The Last Texas

Completely unlike what Bai Ye had expected, he had thought Texas would draw her blade and strike without a word. He gave an awkward laugh and explained, "Uh, I've always been curious about Lupo tails... Sorry."

As the countdown reached zero, Bai Ye discreetly pulled his hand back. Ignoring the chiming system panel, he looked at Texas.

"Go." Texas leaned weakly against the corner of the wall, her face pale. "Sorry. I thought you were an enemy earlier."

Bai Ye blinked. The system had now been activated, and his future looked bright, while Texas seemed to be surrounded by extreme danger. Rationally speaking, leaving Texas would keep him from being dragged into chaos and danger.

[Ding--]

Fortunately, the system did not give Bai Ye much time to think. It seemed unwilling to let him hesitate or run away, and a clear chime rang beside his ear.

Bai Ye tentatively opened the system panel in front of Texas. A faintly glowing screen appeared before his eyes.

"Looks like other people can't see the system panel. They can't even hear the notification sounds."

Seeing that Texas showed no unusual reaction, Bai Ye nodded thoughtfully.

[Mission Issued]

Mission Name: The Last Texas

Mission Description: Protect the last bloodline of the Texas Family

Phase One: Protect Texas until dawn of the second day

Mission Reward: Attribute Points *10, one card draw opportunity

Mission Failure: Death

Bai Ye stared at the system panel. He froze for a moment, then laughed at himself.

Texas raised an eyebrow. From her perspective, Bai Ye seemed to have gone blank.

Scared stupid? Texas thought. She ignored Bai Ye and began examining her injuries again. Bai Ye had bandaged her wounds very unprofessionally, so she needed to remove the dressing and tend to them again.

"I can't leave either... I got dragged into this back at the manor. They won't let me go."

Bai Ye spoke, his voice soft, as though talking to himself. Then he raised his head and looked at the wound Texas was dressing.

"You won't get far alone. I don't know what happened, but one more person can at least share some of the burden."

"You're not afraid?"

Texas did not stop what she was doing. She dressed the wound carefully and meticulously, her movements clean and efficient. She looked up at Bai Ye in surprise.

"Afraid? Of course I'm afraid... This is the first time I've seen corpses, and blood..." Even now, the smell of blood lingered beneath his nose—a pungent, nauseating stench that made him want to vomit.

"But blindly running away doesn't mean you'll be safe." Bai Ye pursed his lips and looked at Texas. "Besides, I'm not familiar with this place. I don't even know where I am right now... Where could I possibly run to?"

Texas suddenly laughed and rolled her eyes. "That last part was the real reason, wasn't it..."

As she spoke, the girl tightened the bandage, then braced herself against the wall and rose from the ground. She picked up her sword.

"Then let's go... Oh, right. This place isn't safe anymore."

Bai Ye looked up. Several drones drifted slowly across the pitch-black night sky, like floating ghosts or greedy vultures (Li Yao: ???).

"Drones..." Texas looked up as well. Her gaze turned fierce, and her fists clenched tightly. "They're trying to wipe us out!"

Though he was curious about what had happened, Bai Ye knew this was not the time to ask. They were in the drones' blind spot, but this was clearly not a safe place.

"We have to move. By the way, what should I call you?"

Bai Ye looked at Texas and knowingly asked.

"I... You can call me Texas." Texas hesitated slightly before finally answering.

Bai Ye felt a little disappointed that he had not learned Texas's real name. But this was not the time to dwell on it. He opened the system panel.

Bai Ye knew the people they were about to face would not be friendly. He needed to arm himself as much as possible. Perhaps the system could give him a surprise.

The faintly glowing screen appeared before Bai Ye again. The activated system panel was noticeably larger and divided into three sections.

[Mission Panel]

[Attribute Panel]

[Card Pool Panel]

[Ding--]

The clear chime sounded as Bai Ye opened the system panel, like a wind chime hanging at a doorway or a tubular bell softly struck.

[System activated. Card draw opportunities *3 awarded.]

"Good. Is this the beginner reward?" Bai Ye did not rush to draw cards. Instead, he opened the attribute panel first.

[Character Attributes]

Name: Bai Ye

Race: Human

Strength: 12

Agility: 12

Constitution: 12

Intelligence: 12

Perception: 12

(Note: The average attribute value for humans is 10.)

Special Talent: Disguise

Talent Description: As a boy, you look more like a girl. This makes people instinctively lower their guard around you.

Talent Effects: Stealth +5, Aura Concealment +5

Overall Evaluation: Cute boy, Paper Rank

Bai Ye helplessly shook his head. Just as the attribute panel said, he really did look a lot like a girl. This fact had troubled him long before he was transported here. At school, he received many love letters, most of them from boys who did not know the truth.

"But this feeling... It really is something new!"

Bai Ye clenched his fist. He discovered that his formerly frail limbs had become more slender and fair after some kind of enhancement, yet they held strength he had never possessed before.

Having been sickly since childhood, Bai Ye's health had always been terrible. But that was all in the past. Now, he felt healthier and more comfortable than ever before.

As though a massive burden had been lifted, Bai Ye felt light and relaxed. The numbers on the attribute panel faithfully reflected his body's current condition.

"But it's still not enough."

The strong sharpened their claws and fangs; the weak sharpened their minds. To survive in an unfamiliar otherworld, attributes only slightly above those of an ordinary person were not enough. Bai Ye needed to grow stronger, because this world would become increasingly mad and extreme.

So Bai Ye opened the card pool panel. He currently had four card draw opportunities: three from the so-called "gift pack," and one from the reward for the "Petting" mission.

Bai Ye knew that drawing cards was currently the only way he had to make himself stronger.

"It's time to test my bloodline!"

Bai Ye pushed up a pair of nonexistent glasses and pressed the card draw button.