Log Update

Bai Yi checked the log:

[Where the Heart Finds Peace]

1. Immunity to some abnormal statuses

2. Mental state -5 per minute inside the shelter

3. Sanity recovery speed +100%

4. Permanent sense of direction (can sense the shelter's location) (can also sense it outside the shelter)

Everything had happened too fast. Just by ending newbie protection, Bai Yi had nearly died inside his shelter.

After cautiously checking around and confirming there was no immediate danger, he opened the log to review this update's contents.

The first page contained precautions:

[Newbie Protection Period Has Ended]

[1. Cognitive protection disabled] (The system will no longer provide players with basic cognitive protection. You will face the mist directly.)

[2. Anomaly shielding disabled] (The system will not drive away any aberrant demons, and aberrant demons can now see players' shelters.)

[3. Shelter isolation disabled] (Players may be attacked inside their shelters.)

[4. Basic resource deployment discontinued] (All wild beasts in the wilderness will mutate into aberrant demons, and no new beasts will spawn near shelters.)

[5. Shelter upgrades unlocked]

[6. Two new attributes added to the personal panel: "Mental State" and "Abnormal Status"]

[7. Forum, plaza, and channel updated]

[8. Guild and team functions unlocked]

[9. Three new log sections added: "Guild/Team," "Abnormal Status," and "Aberrant Demon Encyclopedia"]

There were nine updates in total. The first few explained why Bai Yi had encountered danger just now, while the latter ones were newly added functions.

Bai Yi continued flipping through the pages. The second page was the weather section, now with a specific time added. The third page was shelter information:

[Stone Villa]

[Level: 5]

[Durability: 2000/2000]

[Storage Capacity: 0/1000] (Expand by one unit of capacity for 5 Stone)

[Traits: None]

[Upgrade: Iron 0/100 or special item] (After using a special item, the shelter will transform into a special shelter.)

[Description: During the newbie period, you could just lie flat.]

[Recycling Bin Unlocked] (Recycle aberrant demon corpses in exchange for corresponding Mist Coins. Dismantling, wishing, and recycling—only one can be chosen.)

"Special item?"

Seeing those tiny words, Bai Yi instinctively thought of that lump of flesh. He planned to retrieve it and give it a try after finishing the log.

As for the recycling bin, Bai Yi looked out the window.

At some point, a box had quietly appeared opposite the Wishing Well. It looked like one of those clothing donation bins on Earth. Bai Yi would study it later.

The third page was personal information. He had already seen it before, so he skipped it.

The fourth page was the forum. Posts on the forum were divided into four sections: combat, survival, shelter, and weapons and tools. The sections could be switched at the top.

The old posts were still there, but no new posts had been updated.

Bai Yi opened the update notice:

The forum was only open from eight to ten every night. During that time, players could view uploaded posts.

The fifth page was the plaza, which was likewise only open from eight to ten every night.

However, besides player trading, the plaza now had a system store. There were not many items inside, but they confirmed one piece of information.

[System Store]

[Teleportation Scroll (Permanent, 100 Mist Coins)]

[Teleportation Scroll (Temporary, 200 Mist Coins, lasts 10 hours)]

[Shelter Fusion Scroll (10,000 Mist Coins; after fusion, "Autism" will not be triggered)]

Just three items revealed four pieces of information:

1. Players could now meet each other.

If you come across ads asking, "Are you a real person?" there is no need to pay attention to them. Just close them. Do not scan codes or send text messages!

2. Permanent Teleportation Scrolls were cheaper than temporary ones, which meant permanent teleportation was more dangerous. Perhaps it was related to "Autism."

3. Players' shelters could be fused. The steep price might mean the benefits outweighed the drawbacks after fusion.

4. The system had introduced Mist Coins. Unless something unexpected happened, they would become the primary currency for transactions between players.

While he was thinking, that familiar sensation came again. Having done it once, Bai Yi deftly tore the Shadow of a Thousand Throats from his throat and crushed it to death.

He casually tossed it into the recycling bin. A Mist Coin flew out of the bin, and Bai Yi caught it.

It was a round, pure-white coin. It seemed to be made of mist, yet it had a slight weight to it.

Turning the Mist Coin over in his hand, Bai Yi remembered their previous agreement. As agreed, he needed to join Wang Ziyi's team.

However, he did not know whether Wang Ziyi had been attacked or whether their team had suffered any losses.

Bai Yi flipped to the channel page, the sixth page. The world channel had been locked. (Only open from eight to ten every night.)

The regional channel could still be used normally. (The region covered 1,000 square kilometers.) (Population displayed: 63/100.)

At the same time, coordinate displays had been added to the regional channel.

"That's ridiculously huge!" Bai Yi exclaimed.

At that moment, the regional channel read:

"Damn it, did you guys get attacked?"

"I did. It was called the Shadow of a Thousand Throats. If I hadn't had a mirror, I would've died to that thing."

"Looks like we encountered the same kind of attack. Those thirty-seven people probably died because they never found the aberrant demon."

"I nearly died too. Good thing I checked the channel. Huge thanks to that bro."

"Looks like they only encountered the Shadow of a Thousand Throats."

Bai Yi's mouth twitched. Why was he always this unlucky? He had even encountered Rotting Corpses.

If his hands had not been fast enough, the Rotting Corpses would probably be besieging his shelter by now.

Without saying anything, he continued checking the updates.

Private chat had not been locked either. (Group chats were included under private chat.)

"Bai Yi: Are you still alive?"

"Wang Ziyi: Not dead!"

"Bai Yi: Good. We'll talk about the rest later."

"Wang Ziyi: Okay, Dog Bro."

The seventh page was the guild/team function. Since Bai Yi had not joined one, he could not view it. Only the creation costs were displayed:

Guild: 500 Mist Coins to register, 100 members total. After registration, 10 Mist Coins to expand by one member slot.

Team: 100 Mist Coins, 10 members. After registration, 50 Mist Coins to expand by one member slot.

The two methods corresponded to two different survival strategies. Guilds relied on strength in numbers, while teams followed an elite route.

Furthermore, forming a team was actually more expensive than forming a guild, so there had to be another reason.

Bai Yi remembered that Wang Ziyi and the others seemed to be taking the team route. He personally preferred teams too. Guilds had too many people, and disputes were unavoidable.

The eighth page was abnormal statuses. It listed:

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

2. [Wail of the Dead]: Sounds daily from 22:00 to 6:00 the next day. Every hour, [(10 - Mental State) × 2] Sanity points are deducted. (Current Mental State: 9.1; Sanity -1.8 per hour.) (No Sanity will be deducted if Mental State is above 10.)

3. [Where the Heart Finds Peace]: Immunity to some abnormal statuses. Mental state -5 per minute inside the shelter. Sanity recovery speed +100%. Permanent sense of direction (can sense the shelter's location).

(Only abnormal statuses encountered by the player are displayed.)

The ninth page was the Aberrant Demon Encyclopedia, which contained only two aberrant demons.

1. [Shadow of a Thousand Throats]: An amorphous black mass. The mouths of living creatures randomly appear on its surface to devour sounds. Devoured sound waves are converted into body heat loss.

2. [Rotten Humanoid] (commonly known as Rotting Corpse): An unknown humanoid rotting creature. It is relatively fast and possesses swarm traits (they are drawn to one another). Some Rotting Corpses may mutate.

At this point, Bai Yi had a thorough understanding of the update's contents.

The sudden surge in difficulty filled him with urgency. He had to upgrade his shelter as soon as possible.

With that in mind, Bai Yi went to the storage room and took out the lump of flesh.

The log trembled:

[Special item "Flesh and Bone Fragments of Endless Proliferation" can be used to upgrade the shelter.]