Sudden Surge in Difficulty

The world fell into dead silence!

Bai Yi gave it a try and found that the Shelter Log would not open. It was probably because of the update.

He walked to the window. At some point, the white fog had turned into black mist, wrapping around the shelter and obscuring everything from view!

The white wolf seemed to sense something as well, pacing restlessly across the floor.

Bai Yi waved at it.

"Come here, come here. You don't have a name yet, so I'll give you one. How about Little White?"

The white wolf rubbed its head against Bai Yi's hand.

Bai Yi sat on the floor and wrapped an arm around Little White.

"Don't worry. It's just a system update, nothing major. So what if the protection period is gone? Watch me carve a path through the mist with you!"

"Awwoooo!"

"Carve through the mist!"

"Awwoooo!"

"Rise up!"

"Awoo!"

"Hahahahaha..."

"Awoo, awoo, awoo..."

The morning light was like a rusty knife, barely cutting through the thick fog.

Bai Yi rested his fingers against the glass. Through the window, he saw the ruins of collapsed office buildings piercing the mist, rebar jutting from broken concrete like the rotting ribs of some enormous beast.

The shelter was now located amid the ruins of a city. For some reason, two sections of the wooden fence outside had fallen over.

"What's going on?"

Before Bai Yi could think further, the system notification sounded.

[Novice Protection Period Ended]

[Cognitive Protection Disabled]

In an instant, the flickering flames in the fireplace twisted into countless ghastly pale arms.

Scarlet droplets began seeping inexplicably from the stone walls. Every drop reflected the white wolf behind him, its mouth stretched into a bizarre grin up to its ears as it slowly extended its claws toward the back of his neck.

"Shing!"

The instant the Tang Dao embedded itself in the wall, the illusion shattered like a broken mirror.

Cold sweat ran down Bai Yi's cheeks, while the sword hilt still hummed with vibration.

Little White looked up blankly, its tail sweeping over the dried bloodstains on the floor—left behind when Bai Yi had stitched up its wound yesterday.

[Anomaly Screening Disabled]

"Clang—"

A sudden crash from the iron door shattered the silence. Through the gap, three rotting fingers were digging into the doorframe, maggots constantly crawling out from between their joints.

A Rotting Corpse in a deliveryman's uniform hunched over with a bent spine. Its dislocated jaw hung down to its chest, and the badge reading "Happiness Residential Complex Deliveryman" was being eaten away by mold.

Because of the first Rotting Corpse, another soon emerged from the mist.

Bai Yi strode toward the outside of the shelter. He had to kill them before more Rotting Corpses were drawn over.

[Shelter Isolation Disabled]

"Little White, you—"

Bai Yi was about to give an order when he suddenly realized his voice had disappeared. In his field of vision, Little White was barking at him, yet there was no sound at all.

At the same time, he felt his entire body growing colder and colder, as if he were turning into a block of ice.

What's happening? Bai Yi was alarmed. He looked around, but there was nothing unusual.

"So the problem is with Little White and me."

Bai Yi thought rapidly, though he could feel his body growing colder. He began examining himself, but everything still appeared normal.

"The problem is somewhere I can't see."

He quickly went to Little White's side and focused on checking places like its back and hindquarters, but still found nothing.

Little White was already trembling like a leaf. Bai Yi could feel his limbs stiffening, as though he were about to freeze solid, and even his thoughts were becoming sluggish.

When you encounter advertisements asking "Are you a real person?", there is no need to respond. Simply close them. Do not scan any codes or send text messages!

[Basic Resources Revoked]

The system's voice slightly roused Bai Yi's thoughts. At some point, he had already collapsed onto the floor. Little White circled him continuously, opening and closing its mouth without producing any sound.

"The mouth!"

Because of his angle, Bai Yi finally saw it—a pitch-black clump inside Little White's mouth.

"So that's where you were hiding!"

The moment his fingertips reached into its throat, the black clump let out a shriek like a crying infant.

Bai Yi grabbed its slick tentacles and yanked it out. Mucus dripped onto the floor. The Tang Dao came down, and the black clump released a piercing scream before going limp.

[You saw Shadow of a Thousand Throats. Sanity -8]

Bai Yi repeated the process, pulling the clump out of Little White's mouth and killing it.

Outside, the number of Rotting Corpses had risen to four, and the banging on the door was growing increasingly frantic.

Bai Yi shook the mucus off his blade and stepped out of the shelter.

The instant the four Rotting Corpses pounced, a bullet blew the skullcap off the one in front. Its rotten brain matter still traced an arc through the air.

[Shepherd's Mercy (Damaged)] [Durability: 4/5]

The other three Rotting Corpses suddenly dropped to all fours and flanked him at cheetah-like speed.

Bai Yi fired again, precisely taking down one Rotting Corpse, but the other two had already reached him.

"Clang!"

The Tang Dao blocked their claws, sparks bursting between rusted nails.

Bai Yi spun and drove an elbow into a Rotting Corpse's Adam's apple. As it stiffened, he thrust the blade into its eye socket. Thick black blood sprayed out and splattered across the ground.

The last Rotting Corpse suddenly opened its mouth, its vocal cords vibrating as it emitted a high-frequency shriek.

Bai Yi's eardrums throbbed with pain, and every color in his vision began to flow in a bizarre way.

Relying on muscle memory, he swung up the revolver. The instant the bullet pierced that rotten mouth, the shriek became a wheezing whimper.

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

Once the battle was over, Bai Yi stabbed the Tang Dao into each Rotting Corpse's heart and stirred it around, lest they suddenly rise again.

Suddenly, an icy sensation gripped his chest. He staggered against the doorframe and saw a scarlet marker appear on his status panel.

[Psychological State: Anxiety 52/100]

[Abnormal Status: The Displaced 00:01:21, Wail of the Dead]

At that moment, the log automatically turned to its final page.

[Abnormal Status]

1. [The Displaced]: After leaving the shelter, a mental check will be conducted. Mental points = resistance duration. After exceeding the duration, 1 Sanity point will be deducted per minute. (Current Mental: 9.1. Can resist for 9.1 hours.)

2. [Wail of the Dead]: From 22:00 every day until 6:00 the following day, [(10 - Mental) × 2] Sanity points will be deducted every hour.

Bai Yi did not dare linger and hurried back into the shelter.

The instant he entered the shelter, the uncomfortable, dazed feeling vanished, replaced by a sense of security.

Bai Yi looked at the status panel.

[Bai Yi: Healthy]

[Age: 30]

(The average attribute value for an adult is 3, and the limit is 10.)

[Strength: 5.5]

[Mental: 9.1]

[Constitution: 5.5]

[Psychological State: Anxiety 47/100] (Upon reaching 100, all abnormal status effects and Sanity deductions will double.)

[Sanity: 100/100]

[Abnormal Status: Where the Heart Finds Peace, Wail of the Dead]

[Talent:

Steel Spine Will:

Effect One (Active): After activation, as your Sanity decreases, the hardness of your spinal bones increases until it rivals steel. Strength and Constitution will both increase significantly, up to threefold. Duration: ten minutes. After it ends, 100% of lost Sanity will be restored. Then it enters cooldown. Cooldown: 12 hours. (Forced activation when Sanity reaches 1.)

Effect Two (Passive): When your Sanity falls to 1, your Sanity will be forcibly locked. You become immune to all negative statuses, but your consciousness will suffer immense pain. The pain decreases as your Sanity recovers. Once Sanity exceeds 30, the pain disappears.]

Two new fields, "Psychological State" and "Abnormal Status," had been added to the information panel. The original abnormal status, "The Displaced," had changed to "Where the Heart Finds Peace."

If you enjoy this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you do not lose it next time!