Global Fog Survival

Chapter 36: You Are Lying

“Stop, stop, stop.” Colin ordered his workers, who were busy mining, to halt. When they all looked at him, he pointed behind him: “Leave this place first; there are people approaching from outside.”

“People are approaching? Other lords?” Sanna asked without showing any doubt.

She had previously speculated that Colin might possess some special abilities, different from her own magic. Therefore, she wasn’t surprised and didn’t intend to inquire further.

“Yes.” Collin nodded. “It’s probably the explosion that attracted them. In any case, let’s retreat for now.”

With that, everyone quickly left the mine in a rush. Being trapped inside and attacked would be quite troublesome.

Outside the mine, everything was quiet. Collin looked in several directions through the gray fog, realizing that there were multiple groups approaching and quite a few people in total.

The nearest and largest group was less than a kilometer away.

Colin checked the regional chat channel and noticed that the recent explosion had attracted the attention of most people in the area. The vast, open environment had facilitated the sound’s spread, causing people kilometers away to take notice.

Soon, word spread, and many began heading toward the mine, eyeing the significant profits from the saltpeter mine.

However, many had switched to private chats, so the information in the public channel had significantly decreased. Clearly, they were all heading over.

Colin had explosives but no corresponding firearms. While dealing with mindless mutants was manageable, handling humans would be more challenging.

Unless the opponents walked into a trap and he detonated the explosives to kill them, that would yield minimal gains, especially since the lantern might get destroyed.

Thus, Collin didn’t intend to blow them up without even meeting them first. He hadn’t encountered other survivors yet and was unsure of their progress. However, as the current top-ranked survivor, Colin had some confidence.

“Lord, is this troublesome?” Number Two asked.

“Not too much… These people probably want a share of my profits, but whether they can manage that is another story.”

“Anyway, let’s go see them.”

Colin headed towards the nearest group, leading his team. Along their predicted path, Colin planted some explosives and waited quietly.

Before long, he could see faint lights through the gray fog. Instantly, he received both good and bad news.

The good news was that, judging by the dim light, they seemed to be holding “Foul Tainted Blood” lanterns, indicating they had no more than five people each, less than his own group.

The bad news was that there were nine such lanterns, meaning there were at least nine people, which, even if accompanied only by initial slaves, was still several times his number.

Seeing the shadowy figures through the lantern light, Collin unhesitatingly used his ability to gain a hint:

[From the nine lanterns before you, you deduce that the total number of people is around forty.]

“About forty people, this might be a tough fight…” Colin squinted. This number posed a challenge; he would need to quickly and decisively crush them to avoid prolonged battle and potential casualties, which wasn’t his goal.

As the two sides approached, they saw each other through the fog when they were less than twenty meters apart.

Both sides watched each other cautiously without speaking or taking any aggressive or retreating actions.

Observing the other group, Colin couldn’t help but feel amused by their appearance. They wore mismatched outfits, some in rusty armor wielding rusty swords, some in tattered mage robes with staffs embedded with shattered gems, and a few upgraded slaves.

Overall, they seemed weak. If Collin encountered them individually, he could easily defeat them. Furthermore, he noticed that they were not united, keeping their distances from one another, which he could use to minimize his losses and maximize his gains.

When the other side saw Collin’s group, they were taken aback by their number and the size of Collin’s lantern, which covered a radius of ten meters, or over 300 square meters, as opposed to their five-meter radius lanterns, which covered only 78 square meters—a stark contrast.

They also noticed a small, golden-haired, blue-eyed woman in a white-gold church robe, whose elegance and sanctity inspired envy. Clearly, she was not from Earth but a summoned subordinate—an extraordinary talent summoning card that none of them had.

They assumed Colin, with absolute control over his subordinates, must have taken advantage of her.

Even the two female survivors among the nine had similar thoughts.

A loose coalition, a rabble—Colin judged inwardly, sensing their wariness and hostility. His displayed strength disrupted the “balance,” making him the largest force present. If he acted, these “small groups” would be in danger, causing them to close ranks slightly.

After several seconds of silence, Colin felt a gaze fixed on him. Turning, he saw a man in ragged armor, who asked: “Are you here looking for the saltpeter mine too?”

“Yes.” Collin nodded with a smile. “Did you find the mine…”

Before he could finish, the man suddenly interrupted sternly: “You are lying.”