Chapter 17
The mysterious red mist first appeared on Prison Star around Star Alliance Year 1307, twenty-four years ago.
From the moment it emerged, the mist pervaded every base. No containment measures, no matter how advanced, could expel it from the base premises. The guards who inhaled the mist experienced symptoms such as heightened aggression, berserk behavior, increased hostility, and even organ mutations.
The mist’s omnipresence rendered it virtually unavoidable. Gas masks could delay but not prevent contamination, as the red mist invaded the human body not only through the respiratory system but also through any exposed skin.
Subsequent research identified blood-red particles in the mist, resembling the substances found in Prison Star’s soil. Contact with these particles invariably led to physiological changes and mutations.
Whether inhaled or through skin contact, an individual exposed to a certain threshold of these particles would suffer irreversible damage. These particles were labeled as contaminants.
More disturbingly, the emergence of these contaminants coincided with the appearance of various monsters and eerie phenomena.
One base, unfortunately built within the range of these phenomena, temporarily lost contact with headquarters. When communication was restored, the base had already suffered devastating casualties.
As the red mist spread, chaos engulfed the bases on Prison Star. To make matters worse, some incarcerated criminals seized the opportunity to cause disturbances or escape, placing tremendous pressure on the stationed troops.
Recognizing the dire situation, some members of the Star Alliance proposed ceasing all operations on Prison Star, relocating affairs to other planets, and returning the prisoners to their respective nations. They argued that the sacrifice of soldiers guarding the bases was unjustifiable.
This proposal met fierce opposition from various Alliance nations.
Prison Star had been chosen after years of deliberation and had been in operation for nearly seventy years. With over thirty bases and tens of thousands of stationed troops, the investment of manpower and resources was immense.
Abandoning Prison Star would not only mean the loss of these investments but also pose logistical nightmares. Some of the most dangerous convicts were housed there, and relocating them carried significant risks. No other facility in the galaxy could handle such high-security requirements.
Thus, the Star Alliance eventually halted the construction of new bases on Prison Star. Projects like the Nursery Division were shelved, and discussions began about finding a new planet to serve as a penal colony.
The debate dragged on while the situation deteriorated.
Unexpectedly, a turning point emerged.
A few years after the red mist first appeared, researchers monitoring it noticed a significant change: except during extreme weather events, the concentration of contaminants in the air had drastically decreased.
What used to be visibility of only one or two meters on clear days quickly returned to normal levels. While the daylight remained dimmer than usual, the situation was far less inconvenient and dangerous compared to the pervasive red mist.
In the span of a single day, the red mist receded from human-occupied bases, retreating into the untouched corners of the planet.
Now, the concentration of contaminants would spike only during extreme weather, forming into red cloud formations. But as long as individuals stayed indoors, sealed inside buildings, the contaminants’ density would remain tolerable for ordinary people.
The monsters accompanying the red mist also vanished with its retreat, reappearing only during extreme weather events when the mist returned.
The re-emerged monsters, while still dangerous and powerful, ignored buildings and attacked only those who remained outdoors during these events.
This change provided a much-needed respite for the base garrisons on Prison Star.
With this newfound stability, the Star Alliance resumed strengthening base infrastructure, improving defensive capabilities, and refining operational protocols. Over time, they accumulated extensive experience in combating the monsters, greatly enhancing both safety and combat effectiveness.
This renewed security also allowed the previously shelved Nursery Division project to restart, and it has since achieved significant success.
However, all of these advances were predicated on the understanding that monsters would not attack base structures.
Even with nearly twenty years of experience in handling these creatures, allowing response teams to effectively fight back or even counterattack, such abilities were limited to the highly trained personnel of the Operations Division.
For the average staff member within the bases, fighting back was out of the question—merely surviving such encounters was already remarkable.
Thus, when Yan Ping shared his assessment, Xia Jingming’s expression grew grim.
“This finding must be reported immediately!” he said in a low, urgent tone. Collecting and analyzing further data would be essential to confirm Yan Ping’s alarming hypothesis.
Yan Ping nodded. “The base’s AI core has recorded the events. Any further action will have to wait until the rain stops.”
“Agreed.”
Despite his urgency, Xia Jingming understood the need to prioritize safety. For now, leaving the logistics building was not an option.
“And the battle outside?” he asked.
“For now, it’s going well,” Yan Ping replied.
The giant spider was being handled by Teams Two and Three, and reinforcements were unnecessary for the moment. However, Yan Ping couldn’t shake the sense that the situation here was unusual.
Frowning, he asked, “Was there any anomaly here?”
When they arrived, the atmosphere in the lobby had felt off. Moreover, why was Luo Shengfei gravely injured while the others appeared unharmed?
Noticing the suspicion in Yan Ping’s tone, Xia Jingming glanced at Su Ci before quietly recounting the events.
After listening, Yan Ping’s gaze shifted toward Su Ci.
He had already taken note of the unfamiliar young man—not just because he didn’t recognize him but also due to the youth’s striking appearance, which made him hard to overlook.
Under Yan Ping’s scrutiny, Su Ci—wearing a plastic red flower hair clip in his fringe—remained unflustered, almost as if he wasn’t entirely aware of the situation.
Yan Ping didn’t immediately press him. Instead, he waited for Guan Zhishu to finish bandaging Luo Shengfei before instructing her to review the surveillance footage. All the while, his sharp gaze never left Su Ci.
Though his face appeared calm, Yan Ping’s body was taut, ready to spring into action at any moment.
Su Ci, in contrast, seemed entirely at ease, his curious eyes watching Guan Zhishu operate the surveillance system.
[Beep—Verification passed. Command received. Retrieving surveillance footage of Logistics Division, first-floor lobby.]
After Officer Guan Zhishu received the command, she verified her identity through her communicator and submitted a request to the base’s AI core.
Moments later, a holographic projection appeared from her communicator, expanding into a large display in midair. Once adjusted to full size, it began playing footage.
The video feed, filmed from multiple angles, captured the first-floor lobby of the Logistics Division. The footage, played in fast-forward, showed Luo Shengfei and the other two rushing into the lobby in rain gear, followed closely by Su Ci, who was shielding himself from the rain with his work manual.
Guan Zhishu cast a curious glance at Su Ci after seeing this.
Su Ci, however, appeared intrigued by the footage’s clarity and the adjustable playback speed. His interest made Yan Ping, who had been watching both the video and Su Ci, subtly furrow his brow.
The footage continued.
Soon, the scene depicted Su Ci and Luo Shengfei noticing the metal protection panel and glass starting to crack, accompanied by the eerie murmurs and laughter recorded in the audio.
After exchanging a few words, the group split up: Xia Jingming and Sun Si quickly ascended the stairs and soon encountered Shi Yijiang, while Luo Shengfei and Su Ci, lagging behind, faced unexpected danger.
When the thin filament wriggled through the cracks in the glass, the footage started to distort. Shortly after, as the filament destroyed the alarm system, the surveillance feed went black.
The video abruptly ended, leaving the following events unknown.
“Captain,” Guan Zhishu turned to Yan Ping, awaiting his instructions.
Yan Ping frowned and said, “Camera two. Approximately 15 minutes and 40 seconds in.”
“Understood,” Guan Zhishu replied.
She switched to the second camera and zoomed in on Su Ci and Luo Shengfei. This camera had a motion-tracking feature that focused on living subjects, providing a clear record of the two as soon as Xia Jingming and Sun Si departed.
The video showed Luo Shengfei suddenly collapsing, with Su Ci crouching beside him to check his condition. Shortly after, the screen started to flicker and distort.
“Pause here,” Yan Ping suddenly instructed.
Guan Zhishu complied without hesitation.
Pointing at the screen, Yan Ping asked, “Xiao Luo, do you remember why you fell, or what happened afterward?”
Luo Shengfei struggled to open his eyes, squinting at the projected image while trying to recall.
“I think… I heard someone whispering in my ear… I felt really uncomfortable… and then… I don’t know what happened after that…”
Yan Ping gestured for the playback to continue. The footage showed Luo Shengfei lying on the ground, sobbing and muttering incomprehensibly.
“He was begging for mercy, probably experiencing hallucinations,” Su Ci observed.
“It’s mental manipulation,” Yan Ping declared.
Guan Zhishu expressed surprise. “That giant spider mutated again? It didn’t have this ability before, did it?”
Yan Ping shook his head. “We’ll confirm with Teams Two and Three later. They’re currently engaging the giant spider. If it has indeed developed mental manipulation, they should have some intelligence.”
Before Guan Zhishu could acknowledge his statement, Yan Ping added, “Of course, if this isn’t a new trait of the giant spider, then it means… the monster that invaded the Logistics Division wasn’t acting alone.”
His words sent a collective shiver through Guan Zhishu and the others. They glanced uneasily around the first-floor lobby, wondering if they were truly safe if there had been more than one creature.
Su Ci, however, remained calm, listening to the discussion with his usual placid expression.
Yan Ping observed Su Ci’s reaction, his eyes narrowing. “You’re Su Ci, correct? The new probationary caretaker at the nursery?”
Su Ci nodded.
Yan Ping continued to scrutinize him. “You’re not afraid?”
“Hmm?” Su Ci blinked, then responded with a simple, “Oh.”
The next moment, the youth’s face displayed a textbook expression of fear.
Yan Ping: “…”
The captain’s gaze sharpened, his serious expression intensifying.
Then, as he stared at Su Ci, the light in Yan Ping’s amber-brown pupils shifted eerily. They morphed into a pair of slit pupils, resembling a predator’s cold, analytical gaze.
Bro smells the BS