The King of Black Fog

The abyss was right before them, separated from the group of eight by a pile of chaotic ice blocks—like a giant object had fallen from the sky, shattering the icy sea, sending chunks of ice flying and crashing down here.

The ice blocks varied in shape. Without snow or dust, they were pristine and beautiful, dreamlike.

"Is this the 'Naming Place'?" Tali asked dumbfounded.

Yeet walked up beside her, intentionally trying to scare her: "It's also called the 'Life-Saving Place'."

With such inside knowledge, Li Changzhou would reveal himself as soon as he spoke, so he kept silent.

"Old man," Andy turned to the old man, "where did you leave your name?"

The old man didn't speak, walking ahead, and everyone followed.

"Captain, Bai Zi and I all wrote our names together with the old man." Yeet said.

"Last time we came, we made a great deal," Bai Zi remarked, "though we lost six people."

"So their share also goes to us." Yeet added.

"Little Tali, when you see solid ice later, dig a bit more." Bai Zi looked at Tali with ill intent.

The two teased her together.

"Hmph, Yeet, Bai Zi, you two dig more as well." Tali retorted.

The old man stopped in front of a piece of ice, half-buried in the ground like a tombstone.

Numerous names were inscribed on it; except for four, the rest had a scratch mark over them, indicating death.

"All these people were led down by me." The old man said.

He stood in front of the ice tablet for a while, then stepped aside to make room.

Andy, Stone Fist, and Tali stepped forward to leave their names.

Li Changzhou glanced at it, at the original Shadow Team Captain whose identity he replaced, named 'Ming Zhou'.

It was interesting, to possess the 'Great Power - Dark' yet be called 'Ming Zhou', was it implying that only light could defeat darkness?

Li Changzhou outwardly resembled this 'Ming Zhou' Captain, yet fundamentally different. His instinct was [Black Mist], named 'Changzhou', but in essence dark.

This 'Ming Zhou' Captain might have been silently devoured by the 'Great Power - Dark' he possessed on the way to Della's Tavern; even constant stars have a day they extinguish, and mortal life only illuminates briefly.

"Alright!"

"Brother Andy wrote his name too big!"

"The bigger you write it, the better luck you'll have, the longer you'll live!"

"Even if you die, everyone can instantly see you." Yeet said.

"Yeet—"

"Let's go, hurry up." The old man interrupted the young ones' antics, his expression serious.

The eight continued onward.

Tali took a deep breath; now, they were truly about to enter the abyss. She clenched her hands; only four names were still alive on the ice tablet. Could she survive?

The abyss was a deep pit.

How deep? No corpse that fell had ever climbed back up.

The old man unwound two coils of rope; old man, Andy, Yeet, and Bai Zi formed one team; Li Changzhou, Yang Qinglan, Tali, and Stone Fist the other.

"Remember," the old man confirmed the tightness of each person's rope, "if someone slips and can't hold on, cut the rope without hesitation—from here down, there are no teammates, no family, no friends."

"Don't worry too much," Yeet comforted the trembling Tali, "there will be a long 'Safe Zone' for you to get used to; you need money, just go a little deeper into the 'Fallout Zone,' you'll have more solid ice than you can carry."

"With the captain here, the 'Fallout Zone' is nothing." Bai Zi said.

Tali firmly pressed her lips together and nodded.

"Yeet! You're first!" The old man called out.

"Damn it!"

Tali noticed that when Yeet approached the abyss, the tips of his fingers were trembling slightly; he too was afraid.

For some reason, Tali felt relieved. If even Yeet was afraid, what good was her own fear?

Yeet firmly drove the iron spikes on the tips of his boots deep into the ice wall, the ice axe in his hand striking the surface, inch by inch, slowly descending.

Next was the old man, then Andy, and finally Bai Zi.

Li Changzhou's group, he was the first.

He had no experience climbing ice walls, but he had the courage to navigate cliffs in heavy rain and low temperatures, as well as the skills to fight Guanyin and Sun Wukong.

His body was not yet fully adhered to the ice wall, but he was already adept, even surpassing the old man in strength techniques.

Second was Yang Qinglan, third was Tali, and finally Stone Fist.

The eight split into two groups, inching down the ice wall like worms.

The cold from the ice wall was biting; using ice spikes and ice axes to carve into the surface, hands, and feet themselves like tools, were frozen to the point of numbness, separated from the mind by a distant gap.

"Don't look down!" the old man shouted, "Don't gaze into the abyss!"

Ding! Ding! Ding!

With three strikes, Yang Qinglan managed to lodge the ice axe into the wall, fine shards of ice fell, halfway transforming into tiny figures, irrevocably plunging into the abyss.

Down, down, ten minutes, half an hour, an hour, three hours.

The sun gradually rose, while the temperature plummeted sharply.

"Beware!" the old man spoke for the umpteenth time, "The only danger in the Safe Zone is yourself!"

Tali looked up at the sky; the sun above the abyss felt frozen, icy cold.

The rope around her waist pulled gently; she snapped to attention, knowing that the solitary one had descended to the limit where the rope could still reach between them. She inhaled through her lips (taking a breath through the nose as soon as they entered the abyss was like a cut from a knife), and began descending as well.

After stopping, Yang Qinglan caught her breath.

She turned her head, seeing a glimmer of excitement in Li Changzhou's eyes. In such a precarious environment, he wasn't afraid at all.

"There's someone below." she whispered.