountable!"

This was probably the first time Adam had seen Shen Mozhu so stern, and it startled him. He quickly agreed, but his mind raced with thoughts.

Shen Mozhu wasn’t surprised at all about the underground base beneath Hongni Town. Moreover, he insisted on keeping the matter secret. This suggested that the underground base was no simple facility and that Shen Mozhu had known about it for a long time.

The more Adam thought about it, the more curious he became about what secrets that base might be hiding.

Turning around, Shen Mozhu returned to his usual demeanor, acting like a kind and gentle person and chatting warmly with everyone he encountered.

When he saw Tianyang, the deputy director smiled warmly. "I’ve heard from Adam that you eliminated the source of the interference and even escaped from a Shadow Knight. Impressive. Now I understand why Commander Ling reminded me several times to keep an eye on you."

"It seems he thinks you have great potential."

Tianyang responded humbly, "I'm not anything special; I just had some good luck. Deputy Director Shen, you're too kind."

Shen Mozhu chuckled, patting Tianyang on the shoulder. "Your injuries haven’t fully healed yet, right? When we get back, I’ll have the best doctors at the base take a look at you."

"Thank you, Deputy Director Shen."

"No problem." Shen Mozhu casually glanced at Gu Gang before turning to discuss the return journey with Yun Ze.

An hour later, Tianyang was sitting in a Falcon combat vehicle, watching as Gemstone Town receded into the distance through the window.

The young man lightly touched the pocket holding the data chip left by Su Lie…