Talent

After repeatedly confirming that the Rotting Corpse outside had left, Bai Yi changed into the clothes he had traded for, fully armed himself, and stepped out of the shelter.

His talent had finished cooling down, and Bai Yi felt like he was back on his feet. He began searching around the shelter for traces of that Rotting Corpse.

As the saying went, seeing a spider was scary, but even scarier was looking away and finding the spider gone.

That was exactly how Bai Yi felt. Considering how agile that Rotting Corpse had been last night, if it suddenly ambushed him while he was working one day, that would be no joke. He might get taken out in an instant.

But Bai Yi searched everywhere within a kilometer of the shelter and still found no trace of the Rotting Corpse. Seeing that it was getting dark, he had no choice but to give up for now.

With an uneasy heart, he collected fresh water and some thatch before returning to the shelter.

First, he traded a stone pickaxe for 200 units of wood and made wooden fences, enclosing the entire area around the shelter. Satisfied, he clapped his hands.

Afterward, he placed the wolf carcass he had dragged back yesterday in the yard and dismantled it piece by piece using the log, tossing useless things like the organs into the Wishing Well. Only intact corpses that had not been dismantled could be used to make wishes—that was the consensus on the forum.

Bai Yi spread the wolf hide over his bed as a mattress, while the wolf fangs were placed on the table as decorations.

After curing the chunks of meat with the salt he had traded for, he strung them up with ropes braided from thatch and hung them beneath the eaves to dry.

After returning to the shelter, Bai Yi placed wood into the long-extinguished fireplace and used thatch to light it.

He put the wolf meat over the fireplace to roast, turning it over from time to time.

At last, on his fourth day in this world, Master Bai, who had worked all day, got to eat steaming-hot grilled steaks.

"Thanks to the experts on the forum who shared their guides. If I ever make it big, I'll definitely bring you all over and treat you properly."

After eating a piece of Wolf King meat, Bai Yi felt warmth spread through his entire body, as though he were filled with strength.

Once he was full, darkness had already fallen outside. Bai Yi did not waste time and began crafting stone pickaxes.

[Refined Stone Pickaxe Blueprint, Durability 13/20]

Bai Yi planned to craft them all, sell ten, and keep three for emergencies.

No sooner said than done. While waiting, Bai Yi opened the log. When he flipped to the chat page, he found several private messages from two people.

"Anonymous User 9527: Bro, do you still have stone pickaxes?"

"Anonymous User 9527: Bro, are you still there?"

"Lone Wolf: I've got ten. Buying?"

"Anonymous User 9527: Holy crap, bro, you got a blueprint, didn't you? You're so lucky. Want to join our mutual aid group? In the Mist World, having another friend means having another path."

"Lone Wolf: Mutual aid group?"

"Anonymous User 9527: It's just people helping each other. Things like item trades get internal discounts. And if you run into trouble, we'll help too."

Bai Yi was interested and sat up straighter.

"Lone Wolf: Do you have a way to meet up? Or have you already gathered together?"

"Anonymous User 9527: Not yet... but I believe that one day..."

Bai Yi slumped back down.

"Lone Wolf: Not interested for now. Make your offer."

"Anonymous User 9527: Bro, we're all trying to survive. None of us have it easy. Meeting is fate, so how about giving me a fifty percent discount?"

Bai Yi blocked him outright, then clicked to view the next messages.

"Anonymous: You're in such a hurry to buy medicine. Are you injured?"

"Anonymous: Friend, are you still there?"

Bai Yi asked strangely, "Hm? Anonymous again?"

He looked at "Anonymous User 9527," then at "Anonymous." "What's going on?"

He turned on anonymous mode himself and gave it a try in the chat channel.

"Anonymous: Agriculture in Africa is underdeveloped, so Jin Kela must be used!"

"???"

"What are you trying to pull, bro?"

"Man, that meme is at least over ten years old!"

Bai Yi suddenly realized. "That bastard's name is actually Anonymous User 9527! Ugh, what a boring person." He then opened the chat window again.

"Lone Wolf: Still alive. I ran into a wolf pack while exploring. Thanks for the medicine."

"Anonymous: You managed to get away from a wolf pack unscathed? Impressive! Can I add you as a friend, big shot?"

[Player Wang Ziyi has requested to become your friend] (Friends use real names)

Bai Yi thought about it and accepted.

"Wang Ziyi: Hello, Big Brother Bai!"

"Bai Yi: Hello."

"Wang Ziyi: Could you tell me how you got away? As payment, if you need medicine again next time, I can give you a ten percent discount."

"Bai Yi: Uh, I didn't run. They did."

"Wang Ziyi: Huh? You scared them away? Is your talent psychic? Can you inflict fear on other creatures? A fear aura? Psychic talents are so rare!"

"Bai Yi: Uh, my talent isn't psychic. I just killed nine wolves, including the Wolf King. The other two ran away."

The chat window fell into an eerie silence.

When Bai Yi saw that the other side was taking a long time to reply, he began to feel a little awkward.

Ten years of paralysis had severely degraded his social skills.

Though the exchanges on the forum, plaza, and channels over the past few days had made him less stiff, this kind of silence still inevitably made him uncomfortable.

Just as he was about to say something, a message came from the other side.

"Wang Ziyi: Amazing!!!!!"

"Wang Ziyi: Big shot, are you interested in cooperating more?"

Bai Yi had no intention of cooperating for the time being. He thought being alone was just fine, and if he needed anything, he could simply buy it directly on the forum.

"Bai Yi: Better not..."

Before he could finish, Wang Ziyi sent him a screenshot of an information panel.

"Wang Ziyi: [Talent: Plant Resonance (Passive): Greatly increases plants' survival rate and growth rate. Seeds personally planted by you are guaranteed to sprout. You are a friend to plants, and plants will never attack you.]"

Bai Yi froze, his eyes widening. This talent was a god-tier skill!

He was certain that with this talent, Wang Ziyi would be the kind of person everyone would want to protect, no matter where she was.

"Wang Ziyi: So? Interested? Aside from ordinary potatoes, chives, wild vegetables, and the like, I also have special plants."

Wang Ziyi was like an enthusiastic salesperson pitching herself to Bai Yi. Before Bai Yi could respond, she threw out several more chat screenshots.

"Wang Ziyi: [Spirit Rice: Consuming it slowly strengthens a living being's physique and can break through human limits.] [Hemostatic Grass: Crush the grass and apply it to wounds to disinfect and stop bleeding. It also has a slight healing effect.] [Detoxifying Grass: Can neutralize common toxins. Mint-flavored.]"

"Wang Ziyi: (Image: A patch of cultivated soil covered in many little sprouts.)"

"What?" This time, Bai Yi rose directly to his feet and began pacing around the room with the log in hand.

The other special plants did not excite him too much, but one thing in particular made it impossible for him to contain himself—Spirit Rice!