Chapter 8: Special Item Drop, Departure
[Your companion has completed a long solo hunt. Below is the list of its hunting gains.]
[Evolution Points: 1700/1500]
[Trait Improvement: None]
[Special Item: Attribute Core +1]
[Due to your companion being injured, it can set out again after evolving or resting for six hours.]
There are still 700 Evolution Points left, meaning that this time, Yi only earned 1000 Evolution Points from the hunt, a bit less than last time. No trait improvement either, and it got injured. But…
Xu Zhi’s gaze landed on the Special Item section.
“Is it because of this energy core?”
An unfamiliar object. Could this be the reason Yi’s haul was less than last time?
Xu Zhi opened the game inventory and indeed found a small gray crystal. It was tiny and looked somewhat like a broken diamond. Unlike a diamond’s dazzling sparkle, it just flowed dimly with gray light.
She selected the core, and a single word appeared next to it: [Moth].
[Congratulations, you have obtained your first Attribute Core. Now, you might want to know more about it?]
[Please choose: Yes, No]
“Attribute Core?”
Xu Zhi immediately thought of the attributes both of her companions had, and both of them were [Blade].
Xu Zhi clicked “Yes,” and the next line of text quickly appeared in the center of the screen.
[Everything has traits and affinities. These can be generally referred to as: Attributes.]
[Energy naturally also has attributes. All exotic monsters may produce energy cores of corresponding attributes in their bodies. The stronger the monster, the higher the possibility of such cores forming.]
[Attribute cores are precious. They involve an unspeakable secret and divide formless power, allowing it to descend into the mundane world, no longer remaining high and mighty.]
[There are eight main attribute categories. All creatures are drawn to the attribute that best matches their affinity. You have obtained the Moth core. Is it drawing you in? Or are you drawing it in?]
As this passage faded, another option appeared.
[Would you like to briefly understand the Moth attribute?]
Xu Zhi looked at the word [Moth] and was somewhat perplexed. She was indeed in urgent need of an explanation.
When she pressed confirm, the narration appeared again.
[Moth: Wild and dangerous, it is the principle of chaos and longing.]
[Moth represents change, imagination, irrationality, intuition, search, chaos, longing, passion, nature, and the rules of the forest. It relates to forgetting and discarding unnecessary things. Its features lie in secretive, unstable behavior.]
[You have briefly understood the Moth attribute. Other attributes will be unlocked when you obtain corresponding attribute cores. As for the exact effects of attribute cores, please explore on your own.]
“Is that it?”
Xu Zhi couldn’t help but voice her confusion, but the narration gave no further explanation.
The girl’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she looked at the description of [Moth] on the screen, indicating her inner unrest.
At first, she subconsciously felt that everything related to [Moth] had nothing to do with her. After all, she had always been a well-behaved, obedient, and repressed child. But then, as she thought about it, she realized it actually fit the person she had become.
Or rather, it fit her inner self, not her outward appearance.
Now, she would take dangerous actions based on intuition and speculation. Since being trapped in this dead city, her thoughts had been constantly changing. Her ideas were unstable, and even her behavior was not entirely rational. Killing that girl—though she couldn’t even be considered a person anymore—barely a day had passed, and when Xu Zhi thought back, the fear was almost gone. What she could remember was only the excitement and intensity of that moment.
She thought of a line from the narration: Is it drawing you in? Or are you drawing it in?
Xu Zhi’s gaze lifted slightly, no longer looking at the game screen. In fact, these past few days, she had occasionally felt a strange, unexplainable change happening to her in this empty house, this abnormal city. But before now, she hadn’t seriously analyzed the changes within herself. It was only now, when the narration suddenly cut through, that she realized—within just a few days, she had become someone else.
No, wait. It’s been her all along—the repressed her and the one gradually releasing her true nature.
Upon realizing this, the girl smiled.
She was already beautiful, with a cold, detached beauty. Her pupils were a pale amber, exuding a natural sense of distance and mystery. But her overly thin body and pale face added a bit of gloom. Cheap, outdated clothes hung loosely on her, and her unkempt hair had a slight yellowish tint. A glance at her, and it was clear she was malnourished.
She resembled a fragile piece of glassware—still holding on to an outwardly exquisite appearance due to her natural beauty, yet cracked and broken inside, walking on the verge of shattering. It was as if one step closer, and you could hear the sound of her breaking apart.
But no matter how rough she seemed, her smile was still beautiful, and at this moment, it carried a kind of clarity she had never had before, even causing the sickly aura around her to fade somewhat.
Xu Zhi suddenly didn’t care so much about being abandoned by her biological parents anymore. This didn’t mean she had let go or forgiven them, but that she had finally fully realized who she was and what she should do. A person like her didn’t need to be constantly bound by those grievances and sorrows. There were far more important things to focus on.
If they were ever to meet again, she would still take revenge for being abandoned. She would never forgive those who betrayed her, no matter how many reasons or excuses they had.
But that was all. She no longer needed to let that occupy more of her time and energy, or waste any more emotions.
Simply being exposed for the true self she had been hiding, Xu Zhi felt she had undergone a complete transformation.
From this day on, she would say a definitive goodbye to her past. The demands and rules her parents had repeatedly drilled into her were now viewed as [unnecessary things], which she would discard without hesitation.
Even her parents were now included.
As if her mood could affect her body, Xu Zhi felt that, at this very moment, her body seemed to lighten a little.
At that moment, a line of text suddenly appeared on the game screen.
[You have undergone a transformation. You have lost some things, but you have gained others.]
When Xu Zhi picked up the game console again, she saw this message.
“…What riddle person?”
The girl was silent for a moment before switching the interface to Yi.
The accumulated evolution points could be used for another upgrade, but since midnight was approaching, Xu Zhi first made Yi come over. Before midnight arrived, she planned to have Yi upgrade, then let it rest afterward. After making sure the little dog found a safe spot to rest, it was finally Xu Zhi’s turn.
“….Why does this feel like work?”
The girl muttered to herself, pulling the blanket over her as she complained, then set the alarm before falling into a deep sleep.
When the alarm went off, Xu Zhi struggled for a moment before crawling out of bed.
She quickly took out the game console to wake up her two companions, arranged for the little dog to hunt, and then had Yi come to her door.
Before she pushed the suitcase on the wheelchair to open the door, Xu Zhi was still a bit nervous.
This was her first time meeting her companion!
In the game, even though she knew Yi’s size was already comparable to that of a python, it had always been on a palm-sized screen, and it was a pixelated game, so it didn’t feel real at all.
But now, she was going to see a real snake! A giant python, at that!
With a mix of curiosity and excitement, the girl opened the door. When she finally saw the black snake coiled outside the door, she let out a deep sigh of relief.
She had worried—what if the in-game map modeling was exactly the same as in reality?
But now that it had come to this, even if there wasn’t a companion escort, she had to take the opportunity, when everything was asleep, to leave.
Thankfully, the worst-case scenario didn’t happen. Her companion truly existed in reality.
Even though it had been less than 24 hours, Xu Zhi could already smell the stench coming from the body nearby.
Unfazed, she stepped out the door and glanced at Yi, who was probably about five or six meters long. She didn’t feel scared, and instead, she felt a bit of warmth from the presence.
However, seeing Yi’s gaze fixated on her, Xu Zhi seemed to sense its eagerness to be close to her. For some reason, it didn’t dare approach directly but instead stared at her with its elongated pupils, seemingly yearning for closeness. If Xu Zhi hadn’t sensed this, she might have thought Yi saw her as prey.
“Strange feeling, but not a bad thing.”
Yi was a snake, and even though it was a large python, Xu Zhi still didn’t know how to ask it to carry her luggage, so she had to do it herself, putting the suitcase on the wheelchair.
Fortunately, after Yi’s recent upgrade, her body had been nourished somewhat, and she could walk short distances now. Otherwise, even if she wanted to leave, she wouldn’t have had the strength to run.
However, Yi had a different perspective. The black snake’s tail moved slightly, easily lifting the suitcase off the wheelchair and placing it behind itself. It even flaunted by tossing the suitcase lightly into the air with its tail, then catching it smoothly.
This surprised Xu Zhi greatly, and she quickly shouted, “Stop! I know you’re strong, but there are fragile items in there! Don’t break them!”
The girl looked somewhat speechless, probably not expecting her companion to be so “immature.”
However, now that Yi had reached level 12, its stats had changed. Its physical stats were now at 640, and its mental stats were 160. A suitcase wasn’t going to be a problem for it.
The elevator in the apartment still worked, probably because the backup power hadn’t run out yet. Xu Zhi pressed the floor button and comfortably sat back in the wheelchair.
Why stand when she could sit? Especially since her body wasn’t in the best shape!
The wheelchair was faster than her walking anyway.
While waiting for the elevator, Yi would occasionally make hissing sounds, and Xu Zhi felt that the creature was purposely trying to get her attention. Although she didn’t hear the noise, she could almost sense the emotions radiating from it. It was simple and easy to understand, and if it were to be put into words, it would be: Look at me, look at me, look at me, come close, come close, come close.
To be honest, it was quite childish and a bit noisy.
Xu Zhi never imagined she would one day think that a snake that couldn’t speak was so noisy.
So, snakes are this lively and clingy by nature?!
She tolerated it. After all, it was her first time meeting her companion, and emotional excitement was understandable.
Then she felt something cold, with a slightly slippery texture, brush past her ankle. Startled, it sent a wave of goosebumps down her back.
No doubt, that was the snake’s tail.
A vein throbbed on Xu Zhi’s forehead as she couldn’t take it anymore. She turned to look at the black snake and asked, “What are you doing?”
The black snake stared at her, slightly tilted its head, and innocently hissed.
Ding!
The elevator arrived, and Xu Zhi sighed, looking at Yi with a helpless tone. “You can’t just touch me like that. Do you understand? It’s really scary!”
The black snake hissed again, looking a bit wronged but still nodded in a surprisingly human-like manner.
Seeing this, Xu Zhi finally controlled the wheelchair and entered the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened on the first floor, a thick black mist poured in through the gaps.
As Xu Zhi wheeled herself out of the apartment, she could see nothing but the black mist and the blurry shapes of buildings. Beyond five meters, even the buildings were indistinguishable.
Xu Zhi understood through the game’s perspective that her companion’s eyes could see much better than a human’s in the black mist. Yi, having leveled up, could now see far distances. She turned to the black snake and said, “Yi, lead the way, keep alert nearby.”
With her first companion by her side, Xu Zhi stepped into the black mist for the first time.
