A heavy fog blanketed the city, swallowing all vision in its milky shroud.
Even the sun was little more than a ghost—just a smudged glow fighting in vain behind the haze.
The weather service issued a dense fog warning, urging citizens to take caution if they had to venture outside.
Yet, despite the suffocating fog, city life rumbled on, unyielding; the flow of people showed no signs of faltering.
As time crept forward, the white mist thickened, growing viscous and palpable.
Even at the closest distance, you could see minuscule specks drifting through the air.
A little girl peered out the window at the white miasma, eyes wide with unease, as if she imagined monsters lurking within the fog. She hesitated, then finally whispered, "Mom, can I stay home from school today?"
Her request was quickly denied.
The white fog slithered unnoticed into the subway’s emergency corridors. Plenty of people felt ill at ease, but they merely cursed the foul weather under their breath and trudged on to work as usual.
In the park, an old man took in the hazy world with a deep frown. "Curse this technology,” he grumbled, pulling his mask higher over his face. “The pollution keeps getting worse— days and days, and the smog won’t lift."
……
Such thick fog was rare in Jing City. Most people, seized by curiosity, wandered the misty streets as they pleased. Internet celebrities began livestreaming from within the ghostly vapor.
"Everyone—Jing City's seeing its thickest fog in a century!"
"They say not just Jing City, but many regions across the Dragon Kingdom are experiencing this phenomenon."
"Is it pollution, or something strange with the weather... Thanks for the rocket, Brother Chuanyun!"
Ye Shu snapped her phone shut.
Her gaze shifted to the shimmering screen in front of her.
[Crayon Xiaoxin: This round of the game must be tied to the fog. Everyone, be careful. Try not to inhale the mist—or you’ll catch something nasty. Yesterday I wore a mask out, didn’t feel a thing.]
[Emperor’s Favorite Pink and Blue: Thank goodness my identity is a pharmacy owner! Got all the supplies I need—no reason to leave home. If you want protective gear, message me, highest bid wins, only props accepted, no idle chatter, please.]
Protective suits were suddenly on every player’s must-have list.
Private messages flooded the forums, drowning the comments section.
[Ulala Yisou: Damn, I traded a D-level prop for the flimsiest disposable coverall—it’s thin as a cicada’s wing. Did I get scammed?!]
[Da Ru: Haha… Out of stock when it was my turn, but at least my items are safe. Even found a legit supplier online.]
[Mushroom at the Wall: I’ll just throw on my raincoat for protection. As long as I don’t breathe this fog, I’ll be fine, right? Off to the supermarket to stock up now!]
Players were far more alert than the locals.
Many had already started preparing supplies—protective suits and all.
Those without gear scrambled to bid at sky-high prices, or pooled resources to rent together.
Millions of players entered a frenzy, buying out every pharmacy’s inventory in a heartbeat.
Even those who had to go out never forgot their precautions—covering nose and mouth tightly.
Ye Shu’s eyes tracked the endless photos of players leaving home on the glowing screen. Each one was bundled up from head to toe—especially the face, leaving nothing but a pair of anxious eyes peeking out.
In the game of survival, the first three days were always a silent grace period.
During this time, Blue Star’s authorities even declared every area a safe zone.
So the players, en masse, all rushed outside—it wasn’t without reason.
But still, Ye Shu couldn’t shake the feeling that leaving was a mistake.
Could cheap, ordinary gear really shield against such strange fog?
Nevertheless, she stayed put.
"Ugh, it stinks! Like rotten fish!"
The merman glared at the fog outside the window. He sealed the ward door shut, packing clay into every crevice around the water taps.
To the merman, the white fog was no less than a chemical weapon.
Xiao Bai, with a nose sharpened by instinct, curled up indoors—he could smell the reek, even from here.
……
Day three of the game.
The moment she woke, Ye Shu saw the world beyond the window had vanished—a wall of dense white fog pressed tight against the glass.
It was nine in the morning, but it felt like a gloomy, rainy dusk. Sunlight was a fiction.
Outside the hospital room, she could hear the nurses talking.
"Why hasn’t the fog let up yet? Wasn't it supposed to be just a little smog?"
"Who knows! And I have to work overtime tonight. Just my luck..."
Jiang Ran glanced into the room casually, then made a show of indifference. "The patient in Room 1 is at it again? Locked herself in, dumped all the food we brought—"
Jiang Ran was now convinced: the patient in Room 1 was most definitely a player.
That woman was intensely wary, isolating herself from the fog at all costs, only accepting airtight food.
Jiang Ran copied her—refusing all food from the asylum for two days now. So far, so good. Maybe, thought Jiang Ran, they could work together.
She had done her research before being pulled into the survival game—a standard clearance would win her ten points.
"She’s the wife of the eldest Mo heir. Last night, the Mo family announced the two already divorced—it just wasn’t public before. The patient is emotionally unstable. Best not to stir up trouble with her."
The young nurse sighed and lowered her voice.
Ye Shu: “……”
She’d almost forgotten about the Mo family.
The divorce announcement was surely Mo Jiuge’s move.
The original owner's money, she’d recovered—but for now, it was useless. No way to spend it.
The merman curled into a tight ball at the foot of Ye Shu’s bed, staring darkly at the thickening mist.
He could sense the fog’s odor intensifying.
Noon arrived: twelve o’clock. The sky should have been bright and clear, but now every inch was enveloped by the fog’s heavy weight.
Accidents became commonplace in Jing City; dozens of car crashes had happened already.
And not just here—the whole country suffered chaos. Collisions, injuries, drivers stranded with nowhere to go.
After just two days, the novelty of the fog had worn off. People were anxious and afraid. Some began hoarding goods, rumors of apocalypse spread across the internet, and a few opportunists cashed in by raising prices.
The media raced to cover the story.
The government, pressured by the public, dispatched experts to tackle the spreading white mist.
Some schools closed; office workers telecommuted from home.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
Someone rapped on the door of the ward.
Ye Shu put down her cup noodles, scooped up the merman, tucked him beneath the covers, and approached the door.
"Knock, knock..."
The knocking grew more insistent.
Still, she had no intention of opening for a stranger.
Jiang Ran eyed the shut door and thought, ‘This player is far too guarded.’ At last, she spoke up, "Miss Ye, I mean no harm. I’m Jiang Ran. I’m a player too. From what I’ve observed, the two of us are the only players in Yunwu Mountain Asylum. We should cooperate—our chances at passing this round are much better together, aren’t they?"
"A player?!"
Ye Shu hadn’t expected such blatant honesty.
Announcing oneself—what a violation of the survival game's rules!
Still, she was curious about the simple-minded girl outside.
She slid open the small window in the ward door, peering through the narrow pane to get a good look at the woman opposite.
"Hello, Miss Ye!"
Before the survival game, Jiang Ran had only been a college sophomore. Surrounded by stories of players online, she had still felt jittery when thrust into the real thing.
It was only now, encountering Ye Shu, a fellow player, that her nerves finally eased.
Playing it safe, Ye Shu replied, "Hello."
She had noticed someone spying on her before; she just hadn’t expected it to be this nurse.