Chapter 15 One Chance

The descending palm made Gu Shen's hair stand on end.

He subconsciously wanted to turn and fight back.

The silver light of the Ruler of Truth had already begun to flicker, but when he turned his head and saw the man's face, all the brewing dissipated, turning into confusion—

A tall man wearing a helmet, with a determined expression, shook his head at him.

Hu Danian?

Gu Shen never expected...that this guy was still alive.

He was quite sure that the motorcycle that had fallen at the entrance of Yuandan Street was Hu Danian's vehicle, but thinking about it carefully...the dried-up skeleton did not match Hu Danian's tall and strong physical characteristics. The skeleton of that person was relatively thin. At the time, he subconsciously thought that the deceased was Hu Danian himself.

Hu Danian was still alive!

This should be the only good news at the moment.

"No."

Hu Danian conveyed this will with his eyes.

So the two of them slowly retreated, until they retreated out of the factory area and came to a dilapidated stone wall nearby.

Hu Danian crouched in the mist, lowered his voice, "Are you crazy, kid? How did you get here?"

"..."

Gu Shen felt that his lines had been stolen again.

Seeing Gu Shen's helpless expression, Hu Danian immediately understood something. He frowned and said, "Is Shi Li related to this sealed item case?"

"Yes...more accurately, the Evergreen Foundation."

Gu Shen said meaningfully, "This is all the Evergreen Foundation's plan...Although I don't know what they are trying to do. But if this fog were released in other places, its lethality would not be so simple."

It sounded crazy, but the truth might be...that the current fog in Yuandan Street was just an experiment by these lunatics.

The fog that spread across an entire street, with sufficient immersion time, could even kill transcendents!

"Who is the dried corpse?" Gu Shen asked with a frown.

"A...person whose name I don't know. When I saw him, he was already on the verge of death, and he fell at the entrance of Yuandan Street." Hu Danian's eyes dimmed, and his expression was somewhat complicated. "This fog has spread throughout Yuandan Street and some of the surrounding areas. A small number of addicts have relatively mild symptoms, only tainted by the mental imprint of the sealed item, and can return to normal after dream interpretation...That poor man should have strayed into the core area where the fog was located, lost his way, and couldn't find an exit, so his spirit was exhausted and his flesh and blood were drained by the fog."

Gu Shen lowered his head slowly after listening.

When he finally found the exit of Yuandan Street, it was already too late to save him...What a desperate thing this was.

"Just now, why didn't you let me in?"

Gu Shen continued, "I have confirmed the existence of the sealed item...It's in those abandoned factories."

Hu Danian looked at Gu Shen with a complicated expression.

If he remembered correctly, Gu Shen's mission was to track Shi Li, so he should have just entered this street, and within twenty minutes at most, he had found the factory?

He was indeed a genius.

He sighed softly, and stretched out one of his hands, "I have also confirmed the location of the sealed item, down to the specific factory...The price I paid was an afternoon of time, and this."

Hu Danian took off the glove on his left hand. Visible to the naked eye, the skin texture of the palm had developed age spots and layers of wrinkles, as if it had aged twenty years.

"This...?"

Gu Shen's pupils shrank in disbelief.

"This fog that has spread throughout Yuandan Street can completely disorient anyone who is in it, even transcendents. If you want to get out of the fog, you can only rely on luck."

"According to my deduction, if all these fogs are released, they should be able to cover half of the old city...I don't know why, but most of the fog is suppressed in that factory. In other words, the location of the sealed item is the most dangerous place." Hu Danian lowered his eyes, and smiled mockingly, "My original idea was the same as yours. Since I can't leave Yuandan Street, I'll destroy the sealed item and stop this pollution...But just by touching the inner wall of that factory, my hand has become like this."

The skin aged.

The flesh and blood withered.

These injuries were not incurable...but what was certain was that even with the best treatment, Hu Danian's left hand had aged at least "twenty years" of its lifespan.

"I've already confirmed that there is no one else in this street. Although the lunatics of the Evergreen Foundation don't value their lives, they won't stay here and be consumed by the fog in vain. The factory where the sealed item is placed doesn't need anyone to guard it at all...Because no one can enter it." Hu Danian covered his lips, suppressed his coughing, and gasped, "This is definitely not a so-called C-level sealed item...The transcendent anomaly in the factory is at least A-level, and neither of us can deal with it."

Gu Shen was silent for a moment, and said, "But Shi Li entered the factory...which means the Evergreen Foundation has a unique method."

"You...don't want to be a savior, a great hero, do you?" A helpless expression appeared on Hu Danian's face. He smiled silently, and stretched out his left hand, "The Evergreen Foundation can enter, but can you? Look at my hand...This is the fate of those who mistakenly think they are the protagonist of a novel."

"If I had observed more carefully, I wouldn't have made this mistake."

The hand that Hu Danian raised was trembling non-stop, but his voice was unusually steady.

"The best way now is to wait a little longer, and wait for Shi Li to appear from the factory. We just need to follow him, and we can leave 'Yuandan Street'...As for this damn fog, let the adjudicators of the Tribunal solve it."

Hu Danian grinned, and said, "Little brother, listen to my advice, don't wade into this muddy water without the strength of the ninth floor of the Deep Sea."

Yes.

Hu Danian was right.

This was indeed the best method...If everything really went as smoothly as planned, then Gu Shen wouldn't mind acting in this way.

He squatted quietly behind the stone wall, and suddenly asked such a question.

"What if we lose track of Shi Li after he leaves the factory?"

Hu Danian was stunned.

"Then...we'll grind it out little by little." He said in a deep voice, "Our mental strength is much stronger than normal people, and we can last longer in this fog."

"You've been wandering around in the Yuandan Street fog all afternoon. This street is not big, but you still haven't found the direction...Logically speaking, even if you touch the stone wall and try it little by little, move step by step, you should have found the exit."

Gu Shen laughed softly, and he said slowly, "Why did that poor man in the old city only find the exit when he died in the end...Do you think this is a coincidence? Can this street be exited with good luck, or...can only the dead leave?"

Hearing this, Hu Danian felt a chill run down his spine.

"Since you've been looking for an exit in Yuandan Street all afternoon, then just now...did you see Shi Li's figure?" Gu Shen lowered his eyes, and asked again, "In this fog, whether it's transcendent abilities or eyesight, it's suppressed to below five meters. We can't see Shi Li at all, let alone track him...To put it bluntly, and pessimistically, can you be sure that Shi Li is still in that factory now?"

"You mean..."

Hu Danian's voice trembled a little.

"This fog has a special barrier that separates people from certain landscapes in front of them...similar to an illusion. So we're wandering around here, because we, like that skeleton, are people who haven't mastered the knack. In this Yuandan Street...we're so-called dying people."

Gu Shen said calmly, "But Shi Li is different. I guess the Evergreen Foundation probably has a special breathing method to deal with the fog, which allows people to come and go freely without being disturbed by the fog."

Hu Danian sat slumped on the ground, feeling a little desperate.

He then realized...how difficult it was to track Shi Li.

It was very likely that the other party had already left.

And he was still waiting here.

"Then...what should we do?"

Now, he couldn't think of a better way. For some reason, Hu Danian turned his gaze to Gu Shen...He remembered when they first met in the bar, this young boy didn't even understand the impact of basic abilities like profiling.

He was obviously a newbie who had just entered the transcendent world.

How long has it been now?

In this fog in Yuandan Street...his analysis was more calm and objective than his own.

Perhaps, Gu Shen would have a solution?

As an old fox who had been around for many years, Hu Danian's creed was to always rely on his own hands in times of crisis, and not expect others to bring him luck...

He felt ashamed for his subconscious outburst just now.

"I have a way."

Gu Shen lowered his eyes and thought for a long time, and said word by word, "Actually, the method is very simple, but there is only one chance...and you must fully cooperate."

"...Speak."

Hu Danian cheered up and quickly sat up straight.

"The premise of all this is based on the fact that Shi Li has not left Yuandan Street, and is located in the sealed item factory..." Gu Shen said slowly, "The information that can be confirmed so far is that Shi Li doesn't know that there are other people staying in Yuandan Street. So, he doesn't know your existence, nor does he know my existence."

"Of course, we also don't know what he is here to do in Yuandan Street."

"If we let him complete his mission smoothly and leave like this...then when he comes back next time, we will have to wait at least a day."

At this point, Hu Danian was a little dazed, and he probably understood what Gu Shen meant.

"You want to...actively expose yourself?"

"That's right." Gu Shen nodded calmly, and said, "But...only one of you and me will be exposed. The other one will launch a surprise attack."

"Surprise attack?"

Hu Danian was dumbfounded. This method was indeed simple...but the risk was too great.

"Those lunatics from the Evergreen Foundation are all desperate!"

"Shi Li's record in the Chengxin Society is the fourth floor of the Deep Sea, but it's likely a lie. His true strength may be on the fifth or sixth floor...I'm definitely not his opponent in a head-on confrontation. Even if I launch a surprise attack, I don't have much chance of winning." Hu Danian gritted his teeth and said, "...This method is too reckless. Perhaps if we wait a little longer, and the higher-ups arrange for high-level transcendents to break the situation, we can be successfully rescued."

"What if...the fog in the factory spreads before people arrive? You also know that the Evergreen Foundation are all lunatics. Since they dare to release sealed items in the old city, they must have prepared for a do-or-die situation." Gu Shen said lightly, "Do you want to stay here and wait for the rescue from above? I also want to be rescued...but I don't want to become a corpse on the street, and I don't want to hand over my fate to other people."

Hu Danian stared blankly at the young man.

He was completely silent.

"If you want to live, and are willing to trust me, let me launch the final surprise attack. I am confident that I can end all this." Gu Shen said softly, "I don't want to be a savior, and I don't want to be a great hero...I just want to live."