Crossing the wilderness to survive, starting with a broken kitchen knife.

However, these attacks seemed to be in vain. The strange footsteps did not stop, but instead became more rapid, as if they were closing in, ready to completely surround them. Zhang Shi was anxious, knowing that if this continued, everyone would be in dire straits.

"what!"

Zhang Shi shouted, deciding to take a risk. He unleashed his shadow ability on the spot, dragging the shadow back. He suddenly spun around, using the roof tiles as leverage. With a few leaps, he unleashed a series of blade flashes in the air, forming a net that enveloped the center of the street.

In an instant, several tearing sounds were heard in the space where the knife shadow fell, followed by a series of heart-wrenching screams, and the number of monsters killed by the system was also increasing.

The black shadow, facing the shadow clone's entanglement, finally stopped dodging and twisted its body at a strange angle, its upper body almost separated from its legs, weaving through the shadow clone's attacks. At the same time, a flash of light seemed to appear under its cloak. Zhang Shi's mind moved, and he grasped a key piece of information - this black shadow might not be completely formless and intangible, but rather have certain specific rules or restrictions.

Just as he was about to explore his discovery further, the situation on the ground worsened. Ge Dalong and the others were almost completely mired in the mud, with only their upper bodies exposed. Their struggles grew increasingly futile. Meanwhile, the invisible presences still lingered on the street, their footsteps now drawing ever closer, ready to materialize as a threat.

"Zhang Shi, think of a way quickly!" There was despair in Chen Beipan's voice. He had exhausted all his strength. Now the ground had swallowed up most of his body. He felt it was difficult to breathe and could only watch death approach step by step.

Zhang Shi took a deep breath, letting go of the shadow and the invisible presence, and with a single, fleeting step, he flashed to Ge Dalong's side. Before landing, Zhang Shi threw a few wooden planks onto the ground, then landed steadily on top of them.

Sure enough, the wooden board increased Zhang Shi's force-bearing area, and he did not sink into the quagmire-like ground.

Zhang Shi steadied himself, then grabbed Ge Dalong and exerted a sudden force. Despite his might, Ge Dalong's sinking body remained unmoved. In a moment of desperation, Zhang Shi slashed at the ground with his knife. To his surprise, Old Duan easily cut a hole through the ground, which had been as pliable as a rolling knife. The ground, in pain, began to heave violently again. Seeing this, Zhang Shi swiftly swung his knife, slicing through the ground around Ge Dalong. Then, with a powerful tug, he successfully pulled him free.

Ge Dalong lay on the wooden board and pushed off the strange substance stuck on his body with force. To his surprise, the gelatinous substance stuck on his body turned into a pool of liquid sludge as soon as it was separated from the ground, and flowed back to the ground, filling up the gap.

Taking advantage of the ground shaking, the invisible threats were temporarily lifted. Zhang Shi came to his teammates and followed the same method to rescue everyone.

What was strange was that the mysterious black shadow was standing not far away on the street, watching them quietly. It was not until Zhang Shi and his group were all out of danger and the tremors in the ground gradually subsided that the black shadow slowly walked towards the crowd.

Zhang Shi's eyes were sharp as he stared closely at his opponent's every move, ready to fight at any time.

"Old Duan..."

The shadow's voice was like the sound of mechanical friction, hoarse and sharp.

Does the other party recognize Lao Duan?

Zhang Shi's nerves tightened even more. Although the Old Duan was a mythical weapon bestowed by the system, its attributes were unknown. In his hands, it was just a kitchen knife that could cut through iron like mud. The other party seemed to be able to communicate. If the other party recognized Old Duan, perhaps he could learn his detailed attributes from him.

"Do you recognize him?"

Zhang Shi raised the kitchen knife. After going through battle after battle, Lao Duan's blade was still not stained with any dirt, and it still looked as if it had just been used to succeed.

"Come……"

The black shadow was very frugal with his words, then turned around and walked towards the depths of the city.

Zhang Shi nodded to everyone and then quickly followed.

The black shadow was very familiar with the City of Fog. He led everyone through the city at a moderate speed. They encountered several invisible beings along the way, but they were easily shaken off by the black shadow.

"Aren't you on the same side as those things?"

Zhang Shi asked, and the black shadow slowed down, as if organizing his words. After a long time, he gave an ambiguous answer.

"That's it."

Zhang Shi didn't understand the meaning of his words and asked again, but the black shadow no longer responded and just walked towards a target on its own.

About half an hour later, the shadow led everyone to a ruined church.

The church's interior is dim and solemn, its ancient stained-glass windows casting dappled light and shadow into strange patterns, as if from another world. The air is filled with an air of antiquity and mystery, leaving one feeling awe.

Most importantly, there is light!

The sky above the Fog City is not completely covered by fog. There are still a few gaps, and the sunlight shines in from these gaps, bringing a few rare rays of sunshine to the entire dark city.

The black shadow stopped in the middle of the church and slowly turned around. The eyes hidden under the cloak seemed to penetrate the darkness and stare directly at Zhang Shi and his group.

"Here, perhaps I can give you the answer."

An old but gentle voice came from the inner room. What shocked Zhang Shi was that the person was speaking English. After a systematic translation, Zhang Shi finally understood the meaning of the words.

A moment later, an old woman slowly walked out from there. She looked like a Westerner from her face. She was leaning on a cane. The skin on her hands was dry and withered, with fine lines on them, like the rings of growth imprinted on her body by time.

The old woman stretched out her slightly trembling hand, and the black shadow turned into a black light and merged into her body.

"Is it a puppet?"

Ge Dalong looked at the old woman with interest and was very curious about her method.

"A technique. If you want to learn it, I can teach you."

The old woman waved her hand, revealing the emerald green watch on her wrist, and motioned for everyone to sit down on the bench. Seeing that the old woman wasn't hostile, Zhang Shi took the first seat. He had so many questions about this place that he didn't even know where to begin. Instead, the old woman spoke first.

"You are outsiders, right? How long have you been in this world?"

Zhang Shi and the others looked at each other and immediately confirmed that this old woman was definitely not a monster or NPC refreshed by the system.

No one answered, and Ge Dalong exchanged information with Zhang Shi in a low voice.

"Her accent was very thick, and her word choice was very strange, like... well, like she was speaking classical Chinese."

Zhang Shi nodded, indicating that he understood, then took off the watch and showed it to the old woman.

"We've just arrived. I'd like to know where you got your watch. Also, how do you recognize Old Duan?"

The old woman took off her watch and rubbed it gently, as if reminiscing.

"I know you have a lot of questions, don't worry, I will answer them one by one."