How Can’t I Hold This Place Alone?

Mike stared in surprise at Chen Dafeng's perspective. The guy had been charging ahead at full speed, cutting through the layers of fog like a reckless beast. He could already see the abandoned buildings on the outskirts of Xinchang.

"Wait, where are the mages?" Mike asked.

He switched his view and saw the mages still trudging forward, hauling supplies along the path.

It was Chen Dafeng who had broken away from the group, pushing ahead on his own.

"Damn, he really found a way to break the deadlock!"

Mike chuckled helplessly. It seemed that Chen Dafeng, tired of constantly running into ghost fog traps, had made the decision to leave the main group. He understood that his struggles could hold up the others.

So, by separating from the main force, not only would the group's progress be unhindered, but Chen Dafeng could move faster on his own.

After all, both Chen Dafeng as an individual and the mages as a group were capable of handling most ghost fog situations, so splitting up made things more efficient.

But what they didn't expect was that once separated, Chen Dafeng's speed was so incredible that the next ghost fog trap hadn't even appeared yet, and he was already near Xinchang.

And once he was close to the city, because he had "integrated" with the survivor group, his chances of encountering the ghost fog dropped dramatically.

The mages, with their large numbers, also had a lower probability of getting trapped. Only one or two might fall behind, but that wouldn't affect the main group.

"Damn, I'm here!" Chen Dafeng shouted with joy. He didn't dare stay still, fearing the ghost fog might catch up.

With a leap, he continued charging through the dark night, heading straight for the command post deeper in Xinchang.

As he entered the city, a few bold survivors in the nearby residential buildings caught glimpses of a fleeting light through their windows—like a strange meteor streaking across the city.

It was the magical beads surrounding Chen Dafeng, their effects still active, clearing away the surrounding black fog.

Chen Dafeng's speed was astonishing, and within minutes, he reached the Xinchang command center.

The command center had been relocated last month during Xinchang's disaster recovery operation, moved from the territory of the Brave Alliance to the city center, effectively covering all major districts.

The command center was housed in a repurposed abandoned mall, cleaned and transformed into a functional eight-story office building.

At this moment, the building was brightly lit, with figures moving about inside, though the front doors were locked tight.

Since entering the city, Chen Dafeng had felt a heavy, oppressive panic hanging in the air—so different from Jinling.

Xinchang's chat channels were flooded with various rescue messages, constantly scrolling across the screen.

But Chen Dafeng didn't care about those messages. He marched straight to the gate of the command center and started banging on the door.

"Open up! It's me, Chen Dafeng!"

His loud voice reverberated through the heavy iron gate, sending a deafening "bang, bang, bang" echoing into the night.

Suddenly, the second-floor windows swung open, and dark gun barrels pointed out, aiming at Chen Dafeng.

For a moment, Chen Dafeng froze, then his anger flared. "What the hell! You dare point guns at me?! Are you all crazy?!"

"Are you Chen Dafeng?" A pair of eyes appeared through the small window in the gate, and a low voice came from inside. "Imposter, are you trying to fool us again?"

"Imposter?" Chen Dafeng was stunned, then realized what was going on. "Old Chen, you don't even recognize me, huh? Things must be going badly for you."

Chen Xun sneered from behind the gate, "Leave now, or I'll shoot you down."

Before Chen Xun could finish, Chen Dafeng reached out and grabbed the iron gate.

"Creek—!"

His fingers dug deep into the gate, and with a horrible screech of twisting metal, he ripped the entire gate open with a single hand, exposing Chen Xun's figure.

Chen Xun, bent over and peering through the window, felt a sudden chill and looked up to see a huge chunk of the gate missing, leaving him completely exposed.

"Eh?" Chen Xun blinked in confusion, frozen in place.

This was a door half a meter thick, reinforced specifically for the command center to withstand rocket blasts. It was the first line of defense, and now it was gone?

The guards behind Chen Xun stood in shock, staring in disbelief at the destroyed gate.

"Boom!"

The heavy remains of the gate were tossed aside by Chen Dafeng, who then strode boldly into the building, eyeing the surroundings with a casual glance.

He ignored the armed guards around him, his eyes locked onto Chen Xun. "Can you snap out of it?"

Chen Dafeng clapped him on the shoulder with mock concern. "Do you need me to call a doctor?"

"No... no need!" Chen Xun jolted awake, looking at Chen Dafeng in disbelief. "You... you really are Captain Chen!"

"Still don't believe it?" Chen Dafeng laughed, pointing at the gaping hole in the gate. "An imposter could do all that?"

"Well... they certainly couldn't."

Chen Xun had no words, nodding in admiration.

Xinchang had gathered enough intel on imposters to know that they couldn't replicate the skills or abilities of the person they were imitating. They only had the superficial traits—appearance, voice, and behavior.

If an imposter could mimic someone's talents and strength, no one could imagine how terrifying it would be if a thousand "Chen Dafengs" appeared at once.

"The real Captain Chen is here. Everyone, put down your guns!" Chen Xun shouted, signaling for the guards to lower their weapons and calling for the rest of the command center staff. Liu Wenbo rushed over after hearing the noise.

When Liu Wenbo arrived, his eyes widened at the destroyed gate. A nearby guard quickly explained what had happened, and Liu Wenbo's face lit up. "It really is Captain Chen! We've been waiting for you!"

He laughed heartily and stepped forward to greet him. "Captain! With you here, Xinchang's situation is saved!"

"Why do you make me sound like some kind of savior?" Chen Dafeng chuckled, secretly pleased with the reception. "By the way, Old Chen, you mentioned earlier that an imposter disguised as me... was it a Mind Thief?"

"A Mind Thief? Is that the official term from Jinling to refer to imposters?"

Chen Xun mulled over the term and quickly replied, "Yes, about five hours ago, an imposter disguised as you tricked the guards into opening the gate and entered."

"But when I talked to it, I saw through the disguise and captured it."

"I was going to interrogate it for intel, but since it was my first encounter with a Mind Thief, I wasn't prepared. It self-destructed before I could get any useful information."

"It didn't run away; the magnetic field collapsed, and it vanished," Chen Dafeng said nonchalantly, pulling out an earplug. "Old Chen, you clearly haven't seen a Mind Thief before. Let me teach you a thing or two."

With that, Chen Dafeng tossed his big backpack in front of everyone and began pulling out various items.

"Here's the 'Mind Thief City Resident Prevention Manual,' the 'Third Apocalypse Disaster Response Guidelines,' the 'Ghost Fog FAQ,' the 'Logic Behind Strange Events,' and 'What Is a Mind Thief.'"

He kept pulling out small booklets. "These were rushed out by the Jinling General Headquarters—hard currency. With these, you'll have a basic understanding of the Third Apocalypse."

"The general idea from Jinling is that the primary threat of the Third Apocalypse is the eerie, ghost-like atmosphere that causes people to panic, leading to the collapse of their mental state."

"As long as we approach it scientifically and treat it as a legitimate apocalyptic disaster, many problems can be solved."

Chen Dafeng paused for a moment, and before Chen Xun could start flipping through the books, he pulled out more items.

"This is a magical communication device, something Old Zheng developed... supposedly a magical tool that can break through the fog and restore long-distance communication for disaster relief between the two cities."

"This is a communicator for gifted individuals. The chief wanted me to bring it, saying not to rely solely on magic—use all available communication methods."

"The Third Apocalypse has exposed our communication shortcomings, revealing how we've neglected to build a solid system. The chief says it's not entirely bad; it's better to catch these issues early."

"And here's the disaster relief file for Xinchang. It has instructions like 'Four Key Points,' 'Five Firm Resolutions,' and 'Eight Disciplinary Rules.' I don't really get it, but the chief wants you and Liu Wenbo to study it thoroughly."

The people around Xinchang looked at the items Chen Dafeng brought and suddenly realized.

This was the real Captain Chen!

Listening to him speak, it was all official disaster response policy, methods, and strategies. Only someone from Jinling could make the rebellious Captain Chen do things that went against his usual character.

Reflecting on the imposter, while it had looked a lot like Chen Dafeng, it was clear the flaw was that it was too perfect—it mirrored his personality too closely. Imposters didn't know that humans could act in ways that defied their usual behavior.

After finishing pulling things out, Chen Dafeng shook the bag to confirm there was nothing else left before standing up, only to find everyone staring at him.

"What are you all looking at? Get these distributed throughout the city and let everyone know about the characteristics of the Third Apocalypse."

Chen Dafeng frowned, clearly displeased. "Is Xinchang this slow? What's going on with the new apocalyptic disaster relief style from above? They're cracking down on lazy administration—don't you guys get it?"

"Well... it's not that we're slow," Chen Xun and Liu Wenbo exchanged glances and cautiously asked, "But Captain, is it just you here from Jinling? Didn't the chief send anyone else?"

"What? Do you think I can't handle it alone?" Chen Dafeng shot a sideways glance at Chen Xun, feeling a hint of disrespect.

Who does he think I am? I'm Chen Dafeng, the one who guards a whole city! Is there a problem with that?