He remembered testing it. The fog here was very pure, pure enough to be just water, without even condensed dust.
Such water couldn't possibly form fog...
"It's because of the water vapor in the air that we became like this. Especially when it fogs up, the water vapor concentration in the air is particularly high, which caused us to show symptoms after arriving here."
"Our condition erupts in stages!" Bronya quickly summarized her analysis, speaking seriously to the group.
"Stages?" Kiana scratched her head, puzzled, but still moved away from the window slightly. "I didn't feel anything. Did I forget something when I first arrived?"
Bronya choked. Forgetting what she ate for dinner was vastly different from forgetting a person right beside her...
Could it not be the water vapor either?
"Kiana..." Mei spoke up then, looking at Kiana and asking somewhat abruptly.
"Do you remember how we got here?"
"Simple, just waded across that river..." Kiana's words stopped abruptly. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "No... I don't have any memory of wading through water..."
Then, she held her head in distress. "No, no... I have an impression... I remember Captain... said to help, then I put on my armor and flew all the way here..."
"I remember my body was wet then... If not from crossing the river, why..."
"It was the fog..." Shu murmured. That's when I calculated the fog's content... "We crossed a large area of fog to get here..."
And that time was also morning, the time when fog like this forms!
"Then it matches..." Bronya finally breathed a sigh of relief. The situation wasn't stuck in limbo anymore; they could find a breakthrough point.
But Mei suddenly thought of something, standing there as if her soul had left her body, murmuring to herself.
"But... if the medium of transmission is water vapor, is this fog... then the affected area is far larger than just here, right?"
The others were stunned, looking puzzledly at Mei.
Mei took a deep breath. "It's winter now..."
"The north wind blows..."
Mei didn't finish her sentence, but it was enough to plunge everyone present into an icy abyss.
And just as Mei said, it was currently winter. The north wind still blew across the Shenzhou continent, and this place happened to be in the north... Didn't that mean the entire Shenzhou continent, perhaps even further places, were currently in crisis?!
If this kind of fog appeared much earlier... then wouldn't the entire Shenzhou continent, even the whole world, have already entered this water cycle?
Didn't that mean this situation would eventually spread to the entire world?
Following the Earth's ecological environment, countless water vapors arrive here, get contaminated, and then gradually move to other places with the air currents?
And since everyone else's situation wouldn't show such drastic differences as theirs, it would be even harder to notice anything wrong...
"Everyone, prepare immediately. We... [leave]!" Shu couldn't sit still anymore. He immediately stood up, turned, and started walking out.
"But the fog outside..." Mei took two steps forward, wanting to say something.
Shu turned back, speaking seriously, "I'll repel the fog. Let's return to the train first!"
Shu felt incredibly fortunate now that he hadn't forgotten how to use his power, how to repel the water vapor in the air.
Seeing this, the others hesitated no longer, quickly putting on their gear and huddling close to Shu.
At this moment, the visibility outside had dropped to a terrifyingly low level of less than three meters! Although not yet as dense as when Shu left earlier, judging by the trend, it wouldn't be long before it returned to that state!
Shu put back on the flashy coat Kiana handed him and stood at the very front by the door.
He shielded the three behind him with one hand and placed the other on the door.
"If I forget anything, you remember..." Shu said, glancing back, then pushed the door open.
A thick wave of fog instantly rushed towards the house, its aggressive momentum like a hidden beast in the mist.
Shu's raised hand swung sharply. The surging fog slammed against a transparent circular barrier, firmly blocked outside.
Shu held the barrier with one hand, looked back at the three behind him, confirmed not a single wisp of fog had leaked in, confirmed all three were within his protective shield's range, then took the first step outside.
The barrier Shu created had a diameter of only about three meters. The group had to practically stick together to all stay within this hemispherical shield.
"Shu!" Mei suddenly cried out in alarm. "I forgot the route map here! The rope's position... I can't find it either!"
Shu turned back in surprise, looking at Mei's panicked face, then at the others.
Kiana also shook her head in panic. "I don't remember either, what do we do!"
Tch...
Shu clicked his tongue, a fierce look appearing in his eyes.
Worst case, I'll just smash my way out! I can always smash a straight line!
At this moment, Shu didn't even consider whether there might be other people or animals along this "straight line." He would just smash! Smash a straight line!
"Bronya remembers," Fortunately, at this moment, Bronya stepped forward and pointed Shu in a general direction.
All around was a vast expanse of white; even the ground underfoot was white.
Falling back into this pure white hell, an eerie feeling weighed down on everyone's hearts.
After walking a few steps, Shu suddenly stopped.
Wait... I've walked a considerable distance in a straight line, why haven't I seen any houses yet? Was the road here originally this wide?!
This road, only wide enough for a single car, couldn't possibly be this wide!
"Bronya! Is this really..." Shu instinctively wanted to turn back and ask, but Mei's cry of alarm came faster.
"Bronya! What's wrong!"
Shu's already taut nerves instantly snapped. He immediately turned back, only to see Bronya collapsed in Mei's arms, her small face flushed red.
She clutched her throat with both hands, mouth open, chest heaving violently.
She looked exactly like an asthma patient having an attack!
In the instant Shu looked, Bronya's expression had already twisted in pain.
Mei anxiously held Bronya, quickly checked her over, then looked at Shu with tears in her eyes.
"She's not breathing!!"
What? What not breathing?
Shu suddenly realized something, quickly crouched down, and pressed his glowing hand onto Bronya's chest.
"Gasp—" Like a drowning person finally reaching air, Bronya's body trembled, then she began coughing violently.
"What happened to Bronya!" Kiana, who had been anxiously wringing her hands nearby, finally dared to speak now that Bronya was saved.
Shu's brow furrowed into a tight knot. He looked at Bronya lying in Mei's arms and said through gritted teeth.
"Breathing... Bronya... forgot how to breathe..."