Final Preparations

Bai Yi trod cautiously through the muddy ground, his boots constantly crushing rotten leaves and newly sprouted mushrooms in the bushes.

He had been wandering outside for several hours without finding anything. Forget animals—he could not even find a piece of crude iron.

"Awooo—"

Along with a creaking sound, he heard a mournful wolf howl from the woods to his left. Bai Yi's heart stirred, and he slowly made his way toward the sound.

Two gray wolves were tearing into a snow-white wolf of their own kind.

The white wolf's abdomen had been ripped open by claws, leaving a half-meter-long wound. Its intestines dragged through the pile of dead leaves, yet it still used its forepaws to desperately hold back the throat of a pouncing gray wolf. Its left eye had gone blind, while its right was crusted with dried blood, but fury still burned in its dark golden pupil.

Were these the two gray wolves that escaped before? Bai Yi slipped behind a tree, planning to play the fisherman who benefited from the fight.

The wolf howls suddenly rose in pitch. The white wolf finally could not hold on any longer and was knocked to the ground. One gray wolf's fangs pierced its throat.

A spray of blood shot half a meter into the air, congealing into eerie red silk amid the mist.

Seeing that the white wolf was dead, the two gray wolves were about to feast when Bai Yi's gun barrel emerged from the bushes.

Bang! Bang!

[Shepherd's Mercy (Damaged)] [Durability: 3/5]

His daily practice had not been in vain. One bullet precisely blew open a wolf's skull, while the other lodged in the second gray wolf's shoulder blade.

The wounded beast howled and pounced. Bai Yi raised his Tang Dao in a sweeping slash. The blade cleaved through the white mist, its condensed cold gleam colliding with the wolf's claws. The vibration running through the sword made his tiger's mouth go numb.

Before the gray wolf could react, he had already raised his gun.

This time, to avoid missing, Bai Yi deliberately aimed at the gray wolf's torso.

[Shepherd's Mercy (Damaged)] [Durability: 2/5]

The roaring bullet blasted a bloody hole straight through the gray wolf's body. It now recognized the man before it—the butcher who had slaughtered its kind a few days ago.

It wanted to flee, but its body froze in place. (Each bullet has a 5% chance to trigger "Painful Wail," causing the target to stiffen for 1 second.)

Bai Yi walked up to it expressionlessly, gripping the Tang Dao in reverse. He drove it directly into the gray wolf's neck, then pulled. Half the wolf's head tore away from its neck.

"I almost forgot this gun has a skill!"

Bai Yi laughed. That five-percent chance really was absurdly low. He collected the corpses while muttering to himself.

He realized that lately, he had grown increasingly fond of talking to himself. When he had been a vegetable before, it had not mattered much that he could not speak.

Now that he could talk, there was no one around to listen. All he could do was talk to himself.

"This white wolf looks so damn imposing. It'd be great if I could raise one."

Bai Yi stood before the white wolf's corpse. Although he said that, he had never truly intended to raise one. Otherwise, he would not have waited until the white wolf died before appearing.

Keeping a wild beast would look cool, sure, but it ate raw meat and could not understand human speech. What if it turned on him one day?

Bai Yi dragged the three corpses back into the yard when he suddenly heard a faint whimper behind him.

The white wolf's paws were twitching in the pool of blood. The fatal wound in its throat had stopped bleeding. It was actually still alive!

"What tenacious vitality!" Bai Yi aimed the Tang Dao at the wolf's head, intending to finish it off for good.

"Too bad you can't understand human speech. Otherwise, I really would like to raise one."

Just as the Tang Dao was about to fall, the bloodstained wolf head suddenly nodded twice with force.

Bai Yi's hand trembled, and the Tang Dao nearly slipped from his grip.

"You can understand me?"

The white wolf nodded again.

"Heh, now that's rare!" Bai Yi was intrigued.

"Call me big brother, and I'll save you." He crouched down and poked one of the wolf's ears, his fingertip touching cold blood.

Using the last of its strength, the white wolf barely nodded once. This time, it truly seemed about to die.

"If you dare bite me, I'll turn you into wolf hotpot!"

Bai Yi reluctantly took out the first-aid kit. Alcohol poured over the wound, raising white vapor. The white wolf's muscles tensed all over, a low whimper rolling from its throat as blood began to seep from its throat again.

"Shut up!" Bai Yi slapped the wolf's head. "The bleeding in your throat just stopped. Are you trying to die?"

The whimper stopped abruptly. The white wolf buried its head in its forepaws, and large tears splattered onto the sterile gauze.

Bai Yi could not bear to watch, so he found a branch and shoved it into the wolf's mouth. Its sharp teeth clamped tightly around half the branch, wood chips mixed with blood spilling from the corners of its mouth.

By the time he finished treating the wound, evening had arrived. The setting sun dyed the mist amber.

The white wolf curled up beside the fireplace. With every breath, bloodstains spread across the animal hide beneath it. Its snowy fur had been clumped together by dried blood, like a dandelion drenched in a rainstorm.

The white wolf would not survive. Bai Yi knew that, of course. Such severe injuries could not be treated with simple care alone, unless...

Bai Yi hesitated. Reason told him to kill the white wolf and gain enough food to trade for supplies, while emotion kept demanding that he save it. In this Mist World, having a companion at his side would not be so bad.

"Heh. Neither killing nor saving it, dithering like this—how am I supposed to survive in the Mist World?"

Bai Yi stopped hesitating and got up to retrieve an injection.

[Wound-Healing Injection]

[Quality: Good]

[Description: A wound-recovery medicine with excellent effects on cuts, lacerations, puncture wounds, and similar injuries. However, this medicine can only heal flesh and blood. To prevent infection, clean any dirt from the wound before use.]

Bai Yi walked over to the white wolf. It was even weaker now. Its once-ferocious dark golden pupil was clouded with a gray film.

Bai Yi extended his hand. The injection glimmered an eerie blue beneath the firelight.

The white wolf laboriously raised a paw and gently pushed at the wrist holding the injection. That motion exhausted the last of its strength, and its paw drooped limply.

"I'll save your life. From now on, your life is mine."

The needle pierced its vein, and the white wolf fell into a deep sleep under the injection's effects.

Bai Yi picked up his journal.

"Bai Yi: Got any iron? Five pieces."

Wang Ziyi's message flickered in the firelight.

"Wang Ziyi: Why does Bro Dog want iron?"

"Bai Yi: To make a wish."

Bai Yi tossed five pieces of crude iron into the Wishing Well.

An ancient book with a bronze cover emerged from the ashes. Dark-red crystals were embedded in its spine, and when his fingers touched them, vein-like patterns appeared across their surfaces.

[Basic Alchemy (Incomplete Volume)]

[Quality: Fine]

[Unlocked Formula: Sanity Potion (Requires spiritual materials)]

[Description: Forceful reading will cause a significant decrease in sanity.]

This book might be useless to others for now, but to Bai Yi, it was a treasure.

Sanity? Let it drop!

The newbie protection period was about to end. No one knew what the end of that protection meant. Perhaps an even crueler hell awaited him next!

Midnight.

Tonight was destined to be sleepless. Bai Yi sat beside the fireplace, dancing sparks reflected in his pitch-black pupils.

The white wolf beside him had mostly recovered from its injuries. It lay quietly at Bai Yi's feet, its sole remaining dark golden eye reflecting the man's figure. Its tail unconsciously brushed against the young man's ankle, its fur making his skin itch.

The world channel pulsed like a dying man's electrocardiogram. Some were posting farewell poems, some uploading will templates, and an ID called "Mist Merchant" was peddling graveyard site selection services.

Bai Yi chewed vitamin tablets as he studied the alchemical formulas. The tadpole-like script on the page suddenly twisted into the shape of eyeballs. He immediately shut the tome and popped a mint into his mouth to suppress the nausea.

[You are viewing forbidden knowledge. Sanity -27]

"If you dare mutate..." He poked the white wolf's nose and reiterated, "I'll turn you into wolf hotpot."

The white wolf squeezed out a wronged purr from its throat. It wagged its tail and gave him a fawning grin.

As they joked, a voice sounded in his mind.

Bai Yi's gaze sharpened. It was here!

[Newbie Protection Period End Countdown: 07:59:59]

[Players, please lock your doors and do not go outside.]

[System updating. Countdown: 07:59:59]