Bai Yi treaded cautiously through the muddy ground, his boots crushing the decaying leaves and newly sprouted mushrooms in the underbrush.
He had been wandering outside for hours with nothing to show for it. Not a single animal, not even a piece of crude iron.
"Awooo—"
Amidst the creaking sounds, he heard a piercing wolf howl from the woods to his left. Bai Yi's heart stirred, and he slowly crept towards the source of the sound.
He saw two gray wolves tearing into a pure white counterpart.
The white wolf's abdomen had been slashed open by claws, leaving a half-meter wound with its intestines dragging in the pile of decaying leaves. Yet it still used its front paws to fiercely press against the attacking gray wolf's throat. Its left eye was blind, and the right eye was crusted with blood, but a flame of anger burned in its dark golden pupils.
"Are these the two gray wolves that escaped before?" Bai Yi dodged behind a tree, planning to be the one who reaps the benefits.
The wolf's howl suddenly intensified. The white wolf finally couldn't hold on and was flipped to the ground, one of the gray wolves' fangs piercing its throat.
Blood sprayed half a meter high from the artery, forming a bizarre red ribbon in the mist.
Seeing the white wolf dead, the two gray wolves were about to feast when Bai Yi's gun barrel emerged from the bushes.
Bang! Bang!
[Shepherd's Mercy (Damaged)] [Durability: 3/5]
The frequent practice paid off; the bullet precisely blew off one wolf's skull, while another bullet lodged in the shoulder blade of the other gray wolf.
The injured beast howled and lunged, Bai Yi swung his saber upward. The Tang Saber sliced through the white mist, the cold light clashing with the wolf's claws, the vibration from the blade numbing his grip.
Before the gray wolf could react, he raised his gun again.
Bang!
This time, Bai Yi aimed for the gray wolf's torso to avoid missing.
[Shepherd's Mercy (Damaged)] [Durability: 2/5]
The roaring bullet tore a bloody hole in the gray wolf's body. At this moment, the gray wolf recognized the man in front of it as the butcher who slaughtered its kin days ago.
It wanted to flee, but its body was frozen in place. (Each bullet has a 5% chance to trigger "Wail of Pain," causing the target to be immobilized for 1 second.)
Bai Yi walked up to it expressionlessly, reversed his grip on the Tang Saber, and plunged it into the gray wolf's neck, then pulled, severing half of the wolf's head from its body.
"I almost forgot this gun had a skill!"
Bai Yi chuckled; a 5% chance was indeed too low. As he collected the corpses, he muttered to himself.
He found himself increasingly talking to himself lately. When he was a vegetative patient, it didn't matter that he couldn't speak.
Now that he could talk, there was no one around to listen, so he could only talk to himself.
"This white wolf looks so majestic, it would be great if I could keep one."
Standing before the white wolf's corpse, Bai Yi said this, but he had no real intention of keeping one; otherwise, he wouldn't have waited for the white wolf to die before coming out.
Keeping a wild beast might be cool, but it eats raw meat and doesn't understand human speech. What if it turned on him one day?
Dragging the three corpses back to the yard, Bai Yi suddenly heard a faint whimper behind him. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
He saw the white wolf's paw twitching in the pool of blood, the fatal wound on its throat had stopped bleeding, it was still alive!
"What a tenacious life!" Bai Yi aimed the Tang Saber at the wolf's head, intending to finish it off.
"Too bad you can't understand human speech, otherwise I really would like to keep one."
Just as the Tang Saber was about to fall, the blood-stained wolf head suddenly nodded twice with force.
Bai Yi's hand shook, almost dropping the Tang Saber:
"You can understand?"
The white wolf nodded again.
"Hey, that's really something!" Bai Yi's interest was piqued.
"Swear allegiance to me and I'll save you." He squatted down and poked the wolf's ear, his fingertip touching the cold blood.
The white wolf used its last bit of strength to nod its head, it was truly on the brink of death.
...
"If you dare bite me, I'll turn you into wolf meat hotpot!"
Bai Yi reluctantly took out the first aid kit, pouring alcohol on the wound, causing white mist to rise. The white wolf's muscles tensed, a low whimper rolling from its throat, blood seeping from its throat again.
"Shut up!" Bai Yi slapped the wolf's head, "The bleeding just stopped, do you want to die?"
The whimpering stopped abruptly. The white wolf buried its head in its front paws, tears the size of beans pattering onto the disinfectant gauze.
Bai Yi couldn't stand it, found a stick, and stuffed it into its mouth. The white wolf's sharp teeth clamped down on the stick, wood chips mixed with blood oozing from the corners of its mouth.
After treating the wound, it was already evening, the sunset dyeing the mist amber.
The white wolf curled up by the fireplace, with each breath, the animal hide beneath it soaked with bloodstains. Its snow-white fur was matted with blood scabs, resembling a dandelion battered by rain.
Bai Yi knew the white wolf couldn't survive, such severe injuries couldn't be treated with simple first aid, unless...
Bai Yi hesitated, rationality told him to kill the white wolf and obtain enough food to trade for supplies, while his emotions urged him to save the white wolf, to have a companion in this Mist World.
"Heh, can't kill, can't save, hesitating like this, how can I survive in the Mist World!"
Bai Yi no longer hesitated, he stood up and took out the syringe.
[Wound Healing Injection]
[Quality: Fine]
[Description: A wound recovery potion, excellent for cuts, lacerations, and puncture wounds, but can only heal flesh. To avoid infection, please clean the wound of dust before use.]
Bai Yi walked to the white wolf's side, it was even weaker now, its once fierce dark golden eyes now clouded with a gray haze.
Bai Yi extended his hand, the syringe glinting a ghostly blue in the firelight.
The white wolf struggled to lift its paw, gently nudging his wrist holding the syringe, the action exhausting its last bit of strength, its paw falling limply.
"I save your life, from now on your life is mine."
The needle pierced the vein, and under the effect of the injection, the white wolf fell into a deep sleep.
Bai Yi picked up the journal. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
"Bai Yi: Got any iron? Five pieces."
Wang Ziyi's message flickered in the firelight:
"Wang Ziyi: What does Brother Gou want iron for?"
"Bai Yi: Wishing."
...
Bai Yi tossed five pieces of crude iron into the Wishing Well.
An ancient book with a bronze cover emerged from the ashes. The spine was inlaid with dark red crystals, and when fingers touched it, vein-like patterns appeared on the crystal surface.
[Basic Alchemy (Fragment)]
[Quality: Fine]
[Unlocked Formula: Sanity Potion (requires Spiritual Essence materials)]
[Description: Forcibly reading will cause a significant drop in sanity]
This book might not be useful to others, but for Bai Yi, it was a treasure.
Sanity? Deduct it freely!
The Novice Protection Period was about to end, no one knew what the end of protection meant, perhaps what awaited him next was an even more brutal hell!
At midnight.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night. Bai Yi sat by the fireplace, the dancing sparks reflected in his dark pupils.
The white wolf beside him had its wounds mostly healed, quietly lying at Bai Yi's feet, its remaining dark golden eye reflecting the man's figure. Its tail unconsciously swept across the young man's ankle, the fur tickling his skin.
The World Channel flickered like a dying man's heart monitor. Some were posting farewell poems, others uploading will templates, and an ID named "Mist Merchant" was selling cemetery site selection services.
Bai Yi chewed on vitamin tablets while flipping through alchemical formulas, the tadpole script on the pages suddenly twisting into eye patterns, he immediately closed the tome, popping a mint candy into his mouth to suppress the nausea.
[You are viewing forbidden knowledge, Sanity -27]
"If you dare mutate..." he poked the white wolf's nose, reiterating: "I'll turn you into wolf meat hotpot."
The white wolf let out a pitiful whimper from its throat, wagging its tail, grinning ingratiatingly.
In the midst of banter, a voice echoed in his mind.
Bai Yi's eyes sharpened, it was here!
[Novice Protection Period ending countdown 07:59:59]
[Players, please lock your doors and do not go outside]
[System updating, countdown: 07:59:59]