Chapter Ten: New Developments

"Damn, this little guy actually bites!" The tiny zombie bounced over to Xiao Zhang, hopping with a sense of accomplishment, and bumped its head against Xiao Zhang.

Xiao Zhang carefully checked the pet's attributes.

Corpse King Larva

Melee-type Mage.

Strength: Unknown

Spirit: Unknown

Speed: Unknown

Mana: Unknown

Melee Overall Ability: Extremely poor

Skills: Zombie Bite (B-level melee skill, power depends on pet's strength), Spirit Chain (unknown-level ranged skill, power depends on pet's spirit)

Growth: Unknown

Combat Power: In non-combat form, unknown; in combat form, approximately equal to 1

"But honestly, when it bit me, it felt more like a light massage." Mo Kuang glanced at his finger, then stuck it back into the little zombie’s mouth. "Here, bite me again."

With a heavy heart, Xiao Zhang picked up the little zombie and studied it carefully. It was a pet with nearly zero combat ability—a complete weakling.

Mo Kuang teased the little thing nearby. After watching for a few minutes, Xiao Zhang sighed. This really was just a pet. A pet!

So, pets apparently had two forms: normal and combat.

In its normal state, it was this adorable little zombie in Xiao Zhang’s arms.

As for its combat state, when Xiao Zhang had it transform, it grew to about the height of his knee.

That meant the so-called Corpse King he fought earlier must have been what this little creature would become after evolving. Once Xiao Zhang captured it, the system reverted it to a blank slate. Imagining what the Corpse King would eventually look like, Xiao Zhang decided he would properly raise this little fellow and not let it turn into that monstrous form, eyes growing all over its forehead and all.

Never mind that for now. First, he had to find a way out, and then figure out how to get home!

Besides all this, Xiao Zhang had another question in his heart. Where had everyone else gone? Now, only he and Mo Kuang were visible on his map. "Mo Mo, do you know where everyone else went?"

"I have no idea. While we were fighting monsters, I also thought it was strange that none of the other players showed up. Then I checked the map and saw they’d all disappeared." Mo Kuang pinched the little zombie’s cheek. "Maybe they were teleported somewhere else."

Somewhere else? Was there another place like this? Were there other monsters like the Corpse King—or even more powerful ones? The more Xiao Zhang thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He’d already been trapped here for days! "So, what should we do? If I don’t go home soon, my family will think I haven’t been back in two years, got lost, and disappeared!"

Mo Kuang rolled his eyes. "You idiot, don’t you know time here isn’t the same as outside?"

Xiao Zhang: Not the same?

Mo Kuang took the little zombie from Xiao Zhang’s arms. "Yeah, time in the outside world stopped for us the moment we entered the instance."

"Time stopped?" Xiao Zhang tried to digest the information.

Mo Kuang cradled the little zombie—yes, he’d named it Little White. "See, Xiao Zhang, Little White’s pretty cute, right?"

"Little White?"

"Yeah, from now on, it’s Zombie Little White."

It seemed the pet liked the name, so Xiao Zhang went along with it. Jiang Xiaobai it was, though he doubted he’d ever get to drink any. "Mo Mo, doesn’t it look kind of listless?"

Mo Kuang picked up Zombie Little White and examined it. "Maybe it’s hungry?"

Xiao Zhang stared, looking at the Corpse King in Mo Kuang’s arms. It did look hungry. "Pets get hungry?"

"Of course! Otherwise, why would there be pet food?" Mo Kuang pulled out a bag of something like cat food from his inventory.

He tried feeding it to Little White, but the creature just glanced at it and turned away disdainfully. Mo Kuang tried another type, but Little White only stuck out its tongue and looked away.

"Come on, Little White, eat a little~"

Hearing Mo Kuang’s tone made Xiao Zhang shiver, but the chill seemed to come from the direction of the safe zone, not from himself. "Maybe it’s not hunger. We should get moving—we can’t stay here, and those people might not have just been teleported away." Xiao Zhang voiced his thoughts. "Plus, I have a feeling that heading for the safe zone might not be the best idea. We may have all fallen into a trap."

Mo Kuang hesitated, then shared his own thoughts. "You might be right. After those people in the safe zone vanished, my system started showing unknown data anomalies."

But the biggest issue was the safe zone itself. It seemed to protect players; when the Corpse King went berserk, all the surviving players hid there and survived.

But if they didn’t go check, how would they ever know what had happened?

"I’ll go scout ahead alone. You follow behind and cover me," Xiao Zhang proposed, though he still had misgivings. He’d noticed some flickering white dots on his map. They weren’t boss-level red dots, but what if there were other monsters? Something capable of silently wiping out so many players would surely be much more powerful than the Corpse King...

But was the other direction really safe? The thought made his head ache.

"I’ll leave it to you," Xiao Zhang said, a little helpless. "Mo Mo, besides, our situations are a bit different—there may be danger."

Mo Kuang handed Little White back to Xiao Zhang. "You really don’t need to worry so much. I’m an experienced player, and I have enough points to revive both of us countless times."

After a pause, Xiao Zhang revealed his real concern. "I have a feeling there’s another group of people besides us."

In the end, Mo Kuang agreed to Xiao Zhang’s plan and quietly followed behind, just in case they got ambushed.

Xiao Zhang said nothing more.

He didn’t have all the answers himself.

Once again setting out, Xiao Zhang didn’t feel happy about his map’s special function. Instead, he felt increasingly uneasy, as if everything was growing more dangerous.

And Xiao Zhang hadn’t told Mo Kuang everything.

Especially the fact that if he died here, he’d really die. For Mo Kuang, this might just be a game, but for himself, it was truly a matter of life and death.

This time, he chose to head toward the safe zone from another direction.

Cautiously making his way forward, eyes glued to the map, Xiao Zhang noticed that all the flickering white dots had suddenly gone dark.