With the humility and eagerness to learn of a newcomer, Xiao Xiao chatted with the little designer Ruan Ruan all afternoon. Only after dinner did she return to her own "home."
He felt somewhat moved. Yang Jia had truly introduced him to an excellent mentor.
Ruan Ruan was talkative and considerate.
Although she was a tough-as-nails warrior who always drove her motorcycle at over a hundred miles per hour and casually pulled out a spiked club to smash people with, she was extremely patient when introducing him to the state of the world and survival skills. She also had the good habit of fighting to pay the bill whenever they ate.
This made Xiao Xiao feel much closer to her.
In this strange and bizarre world, both Yang Jia and Ruan Ruan, as fellow outsiders, could always give him a different kind of security.
When he returned to his bedroom, he saw a dark-red box placed beside his bed.
Although he had already been mentally prepared on the way back, he was still somewhat surprised when he saw the box.
Ruan Ruan had shown him how to purchase these special items. Once he confirmed the order, all he had to do was "shop online" according to the list on the tablet computer bearing his dark-red card.
But his mother had not gotten off work yet, and the house was locked. Somehow, the box had mysteriously appeared in his bedroom.
How amazing...
But when he thought that this entire city was a gigantic, writhing living organism, it no longer seemed worth being surprised about.
When he opened the box, he saw the low-grade gene enhancement serum Ruan Ruan had mentioned.
It was stored in a semi-metallic container that still emitted a faint silvery glow in the darkness. The other half was made of some unknown transparent material that did not look like glass.
Xiao Xiao studied it for a while, then twisted a rotary button on the top. With a faint hiss, a sharp needle emerged from the other end.
Xiao Xiao understood that this injection combined storage and injection functions in one. It was very convenient to use.
It did not look fake at all. Instead, it had the feel of a technological creation rarely seen in real life.
There was even a logo on the surface of the injection: "Black Forest Biologicals."
Ruan Ruan had explained this as well. Black Forest Biologicals was a real biological gene research laboratory in the city.
The "Violence Factor" they exchanged for with points and the city existed in the outward form of the low-grade gene enhancement serum produced by this laboratory, making it convenient for him to use.
"Am I really supposed to inject this into my body?"
He recalled what Ruan Ruan had told him. Using the serum required three steps: after the first injection, he had to wait two days before injecting the second, then three more days before injecting the third.
After all three injections were used, his physical constitution would improve in every aspect, and he would no longer be in his current sub-healthy state.
However, after the three injections, if he wanted to continue strengthening his body, he would need to purchase higher-grade serum.
Still, Xiao Xiao felt somewhat uneasy after suddenly receiving this serum. He did not quite dare to use it just like that. But after sitting silently in the dim bedroom for a long while, he suddenly let out a bitter laugh.
"The whole world has already gone mad. What is there left to be careful about?"
He gripped the serum, aimed it at his thigh, closed his eyes, and gently plunged it in.
The sensation was cold, with a slight sting. The serum injected itself, and bluish-violet points of light flowed through his blood and spread throughout his body.
At that moment, in the bedroom lit only by the faint flicker of the computer, the exposed skin on Xiao Xiao's body displayed root-like patterns of blood vessels, all faintly blue.
Mysterious and bizarre.
A huge, secretive chuckle seemed to rise beside his ears, as if some mad entity were cheering for him at that very moment.
In Xiao Xiao's perception, the entire world seemed to become slightly clearer in an instant.
At that moment, Xiao Xiao did not know what this action represented.
At the other end of the distant city, in a room packed with cables, a faint sigh also seemed to rise from the glass tank containing nothing but a brain.
Xiao Xiao held his breath and waited. After a long while, he found that no particularly severe discomfort had appeared.
As the bluish-violet light disappeared from his blood vessels, he only felt his body grow slightly hot, and even his breathing carried a scorching warmth.
But after carefully sensing himself, he did not feel any irritability or urge to attack anything.
According to Ruan Ruan's explanation, when the Violence Factor was injected into the body in the form of gene enhancement serum, it would grant him greater physical strength and power. Its side effect, however, was a stronger tendency toward violence.
Or rather, the violent tendency was the main effect, while the improvement in physical constitution was the side effect.
Of course, during the early stages, when using only three injections of the lowest-grade enhancement serum, the violent tendency would be extremely slight.
That was probably why he did not feel the side effect Ruan Ruan had mentioned. In any case, he did not feel any more irritable than before, or anything else unusual.
He sat down silently and carefully took stock.
The gun Yang Jia had given him, the fruit knife he had bought on the way, and the gene enhancement serum he had purchased today...
Now, in this unknown and mysterious city, he finally had at least a tiny bit of ability to protect himself...
However, Xiao Xiao was a person who lacked any sense of security.
Whenever he thought of Jiang Cheng, who had revealed his malice, and the twisted appearance of the Rat-Man, he felt uneasy. He silently took a phone-like monitoring device out of the box.
Ruan Ruan had said that there were countless dangerous things in this city that might undergo aberration. But compared to the sheer size of the entire city, they were still extremely rare, and it was difficult to encounter one casually.
Even so, Xiao Xiao could not resist taking it out to test the surroundings.
After all, during the previous four years, he had always felt endless danger, as if every single thing in the world were terrifying beyond measure...
With a hint of nervousness, he switched on the monitoring device in his hand.
Perhaps only after scanning everything around him and confirming that there were no problems would he be able to sleep that night.
Then...
"Beep beep beep beep—"
The moment he pressed the device's power button, a piercing alarm suddenly began blaring nonstop. It sounded as if it had gone mad and could not stop.
Cold sweat instantly poured down Xiao Xiao's back.
His heart gave a heavy thump. He had already entered a state of Mind Burst, countless thoughts springing up in his mind:
"Is this piece of junk broken?"
"That makes no sense. It's new..."
"..."
Rows of numbers appeared on the monitor's display, making the tension in his heart grow stronger.
The detector could identify dangerous things within a hundred meters of him, regardless of whether they had already undergone aberration.
In other words, either an Aberrant Creature like the Rat-Man had appeared nearby, or something was close to becoming aberrant.
But according to Ruan Ruan, although such things were not uncommon, there were not enough of them to fill every street. Normally, even if one carried this device around while wandering through most of a city district, one might not find a single one.
Why had it started blaring so violently the moment he turned it on?
When he saw the specific words twisting into view on the monitor, Xiao Xiao was even more startled. His scalp prickled faintly.
Vicious Hounds
Old Record Player
Reclusive Butcher
While in a state of Mind Burst, Xiao Xiao thought of many things. In reality, however, the instant the detector identified these things, he immediately shut off its alarm.
But his heart continued pounding, and a layer of cold sweat covered him.
Why were they these things?
The impressions were too deep.
Because of the panic disorder that had inexplicably begun acting up four years ago, he had barely left the house during those four years.
His world had been restricted to this tiny bedroom, the view he could see through the window, and the occasional times he had mustered his courage to go outside for a walk. Even then, he had gone no farther than this street.
Every time he went outside or tried looking out, the result had been overwhelming terror...
The most frightening were these things: the three vicious dogs that occasionally went mad, glaring at him with dark-red eyes and ready to rush over and tear him apart.
The old record player that would intermittently play songs that made one's heart tremble with unease.
And the butcher at the meat shop who was always holding a chainsaw in his arms and cutting up the flesh of some enormous animal.
Of course, there was also his mother, whose mood was as unpredictable as the weather...
Simply put, whenever his panic disorder flared up, they were the things Xiao Xiao feared most, constantly making him feel danger and terror.
But why had the detector picked up precisely them now?
After taking several deep breaths, Xiao Xiao forced himself to remain calm. He confirmed that no unusual sounds had come from the darkness outside the window, then hurried to the computer.
He placed his dark-red card on the computer case.
Some faint, twisting threads seemed to spread out from the card, extending bit by bit into the computer case.
The computer screen began flashing rapidly. Dark-red strands repeatedly broke apart and reassembled, eventually displaying a mysterious page with an aura of danger.
Type: Three Adorably Cute Vicious Dogs Status: Available for trade Price: 30 points Description: When facing danger, this item will appear on the battlefield in a reasonable manner, loyally and bravely helping everyone defeat their enemies. Note: Compared to vicious combat, they prefer wrecking homes and searching for pretty female dogs. Type: Old Record Player Status: Available for trade Price: 50 points Description: No matter how pleasant the music played by this record player is, it can still give off a mournful quality and cause opponents slight psychological discomfort. Note: Many people possess this talent. Type: Reclusive Butcher Status: Available for trade Price: 100 points Description: A psychopathic killer who enjoys picking up a chainsaw to dismember all living things. He possesses a powerful deterrent effect and lethality against ordinary people. Note 1: This item's intimidating power mainly comes from the chainsaw. If you had one, you could do it too. Note 2: This item has violated the law and may be arrested by the Guard Hall at any time. However, before being caught, he might be able to help you in battle.
Xiao Xiao's pupils rapidly contracted at that moment.
They could all be traded...
In other words, the city had already verified their danger for him?
During the new-book period, please support me with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets...
Before you continue