Chapter 51: Madness

While Han Ning was hunting vortex-armored crabs at the southern entrance, more than a dozen Awakeners, including Lin Qianqian and President Wu, had already entered the route leading to the core area of White Egret Port.

Deep within the fog, at a certain location.

"Incredible, Brother Wang, simply incredible! How on earth did you discover this route?"

A stout Awakener gently patted Vice President Wang’s shoulder, his voice filled with admiration. "Yesterday, our team was almost completely cornered by that pack of monsters in the northeast corner. The route you picked is as quiet as a mortuary."

Another Awakener chimed in, echoing the sentiment:

"Many thanks for Brother Wang's hard work. Not only did you help us scout the path, but you even found a safe passage. Look ahead, everyone... are those the silhouettes of the berth cranes?"

The group looked in the direction he was pointing.

Deep within the thick fog, several massive and hazy steel outlines loomed indistinctly, standing against the grayish-white background. They were unmistakably the shadows of the port's heavy machinery.

"White Egret Port... We've actually reached White Egret Port safely!"

"Hasn't even been an hour yet, right? That was so fast..."

The moment they caught sight of the port, most of them wore expressions of joy.

Only a few vice presidents remained calm.

The spark of hope ignited in everyone's heart.

The key to survival seemed to be right before their eyes.

Vice President Wang was surrounded in the middle, a faint smile hanging on his face as if he thoroughly enjoyed everyone's flattery.

"Hold on a little longer, everyone. We're almost there. There's a spot ahead with a better view where we can see the entire berth area clearly," his voice rasped slightly.

"Stay alert! We must be getting close to the monster gathering zone Old Wang mentioned!"

Noticing everyone's lax demeanor, President Wu couldn't help but issue a reminder, turning to ask Vice President Wang, "Old Wang, how much longer until we reach the real core area?"

"Up ahead. We'll be there very soon."

Following the direction indicated by Vice President Wang, the group stumbled forward, stepping high and low.

The deeper they went, the higher the stagnant water rose, gradually creeping up to the Awakeners' chests.

They had no choice but to transition from wading to swimming.

The psychic-type Awakener in charge of scouting observed the underwater situation with utmost vigilance.

"Right here."

Vice President Wang suddenly stopped swimming, pointing toward a relatively open expanse of water surrounded by half-submerged containers and collapsed concrete walls.

"Stand on that concrete pier; the vision is best there. Any further, and you'll enter the monster gathering zone."

Just then.

Lin Qianqian, who had been silently following behind Vice President Wang, suddenly knitted her brows.

Her gaze locked intently onto the surrounding waters.

Almost simultaneously, several scouting Awakeners in the team drastically changed color.

"No, there are monsters!"

"Fall back, retreat quickly!"

"Heh-heh-heh... Hahahaha!"

Their screams of alarm were abruptly drowned out by a shrill, piercing laugh that suddenly erupted from Vice President Wang.

The laughter was manic and distorted, sounding entirely unlike anything a human could produce.

On Vice President Wang's originally gentle and modest face, his features contorted grotesquely, his mouth stretching all the way to his ears to reveal gleaming white teeth.

His turbid eyeballs were covered in spiderweb-like bloodshots. He simply stared at the astonished crowd and laughed crazily.

"Wang Jiaming, have you lost your damn mind?!" Vice President Zhao, broad-shouldered and imposing, demanded in a mix of shock and fury.

"Splash, splash..."

His answer was a dense, torrential series of sounds breaking the surface from all directions.

The murky water instantly boiled.

Deep within the thick fog, an erratic mass of bizarre light emitting a mesmerizing blend of blue, purple, and red drifted rapidly toward this area...

"Subdue Wang Jiaming! Everyone, evacuate!" President Wu's deep, furious roar echoed among the crowd.

***

"Roar!"

Xuebing’s long tail lashed fiercely against the surface of the water, sending up a surge of muddy waves that forced a vortex-armored crab attempting a sneak attack from the flank to reveal its position.

The giant crab had just raised its high-speed rotating drill claws.

A juicy tomato precisely slammed into its screaming, gaping maw.

"Gulp!" The vortex-armored crab's massive body shuddered as it instinctively swallowed.

The next second.

"Puff~"

Blood-thick, scarlet mist erupted from the gaps in its carapace and its compound eyes.

This mist was almost tangible, carrying a strange odor that made even Xuebing shake his head in annoyance, wrapping the vortex-armored crab into a writhing red fog cocoon.

"Click... rustle... rustle..."

Inside the fog cocoon, the vortex-armored crab let out intoxicated, incoherent gurgles, its drill claws hanging down limply.

Its thick body wobbled unsteadily in the water, as if all its bones had been extracted.

Han Ning was already somewhat accustomed to this routine.

With a thought, dozens of vines drilled into the red fog, seizing the moment when the crab was vulnerable to slither in through its exposed joint gaps.

Thud, thud, thud!

The muffled sound of vines churning internal organs echoed out.

The giant crab, which had been aggressive just a moment ago, collapsed into the water with a loud thud and stopped moving.

"Hah... hah..."

Han Ning panted softly, suspended over the murky water as he recalled the spiritual energy he had used to release the vines.

The continuous high-intensity combat and manipulation—even with cheating tools like the red fog tomatoes drastically lowering the difficulty of kills—still consumed a considerable amount of his spiritual energy.

[Spiritual Energy: 12/25]

[Druid Growth Progress +85] (Current Lv4, 597/600)

[Mental Power +0.1] (Mental Power: 1.5)

[Swamp Alligator Lizard Growth Progress +17] (Current 178/200)

[Vine Mastery (Advanced) Proficiency +10] (Current 82/500)

Looking at the numbers "597/600" on his panel, a sharp glint flashed through Han Ning's eyes.

Since entering the fog zone, he had already killed 4 vortex-armored crabs using the red fog tomatoes.

He was just 3 points short. With one more of the weakest alligator lizards, he would break through to Lv5.

Yet, unawares, they had arrived at the area where they had encountered the swarm of vortex-armored crabs yesterday.

"Han Ning..." Yu Na's weak voice came from nearby.

Han Ning turned his head to look.

Yu Na's face was pale, a streak of dry blood clung to the tip of her petite nose, and the blue spiritual barrier around her had grown extremely thin, as if it could shatter at any moment.

However, compared to yesterday, the halo surrounding her had condensed from pale blue to a solid azure.

She panted softly, a look of joy breaking through her typically indifferent, "disgusted" expression.

"Th—thank you. I feel like my abilities have improved by a whole major tier, but... my mental energy is almost exhausted." The tone she used to speak with Han Ning had also grown considerably closer.

Although she only played a supporting role, riding Han Ning's coattails yielded more energy than any previous hunt she had ever experienced.

"I know..."

Han Ning nodded, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding white mist.

They had already penetrated nearly four hundred meters deep into the fog zone, and swarms of vortex-armored crabs could appear at any moment.

He only had 12 points of spiritual energy left, and Yu Na had managed to hold on this long purely by relying on the energy nourishment from killed monsters.

"Only 3 points of progress away; there's no need to take risks here. I can just go back and kill a couple of alligator lizards to break through..."

"Let's call it a day here."

Han Ning made a decisive choice.