[No-Ji Void Zone].

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse.

As the bell signaling the end of evening self-study rings, students start to walk out of the classroom in groups of two or three, chatting and laughing as they stroll through the night. After a day of struggles, this may be the most relaxing time for them.

No homework, no teachers. Surrounded by a couple of friends, they can go home, take a shower, and climb into bed for a good rest. Isn't that wonderful?

Among the scattered crowd, a group of more than a dozen people suddenly emerges, marching out in an orderly and steady manner towards the school gate.

In the center of the group, a blindfolded young man stands out like the filling in a dumpling, tightly wrapped up.

Such a large group immediately attracts the attention of all the surrounding students.

"I can actually walk back by myself, really," Lin Qiye's mouth twitches slightly, somewhat helplessly speaking, "I can see, it's just that my eyes are not very tolerant to light..."

"No need to say more, Lin Qiye!" Jiang Qian interrupts Lin Qiye's words, speaking firmly and earnestly, "We promised your aunt to take good care of you, and we will definitely do it!"

"Yeah, Qiye, our homes are in the same direction, so it's on the way for us."

"I'm on the way too."

Lin Qiye: ...

To be honest, he now wishes he was the isolated one. Having spent too long in the darkness, he is not used to this feeling of being cared for by so many people, which makes him uncomfortable.

Of course, his aunt and Yang Jin don't count, because they are his family after all.

But they are indeed well-intentioned, so he can't say anything, and can only follow the crowd forward helplessly.

"I'll be turning right at the next intersection, but I can walk with you for a while."

"I have to turn here, so I'll go ahead. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

As they get farther away from the school, the classmates surrounding Lin Qiye gradually bid farewell and leave. A few minutes later, only five people are left by Lin Qiye's side.

The once lively atmosphere gradually quiets down, and the space suddenly becomes more spacious, causing Lin Qiye to let out a long sigh of relief.

"Do you think... that mist will really resurface and engulf Daxia again?" Li Yifei, carrying his backpack, turns his head curiously and asks.

"Haven't you heard what those experts said? The probability of the mist resurfacing is very low. Maybe there won't be any changes for the next hundred years. As for what happens after a hundred years... well, we won't be here then, so why worry so much?" Jiang Qian rolls her eyes.

"Come on, you know as well as I do that what those so-called experts say is the least reliable. What if we finally get into university and haven't enjoyed life yet, and then the mist swallows up the whole of Daxia? That would be a huge loss, right?"

"So, is that why you're slacking off in your studies every day now?" Jiang Qian walks up to Li Yifei and says seriously, "I have to remind you, Mr. Wang has already said that if you come last in this exam again, you'll have to move your desk to the side of the podium."

"I know, I know," Li Yifei smiles awkwardly.

"But, I really don't think that mist will resurface." Wang Shao, who is walking at the front, suddenly speaks up. "After all, the mist is just a natural phenomenon. When it reaches a certain critical point, it will gradually dissipate, just like the Ice Age. When the glaciers cover the land, with the rise in temperature, they will slowly recede, ushering in a new era."

"I know what you're talking about, it's called the natural disaster theory, right? It's quite widely accepted now," Jiang Qian nods.

"But what if... this mist is not just a natural phenomenon?" At that moment, Lin Qiye, who had been silent all this while, suddenly speaks up.

Wang Shao is taken aback, then smiles, "Qiye, you don't really believe in those so-called theologians who claim that this mist is related to supernatural forces, do you?"

"It's the 21st century, we should believe in science. There aren't so many supernatural things in the world," a classmate named Liu Yuan interjects.

Lin Qiye doesn't answer. He knows best whether there are things beyond science in this world, but there's no need to tell others about these things.

Li Yifei mutters quietly, "I actually think that if those things really exist, the world would be more interesting."

"Why talk about all this useless stuff? These things are not what we should be concerned about. Instead of worrying about whether the mist will resurface, it's more practical to get more sleep during the three-day Survival Day holiday," Jiang Qian laughs.

"Yes, holidays are the most important!"

...

At this moment, in the old town of Cangnan City.

A man is carrying a signboard, walking calmly on the desolate and dimly lit street. The old streetlights cast a dim light, continuously elongating his silhouette...

He glanced at his phone, walked to a narrow street intersection, and stopped.

"This is it..."

He muttered, put down the signboard on his shoulder, and adjusted it.

Under the flickering streetlights, the shadow of the signboard appeared and disappeared, and on the black background, a few bright red words were extremely eye-catching!

--- No entry ahead!

The man leaned against the streetlight, lit a cigarette for himself, took a deep drag, and then put on his earpiece.

"Captain, the third signboard is in place."

"Received, let's begin."

"Mm."

The man took a drag of his cigarette, walked up to the signboard, placed his thumb on his teeth, and bit down hard!

A drop of blood oozed from the wound, the man squatted down, and with his blood-stained thumb, he drew a long horizontal line across the four big words "No entry ahead"!

His eyes narrowed, an inexplicable momentum erupted from him!

He looked up at the black night sky, whispering in a voice only he could hear...

"Forbidden Ruins, [No-Ji Void Zone]."

The next moment, the bright red bloodstains on the signboard in front of him rapidly faded as if being absorbed, and then, the four big words "No entry ahead" burst into a red glow!

They gradually returned to their original state.

The man sat down on the ground, took a long breath, and complained somewhat.

"Damn, So exhausted..."

At this moment, if someone were to look down on Cangnan City from the sky, they would notice three points of light flashing near the old town area. Then, these three points of light would rapidly outline a dark red equilateral triangle, with the three points of light as its vertices!

At the moment the triangle took shape, half of the old town area covered by it seemed to vanish from the map, gradually disappearing...

However, from the ground, the old town area remained the same.

Meanwhile, in the center of this triangle, six figures in black and red cloaks streaked across the sky like lightning!

The man at the forefront looked up at the dark red sky, reached for the hilt behind him, and squinted slightly.

"Operation Ghost-Face Purge, commence."