Xu Zhi maneuvered her wheelchair to the window and silently gazed out at the gloomy sky and the black mist spreading across the ground like a tide.

This was the seventh day since she had been abandoned, and also the seventh day since this city had fallen and been declared a locked-down zone.

All those who could leave had already done so, while those unable to escape remained. By now, the entire city had been sealed off, and no one could enter or leave the city anymore.

Aside from those who couldn't leave, everyone else had gradually evacuated, and by now, the entire city had been completely cordoned off, with no one able to enter or exit.

Reason told her that the disaster had struck suddenly, and it was right for her parents to only take her healthy younger brother, otherwise with her as a burden, they might all have been trapped in this "dead city." But she was only seventeen years old, abandoned by her entire family in this "dead city." How could she maintain her sanity?

This frail body did not bring her more care and love from her parents, but rather day after day of impatience and annoyance. They had never even intended to treat her illness, even when kind-hearted individuals had offered financial assistance, which was never used for her medical treatment.

If not for the constraints of the law, her parents would probably have abandoned her long ago, as they already had a healthy child. The law only required them to provide for her adequately, but in reality, they only needed to maintain a semblance of normality and ensure she wasn't abused or neglected during the occasional visits from welfare officials.

Now, with the world undergoing immense changes, this was a perfect opportunity, and so she was left behind without hesitation.

One might ask if she felt unbearable grief and disbelief?

That's not entirely true. Even without the disaster, she probably would have died soon after reaching adulthood. She could feel her body getting weaker and weaker. Having missed the opportunity for the lifesaving surgery due to the misuse of the donated funds, she knew she didn't have much time left. And once she was an adult, the federal oversight would no longer be as strict, so if she died from her illness, it would just be accepted as such.

So it was more of a feeling of "this day has finally come." Nothing hurts more than a broken heart, and numbness and hatred outweighed the heartache and sorrow.

The food left at home that could not be taken away was only enough for her to last about half a month. Once it was gone, the inevitable outcome waiting for her would be starving to death in her own home.

After all, times have changed, and this city is no longer safe. With her severe heart condition that requires her to rely on a wheelchair and her severely impaired hearing, she is considered among the "elderly, weak, sick, and disabled." Going out would likely mean death within an hour.

A year ago, this world suddenly saw the emergence of supernatural abilities, and people were immersed in the joy of acquiring them, unaware that it was merely a warning before a catastrophe.

A month ago, an abnormal change occurred. A dog of heaven devoured the sun, and a black mist descended upon the earth. Strange creatures emerged from the mist, possessing bizarre and insane abilities. Ordinary firearms were ineffective against them, and only those with supernatural powers could defeat them. However, humans who had only been in contact with the supernatural for a year could not possibly match their strength.

As humanity reached the brink of survival, the mist suddenly began to recede like a tide, flowing in one direction.

That direction was the city of Yun, where Xu Zhi resided.

According to observations, for unknown reasons, most of the mist would flow into Yun City within two days, making it a high-concentration mist-gathering area. In such an environment, even without the presence of strange creatures, it would be absolutely unsuitable for human survival.

Moreover, since strange creatures originate from the mist and thrive in it, Yun City would undoubtedly become a nest for monsters if no intervention occurred.

In response, the federal government urgently issued an evacuation notice, stating that all residents must leave Yun City within 15 hours. Following the evacuation, the city would be sealed off, and Yun City would become a forbidden zone for humans.

With only 15 hours, it was impossible to evacuate everyone in the entire city. It was estimated that there were still many "burdens" like her who had been left behind in the city.

However, Xu Zhi was not resigned to her fate. She refused to be abandoned and die unnoticed.

How could they have her born and then, because of her poor health, not bother to treat her illness or provide any care? Now that there's an opportunity, they simply discard her without even bothering to pretend. This behavior is unacceptable.

Xu Zhi realized that due to her chronic illness and exclusion by her parents, she might have some psychological issues. However, she didn't care about that.

Xu Zhi's beautiful yet frail eyes stared straight at the black mist outside the window, revealing an intensity and darkness that were not typical of her age. Her hand, resting on the wheelchair, tightened slightly. Due to malnutrition and anemia, her fingers were excessively slender and pale, with protruding bones and visible blue veins, giving them a somewhat frightening appearance.

She was clearly an unhealthy child, and anyone could see it with just a glance.

At the moment when Xu Zhi's sense of reluctance reached a certain intensity, the black mist outside suddenly surged imperceptibly for a brief instant. Immediately afterwards, a distinct clicking sound echoed through the empty living room, indicating that something had fallen to the ground.

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The young girl, lost in her thoughts, was startled by the sudden sound, her pupils contracting slightly. She quickly realized that something had fallen to the ground and released her clenched fist, placing her hand on the wheelchair's remote control to turn it around.

When she finally looked down and saw what had fallen to the ground, a look of surprise appeared on the young girl's indifferent face.

It was a black and white game console.

"When did we get a game console at home?"

No, that wasn't right. Xu Zhi was certain that there was no game console in her home. This point, she was absolutely sure of.

Alone in her home for almost a week, Xu Zhi spent most of her days in the living room, idly staring into space with nothing to do. During this time, she had never noticed a game console in the living room. This fact was indisputable in her mind.

This was something that suddenly appeared out of thin air.

After realizing this, the girl pursed her lips, feeling a bit confused and scared, but also mixed with curiosity and eagerness to try.

Knowing that Yuncheng had become incredibly dangerous, Xu Zhi realized that this suddenly appearing game console might be a hazard as well. But...

Since she was already a dying person, unlikely to survive past this month, Xu Zhi pondered why she should still be so cautious and cautious.

With this thought in mind, Xu Zhi's expression became calm. She maneuvered her wheelchair towards the game console and reached down to pick up the seemingly valuable handheld device.

Upon grasping the device in her hands, Xu Zhi felt a sense of confusion. How was she supposed to use this?

She had never played a video game before. Her only source of entertainment was the television, and that was only when others in the house were using it. Other than that, her only companions were textbooks. Unable to attend school like a normal person, she had to rely on self-study and whatever books she could find. Her parents never took the initiative to teach her or hire a tutor for her.

If her illness hadn't struck when she was in the fifth grade, when she had already learned some basic knowledge, Xu Zhi even suspected that her parents would have let her become illiterate.

The only person in the family who was slightly kinder to her was her younger brother, who would occasionally find time to explain math problems to her. However, her parents did not like their son spending time with her, considering her to be unlucky. Therefore, their relationship was not particularly close. She had to rely on old exercise books to study by herself, but her grades were not very good, hovering around the thirties and forties out of a full score of 150.

Yet, even with these limitations, learning was still a fascinating endeavor for Xu Zhi.

The girl, whose life was so barren, naturally had no idea how to operate a handheld game console.

Fortunately, before she could press any buttons, the screen of the handheld console suddenly lit up by itself.

A pixelated progress bar appeared in the center of the screen, and within five seconds, the loading process was complete.

The pixelated game scene depicted a gloomy sky, with a black sun acting like a pollution source, constantly dripping black liquid onto the world below. This scene served as the initial background of the game. Then, a line of text appeared in the center of the screen.

【From the primordial origins, all things are born from the sun, and all things perish in darkness.】

【As all things rotate, the old order and the ancient gods are buried by time. Now, a new order has emerged. Do you aspire to become the deity of this new order?

Do you have the courage to surrender your life and enter this forbidden conflict?

If you are ready, then, choose your spirit pet.】

With unwavering determination, Xu Zhi was not intimidated by the few lines of text. Somehow, despite the simplicity of just a pixelated background image and a short snippet of words, they imparted a profound sense of "reality" to her. It felt as if, if she were to click the "Confirm" button, she would truly embark on this journey.

"…It's actually quite interesting."

Paper Xu Zhi in his heart, then decisively clicked the "Confirm" button, entering the spirit pet belonging selection interface.

"【Since you haven't unlocked any levels of spirit pets, your initial choices are only random low-level creatures with weak vitality.】"

【Currently available options:】

【1. Frog (Lv0)】

【2. Snake (Lv1)】

【3. Sparrow (Lv0)】

Xu Zhi fell silent for a moment, thinking, "Is this all?"

Xu Zhi paused for a moment, gazing at the prompt indicating that higher-tier options were locked. She surmised that perhaps as she leveled up, more advanced tribal affiliations would become available?

"Now there's no need to hesitate about the choice. At least the snake is Level 1."

After making her selection, the pixelated black snake slightly enlarged, and a list of its attributes appeared in the center of the screen.

【Spirit: 1】

【Body: 3】

【Additional Attributes: None】

【Trait: None】

"It seems a bit weak..."

As the young girl spoke, the screen gradually dimmed, and then the game's visuals began to load.

When the screen lit up again, a pixelated snake appeared in the center. The game's visuals were also composed of pixels, but the perspective was strangely unique, seemingly rendered as a heat signature from the snake's viewpoint. The angle was low, and the distance was quite short, making it difficult for Xu Zhi to clearly see the surroundings.

In the bottom left corner of the screen was a line of prompts.

Subsequently, a row of black options appeared in the center of the screen.

【Please avoid dangers, find food, evolve, and survive in this dangerous land.】

【Current Evolution Points: 0/10】

Subsequently, a row of black options appeared in the center of the screen.

【This is a greenbelt in the park, and there seems to be no danger nearby.】

【Please select a direction to move: Forward, Backward, Left, or Right】

Seeing no imminent danger, Xu Zhi casually chose "Forward."

In the game's visuals, the black pixelated snake slithered forward. Shortly after, the first living creature appeared in the game's scenery.

Due to the heat signature perspective, Xu Zhi could only make out the general shape of the living creature, which was not difficult to identify as a frog.

【You have discovered a frog. Would you like to hunt it?】

There was no hesitation. Xu Zhi decisively chose "Yes."

As a result, in the game's visuals, the small black snake crawled silently behind the frog, and then decisively launched an attack, swallowing the small frog in one gulp.

【Hunt successful.】

【Current Evolution Points: 1/10】

The black snake in the visuals flicked its tongue, seemingly unsatisfied with this small prey.

【Please select a direction to continue moving forward.】

After navigating the safe greenbelt for quite some time, Xu Zhi only encountered five prey while controlling the small snake. After gaining a total of 6 evolution points, a prompt appeared in the center of the screen.

【Your spirit pet has run out of stamina and is temporarily unable to hunt. Please rest for two hours before continuing your activities.】

Seeing the prompt, the young girl frowned slightly. She was just getting into the game, and suddenly being held up by stamina constraints was intolerable.

"Alright, it's only two hours. I'll have lunch and then continue."

Preparing food for herself would indeed be quite troublesome, requiring a considerable amount of time.

After putting down the game console, Xu Zhi glanced at her watch and a puzzled expression appeared on her face. Unconsciously, she had been playing for almost two hours, completely absorbed in the game.

However, her energy level should not have been able to support such a long gaming session. Normally, even reading for half an hour would require her to take a break.

"Was I too engrossed?"

Moreover, even though it was past dinner time, she didn't feel hungry at all.

Due to her physical condition, any deviation from her regular meal and medication schedule would result in a debilitating weakness that seemed to radiate from every bone in her body, making it difficult for her to sit still or concentrate.

Yet, up to this point, she hadn't felt any discomfort.

Xu Zhi was acutely aware that something was amiss.