My Professions Have Too Much Personality - Chapter 304 - 185: First Contact: The Harm of the Nether Fog (Part 2)

“Simple. We’ll say we only discovered it within the last ten years and didn’t know what it was, so we never reported it,” Zhou Yanwu said. “As long as the four cities get their stories straight, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

No one knew what would happen if their cover-up was exposed, and no one wanted to find out. Getting their stories straight wasn’t difficult.

“What if they try to take the Great Venerable by force?” Shi Yunzhou countered. “Do we just hand him over, or…?”

“What’s the highest Tier Professional Ying Feng can handle?” Wu Chenpei suddenly asked.

Chong Jingtian was silent for a moment before replying, “With the help of the Defense Spirit Ring, if we work together, we can barely handle a Tier Eight Professional.”

HISS— Wu Chenpei sucked in a sharp breath. “A Tier Eight might not be enough,” he couldn’t help but say.

“Nonsense,” Zhou Yanwu sneered. “If they’re really set on taking him, no one can stop them. When that time comes, our best bet is to trade for as many tangible benefits as we can.”

Their minds were in chaos. Wu Chenpei’s expression was grim as he realized that even if Hongxuan hadn’t died, things probably wouldn’t have gone according to Yuan Capital’s script.

And now, things weren’t following Ying Feng’s script either, which was hardly good news for the overall situation.

“Things might not be that bad,” Shi Yunzhou said. “If they were just going to snatch him away without a second thought, they wouldn’t have sent such a strange lineup. Besides, they might not even be here for the Great Venerable.”

“Hmm…” Chong Jingtian summarized. “In that case, when we make contact, we won’t say anything they don’t ask. We’ll only answer what they ask, and no more.”

“As for Su Chen and Hongxuan, we won’t mention them for now. We’ll cover it up as best we can and decide what to do after we have a clearer picture.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Immediately after, Wu Chenpei was made to stay behind while Chong Jingtian left with only Zhou Yanwu and Shi Yunzhou, preparing to head outside the city.

But just as they stepped out of the Judicial Court’s Central Building, they saw a furtive figure at the base of the building.

“Su Chen…” Chong Jingtian’s brow furrowed slightly, and he beckoned him over.

“Chief,” Su Chen greeted, then turned to the other two. “Director Shi, Director Zhou…”

He was quite surprised. ’When I heard the Chief was back, I came at the first opportunity to ask if Judge You had returned. I was hoping to deal with the Life Fire as soon as possible.’

’But it looks like something major is happening today. Three of the five elders are here, and they all look so grave and solemn.’

Shi Yunzhou had met him before and nodded in acknowledgment. Zhou Yanwu’s gaze was sizing him up.

“What are you doing here?” Chong Jingtian asked, reining in his emotions.

Su Chen quickly replied, “Has Judge You returned? I need her help with something.”

“You Shan…” Chong Jingtian thought for a moment. “She’s stationed farther away. It’ll probably be another two or three days.”

“Alright, I understand.” Su Chen nodded. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Chong Jingtian add with some hesitation, “For the next few days, you should try to keep a low profile.”

’Hm?’ Su Chen froze for a second. ’Did something happen?’

But Chong Jingtian didn’t elaborate. He had already soared into the sky. “We’ll tell you the details after we’ve dealt with this.”

’What in the…’ Watching the three figures disappear, Su Chen couldn’t help but wonder, ’What’s going on now?’

…

Outside the city, Qing Cang and his group had been led to a temporary rest area by Jiang Shu Mo. They were surrounded by a guard detail clad in dark, heavy combat armor, the eye slits of their faceplates glowing with a crimson light.

Nearby, Inspector Guards patrolled the perimeter, occasionally casting scrutinizing and wary glances in their direction.

Qing Cang looked up at the giant city before them and remarked with a sigh, “This city… is magnificent…”

The other three glanced over, secretly shaking their heads. ’What’s so magnificent about this city? It’s completely unremarkable.’

Though they thought this, they didn’t say anything aloud.

“You shouldn’t look down on it…” Qing Cang didn’t even turn his head, yet he could guess what they were thinking. “You rarely visit Desolate Planets like this one, especially not one plagued by Nether Fog and Deceitful Gods.”

“In some places, if not quite a savage era of cannibalism, it’s close. In slightly better ones, people can barely manage to clothe themselves. But here, they’ve built a giant city and sheltered so many people. That can be called magnificent.”

There was a sense of deep feeling in his words as he spoke. Wan Chen and the other two exchanged a look. Having almost never visited such a planet, they found it hard to empathize and merely chimed in:

“I see.”

“And that thing… is not simple.” Qing Cang’s gaze fixed on the massive metal ring encircling Ying Feng. “This place was once a battlefield. It left behind many ruins. It seems the people here have excavated quite a few things from them.”

The three behind him weren’t concerned. They glanced around, thinking, ’No matter how special it is, how impressive could it really be?’

Qing Cang retracted his gaze and looked toward the three figures flying out from the city. “They’re here.”

Wan Chen and the others followed his gaze, sizing up the three arrivals.

Chong Jingtian and his companions were sizing them up as well. Just from the fully-armed guards, they could sense something unusual—a fierce and violent aura.

They were almost all Tier Five Professionals, and there was even a Tier Six Professional, who seemed to be a captain of some sort.

And the man in the lead radiated a life aura that struck even them with a sense of dread.

“You must be the Rulers of this city.” Qing Cang noted the gravity in their eyes and retracted his powerful life aura. He spoke gently, “I am Qing Cang, disciple of the Bronze Ancient King. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

The Bronze Ancient King?

Chong Jingtian had never heard that name. Based on the few words from the explorers ten years ago, he only knew that the Royal Court was ruled by the “Emperor,” who commanded all four corners of the world.

But the title “Ancient King” was clearly extraordinary, and the man’s power was already astonishing enough.

Chong Jingtian dared not be disrespectful. “As you guessed, Lord, the three of us are the Rulers of this city. My name is Chong Jingtian. This is Zhou Yanwu and Shi Yunzhou.”

After the introductions, Chong Jingtian didn’t rush to ask their purpose. Instead, he said, “Please, follow us into the city.”

Qing Cang nodded and calmly led his entourage aboard the large Flying Device Chong Jingtian had prepared.

As they drew closer, however, the expressions on Chong Jingtian and the others changed slightly. Putting aside the fully-armed guards, Qing Cang and the three young people with him were all covered in an almost imperceptible, transparent film.

The three leaders exchanged a look. After a moment of hesitation, Chong Jingtian asked, “Lord Qing Cang, what is that film covering you?”

“You mean this Foggy Robe?” Qing Cang seemed a little surprised. “You don’t know? Didn’t the four investigators who came last time tell you?”

“No.” Chong Jingtian first shook his head, then froze. ’Four? Weren’t there only three of them?’

“Hmm…” Qing Cang suddenly chuckled, having likely guessed what the previous group was thinking.

’They were probably afraid of getting entangled with these people. Plus, they were already afflicted by the Nether Fog, no different from the locals, so they figured it was better to cause less trouble and didn’t mention how to block the fog.’

He didn’t seem to mind at all and explained, “It’s used to block out the Nether Fog.”

“Block out the Nether Fog?” Chong Jingtian’s heart skipped a beat. He had a faint suspicion and couldn’t help but ask, “Is the fog… harmful?”

“Of course.” Qing Cang nodded. “It’s a bit complicated to explain. To put it simply, being afflicted by the Nether Fog shortens your lifespan. The higher your Life Tier, the more it cuts away.”

Chong Jingtian’s expression froze.

“Shortens… our lifespan?” At his side, the color drained from Zhou Yanwu’s face. He said with difficulty, “But we’ve studied it. We never found any harmful effects…”

“Heh…” Lin Yue let out a laugh, but she quickly composed herself when Qing Cang shot her a frown.

Qing Cang explained, “The Nether Fog requires special methods to block. Since you can’t block it completely, you naturally don’t have a clean control group. That’s why you couldn’t detect its harmful effects.”

He had seen similar situations many times and knew why they had failed to discover the danger.

“Is there a way to solve it?” Zhou Yanwu couldn’t help but ask.

Qing Cang nodded. “There are methods to cleanse the Nether Fog, and the damage to your lifespan can also be restored.”

Hearing that there was a solution, the expressions on Chong Jingtian and the other two leaders eased considerably.

“May I ask, Lord, how much of our lifespan has been cut away?” Shi Yunzhou couldn’t resist asking either.

Qing Cang considered for a moment. “Given your Tier, I’d say about half.”

Half?

Their faces turned grim. Their desire for the Royal Court was suddenly stronger than ever. That was a full two hundred years of life.

Qing Cang took in their reactions, his smile growing even gentler. He walked to the window, looked down, and said with sincerity:

“The people here live in peace, and the city’s construction is on par with some places in the Royal Court. Your achievements are worthy of praise.”

“We rely on the toil of our ancestors, generation after generation.”

Chong Jingtian pulled his mind back from the two hundred years of life that had just been dangled before him. Forcing himself to remain calm, he slowly got to the point. “I wonder, Lord, what is the purpose of your sudden visit? Is there anything we can help you with?”