Qin Zhiyu frowned as she glanced at the area beyond the streetlight’s reach, thinking that the man who had chased after it was in for a rough time.
With just over three days left until the apocalypse countdown, had the mutations already begun?
During her First Playthrough, she had been on duty at this time, exhausted every day with no chance to observe the outside world, so she hadn’t noticed these changes.
This unexpected turn of events made the already tense atmosphere even more strained.
Several passersby nearby, whose genders were unclear in the dim light, offered no assistance. Instead, they tightened their coats and hurried away, eager to return home for a hot meal and sleep.
Qin Zhiyu didn’t linger either. Her palms, gripping the shopping bags, grew clammy with cold sweat as she quickened her pace, anxious to get home and test whether the system’s required Blood Sacrifice matched her expectations.
The usually well-landscaped residential complex now seemed fraught with danger.
Lost in thought, Qin Zhiyu suddenly heard a rustling sound beneath her feet. Startled, she felt something thick and cold wrap around her ankle, dragging her forcefully.
In that split second, her heart clenched. What was this? A snake? Or had someone set a trap?
“Ah!—”
With a tearing sound, Qin Zhiyu was dragged into the dense vegetation. Rough soil and sharp stones scraped against her back, causing intense pain.
“Oh no, why did that person suddenly fall? It looks like she was dragged into the bamboo grove!”
A woman on the roadside widened her narrow eyes in shock as she watched Qin Zhiyu being pulled away. She had never seen anything like it before. Worried it might be some kind of revenge plot and not wanting to get involved, she quickly left.
Qin Zhiyu curled her limbs tightly, protecting her head to avoid hitting more branches.
Two enormous umbrella-shaped mushrooms glowed with a purple fluorescence, while algae-like creatures the size of washbasins writhed with tentacles, emitting a bright green light.
One of the vines had dragged Qin Zhiyu, hiding among the tall shrubs. She had initially mistaken it for a snake, but it was a vine.
Struggling to keep her eyes open, she stayed calm and alert. The silver-green vine crept up from her feet, its binding force growing stronger as it tried to strangle her.
Being strangled to death was an ugly thought. As the vine continued to writhe upward, Qin Zhiyu gripped its base tightly, trying to stop its ascent, but she was still slowly being pulled toward the vine’s roots.
Looking at the root, as thick as three fingers, and with both legs bound, she knew she was on the verge of exhaustion. If she didn’t find a way to kill this vine soon, she would end up as its fertilizer.
Qin Zhiyu swung the live chickens, ducks, and fish she was carrying, aiming them at the vine’s root with precise, forceful blows.
The effects of her strength training became apparent. After a few strikes, fish scales and feathers flew everywhere. Thankfully, she had tied the beaks of the chickens and ducks beforehand—otherwise, their cries might have slowed her down.
She aimed the sharp, hard beaks at the vine’s stem. Under her relentless assault, they left a thumb-width gash, revealing a silver-green glow within.
Seeing the fingernail-sized glowing speck stained with blood, Qin Zhiyu guessed this might be what made an ordinary vine so extraordinary.
“No time to think!” she thought, closing her eyes and summoning all her strength from her core. She bent her body sharply and bit down hard on the vine’s root.
“Even if I lose a tooth, I’ll bite through you!”
Qin Zhiyu felt as if she had bitten into a sponge—soft yet incredibly resilient. Her teeth ached, and she had no idea how long she had persisted.
“Crunch.”
Qin Zhiyu vaguely sensed that she had bitten into a hard candy with a filling. A sour, astringent liquid flowed down her throat, and she swallowed desperately. She had to survive.
Qin Zhiyu held only one belief: she could definitely bite this tiny vine to death!
She had just obtained the system, and with the chance to change her fate right before her eyes, the future was filled with infinite hope. Nothing could stop her from surviving. She would live longer than she had in her First Playthrough!
Layers of dark clouds shrouded the sky. Even though it was autumn, by four in the afternoon, it was pitch black, impossible to see even an outstretched hand.
The dense dust was palpable even through an N95 mask. Fine particles of smoke were inhaled with every breath, placing a heavy burden on the lungs.
“Ugh, anyone would think I’d swallowed bitter gourd and lemon juice!”
Qin Zhiyu slowly opened her eyes, feeling her consciousness and Stamina gradually return. The force on her foot vanished, and she released her bite.
Frowning, she looked up at the sky. After staring for so long, her right eye throbbed with pain. For a moment, it felt as if countless scenes from the world flashed before her eyes, yet she was left bewildered and powerless.
[Ding—Cataclysm System activation successful.]
[System: Congratulations on defeating the “Mutated Parasitic Vine.” You have exceeded the requirements of [Blood Sacrifice], and the Cataclysm System is now officially activated!]
“It’s activated! I never thought this Blood Sacrifice method would actually work. This vine practically delivered itself as an offering!”
Qin Zhiyu smiled, looking at the activated system and the newly refreshed notifications with excitement. After all, this was one of her guarantees for survival in the apocalypse, and the more powerful it was, the better.
[Level: 1]
[Experience: 0/1000]
[Function: Replication (Locked)]
Three ordinary items can be replicated daily. Usable after the Heavenly Disaster arrives. Resets at 00:00 daily.
[Function: Reconnaissance (2/2)]
Since you unlocked the system activation method through Mutated Creatures Blood Sacrifice, the Reconnaissance function has been unlocked early, with an additional daily Reconnaissance quota of +1. Resets at 00:00 daily.
[System: You directly and brutally consumed the Crystal of the mutated vine. Due to the favor of the Goddess of Luck today, your body resisted the Mutation Toxin and received the significant reward of Constitution +5!]
Qin Zhiyu never expected her makeshift system to give her such a pleasant surprise. Replication*3, even if only for ordinary items, would be immensely helpful in the early stages of the apocalypse.
After all, it was the beginner phase—where would so many high-quality items come from?
Moreover, the system could level up, and its future abilities were bound to be even more extraordinary.
As for this Reconnaissance ability, during the Heavenly Disaster, there were many Mutated Creatures, Divine Relics, and useful resources.
With the means to conduct Reconnaissance, she could easily understand the full picture of resources around her that others would have to painstakingly explore through various methods or overlook entirely.
With just one Skill, requiring no effort beyond a cooldown point, it was undoubtedly a tremendous advantage! Who in the Heavenly Disaster wouldn’t covet such an ability?
Qin Zhiyu’s gaze fell on the last system notification, unable to suppress her excitement.
Fortune favors the bold!
[Constitution +5]—it couldn’t be more practical. Her starting point for surviving the Heavenly Disaster had just been raised!
After the Heavenly Disaster arrived, Constitution determined the base attributes different people possessed. Having a high Constitution not only increased one’s own Life, providing greater survival assurance—commonly known as a longer lifespan—but also significantly improved basic attributes like Strength and Agility, which was highly advantageous in the long run. How could this not excite her? If she didn’t jump for joy, it would only mean she was exceptionally composed.
She tore off the vines coiled around her body and sat on the ground, surveying her surroundings.
The sky was a dull gray. It was unclear how much time had passed, but the two basketball-sized mushrooms still glowed with a purple light. Combined with the color of the vines, they created an inexplicably beautiful sight in the night.
Chicken and duck feathers were scattered everywhere, and the fish tossed aside lay motionless, clearly having perished in the chaos of the earlier struggle.
The vines were also dead, their vibrant green color a testament to how vigorous their Life had been while alive.
“It seems they were most likely the overlords of this bamboo grove,” Qin Zhiyu mused.
By the light of the mushrooms, she fumbled for her phone in her pocket. 20:29.
From the time she woke up and recorded the First Playthrough to going out to buy fresh groceries, plus the round trip, it had taken less than two hours.
Looking closely, she noticed the bamboo had grown unusually thick. Bamboo like this was only found in the garden area northeast of the residential complex.
A sour, astringent taste lingered in her mouth, and her mask had long been torn off during the fight.
Observing the large mushrooms and thick bamboo around her, she felt these mushrooms were anything but ordinary—so large and glowing.
The surrounding environment was dry, not the rainy season, and there had been no recent rainfall, making it unsuitable for their growth. Yet, they had still mutated. After all the effort they put into growing so large, they had essentially paved the way for her benefit.
The Reconnaissance Skill had already been unlocked. Did that mean there were detectable Resources nearby?
She still had two chances left today, and they would refresh in a few hours. Why not give it a try?
Qin Zhiyu felt a surge of anticipation as she turned her gaze to the Reconnaissance button.
“Use one Reconnaissance?”
“Yes” or “No”
She selected “Yes.”
[System: You have used the “Reconnaissance Skill” for the first time, detecting Resources within a hundred-meter radius and obtaining a data resource map for a three-hundred-meter range. Cataclysm System Experience Points +10]
[System: You have detected “Mutated Euonymus Vine (Deceased)
” *1, “Nutritious Inflatable Mushroom” *2]
[System: Before the Heavenly Disaster officially descends, encountering Mutated Creatures allows you to choose to harvest them, which will be converted into Experience Points by this system.]
“Just as I thought! Since this skill was unlocked, it must have a purpose. I bet right!”
“Of course, harvest!”
Qin Zhiyu noticed new buttons had appeared on her system interface: [Bestiary] and [Resources].
The [Bestiary] contained colored illustrations of the two identified plants, along with detailed explanations of their uses and harvesting methods.
[Resources] displayed the entire area scanned by Reconnaissance as a coordinate graph with horizontal and vertical axes. Each location was marked with numbers indicating specific positions and names, appearing in her consciousness as a Two-Dimensional Map.
Qin Zhiyu opened the Bestiary.
Mutated Euonymus Vine: Possesses powerful parasitic and entangling abilities, making it difficult to eradicate once it has a host. The only way to harvest it is to obtain the Energy Crystal refined from its roots. Its flexible vines have a wide range of uses.
Nutritious Inflatable Mushroom: Originally an ordinary poisonous mushroom with the ability to make people “lie flat” after consumption, it evolved into its current nutritious variety to avoid being sucked dry by the climbing fig vine. The most direct way to obtain it—snap it off!