Rapid Deterioration

Little One had finished on its end, so Xu Zhi switched the screen over to Doggie. If Little One's side had been a brutal battle, then Doggie's was somewhat better.

Though they had suffered some injuries, none were serious. The problem was that there were far more enemies than Shen Jinwen and Doggie, and Xu Zhi had ordered that even if they fled, they had to keep those people hooked. They could not let them give up just because they could not keep up.

Some injuries were therefore unavoidable. Thanks to its physical toughness, Doggie could withstand quite a bit of damage. Shen Jinwen, however, looked to be in a dangerous state. Though Doggie's maneuvering had kept her from suffering any severe wounds, she seemed to have little strength left.

It would only take Little One a few minutes to get there. When Doggie sensed Little One heading its way, it understood that it was time to meet up. It carried the exhausted Shen Jinwen on its back and ran toward Little One. Naturally, it was much faster than those lunatics, but it deliberately slowed down, making Shen Jinwen's ride feel like a roller coaster. One moment, claws behind her were about to seize her; the next, Doggie suddenly leaped forward.

On the Game Console's pixelated screen, Shen Jinwen's usually unruffled expression finally cracked. Her panicked look, rendered in pixels, was oddly exaggerated and adorable—a stark contrast to her usual appearance.

With Doggie deliberately drawing closer, Little One met up with them in less than three minutes. Staying on Doggie's back without falling off required Shen Jinwen to cling on with all her strength. She was already exhausted, and now she was at the end of her rope, only barely able to stand aside without becoming a burden.

With Doggie and Little One working together, they quickly dealt with fewer than ten people. This time, Little One pulled three red cores from among them.

Altogether, this operation had not only eliminated the nearby threat, but also gained eleven additional cores of the same attribute. Xu Zhi was quite satisfied.

Unfortunately, the only use these cores seemed to have for now was feeding them to the Spirit Vessel.

One core lasted five minutes. Even all of these together only added up to fifty-five minutes. With that [Heart] attribute core included, it barely made a full hour.

Naturally, Xu Zhi could not possibly dump them all in at once.

Tomorrow morning, she planned to randomly select a Spirit Vessel for twenty minutes and test it again.

By killing those lunatics, Little One had gained enough experience to level up again. In particular, the bespectacled man had provided three times as many evolution points as the others. Doggie had killed fewer, so it was still short on evolution points.

After Shen Jinwen returned, she did not immediately come to Xu Zhi to claim what had been promised. She was simply too exhausted, so tired that her mind could barely function. All she wanted was to lie down and rest, so she agreed to see Xu Zhi again tomorrow.

Little One's injuries were rather severe, but fortunately, it could level up. Doggie also needed to rest for a while and heal its wounds.

When Little One woke up, it had already reached level 16.

[Familiar: Python Lv16

Spirit: 400

Body: 1800

Attribute: Blade

Traits: Toxin Lv6, Sharpness Lv4, Bloodlust Lv5, Cunning Lv4, Strength Lv4]

[Evolution Points: 300/4500]

"Good grief. One level gave it a hundred Spirit and three hundred Body. That's far more generous than before."

Before level 15, each level-up had stingily given only a few dozen points. Was that because its biological level had been too low before?

Then if its biological level rose again, would each level-up grant thousands of points?

"Who knows when the next increase will be."

Xu Zhi cut off her daydream. Doggie needed even longer to rest than Little One needed to level up. Its level was not high enough, and its self-healing ability was not strong enough. Leveling up was much faster.

By the time both Familiars had recuperated, it was nearly seven in the evening. There was still some time before Midnight, and Xu Zhi decided to check out the cafeteria now.

After all, the worst thing when doing anything was hesitation and dawdling. It would be troublesome if some new variable arose.

Xu Zhi no longer needed to remain in her wheelchair at all times, but walking for forty minutes was still difficult for her. After thinking it over, she chose to have Little One carry the wheelchair downstairs. This thing was much faster than walking herself!

Even after spending years unable to walk properly due to the wheelchair, Xu Zhi still had no obsession with "walking." If anything, she hated everything that made her feel tired and exhausted.

Perhaps because they had cleared out the Mutated Animals along this route before, Xu Zhi encountered few obstacles this time. She reached the gates of the affiliated middle school in just half an hour.

But unexpectedly, she saw a figure pacing back and forth hesitantly by the school gate.

The moment it saw the figure, Doggie lowered its body slightly and assumed a hunting stance. Little One had already silently moved closer to the person.

The sound of the wheelchair alerted the man. When he turned and saw Xu Zhi, a flicker of delight appeared on his face.

"Little girl, are you here looking for the survivor base too?"

The middle-aged man was dressed somewhat shabbily, and his beard looked as if it had not been shaved in a long time. His sallow, gaunt face bore obvious dark circles, and he looked utterly worn out. One glance was enough to tell that the sudden apocalypse had put him through hell.

Xu Zhi curled her fingers slightly, and Little One merely remained quietly hidden at the man's side.

"Sir, there's no survivor base here. You should leave."

Xu Zhi's voice was calm. It did not even sound as though she was trying to persuade him; it was more like an offhand remark. After saying that, she headed into the school.

This clearly displeased the middle-aged man. If there was no survivor base, why was someone in a wheelchair going inside?

"Why are you lying to me? Afraid I'll go in and steal your food?"

The man muttered in dissatisfaction, but he did not dare actually do anything to Xu Zhi. After all, there was a large dog beside her watching him like a hawk.

".What breed is that dog? Why does it look like a wolf?"

Xu Zhi ignored him. Even when he followed her into the school from a distance, she did not warn him again.

After all, she had only mentioned it casually. If he listened, fine. If not, so be it.

Not long after Xu Zhi entered the cafeteria, a man's terrified cry and retching sounded behind her.

When Xu Zhi turned to look at him, she saw something remarkable.

The man's once-clear eyes were rapidly being covered in black threads. In less than a minute, his eyeballs would likely be completely consumed by blackness.

Xu Zhi was somewhat surprised, while the man forced himself to look up through his nausea, staring at her in terror. "Th-this was your doing?!"

Xu Zhi frowned. From the looks of it, the man was rapidly turning into one of the lunatics because he had seen the things inside the cafeteria.

But why was she unaffected?

No.

Xu Zhi picked up the Game Console, turned off the screen, and used it as a mirror. Only after confirming that there was nothing wrong with her eyes did she let out a sigh of relief.

".I really didn't expect this."

Little One had shown no reaction to this place at all, yet ordinary people would rapidly deteriorate after seeing this scene?