The Fog of the Damned: Obsession and Reward

"You can't just steal kills like that!" the young soldier complained with a hint of resentment. The scout, blinking innocently, responded, "Oh... I only shot because I saw you didn't get a chance to fire."

"Stay alert!" The captain barked, his tone firm. "Just because the fight's over doesn't mean we're safe. Search the area now, and finish off the stragglers!"

The soldiers nodded in agreement, staying in place and helping cover the front by firing in unison with those at the windows. Through the mist, before it could fully coalesce, bullets swept across the moss-covered stone floor, shattering the twisted remains of the enemy soldiers until every last moving limb was pulverized.

"Combat's nearly done. All units to secondary alert status!" the captain commanded.

"Tell Little Li to fall back and set up some temporary mines in case there are more enemies outside."

The captain furrowed his brow. He had no idea where these soldiers had come from. Based on the ancient manor's layout, there were no significant buildings nearby. Could these enemies have simply materialized from the mist? If that were true, they could keep appearing endlessly, and the squad was limited in both number and ammunition, unable to withstand multiple waves.

As the captain brooded over this, he saw the female corpse signal to one of the servants.

The servant drifted to the door, peering into the mist outside. Despite the mist closing in again, he seemed unaffected, carefully peeking out before turning back to the woman with a grin. "Madam! They're gone! The enemies have fled! They're all dead!"

The soldiers exchanged confused glances. Dead? Weren't they already dead?

The female corpse, her expression lighting up with strange excitement, nearly seemed alive for a moment. "General! General!" she exclaimed, rushing towards the captain, but he raised his rifle silently, warning her to stop.

She froze, gazing at him pleadingly. "You... you're truly incredible! Please, before they return, take my daughter and get her out of here!"

Even in this bizarre situation, she still prioritized her daughter's safety. The captain glanced at the elderly corpse seated at the head of the room. It remained motionless, silent, giving no indication of approval or dissent—like a true corpse.

"Do you really want me to take her out? What if the enemies return? What happens to the rest of you?" the captain asked, his voice laced with concern, trying to view the corpse as if it were human.

The squad members weren't from this world. They understood history, but couldn't fully grasp the deep hatred for the enemy. To them, it was just another battle. And for the captain, there were bigger questions to consider.

"It's fine! Don't worry about us. We can't all escape, but at least save one, General!" The female corpse pleaded desperately.

The captain exchanged glances with his team. Everyone was waiting for his decision. He needed to get his men out first.

Looking at the current situation, he felt that rescuing the daughter might be the key to solving this strange puzzle. He didn't hesitate long and nodded. "I'll try, but I can't be sure she'll be able to leave or adapt to the outside world."

"Don't worry! As long as she's alive, it's enough!" The female corpse hurriedly motioned for a servant to assist the limp, lifeless body of the young daughter. It was clear she was nothing more than a shell.

The servants had no choice but to use dark, old ropes to bind the girl and pass her to the soldiers. When the young girl was stood up, the soldiers could see the horrible marks all over her body, scars from brutal abuse before death.

The captain signaled for a soldier to carry the young corpse and turned to the other bodies. "Can we leave now?"

"Yes! Quickly, we need to get out of here!" The female corpse nodded urgently, even trying to push the captain forward, before retracting her hand and pointing to the back door. "Use the back door, it's safer."

Leading them through the eerie ancient manor's back courtyard, the captain followed with his squad, reaching the back door. Once everyone was gathered, the captain stared at the thickening mist with a furrowed brow.

He wasn't sure if this exit would lead to getting lost, but staying in the manor wasn't an option. They needed to at least try to find a way out.

"Let's move. Everyone stay alert!" The captain ordered, and the soldiers, ready for anything, moved forward in a tactical formation, guns raised, into the fog.

But suddenly, the female corpse called out, "Wait, General!"

The captain turned back sharply, his senses on high alert, but the corpse simply shook her head, hesitating. Her dark eyes lingered on her daughter's lifeless form. The captain could have sworn there was a reluctant look in her gaze.

"General, it's... it's nothing. Please, just go, quickly."

The female corpse urged them on, watching them step into the mist.

As they made their way, the scout, who had been trailing behind, whispered lowly, "Captain, they're disappearing."

"Huh?" The captain glanced in the direction the scout pointed. Through the fog, the captain could make out faint figures outside the manor's back door—ghostly shapes, a few men and women standing together, flickering like fireflies.

Before he could look closer, the figures faded, as if a gust of wind from the mist had scattered them, and the ancient manor itself seemed to dissipate into the fog.

"Wait! Where's the body?" a young soldier suddenly shouted, his eyes wide with confusion. He had been carrying the young corpse, but it was gone, vanished without a trace.

"Did it disintegrate?" another soldier wondered aloud.

Before they could make sense of it, the lead soldier, who had been walking ahead, suddenly shouted with excitement, "I found the way out! I found the way out!"

"Look! A street sign!" the soldier pointed, and everyone rushed over. In the mist, barely visible, stood a sign reading: Xishan Bridge Road.

Behind the sign, there were familiar structures like small shops, and faint lights twinkled in the distance—human life still flickering in the fog.

"Out of the fog... they really made it out!" Mike exclaimed, his heart racing. His earlier guess seemed to be right.

"Strange things are just obsessions! And obsessions are unfinished business!"

"The fog's magnetic field materializes those obsessions. For survivors trapped in the strange incidents, as long as they can eliminate their obsessions, they break the influence of the fog!"

"Then they can escape the strange incident!"

"That was the obsession here—rescuing their daughter! They kept emphasizing it!" Mike looked over at Old Man Dong, eager for confirmation.

But the old man remained silent, eyes closed, as if uninterested in responding.

"Old man, are you sleeping?" Mike asked tentatively.

The old man's eyes snapped open, and he looked at Mike with a knowing smirk. "Do you think the obsession was just about rescuing the daughter?"

"What... what else could it be?" Mike asked, taken aback.

Old Man Dong chuckled softly. "It's about hope."

"The history here is filled with countless tragic deaths, cries of despair echoing through the streets. For the elites, rescuing one daughter may seem like the key obsession. But for the common folk, it's about the hope of survival, the belief in resistance."

Old Man Dong glanced at Mike briefly. "Do you think the entities in these strange incidents are just people?"

Mike froze, having never considered that.

"These strange things—they're not just entities—they are the people's hopes, their beliefs and desires. They represent collective will, formed by the masses."

Mike's eyes widened in realization. He had thought of the strange occurrences as mere phenomena caused by the fog. But now, the concept of faith and belief felt more significant.

"They are faith... the collective faith of the people." Mike murmured, deep in thought.

Old Man Dong closed his eyes again, seemingly indifferent to Mike's realization.

Before Mike could reflect further, a new notification appeared before him.

Congratulations! Your talent unit has successfully escaped the "C-level Ghost Fog Dilemma!"

You, as the unit's owner, have earned the "C-level Ghost Fog Memory" x10.

Mike grinned. "Now this is a reward!"

He quickly opened his shelter interface to find ten swirling, misty black clouds.

Opening a couple of the rewards, new prompts popped up:

Congratulations! You used the C-level Ghost Fog Memory and gained 1000 kilograms of high-resistance rice!

Congratulations! You used the C-level Ghost Fog Memory and gained 285 units of upgrade material "Big Bills"!

Mike couldn't believe his luck. The rewards far outweighed what he had gotten from the Puzzle Door.

"This is more like an action-packed grind!" Mike thought with excitement. "Time to dive into the Ghost Fog Dilemma! Resources, here I come!"

And so, his plan for the future was set—using the Ghost Fog Dilemma like a resource-rich dungeon, pushing for even greater gains.

"Wait... I need to check if the enemies in the fog are all physical forms. If there are any ghostly spirits... that could be trouble." Mike's thoughts drifted to the next concern.

As he was about to delve deeper, something unexpected happened—Chen Dafeng had begun killing!