A Promise at Their Fingertips

The night ends and the day dawns.

The fire in the furnace had burned to ashes and gone out completely.

Beside the now-extinguished fire, Bai Zhi, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground with one hand supporting his head, suddenly woke up from his dream.

"... Is it dawn yet?"

He squinted slightly, and after a few seconds his thoughts returned. Bai Zhi turned his head and glanced at the sky outside.

--The sky was already bright.

"The recovery is going well; I estimate it will be about 70-80% recovered by tomorrow morning..."

After roughly sensing his current condition, Bai Zhi frowned slightly, then slowly relaxed, and nodded slightly.

Then, looking down at the Girl who was fast asleep, her arms wrapped around his legs and her head resting on his lap, Bai Zhi's expression showed a slight conflict.

Last night, he originally planned to put Tong to sleep and then go out to take care of some things. However, he did not expect that Tong would fall asleep holding his hand and leaning on his shoulder in a daze. Considering that she had taken care of him all night and all day, it was not unexpected for Bai Zhi that she would fall asleep so quickly.

But the problem is... the other person is holding on too tightly.

As if afraid he would sneak away, the Girl held his hand tightly, refusing to let go, forcibly pulling her hand away would inevitably wake him up again.

... and that's how things turned out.

To be honest, Bai Zhi felt like his feet and hands were numb, almost like they didn't belong to him anymore...

Fortunately, Tong woke up shortly afterward.

Upon realizing her current situation, she instantly snapped back to reality and hurriedly got up.

--Then, just as Bai Zhi leaned in to ask about the other person's condition, he was knocked to the ground.

Bai Zhi: "..."

Five minutes later.

"You stay here for now, I'll go buy some breakfast."

While rubbing his forehead in frustration, Bai Zhi began to speak to the Girl in front of him.

"Although I know you don't want to leave here yet, a catastrophe will befall this city tomorrow, and this place absolutely cannot... uh?"

Before he could finish speaking, Tong suddenly took his hand.

When Bai Zhi looked at her, the Girl turned her head away, but the pressure on her hand clearly increased.

After a moment of surprise, Bai Zhi took the other person's hand and smiled.

"Then let's go together."

To be honest, Bai Zhi had wanted to take Tong away from the Garbage Mountain for a long time. Although it was her home, it was really not a suitable place to live.

The dirt, the mess, and the poor environment were secondary; the most important thing was the persistent, unpleasant odor.

It wasn't just the smell of a latrine. After all, even in a latrine, you can make stinky tofu. In a place like a Garbage Mountain, the air smells like a mixture of more than a dozen strange smells, including sour, astringent, spicy, sweet, and rotten.

--The kind of strong flavor that can sting your eyes.

Living in such a place for a long time will have an indelible impact on the body. For example, Bai Zhi has already discovered that Tong's sense of smell and taste have basically been lost, and her vision has also weakened significantly.

It's not a place for survival, but it's a good place to hide.

Three days have passed; today is the third day. By tomorrow morning, a thick fog will descend and envelop the entire town.

Anyone who comes into contact with the dense fog will be affected. The merging of the body with other Life objects is secondary; the most important effects are the persistent whispers in the mind and the physical changes.

-- [Eden].

To avoid this effect, one must not have any contact with the dense fog, not even breathing, so a fully sealed Protective Suit and oxygen tank are essential.

In the previous Dungeon, because Bai Zhi was immune to the whispers, he didn't notice this obvious problem, which led to Tong being affected and failing the Dungeon.

In this new Dungeon, Bai Zhi will not make the same mistake again.

The information provided by the Campus Belle beauties was quite valuable.

Holding Tong's hand, Bai Zhi found the house he had hidden in during the previous Dungeon. The house was uninhabited and occupied by several Vagrant.

Faced with the Handgun Bai Zhi brandished, they readily backed down and gave it up.

As long as we ensure that Hitomi's current location is the same as in the previous Dungeon, then the location where Experiment Zero appears will also be the same as in the previous Dungeon.

The [Beat Up Doll] can only withstand one Chains, while there are countless Chains in the dense fog. Therefore, if you want to get close to the Experiment Zero, you can only ambush him on his likely path.

Bai Zhi spent most of the day in this house, and with Tong's help, he managed to Shovel out and set up a fairly sturdy underground Safe House.

He did the heavy manual labor, while Tong was responsible for the delicate tasks. He also went out once to retrieve the full-body Protective Suit and oxygen tanks he had ordered on the first day.

As for the delicious food that He Tong had agreed to eat... her sense of taste and smell were basically nonexistent, so she couldn't taste it at all.

All food tasted the same to her, bland and tasteless. As long as it filled her stomach, that was enough. Her only criterion for judging food was whether it looked good or not.

Bai Zhi didn't have any solutions for this situation at the moment.

And so, the day quietly passed, and night fell silently.

Just as Bai Zhi was about to leave the city to continue digging, carrying his Shovel, Tong reached out and grabbed his hand.

"A Monster will appear tomorrow and will kill everyone in the city, so I have to go and stop it."

Reaching out to pat the other person's head, Bai Zhi squatted down in front of Tong and then patiently explained to her.

"You stay here, lock the door, and when it gets light, put on that Protective Suit and hide in the underground Safe House we built during the day, understand?"

"... Let's go together."

After a moment of silence, Tong spoke in a low voice.

"No, I need to ensure your safety first."

Bai Zhi shook his head.

"You stay here and wait for me to come back tomorrow."

"..."

With her head down, Tong didn't reply, but she still refused to let go.

"Let me put it this way, if I go alone, I still have a chance to come back alive, but if you come with me, then neither of us will have a chance of survival."

With a slight sigh, Bai Zhi began to speak.

"How about I promise you this time? No matter where you are, I will bring you back."

"... Pinky promise."

After a long silence, Tong slowly released her hand and then extended her little finger.

"You promise."

"Yes, I promise."

Bai Zhi solemnly extended his hand.

"This is our agreement."