Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 3 Control
Zhuang Fan shook his head: "No, I'm pretty sure that in the shelter, apart from that test area, I haven't seen the eerie mist generated anywhere else, including on my own body."

"That's because of the fog-repelling devices. Do you know how many fog lights the entire base has?"

"Fog lights?"

"come here."

David gestured for Zhuang Fan to walk into the core of the group, and had him put his hands together. He then tried to create the eerie mist again, but no matter what Zhuang Fan did, the eerie mist did not reappear.

David pointed to the soldiers' chests again: "See those dark green meteorites they're wearing? That's a fog-repelling device. Within three meters of it, the eerie fog can't form, and the eerie fog beyond three meters can't get close either. It's useless."

Zhuang Fan observed carefully and indeed found that within a 3-meter radius around them, the eerie mist seemed to have encountered an invisible wall, unable to penetrate even a little.

After David's explanation, Zhuang Fan finally grasped the basic principle behind the formation of the mysterious fog.

Under strong light, the formation of eerie fog becomes extremely slow, even invisible to the naked eye; the darker the place, the faster it forms.

These eerie mists seem to come from another dimension; they cannot be heated or evaporated, nor can they be dispersed by strong winds. Moreover, they can penetrate even the most impenetrable walls, as if they were in an empty place.

Zhuang Fan tried to understand: "In other words, to ensure that the strange fog is suppressed and that fog is not produced in the body, ordinary light sources are not enough, because light cannot penetrate the skin. People must be within the coverage of fog lights at all times."

"That's right, you got it right, kid."

Thinking of this, Zhuang Fan finally realized how troublesome this strange fog was, and how impossible it was to guard against.

David threw away his cigarette butt and shook his head, saying, "They call it a fog light, but it doesn't actually light up. Those big men just love to come up with random names to sell it at a high price. They're really heartless."

Zhuang Fan then asked, "So these meteorites can dispel fog just by being held in your hand?"

"You wish! Meteorites themselves aren't very good at dispelling fog; they need to be electrified to unleash their full power."

David scoffed, "You haven't seen it yet. Some large fog-clearing lighthouses can cover an area more than a kilometer away! They just consume a ton of electricity."

Zhuang Fan asked, puzzled, "How much electricity could it consume?"

"A 10,000-kilowatt installed capacity is roughly enough to maintain a large lighthouse."

Zhuang Fan did a quick calculation: "Isn't that equivalent to the power generation of a small hydroelectric power station?"

"That's why they're also called 'electricity tigers,' because small towns generally can't afford them."

Zhuang Fan pointed to the flamethrower clearing the way ahead: "Where's the flame?"

"That thing can dispel fog, it's bright and powerful enough, but it doesn't waste fuel. Sunlight can also dispel fog, but it's much slower. Look, the sun has been shining for most of the day, but the sky is still foggy."

Zhuang Fan looked up slightly. No wonder the lower the altitude, the higher the concentration of the eerie fog. Even if the sunlight shines for a whole day, it can probably only weaken the eerie fog in the stratosphere.

"So fog lights can clear fog of any concentration?"

"It can only deal with very shallow eerie mist. If it encounters 'dark mist,' it will be troublesome to deal with. If the dark mist keeps rising to the level of 'black mist'..."

David seemed somewhat wary. "If you encounter black fog in the wild, it's an ominous place, very sinister. You'd better run."

Zhuang Fan was silent for a few seconds, then looked at a cave shrouded in black mist ahead, his eyes filled with suspicion: "So... it seems we should head in that direction, shouldn't we avoid it?"

"Don't worry, you'll be the only one going in. Just stay for one minute."

"..."

"Kid, let me emphasize again, this is a cave we dug specifically for this purpose. We've been raising it for two whole months, and it's specifically for incubating the black mist. There's no air vent in this cave, so don't wander around like a roe deer, understand?"

"Ok."

Perhaps fearing he might escape, David brought out a set of steel claw devices that could firmly bind Zhuang Fan's hands and chest.

The guard next to him joked, "Boss, are you going to use steel claws? This kid looks so weak, just tie him up with a rope."

David looked at Zhuang Fan: "What are you standing there for? Go inside."

"Don't rush me, I'm building up my emotions."

Zhuang Fan felt a tightness in his chest. He realized that David was a cautious and difficult fellow. After taking a deep breath, he strode into the cave shrouded in black mist.

In an instant, the sound, light, and heat seemed to be swallowed by the black mist, and the surroundings fell into a deathly silence. The visibility was less than a meter, so dark that you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face. A strong sense of psychological oppression came over you.

The steel claw structure was exceptionally sturdy; he tried several times and it remained firmly in place, without the slightest sign of loosening.

In the dim light, he could also hear some strange noises coming from the black mist, sometimes whispering, sometimes murmuring and sighing, and sometimes painful howls, as if they could call a person's soul away at any moment.

A strange unease washed over him. Zhuang Fan endured for a moment, then decided to stop waiting to die and began to struggle desperately.

"Tsk...tsk..."

This time, he used all his strength, gritted his teeth, and his arms were marked with deep red marks, finally managing to pull the steel claws outward by several centimeters.

However, at the same time, the alarm device was also triggered.

"Hey kid, what are you doing?"

David yanked him out of the cave, and upon closer inspection, his eyes widened in disbelief: "Waaah! How come you're so strong! You almost slipped away."

The guards nearby were also taken aback.

Zhuang Fan silently recited the English word for "involvement" and said helplessly, "Yours is fake, isn't it? Give me a little more time and I'll open it."

"Impossible! Impossible!"

David gave him a meaningful look. "Even if I wore a powered exoskeleton, I wouldn't be as strong as you. Did you secretly have enhancement surgery?"

"No, I woke up like this."

David clearly didn't believe it. He touched his own explosive biceps and looked at Zhuang Fan's well-proportioned arms, his face full of suspicion.

"Whatever, I'll test it first."

David picked up the device and scanned Zhuang Fan. After confirming the readings, his expression became complicated: "The concentration of the eerie fog is 0 milligrams per cubic meter... You really are a master detective." Zhuang Fan heard this term for the second time: "So, people who are immune to the eerie fog are called master detectives?"

“No problem. None of the people born in our time are demon detectives. We have to look for them among you people from the Common Era.”

"You went through so much trouble to find the Demon Detective, and then what?" Zhuang Fan actually wanted to ask what would happen to him.

David didn't say anything. He first removed the broken steel claw, then tidied up Zhuang Fan's messy clothes and patted the dust off his shoulder. His attitude was much better than before.

Zhuang Fan muttered to himself, realizing that whenever these people were nice to him, it was never a good thing.

"Hey bro, aren't you going to say anything?"

"Don't worry, it's definitely a good thing. You're going to be a great kid from now on. I'll be relying on you a lot in the future."

David's almost undisguised look of pity made it impossible for Zhuang Fan to be persuaded.

Suddenly, he felt a small, fist-sized foreign object inside his internal organs.

At first he thought it was a hallucination, but upon closer inspection, he was able to clearly "determine" that it was a strange fog, and the black fog with the highest concentration.

More importantly, he seemed to have gained supernatural insight, able to "observe" the existence of this black mist and know its subtle changes in size, shape, and concentration.

That's a bit unscientific.

Zhuang Fan did not make any rash moves. He glanced at David and the others to make sure that no one had noticed anything amiss.

If the Demon Detective is immune to the invasion of the eerie mist, then what's with this friendly black mist? Did it get in while it was in the cave?

The black fog was extremely dense, and even within the coverage area of ​​the fog-repelling device, it showed no signs of weakening.

When he tried to "feel" it up close in his mind, a strange thought arose in his mind—that he could control it.

Then try it.

Zhuang Fan held his breath and focused his mind, and as a result, his thoughts became very clear. The black mist moved slowly according to his thoughts, from the internal organs to the subcutaneous fat layer, as if it had been given life.

He confirmed it again and again; although the black mist moved slowly, it was incredibly accurate, as if it had become a part of his body.

He asked casually, "Brother, if the black mist gets into your body, is there any way to get rid of it?"

David glanced at him: "Black mist entering your body? That's the end of you. You'll have to stay in the fog lights for the rest of your life and never leave, or you'll definitely get deformed."

"Is there really no other way?"

"Brother, you've got some. Go lie down in that fog-repelling cabin."

David curled his lip, "One course of treatment costs 100,000 yuan, and we can make you understand everything in six days."

"Fog dispelling chamber?"

"Yeah, a lump of iron machine that preys on the poor."

David shook his head and mocked himself: "After all these years of hard work, I've only managed to save up 15. If this poor bastard is really tainted by the black fog, he should just go back to the wilderness. He's hopeless."

Then there might still be hope for me...

Zhuang Fan finally got to the point: "If you use strong willpower, is it possible to force the eerie mist out of your body?"

David paused, then his tone became unusually serious: "You detectives are naturally immune to the Mysterious Fog, so don't ask such stupid questions. It makes me feel awkward."

Zhuang Fan nodded and said no more.

Based on the previous analysis, he was basically certain that his ability to manipulate the mysterious fog was unique and a secret that could not be exposed to light, so it must never be discovered.

He's already in trouble because of his identity as a "magical detective," and with the added ability to manipulate eerie mist, his situation will only become more dangerous.

Thinking about this, Zhuang Fan began to ponder what other tangible benefits this ability to manipulate the mysterious mist could bring him.

Zhuang Fan continued his journey while silently studying his internal organs.

Soon, he molded the black mist into various simple shapes, and the black mist could even leave his body at any time if he wanted.

To what extent can it be done?

Zhuang Fan thought for a moment and decided to first increase the volume of the black mist.

With a thought, the black mist was quickly diluted into dark mist. As its volume continued to increase, its concentration became increasingly thin, eventually turning into a light mist, somewhat like the vaporization process of water.

The volume of the light fog can continue to expand until it is almost impossible to "observe," and then it gradually dissipates under the purification of the fog-repelling device.

Zhuang Fan seemed to be deep in thought. It seemed that fog lights could only deal with light fog and dark fog, and there was not much they could do beyond that.

In that instant, a bold idea came to him:
Since I can control the mysterious mist, can I also inject it into the enemy's body to accelerate their mutation?

The idea suddenly became clear; it was entirely feasible.

According to David, if left untreated, the black mist will turn a person into a monster in just ten minutes after entering the body. Therefore, to achieve a surprising effect, the black mist with the highest concentration must be used.

Zhuang Fan continued to try, compressing the diffused light fog back into dark fog, and then condensing the dark fog into a small cloud of black fog.

In his perception, the black mist seemed to be able to continue compressing, if he wanted to.

If the concentration of the black mist is increased to the limit, the distortion time after it enters the enemy's body will probably be shortened to one or two minutes.

But just then, an accident happened.

"hiss--"

A severe headache struck like a tsunami. Zhuang Fan felt his vision blur, his ears were filled with sharp, whistling sounds, and his heart was pounding wildly.

In just a few moments, he was drenched in sweat and could barely move.

(End of this chapter)