Dead City

Xu Zhi controlled her wheelchair and rolled up to the window, silently watching the gloomy sky outside and the tide-like black mist spreading across the ground.

This was the seventh day since she had been abandoned, and the seventh day since the city had fallen and become a quarantine zone.

Other than those unable to leave, everyone who could had gradually evacuated. By now, the entire city had been sealed off, and no one could enter or leave.

Reason told her that the disaster had struck suddenly, and that her parents had been right to take only her healthy younger brother. Otherwise, burdened with her, their whole family might have been trapped in this city. But she was only seventeen, abandoned by her entire family in this "dead city." How was she supposed to remain rational?

This frail body had brought her not more concern and care from her parents, but impatience and irritation day after day. They had never even intended to treat her illness. Even when kind-hearted people had donated money for her, that money had not been used for her treatment.

If not for the law, her parents would probably have abandoned her long ago. After all, they already had a healthy enough child. Even if the law required them to raise her properly, it made no difference. They only needed to make sure that, during home visits, she appeared unharmed and not abandoned.

Now, the world had undergone a tremendous upheaval. This was simply the perfect opportunity, and so she had been left behind without a moment's hesitation.

Was she heartbroken? Was it unbelievable?

Not really. After all, even without the disaster, she would probably have died soon after reaching adulthood. She could feel her body growing weaker and weaker. Having missed the money that could have saved her life through surgery, she had less than two years left. Once she became an adult, Federation oversight would no longer be so strict. If she died of illness, then she died.

So what she felt more was that "this day had finally come." Nothing was sadder than a dead heart. Numbness and hatred outweighed pain and grief.

The food left behind at home, the things that could not be taken away, would only last her about half a month. Once it was gone, she would probably starve to death in this house.

After all, times had changed. This city was no longer safe. Someone like her, an "old, weak, sick, and disabled" person with heart disease severe enough to require a wheelchair and seriously impaired hearing, would likely die within an hour of going outside.

A year ago, supernatural powers had suddenly appeared in this world. People had been immersed in the joy of gaining extraordinary abilities, unaware that this was merely a warning before the catastrophe.

A month ago, mutations had abruptly begun. A celestial hound devoured the sun, black fog shrouded the earth, and monstrous aberrations were born from the mist. They possessed bizarre and insane abilities. Ordinary firearms were completely ineffective against them; only the supernatural could kill them. Yet humanity, having encountered such powers for only one year, was simply unable to contend with them.

Just as humanity seemed to have reached the brink of survival or extinction, the mist suddenly began receding in one direction like a tide.

That direction was Cloud City, where Xu Zhi was.

According to observations, for reasons unknown, most of the mist would flow into Cloud City within two days. Cloud City would become a high-density mist zone. In such an environment, even without aberrant monsters, it would be utterly unsuitable for human survival.

What was more, aberrations were born from the mist and grew within it. If nothing unexpected happened, Cloud City would become a monster nest!

Thus, the Federation issued an emergency evacuation notice. Within fifteen hours, everyone had to leave Cloud City as quickly as possible. The city would then be sealed, and from that point onward, Cloud City would become a forbidden zone for humanity.

There had only been fifteen short hours. It was impossible to evacuate an entire city, and there were probably quite a few "burdens" like her who had been abandoned here.

But Xu Zhi refused to accept it. She refused to be cast aside here and die in obscurity.

How could they give birth to her, then refuse to treat her simply because she was unhealthy and make her wait for death? And now, the moment they had an opportunity, they threw her away without even bothering to keep up the pretense.

Xu Zhi felt that perhaps years of illness and rejection from her parents had left her with some psychological problems, but she did not care.

Xu Zhi's beautiful yet fragile eyes stared fixedly at the black mist outside. Her gaze held a stubbornness and gloom that did not belong to someone her age. Her hand resting on the wheelchair slowly clenched. Malnutrition and poor circulation had left her fingers excessively thin and pale; her knuckles and bluish veins stood out clearly, making them almost frightening.

She was a child anyone could tell was unhealthy at a glance.

At the instant Xu Zhi's unwillingness reached a certain point, the black mist outside suddenly churned almost imperceptibly. Then, in the empty living room, there came a sharp smack—the sound of something falling to the floor.

The girl, immersed in her thoughts, was startled by the sudden sound. Her pupils contracted slightly before she realized that something had probably fallen. She loosened her clenched fist, placed her hand on the wheelchair controls, and turned around.

When she lowered her head and saw what had fallen onto the floor, surprise appeared on the girl's cool, delicate face.

It was a black-and-white handheld game console.

"When did we get a handheld console?"

No, that was not right. There was no handheld console in her home. Xu Zhi was certain of that.

She had been alone in this house for nearly a week. During the day, she had spent almost all her time sitting idly in the living room, staring blankly into space. She had never seen any game console in the living room.

This was something that had suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Once she realized this, the girl pressed her lips together. She felt somewhat confused and afraid, but there was also curiosity and anticipation mixed in.

She knew that Cloud City had become extremely dangerous. Perhaps this suddenly appearing game console was one of those dangers too, but—

In any case, she was already someone waiting to die. If nothing unexpected happened, she would not survive the month. Why did she still need to be so cautious, so careful?

With that thought, Xu Zhi's expression calmed. She controlled her wheelchair over to the console, then bent down and picked up the expensive-looking handheld.

Once it was in her hands, Xu Zhi was a little lost. How was she supposed to use this?

She had never played any game console. Her only entertainment had been the television at home, and even then, she could only watch when someone else in the family was using it. Other than that, there were textbooks. She could not attend school like normal people and could only study on her own at home using unwanted books. Her parents would never take the initiative to teach her or hire a tutor for her.

If her illness had not struck in fifth grade, after she had already learned some things, Xu Zhi even felt that those two parents would have allowed her to become illiterate.

Only her younger brother had treated her slightly better. Occasionally, he would make time to explain problems to her. But their parents did not like him interacting with her, believing she brought bad luck. So she and her brother were not especially close. She could only work through discarded exercise books by herself, but her grades were not very good. She generally hovered around thirty or forty points, while the full score was one hundred and fifty.

Even so, learning was a very interesting thing to Xu Zhi.

A girl whose life was so barren naturally did not know how to use a handheld console.

Fortunately, before she could press any button, the console screen suddenly lit up by itself.

A pixelated progress bar appeared in the center. In less than five seconds, it finished loading.

The pixel game screen showed a gloomy sky. In the air, a black sun dripped black liquid endlessly into the human world like a source of contamination. This scene formed the game's opening background, and then a line of text appeared at the center of the screen.

[At the beginning of all things, everything was born from the sun, and everything perished in darkness.]

[All things turn in cycles. The old order and ancient gods have been buried by time. Now, a new order has been born. Do you desire to become the god of the new order?

Do you have the courage to offer up your life and step into this conflict without taboos?

If you are ready, then choose your followers.]

Xu Zhi was naturally not going to be frightened away by a few lines of text. For some reason, though it was only a pixelated background image and a few short sentences, it gave her an intense sense of reality, as though clicking confirm would truly send her on this journey.

"It's kind of interesting."

Xu Zhi murmured, then decisively clicked confirm and entered the follower selection screen.

[Since you have not unlocked followers of any rank, your initial options are limited to randomly selected low-level creatures with weak vitality.]

[Currently available choices:]

[1. Frog (Lv0)]

[2. Snake (Lv1)]

[3. Sparrow (Lv0)]

Xu Zhi fell silent for a moment. That was it?

But as she looked at the message saying they had not been unlocked, she guessed that higher-level options might appear once she raised her own level?

There was no need to hesitate over the current choice. At least the snake was Lv1.

After she chose it, the pixelated black snake enlarged slightly, and a list of its attributes appeared in the center of the screen.

[Mental: 1

Physical: 3

Attribute: None

Trait: None]

"It looks a little weak."

As the girl's words fell, the screen darkened. Then the game officially loaded.

When it lit up again, a pixelated little snake was already in the center of the screen. The game world was also pixelated, but the perspective was unusual. It seemed to show heat signatures from the snake's point of view. The viewpoint was extremely low and the range was quite limited, leaving Xu Zhi unable to make out the surroundings.

At the lower left corner of the screen was a line of instructions.

[Avoid danger, find food, and evolve. Survive in this dangerous land.]

[Current evolution points: 0/10]

Then, a line of black options appeared in the middle of the screen.

[This is a landscaped strip in a park. There does not seem to be any danger nearby.]

[Choose a direction to move: forward, back, left, right]

Since there did not seem to be any danger, Xu Zhi casually chose to move forward.

On the screen, the little black snake slithered ahead, twisting its body. Before long, the first living creature appeared in the game.

Because it was viewed through heat signatures, Xu Zhi could only make out its rough shape. Still, it was not difficult to guess that it was a frog.

[You have discovered a frog. Hunt it?]

There was nothing to hesitate over. Xu Zhi decisively selected yes.

Thus, in the game, the little black snake quietly crawled behind it before attacking decisively, swallowing the small frog in a single bite.

[Hunt successful.]

[Current evolution points: 1/10]

The black snake on the screen flicked its tongue, seemingly dissatisfied with such a small prey.

[Choose a direction to continue forward.]

After that, Xu Zhi controlled the little snake as it wandered through the safe landscaped strip for quite some time. She encountered only five prey in total, and after gaining six evolution points, a notification appeared in the center of the screen.

[Your follower's stamina has been exhausted. It cannot hunt for the time being. Please rest for two hours before resuming activity.]

At the sight of the notification, the girl frowned slightly. She was just getting into it, and the game's progress had suddenly been blocked by stamina. Who could stand that?

"Forget it. It's only two hours. I'll eat first and continue afterward."

Cooking herself something was quite troublesome too. It would take a fair amount of time.

After putting down the console, Xu Zhi looked at the clock, and a puzzled expression appeared on her face. Without realizing it, she had been playing for nearly two hours, completely absorbed in it.

But her energy should not have been enough to support playing a game for so long. Usually, even when reading, she had to rest after half an hour.

"Was I just too engrossed?"

And even though it was already past dinner time, she did not feel hungry.

Because of her body, if she did not eat and take her medicine on time, the weakness that seemed to seep from every crack in her bones would be enough to make her restless and unable to focus.

Yet even now, she did not feel any discomfort at all.

Xu Zhi keenly sensed that something was wrong.