Chapter 3 First Copy _1

Zheng Yichen wondered if the video could be used as proof.

It should be used as proof while being sold. Hunters are meant to deal with the extraordinary, not to be videographers. To use it for proof, one would probably need to set up the recording equipment themselves and then rely on their own strength to directly blow up the anomaly that appeared... which is a bit difficult.

Another team of civilian 'Fog Travelers' took a different route from Zheng Yichen, and he could even see some other 'fellow travelers'.

This place was close to the suburbs, not uninhabited, so many would choose to avoid it if anomalies appeared nearby, but there was no lack of those who wanted to satisfy their curiosity.

Zheng Yichen's estimate was still very accurate. The location of the anomaly was indeed no more than three hundred meters from his motel. As he approached the scene, he could see more clearly a 'crack' in the dense fog, the surrounding mist pouring into it like a waterfall.

Is this really an anomaly? Zheng Yichen's eyes widened; it was his first time coming into close contact with Hazy City's fog anomaly. Before this, he had only seen some clips on the internet.

Facing the surging mist, an intense pressure made him tense all over. Zheng Yichen held his phone steady.

Despite the tension, he was clear about his purpose for coming here.

In the churning fog, one could vaguely see huge, writhing shadows. Those shadows seemed to be trying to escape from the 'sinking' crack. The fog didn't muffle the sounds; as the shadows writhed, he could hear some cries of alarm coming from afar.

And the grating sound of a dog barking.

Woof, woof, woof—Awooo~

The barking turned into a howl like that of a wolf.

?

Zheng Yichen looked toward the source of the noise; four people were running while a dog chased after them. What was once an ordinary stray dog had now mutated, its fur writhing subtly as if alive. Animals undergoing mutations after encountering anomalies were bizarre, but what he was seeing was still within the realm of Zheng Yichen's understanding.

At least it was still a dog.

Even if it had grown much larger and its torn flesh exposed robust, crimson muscles, it was still a dog, right? A dog with an unusually high number of teeth?

After that, a sharp cat's cry echoed, and after seeing the source of the sound, Zheng Yichen's eyes twitched involuntarily. Who let their leopard out? This creature was far more dangerous than the dog.

It seemed that within the range of the anomaly, the area's small animals had experienced obvious mutations. So what about humans? Zheng Yichen quickly patted his chest, the familiar texture reassuring him as he sighed with relief and quietly followed the group of civilians being chased by the dog, preparing to take action against the canine.

He also observed the difference between civilian and official Fog Travelers. No wonder the authorities discouraged civilians from pursuing anomalies in the mist.

If official Fog Travelers were here, they would have likely already armed themselves and retaliated. In Hazy City, carrying a firearm usually required an appropriate identity, something not accessible for the average person.

A chicken farm owner could carry a gun precisely because he was a chicken farm owner, and that counted as an appropriate identity.

As Zheng Yichen was ready to sneakily launch an unfair attack, a large rat suddenly burst out, its body larger than a normal cat, with tubular tongues exposed from its gaping mouth, all attesting to its status as an extraordinary creature. It lunged towards Zheng Yichen's leg, but before it could touch him, a swift, silent shadow flashed by, biting the large rat's neck.

That cat!

Then several more large rats burst out of the fog, eying the cat menacingly. The cat, with the large rat in its mouth, leaped elegantly, bouncing off a street light and landing on the adjacent wall.

Zheng Yichen's gaze shifted from the bent street light and, without any hesitation, he began a strategic retreat, followed by several large rats, squeaking in pursuit.

Meanwhile, other Fog Travelers were encountering some problems, and the whole area plunged into complete chaos.

A large running rat was impaled through the head by a long black spear, its body rapidly shriveled, and was flung onto the ground, shattering into pieces.

"Not even as good as a chicken," Zheng Yichen spat, shaking his 'fishing rod.' His thrust was very precise, mainly due to his practice in hunting small animals before; those mutated ones weren't big but were quite fast.

The remaining large rats sniffed the fragments on the ground, their blood-red eyes staring at Zheng Yichen as he prepared to run again, gradually retreating.

When Zheng Yichen found that dog, it was restlessly glaring at the crack in the dense fog, appearing anxious. Seeing this, Zheng Yichen paused, "Did those people run in there?"

"Awoo—" The mutated dog didn't answer Zheng Yichen, howling as it charged toward him.

Before it even reached Zheng Yichen, it was pierced through the mouth by a black spearshaft over two meters long. As with most extraordinary creatures, as long as they don't possess some kind of extended attack mode, long weapons have an undeniable advantage, making it easier to kill them instantly when the opportunity arises.

Extraordinary creatures are still creatures.

Taking a breath, Zheng Yichen looked toward the crack in the thick fog; indeed, someone had panicked and run inside. He glanced at the wild dog's 'dead body' beside him, looking like a dried-out corpse; his next task was simply to bring this thing back to get his license, a dog was certainly more valuable than a chicken, and this brought him new intelligence along the way.

Near the anomalies in the dense fog, extraordinary creatures were more likely to appear.

This was new knowledge not found on the news or the internet.

Within the crack in the dense fog, Zheng Yichen saw a massive shadow slowly shrinking, suggesting that the anomaly wouldn't last much longer, which he found a bit regrettable.

But then, a dark figure emerged from the churning fog, dragging several 'dead bodies' behind. The figure also saw Zheng Yichen and then looked at the dog's corpse: "A native warrior? Then I'll leave these people to you; don't let them cause us any more trouble."

Zheng Yichen understood what the figure said, but the problem was that the newcomer was wearing a huge dog's head. For a moment, Zheng Yichen even thought it might be a relative of the dog, come for revenge, but after just tossing those unconscious people back and leaving a terse message, the figure hurried back into the fog.

The departing dog-headed figure left Zheng Yichen staring into the crack in the fog, deep in thought. So was this crack truly just a simple anomaly? He couldn't help but think of some photos on the internet that looked like Photoshopped fragments.

This gave Zheng Yichen an urge to enter the anomaly and explore the truth. He had checked the few unfortunate people the dog-head had brought out; aside from a couple of vicious-looking bites, there were no other injuries.

In the distance, he heard the sound of police sirens; Hazy City responded very quickly to the appearance of an anomaly.

Zheng Yichen hesitated for a moment and then walked toward the depths of the crack. He had prepared to encounter the extraordinary; might as well learn a bit more about the current situation.

As he approached the core area of the anomaly, Zheng Yichen felt a strong pressure making him uncomfortable and breathless, like altitude sickness, possibly causing him to faint at any moment. But then this strange feeling abruptly vanished, replaced by the relief one feels after removing weights following resistance training. The fog in his vision also started to dissipate gradually.

Click—

A pair of hands took his fishing rod and backpack, and, conveniently, a pair of handcuffs was fastened around Zheng Yichen's wrists. He saw the dog-headed figure who adjusted what seemed to be a police cap: "It's you? Never mind, take him away first!"

"Wait! I don't even know what's happening, where am I?"

"Don't know what's happening? Do you realize you've trespassed?" the dog-head said with a somewhat strange expression: "You've adapted quite well, go and make a statement first; we'll tell you the rest later."

Us?

In the temporary detention center, Zheng Yichen realized he wasn't the only person who had been brought here.