The two of them quickened their pace and caught up with Gong Xiao ahead. Ding Longyun chuckled, "Gong Xiao, what do you want for dinner tonight? I'll cook it for you."
Gong Xiao smiled slightly. "Brother Ding, you're too kind. Whatever everyone else eats is fine with me."
"Let me think... How about some porridge tonight? I feel like I've been getting a bit overheated lately, and some porridge might cool me down." Ding Longyun said, winking at Su Li as he spoke.
Gong Xiao replied, "I have no objections."
Su Li shrugged. "Same here."
Chatting idly, the three of them reached the top floor. Ding Longyun opened the door, and Xu Xuehui came forward to greet them. Seeing the trio, her small face showed a hint of excitement.
"How is it, kid? Been bored out of your mind alone here?" Ding Longyun chuckled.
Xu Xuehui nodded. Su Li noticed a lot of sunflower seed shells in the trash can nearby and said, "I don't know about bored, but she's definitely been munching on plenty of sunflower seeds."
At that, Ding Longyun burst into laughter, and Xu Xuehui's face flushed red.
Su Li shook his head. "I really can't understand why you kids love snacks so much. I honestly don't see what's so great about them."
Ding Longyun checked the time and said, "Everyone, take a quick rest. Tonight at exactly 7:30, we'll continue hunting. Su Li and Gong Xiao, aim to break through to level 4, and you, kid, aim for level 3." He said this while looking at Xu Xuehui.
Su Li nodded. He was still short by seventeen spirit sources, so breaking through to level 4 tonight was highly likely.
Gong Xiao's eyes lit up. "Will there be that many monsters tonight? I'm still quite a bit short on spirit sources."
Ding Longyun replied, "If we leave enough corpses, it will definitely attract a lot of monsters. But we need to be careful not to overdo it, or we might draw monsters we can't handle. We'll play it by ear."
The three changed into swimsuits. Su Li and Ding Longyun slept on the two beds in the living room, while Gong Xiao took Xu Xuehui into the bedroom to sleep on the other two beds.
Ding Longyun only slept for half an hour before getting up to start preparing dinner.
Su Li slept deeply. As his strength gradually increased, his physical fitness improved. Not only was his appetite growing, but his sleep was also getting better, because building a strong body required adequate nutrition and sufficient rest.
He was awakened by Gong Xiao's voice.
"Such a thick fog has appeared."
Gong Xiao's surprised voice came faintly from outside. Su Li was startled awake, squinted his eyes, and lifted his head slightly. He saw that the door leading to the hallway was open, and Gong Xiao and Xu Xuehui were standing outside the hallway, looking out through the window.
"What fog?" Su Li sat up from the bed, grabbed his jacket from the side, and got up while putting it on.
"A huge fog has appeared outside. It's strange for this kind of weather to have fog." Gong Xiao glanced back at him and then continued looking outside.
Su Li walked out and was also surprised to see the hallway outside.
It was nearly six o'clock, and night was about to fall. But now, white mist was rising from the distant water surface. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but surging fog. Beyond a few dozen meters, they could only see blurry shadows, and farther than that, nothing at all.
"How did such a thick fog form? First time I've seen this." Ding Longyun, wearing a floral apron and holding a spatula, also came out.
Xu Xuehui leaned on the railing, silently gazing at the distant white mist. Her eyes slowly drifted downward, and she suddenly spoke. "A lot."
"A lot of what?" Su Li followed her gaze downward and also saw it. Not far from the front of the building, in the water shrouded by the fog, a large number of dark shadows suddenly appeared.
Because they were far away, he couldn't make out what kind of monsters these shadows were. He guessed they were likely corpse beasts or sea spiders. The water surface was now boiling like hot water, and these shadows were rising densely, which seemed very unusual.
"A lot of monsters..." Xu Xuehui murmured, a faint glimmer slowly rising in her eyes.
Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun also saw the dark shadows emerging on the water below and couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"Disturbed by this fog? Are these things coming out early?" Ding Longyun frowned. "Everyone, grab your weapons and be careful. This situation is very off."
Without needing Ding Longyun's reminder, Su Li and Gong Xiao had already gone back into the room first. When they came out again, Gong Xiao had a machete in hand, while Su Li carried an iron rod and a steel shovel, handing the shovel to Ding Longyun.
"Let's wait and see. As long as they don't come to us, we can ignore them." Su Li stared at the dark shadows continuously emerging below. Although the appearance of these monsters was a good opportunity to hunt for spirit sources, he had a vague feeling that the fog was very wrong, and a sense of unease rose in his heart. So he decided that unless absolutely necessary, it was best not to confront these monsters head-on.
Ding Longyun grunted in agreement with Su Li's opinion.
The large number of dark shadows surfacing didn't climb up the building. Instead, they kept dispersing in all directions. Soon, these shadows had completely scattered, moving away from the building.
"They're... fleeing?" Su Li's brow twitched slightly.
Ding Longyun said, "Fleeing? What do you mean? Why would they flee?"
Xu Xuehui suddenly interjected, "Because of fear."
These words made Su Li and Ding Longyun's hearts sink. Gong Xiao pressed, "How do you know they're afraid? And what are they afraid of?"
Su Li said in a low voice, "Xuehui, what exactly do you see?"
Xu Xuehui widened her eyes, staring at the surging fog in the distance, and murmured, "So many creatures... all fleeing... a boat... so many corpses..."
The fog gradually spread, reaching the hallway, enveloping them in a faint white mist as the sky grew darker.
Su Li, Ding Longyun, and Gong Xiao all stood beside Xu Xuehui, listening to her fragmented words, a sense of unease rising in their hearts.
"Xuehui, what boat are you talking about?" Gong Xiao, with her phoenix eyes wide open, looked into the distance but could only see a vast expanse of white fog and nothing else.
"A boat... Could a boat have appeared in the distance?" Su Li knew that Xu Xuehui's vision was much better than theirs. Now that she suddenly mentioned a boat, could it be that a boat had appeared in the distance?
If a boat had really appeared, had a rescue team arrived?
Ding Longyun seemed to have the same thought as Su Li and quickly asked, "Xuehui, how big is the boat? Take a look and see what kind of boat it is."
If it was just a small boat like the inflatable kayak Gong Xiao had arrived on, it might be other survivors. But if it was a large boat, it could very well be a rescue vessel from somewhere else, meaning they might be saved.