The first body dropped on a Monday. The morning news played its usual upbeat jingle, as if the world hadn't changed. As if everything was still normal.
But Lin Xue wasn't watching the news. She never did—not anymore.
She watched the emergency updates, the unfiltered reports, the deleted posts, and today, one thing stood out.
"Male, 27, found dead in District 4. Cause: massive blood loss. Suspect: pet husky. Witnesses say the dog acted 'possessed.' Officials claim heatstroke may have triggered aggression." Heatstroke? In spring?
"Liars," Lin Xue muttered, closing the tab. She knew the truth.
This wasn't heat. This was infection.
[April 9th — Lin Xue's Apartment]
She moved with speed and silence, packing her go-bag. Not just water and food—but spirit coins, blood coagulant powder, anti-inflammatory pills, throwing knives, and four spiritual talismans she'd personally inscribed.
The pendant space was her long-term base. But she needed an exit route in the real world. Her apartment wasn't safe. Too urban. Too visible.
"I need distance. I need isolation. I need elevation."
She pulled up a satellite map. Her finger hovered over a location two hours out—mountainous terrain, old farmland, abandoned greenhouses.
"There." She'd rebuild there. Hidden. Defensive. Far from major zones.
She contacted a private seller. Paid double for the land. Paid triple for the silence.
[Later That Day — Street Market]
People walked around laughing, sipping bubble tea, arguing about delivery prices. No one spoke about the man who died. No one took the news seriously.
"Can you believe someone blamed the dog? It's always the owner's fault," a vendor scoffed.
"Right? Poor thing probably snapped from stress."
Lin Xue walked past them, loading crates of bottled water onto a dolly. No one noticed her. They never did. And that was good.
"Mock me. Call me crazy. I'll be the one left breathing."
[Inside the Spatial Realm — That Night]
She planted a second tier of crops. Activated a beginner-level defensive array around the farming section. Practiced lotus flame throws against a reinforced iron dummy. Her arms ached. Her core pulsed.
"Good." She sat in meditation, eyes closed, while spiritual flame swirled around her shoulders like silent wings.The world outside was rotting. But inside this space—
She was building an empire.
[April 10th — 04:12 A.M.]
The city slept. But Lin Xue didn't. She stood at the edge of her apartment, staring at the packed gear laid out like a battlefield lineup. Her go-bag was ready. Her pendant space—half full. Her targets—mapped and logged.
This would be her last night in this place. She had lived here for three years in her last life. Paid rent on time. Smiled at neighbors. Got betrayed anyway.
This life, she didn't need closure. She needed an exit.
She moved fast. Took only what couldn't be bought again:
Her grandfather's pendant (worn), A printed journal of cultivation notes, A spiritual compass she forged from old jade shards, A single picture—her parents, from before the fire. Everything else? Stored in the pendant.
She wiped the apartment clean. Unplugged every device. Removed the SIM from her phone. Flushed it.
"Let them think I ran crazy," she whispered.
"They won't be laughing much longer."
[06:27 A.M. — Highway Outskirts]
She left the city in a rented transport van under a fake name. No traffic yet. No roadblocks. Not yet.
The sun hadn't fully risen, but her eyes were sharp.
The farmland ahead was her target—an abandoned terraced property halfway up Mt. Yunhai. Ten acres of overgrown crops, two rundown structures, and a disconnected water line.
Perfect.
She paid in cash. Signed nothing. Even the land broker didn't care—he just wanted the money.
"Fools," she muttered as she passed the broken fence.
The world was about to end, and they were still playing games.
[Inside the Spiritual Space — That Night]
She stood in the crops by moonlight, watching the third row of spirit cabbage swell with glowing veins. The soil was thriving. The cold spring was now infused with faint qi. She'd built three sections inside:
Cultivation Grounds, Food & Water Storage, Combat Training Zone.
Soon, she'd unlock the pill cauldron.
Soon, she'd refine her own elixirs, she'd break into Foundation Establishment. But not yet."Not until I know how to control it."
She raised her hand. The lotus flame flared silently to life—clean, sharp, blue at the edges now. No tremble. No flicker. "Soon."
[Meanwhile — National News, 10 P.M.]
"Another dog attack in District 2 has raised questions about possible viral behavior. A witness reports the animal's eyes 'glowed red' before the incident. Officials say there's no reason to panic."
But Lin Xue had already turned off the TV. "Too late," she murmured.
"You should've panicked yesterday."
The sky over the mountain was unusually red at dusk. Lin Xue stood on the roof of the abandoned farmhouse, coat zipped, the wind cutting sharp against her face. Below her, weeds swayed in the overgrown fields. Spirit chickens wandered lazily in the protected side garden. Inside, spiritual arrays glowed faintly beneath the floorboards.
She looked toward the distant skyline—the faint curve of the city, still lit, still blind. "The first blood has spilled," she murmured. "The world just hasn't smelled it yet."
She closed her eyes. In her last life, this was the turning point. The first pet attack had been dismissed. The second? Buried. But the third… the third was filmed.
A girl torn apart by her beloved golden retriever. On live stream. Real-time screaming. Glitches. Blood. Teeth. No filters. No edits. No room for lies. That video broke the world.
"Two more days." She could already feel the qi in the air begin to shift. Heavier. Tainted. The world's spiritual core was waking up—angry, confused, and cracked open by something unnatural.
That's why the cultivator techniques were responding. Why the flame in her core burned stronger each time she trained. Why her pendant whispered deeper secrets the longer she stayed inside. This world wasn't just dying. It was transforming.
[Later That Night — Inside the Pendant Space]
She sat before the glowing cauldron at the center of her realm. It had finally accepted her qi signature.
Pill Furnace: Activated.
Her first trial would be a simple one—Refined Blood Coagulation Pill. Low-tier. Emergency use.
She crushed a spirit cabbage root. Measured fragments of warming salt stone. Dropped a thread of fire lotus powder into the center. The flame beneath the cauldron flared. Qi surged through the concoction.
Three minutes later, a small white pill clinked into the dish. "It worked." It wasn't much. But one pill could save a life.
One more card she held while the rest of the world lost theirs.
[News Leak – April 11th, 03:32 A.M.]
The video leaked quietly at first. A teenager streaming from her bedroom. A barking sound. A thud. Screams. The camera dropped. Blood, Dark fur…Growling….Silence.
Comments flooded in.
"Is this real?"
"Where's the original video?"
"Why did it get deleted?"
"This isn't normal. That thing wasn't a dog."
Lin Xue watched from her terminal. Calm. Focused.
"First blood. Now the fire spreads."