After venting her frustration, Zhang Qingfang lay exhausted on the floor, her expression settling into a deepening despair and sorrow.
Her rationality only made the harsh reality clearer.
"Hahaha! This f*cking game run by the higher-ups... to hell with it. I refuse to be a mere stepping stone for someone else."
Without hesitation, Zhang Qingfang slit her own throat. Blood sprayed from her severed artery, splattering all over Bai Xi.
The room fell silent. Bai Xi stood there quietly, looking at the blood pooling on the floor, and finally let out a sigh. At this moment, like most players, she resented the game but had no choice but to bitterly struggle for survival. She finally understood why those players acted with such reckless abandon.
Live for the moment.
After I die, who cares if the world burns.
Perhaps this was the mindset of many.
After a long while, Bai Xi seemed to come to terms with it. She sat down on the sofa, resting her feet on the coffee table, looking quite relaxed. The three fresh corpses in the room didn't dampen her mood in the slightest, nor did she seem to notice the thick stench of blood in the air.
She took out Zhang Qingfang's ring, turning it over and over in her hands, but found nothing unusual about it.
"What exactly is so special about this ring?" Bai Xi muttered to herself.
[Will the player submit the mission objective?]
The light screen appeared once more. Since she couldn't figure it out, Bai Xi didn't dwell on it. She tapped [Confirm] and submitted the ring.
After the ring vanished, a new notification arrived.
[Mission complete. Player Bai Xi has earned one lottery draw.]
Bai Xi claimed her mission reward, and the colorful roulette wheel materialized again. Following her usual routine of praying to her ancestors and her late grandparents for blessings, she tapped to draw. The wheel began to spin, eventually coming to a stop in the red zone.
[Congratulations, Player Bai Xi, for drawing a Red Reward. You have received 1 Comprehensive Attribute Point. This is a permanent enhancement. Please claim it promptly.]
"A Comprehensive Attribute Point?" Bai Xi was pleasantly surprised and overjoyed. "Grandpa, Grandma, you guys are the best! Love you, mwah!"
Thrilled, Bai Xi quickly claimed the attribute reward. In an instant, a refreshing wave washed over her, making her feel incredibly comfortable. She then checked her personal attributes.
———————————————
Bai Xi
Rank: C-tier Player
Points: 0
Lottery Draws: 0
Comprehensive Attributes: 66
Ability Level: Level 1 Spatial Ability (Storage Space: 2 cubic meters; Spatial Leap: 1 meter)
Items: Speed Boost Card x1, Invisibility Card x1, Item Card x1, Black Gold Dagger x1, Stamina Potion x1.
Status: None
———————————————
This time, the personal attributes lacked the detailed explanations from her first viewing, making the interface look much cleaner. Bai Xi inspected her body but couldn't spot any significant changes. Perhaps a one-point increase was simply too small to notice.
Checking the time, she saw it was already past nine, nearing ten o'clock. Outside on the streets, a few scattered individuals were out scavenging for food. It was time to leave. This place was far too dangerous.
She took out a rope and secured it to the balcony, slung her decoy backpack over her shoulders, and put on a pair of rubber gloves. Then, she rappelled down from the balcony. The third floor was only about five or six meters above the ground, and there was a green belt below, so the risk wasn't high. A skilled person could probably just jump straight down and be perfectly fine.
Clumsily, Bai Xi climbed over the balcony railing, gripped the rope tightly, and slowly slid down.
As she reached the first floor, a chorus of chittering and squeaking noises drifted out from inside the apartment.
"Holy sh*t!"
She glanced inside and was so startled that she nearly lost her grip and fell. A swarm of massive black rats had gathered at the window, piling on top of one another. With sharp snouts, razor-like teeth, dark fur, and bald, fleshy tails, they continuously bared their fangs at her.
Fortunately, the apartment's windows were tightly shut, and the exterior security bars were solidly welded, preventing the giant rats from squeezing through.
Suppressing the chills crawling up her spine, Bai Xi hurried down a bit more. When she was a meter from the ground, she just dropped down, quickly scrambled to her feet, and bolted out of there. That was terrifying. An entire room full of rats the size of adult cats? They would have gnawed her down to the bone! No wonder the death rate had been so high over the past two days. Who the hell could survive this?
Fortunately, for whatever reason, these creatures seemed to fear the light and rarely roamed outside during the day.
The residential complex had eight buildings in total. Bai Xi was in Building 3, which was relatively close to the main gate. A normal walk out would take about two minutes, but spurred on by the horrifying sight of the giant rats, she sprinted out of the complex in less than a minute.
Just as she neared the main gate, a somewhat familiar voice called out from behind her. "Miss!"
Turning around, she realized it was the girl who had asked her for fever medicine a few days ago. The girl ran toward Bai Xi with a joyful expression, accompanied by a little boy who looked about seven or eight years old.
"Miss, we meet again! Thank you for the fever medicine. My brother has recovered!" The girl looked so happy that her eyes curved into crescents.
"Thank you, Miss!" The little boy hid behind his sister, poking his small head out. He stared at Bai Xi timidly and thanked her obediently.
"I don't know anything about any fever medicine." Bai Xi remained highly vigilant and refused to admit she had given them anything. Who knew if this was some sort of trap? With the experiences from her previous encounters, she now looked at everyone with the suspicion that they were out to get her.
"Your scent was on the medicine box. I could tell as soon as I smelled it; my nose is very sharp," Tian Tian quickly explained. "Miss, we aren't bad people. Since the game started, you're one of the very few people we've met who didn't harbor any malicious intent toward us."
The little boy nodded as well. He looked at Bai Xi curiously and asked, "Miss, did you just kill someone?"
Bai Xi's guard went up even further. Bad guys never had 'I am a bad guy' written on their faces. Qi Yubin was the perfect example of that. Moreover, these siblings were extremely eerie! She hadn't even stepped out of her door back then, yet this girl could pick up such a faint scent. She figured the girl must possess a smell-based ability, and the little boy seemed to have a related one. They were quite the duo!
"It was just a box of medicine, no big deal. In an apocalypse, it's good to help out if you can."
Her words sounded polite, but Bai Xi immediately turned to leave. The siblings, however, followed her. Their speed seemed faster than hers, making it impossible to shake them off. After being trailed for several blocks, Bai Xi grew annoyed. She stopped and glared at the two of them.
"What exactly do you want? True, I have no ill will toward you, but I don't have any goodwill either. Let's just stay out of each other's way, okay?"
"Miss, my name is Tian Tian, and this is my little brother, Tian Mo. Let's form a team!" Tian Tian stated her intentions directly.
"Huh?" Bai Xi looked utterly bewildered. You could form teams in a survival game?
"Miss, is this your first round in the game?
"The game allows team formations. Each squad can have a maximum of five people and a minimum of three.
"Once a team is formed, the probability of teammates being assigned to the same round increases significantly. It's much safer to cooperate, and the survival rate is higher.
"We've been looking for someone to team up with, but the players we've run into have all been scumbags with vicious intentions," Tian Tian explained.
"Miss, let's team up!" Tian Mo tugged at the hem of Bai Xi's shirt pitifully, his wide eyes and round little face looking incredibly adorable.
"...You're that certain I'm not a bad person? I literally just killed someone."
Bai Xi suspected these siblings might be trying to scam her. Who asks to form a team right after meeting? She had no intention of getting so close to them.