As the game interface jumped around, a new selection of spirit pets appeared in front of Xu Zhi's eyes.

The number of selectable options has been increased to four, and the initial level has also been raised to a higher starting point.

【1. Cat (Lv3)】
【2. Monkey (Lv3)】
【3. Dog (Lv3)】
【4. Spider (Lv3)】

"All of them are level 3..."

Xu Zhi's eyes rested on the cat and the dog, the spider and the unfamiliar monkey being the first to be vetoed by her.

After some deliberation, Xu Zhi decided to choose the dog.

After pressing the confirmation button, a new line of text appeared on the game screen.

【You already know how easy it is to develop your spirit pet in the early stages, so get started.】

【Spirit Pet: Dog (Lv3)】

Spirit: 5
Physical: 40
Attributes: None
Traits: Strength Lv2, Sense of Smell Lv3
【Current Evolution Points Needed: 0/200】

"That's fair enough, both requiring 200 evolution points, but the dog's physical body is much stronger than the snake's."

Moreover, she saw the most important reason for choosing the dog: its strength.

The reason why she hesitated between the cat and the dog was because she knew that she had the chance to extract the traits of her spirit pet, the possible traits of the cat and the dog went through her mind a little, the sensitivity of the cat and the strength of the dog were both something she wanted very much, but what she lacked the most at this stage was indeed strength.

Xu Zhi wasn't entirely sure that choosing the dog would definitely give her the trait of strength. Her decision was based more on speculation from the trait of the small snake, with a certain element of gambling involved.

Moreover, even if the dog didn't possess the trait of strength, its size and aggression would still be a good choice in her opinion.

Now, having obtained the desired trait, Xu Zhi's mood also improved.

She skillfully followed the process and started upgrading her second spirit pet, upgrading as she watched the dog eat the living creatures, wondering if dogs in reality hunt and eat like this?

This time, the screen was no longer from a snake's perspective, but the dog's vision was apparently not much better, with colors limited to black, white, yellow, blue, and gray. However, even with these limitations, Xu Zhi noticed something unusual.

Her spirit pet seems to be in a ...... city filled with black mist.

Xu Zhi's eyes widened gradually, and she felt a slight tingling sensation on her scalp as a bizarre thought came to her mind.

Could this city in the game possibly be... Yuncheng?

Once this thought emerged, Xu Zhi found herself unable to calm down. She began to recall the city she had seen through the snake's perspective, but that view was too abstract for her to discern any details.

While the black fog was similar to that of Yuncheng, it was hardly conclusive evidence. However, if this were truly just a game, how could the black fruit have materialized from digital data?

Xu Zhi preferred to believe that the black fruit existed in reality and that the game had merely "transferred" it over.

On top of that, more importantly, and the reason why Xu Chichih's heart so longed for her suspicions to be true: if her spirit pet was truly in the city, then she would no longer be alone.

Whether it was companionship or protection, both were what she needed right now.

She didn't trust anyone in the city and didn't need human company, it would be nice to have a spirit pet that was absolutely loyal to her.

Therefore, she deeply hoped that this speculation was not just an unrealistic fantasy of hers.

To this end, she had to verify it.

For instance, she would carefully observe whether there were any familiar landmarks during the dog's hunt for prey.

However, this was actually quite difficult. Xu Zhi didn't often go out and her memories of Yuncheng were mostly from before she turned 11, as well as occasional scenes she had seen on local television.

"It's okay, I'll find something eventually."

Due to her infrequent speaking, the girl's voice was slightly hoarse, and her heart and lung issues made her tone much weaker than normal. At this moment, her feeble voice was mingled with a subtle sense of obsession, as if she were determined to find a trace of her speculation, even if it were just a fleeting dream.

She devoted all her time to the game, controlling the gray stray dog to wander around in search of prey. During this process, she encountered dangers as well, forcing her to waste two hours of rest and recovery to compensate for her recklessness. Xu Zhi didn't feel hungry at noon, so she didn't cook but instead took her medication and continued playing the game.

Thankfully, the initial level 3 dog's stamina was much stronger than the snake's and didn't quickly fall into exhaustion, and with Xu Zhi's luck today, the dog hunted a bit easier than the snake as well, it didn't take her long to level up to level 4, and after upgrading her stamina seemed to be restored, and she didn't run out of energy like the snake did even after a long hunt.

She played for six hours straight, upgrading the dog to level 5, before finally feeling tired and putting down the handheld console to rub her forehead. At this point, the dog's stats had become:

【Clan Member: Dog Lv. 5
Spirit: 14
Body: 160
Attributes: None
Traits: Strength Lv. 3, Smell Lv. 3, Alertness Lv. 1】

Although her body felt tired, Xu Zhi's spirit was unusually excited.

It was because she hadn't come away empty-handed from her pursuit!

Just now, while controlling the dog to search for its new prey after reaching level 5, she had unknowingly chased the prey up the stairs of an abandoned old apartment complex to the rooftop. When she caught sight of a nearby building, the prey jumped through a gap between the buildings to the other side. The game interface then prompted her with a choice: whether to pursue or not. Given the considerable distance and height difference between the building where the dog was and the one on the other side, pursuing would have meant risking a failed jump. However, even if the dog fell, its level 5 physical strength would only result in minor injuries, and at worst, it would lose the prey. Logically speaking, she should have chosen to pursue, but Xu Zhi opted not to.

She chose to keep the puppy in place so that she could see if the building not far away, which seemed like a giant clock, was one of Cloud City's landmarks: the Bell and Drum Tower.

The gray bell tower Lou, with its giant clock face embedded on each of the four sides of the square-shaped building, had been damaged in the earthquake five years ago. The clock had stopped at the moment of the earthquake, and the Yuncheng government deemed it as having commemorative significance. Therefore, they chose not to repair it, allowing the time to remain frozen at that instant forever.

As a resident of Yuncheng, no one was unfamiliar with the Zhonggu Lou, and even Xu Zhi, who rarely ventured outside, had seen it countless times on the news.

"...It's really here..."

"Haha, it's actually true!"

Xu Zhi muttered to herself again and again, unable to contain her excitement. She even chuckled out loud and would have clapped her hands if not for the handheld console in her grasp.

In that instant, an unprecedented excitement surged through her mind, causing her heartbeat to accelerate, adrenaline to soar, and pupils to dilate slightly. It was until she felt a bit of difficulty in breathing that she realized she had gotten overly excited.

Although upgrading the dog would also bring about a slight improvement in physical fitness, it was not enough. She still had to restrain her emotional fluctuations from becoming too intense.

Xu Zhi put down the handheld console and closed her eyes to take deep breaths, temporarily setting aside the many thoughts that had surfaced in her mind. She tried to regulate her emotions until the excitement gradually subsided and exhaustion washed over her like a wave. She reached up to rub her forehead involuntarily.

The time was approaching the hour when she usually tallied her daily gains. She decided to take a half-hour rest first.

Xu Zhi was still somewhat dissatisfied with her current significantly increased energy bar. Why couldn't she go without food, drink, or sleep for 24 hours?

After closing her eyes for a short rest, she unexpectedly fell asleep without realizing it. It felt like she had only been asleep for less than a minute, but when she suddenly woke up, she realized that half an hour had already passed.

"...It seems that playing continuously at a high intensity still takes a lot of energy."

She exhaled and picked up the handheld console. A progress bar that had taken seven hours to fill had now completed in the lower right corner of the screen.

Xu Zhi selected Xiao Yi through the buttons, and the settlement interface popped up.

【Your Spirit Pet has completed a solo, extended hunt, and here is a list of its hunting haul:】

【Evolution Points: 1700/1000】
【Trait Enhancements: Bloodlust +1, Cunning +1】
【Special Items: None
【The clan member can set out again after evolving or resting for three hours.】
【As your spirit pet's bloodlust level is raised, your bloodlust level is also raised. now, when you are in the bloodlust state, your power will be enhanced to a certain extent, but when you are out of the bloodlust state, you will fall into weakness.】

After checking the settlement summary, a gleam of joy flashed in Xu Zhi's eyes.

She didn't know that spirit pets could find any special items through hunting, and naturally didn't have any expectations about that, what made her happy was the power boost she got after [Bloodlust +1]!

Although it could only be used when in a Bloodlust state and came with a debuff, it was indeed one of the things she needed the most at present.

She eagerly wanted to enhance her strength.

Regarding whether to let Xiao Yi evolve or rest, the choice was obviously to evolve.

After Xu Zhi made her choice, a progress bar lasting twenty minutes appeared in the center of the screen.

A golden sun icon appeared on the right side of the screen, and when Xu Zhi clicked on it, two avatars appeared: one of a snake and the other of a dog.

"Oh," Xu Zhi understood. It was a directory-like interface.

She clicked on the dog's avatar and the game interface jumped to the puppy's side, and the snake's evolution progress bar shrunk to the bottom right corner.

"It's quite convenient."

Xu Zhi gave it a thumbs-up for its convenience.

Xu Zhi praised the system's convenience.

— Bang! Bang! Bang!

Someone was knocking on the door.

Xu Zhi tightened her grip on the game console and her face darkened.

As expected, someone had come again.

She had anticipated that the other party would persist in pestering her, which was why she was so eager to gain strength.

At the same time, she was surprised to find that the knocking sound was much clearer in her ears.

Perhaps it was the enhancement brought by Xiao Yi's evolution to level 10 that had repaired some of her hearing impairment.

Just five seconds after the knocking, a female voice sounded from outside the door.

"Hello, my classmate came to visit you yesterday. Do you remember?"

The voice was crisp and sounded polite, conjuring up an image of a gentle and well-mannered female high school student in Xu Zhi's mind. However, her facial expression remained unchanged. She calmly maneuvered her wheelchair to the kitchen and carefully selected the sharpest boning knife to hold in her hand.

She was grateful that her younger brother loved eating meat, otherwise, she would have had a hard time with only a kitchen knife.

As the woman's persistent persuasion continued, Xu Zhi tried to stand up and jump slightly, swinging the knife a few times. After confirming that her current physical condition was sufficient for her to make a sudden attack, she sat back in the wheelchair, hiding the knife behind her. With a blank expression, she maneuvered the wheelchair towards the door.

She needed to determine how many people had come. If there weren't many of them and they showed malice towards her, intending to break into her home...

A fierce look flashed in the girl's eyes. She felt that perhaps she should take the initiative to do something.