Frightening Joke: Above the Mist

"Is that the Fog Realm?"

Bai Yanliang asked.

"Yes, a narrow world perpetually shrouded in mist. In fact, it's far smaller than you might imagine, but... it's deadly for humans."

Zhou Tian's voice was earnest and grave.

"The thing you took was originally on that tree?"

"You don't think I took its fruit, do you?" Zhou Tian seemed surprised and then burst out laughing. "Hahaha... Actually, what I took didn't seem conspicuous at the time. It was just a small sapling growing under that giant tree."

Bai Yanliang's expression froze.

If that tree was the core of the Fog Realm, then the sapling growing beside its roots was nearly its second life.

Zhou Tian took it away, cutting off the Fog Realm's retreat, wasn't that serious?

No wonder the Fog Realm would crash into the real world at all costs. If I were in its position, I'd crash too.

"Actually, I just wanted to study the ecosystem of the Fog Realm. Its life forms are completely different from ours."

Zhou Tian seemed energized as he spoke.

"They lack self-awareness, can't reproduce, don't grow, or metabolize. It's hard for me to define them as life forms, but they do respond to stimuli, can move, and seem to have some sort of 'knowledge' among their group."

"It's really fascinating. I've studied them. That tree is their mother body."

"All the unconscious entities are born from the soil under its roots and climb along the massive trunk to the treetop, as you just saw. They eventually cover the entire crown, densely packed."

Bai Yanliang listened with a frown. Did I really come from such a place?

"If they don't have self-awareness, why climb the trunk? Could they have some sort of collective will?" Bai Yanliang asked.

"I thought so too. Maybe they share the same brain, but I quickly realized I was wrong. The reason they climb the trunk is actually quite simple."

Zhou Tian's face took on a complex, indescribable expression.

"If you coat one end of a chopstick with sugar and place the other end near an anthill, what do you think will happen?"

Zhou Tian's question made Bai Yanliang slowly widen his eyes.

"That's right, ants would gather from all directions and crazily climb the chopstick, driven by instinct toward the source of abundant food."

Zhou Tian stared at Bai Yanliang, enunciating each word clearly:

"They are the ants, that tree is the chopstick, and we... are the food."

The surrounding silence was chilling.

"Perhaps, under the cover of mist, you can't see clearly, but the Fog Realm doesn't have a true sky. Above them, what should be called the sky is actually a reflection of... our world hanging upside down."

"And the tree's crown you saw is about to extend into the 'sky,' which is our world."

"Luckily, the tree is already on the brink of withering. It won't continue to grow taller, and no matter how many of them climb up, they can't reach our world through this tree. They'll just fall down repeatedly, climbing back up, thus ending their existence, if they even have such a concept..."

"You know, although the tree is dying, its roots have sprouted new seedlings. From any perspective, I cannot allow a new tree to grow, don't you think... right?"

Bai Yanliang didn't answer, but his heart had actually accepted Zhou Tian's explanation, assuming everything he said was true.

"What do you want me to do?" Bai Yanliang asked.

For the first time, Zhou Tian showed a relatively sincere smile.

"It's simple, I mentioned before, the sky of the Fog Realm holds the reflection of our world, and that giant tree serves as a passage connecting the two worlds. Such passages have never been one-way, although in our world, you can't see the reflection of the Fog Realm when looking at the sky."

"But... that's just like one-way glass. As long as we find the crown of that tree closest to the real world, we... can enter the Fog Realm in reverse."

"This is the last gate we've been searching for, the Fengdu Command Prison fabricated by Bai Yanren..."

Bai Yanliang's heart stirred.

"By your account, it sounds like you've already found the location of the Gate of Fengdu Command Prison."

Zhou Tian laughed heartily.

"No, no, the gate of Fengdu Command Prison doesn't need to be found; it needs to be created."

"As for how to create it, just requires..."

"A sufficient amount of death."

As Zhou Tian's words ended, Bai Yanliang's vision blurred.

He heard the last voice from Zhou Tian: "Don't leave the house for the next few days, wait quietly, I'm going to... start the slaughter."

"Boom—"

A clap of thunder suddenly sounded over Ye City.

Bai Yanliang mulled over the information from Zhou Tian.

What he was certain of now was that as a native from the Fog Realm, whether Zhou Tian or Yu Wenxuan, both needed him to locate the specific position of the Fog Realm.

Was Zhou Tian going to kill again... he said he needed to create enough deaths.

Was he already on the path to creating the Gate of Fengdu Command Prison?

Bai Yanliang looked toward the courtyard.

The leaves of the locust tree were battered in a sorry state, and Ye City... suddenly it began to rain.

————

"Attention listeners, the Ye City Meteorological Bureau has just issued a yellow rainstorm warning, please be cautious of your safety while traveling..."

In the taxi, the driver listened to the radio's voice, glancing at the overcast sky.

After the thunderclap just now, it indeed began to rain from the sky, pattering against the car's windshield. He turned on the wipers, working intermittently.

The passengers in the back seat were a young couple, looking at the gloomy weather made them feel unsettled.

"Didn't you say the weather was nice today? How are we supposed to go to the zoo now..." the woman complained.

"I..."

Before the young man could finish his sentence, suddenly, the raindrops outside the window quickly turned into a downpour, pouring down with a clamor, a flash of lightning swept by, its crimson glow jarring the hearts of the three inside the car, followed by thunder's violent roar.

"This... that lightning... why is it red?"

The young man suddenly felt uneasy.

Boom!

Another deafening thunder shook the car windows, seeming to make them tremble slightly.

"Should we just go back?" the young man suggested.

The woman felt a strange unease welling up inside her. She forced herself to say, "Okay... Okay, driver, please make a U-turn ahead."

Just then, the radio broadcast started again, but this time, it seemed to be strongly interfered with, and the transmitted voice was not only intermittent but also... cold, unlike any human.

"All... citizens..."

"Flee... the blood... rain."

"Begin..."