Inside The Black Mist

The return journey was unusually smooth. The convoy didn’t encounter any more attacks from the dark creatures, and Tianyang and his companions successfully arrived at Yunxiang Base by noon the next day.

Upon returning to the base, Tianyang was granted half a day's rest and informed that Yun Ze wanted to meet with him the following day.

As for the reason, Tianyang was well aware—it was nothing more than the matter concerning Zhou Wang. He wasn’t particularly worried about it, as the tactical eye had recorded Zhou Wang’s actions at the time. Once the data was extracted, it would be clear who was right and who was wrong.

In the afternoon, Adam arranged for Tianyang to undergo a thorough examination at the base's medical center. Tianyang then spent another half-day in the treatment pod, and the doctor instructed him to return to the medical center once a day for the next three days.

Unfortunately, there was no one like Xun with a radiance-related profession here; otherwise, it would have been much more convenient for Tianyang.

In the evening, he returned to his previously assigned dormitory. After dinner, the young man sat down, picked up his communicator, and began drafting a report.

This report was about the "Horn-Head" entity. Adam had mentioned that this report could earn him a substantial amount of contribution points.

Although Tianyang already had a fair number of contribution points to his name, who would complain about having more?

[Codename: Disruptor

Danger Assessment: Level 2

Summary: From what I know, this type of dark creature has appeared twice. The first time was during the "Recover Star Pillar" mission in the metropolis, and the second time was in Gemstone Town.

Although the disruptors that appeared on both occasions had significant differences in their physical characteristics, the common feature was a head resembling a horn, which seemed to be a special organ used to amplify and transmit disruptive signals.

The disruptor has the ability to interfere with our communications. The disruptive signal it emits can infiltrate various channels, thereby crippling our communications.

It is currently known that killing the disruptor can terminate the disruptive signal.

The disruptor itself has limited combat capability, with average physical strength. A star-element beam can easily penetrate its body. Therefore, it is initially assumed to be a support-type dark creature.

Appendix: The exact appearance and location of the disruptor's will cage are still unknown. It is speculated that it might be inside the horn-like organ, but further confirmation is needed.

Report Submitted By: Night Walker Raven Squad, Tianyang]

After ensuring everything was correct, Tianyang sent the short report to Adam, who would submit it along with the mission report.

With the report submitted and nothing else to do, Tianyang laid down and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, just as Tianyang finished washing up, there was a knock at the door.

He opened the door to find Adam standing outside. The tall and sturdy man from Westland was surprisingly not wearing his usual armor today but was instead dressed in the Night Walker uniform.

Seeing Tianyang, Adam gave a warm smile. "I figured you probably haven't had breakfast yet. Since I need to take you to Yun Ze's office later, I thought we could grab breakfast together."

Tianyang asked him to wait for a moment, then went back inside to grab his uniform before heading out with Adam.

Adam glanced at him a few times and said, "After we return, you can apply to replace your team uniform."

Following Adam's gaze, Tianyang noticed a few cuts in his uniform, likely sustained during the battle in the town. The battle had been so intense that his uniform was stained with many marks, and despite having been cleaned, it still looked somewhat worn out.

However, these cuts were not very obvious, and Tianyang hadn't noticed them until Adam pointed them out.

It seemed that this big guy was more attentive than he appeared.

During breakfast, Tianyang asked Adam about a card reader and getting his firearm repaired. The former was to read the data chip left behind by Su Lie, and the latter was to restore the full power of his "Death Knell" weapon.

After taking a bite of bread, Adam replied, "As for the card reader, I happen to have one, so I'll lend it to you later. As for the gun repair, there is a machinist at the base, but he has a bit of a temper. I can introduce you to him, but whether or not he agrees to repair it is up to him."

Tianyang had no objections to this.

At 9:15 AM, Tianyang walked into Yun Ze's office. True to the reputation of the Sky Fortress' Yun family, even the office was more impressive than most.

At least compared to Shen Mozhu's office, which resembled a botanical garden, Yun Ze's office was more spacious and luxuriously decorated.

The wall on the left, which was covered with an array of firearms, was particularly eye-catching.

"Good morning."

Yun Ze appeared to have been in the office for a while, busy handling official duties. Hearing the footsteps, he looked up and, holding a data pad, stood up.

After tapping on the screen a few times, he handed the data pad to his assistant and then invited Tianyang and Adam to sit down.

Adam came prepared, placing an instrument on the table and getting straight to the point. "Mr. Yun Ze, this is a device borrowed from the Information Department. It can connect to Tianyang's tactical electronic eye and retrieve the data inside. If you have no objections, we can take a look now at what exactly happened between Tianyang and Zhou Wang at that time."

Yun Ze smiled warmly, giving off a pleasant and approachable demeanor. "Then I'll leave it to you, Captain Adam."

Adam operated the device, activated an interface, and looked at Tianyang. "I need your electronic eye's serial number and authorization code."

Tianyang provided the necessary information, and Adam entered the data into the device, connecting it to the electronic eye.

After finding the data from that day at the strange building in the town, Adam selected it for playback.

The screen first showed a briefcase, followed by some camera shaking, indicating that Tianyang had likely been attacked.

Next came a blur of light and shadow, then the image shifted to an interior space. A beam of elemental energy flashed across a corner of the screen, erupting into a small elemental storm.

"Come out, why are you hiding? You're supposed to be strong, so why are you hiding now?"

Zhou Wang's voice echoed from the screen, and upon hearing it, Yun Ze's expression slightly changed.

What happened next was exactly as Tianyang had described. The battle, initiated by Zhou Wang, ended with Tianyang counterattacking and killing him.

When the playback ended, Yun Ze remained silent, staring at Zhou Wang's twisted expression on the screen.

Adam disconnected the tactical eye and turned off the device. "Mr. Yun Ze, as you can see, this fight was indeed started by Zhou Wang. Moreover, you saw that Zhou Wang intention to kill."

"In such a situation, I believe Tianyang had no choice but to kill him."

"What do you mean by ”had no choice?”"

Yun Ze raised his head, his eyes void of any emotion, sweeping over Adam and Tianyang.

Adam's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Yun Ze wasn’t going to let this slide? He started to worry.

Unexpectedly, a smile gradually spread across Yun Ze's lips. "Tianyang didn’t do anything wrong, so there's no need for forgiveness. Instead, I should apologize to him. I had no idea Zhou Wang was this kind of person, willing to kill someone over a personal grudge!"

"In fact, I should thank Tianyang. Thank you for helping me get rid of him; otherwise, he would have brought disgrace to me and the Yun family in the future!"

Adam finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed this matter could be resolved satisfactorily after all.

"Since Mr. Yun Ze isn't pursuing this matter, we'll take our leave," Adam said as he stood up.

Yun Ze also stood. "Let me see you out."

"No need..." Adam was about to decline when the office door was suddenly pushed open rudely, and a lazy voice spoke, "Who said you could leave?"

Adam and Tianyang exchanged puzzled glances, while a barely perceptible anger flickered in Yun Ze's eyes.

Regarding the Zhou Wang incident, even without the evidence from the tactical eye, Yun Ze had not doubted Tianyang's account. He knew Zhou Wang's character too well—narrow-minded and reckless.

The only reason Yun Ze insisted on hearing Tianyang's side of the story was to give himself an out and save face for the family.

Now that Tianyang had provided evidence, it was only natural for Yun Ze to not pursue the matter further. This approach not only showed his magnanimity but also allowed him to build a rapport with the Night Walkers. It was a win-win situation.

But now, someone was questioning his decision.

Who was Yun Ze? He was the authority of the Yun family at the base!

If word got out about this, Yun Ze's authority would inevitably take a hit.

A figure swaggered into the room, well-dressed and tall, with short, light-colored hair and deep, dark eyes that had a hint of silver in them.

He wasn't wearing any protective gear, clearly indicating that he was also a Sublimator.

Moreover, he bore a striking resemblance to Yun Ze.

"Second Brother?" Yun Ze was momentarily stunned when he recognized the newcomer. "What are you doing here?"

Beside him, Tianyang heard Adam whisper, "This is Yun Ze's second brother, Yun Feng."

The young man finally understood—it was another member of the Yun family, which explained the resemblance to Yun Ze.

The man named Yun Feng shook his head. "I heard you were trapped in Gemstone Town, and the family was in a panic, so they sent me here. If things were bad, I'd have to make a trip to Gemstone Town myself. Luckily, you're fine, which saved me a lot of trouble."

"But Fourth Brother, how could you be so foolish? They showed you a video, and you just let them go? What, has our Yun family become so worthless that someone can just kill one of our guards, and you act like nothing happened?"

"If this gets out, who would be willing to fight for us in the future? As a leader, if you don't stand up for your people, you'll lose their loyalty sooner or later."

Yun Ze's expression grew darker as he listened. How had Yun Feng learned about Zhou Wang's death so quickly upon arriving at the base? There was no doubt someone had informed him.

With this thought, Yun Ze silently fumed.

But outwardly, he maintained a smile. Despite the growing darkness in his eyes, Yun Ze said with a smile, "Second Brother, you might not know this, but Zhou Wang struck first and even tried to kill. Even if he hadn't died, I would have expelled him from the Yun family."

"I can't have people think that just because the Yun family is powerful, even a mere guard can do as he pleases. The family's reputation is at stake, and I had to handle this matter carefully. Don't you agree, Second Brother?"

Yun Feng's smile gradually faded, and his lips tightened. "So, what you're saying, Fourth Brother, is that I would allow my subordinates to act recklessly?"

"Of course not." Yun Ze's smile remained unchanged. "I know you have the family's best interests at heart. You just didn't know the full story, so you thought I handled it poorly."

"Come, come, let me explain everything to you in detail. If you still think I didn’t handle it well, we can let the elders decide."

Since the Yun brothers had matters to discuss, Tianyang and Adam took the opportunity to excuse themselves. This time, Yun Feng didn’t stop them.

It seemed Yun Ze’s mention of the family's reputation was too heavy a burden. If Yun Feng continued to interfere, it might tarnish his own standing beyond repair.