The massive snake head completely filled Chen Ye's entire field of vision;aside from the terrifying serpentine visage, there was nothing else before his eyes.

The willow branch was tightly coiled around Chen Ye's arm.

Thick smoke billowed from Chen Ye's mouth and nose. Within the red pupil of the Blood Eye in his left eye, runes were spinning frantically. Forcibly pushing the Blood Eye's power had caused Chen Ye's left eye to begin swelling uncomfortably, even faintly seeping blood.

Even though Captain Chu couldn't see the enormous snake head, he could feel this intense, overwhelming fear and oppressive pressure.

Chen Ye's Absolute Aura Concealment should, in principle, absolutely conceal auras and sensory perception.

But the problem was, Chen Ye was only Sequence 2.

The oppressive might of this legendary giant serpent before them was far too powerful, directly breaching the concealment of the supernatural path's Sequence 2 Mist Barrier Master.

It spread the pressure directly across this stretch of land.

Unable to see or hear, the pressure and terror Chu Che endured became even more horrifying.

Chu Che's hand was moving from inside his coat, pulling out the trump card he kept hidden there.

It was a method he had never revealed in front of outsiders before.

Back when they were surrounded by Anomalies at the Second Elementary School, he hadn't even been willing to bring it out then.

He had once thought he would never use it in this lifetime, he just hadn't expected it to be so soon.

It was just a pity about Iron Lion. Without him going to rescue him, he probably wouldn't last much longer.

As for Chen Ye...

He should still have a backup plan, right? Even if all of us died, he should be the one to survive to the end.

But right at that moment, the colossal snake head stirred up a violent disturbance in the smoke and mist, directly passing over the roofs of their two vehicles.

The smoke and mist barrier was also torn open by the massive air current churned up by the giant serpent.

Only then did Chu Che clearly see the underside of a giant snake through the front windshield.

This... this was actually a snake!

Such a huge snake!

Just one glance, and the smoke and mist churned again, immediately blocking Squad Leader Chu Che's line of sight and also sealing off the aura of living beings completely.

The giant serpent passed over the two off-road vehicles. Between the flicking of its massive forked tongue, it coiled around the middle-aged man Chen Ye had thrown on the ground earlier and swallowed him into its maw.

The middle-aged man stared wide-eyed, mouth agape. He was completely paralyzed by terror, unable to even struggle, watching helplessly as the snake's tongue dragged him into the dark serpentine mouth.

Only at this moment did the man seem to break through some kind of blockade, letting out a meaningless scream from within the snake's mouth.

The giant serpent swallowed the man and seemed to sense a trace of strange living aura.

Chen Ye's eyes widened in shock, not daring to exhale even a single breath.

It was probably because the air current stirred up by the giant serpent earlier tore an opening, leaking some living aura.

But luckily, he had noticed it quickly enough. This thing shouldn't have discovered them, right?!

Squad Leader Chu Che was also holding his breath at this moment.

The enormous serpentine eyes scanned the surroundings but found nothing, only then slowly beginning to retract.

The giant serpent pulled back, the splashing water directly drenching the bridge deck.

Only then did Chen Ye and Chu Che slowly, cautiously exhale the stale air from their lungs.

Even now, these two didn't dare to breathe heavily.

The two vehicles remained parked on the bridge, not daring to move at all.

The sky gradually darkened.

Coupled with the surrounding thick fog, Chen Ye and Chu Che both felt as if they were in some kind of utterly silent space.

Especially for Chu Che. The surrounding mist barrier isolated hearing, sight, and smell.

It was only now that Chu Che truly understood just how terrifying Chen Ye's Absolute Aura Concealment was.

If Chen Ye hadn't intentionally made some small sounds to remind Chu Che, Chu Che didn't know what might happen to him after prolonged exposure to such an environment.

Chen Ye's ears pricked up, listening as the sound of splashing water gradually faded into the distance. Only then did he slowly let out a sigh of relief.

Absolute Aura Concealment had the effect of blocking hearing for everyone except himself, but he could move freely within it.

However, Chen Ye still couldn't release Chu Che's hearing, vision, etc., within the Absolute Aura Concealment. Perhaps that would be possible at a higher Sequence.

A full thirty minutes passed before Chen Ye cautiously withdrew the mist.

As the smoke dispersed, his ears began receiving external sounds again, and his eyes saw a blanket of fog once more.

Even his nose began to smell the damp, rotting odor in the air.

Captain Chu felt the beauty of returning to the world of the living for the first time.

Even in the apocalypse, it made one feel a sliver of relief.

Chu Che closed his eyes and carefully felt his surroundings for a moment before nodding and saying, "It's gone!"

Chen Ye finally let out a huge sigh of relief.

As for the two ordinary people in the truck bed, they had already passed out.

The pressure just now had exceeded what an ordinary person could withstand.

Now, with the sky growing dark and the thick fog environment, visibility became even lower.

Even with Captain Chu Che turning on the vehicle's headlights, it still couldn't increase visibility one bit.

Fortunately, the Mist River Bridge had only one road;they just had to drive straight along the bridge.

There were many cars on the bridge.

Sometimes while driving, they'd feel the vehicle jolt—it turned out they'd bumped into a car body on the bridge.

When the disaster struck, the Mist River Bridge was probably still open to traffic.

Chen Ye really wanted to go to those cars now to scavenge some spare parts for his own vehicle.

But the timing really wasn't appropriate right now;he'd have to wait until they found a place to rest.

The young woman in the truck bed woke up. Chen Ye had her return to the passenger seat to maintain contact with Captain Chu and communicate the route at any time.

The young woman sat in the passenger seat, wrinkling her nose and shifting uncomfortably on the seat, her expression quite unpleasant.

That middle-aged uncle from earlier had wet his pants.

And the seats in Chen Ye's vehicle weren't leather but fabric, so the uncle's urine had been completely absorbed.

Chen Ye really wanted to just throw these seats out.

He just hadn't had the chance yet.

The young woman didn't dare complain, so she sat there, feeling uncomfortable all over.

"Zzzzt... Yezi, Xiao Wang and Old Bao are gone!"

A panicked voice came from the walkie-talkie.

The modified off-road vehicle that had been driving alongside them suddenly slammed on the brakes.

"Gone?"

"Yeah, I... I saw them get out. Besides, Old Bao was in that condition, and Xiao Wang was coughing so badly. How could they have gotten out on their own?"

"Yezi, did... did you see them get out of the vehicle?"

Captain Chu's voice over the walkie-talkie was full of panic.

Chen Ye was also a bit shocked.

How could two living adults just suddenly disappear?

From the beginning until now, aside from him opening his door twice, he hadn't seen Chu Che's car door open.

"Cough, cough... Captain, my condolences. Old Bao and Xiao Wang are probably already... dead."

The young woman beside him spoke up.

Her address for Chu Che had also changed to "Captain."

"What do you mean?"

Chu Che didn't fly into a rage because of the taboo in the young woman's words.

"We've encountered this situation before. Here, anyone who dies turns into a Fog Slave!"

"Fog Slave..."

Chu Che's low voice came through the walkie-talkie, then fell silent.

Chen Ye initially thought something was off, then his eyelids started twitching violently.

Damn it... This guy was definitely eavesdropping. The term "Fog Slave" was something this woman had just told him.

Judging by Chu Che's tone, while sad, he wasn't surprised.

Damn it...

So when I wanted to see the guns in his trunk earlier, he kept interrupting.

Chen Ye wanted to curse out Chu Che and demand the guns.

But right now, Captain Chu Che had just lost two important people, so Chen Ye had to suppress his thoughts and hold back for now.

Captain Chu Che's vehicle remained parked in place for a full three minutes.

Only then did it start up again.

Two lives, three minutes.

The apocalypse only gave three minutes for mourning.

The vehicles continued forward.

A few sentences of communication between Chu Che and the young woman occasionally came through the walkie-talkie.

They were clearly planning the route after getting off the bridge.

Chu Che sensed that Iron Lion's Marking was still there and felt a slight sense of relief.

Suppressing the grief in his heart, he gripped the steering wheel tightly, following closely behind Chen Ye's vehicle.

The young woman sat in Chen Ye's passenger seat, the intermittent smell of urine making her very uncomfortable, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

As for Chen Ye, the mask covering his face concealed most of his expression.

The young woman suddenly said quietly, "After you all leave Fog City, it'll be my turn to die, won't it?"