Chapter 67: Midnight and the Lantern
Before opening the selection menu, Xu Zhi had already guessed that some unusual new familiars might show up this time. She already had an aberrant being, so some strange ones wouldn’t be surprising anymore, right?
Still, she hadn’t considered choosing any aquatic creatures. After all, Yun City was deep inland, without even a few major rivers—sea creatures or aquatic predators would be completely useless here.
So those options could be set aside. For now, what mattered was expanding her familiars’ capabilities.
However, when Xu Zhi opened the selection screen, an unexpected prompt appeared:
[Do you need to make this decision so soon?]
[Your next opportunity to choose a familiar will not come for quite some time. You should be more cautious.]
“Hm?”
Xu Zhi frowned at the message. “Isn’t it triggered when I raise a new familiar to level 20?”
[As the life level of potential familiars increases and your own strength grows, the requirements to unlock new familiars will also rise.]
“So if I don’t choose now, will I get better options later?”
[Your path differs from that of other Awakened. Your familiars have evolved along a new branch. As of now, you are already closer to Midnight.]
[Perhaps, you only need one more item to step fully into Midnight.]
[When you witness Midnight’s true form for the first time, some beings will become aware of your presence. You will be drawn into a deeper storm, where danger and opportunity coexist—and with that, your options will also multiply.]
[You may even gain their favor.]
“What are you even saying?” Xu Zhi frowned. “Can you speak in plain language for once?”
“So, what’s the item I need?”
[An item that can offer you protection in Midnight. For example, a lantern.]
“Definitely not an ordinary lantern, right?”
[Of course not.]
[Go to the Forging Interface. Insert 10 high-level cores with the ‘Lamp’ attribute, and you will receive a material list. Collect all listed materials to forge this lantern.]
“A new feature? Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”
[You previously lacked the high-level cores needed to unlock it.]
“…Fair enough.”
Xu Zhi twitched the corner of her mouth. Ten high-level cores just for a recipe list?!
This was daylight robbery!
“But why ‘Lamp’ attribute cores? Why would those unlock the recipe?”
She questioned this as she fed the cores in. From the Narrator’s earlier explanation of attributes, she figured maybe ‘Inspiration’ or ‘Forge’ would be more fitting—since ‘Inspiration’ implied opening or revealing, which would make sense for accessing a recipe.
She expected a proper response. Instead, the screen flashed an unexpected line:
[Why do you ask so many questions?]
Xu Zhi: “…Did you just complain about me being annoying?”
[Forging Blueprint Unlocked: Lantern]
[Required materials: Branches from a level 25 aberrant, 2 moths, snakeskin, a bird feather, and a spider’s web.]
“…This list is suspiciously tailored,” Xu Zhi muttered.
Well, everything except the spiderweb.
Even without thinking hard, it was obvious this referred to mutated spider webs. From the rest of the ingredients, she could already tell what kind of game this was.
“But why are you ignoring my questions now?”
[…]
[Please focus on collecting the required materials. Even with all of them, forging success is not guaranteed. Prepare backups.]
Reasonable enough—Xu Zhi had virtually no forging skills.
So, where could she find a mutated spiderweb?
She was already planning a long expedition, so she could search while she traveled.
After some thought, Xu Zhi picked a direction that her familiars hadn’t explored yet. She threw the withered-branch aberrant in the passenger seat, let Zhen circle above the car scanning for mutated spiders or humans, had Gouzi curled up in the backseat, and let Yi take bracelet form on her wrist.
Driving toward the unknown, Xu Zhi casually tossed a few ‘Cup’ attribute cores into the front seat—for the little aberrant to absorb, since it still needed some growth to reach level 25.
She also decided to wait until she’d seen Midnight’s true face before considering any trades with the outside world.
“Oh, right—do I have to enter a building at night? Or can I sleep in the car?”
Looking at the game screen up front, she quickly received a reply:
[For now, you must be inside a building.]
“Well, alright.” So the car couldn’t serve as a shelter. Not too surprising.
Xu Zhi didn’t drive fast—she wasn’t in a rush, and she was also searching for people and materials. Each night, she’d pull over by the roadside and find an empty house to stay in temporarily.
It wasn’t until the third morning that, under Zhen’s guidance, she found signs of life.
The old residential district was southwest of Yun City’s third ring road. Now she had driven north along the ring, nearing the countryside. People were scarce here, but there was more open land, and the buildings looked much older.
She found the signs of life near a self-built Western-style house—almost at the edge of the national highway. The architecture wasn’t dense here, and unlike the southern mountains, the land was flat. Any movement was easy to detect.
Xu Zhi drove straight up to the house. Upon hearing the engine, the residents came out.
Leading the group was a short-haired girl, surrounded by four or five differently colored mutts that bared their teeth at the car. She held a homemade shotgun. Behind her came six middle-aged men and women, each holding a blade or a hoe.
Didn’t look like cultists.
Xu Zhi told Gouzi to stay in the car. She got out unarmed and raised her hands in a calming gesture toward the wary group. “Don’t be afraid. I just saw people here while passing by and wanted to ask a few questions.”
Then she looked at the dogs and the girl they surrounded. “Are those your dogs? Impressive. I have a dog too.”
Since Yun City’s fall, Xu Zhi hadn’t seen any normal animals. These mutts had survived without mutating?
No—perhaps it was someone’s supernatural power keeping them that way.
But her casual remarks didn’t ease the group’s tension. If anything, they looked more guarded.
“Where are you from? What do you want to ask?”
Xu Zhi felt something was off. Caution was natural, but this was too intense—especially when she mentioned wanting information. Their nervousness was barely hidden.
Something was definitely wrong.
