Autism

Mu Mu was dead!

There was no question about it. A somewhat shy young girl had died the instant the newbie protection period ended.

Experiencing death up close left Bai Yi feeling deeply affected. This was a real world, not a game. When someone died, they were simply dead. Everything was gone.

Xie Xu and Li Zihua were hit even harder. Both blamed themselves. Mu Mu had been the first member to join the team after the two of them.

Although they had only been in the Misty Land for a few days, there was no denying that they had already formed a deep friendship.

"Brother Dog, tell me... did I protect them too well?"

Xie Xu spoke bitterly.

"Yes."

Bai Yi nodded without hesitation.

"It wasn't just Mu Mu. In my view, Wang Ziyi, Zhang Zhen, Wei Fen, and the two of you all lack respect for the Misty Land. You lack a sense of danger.

"Your talents made things go too smoothly for you during the newbie period. Now that Xie Xu's talent can no longer be used freely, your lack of caution has been completely exposed."

Xie Xu's eyes reddened. "Those involved can't see clearly, while bystanders can.

"You're right, Brother Dog. We have to take the initiative to face danger, then survive it. Otherwise, sooner or later, we'll all die in this bizarre Misty Land."

He turned around, unable to bear looking at the demon squirming inside Mu Mu's brain on the screen any longer.

"We barely know each other, yet you've spoken so frankly to us. Brother Dog, thank you for telling us this. Please give Mu Mu peace. I'll explain what happened to her in the group."

With that, Xie Xu pulled the already silent Li Zihua away from the modification room.

When Bai Yi left the modification room, the two were sitting on the flesh-and-blood sofa with their heads lowered in silence.

Bai Yi had already seen the messages in the group chat through the log. Wang Ziyi was crying terribly.

She did not blame Li Zihua for failing to notice sooner. Instead, she kept talking about how she and Mu Mu had encouraged and supported each other through the log over the past few days, as though she wanted this timid girl to live on forever in the hearts of the team members.

Other than that, no one spoke in the group. Everyone was feeling down.

Bai Yi uploaded a picture and description of the demon:

[Brain-Stealing Slug]: A translucent soft-bodied creature that enters through the ear canal and parasitizes the host's brain, gradually eating the host's brain hollow and replacing it.

After sending the message, Bai Yi did not go speak with them. Instead, he went to the kitchen and took out two steaks.

"Eat something. We still have something important to do later."

The two looked up, accepted the steaks that looked, smelled, and tasted delicious, then began wolfing them down.

"Thanks, Brother Dog. By the way, where did you get beef?"

"It's not beef. It's beef-flavored steak."

"Oh, it's not beef... Wait, it's not beef?"

"Mm. Rotting Corpse meat."

Xie Xu stopped eating and looked at Li Zihua, who was still devouring his steak, then at Bai Yi, who was watching without eating.

"You're not eating?"

"I just ate."

As if he had not heard their conversation at all, Li Zihua kept his head down and continued eating the steak. The rising steam hid his reddened eyes.

"Hahaha..."

Xie Xu first gave a few cold chuckles, then burst into laughter as though he could no longer hold it in. "Hahahahaha—"

Bai Yi said nothing and merely watched the two quietly.

After quite a while, Xie Xu finally laughed enough. He wiped away the tears he had laughed out.

"Brother Dog, you really see things clearly! In this shitty world, who cares what kind of meat it is? Having something to eat is already good enough."

Then he picked up his plate and continued eating. As he ate, he took out his log and began typing.

Bai Yi did not worry about those matters anymore. Although losing a teammate had affected him as well, he knew his own goal clearly and would not waver.

As for the other teammates, Bai Yi had already said what needed to be said. He believed Xie Xu and Li Zihua would pass the information along.

Though his teammates were still somewhat immature for now, this was only the beginning.

Bai Yi believed that once they fully adapted to the Misty Land, he would have exceptionally powerful teammates.

13:35 in the afternoon. By now, the black fog had spread over more than half the area.

After replenishing their food, Li Zihua said goodbye to the two and returned to the shelter.

The VIP reading experience had been optimized. Tap the center of the screen to bring up the menu, allowing you to conveniently access "Settings," "Previous Page," "Next Page," and "Back to Top."

Bai Yi and Xie Xu, meanwhile, arrived before the shelter's main door.

"Brother Dog, the log has already explained the general effects of [Autism]. What I mainly want to know is the exact trigger range."

"Then I'll go out first and keep a certain distance from the shelter. After that, you come out while I walk back. That should let us determine the approximate range."

"Brother Dog, let me do it. I can measure the exact distance."

"Hm?"

"I've undergone relevant training. My arm span is... after training, my stride length was fixed at..."

Bai Yi failed to understand most of the string of explanations, but the scene felt strangely familiar, as if he had experienced something like this before.

"What's your forum username?"

"Unaware."

Bai Yi suddenly understood. So Xie Xu was the player who had used his heartbeat to measure how long the darkness lasted.

After that, he agreed to Xie Xu's proposal and had Little White go with him. In the thick fog, Little White could warn them of danger.

Bai Yi waited quietly inside the shelter. Before long, a message came from Xie Xu:

"Xie Xu: Dog Bro, I'm 300 meters away from the shelter now. You can come out."

At that, Bai Yi stepped out of the shelter. Nothing happened in his status panel, and [Autism] was not triggered.

After telling Xie Xu, Xie Xu began walking back.

250 meters, 200 meters, 150 meters, 100 meters.

Suddenly, the words Autism quietly appeared on the status panel. Bai Yi felt as though countless eyes were staring at him. It was an extremely unpleasant feeling.

In the distance, Xie Xu had already run back. Bai Yi grabbed him and pulled him into the shelter.

"Dog Bro!"

"Got it."

Bai Yi understood what Xie Xu meant. He went out again, came back, then pulled Xie Xu out, and came back again.

Xie Xu cooperated throughout. By now, Rotting Corpses were already running toward them.

After testing enough, Xie Xu returned, while Bai Yi stepped out of the shelter.

Before the Rotting Corpses formed a corpse tide, he wanted to increase the shelter's flesh and bone reserves as much as possible, just in case.

[Current Flesh: 803/1000, Bones: 1028/1000]

The foremost Rotting Corpse had already charged up to Bai Yi. He held nothing back and went all out immediately.

"Boiling Blood!"

Bai Yi's blood began to boil once more as he reached out and touched the Rotting Corpse before him.

[You used "Flesh-Bone Conversion." Sanity -12]

The Rotting Corpse's body began to twist, stretch, and deform, transforming into a White Bone Tang Dao.

Bai Yi leaped forward, his boiling blood dragging a crimson trail through the fog as he viciously cleaved apart the Rotting Corpses rushing at him.

While he slaughtered them efficiently, the Flesh Fungus Mat on the ground worked nonstop as well, collecting the Rotting Corpse bodies one by one.

The slaughter was brief. By the time the Rotting Corpses surged in like a tide, Bai Yi had already retreated into the shelter.

[Bai Yi: Healthy]

[Age: 30]

[Strength: 12]

[Mental: 9.1]

[Constitution: 12]

[Psychology: Greed 72/100]

[Sanity: 33/100]

[Abnormal Status: Where the Heart Finds Peace, Insulation Ward, Wail of the Dead, Autism (09:49)]

In just eleven seconds, Bai Yi had retreated. By then, the shelter had been completely submerged by Rotting Corpses, with even the roof covered in them.

[Current Flesh: 1109/1000, Bones: 1181/1000]

The flesh and bones supplied by the thirty-odd Rotting Corpses he had just killed also began to slowly decrease beneath the corpse tide.

Bai Yi stood silently in place. Only after every inch of the shelter had been covered in Rotting Corpses did he speak coldly:

"Crush them to death!"