Chapter 33: The Digitization of Linghai City Begins

After picking up Lin Wanqing, the weight finally lifted from Su Bai’s heart. She stepped forward quickly to examine her new friend, whom she hadn't seen in three days, and discovered that her entire temperament had undergone a subtle transformation. It seemed that Lin Wanqing had also gained much during these past three days.

"Su Bai, is this your friend?" Qin Yuke asked, his brows furrowed as his sharp gaze swept over Lin Wanqing. As a soldier, he maintained an instinctive vigilance toward all strangers.

"Yes!" Su Bai nodded.

Without a word, Qin Yuke activated his "Qi Observation Technique." To his surprise, he found that Lin Wanqing was surrounded by energy fluctuations similar to his and Su Bai’s. This indicated that the seemingly quiet girl before them had also obtained a class and become a true player.

"Is it so easy to obtain a class now?" Qin Yuke wondered. "No wonder she dared to stay in Linghai City alone..." he mused to himself, his tone laced with a hint of admiration. Those who could survive on their own were clearly no ordinary people.

Su Bai also keenly sensed the difference in Lin Wanqing. She immediately activated her "Appraisal Eye," and a set of data that shocked her appeared before her eyes:

[Player: Lin Wanqing]
[Level: 1]
[Talent: Danger Sense: Capable of sensing the emergence of danger]
[Class: Hydro-Pyro Mage]
[Skills:]
1. Meditation: Rapidly restores mental energy.
2. Magic Sphere: Condenses magic power for long-range strikes.
3. Flame Control: Manipulates fire elements to form powerful attacks.
4. Water Source Control: Manipulates water elements for defense or attack.

Su Bai was surprised; she hadn't expected that in just three days, this schoolmate would have transitioned from a normal person into a mage capable of controlling elemental forces. Could it be that she was truly worthy of being a female lead?

"A dual-element Hydro-Pyro Mage... That’s not a common class," Su Bai remarked, her gaze lingering on Lin Wanqing for a few extra seconds. She noticed that every movement Lin Wanqing made carried a special rhythm—a natural manifestation of increased elemental affinity.

Once everyone was accounted for, they did not hesitate to discuss the evacuation route. Qin Yuke unfolded a map and pointed to the marked safe zones, asking, "So, are you both heading to the Cuigang Safe Zone?"

Su Bai nodded. She had originally planned to head to the nearby Cuigang Safe Zone, but she wasn't sure if Lin Wanqing was headed the same way. After all, they had only agreed to evacuate Linghai City together, without discussing a specific destination. To her surprise, Lin Wanqing responded without a moment's hesitation: "Yes, I am also planning to head to the Cuigang Safe Zone." She winked at Su Bai, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on her lips.

Just as they were preparing to depart, a sudden, howling gale swept through, making their clothes snap violently. Everyone looked toward the source of the wind in unison. The fog that had already shrouded Linghai City was now swirling like a living creature, growing thicker at a visible rate.

"This wind is strange..." Qin Yuke frowned.

From within the mist, sharp, screeching sounds emerged—a grating noise like metal rubbing against metal that set one's teeth on edge. Upon hearing this familiar sound, the expressions of Qin Yuke and his team members changed drastically. Having spent the past few days traversing the Mist Forest to document their findings, they knew all too well what this sound signified.

Su Bai’s heart sank to the bottom of her chest. She could not be mistaken; this was the cry of the Mist White Moths—creatures with levels as high as 10.

"It’s those moth monsters!" Zhang Yunqi shouted, his voice cracking. Just days ago, he had witnessed with his own eyes the horrific state of a teammate scorched by the corrosive phosphorus dust of the Mist White Moths.

Lin Wanqing suddenly shuddered, her face turning deathly pale. Her pupils constricted violently, and her fingers curled into tight fists. "We have to leave now!" she cried out, her voice trembling with urgency. "The danger isn't just the monsters in the mist; something far more terrifying is brewing!"

Su Bai felt a chill run through her. Remembering Lin Wanqing’s "Danger Sense" talent, she realized that if it could make the protagonist lose her composure like this, the danger was likely far greater than just Level 10 Mist White Moths.

As if to confirm Su Bai's suspicions, the mist in the distance began to churn violently. First, a few massive Mist White Moths burst through the wall of fog, their wings coated in corrosive phosphorus dust that glittered dangerously in the sunlight. Immediately after, a blinding stream of light shot into the sky, instantly enveloping the entire city of Linghai like an inverted waterfall. Within that light, countless eerie data runes flowed, as if rewriting the very rules of the city.

"This is...!" Su Bai’s pupils shrank, and her heart nearly stopped.

"The Catastrophe Datafication!" Qin Yuke’s voice was filled with unconcealable shock.

Everyone stood frozen, unable to believe what was happening before them. Su Bai’s mind raced, the information she had obtained from Li Weiwei’s memories clashing violently with the scene before her: "The plot said the datafication of Linghai City wouldn't happen for another few days! How could it be so early?"

Before they could recover from the shock, the entire city began to undergo horrific mutations. The skyscrapers in the distance were kneaded by invisible hands, their brand-new glass curtain walls covered in rust and cracks in the blink of an eye. The outer walls of the street-side buildings peeled away, revealing blackened, flesh-like structures beneath, while the asphalt roads writhed like living things, dark red mucus seeping from the fissures.

"Ugh—" Zhang Yunqi began to retch. The air was filled with a pungent stench of rotting meat mixed with rust, a smell that seemed to drill directly from the nasal cavity into the brain.

Su Bai looked down and saw the concrete beneath her feet being broken through by some sort of purple-black vine. The surface of these vines was covered in vein-like patterns, and they were growing at a visible rate. Even more terrifying was the way the white mist that had originally shrouded the city began to merge with the energy of the datafication, transforming into an eerie gray fog, from which came a cacophony of inhuman roars.

"Roar—"

Pairs of scarlet eyes lit up in the gray fog—these were certainly not human eyes, but rather the pupils of some bloodthirsty beast. As they moved, they produced a clicking sound of bones rubbing together, their numbers so great that the mere sound was enough to make one's skin crawl.

[Regional Announcement: Linghai City Datafication Complete—Region Name: Zombie Domain]

The cold system prompt echoed in everyone's mind.

Zhang Yunqi’s legs went weak, his voice trembling so much it was barely audible: "C-Captain... what are these things?"

Before Qin Yuke could answer, the first monster broke through the gray fog. It was a creature that barely retained a human shape; half its face had rotted away to the bone, with bits of flesh hanging from exposed gums, while its remaining eye glowed with an unnatural gray-white light. Its arms had transformed into sharp bone blades, from which corrosive mucus dripped.

Seeing the monster, Qin Yuke said, "It's a zombie... but it doesn't look like an ordinary one..."

They were not unfamiliar with zombie monsters. The "Ghostly Underworld" area in the datafied Jinling City contained such creatures, but none had looked as terrifying as the one before them.