The Fogfolk Rent District had vanished completely from the ether space.

After searching around the long street, Yang Zicang and the others confirmed that perhaps their lack of results tonight was not due to searching in the wrong places.

But because those key locations already held a method to render themselves invisible within the Sub-Ether Force Field Space.

Karl said regretfully, “It seems we’ll have to shelve the idea of easily scouting for intel—or conducting combat missions—by traveling through the ‘Sub-Ether Field.’ “

“Then, Karl, you head back to the real world and take a look. If everything’s fine, stick to the plan we agreed on: circle the business card three times clockwise to signal ‘normal’ status. “

“Got it! ” Karl gripped the business card; with a flicker of intent, he was enveloped by surging energy and gas, disappearing from the Sub-Ether Space. Through that blurry “passageway ” connecting to reality, one could glimpse dim and rocky streets.

Karl turned his head to survey the vicinity; no one was nearby. He walked all the way towards the Fogfolk Rent District, only to see that even at this early morning hour, a large crowd still remained gathered. Many families, dragging their children along, huddled together in the corners of walls. When they spotted a Fogfolk man approaching, those nearby who hadn’t yet fallen asleep excitedly rushed over.

Without waiting for Karl to ask, they spoke up, agitated and trembling: “Sir Fogfolk, can you send us out of White Violet City? “

“What’s happened to you all? “

“Haven’t you heard? The blood-polluted followers of Shidefen are already attacking. “

“Many villagers outside the city saw them tear down houses with their bare hands. My god, is that something humans can do? “

The other two also ran over, their voices low for fear that others wanting to escape would notice the Fogfolk’s arrival. “We heard that Qijun City in the north has already been destroyed—the entire city was slaughtered. Those devils… w-we want to leave. “

Karl glanced at the group strangely. “Then just leave. Do you really need us to hold your hand and walk you out? “

“No, sir, it’s not that… What we mean is… “

The group looked around furtively, left and right, before speaking: “We want to leave the Grand Duchy. We’ve heard Fogfolk are heading west… w-we want to go too. “

A wave of bitter emotion swelled in Karl’s heart.

“That’s impossible. Don’t worry, the attack today is over now. “

……

Yang Zicang, anchoring his position in the Sub-Ether space using theEther Beacon business cardKarl was carrying, had only just vaguely located Karl when theEther Beacon‘s signal completely dissolved into chaos—scattering like a dim fog drifting nearby, rendering it utterly untraceable.

Yang Zicang fumbled around for a while, even randomly stabbing the air with theGaze-dispelling Swordas if hacking at nothing. Before long, a lazy telepathic voice echoed out.

{Fellow Fogfolk in the Sub-Ether space, please proceed to the front gate of the rental district, recite your oath, and enter. }

Yang Zicang awkwardly sheathed his sword. “…Alright, I understand. ” He turned his head and said, “It should be fine. Let’s get out of here too. Yishu, I’ll send you out first. “

He Yishu rubbed his nose and nodded. Staying alone in this “Ether Field ” wasn’t much safer than going outside. Without the “Gaze-Dispelling Sword ” by his side, in the next second he might indeed vanish just as their warning had described.

He Yishu disappeared. In the distorted fluorescent light of the sub-ether space, just as Yang Zicang was about to return to the real world, the surrounding flow of shining Sub-Ether Field suddenly spread out flat as if frozen solid, resembling a vast, empty, white plain.

A figure appeared ahead, walking slowly toward him.

“Stop. Don’t go any further. “

“Who are you? ” Yang Zicang’s pupils contracted sharply. He tightened his grip on the hilt of the “Gaze-Dispelling Sword, ” sizing up the approaching figure with wary vigilance.

The oncoming person was tall and slender, dressed in an immaculately tailored grayish-white overcoat. The collar was fastened snugly, layered over a starched, crisp white high-necked shirt that was held buttoned perfectly, deliberately covering half his face.

Yang Zicang’s gaze flickered. That high-necked collar lining was precisely the clothing style he had been contemplating to avoid being ‘watched’… The opponent had already put it to use with far greater finesse. Using it as an undergarment was indeed more elegant and composed than simply raising and lengthening the outer collar, and it also saved on tailoring costs as well.

He slowly raised his head, his face chiseled from jade, a hallmark of the Sub-Ether Space.

“I am Joshua, a benevolent one. “

He planted his wooden staff forward with steady, otherworldly steps, continuing his advance towards Yang Zicang, and only stopped a dozen meters away.

“Stop what you’re doing. “

“What do you mean? ” Yang Zicang’s vigilance soared to its peak.

“I know what you intend to do next. It’s meaningless. Aside from making the world more broken and blinding people to the path ahead, your so-called effort to rewrite the fate of destruction amounts to nothing. “

“The path… ” Yang Zicang instantly grasped his meaning. “You mean the outcome that was inevitably doomed from the start, right? “

“I know what you’re going to say, ” Joshua nodded slightly. “People always think they have the power to change everything, but in truth, they change nothing. You don’t know the real crises in the true world, nor do you know how many skeletons, just like you, are lying on this path. Did any of them succeed? “

He looked with pity, saw the stunned shock on Yang Zicang’s face, and spoke softly, “The choice isn’t hard to make, is it? The answer is simple. “

Yang Zicang pressed his lips tightly together.

“Although this thread of destiny is false, ” the man continued, “the deaths within it are real. We don’t demand a perfect replication of the former world’s evolution; we simply maintain the flow of history without deviation. “

“Until the catastrophe appears once more, and the world is destroyed again? ” Yang Zicang slowly angled his “Gaze-dispelling Sword ” downward, a Chrono-Void Flame pulsing with energy rising from his body, casting his tidy work jacket in a shifting, distorted energy radiance. Its true color was utterly indiscernible, like a pale, burning, uncanny mystical flame.

“Before the destruction, we will strive to earn a new ‘Track of Fate’ redemption ticket. This too is a part of following fate. ” Joshua stated calmly, his gaze locking directly onto Yang Zicang’s eyes.

“Now you can understand our good intentions. This is our plan to save the world: the Heaven-Following Project. “

In that instant, Yang Zicang, who had been on high alert, felt a violent surge of emotions churning within him!

“THIS is your plan? Who are you people? “

He suddenly remembered the “Corrector ” he had encountered on the Land of Lost Frequencies.

“Are you all like the ‘Correctors’? “

Were they in the same group, or did they simply share similar beliefs?

“Are you talking about the ‘Corrector’ of the Society of Preservers? Hah… Although I’m reluctant to admit it, that group of cowards who wield enormous power truly does intend to preserve the foundation of the ‘real world’ within the world evolving from the new Track of Fate. “

Joshua gave a faint smile. “But we are not them. “