Chapter 787 - 773: The Mist Has Arrived
"Chuck, how does it feel to have grown a tail?" Norris, who had already blended in with several other Mist Phenomenon patients, asked one of them.
The patient named Chuck twitched the beast-like tail behind him and replied, "It’s like... having an extra long, oddly placed finger."
"Hmm... is that so..." Norris looked at that tail, not sure what he was thinking.
At this moment, a child around seven or eight years old, squatting among a corner of mushrooms, weakly spoke: "Big brother Norris, I want to go home, I miss my mom."
The child’s nails were atypical, slender and sharp, effortlessly slicing through the mushrooms when touched.
Norris squatted down in front of the child, who instinctively pulled back his fingers, almost scratching his own palm before Norris swiftly caught them.
When this little boy had been found by the Mushroom Worship Sect disciples and brought back, he had just accidentally cut off a playmate’s arm while playing, using some of Lin Jun’s Water of Life to prevent the situation from escalating.
Norris took out his own small metal piece designed to inhibit nail growth, and while trimming the boy’s nails, he said, "Xiaokai, I know you want to go back, everyone here wants to go back, but we have to solve the problems first, right? Going back like this, you wouldn’t want to hurt your mom, would you?"
The little boy hesitated for a moment, then said, "But mom will be worried."
"Don’t worry, we will tell your mom that you have a talent and have been selected for special training, so they don’t have to worry. Once you’re cured, you’ll be able to return normally."
The boy finally sniffed hard and nodded.
After finishing with the nails, Norris ruffled the child’s hair: "There, that should hold for another three days. Now go play without worry."
Finally, Norris turned to the girl behind him, handing her a potion: "Ailara, here’s your resistance potion for today."
"Tha... thank you."
Ailara removed her closed-off mask, designed to prevent dragon breath injuries, drinking while casting a fervent glance at Norris.
In her eyes, Norris was not only her lifesaving hero but also a reliable mentor.
Most of the patients here only had singular mutations, like scales, Xiaokai’s claws, or her own frost breath.
But big brother Norris was different.
The first time she learned Norris was human too, she was really shocked.
With scales covering his entire body, sharp claws, and an odd indentation on his chest...
They were already suffering immensely from a single mutation, impacting normal life and even endangering themselves and those around them; Norris, who barely looked human, surely endured much hardship.
Despite this, he still gently helped them... the girl’s gaze grew even more eager.
Meanwhile, Norris felt somewhat puzzled.
In his view, the problems facing people like Ailara should be relatively easy for the boss to solve.
However, the boss just gathered them here without explaining the purpose?
Norris only hoped their situation wouldn’t become worse.
...
Lin Jun indeed has a method to resolve the issues of these Mist Phenomenon patients.
For instance, adding [Cold Resistance Level 10] to Ailara, so she wouldn’t need to drink a resistance potion daily.
But as observation subjects, Lin Jun doesn’t plan to intervene in such a way; their self-changes are part of Lin Jun’s observations.
Take Ailara as an example, even without Lin Jun’s intervention, her [Cold Resistance] is increasing at a rate far exceeding the ordinary.
And the child, although not as evident as Ailara, his [Physical Resistance] is indeed improving.
In Lin Jun’s view, they are like protagonists in a story, what doesn’t kill them only makes them stronger.
The best way to nurture them is through hardship, allowing them to endure suffering; probably in a few years, they’ll become a formidable warrior with numerous advanced skills.
Of course, Lin Jun doesn’t intend to do that.
Compared to consuming magic power to add full-level skills directly, their growth value is just that.
For Lin Jun, their value lies more in helping him understand how this "Mist Phenomenon" is generated.
Through comparative observation during this period, Lin Jun has gained some insights.
Lin Jun discovered that, under the [Inspiration] perspective, these Mist Phenomenon individuals seem to have a deeper connection with him than ordinary Fungus People.
The most notable point is in perceiving emotions; for most Fungus People, Lin Jun can only sense vague emotions, mostly doing judgment if they are lying.
But for these Mist Phenomenon individuals, the emotions perceived are much clearer.
For example now, Lin Jun can sense that the one called Ailara admires the tailless lizardman, even feeling somewhat aroused.
Tsk—
Schedule something so she sees Karen playing hide-and-seek with her reliable Norris mentor.
...
Although Lin Jun has great interest in exploring Mist Phenomenon, in reality, he only dedicates a relatively small part of his energy to this.
After all, there’s another more important matter at hand.
Along the western coastline of the Fungus Castle’s influence range, from the Gong River estuary extending south to a certain occupied Imperial port...
One Knight Puki after another was sent over, replacing some of the original defense unit Puki.
These Knight Puki, aside from having A Level Demon Crystal inside instead of S-Class Demon Crystal, have top-tier skill configurations, each possessing Diamond Level power or higher.
To combat the impending mist, Lin Jun has pretty much emptied his resources.
Many of these Knight Puki were amassed over time, being drawn from the Fungus Castle army’s ranks.
On the ocean, while the mist’s advance is still swift compared to its original speed, it has started to slow down.
According to Lin Jun’s predictions, if left unchecked, the mist’s progression on land this time will penetrate deeper than during the Human-Demon War, but it still won’t last long, not to the point of swallowing the entire Continent.
As long as the multi-layered defense arranged can withstand the first wave of mist’s impact, then plan retreat accordingly to mitigate the compressed mist’s recoiling impact, there’s a great chance of keeping the mist out of inland.
If that’s the case, the losses caused by the mist would be within acceptable limits.
Meanwhile, once the mist recedes again, if the Empire suffers heavy losses, it would be Lin Jun’s best opportunity.
At that time, Lin Jun would unite all races to defeat the Demon King!
For this purpose, Lin Jun has even prepared the Treemen of Elf Forest to expedition and battle.
...
Everything is ready, and the mist has finally arrived as expected.
However, surprises still happened.
After approaching the coastline, the mist suddenly accelerated non-periodically, rushing ashore, penetrating dozens of miles inland.
Fortunately, the cities near the coastline had been emptied in advance by Lin Jun, leaving only the stationed defense forces with no other people.
Nonetheless, a super massive Puki and Pink Puki that had just risen and were about to move east were unexpectedly swallowed by the mist.