[Talent: Fated Hit (Sequence Eight)] "Return-Character Ledger (Sequence Nine): Creates personal information notebooks. All text and symbols in the notebooks are transmitted back into your mind. Multiple notebooks can be created simultaneously, with the number limited by your maximum mental capacity." "Ink Message Courier (Sequence Eight): Pages are no longer limited to physical notebooks. Individual sheets of memory stationery can be created and stored in other people's minds. Besides receiving transmitted text, you can also sense the emotional fluctuations of those holding the sheets."
A tall woman wearing glasses stepped out of the third awakened person's SUV.
Carrying a tiny burlap sack, she walked toward the boiling iron pot.
Purple rice grains streaked with faint gold went into the pot... Before long, the scent of a fall rice harvest drifted through the air, several times richer than the fragrance of ordinary rice.
Supernatural food really was terrifying... Su Nian caught a whiff of food engineering.
Could normal rice smell this good?
Su Nian swallowed instinctively. It was like being tempted by spicy strips when he was little-utterly irresistible.
He wanted a taste, but it was too expensive. Half his supplies.
Quite a few people began lining up beside the big pot, while others took out their own supplies and started eating.
Some dug wild vegetables out of the landscaping strips, such as dandelions, shepherd's purse, and cowherb.
Not everyone was willing to hand over half their supplies.
A middle-aged woman passed Su Nian with a bowl of porridge. At a glance, it looked like nothing more than a small bowl of purple water, without a single grain of rice in sight. Could it really keep someone full for at least eight hours?
[Purple-Gold Rice Porridge] [Type: Ingredient] "Details: A failed supernatural creation. Provides a strong feeling of fullness, but prolonged consumption causes osteoporosis."
Well, damn. Of course they weren't that kindhearted. There was something wrong with the porridge, but staying alive was what mattered most right now.
No one knew how long it would take to reach the next city. They needed enough supplies to survive, and that meant having plenty of stamina.
Su Nian stopped rationing his food. A full stomach would leave him better prepared for whatever happened.
"Zhouzhou, go pick vegetables in the fields later. Stay safe, don't argue with anyone, and keep an eye on the trike."
Ahead of Su Nian, a young man riding a motorized tricycle was giving his younger sister instructions.
"Grandma, be careful." A boy of fifteen or sixteen looked reluctant to let her go.
"Don't worry. You've seen me scramble for free eggs. This is nothing."
"Su, sorry for the trouble, but please watch the truck and our things." A dark, wiry man looked at the pregnant woman in a pickup.
The pregnant woman, named Xiaocui, supported her lower back and nodded. "Don't worry, Uncle Li. Be careful."
The dark, wiry man smiled, waved, then lowered his head and began drinking his porridge.
The pregnant woman hugged the young man beside her, locking her arms tightly around him.
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," the middle-aged man whispered comfortingly as he felt the dampness against his chest.
The convoy as a whole was divided into only two groups: awakened people and ordinary people.
But the ordinary people had their own groups too. They banded together for warmth, finding a little reassurance in this cold apocalypse.
Two hours passed in a flash, and quite a few people headed hesitantly toward the city.
Those with bicycles and pedal tricycles rode straight in, since they made little noise.
Fuel-powered vehicles had to remain outside.
Just then, Su Nian noticed the brother and sister with the motorized tricycle to his left.
The sister was scraping soot from the bottom of the pot and smearing it onto her brother's face and hands.
"Can I ask what the soot does?"
Su Nian spoke up.
The young man glanced at Su Nian and grinned, his teeth startlingly white against his soot-blackened skin.
"Soot can mask a tiny bit of the aura of the living. You can put some on too. It doesn't do much, but it's better than nothing."
"Thanks." Su Nian nodded, rubbed a few handfuls from the bottom of the pot, and smeared it over his face.
He also noticed Hao Ren and Gong Qing doing the same. Both had put on burial shrouds as well.
[Burial Shroud] [Type: Wondrous Item] [Details: A single-use item that perfectly conceals the wearer's aura of the living, reducing the likelihood of detection by ghosts. Warning: Do not get it wet.]
Su Nian took the firewood out of his tricycle to free up as much space as possible, strapped his dagger to his waist, and set off for Happiness County.
The city lay desolate and silent. Wind swept up ash and scraps of paper from the ground, wailing mournfully and carrying the putrid stench of dead plants and animals.
The ground looked as though it had endured months of relentless downpours. Its original color was lost beneath mottled stains.
More horrifying still were the human remains frozen in place along the streets.
Their bodies had the gray, lifeless texture of dry pottery clay, and every face bore the same frozen terror.
Some had fallen forward, arms still reaching futilely into empty space, their fingers twisted into claws.
Others had collapsed against walls or climbed utility poles to escape something... Their poses varied endlessly.
Ghosts had all sorts of ways to "eat." Some consumed flesh and blood, while others absorbed only the human "essence of life."
Some preferred tearing out hearts and lungs.
Large patches of light flickered in the shadows-the same glow he had seen from the outskirts.
It came from mushrooms with red caps and white stems.
[Shadow Mushroom] [Type: Ingredient] [Details: A mushroom that grows in dark places. Crisp and tender, with delicious flesh. Nontoxic.]
Su Nian was targeting the small shops lining the streets. He had no intention of heading into the county town's center. If he ventured too deep, he might not be able to escape.
Besides, finding supplies and being able to carry them away were two different things.
Bathed in sunlight, Su Nian rode over peeling patches of moss on the road. Soon, a Family Portrait Supermarket came into view.
Through the glass windows on either side, he could see plenty of supplies inside. More importantly, the door wasn't locked.
Breaking in would make noise and invite unnecessary trouble. An unlocked place like this was ideal.
A gray-haired old woman, two middle-aged women, and a scrawny young man had also set their sights on the supermarket.
A decent lineup. If danger struck, he only needed to outrun them.
Just then, a kindly-looking old granny carrying a bamboo basket walked out.
"Come on, everyone! There are so many supplies inside. I can't carry them all by myself."
The old woman's face lit up, and she hurried over, afraid everything would be taken before she got her share. The two young men refused to fall behind either.
"Come along, young man. There are lots of supplies in here." The granny beckoned, her gentle voice full of temptation.
An illusory five-pointed star settled on the granny's kindly face.
[Basket Granny, Ruin-Frame Ghost] [Ghost] [Killing Rule: Agreeing to her request or making a trade with her immediately marks you, triggering the killing condition. If you ignore her completely or refuse to speak to her, she will follow you closely.]
A chill shot through Su Nian's heart. He promptly turned around and left, pedaling furiously.
The system notification sounded a beat late.
[Ding. Spend 308,000 survival points to upgrade Basket Granny, Ruin-Frame Ghost?]
"System, don't ask such presumptuous questions again." Su Nian cursed inwardly.
Before you continue