Intelligence about elite soldiers fighting Nightmare Beasts was quickly laid out on the Countermeasures Research Office's meeting table.
The reality that thermal weapons could kill the Nightmare Beasts exhilarated everyone in the room.
"Great! Finally our human weapons get to shine!"
"Exactly. With this rule, humanity finally has a full offensive capability. If the armed forces in each city are mobilized, driving back or even completely eliminating the beasts in the fog doesn't seem impossible!"
Compared to everyone else's excitement, Director Gao Liangwei remained relatively calm. He said, "Don't be hasty in celebrating. Don't forget our soldiers have suffered casualties too."
At those words, everyone’s expressions turned serious.
Gao Liangwei looked to the analyst. "Report the conclusions from the compiled intelligence."
"Yes." the analyst said, "Based on the reports, while thermal weapons can inflict casualties on the Nightmare Beasts, different beasts possess different characteristics that still pose great threats to humans."
"One type, a gigantic centipede-like arthropod Nightmare Beast, is extremely strong and can flip tanks. But these beasts appear to lack digestive organs; their attacks on humans seem aimed at exposing people to the fog."
"Exposing people to the fog... The fog has corrosive properties and neurotoxins. Humans exposed to it face a kind of slow death." an expert said, "Do the beasts have any other traits?"
The analyst replied, "Yes. When a Nightmare Beast is killed it explodes like a balloon, its fragments vanish into the fog, leaving no corpse behind for recovery or study."
"Any attempts to capture them alive?"
"Attempted, but after losing several soldiers' lives the attempts failed. However, one conclusion has been reached: the beasts cannot survive outside the fog. If they are attacked and promptly leave the fog's range, they can escape."
Another expert stroked his chin and speculated, "It seems the beasts and the fog have a symbiotic relationship... Could we disperse the fog with blowers or similar devices and thus eliminate the beasts inside?"
"Not a bad idea." someone agreed, "If it works, placing large, powerful fans throughout the city could solve the beast threat."
"That approach was tried when the rule was first released, and it didn't work. The fog is unusual—seemingly light but very heavy. Ordinary strong winds cannot disperse it."
Gao Liangwei said, "After the meeting, declassify the intelligence. Notify shelter and gathering point residents, reassure them, and tell them the authorities will deploy armed forces to eliminate the Nightmare Beasts in the city fog as quickly as possible."
Everyone nodded, and Gao Liangwei continued, "Then we need to prepare to carry out exploration of the thick fog."
At that, some people were surprised.
"Explore?"
"If the fog only contains Nightmare Beasts, is there anything of value to explore?"
"I understand the director's meaning." someone caught on, "It’s because the rule's notes mentioned 'if you decide to explore the depths of the mist.'"
"Exactly." Gao Liangwei nodded, "I don't think the Fire Thief speaks without reason. Since the notes warn to be cautious during exploration, that implies there's something in the deep fog worth investigating. We must not ignore that."
"Reasonable..."
"Since conventional thermal weapons can kill the beasts, can't we just assign elite soldiers to the exploration task and not deploy Ascendant teams?"
Dr. Zhang immediately replied in the negative. "No. I believe it's still necessary to dispatch an Ascendant squad. We don't know what the Fire Thief meant by 'exploration.' If we encounter something that only powerful Ascendants can handle, soldiers alone won't suffice."
"Dr. Zhang is right. Decide which squad to send."
"I understand. I plan to send the most elite First Squad to participate in the operation... plus one backup member."
"A backup member?" Gao Liangwei asked, "Any special ability?"
"Yes. The little girl named Chen Na we brought from the Yongzhou base of the Caregiving Organization during the last rule. Her perception ability might be very useful in the fog, so I plan to temporarily attach her to the First Squad for the operation."
"Then do it."
After the meeting, the authorities immediately released intelligence about the Nightmare Beasts.
When people learned conventional weapons could kill the beasts, they cheered.
Especially ordinary people whose terminal panels had been closed. Because every rule required Ascendants to act, they had increasingly felt excluded... but the ninth rule made them feel useful again.
Although they cannot use Mind Power, once they enlist and receive training, they can use guns and artillery and will still contribute to eradicating the monsters.
At that moment, Guan Tong, who was still inside a shelter and saw the official news, was genuinely surprised.
"Guns and artillery can destroy the Nightmare Beasts? Then... what need is there for Ascendants?"
With the current level of Ascendants, they simply couldn't match the destructive power of modern weapons developed over centuries.
If guns and artillery were effective this time, human armies would no longer fear these monsters. But that meant...
Guan Tong had initially assumed, by inertia, that the beasts in this rule could only be eliminated by Ascendants, which was why he chose not to sell intelligence earlier to avoid too much competition.
But now that firearms work, Guan Tong could not be sure about other countries. Based on Beixing Country's usual official style, they certainly would not remain purely defensive. The government would deploy large numbers of soldiers to sweep the fog for monsters while trying to conduct explorations.
The public note in the rule explicitly mentioned "exploring the mist's depths." With the Countermeasures Research Office's capabilities, they could not overlook this.
That turned the competition from being between Ascendants into competition with official elite forces... Guan Tong did not believe his efficiency could surpass hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of soldiers.
"...Forget it, I'll stick to my own pace."
Guan Tong's original plan was to use the Shadow to scout and try to find the fog's source.
But when Yu Hong knocked and then suddenly fell silent earlier, and he used the Shadow to check, a troublesome issue occurred to him.
Inside the shelter he could not materialize a shadow that had shifted outside—unless he opened the door.
This was related to the shelter's properties. It is a completely sealed form, driven by Mind Power.
Although inside and outside the shelter looked separated only by a door, they were effectively two different spaces.
Only when the door was open did the shelter and the outside exist in the same space. That's why once he closed the main door, his Shadow Surveillance Eyes deployed outside would fail.
But now, thick fog covered the outside. If he opened the door and the spaces connected, the fog would spill in, and the safe place would become unsafe.
"Looks like I have to go out, but I should buy some equipment first."
Guan Tong opened the terminal market and searched the keywords "anti-corrosion" and "full-body protection."
He couldn't get government-produced protective gear right now, so he looked to see if the market offered anything. If he could buy some, he could avoid spending Shadow resources to cover his body.
Search results appeared fast, filling several pages. There were various gear items and medicines.
Guan Tong first looked at medicines.
[Anti-Corrosion Solvent]: After ingestion, the user will not suffer any type of corrosion for 12 hours.
Price: 6000 Ascension Coins
The effect was acceptable, but the duration was too short, so he dismissed it.
He scrolled through several pages and finally found what he wanted.
[Class-A Biochemical Full-Body Protective Suit]: When equipped, effectively resists various corrosives, chemical gases, and similar harm. Equipped with a breathing-circulation helmet that supplies harmless oxygen continuously for over 72 hours; recharge required in a safe-air area afterward. This item is tradable.
Price: 80,000 Ascension Coins
Eighty thousand Ascension Coins for a protective suit was expensive for ordinary Ascendants. The seller was likely taking advantage of the rule's timeliness to raise prices for groups.
That it hadn't been bought by organizations suggested others thought it of limited use. Because with the hidden rule unknown, few would risk venturing into the deep fog for exploration.
Most ordinary people hid in sealed places, and the government could deploy troops to clear the beasts... these factors kept the price from being snapped up. Since Guan Tong needed it, he did not overthink it and purchased it.
He equipped it immediately. A set of dark protective gear appeared from head to toe, looking very professional.
The helmet displayed the remaining oxygen amount: 72 hours (recharging).
"It seems the interior of this shelter counts as a 'safe-air area.' The helmet can recharge here... that's convenient."
Guan Tong had planned to recall the shelter when he left. Now, if his oxygen was low outside, he could summon the shelter to recharge instead of finding a location outside the fog—very handy.
He then searched the store for "attack warning" to see if any similar items existed, but the search returned "no results."
"...Seems items like that are in high demand."
Guan Tong wanted one to guard against beast ambushes and save Shadow consumption. Many organizations’ key figures likely feared surprise attacks and would scoop up such devices, so when similar items appeared on the market, teams' buyers would clear them out.
He thought of Jiang Ming from the Yongzhou base battle; Jiang Ming undoubtedly had attack-warning tools and valuable teleportation items, which cost many Ascension Coins to obtain... but their effectiveness saved him. Without those two item types, Jiang Ming would have died in Guan Tong's hands.
Since the market lacked what he wanted, Guan Tong let it go. He checked his status to make sure everything was fine, then walked to the door and opened it.
The moment his feet stepped outside into the fog, Guan Tong felt danger signals rise from his core.
Though he knew much of it was psychological from leaving a protected environment, he chose to be safe. He summoned his Shadow immediately, activated its vision, and split several Surveillance Eyes: one on his back, one on his chest, and one above his head.
This way, no matter which direction a beast struck, it would be detected.
Guan Tong held his Silver Hunter in his hands, the multifunction firearm that had accompanied him through many battles, and it would not be absent this time.
Since the authorities had verified firearms and artillery could harm the Nightmare Beasts, his Silver Hunt was sure to be useful in this rule.
"According to the hidden rule information, to find the fog's source we need to trace the beasts' tracks... That trace should be where they came from, right? How do we track that?"
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