Xia Sanfu planned to use the 32nd floor as a temporary shelter. She collected all usable materials and piled them aside. Afterwards, she would clear out the Night Demons from the lower floors and surrounding buildings, and gather wood for fuel. By then, it would be almost dark.
The game panel showed a countdown of 8 hours, 55 minutes, and 15 seconds. Clearing this floor took her about an hour.
While contemplating her next plan, she quickly flipped through a notebook she found in the study.
It contained the notebook owner's daily reminders. The first half was normal business itineraries, with occasional thoughts, but towards the end, the content became a bit abnormal.
Leak, infection, invasion...
Bits and pieces of words pieced together the general situation: a local research institute had a virus leak, and infected people showed symptoms like photophobia, mania, and bloodlust, turning into monsters that fed on human blood.
Those who were bitten would also become infected and transform into irrational monsters.
They called the monsters Night Demons. Their characteristics were photophobia and fear of fire. They were highly contagious, had high attack and low defense. They were fragile enough to be burned by fire, yet also strong, as they couldn't be killed by swords or bullets unless their heads were blown off or they were chopped into smithereens.
The notebook's owner revealed a hint of superiority between the lines, once acting like a local emperor in this hotel.
Later, when Fushan Base was established and a large number of survivors relocated, he still chose to stay here because his place was already self-sufficient, and he was very confident in his doors and windows.
He mentioned in it that the walls of the entire room had steel plates inserted during the early stages, making them impregnable, and the wall materials were all laboratory-grade, with fire resistance and insulation as basic features.
But then he became anxious; Night Demons would grow stronger!
After Level 3, their weaknesses to light and fire would diminish. At Level 5, they would develop self-awareness, evolving into ability-users centered around blood energy, with strength comparable to a humanoid crane, and they would even use tools.
That was the end of the notes, presumably because he was attacked by the humanoid crane.
This notebook revealed many important things, such as the gathering places of Night Demons, the former distribution of city resources, and that a Level 10 Night Demon King had already appeared at that time.
Low-level Night Demons would instinctively submit to high-level Night Demons, and the legendary Level 10 Night Demon King could command a Night Demon army.
Xia Sanfu lowered her head in thought. If she were the Night Demon King, to become stronger, she would definitely attack human settlements and use humans as blood food.
And the largest shelter here was... Fushan Base.
Xia Sanfu suddenly realized and rushed to the astronomical telescope. Could that mountain opposite be Fushan Base?
Otherwise, why would a telescope be set up here for no reason?
She looked closely. The glass shed on the mountain was somewhat dilapidated. If it truly was a base, then it had already been breached by the Night Demons.
Could the Night Demons have taken over there?
She had already attracted enough Night Demon aggro. Whether to eliminate future troubles or to harvest achievement points, it was best to go there.
However, she understood the saying, 'looking at a mountain, you run a dead horse's race.' She estimated the distance to be thirty to forty kilometers, which would take one to two hours by bicycle.
That mountain was tall and large, reminding her of the painful memory of climbing mountains. Once she went up, it would probably take two or three hours to search it completely.
Adding the time for burning and retreating, eight hours would not be enough.
Even a slight mistake could lead to exceeding the novice protection period and losing her life there.
The safest way was to escape this city now, as far as possible. That way, after the protection period, she wouldn't have to face a city full of angry Night Demons.
But who knew what dangers she would encounter later? One step back, and every step would be a retreat. If she didn't dare to be bold even within this novice protection period, how could she face the game later?
Xia Sanfu used the telescope to observe various routes. After a while, she made a decision: she had to take a gamble.
Xia Sanfu first ate the pumpkin. Perhaps she was hungry, or perhaps it was due to increased stamina, but after devouring a large pumpkin, she still felt it wasn't enough. She went to search again and dug out six or seven sweet potatoes from the ground.
She added wood to the dying fire, put in the sweet potatoes, and refilled the iron sheet above with pumpkin chunks. She also took a bite of an apple and set it aside.
While it was roasting, she had to clear this hotel as quickly as possible to gain some achievement points.
Under the double boost of firepower and stamina, Xia Sanfu's speed increased by more than three times. She didn't linger in any room, running whenever she saw a Night Demon light a fire, and not bothering to search if she didn't see one.
Achievement Points +100
+10
+10
...
There were fewer Night Demons on the lower floors, and most were Level 0. Even the completely dark underground parking lot had only a few Night Demons; their leveling was too slow.
She went to an adjacent building and only found two Night Demons, making her even more unwilling to let go of the former human base, which was suspected of being occupied by Night Demons.
A normal treasure chest yielded a bottle of water. Xia Sanfu chugged half of it, relieving her parched throat, which had been dry as dust.
She carefully placed the remaining half bottle of water into her cycling backpack.
She returned to the rooftop again, gathering the items that were drying.
The presidential suite had many unopened supplies. Although they had aged and molded over the years, some were still usable.
She took three large-capacity travel backpacks, two raincoats, a sleeping bag, a tent, a small pot, and an insulated container.
The sleeping bag and tent were rolled into arm-length cylindrical Storage bags, which could be packed into the same travel backpack as the raincoats and pot.
The second travel backpack contained three cans of fuel and a vertically inserted flamethrower.
The third travel backpack was filled with roasted sweet potatoes, raw sweet potatoes, apples, and an insulated container full of pumpkin chunks.
There were still some pumpkin chunks left on the iron sheet that couldn't fit, so she ate them directly.
She wanted to take the astronomical telescope with her, but there was no room. With a determined heart, she simply threw it downstairs.
Countdown: 7 hours, 05 minutes, 03 seconds.
This bicycle had no rear seat, so she could only hang two travel bags on the crossbar, tying them securely with rope. She carried the cycling backpack and the travel backpack containing fuel on her back.
With a push of her foot, the bicycle shot forward.
The ruined city roads were not roads at all, filled with abandoned vehicles and all sorts of trash. Fortunately, she was used to riding a bicycle, so she aimed in the right direction and charged, pedaling the bicycle like a motorcycle.
"Hey!"
The sudden shout made the bicycle tire wobble. Xia Sanfu immediately stabilized herself and glanced at the four people running towards her from diagonally opposite.
Who are these people, players or NPCs?
Xia Sanfu turned a corner, circled a few buildings, confirmed that no one was following her, and continued rushing towards Fushan.
She didn't have much time and couldn't stop to argue.
Her physical potential was developed, and her stamina increased. She didn't rest at all during the journey, and the two-hour estimated travel time was completed in one hour.
The outer perimeter of Fushan was a seven to eight-meter-high damaged city wall. The steel gate was wide open, with abandoned armored vehicles and tanks everywhere. There were also electric fences and cannons on the city wall.
It was as if a fierce battle had taken place.
Inside were rows of container bungalows with open windows.
Xia Sanfu instinctively felt this was the civilian area and not worth staying. She quickly rode towards the deepest part. Near the foot of the mountain, another defense line appeared. Inside were camps resembling long warehouses. The large open space to the east was scattered with military vehicles, including broken fueling and repair equipment.
These camps seemed to be designed to defend against Night Demons, using large areas of glass windows and roofs. Without even looking, she knew Night Demons wouldn't hide in such places.
Xia Sanfu squeezed the brake lever, put her foot on the ground, and carefully examined the rows of fueling equipment, discovering that they had all been violently destroyed.
She circled again and found an underground fuel depot, which was completely empty, too clean.
It felt as if it had been deliberately cleared out.
Xia Sanfu turned her bicycle back to the main road. At the end of the main road was a cave, with vines covering the entrance, and it was pitch black inside.