A Way Out

A Way Out

The blood on Xu Zhi's body had already begun to congeal. The blood that had splattered across her face and hair when she slit the girl's throat made her uncomfortable, but Bloodlust's side effects had set in. All she could do now was slump in her wheelchair, unable to even lift a finger.

Xu Zhi watched the clock and counted the time. Just over ten minutes later, her condition had noticeably improved.

"Looks like the side effects last ten minutes."

Ten minutes was not a short amount of time. In a dangerous environment, it would be enough for her to die several times over.

"I can only see whether improving my physical condition and leveling up Bloodlust can reduce the effects of the side effects."

What mattered most now was figuring out what to do next.

The biggest problem was that the outside world was blanketed in Black Fog. Leaving the room was practically the same as walking into it. Though the room was not sealed, there was indeed far less fog inside than outside.

After killing that girl, a question had arisen in Xu Zhi's mind.

Ever since the city had been sealed off, she had not seen another human being. She did not know how quickly Black Fog eroded people's minds, but judging from the boy yesterday and the girl today, ordinary people in this city were probably already just like them, weren't they?

Yet no matter how she thought about it, Xu Zhi did not feel that she had been seriously corrupted.

Even when she washed up and looked in the mirror every day, she had never noticed anything wrong with her eyes.

Xu Zhi felt that she might possess a certain resistance to Black Fog. And judging from her miserable physical condition, that resistance must have existed before she obtained the Game Console.

Otherwise, she probably would not have survived until the day the Game Console appeared.

Previously, without any reference or comparison, Xu Zhi had not realized this. But now, she suddenly discovered that perhaps she possessed some kind of talent as well.

Perhaps the Game Console's sudden appearance by her side had not been an accident. At the very least, she must have possessed some trait that attracted it.

With that thought in mind, Xu Zhi decided to do something extremely bold.

Before that, however, she picked up the Game Console. The screen displayed the interface after the little snake's upgrade.

[Familiar: Snake Lv11

[Mental: 140

Physical: 560

Attribute: Blade

Traits: Toxin Lv5, Sharpness Lv3, Bloodlust Lv4, Cunning Lv2]

[Evolution Points: 700/1500]

Its Mental and Physical stats had increased. It was clear that after reaching level 10, each level brought far greater improvements than before, but nothing else had changed for the time being.

Xu Zhi was not disappointed. After she tapped confirm, a line of words appeared in the center of the screen.

[The world is unpredictable. You have realized that if you wish to survive, you must make certain changes.]

[You now understand what must be done and no longer require unnecessary guidance. From this point on, you will formulate and issue commands to your Familiar yourself.]

[Please note: Your Familiar's intelligence will continuously increase as its level rises. Most of the time, your commands do not need to be overly detailed. Your Familiar will complete them according to its own circumstances, unless there is something you specifically need it to accomplish.]

The text faded, and a virtual keyboard appeared in the center of the screen. Xu Zhi had barely used a computer before, so she slowly manipulated the Game Console's buttons, typing out a command letter by letter.

[Go to the old residential buildings behind the Bell and Drum Tower to hunt and gather intelligence.]

After she tapped confirm, the little snake set off.

The progress bar still showed seven hours. It seemed that gaining one level had not changed the idle time.

Xu Zhi then wheeled herself toward the window. Too much fog had accumulated throughout the city, making it difficult for her to tell what the weather was like today. Whether the sun was blazing or the sky was clear, everything looked perpetually gloomy beneath the Black Fog. Even through the window, she could see the black mist endlessly churning through the air.

Then Xu Zhi made a bold move. She extended her hand and slowly pushed open the glass window.

Black mist immediately slipped through the gap and into the room. Xu Zhi neither dodged nor avoided it, allowing it to rush at her face and enter her body with every breath.

This was excessively bold, but Xu Zhi believed it was necessary. No matter what, a group of abnormal people had set their sights on her. She currently had no ability to confront them head-on, so she had to leave this place.

And leaving meant coming into contact with Black Fog.

If she tested it voluntarily now, she could still do something about it if anything went wrong.

The girl sat by the window for a long time, continuously inhaling the dense fog, yet she felt no changes at all. She returned to the bathroom and looked in the mirror again. There was still no blackness in her eyes.

"As expected."

She truly possessed some resistance to the "mental contamination" within Black Fog. Otherwise, it would not make sense for everyone else to have gone completely mad while only her thoughts had begun to show problems.

"Wonderful."

That meant she could leave home and carry out her plan.

Xu Zhi first washed herself and changed into clean clothes, then began packing, deciding which things she needed to take with her.

Her home was not far from the Old Residential District behind the Bell and Drum Tower. Xu Zhi planned to get up at five in the morning and leave home for the Old Residential District.

First, one of her Familiars was there. Second, according to the game's previous narration, after Midnight, the monsters outside would fall asleep out of fear. At five in the morning, most of them had yet to awaken, making it a relatively safe time.

Furthermore, she had already sent the little snake to scout the Old Residential District. If nothing unexpected happened, she would have it come here as a guard and leave with her the next morning. With both Familiars by her side, her situation would be much safer.

Not long after killing someone, Xu Zhi had already arranged her way out perfectly.

After drying her hair, Xu Zhi ignored the corpse lying by the door. Instead, she picked up the Game Console and began upgrading her second Familiar.

Her time was extremely precious now.

At around ten-thirty that night, Xu Zhi had just raised Little Dog to level 7.

[Familiar: Dog Lv7

Mental: 20

Physical: 360

Attribute: None

Traits: Strength Lv4, Smell Lv3, Vigilance Lv1]

She looked at the Evolution Points required to go from level 7 to 8 and felt troubled. At this rate, it would take at least another three or four days to get Little Dog to level 10. It was far too slow.

Moreover, she needed Little One to serve as her guard and protect her on the way to the Old Residential District tomorrow morning. Having Little Dog search for black fruits alone depended too much on luck. If it was unlucky, it might find nothing all morning, wasting time for nothing.

When she desperately needed to strengthen herself, gambling on luck was not a wise choice.

Xu Zhi decided that tomorrow morning, she would have the dog hunt slightly stronger prey that was still asleep in order to accumulate Evolution Points.

The dog's Physical stat and Strength had improved significantly. If it launched a sneak attack, it might achieve unexpected results.

As for the black fruits, she would search for them after finding a new place to live and settling down.

Not long after she made her decision, Little One's seven-hour progress bar filled once more. Lying down, Xu Zhi tapped Little One's icon, ready to inspect the results of this idle run.