Chapter 43: The Plague of Mist Worms

Time slipped quietly by.

Three days had passed since he had obtained the “Luo Hand: Prototype” crafted by Luo Ke. In other words, it was now the tenth day since Zhou Yan had returned from his last journey.

During these days, Zhou Yan trained with the other students during the day, engaging in their daily regimen. In the hours outside the formal curriculum, Luo Xuan seized every moment to guide him through intensive study of the first form of secret swordsmanship. At night, he cultivated the breathing technique that could strengthen his physique on his own.

On top of all this, he continued his part-time job delivering meals. Each day was simple yet fulfilling.

His body grew ever stronger. His control over his physical form became increasingly acute. His swordsmanship, ever more refined. He could clearly feel himself advancing at a rapid pace, becoming stronger than his previous self with each passing day.

Most importantly, this growth was his own—it was not a strength that relied on a Fate Gear, but one that belonged to him alone.

...

Night fell.

[Next Plague World Walk: 0 days 0 hours 3 minutes]

Just a few minutes remained before his third journey.

Zhou Yan slowly sheathed his practice sword. Before him, the data displayed on the Li Flow cube read “568 seconds” and “100/100 points.”

‘Both my speed and precision with the sword have noticeably improved since my initial secret sword assessment... As for strength...’

Zhou Yan silently opened his personal status panel.

[Plague World Walker: Zhou Yan]
[Rating: 0-Star, 1st Rank]
[Attributes: Physique 13, Acuity 10, Spirit 11]
[Skills: Nanming Sword (Mastery), Nanming Secret Sword: Swallow’s Frenzied Flight (Standard), Crane’s Cry Breathing Method (Initiate)]
[Spirituality: 3822]

After days of training, his physique had increased by two points thanks to the breathing method, acuity had grown by one through relentless sword practice, while spirit remained unchanged. When his acuity reached ten, his rank silently advanced to “0-Star, 1st Rank.”

Yet this ascent brought no sudden surge of power as when his Fate Gear advanced—rather, it felt like a quiet recognition of his steady progress.

In terms of skills, after days of burning spirituality to master the secret sword, the skill called “Swallow’s Frenzied Flight” had reached “Standard” level. Now, under normal circumstances, he could remain airborne, striking Luo Xuan five times before landing—a marked improvement over his previous “Triple Strike.” With exceptional performance, he could even manage a sixth strike before touching down.

Meanwhile, the foundational Nanming Sword had, without him realizing, advanced from “Proficient” to “Mastery.” The Crane’s Cry Breathing Method, however, still eluded its next threshold. Its effect on his physique was also steadily diminishing—when he first began, he gained three points of physique in just two days, but over the last eight days, only two additional points, even with his spirituality burning at full strength.

One could easily imagine how, for ordinary practitioners, even with access to such a secret art for developing one’s limits, it would still require immense time and resources to gradually strengthen the body.

After all, not everyone could “awaken” as Zhou Yan had.

In short, his own strength had once again advanced significantly.

The price, however, was that the over eight thousand spirituality he had accumulated after his last journey had dwindled to less than four thousand.

‘Spirituality always feels insufficient...’

‘Fortunately, I’m about to enter a new “instance.”’

With this thought, Zhou Yan bid farewell to Luo Xuan, who was also practicing in the martial hall, and made his way to the restroom. He locked the door behind him and stood quietly before the mirror, waiting.

Though he was now fairly certain that, during his “Plague World Walk,” real-world time stood still no matter how long he acted, it never hurt to be cautious.

Time ticked swiftly by.

PM 08:26

Darkness closed over Zhou Yan’s vision.

*

Shrouded in heavy fog.

At the silent edge of a small town, a supermarket stood by the roadside. Through its enormous glass windows, one could glimpse stacks of bagged goods, their seams glowing with dim light.

Some ten meters beyond the supermarket, somewhere in the sightless depths of the mist, a strange gleam suddenly flared. It swiftly coalesced into the shape of a man—a black-haired figure missing his right eye and left palm.

Zhou Yan’s gaze cleared as the formless gloom dissolved, the world snapping into order.

Before he could react, a series of messages scrolled before his eyes.

[Plague World Walk: Positioning complete]
[Plague World Code: 537264]
[Depth: 1]

[Calamity: Corrosion]
[Plague World Synopsis: A secret laboratory’s research unexpectedly revealed that mysterious crystals provided by their sponsor produced strange effects in arthropods. Elated, they embarked on extensive further experiments. In one fateful trial, an orthopteran insect fused perfectly with the crystal. That very day, endless white fog spread from the lab, enveloping the entire town. Within the mist, countless mutated insects surged forth, devouring every trace of flesh they could scent. Thus, disaster began.]
[Primary Objective: Survive one day (24:00:00)]
[Bonus Objective 1: Slay the “Protozoan” (0/1)]
[Bonus Objective 2: Destroy “Mutated Nests” (0/?)]
[Exceeding standard completion of the Plague World Walk will yield higher ratings]
...

“After the war and the blizzard, now comes... an insect plague?” Zhou Yan murmured as he lowered his gaze.

He looked down—his black, close-fitting Fate Gear had already auto-equipped. The doubled physical and spiritual prowess flooded him with a sense of security. By now, his base attributes all exceeded ten; with the Fate Gear’s basic boost alone, every aspect of his being had reached the level of his former “ace enforcer” state, even without activating the Overfusion.

Strength was the wellspring of confidence.

He glanced at his left arm—the familiar truncated wrist. As expected, the mechanical hand gifted by Luo Ke hadn’t accompanied him into this world.

He sighed with some regret, then lifted his gaze to survey his surroundings.

The white mist was dense to a near-solid degree, visibility limited to less than five meters, and it seemed to possess the uncanny ability to absorb sound. In the absolute stillness, Zhou Yan finally pinpointed a direction.

Though his sight was equally constrained, his keen vision and intuition could pick out the faintest distinctions. In that direction, the fog refracted a faint light.

He took a step forward.

But before he’d gone more than a few paces, a strange rustling sounded alarmingly close behind him. It was reminiscent of a large bird’s wings beating.

A shrill, piercing screech rang out.

Zhou Yan whirled—and saw a “bug” hurtling toward him.

A mosquito the size of a clenched fist!