Do Not Look Directly

Xu Zhi had no intention of opening the door. There were no security cameras installed at home, but she had no intention of approaching the door and using the peephole to see who was knocking, either.

After all, she did not have a body capable of escaping in an emergency.

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

Another round of knocking came, noticeably louder than before.

Xu Zhi gripped the Game Console tightly, her heart beginning to beat a little faster. She said nothing, as though she had not heard the increasingly urgent knocking.

Only when the person outside seemed certain that she would not open the door did they finally give up on the pointless knocking and speak instead. "I know someone's inside. We're not bad people. We just want to find some companions."

"I'm a student at Cloud City Affiliated High School. There are a few classmates with me too. We can show you our student IDs. No one can get out now, and it isn't safe to hide at home. Why not build a base with us?"

"If you don't want to go, just answer us. We won't come bother you again!"

A young-sounding male voice rang out from outside. His tone was sincere, but he spoke rather quickly, as if he wanted to persuade the person inside while also hurrying to the next place.

But to Xu Zhi's ears, even though the boy was practically shouting, his words were still somewhat muffled. She even had to half-guess some of the quieter parts. Her hearing had been steadily deteriorating since four years ago.

After waiting around ten seconds, the people outside seemed to realize they would get no response. "Do you think we aren't trustworthy? Then we'll leave first. Would you be willing to talk if we sent a female student next time? Or if you change your mind, come find us at the Affiliated Middle School!"

After that, it finally became quiet outside. Xu Zhi could not hear their departing footsteps. She could only wait for a while, and when no one knocked or shouted again, she concluded that they seemed to have left.

When the Federation issued its emergency evacuation notice, it had specifically mentioned that inhaling Black Fog would affect both the body and mind. The most obvious symptom was that some people became paranoid after inhaling it, as if they had developed persecution delusions. Their tempers became violent, they grew highly aggressive, and even their strength increased.

But detailed medical examinations showed that the price of increased strength was the depletion of one's lifespan. Their metabolism also became extremely rapid, causing them to age twice as fast as normal people!

Most bizarrely, their brains seemed to have undergone some kind of mutation. This mutation made their emotions extraordinarily sensitive, and the slightest disturbance could provoke them into a hysterical rage.

No one could remain rational after inhaling excessive amounts of Black Fog. Even ordinary people would become more agitated than usual after spending two hours in a misty environment, let alone those who had already spent nearly a week in this city shrouded in Black Fog.

Perhaps there was no one mentally normal left in this city.

As for Xu Zhi herself, she did not think her mental state was very good either. Otherwise, why would she want to kill someone?

She knew perfectly well that something was wrong with her. The biggest problem was that she did not think it was a bad thing. She even felt as if she had cast off some heavy burden and become more relaxed.

Even when the male voice outside had spoken just now, the thought that flashed through her mind had been: If he breaks in, how can I kill him?

Xu Zhi did not believe the person outside was a "good person" at all. She was certain that the boy harbored some evil intention and wanted to trick her into opening the door.

How did he know someone was inside this house?

Had he and his companions already set their sights on her?

Xu Zhi's mind was filled with these questions. She even began to think that the next time those people came, they would force their way inside and kill her!

"Was I this extreme before?"

No. A few days ago, she had only wanted revenge against her parents, perhaps by making their lives miserable or letting her younger brother experience her life. But today, those thoughts had gradually become more radical.

The girl sighed. If this continued, then even if she became powerful, she would only end up as the villain in a story.

Still, becoming a villain was better than becoming cannon fodder who died at the beginning of the story.

"I hope I can improve my strength and find a way out of here before I completely lose my mind."

Seventy percent of the Black Fog now occupied Cloud City itself, while only around thirty percent had spread across the rest of the world. The fog at ground level in the city was especially thick, like black tides. Anyone within it might not even be able to see the person beside them, and one deep breath of that fog could be enough to drive an ordinary person mad.

Under such circumstances, that boy still dared to claim he had come from the Affiliated Middle School.

Even if Xu Zhi had been completely clear-headed, she would never have given him any response.

But the boy's appearance did remind her of something. In this city, the danger was not limited to Aberration monsters. The humans who remained here would gradually become some unknown kind of threat as time passed.

This greatly intensified Xu Zhi's sense of urgency. She stopped letting her thoughts run wild and picked up the handheld console, intending to level up as quickly as possible. It was the only thing she could do right now.

After evolving, the little snake's strength increased again. The extra 50 Evolution Points from eating the eagle remained, and it now needed 200 Evolution Points to evolve to the next level.

[Current Evolution Points: 50/200]

[Your Familiar defeated an enemy stronger than itself, slightly accelerating its path of evolution. But good fortune will not always favor you! You must be more careful with every choice you make.]

[Now, it is time to make another choice.]

[1. Search for weaker prey. 2. Search for prey of similar strength. 3. Search for powerful prey.]

To Xu Zhi, this was not a choice worth agonizing over. She selected 2 without hesitation.

The little snake on the screen began moving again. At the same time, the already gloomy sky outside the window slowly darkened. Night had fallen.

This was the first time Xu Zhi had played for so long. She was a little excited. She raised her head and slowly stretched her shoulders and neck, which were tired from looking down for so long, then remarked that one advantage of this game was that she did not need to constantly operate it herself.

As the little snake in the game repeatedly defeated prey of similar strength, its Evolution Points soon reached 180. It was about to level up again when another line of text appeared.

[As Midnight approaches, the boundary between the past and the future emerges from the void. Power scatters across the world, waiting for someone to pick it up. But not now!]

[Your Familiar is not yet capable of walking through Midnight. Make it close its eyes and sleep as soon as possible. Do not look directly at anything shrouded in night mist. Do not expose yourself to Midnight.]

[Of course, if you wake early enough in the morning, you may find something else.]

[Now, it is time to rest.]

[Please choose: 1. Continue searching for prey. 2. Find a hidden place to rest.]

"Midnight?"

Xu Zhi selected 2 even as she wondered about it.

She was not someone who refused good advice. Besides, the Narrator had been guiding her all along. It was still too early to court death.

Once the game showed that the little snake had begun resting and the only remaining option was [Wake It], Xu Zhi controlled her wheelchair and prepared to rest as well.

But as she turned the wheelchair toward her bedroom, her gaze inadvertently swept past the window, and she saw something that startled her:

In the night, the black fog filling the street was churning like waves.

"..."

Xu Zhi fell silent for a moment. She thought, Is something about to happen again?

She sat by the window and stared quietly at the Black Fog for several minutes. Then she realized that even if something really was about to happen, she could do nothing about it right now, so she gave up on the pointless act.

Her body finally began to feel tired. After the little snake rested, sleepiness surged over her like a delayed reaction, as if someone had struck the back of her head with a club. If she did not rest soon, she might fall asleep directly in the wheelchair.

That would not do. She would definitely wake up aching all over.

With the resigned thought that she could not escape anyway if something happened, Xu Zhi even felt justified in lying down on the bed and closing her eyes to sleep.

She needed a wheelchair only because her body was too weak, not because she was disabled. Getting in and out of bed was still not a problem for her.

She set her alarm for five in the morning. It was nearly midnight now. In the past, sleeping only five hours a day would have been no different from killing her, but now Xu Zhi inexplicably felt that five hours might be enough.

—Ring! Ring! Ring!

At five in the morning, the alarm began to ring. Not long after it started, a pale, slender hand reached out from beneath the covers and turned it off. Then Xu Zhi slowly propped herself up with her hands. Though her thoughts were still hazy, she instinctively reached for the Game Console beside her pillow.

Only after seeing the [Wake It] option on the screen did Xu Zhi blink hard and force herself to wake up a little more.

She had never expected that one day she would become so absorbed in "playing games" that she would forget to eat and sleep.

She placed the pillow sideways against the headboard and leaned back against it. Then she pressed the confirm button on the Game Console.

[At dawn, you awaken your Familiar.]

[The power that does not belong to this world has just dissipated. Most creatures are still asleep. If you are lucky enough, you may find something. But you may also find nothing. If you choose to hunt, you can find many prey incapable of resistance.]

[Please choose: 1. Search for Midnight remnants. 2. Search for prey.]

"Is this what they mean by the early bird gets the worm?"

"No, it should be the early snake."

There was actually such a good opportunity in the morning. It seemed she would have to wake up at five every day from now on.

After considering it, Xu Zhi chose 1.

After all, the Narrator had hinted at it so clearly. Although prey that could not resist was tempting too, Xu Zhi was even more curious about what Midnight remnants actually were.

After she pressed the selection button, the little snake began wandering around nearby, seemingly searching for something. It searched for more than ten minutes before finally stopping in front of a strange plant.

It was a black dead branch growing out through a crack in the ground, only about half a meter tall and without a single offshoot. At the tip of the branch hung a black fruit the size of a human thumb.

[Your luck is unbelievably good. You actually found it. Although its concentration is not high, it is already extremely precious to you at this stage.]

Then, the only option appeared on the screen: [Pick It Up]

After Xu Zhi clicked it, the little snake approached the Black Fruit. Then the fruit disappeared, and a line of text appeared in the lower-left corner of the screen.

[A low-concentration unknown fruit]

[This item has been placed in the Player Inventory. Press the * key to open the inventory.]

"Huh?"

Something new had appeared. She actually had a Player Inventory?

Xu Zhi curiously pressed the * key to open it. The inventory interface was no different from the backpack interfaces in other games. At the moment, a single Black Fruit sat alone inside.

When Xu Zhi selected the fruit in the inventory, an option that shocked her appeared before her eyes.

[Feed to Familiar: Snake]

[Remove from game]

"...Remove from game? Does that mean what I think it means?"

Not remove from the inventory, but remove from the game?

Xu Zhi froze for several seconds, then cautiously selected the option to remove it from the game. Then—

A black fruit the size of a thumb appeared out of thin air before her and quietly landed on her blanket.

She had actually brought an item from the game into reality.