City of Sin and Mist (The Black Death) Chapter 128: The Source

Besides those who had no choice but to participate in the Plague game, there was another type of player who joined willingly. These players might be in it for the rewards or simply drawn to the thrill of slaughter. In any case, they were very different from the desperate weaklings with nowhere else to turn.

And in this game, such individuals were clearly present.

A figure shrouded in black mist moved through the city. Of course, ordinary people could not see the black fog. He wore a suit and walked through the city quite inconspicuously, like an ordinary office worker. When passing female colleagues on the street, he would exchange polite smiles and nods.

He appeared refined and gentle, embodying the demeanor of a sophisticated intellectual. At most, there was a trace of pride deep within his bones. The glasses on his face made him seem utterly non-threatening.

Yet, recently, the number of people who had died because of him had possibly surpassed eighty—and the count was still rising.

Exponential growth was terrifying. At first, it went unnoticed, but over time, it became unbearable. Like the story of someone placing grains of rice on a chessboard, the chain reaction had only just begun. Once it spread fully, no one in the entire city would survive.

To live in this city and yet mercilessly kill everyone—perhaps he had long since grown to hate the world.

Wu Hui continued studying the data in his room.

Although Gao Cheng and Liao Yuan had already sifted through the information once, Wu Hui was, after all, Wu Hui; he managed to find a suspicious location and person hidden within the files.

“The commercial center controlled by Silkworm Cocoon Corporation—this should be the earliest site of the black fog outbreak. It’s a crowded area, making investigation difficult. Choosing this as the initial point of attack was clever,” Ren Yin said, reviewing the data Wu Hui had compiled.

“There were a few players who entered there that day, but the most suspicious is this one.” Wu Hui played a surveillance video he had obtained through his sister’s connections at Silkworm Cocoon Corporation.

The video showed a gloomy-looking middle-aged man.

“Class C wanted criminal Lu Shiyun?” Ren Yin adjusted her glasses. “Must have taken a lot of effort to find him, right?”

“Not really. I have a fairly advanced AI program on my computer that helps with facial recognition,” Wu Hui explained. “It’s a facial comparison AI I extracted from the school database long ago.”

Ren Yin didn’t ask how Wu Hui got it—most likely through some unofficial means.

With the program, surveillance footage, and the wanted criminal database, the comparison was quite straightforward. It didn’t require particularly high intelligence, but it was a testament to Wu Hui’s habit of always preparing thoroughly.

“Gao Cheng and the others probably have access to these tools too. So this guy has most likely been dealt with. He’s not who I’m looking for. It’s this one.” Wu Hui pulled up another surveillance clip and marked a man on the screen.

This man appeared in the corner of the camera’s frame, barely noticeable. Yet, he showed up repeatedly around Lu Shiyun, always habitually avoiding the camera so that his face was never captured. If not for the same clothing, Wu Hui might never have realized it was the same person.

He followed the footage, continuing his search by image recognition—but found nothing more.

A cautious fellow. Wu Hui frowned. Just watching the surveillance wouldn’t be enough to find him; he could only speculate based on the direction the man took when leaving. First of all, this person probably knew Lu Shiyun and seemed to be using him as a shield to some extent.

“Lu Shiyun was likely caught or killed by Gao Cheng and the others,” Wu Hui said, frowning. “But the nature of the black fog means these guys are hard to capture.”

Wherever you take them or hide them, they still have opportunities to spread the black fog.

One careless move and you might become a carrier yourself—then lose control and start committing crimes. When clever people like them turn criminal, the threat is enormous.

Especially in chaotic times, a single person could jeopardize the entire city’s safety.

As a result, they had little concrete information: the number of enemies, their connections—everything was guesswork.

Even killing a suspected target didn’t guarantee whether he was a crazed victim or a participant in the game.

...

Guan Shanting had tried many things before finally understanding his predicament. The people at headquarters, himself included, were clearly under some kind of mental influence.

Only he had temporarily broken free, while the others had not.

The battles involving the two level-seven deputy ministers were definitely related to this. He wondered if he was the only one who had awakened.

Wait—

He suddenly recalled two level-six players who had been missing for several days without causing any stir.

Gao Cheng and Liao Yuan were well-known local strategists. Aside from the level-eight player on a business trip to Evergreen City, they were the only ones with intellect scores above twelve.

Guan Shanting fell into thought. Honestly, he wasn’t particularly close to them.

They were just colleagues whom he had met a few times.

Should he go find them?

Obviously, although Guan Shanting sensed something was wrong, he couldn’t analyze the situation quickly like Wu Hui or the other awakened players.

But he could seek out someone who could.

Provided, of course, he could get past the immediate obstacle.

A cloud of black mist seemed to have noticed Guan Shanting’s faintly glowing blue aura.

“To join the Goth Band, you need to be at least level eight. I’m almost there after this game. I can’t let you weirdos who suddenly woke up cause trouble.” A low, ominous melody sounded.

Guan Shanting activated his battle talisman. Fully unleashed talismans all took weapon forms, and these weapons were usually powerful.

For example, the top-tier talisman wielded by the Evergreen City leader, Silver Mask, could transform into three forms: halberd, sword-and-shield, and broken arrow.

As for Guan Shanting, the talisman he currently held—modeled after Guan Yu—might develop other forms later, but for now, it had only one.

A heavy blade.

A guandao.

A Green Dragon Crescent Blade, held horizontally across his chest, its azure radiance growing ever brighter.

He crushed two crystals and elevated his status to its peak.

In this state, Guan Shanting would usually dare to strike a level-six player with a single blow, but now he simply fixed his gaze on the figure before him, hesitating to attack.

Because the opponent was a level-seven player, just one step away from level eight. On their wanted list, this person was ranked B-level.

Such a player was usually pursued by professional hunters led by high-level players.

Now, Guan Shanting, who had only recently become level five, stood face-to-face with him on the street.

Although he was somewhat confident, Guan Shanting was no fool; he knew this situation was extremely dangerous. He didn’t even know where to run.

The Goth Band’s prospective guitarist approached Guan Shanting while playing, his mouth curling into a grin full of sharp teeth.