While Han Ning was hunting Vortex Shell Crabs at the southern entrance, over a dozen Awakened including Lin Qianqian and Chairman Wu had already entered the route leading to the core area of White Egret Port.
Deep within the Mist Zone, at a certain location.
"Damn, Brother Wang, you're amazing! How did you discover this route?"
A stocky Awakened lightly patted Vice Chairman Wang's shoulder, his voice filled with admiration.
"Yesterday our squad nearly got surrounded by those monsters at the northeast corner. The route you chose is as quiet as a morgue."
Another Awakened chimed in:
"Thanks to Brother Wang's efforts—not only did he scout the path for us, he even found a safe passage. Look ahead everyone...isn't that the shadow of the berth cranes?"
The group followed his pointing finger.
In the depths of the thick mist, several massive yet indistinct steel outlines loomed faintly against the grayish-white backdrop—the shadows of the port's large machinery.
"White Egret Port...we actually made it to White Egret Port safely!"
"And in less than an hour? That was fast..."
At the sight of the port, most people's faces lit up with joy.
Only a few vice chairmen remained calm.
A spark of hope ignited in everyone's hearts.
The key to survival seemed within reach.
Surrounded by the group, Vice Chairman Wang wore a faint smile, clearly relishing the praise.
"Just hang on a little longer, we're almost there. There's a spot ahead with better visibility where we can see the entire berth area," he said hoarsely.
"Stay alert! We should be approaching the monster gathering zone Old Wang mentioned!"
Seeing everyone's relaxed expressions, Chairman Wu couldn't help but remind them before asking Vice Chairman Wang:
"Old Wang, how much further to the real core area?"
"Just ahead, we're nearly there."
The group followed Vice Chairman Wang's directions, trudging through the deepening water that gradually rose past their chests.
Eventually, they had to switch from wading to swimming.
The Mental Power Awakened responsible for scouting remained vigilant, monitoring the underwater situation.
"This is the place."
Vice Chairman Wang suddenly stopped swimming, pointing toward a relatively open water area enclosed by half-submerged containers and collapsed concrete walls.
"Stand on that concrete platform for the best view. Beyond that is the monster gathering zone."
At this moment, Lin Qianqian—who had been silently following behind Vice Chairman Wang—suddenly frowned.
Her gaze locked onto the surrounding waters.
Almost simultaneously, several detection-specialized Awakened in the group paled dramatically.
"Something's wrong—there are monsters!"
"Fall back, retreat now!"
"Keh heh heh...HA HA HA HA!"
Their alarmed shouts were drowned out by Vice Chairman Wang's abrupt, shrill laughter.
The crazed, distorted laughter sounded utterly inhuman.
The once gentle and humble man's facial features contorted grotesquely, his mouth stretching ear-to-ear to reveal gleaming white teeth.
His clouded eyes, veined with spiderweb-like blood vessels, fixed on the stunned group as he continued his mad laughter.
"Wang Jiaming, have you lost your damn mind?!" Vice Chairman Zhao, a burly man, shouted in shock and fury.
"Splash, splash—"
His answer came in the form of a dense, rain-like series of water-breaking sounds from all directions.
The murky water's surface instantly boiled.
Deep within the thick mist, a bizarre, flickering mass emitting eerie blue, purple, and red halos drifted rapidly toward the area...
"Restrain Wang Jiaming! Everyone, retreat!" Chairman Wu's low, furious roar echoed through the crowd.
...
"Roar!"
Snowflake's long tail slammed fiercely into the water, churning up waves of mud and forcing a Vortex Shell Crab attempting a sneak attack from the side to reveal itself.
The massive crab had just raised its rapidly rotating drill-like claw.
A juicy tomato flew with precision into its gaping maw as it screeched.
"Gulp!" The Vortex Shell Crab's enormous body shuddered as it instinctively swallowed.
The next second.
"Pfft—"
Thick, blood-like crimson mist erupted from the gaps in its shell and compound eyes.
The mist, almost tangible and carrying a strange odor that made even Snowflake shake its head in irritation, enveloped the crab, forming a writhing red cocoon of fog.
"Gah... rustle... rustle..."
Inside the fog cocoon, the crab emitted drunken, incoherent screeches, its drill-like claws drooping weakly.
Its sturdy body swayed unsteadily in the water, as if all its bones had been removed.
Han Ning was already somewhat familiar with this sequence of actions.
With a thought, dozens of vines plunged into the crimson mist, taking advantage of the crab's vulnerability to slip into the exposed joints.
Thud, thud, thud!
The muffled sound of vines churning its innards rang out.
The once-ferocious crab collapsed into the water with a loud splash, motionless.
"Haah... haah..."
Han Ning panted lightly as he hovered above the murky water, withdrawing the Spiritual Power he'd used to summon the vines.
Even with the "cheat" of Crimson Mist Tomatoes significantly lowering the difficulty of kills, the continuous high-intensity combat and control had still drained a considerable amount of his Spiritual Power.
[Spiritual Power: 12/25]
[Druid Growth Progress +85] (Current Lv4, 597/600)
[Mental Power +0.1] (Mental Power: 1.5)
[Swamp Crocodile Lizard Growth Progress +17] (Current 178/200)
[Vine Manipulation (Advanced) Proficiency +10] (Current 82/500)
Seeing the "597/600" on the panel, a glint flashed in Han Ning's eyes.
From the moment they entered the Mist Zone until now, he had used Crimson Mist Tomatoes to kill four Vortex Shell Crabs.
Just three more points—one more of the weakest Crocodile Lizards—and he would break through to Lv5.
But without realizing it, they had already reached the area where they'd encountered the swarm of Vortex Shell Crabs yesterday.
"Han Ning..." Yu Na's weak voice came from beside him.
Han Ning turned to look.
Yu Na's face was pale, a trace of blood still clinging to the tip of her small nose. The blue glow of her Mental Barrier around her had thinned to almost nothing, as if it might shatter at any moment.
But compared to yesterday, the halo surrounding her had solidified from pale blue to a deeper azure.
Breathing heavily, her usually cold "disdainful" expression now showed clear delight.
"Th... thank you. I feel like my abilities have improved by an entire tier. But... my mental energy is almost depleted." Her tone when speaking to Han Ning had also grown noticeably warmer.
Although it was just an auxiliary role, the energy Han Ning gained from sharing the soup surpassed any previous hunting expedition.
"I understand..."
Han Ning nodded, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding white mist.
They had already ventured nearly 400 meters deep into the Mist Zone, where swarms of Vortex Shell Crabs could appear at any moment.
He only had 12 points of Spiritual Power left, while Yu Na had persisted this long solely by replenishing her energy through slaying monsters.
"Just three more points to go. There's no need to take risks here. We can break through by casually killing a couple of Crocodile Lizards on the way back..."
"Let's stop here for now."
Han Ning made the decisive call.