Countless gray moths fluttered around her, scattering gray powder from the air. In a daze, Xu Zhi felt as if she had moved closer to the distant flame in the sky.

In reality, it was a distance change that was difficult to perceive with the naked eye, but somehow, Xu Zhi felt as if she had moved closer.

She subconsciously wanted to take a few more steps forward, to get closer, but as soon as this thought arose, she immediately recalled the repeated warnings she had given herself before consuming the cores: 【Stay rational.】

Xu Zhi snapped out of the trance of wanting to approach the flame and realized that she was standing on a gray aerial pavilion. The path beneath her feet was made up of countless dead moths, and if she had taken one more step forward, she would have fallen from the air.

It was at the moment when Xu Zhi fully regained her consciousness that she escaped from the enchanting dream.

Upon waking up, Xu Zhi found herself unable to empathize with why she had been so fascinated by the flame earlier.

"That was really dangerous,"

Xu Zhi habitually raised her hand to rub her temples, calming her thoughts for a moment before continuing to read the book on the table.

However, after reading for less than half an hour, she suddenly heard some strange sounds coming from outside...

Someone was shouting through a megaphone, the voice was somewhat distant and indistinct, but it was gradually getting closer, sounding similar to the notifications broadcast by the neighborhood committee on a vehicle in the past.

If this sound had occurred half a month ago, it would not have been anything unusual, but now, upon hearing it suddenly, it is indeed quite startling.

"Who's so bold?"

Most humans who are still alive nowadays are living with their tails between their legs. Who dares to be so brazen and make such a commotion?

Unless... the one making the noise is not human.

Xu Zhi arched her eyebrows slightly, put down the book, and walked to the window. She didn't open the window, but instead listened carefully with her ear pressed against it.

The sound from the loudspeaker outside gradually became clearer, indicating that the source was indeed approaching the old residential area. Xu Zhi heard every word of the announcement being broadcast through the loudspeaker.

"Attention all surviving citizens! We have been abandoned in this city, with no water or electricity, and under the threat of mutated animals and monsters. Humans cannot survive without unity!"

"The teachers of Yuncheng High School have joined together with the students still remaining here to establish a survivor base. The school cafeteria has ample food supplies, and among the students, there are exceptional individuals capable of venturing out to search for resources and protect everyone!"

"Yuncheng High School welcomes every single human who is still alive, without charging any fees. We hope that those who hear this broadcast will understand that in times of crisis, we must support and help each other!"

It was this message that was repeatedly broadcasted by the loudspeaker, and the vehicle carrying the loudspeaker slowly circled the neighborhood and then left, presumably heading to the next location for promotion.

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"Ha." Xu Zhi stood at the window and let out a short, somewhat sarcastic laugh.

This was no survivor's base, but rather a trap prepared by the demons.

However, there might still be some people who would fall for it. After all, the disaster had only occurred for less than a month, and many people were still hiding in their homes, their thinking had not yet shifted. At this moment, upon hearing such a broadcast, there might be some foolish individuals who would treat it as a lifesaving straw.

The broadcast targets those who are overwhelmed by fear and desperately seeking to gather with their own kind.

Even those who are not usually so foolish, after spending too much time in the mist and having their minds affected, may overlook the danger and blindly pursue the sense of security provided by the so-called survivor base.

It would be more accurate to say that those who remain at home after hearing the announcement from this vehicle and decide not to go to Yuncheng High School can be considered as individuals who can maintain their sanity in the midst of the fog.

"Are those maniacs aiming to capture a group of people who cannot fully maintain their rationality yet are still considered normal?"

Xu Zhi felt uneasy, as she could not fathom the reason behind the extreme hatred towards living humans displayed by these maniacs.

What could they possibly gain from killing normal humans? Or perhaps they had simply lost their sanity due to the influence of the fog and were driven to kill indiscriminately?

What would happen after they killed this wave of people?

Xu Zhi did not believe that these maniacs would let the other surviving humans go unharmed. She had no intention of saving anyone or interfering with those who fell for the trap. However, she was disturbed by the fact that there had been mysterious gatherings of unknown creatures in the city center recently, and now these maniacs were hunting and killing humans nearby.

No!

Xu Zhi's expression turned grim, and she thought to herself that she had to find an opportunity to eliminate this group of maniacs.

She knew that she couldn't escape forever. No matter where she went, she would still be within the confines of this locked-down city.

As for expecting someone to stand up and solve this trouble... that's even more of a pipe dream.

Xu Zhi understood perfectly well that in this world, there was no one else she could rely on but herself.

"Let me think..."

She briefly assessed the current situation and realized that her only advantage was her spiritual pets. If she wanted to deal with the madmen in the affiliated high school, she probably had to rely on her spiritual pets to do it.

But she only has two spiritual pets, while the number of madmen is unknown...

Xu Zhi blinked and a preliminary plan began to form in her mind.

"I'll go talk to the neighbors upstairs tomorrow and propose a new deal."

Her plan would require the assistance of the neighbor upstairs in order to be successful.

She couldn't afford to delay her actions, as she wasn't sure if the maniacs were simply killing indiscriminately or had some other ulterior motive.

If they could indeed enhance their abilities by killing humans, then leaving them unchecked would only lead to more trouble in the future.

"Ah..." Xu Zhi sighed.

The only consolation now is that her spiritual pets will gain evolution points by killing those madmen, and quite a lot of them.

But they seem not to drop attribute cores, or perhaps the enemies they've encountered and killed so far haven't reached the level of strength where they would drop such cores?

"Maybe I can figure this out in the process as well."

She'd be in a better mood if her opponent would pop some cores.

With her mind made up, Xu Zhi shifted her attention away from the window and continued to refine her plan in her mind while reading.

By nightfall, when the two spiritual pets finished their second round of hunting and she counted their spoils, she discovered that they had unexpectedly brought back six attribute cores this time.

Four of the cores were hunted by Xiao Yi, while the dog only contributed two.

This was understandable, as weaker mutated animals did not produce attribute cores.

However, among the six cores, not all of them were of the 【Blade】 or 【Moth】 attributes. There was also a pale pinkish red core.

"A new attribute?"

At this moment, a new attribute core is not as valuable as an additional [Blade] attribute core.

The new attributes currently only serve her in acquiring knowledge and storing them for her spiritual avatar. Even more disappointing for Xu Zhi was that neither of the two spiritual pets had gained enough evolution points to level up, and the three 【Blade】 attribute cores they brought back this time were not enough to level up Xiao Yi even if they were all fed to him. "Looks like I can only hope to find a black fruit tomorrow morning," she thought.