Jiang Yan listened to its words and couldn't help glancing at the Lord of the Mist—this guy sure knew how to have fun.
"Then let's start dragging creatures in. Try to bring me intelligent ones," Jiang Yan said, eager to meet people from another world.
Although he already had a bunch of other-world Monsters under his command, they'd lost their novelty; he was more curious about people from different worlds.
"Alright!" The Lord of the Mist nodded.
Once again it tapped the grey-blue flesh beneath it with the gun in its hand.
Bzzt! This time the entire space trembled slightly as an imperceptible spatial aura began to spread.
Meanwhile, on a blue-and-yellow planet a dozen light-years from Blue Star.
From orbit the globe showed only three continents and countless scattered islands.
Beneath one continent lay an immense forest; night reigned here, with three moons hanging together in the sky.
Inside the forest, beasts of every size appeared now and then.
On the forest's fringe, a two-meter-tall white-furred beast with a single horn padded silently along; in its sight a meter-long, six-legged, boar-like creature munched wild fruit.
Drool formed at the white predator's jaws as it crept closer; just as it was about to pounce—
Boom! A thunderous hum burst out, sending the six-legged boar fleeing in panic, vanishing in moments.
"Roar!" Furious at losing its prey, the white beast roared and swung its head, searching for the culprit that had startled it.
A hundred meters away, in a small clearing, white mist appeared from nowhere and rapidly expanded outward.
The white beast wasn't afraid of the approaching fog; such mists were common in the forest.
Soon it, along with many nearby animals and insects, was enveloped.
Yet this white mist wasn't what the beast knew; moments after it was shrouded—
the fog quickly faded, and the creature found itself in an unfamiliar urban space.
The sky was still night, but the sudden cityscape unsettled the beast; it let out a low growl: "Grr."
Around it, many small animals dragged in alongside stood trembling, eyes wide with fear.
The white predator scanned its surroundings; the more it looked, the more restless it became—every corner screamed mortal danger.
"This little thing's got a real fancy look; I kinda wanna take it home as a dog," a cheeky voice sounded.
The beast turned and saw a black creature, less than a meter tall, walking toward it.
Beside it strode a Monster clad in blue-gold robes.
The appearance of the two Monsters set off every danger alarm in the white predator's mind.
"Whimper!" The once-mighty beast tucked its tail and bolted the other way.
It wasn't alone—every animal scattered in panic.
But how could ordinary beasts outrun Black Gold? It immediately gave chase.
Jiang Yan was already hovering in the sky. Eyeing the animals below, he asked in puzzlement, "No intelligent life?"
"Not so fast. Besides, the exit only appears near creatures; it doesn't guarantee intelligence," the Lord of the Mist explained.
Looks like I'll have to wait, Jiang Yan mused, eyes flickering.
He looked down at Black Gold and ordered, "Black Gold, kill every creature that came in and haul them out."
If alive ones can't be taken out, dead ones will do just as well.
"Understood, Master!" Black Gold bellowed. Its short legs sprang from the street, leaping above the white beast to smash down a black fist.
Wham! The punch caved the beast's skull; it collapsed, convulsing.
After finishing it, Black Gold split apart; in moments hundreds of duplicates charged at the panicked animals.
A while later, outside the cavern, Black Gold returned with piles of carcasses alongside Jiang Yan, the Lord of the Mist, and Ba Yao.
Jiang Yan eyed the white mist that now filled nearly a kilometer of the cavern and turned to the Lord of the Mist. "Notify me the moment an intelligent creature arrives."
He looked back at Black Gold. "Hand over a soul crystal."
One of Black Gold's clones immediately dashed off.
They'd originally collected thirty soul crystals; giving one to the Lord of the Mist left twelve.
"Yes, sir." The Lord of the Mist bowed, took the crystal from Black Gold, and strode into the mist.
Jiang Yan used the star seal to summon Institute staff to collect the corpses; their genes were intact—cloning them later would be trivial, since high intelligence wasn't required... While Jiang Yan inspected the mist world, the Monster Association's advance showed no sign of slowing.
Even in coastal nations, hordes of Monsters and Monsters were landing in cities; these sea-born mutants were far more savage than converted humans.
Every day one or two small countries—or a medium-sized one—fell.
With Ghost Buddha converting five thousand people daily, Level Two and Three Monsters were churned out nonstop; occasionally a Level Three who hadn't gone to Nanwu Country would be turned into Level Four.
The Blue Star Federation reacted at once, stationing large numbers of troops along borders to stem the refugee tide and illegal crossings.
The day after Jiang Yan summoned the Lord of the Mist, he appeared in the cavern again.
Jiang Yan's face was calm as his consciousness sank into his mind.
pearl of the abyss: 123.84M/123.84M
"Negative emotions full. Summon?"
Summon!
Bzzt! Purple-black mist materialized in front of Jiang Yan.