Han Ning felt the surging power within him when his ears suddenly twitched.
The sound of hurried footsteps approached through the wind and rain.
He quickly shed his transformed state.
The dark golden fur retracted into his skin, and his bulging muscles returned to normal.
Almost the instant he regained human form, a pink figure emerged in panic from the rain around the corner.
"Yu Na?"
Han Ning recognized her.
Yu Na looked frantic, a far cry from her usual cold and distant demeanor these past few days.
Her large eyes darted around as if searching for something.
When she spotted Han Ning, her eyes lit up, and she rushed toward him.
"Han Ning!" Yu Na's voice trembled slightly. "Something's happened!"
Han Ning pretended to remain calm while quickly adjusting his tattered clothes, which had torn during his Shapeshifting, leaving parts of his body exposed.
He barely managed to cover his sensitive areas with the ragged fabric.
"What happened? Don't panic, take your time!"
"Ah!"
Yu Na shrieked at the sight of Han Ning's disheveled state, her fair face quickly flushing red.
But she had no time to question why he was running around naked in the storm. Instead, she blurted out:
"It's been a whole day! Qianqian still hasn't returned. According to the plan, they should've been back by yesterday evening at the latest!"
As expected, the only thing that could rattle Yu Na was Lin Qianqian.
"A whole day?" Han Ning frowned slightly.
Could it be that while I was gaining the Beast Spirit's acknowledgment, an entire day passed outside?
The thought startled him.
"A full day and night!" Yu Na added.
"Let's head back first."
Han Ning immediately led Yu Na and Snowflake back to Azure Cloud Resort.
The moment they stepped into the resort's main building, Han Ning sensed the tense atmosphere.
The lobby, usually reserved for rest and casual conversation, was packed—mostly with Awakened and their families.
The disappearance of Chairman Wu and several vice chairmen had clearly sparked panic among the others.
Han Ning's gaze swept the room until he spotted Xu Ming sitting inconspicuously in a corner. He quietly made his way over.
"We have to organize a rescue team! Chairman Wu, Vice Chairman Zhao—they must be in trouble. Every second counts!"
A burly man in a camouflage vest slammed his fist on the table, addressing the surrounding Awakened.
Despite the dropping temperatures—now nearing 10°C—this guy wore only a sleeveless vest, a testament to his robust physique.
"Are you out of your mind?"
A thin, bespectacled man nearby immediately countered,
"Fourteen people—the chairmen, vice chairmen, and elites like Chen Feng—have been missing for a full day without a word. What are we supposed to do? March straight to our deaths?"
"Then what? Just sit here and wait? Hope they stroll back on their own?" The vest-clad man glared.
"What else can we do? Wait it out." The bespectacled man sighed.
"Let me be blunt… Could it be they found a boat and just left us behind?" A timid female voice piped up from a corner.
At these words, everyone fell silent.
Many people's expressions became extremely dramatic.
"Impossible, Chairman Wu isn't that kind of person. He promised to stand with us," the camouflage vest man shook his head, though his expression wasn't as firm as before.
"Enough! Stop arguing!" A gray-haired elder tried to restore order. "What's the point of arguing now? The priority is to figure out the situation..."
"Figure it out? How? By going in there yourself?" The bespectacled man sneered.
The hall descended into chaos, with no one able to convince others or propose a viable solution.
"A bunch of rabble," Han Ning thought as he sat down beside Xu Ming. Those who entrusted their safety to others probably wouldn't last long.
"Boss, they've been arguing for over an hour. Do you think... something really happened to Chairman Wu and the others?" Xu Ming whispered.
Before Han Ning could answer, Yu Na suddenly grabbed his arm and pleaded softly, "Han Ning, I know you're incredibly strong—even more so than the vice-chairman. Please, can you find a way to save Qianqian-jie? She... she's very important to me..."
Han Ning frowned but remained silent. He acknowledged Lin Qianqian's abilities—her Energy Restoration Ability was invaluable to the team. According to her, Chairman Wu and the other vice-chairmen might be slightly weaker than his own Lv4 self but were still formidable fighters.
With capable members like Chen Feng and Lu Yunping, a total of fourteen people had gone out—yet not a single one had returned. This made him deeply wary.
The straight-line distance between White Egret Port's berth area and Azure Cloud Resort was just over a kilometer. Even accounting for the Mist Zone's complex terrain and obstacles, they should have crawled back by now after a full day and night.
Unless... they'd encountered a threat far beyond expectations or were trapped in some inescapable place, unable to break free or send word. Charging blindly into unknown danger was far from wise.
As Han Ning weighed the pros and cons, the arguments in the hall grew increasingly heated.
"Bang! Splash!"
From the direction of the resort's main gate came a heavy thud of something crashing into water, followed by the sound of something being dragged across the surface.
The hall fell silent for a moment before all eyes turned toward the entrance.
"Bang!"
The resort's heavy doors were flung open.
Outside, Lu Yunping stood drenched in blood, his right arm tightly gripping a floating door panel. Chen Feng lay unconscious on it, his face pale, his left arm severed at the shoulder. The bandaged stump oozed dark red blood.
Behind them trailed several other Awakened, all equally battered, looking as if they'd been pulled from a pool of blood.
Seven in total.
"Old Lu?"
"It's Chen Feng and A Cai!"
"They're back! Quick, help!"
After a brief silence, the hall erupted. People rushed forward in alarm, dragging the door panel to a dry area inside and forming a circle around the injured. Those with healing abilities began administering first aid.
Han Ning stood at the back of the crowd, quietly observing the figures on the ground.
The moment Lu Yunping stepped into the hall, the Molten Gold Tiger Head Mark between Han Ning's brows grew inexplicably warm. With a thought, a flowing golden sheen coated his eyes.
Instantly, the world before him transformed.
The turbid air was filled with floating particles of dust, while the crowd emitted life auras of varying intensity.
His gaze fixed on Lu Yunping and the others.
"This is..."
A writhing mass of light, shifting eerily between blue, purple, and red hues, hovered like a living thing around Lu Yunping's head.
The same phenomenon appeared on several others as well.
Whether it was the severely injured and unconscious Chen Feng or the other Awakened who remained conscious.
"Cough... water..." Lu Yunping lay flat on the ground, allowing others to tend to his wounds.
Someone immediately handed him a canteen.
He greedily gulped down several mouthfuls, water mixed with blood trickling from the corners of his mouth as he gasped out:
"We... found ships... at the berthing area..."
"But... the monsters guarding them... were too terrifying..."
Everyone instinctively stopped what they were doing to listen intently.
"Chairman Wu... Vice Chairman Lin... Vice Chairman Zhao... they stayed behind to cover our retreat... still fighting desperately against those monsters..."
He closed his eyes in pain, his body trembling slightly,
"We... we barely managed to escape with our lives..."
"The chairman... they're still alive?" A burly man in a camouflage vest grabbed Lu Yunping's shoulders, his voice hoarse.
"I... don't know..." Lu Yunping shook his head with difficulty, his words fragmented,
"I think... they should be alive. They're... strong."
"Then what are we waiting for?!" The burly man suddenly stood up, his face a mix of determination. "The chairman might still be alive! We have to save them!"
"Right! Let's go rescue them!"
"Grab your gear!"
"We can't wait any longer!"
The news that Chairman Wu and the other vice chairmen might still be alive acted like a shot of adrenaline, instantly dispelling the panic in the air.
At least Chairman Wu hadn't abandoned them to find a ship and escape.
Those who had been arguing about whether to mount a rescue now voiced no further objections.
Soon, a rescue team of over twenty Awakened was quickly assembled, every face grim.
Han Ning watched all this coldly, like an outsider.
He pushed through the crowd, crouched beside Lu Yunping, and observed closely.