Phantoms of the Old Days

Phantoms of the Old Days

When her Familiars were by her side, Xu Zhi did not need to issue commands through the Game Console. So when she saw the man trying to flee in a panic, she called out to Little One. The black snake, hiding in the shadows, appeared at the doorway as if it understood her thoughts and blocked his path.

Sometimes, it was not only she who could sense her Familiars' emotions through some invisible connection. Her Familiars also seemed able to sense some of her emotions and thoughts, which undoubtedly made them highly synchronized.

The man's expression turned fearful when he saw the massive snake appear out of nowhere. The black serpent, so far beyond his understanding, left him unable to make a sound. It was not until Little One coiled around him and dragged him into the cafeteria that he began struggling futilely.

Xu Zhi had been observing the man's condition. She found that when his body came into contact with the bright-red flesh in the cafeteria, the black threads in his eyes visibly increased. By the time he reached the center of the cafeteria, he had instantly lost his human consciousness. His eyeballs turned completely black, and he became a madman.

However, as a "newborn," his combat ability was far inferior to those at the Affiliated Middle School. Even though his hands were unbound, he could not harm Little One at all.

Seeing that the man had completely fallen, Xu Zhi did not keep him alive any longer. Little One merely exerted a little force and strangled him to death.

What Xu Zhi cared about more now was the flesh on the ground. Several hours had passed, yet there was still no sign of it drying out or turning black. It looked as fresh as if it had just been pulled from human bodies.

Suppressing her nausea, she lowered her head to examine the severed limbs. Aside from discovering that they had mostly been violently torn off, she found that some limbs bore △ symbols that seemed to have been carved with a small knife. The cuts were deep, but with blood everywhere, they were difficult to notice at first glance.

"What does this symbol mean?"

Xu Zhi knew nothing herself, but she had a cheat that seemed to know quite a lot.

After making another round and confirming that she had gathered enough information, she opened the Game Console.

Sometimes, the Narrator would not proactively provide her with information. She had to first come into contact with certain things or learn certain clues before it would speak up and tell her more.

Sure enough, once she opened the game, the Narrator appeared.

[You seem to be growing accustomed to this new life, but variables are always everywhere. What have you discovered this time?]

[So it is a phantom from the old days.]

[A mysterious pattern, an ancient and cruel ritual. The people who have fallen into madness are craving something, calling out for something.]

[They possess the most extreme faith. They are Scarlet Cup's most loyal Fanatics. Recreating past glory and returning to the old days are the pursuits of their entire lives.]

[What a pity.]

[What you have seen is merely one kind of ancient ritual. The inheritance of the old days has long since been severed, and so has this ritual. Now, it is broken beyond repair and devoid of spirituality.]

[But even so, it is not something mortals can peer into. A single glance is enough to send the wavering into the abyss.]

[You must remain vigilant. What the ritual summons is far beyond what you can currently fight.]

[But there is no need to worry. At this scale, they cannot even manifest a projection. It seems they have yet to grasp the correct method.]

The Narrator had said an especially large amount this time, enough for Xu Zhi to easily realize that she had probably touched upon something very important.

"Do I need to destroy these?" Only after the Narrator stopped speaking did she ask.

[Without a timely replenishment of flesh, it is already withering. By tomorrow morning, it will completely lose its vitality. If you are worried, simply destroy the symbols on the severed limbs.]

"So those madmen—no, those Fanatics—set up a crude trap just to replenish this ritual with flesh?"

The Narrator did not answer, but Xu Zhi thought that was probably the case.

They were bloodthirsty by nature, but there was no need for them to gather people in one place before slaughtering them. The reason they had done so was partly to satisfy their desire to kill, and partly for this ritual.

Perhaps the ritual was even more important. For its sake, that bespectacled man had even required those irrational Fanatics to restrain their urge to kill.

"Destroy the symbols on these limbs."

Xu Zhi gave the order to her two Familiars. It was a very simple task for them. Little One could crush the severed limbs into pulp just by rolling over them, while Doggie could destroy the symbols with a single swipe of its paw.

Once everything here had been thoroughly destroyed and the Narrator had fallen silent again, Xu Zhi left with her two Familiars.

There was no longer enough time for her to send her Familiars out for seven hours. The inconvenient part was that once Idle Mode was activated, she could only choose to idle for seven hours or keep them by her side. It was too rigid. Xu Zhi hoped that the next upgrade would improve this inflexible Idle Mode system.

People could never be satisfied. When she had first unlocked Idle Mode, Xu Zhi had thought it was perfect. Now, she was already finding its settings too stiff. Couldn't this game be a little more perfect?

Since she could not send her Familiars out to hunt on their own, and she was already outside, Xu Zhi made a detour to a bookstore.

There were quite a few bookstores near the Affiliated Middle School, and Xu Zhi chose a relatively famous chain store.

Naturally, the bookstore had closed after Cloud City's disaster, and its front doors were tightly locked. But this was clearly no obstacle for Xu Zhi, who had Familiars. After forcing her way in, she randomly found a book to test first and discovered that it could be stored in the game inventory. However, a single book occupied one slot.

After doing the math, she found that she only had thirty slots and could not take many books away. Fortunately, she had two "laborers." Putting books into bags and having them carry the bags was also an option.

In the end, Xu Zhi spent nearly two hours selecting close to eighty books and bringing them home.

"Reading all these will take at least two months, right?"

After returning home and piling the books in her room, Xu Zhi muttered to herself.

That was still an optimistic estimate. Her comprehension and memory were much stronger than before, but she could not be sure whether she would truly be able to stay home peacefully and read. After all, who knew when the next accident would arrive?

At night, when Midnight arrived, Xu Zhi fell asleep alongside her Familiars. Although her body still held her back somewhat, her mind seemed far stronger than an ordinary person's. She only needed five hours of sleep each day to remain energetic all day long. Even when she spent most of her time reading and thinking, she did not feel particularly mentally exhausted.

Xu Zhi had already realized that perhaps she was not meant to be a close-combat fighter.

Before going to sleep, the only thing troubling her was that she planned to invest a core tomorrow morning and try creating a Spirit Vessel. But the only Crystal Cores she currently had available were one [Heart] and mostly [Cup] ones.

Would entering a [Cup]-attribute Spirit Vessel have any effect on her? However, that concern was not enough to make her shrink back. Besides, the Game Console had not deceived her so far. She was willing to give it a try.