usenovelonline Chapter 218: The first route
Chapter 218: The first route
The yellow-white light from the [Intermediate Fog Lantern] slowly spread outward, forcing the churning gray fog in front of the main entrance to retreat bit by bit. In just a few seconds, a thirty-meter safe zone appeared amid the dense fog, revealing the cracked road surface, abandoned vehicles, and a few withered trees that had dried to the point of looking like little more than black husks.
The Survivors standing behind the main entrance went completely silent.
A few minutes earlier, quite a few of them had still been quietly laughing at room 2705 for being too arrogant, thinking that Rover leading a group of beautiful women into the fog was no different from seeking his own death. But now, watching the fog that terrified everyone being pushed back by lantern light, those smiles had completely disappeared.
What Rover held in his hand wasn’t just a lantern.
It was a key opening up a whole expanse of land that most Survivors had never had the chance to touch.
Rover paid no attention to the greedy gazes behind him. He held the first lantern and walked straight into the light zone. Rilia walked a few meters ahead of him. The cloak had been straightened back into place after the display of power in the lobby. However, the fog around her body still unconsciously parted to either side, as if giving way to an existence of similar nature but higher order.
Nanoe walked beside Rover, her gaze continuously observing every small movement in the environment. Selina held her position to the left, one hand resting on her sword hilt, her posture relaxed as if she were just taking a stroll. Elith stood slightly ahead, small spiders crawling out from her sleeve and dispersing into the fog at the edge of the light zone. Sunako clutched the final lantern, her steps nearly pressing up against Rover.
Selina glanced at her, the corner of her lips curving up slightly.
"Are you scared?"
Sunako immediately stood straight, her expression so serious it looked as if she had just been insulted.
"I’m not scared."
"Then why are you walking so close to Rover?"
Sunako thought for a moment, then calmly answered: "Because Great Lord Rover is the most important asset of the future territory. I’m standing in the most strategically convenient position to protect him."
Selina looked at her, then looked at Rover.
"You’re protecting Master?"
Sunako was silent for two seconds, then finally decided to be honest.
"At least if something charges out, standing close to Great Lord Rover is definitely safer than standing close to you."
Selina burst out laughing.
Even Nanoe curved her lips slightly. The heavy atmosphere created by the fog immediately lightened a bit.
Rover paid no attention to that little exchange. His gaze was still watching every small movement at the edge of the light zone. The fog wasn’t completely still. It was moving, slowly crawling around the lantern light like a living creature unwilling to be pushed back.
After a while, Elith slightly frowned.
Three small spiders crawled back from within the fog. Their exteriors were still mostly normal, but closer examination revealed that the black carapaces had developed a few pale gray veining patterns. One had even grown an extra small spike on its front leg, and its reactions were slower than usual.
Elith extended her hand.
The spiders immediately crawled onto her palm.
"The fog causes mutation faster than anticipated."
Nanoe examined them carefully for a few seconds, then asked: "How long were they inside?"
"Less than three minutes."
"Range?"
"About forty meters beyond the light zone."
Nanoe thought for a moment then immediately made a decision.
"Don’t let the same group of spiders operate for too long. Divide into three layers. The outer layer only scouts briefly then immediately returns. The middle layer checks the ground and structures near the route. The inner layer stays within the light zone to replace mutated ones."
Elith nodded.
"I understand."
She lightly raised her hand. The spiders crawling around her feet immediately divided into smaller groups and dispersed in different directions. A few ventured into the fog while the rest clung to old vehicles, crumbling walls, and leaning utility poles to find better observation positions.
Rilia turned her head to look at the scene, her gaze pausing on Nanoe for a few more seconds.
She still hadn’t fully understood why Rover entrusted so much decision-making authority to this brown-haired woman. But after just a short stretch of walking, Rilia had already recognized that Nanoe was different from most who only knew how to stand behind a man and wait to be protected.
She wasn’t the strongest.
Didn’t have overwhelming aura like Selina.
Also didn’t have the ability to summon spiders like Elith.
But Nanoe always spotted problems very quickly, then offered solutions simple and practical enough for everyone to immediately act on.
Rover was clearly very accustomed to this as well.
He didn’t cut in.
Didn’t try to display meaningless authority.
Just let Nanoe do what she was best at.
Rilia turned her head back and continued leading the way.
After walking about a hundred meters, Elith placed the second lantern on the ground. The core that had just been activated immediately burst into yellow-white light, connecting with the light zone behind. A safe stretch of road cutting through the fog slowly took shape.
Nanoe turned her head to look back toward the apartment complex.
The main entrance was still visible, but had become much smaller. The Survivors standing there looked like a crowd of shadowy figures crowded behind glass, not one daring to step outside even a single step.
"Lanterns shouldn’t only be used for exploration." Nanoe said softly. "If we open a stable route, it will become room 2705’s own road."
Rover looked at her.
Nanoe smiled and continued explaining: "Other Survivors can follow along too. But the lanterns are ours. The route is one we opened. If they want to use it, they pay a price."
Sunako hearing this, her eyes immediately lit up.
"A toll?"
"Possibly."
"Gold coins?"
"Or items."
Sunako immediately turned to look at Rover, her expression full of seriousness.
"Great Lord Rover, I feel Sister Nanoe is very well suited to managing the territory’s finances."
Nanoe glanced at her.
"You’re only realizing this now?"
Sunako cleared her throat.
"I was just confirming once more."
Rover shook his head, but the corner of his lips curved up slightly.
Nanoe was right.
Fog lanterns weren’t just tools.
They could also become a type of control.
In a world where fog blocked every path, whoever held the light would hold the ability to move. As long as room 2705 opened routes safe enough, other Survivors would sooner or later have to come to them.
Of course, it was still far too early to think that far ahead.
Today, their goal was only to test the first route.
The group continued forward.
Rilia didn’t move too fast. She understood clearly that the people behind her couldn’t operate as naturally in the fog as she could. Every time they had walked a stretch, she would stop for a few seconds to let Elith check the area ahead before continuing to lead the way.
About three hundred meters in, a very small sound rang out from the right.
Rustle...
Selina immediately stopped.
Her gaze turned to an overturned truck lying outside the edge of the light zone. The fog around the truck wavered slightly, then a black shape suddenly lunged out at extreme speed.
It might once have been a large dog.
But now its body was severely deformed. The back was covered in bone spikes. All four legs had extended abnormally. The gray-black skin was covered in small eyes that kept blinking open and shut.
Sunako sucked in a breath.
"That’s disgusting..."
The monster didn’t give her more time to react.
It charged straight into the light zone, jaws spread wide to reveal two rows of sharp fangs coated in mucus.
Selina vanished.
Whoosh!
A sword flash.
The monster’s body continued lunging forward a few more meters, but its head had already left its neck, rolling across the ground to stop near Rover’s foot.
Black blood flowed out.
A foul stench immediately spread in the air.
Sunako looked at the head with its dozens of eyes, then quietly stepped half a step further back toward Rover.
Selina returned. The sword in her hand wasn’t stained with a single drop of blood.
"Weaker than I expected."
Rilia said coldly: "This is only a low-level mutated monster."
Her words hadn’t finished before two more black shapes lunged out from the opposite side.
This time Rilia didn’t let Selina act.
She raised her hand.
Crack!
A surge of cold air burst into the air. The two monsters that had just entered the light zone were immediately frozen from head to foot, turning into two solid ice blocks before they could reach anyone.
Rilia lightly clenched her fist.
BOOM!
The two ice blocks exploded.
Elith didn’t need Rover’s order. Spider silk immediately shot out, dragging the most intact corpse along with the carcass Selina had just cut down to Rover.
Rover placed his hand on the carcass.
[Reclaim.]
The gray-black skin quickly turned to ash, then dissolved into the air. Only Rover could see the small notification panel appearing before him.
[Reclaim successful.]
[You have received Omni Points.]
The number wasn’t large.
But Rover’s gaze immediately changed.
Monsters outside the fog weren’t only obstacles.
They were resources.
Omni Points.
If there were enough of them, this was a hunting ground no one had ever exploited.
Nanoe stood beside him and noticed the very small change on his face. She didn’t ask what Rover had just received, only smiled gently.
She knew him far too well.
If Rover’s eyes lit up in that particular way, he had certainly just received a benefit practical enough to matter.
The group continued pushing deeper.
After nearly a kilometer, Elith suddenly stopped.
A few strands of spider silk on her fingertips simultaneously snapped.
Not pulled taut.
Not bitten apart by monsters.
They simply lost connection.
Elith frowned, then directed another spider toward the narrow alley on the left. The spider had barely entered ten meters when its body began convulsing violently. The carapace on its abdomen bulged, and then a few features resembling a human face trying to push out from inside appeared.
Elith immediately clenched her hand.
Pop!
The spider exploded.
Sunako went pale.
"What was that?"
"Unknown." Elith answered.
Nanoe looked toward the alley.
Inside there was only fog.
But the feeling was completely different from the surrounding areas. The fog there was thicker and darker, as if concealing something that shouldn’t be looked at for too long.
"Mark it." Nanoe said. "Don’t enter."
Rover nodded.
No need to be reckless.
They didn’t lack time to the degree of needing to check every dark corner in the very first outing.
Rilia looked toward the southwest. Her gaze cooled slightly.
"The aura is similar to an area I once sensed."
Nanoe asked: "The soul existence that Millan once mentioned?"
"Not that powerful." Rilia answered. "Perhaps only a branch or an affected area."
Rover committed the location to memory.
If the soul zone was truly spreading, this couldn’t be ignored. A time bomb sitting less than twenty miles from the apartment complex would sooner or later become a problem. But before dealing with it, room 2705 needed more resources and combat strength.
The group circled past the alley and continued forward.
Three lanterns were placed in succession.
Each ring of light connected into a narrow route cutting through the fog. Behind them, the apartment complex had completely disappeared from view. Only the distant light from the lanterns proved the way back still existed.
About nearly three kilometers in, Rilia suddenly stopped.
The fog ahead was slightly thinner.
A large complex of structures slowly materialized through the gray-white curtain.
It was an old freight depot.
The sign outside the gate had snapped off by half. The metal fence leaned at angles. The wide yard was covered in dust. Old trucks and shipping containers lay scattered like enormous skeletons left behind after the Apocalypse.
Deeper inside were three large warehouses.
Rolling shutters closed tight.
No light.
No sound.
Sunako looked at the rows of warehouses stretching into the distance. Her eyes immediately lit up.
"Great Lord Rover..."
Rover looked at her.
"If there are still goods inside, are we rich?"
Nanoe was calmer.
"Check for monsters first."
Elith raised her hand.
A swarm of small spiders immediately crawled through the gate, quickly dispersing into the freight depot.
One minute passed.
Two minutes.
Three minutes.
None came back.
Elith frowned slightly.
"Connection lost."
Right at that moment, the rolling shutter of the largest warehouse suddenly began to vibrate.
BOOM!
A heavy sound echoed from within.
Then came the sound of metal being dragged across concrete.
Screech...
Screech...
Screech...
Sunako instinctively pressed against Rover.
The rolling shutter continued shaking violently.
A gap appeared at the bottom.
From within the darkness, a massive hand covered in gray flesh slowly reached out. Its elongated, malformed fingers gripped tight on the bottom edge of the shutter.
Rover looked at the scene without retreating at all.
The corner of his lips slowly curved up.
"Looks like there are still goods."
He looked at the hand that was pulling the rolling shutter up bit by bit.
"Just something is keeping the warehouse for us."