Chapter 28: The Abandoned Town at Twilight

Chapter 28: The Abandoned Town at Twilight

"I honestly don't know much about the target Danger Beast myself."

Dorn held a stemmed glass, habitually swirling it twice, sniffing the contents, and then taking a small sip.

It was completely tasteless.

He set the glass down, his last glimmer of hope extinguished—it was just the most ordinary bottled water.

"Then tell me what you do know," Jiang Ren said, casting a glance at him.

Dorn recalled for a moment before saying, "The target Danger Beast is located in a remote small town called Gulad. The residents migrated en masse for various reasons, leaving the town abandoned for over a decade."

"Starting a month ago, people from all over the country seemed to hear some kind of mysterious summons. They ignored all obstacles to reach that town, and once they entered, they never came out again."

He took another sip of water and continued, "The reason my client wants to hire you is that a relative of theirs disappeared a week ago. According to GPS records, the last known location was on the outskirts of that town."

Jiang Ren was curious. "Since your client has the money to hire me, haven't they tried sending others in before?"

"They tried, but it was useless." Dorn explained, "The outskirts of the town are shrouded in thick black fog. Once you enter, you lose all contact. Even wearing the most advanced protective gear is ineffective, and any electronic devices stop working the moment they enter."

"Sounds like a Level 4 Danger Beast."

Jiang Ren suddenly felt a sense of hunger.

It was not a hunger originating from his stomach, but from his left arm.

This hunger seemed to be urging him to hurry to that town and devour the Danger Beast inside, which was likely a Level 4.

"Then why haven't you reported it to the government?" Jiang Ren asked his final question as he swallowed a large piece of chocolate, using the high caloric intake to suppress the hunger.

A Danger Beast like this, capable of drawing people from across the entire Federation and suspected of being Level 4, would certainly not be ignored if reported to the federal government. That would also save a large sum on hiring an eradicator.

Dorn shook his head. "The federal government might choose extreme methods to deal with the Danger Beast just to save money. My client’s wish is to rescue their trapped relative, and if possible, clean up the Danger Beast while they're at it."

When the federal government encountered Danger Beasts far from populated areas, faced with the choice between high-priced eradicators and affordable modern weaponry, they usually opted for the latter to save a significant amount of money. Clearly, if they did that, the client's relative would surely die.

"What if the client's relative is already dead by the time I get there?" Jiang Ren found a loophole; he didn't want the other party using that as an excuse to withhold the final payment.

Dorn replied without hesitation, "Then just kill the Danger Beast. The final payment will be paid in full."

"I like clients who are that straightforward."

Jiang Ren caught a glimpse of Dorn’s left forearm from the corner of his eye. When Dorn was drinking, a small, inconspicuous pattern was revealed on his forearm.

It looked like an eye.

It seemed this eradication mission might be more interesting than any previous one.

Jiang Ren smiled, adjusted his seat, and leaned back.

A two-hour drive. A short nap would be just right.

On the desolate highway where cars were rarely seen, the speeding heavy truck reached its destination in just one hour and thirty-nine minutes—twenty-one minutes ahead of schedule.

Along the way, Jiang Ren's employees noticed several times that personnel in federal military uniforms saw them from afar and cleared the roadblocks in advance.

Jiang Ren only learned of this after he woke up. He became increasingly curious about the identity of his client.

"Is this the black fog?"

Jiang Ren stepped out of the truck and saw the thick black fog ahead. He stepped forward and reached his left hand in, sensing nothing. He then reached out his right hand, feeling only a slight chill.

His beastly intuition did not trigger a warning, meaning it was relatively safe inside. Jiang Ren mused silently; since arriving in this world, because of his overwhelming strength, his beastly intuition had almost never given a warning. The only few times it had were when he used his left arm.

"Just keep an eye on the truck for this eradication," Jiang Ren said, turning to the employees behind him who were pulling out prohibited weapons.

"Yes, sir!" the burly employees replied immediately.

Whenever they encountered particularly dangerous threats, Jiang Ren, as their boss, would have them stand by or handle logistics. Naturally, they had no objections to this. Although they wanted money, choosing between a monthly salary and bonuses versus a death payout was a very simple choice.

"Let's go."

Jiang Ren walked straight into the black fog. Dorn immediately stepped forward, trying to follow.

"Wait!"

A large hand rested on his shoulder.

Dorn's eyes turned cold, and the eye pattern on his left forearm grew slightly warm.

Just then, a backpack appeared next to him. The employee holding it said, "Our boss needs to replenish a lot of calories. This is full of high-calorie chocolate. Since you're going in with him, please carry this."

"Right, that’s only fair."

Dorn immediately put on a smile, took the backpack, and trotted into the black fog.

Inside the fog, one could see nothing, hear nothing, and smell nothing. Jiang Ren could only move forward based on the direction he had entered. After walking straight for about ten meters, the black fog finally thinned.

An abandoned town under a twilight sky appeared before them.

Outside, the scorching sun had been hanging high, enough to make one sweat. But here, within the fog, the sky was as gloomy and dim as blood, and the temperature was as cold as winter. Combined with the dilapidated, deserted buildings with decades of history, it was just like—

A classic horror movie set.

"If they filmed a horror movie here, they'd save a fortune on set design," Jiang Ren mused. If he weren't uninterested in being a director, he might have considered negotiating with the Danger Beast to let him film a movie before killing it.

"It's so cold. Jiang, have you found the Danger Beast's aura?" Dorn had also emerged from the fog, rubbing his arms and looking around in fear.

Jiang Ren was about to shake his head when he heard a sound.

*Clang—*

*Clang——*

*Clang———*

The sound grew louder and longer with each toll.

Dorn said, "It's the clock tower tolling!"

Jiang Ren didn't speak, simply looking toward the source of the sound: the center of the town. In this abandoned town filled with low-rise buildings, the clock tower, which stood much taller than the rest, was easy to find.