The King of Black Fog

"Click!"

"Click!"

Li Changzhou knew, as he heard the sound of photography, that his wallet was going to suffer again.

"Do you have any idea what portrait rights and privacy rights are?"

"If that's how you want to put it, I can only sell you two months' worth of lunches," Li Qianxia said, not only unrepentant but also demanding a higher price. She was utterly lawless, showing no regard for the law or her brother.

At the same time... she also ignored the reality—Li Changzhou's wallet couldn't afford to treat anyone for two months.

Yang Qinglan looked at Li Changzhou's face and saw the anger and helplessness he felt towards his sister. When his gaze shifted to her, there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.

She too had a hint of a smile, "There's a saying in philosophy, what you need controls you."

The realization suddenly dawned on Li Changzhou, and he turned to Li Qianxia, "No photos, no living expenses for next month."

"Ah—"

"Teacher Yang, do you think I've got it right?" Li Changzhou asked Yang Qinglan.

Yang Qinglan thought seriously and decided to respond with a quote from Nietzsche, "Li student, you need something a bit more advanced than desire."

"Exactly! You don't need money at all, give it all to me!" Li Qianxia chimed in.

Li Changzhou placed his hand on her face and pushed her away, too lazy to bother with her.

He had now seen the light; Li Qianxia liked to keep her own money and trick his out of him, so he'd use the threat of withholding living expenses against her.

"Are you feeling better? Any discomfort anywhere?" he asked Yang Qinglan.

"I'm fine," Yang Qinglan nodded slightly.

"Can you continue?" he asked again.

"Let's give it a try," she said with a smile, "Without trying, I won't know if I can."

Li Changzhou was concerned but didn't believe that Yang Qinglan would push herself too hard over something like this.

The black fog stretched out a "hand".

Yang Qinglan breathed slightly heavily, her eyes closed a little, her expression one of pain and discomfort, like motion sickness.

After a while, she accepted the third skill.

"That's about enough," she said with her eyes closed, her eyelashes fluttering lightly like butterfly wings, "If I continue, my body will collapse."

She felt the world silently shaking, and things that should be stable, like leaves in the air, seemed to be falling. She couldn't confirm the distance between objects.

Despite the incredible sensation, her brain seemed to be covered with a thin veil, indifferent to all the feelings and events unfolding.

It took a while before Yang Qinglan felt the world settle down again, Li Changzhou half a meter away from her, Li Qianxia's figure slender, and she regained concept over things.

Before imparting the skills to Li Qianxia, the siblings listened to Yang Qinglan's summary of the "victim's" firsthand experience.

Yang Qinglan recounted her previous feelings in detail.

"It sounds like motion sickness coupled with insomnia," Li Changzhou murmured thoughtfully.

"Somewhat," Yang Qinglan agreed.

"But Yafeiluna and the other two don't seem to have serious side effects," Li Qianxia wondered.

Li Changzhou looked at Yang Qinglan, wanting to hear her thoughts as his understanding of the black fog was nothing close to understanding.

It was like a smartphone with numerous functions—he only knew how to use it, but had no clue how those functions were implemented.

And Yang Qinglan was like someone who was taken into the phone, using the camera to add cat ears, a tail, and paws to their image.

Yang Qinglan, having turned into a "catgirl," might not understand the phone's functions as well as Li Changzhou did, but due to her direct experience, her understanding of the essence (probably limited to photo editing) surpassed that of someone only proficient in using their fingers.

"I have a theory," Yang Qinglan said thoughtfully.

The siblings didn't speak, quietly waiting for her to organize her thoughts.

"Seeing... the black fog," she started, "the more you resist, the more you distrust it, the greater the side effects."

"You don't trust me?" Li Changzhou caught the crux and immediately asked.

"What do you think?" Yang Qinglan looked at him with an expression that said 'if I didn't trust you, I'd be dead,' and 'don't talk nonsense.'"

"So you mean your trust in me is less than the trust Yafeiluna, Hede and the others have?"

"Brother," Li Qianxia nudged him with her elbow, "you sound as aggrieved as a baby right now."

"Because our relationship is equal," Yang Qinglan explained to the baby, "They see you as 'master' and naturally trust you unconditionally and wholeheartedly, while my trust in you... is still under scrutiny."

"What's there to scrutinize?!" Li Changzhou remembered the first time he entered the instance, hadn't he already passed the test?

Yang Qinglan brushed the hair from her cheek, "It's a different kind of scrutiny."

"..."

"Baby," Li Qianxia nudged him again with her elbow, "you're about to drool."

Li Changzhou coughed lightly with his hand in a fist by his mouth, then turned to Yang Qinglan, who was eagerly watching the spectacle, and asked, "Continue, what are the consequences of not trusting?"

"The consequences of not trusting," Yang Qinglan paused, "whether it leads to death or not I can't say, but at the very least it will be very painful, and it might even cause a mental breakdown."

Li Changzhou nodded, then added, "Let me add one more thing, though I don't know if it's of any use."

He recounted how he mentally "threatened" the black fog not to scare people when he was controlling it to impart skills on others, demanding it be gentle.

This was yet another conjecture where no concrete conclusion could be deduced no matter the speculation.

"Think that when you give others skills, it's no trouble, except of course the enemies." Finally, Yang Qinglan said.

"Mhm," Li Changzhou agreed, his gaze shifting to Li Qianxia, "My dearest sister, it's time to test your trust in your brother."

Struggling, Li Qianxia took out the prepared identity card. If she could, she really didn't want to see the black fog again.

She covered her eyes, bracing for impact, "Bring it!"

Covering her eyes was useless; this might not even be a matter of the mind, but something that touches deeper into the soul.

The black fog stretched out a "hand".

"Ah! Stop, stop, stop! I'm dizzy! Go easy!"

Being able to shout meant she was okay.

But if even Li Qianxia felt dizzy, did it prove that Yang Qinglan's trust in him was indeed quite high?

Or did it suggest that it wasn't their lack of trust, but his insufficient mastery over the black fog?

Soon, Li Qianxia also filled the two empty skill slots.

Neither of them replaced existing skills, as they had already studied them for quite a while and wanted to try and "fully master" them, accumulating learning experience.

Yang Qinglan chose three skills: "Big Wood Forest Spider Style·Spider Web", "Constricted Spotted Mushroom Style·Illusion Hearing", "Dead Vine Water·Illusion".

"Big Wood Forest Spider Style·Spider Web" was downgraded from B＋ to B.

A normal female Big Wood Forest Spider can spin a web about one meter in diameter to catch insects, even enough to prey on birds and bats.

Once turned into a skill, let alone people, players could be caught (shouldn't be eaten, just captured).

"Constricted Spotted Mushroom Style·Illusion Hearing", downgraded from B＋ to B, caused the target to experience auditory hallucinations. If intelligence was high enough, one could fabricate the content of the hallucinations.

"Dead Vine Water·Illusion", also downgraded from B＋ to B, showed the enemy whatever they feared the most.

Li Qianxia's new skills were: "Flat-headed Mud Bee·Powerful Neurotoxin" and "Super Speed".

"Flat-headed Mud Bee·Powerful Neurotoxin", downgraded from B＋ to B, had the same description: upon being injected with the toxin, victims became utterly subservient to the skill holder, with its effectiveness increasing as the enemy's health decreased.

After becoming B-rated, perhaps the "lower health" requirement had become stricter.

"Super Speed" was the instinct of an Eastern samurai that Li Changzhou had killed.

Name: Super Speed

Type: Skill

Quality: B

Special Effect: Increases agility by fifteen percent

Minimum Use Conditions: Constitution must be at least half that of agility

Introduction: Without breaking through the limit, agility will not exceed 10

Note: Speed——70 miles! The mood is, free and easy! Running with the wind, freedom is the direction! Chasing thunder~ and lightning! The power! (Frantically strumming the guitar strings, enough dandruff to last a week)

It's currently not very useful, but after breaking the limit, it would be a very useful skill.

"It's just that the 'note' is kind of disgusting," Li Qianxia complained.

"How much is a week's worth?" Li Changzhou pondered seriously.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know such things," Yang Qinglan interrupted his contemplation.

Both of their skills were carefully chosen, and even after dropping a level, they still remained at B-rating.

At this moment, their six skill slots were finally all filled; although not perfect, they were as good as possible.

Wanting better, more compatible skills would only be possible by taking the subway and going back to the past.

"When we get to the church, let the two of us practice first," Yang Qinglan told Li Changzhou.

"Absolutely!" Li Qianxia couldn't wait to try out just how much blood it would take to make someone obey her commands, it was a shame her brother wouldn't help with that.

"Okay, two lunches," Li Changzhou replied.

Yang Qinglan: "..."

"See, you taught her," Li Qianxia said, turning to her.

Yang Qinglan didn't know what to say anymore.

◇

Monreale Cathedral, located in the satellite town of Monreale on the island of Sicily near Palermo.

The Smoker, the Water Woman, the Dart Man, and the Pool Girl were sitting on the right side of the church.

On the left were the subordinates of the Cardinal in red, a group of monks.

Each side looked down on the other, the left considered the right as heathens, mud-bloods who did not believe in the religion, nor were they loved by the "Lord"; the right thought the left was all fucking nuts.

In front of the church, the omnipotent Lord's holy image was engraved on the high arch, with a stern gaze surveying every corner of the church.

As long as one entered this church, no matter where they stood, they would be watched by the omnipotent Lord.

Beneath the holy image, the Cardinal in red was talking to a nun.

"Calvino is dead, Hurd has been subdued, and Yafeiluna is on her way here, everyone armed with guns," the Cardinal in red murmured as if repeating a message conveyed to him by some presence.

"Do you need help?" asked the nun, Larena—saintly in demeanor yet with a figure exuding seductive allure.

The Cardinal in red looked into the distance, then came back to his senses, his voice calm and flat, "Under the 'Lord's' watch, no one can turn defeat into victory."

"I hope so," the nun replied.

On the seats, the four on the right were chatting softly.

"Miles, what are the odds of winning this time?" the Smoker asked, holding an unlit cigarette.

"You need to find me a woman first, then I can tell you," Miles responded.

"I remember you saying once you could use your hand too?" the Pool Girl asked curiously.

"I took an oath to the Lord that, unless absolutely necessary, I would never use my hand again," Miles replied, looking at the omnipotent Lord with devotion and respect.

The Smoker, the Water Woman, and the Pool Girl simultaneously clicked their tongues in unison.

"Smoker," Dart Man Miles glanced over the nun, then turned to the Smoker at his side, "after what happened last time, didn't you lose faith in me?"

"I tend to hold on to past connections. At home, I can't bear to throw away clothes I no longer wear, thinking there might be a time they'll come in handy. And you? Waste has its own... uses."

The Smoker hadn't finished speaking when the nun and the Cardinal in red turned around at the same time, their gazes directed toward the great bronze doors of the church over a hundred meters away.

The doors were immediately pushed open, and a band of people walked in, bringing with them the breeze of the Mediterranean and an unfriendly aura.

"Fuck! There's no pool table here!" the Pool Girl cursed softly, retreating backwards.

"And I don't have a woman... uh, that is, you two do your best!" The Dart Man retreated along with her.

The Smoker put the cigarette in his mouth, shielding the lighter with his hand as he lit it up, his eyes fixed on the unwelcome visitors at the bronze doors.

Amidst the sound of splashing water, several watery tentacles broke free from the Water Woman's back, shining like glass under the sunlight's refraction.

The Cardinal in red's gaze swept over the crowd, seeing Hurd, seeing Yafeiluna, and finally resting on the vague figure at the forefront.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"The 'Lord'," the vague figure replied.

The nun Larena's golden captivating eyes narrowed ever so slightly.