Chapter 75 - 71: Choose One of Three

Chapter 75: Chapter 71: Choose One of Three

"A hit-and-run?"

Xia Yu’s elegant brows furrowed slightly.

’People like that exist in every era.’

’They really should be thrown in prison.’

She glanced at the victim on the ground, motionless, their body bent at an unnatural angle. Then, she took out her other phone, dialed 120, and, using a disguised voice, reported the car accident, making sure to mention that the crashed car had caught fire.

After that, she removed the SIM card and threw it away, set the car on fire, and then strode away.

’There were no cameras at the intersection.’

’I wore a mask the entire time.’

’They shouldn’t be able to identify me. Besides, I wasn’t the one who caused the accident, so the investigation won’t focus on me.’

The Mist Events had only just begun, and Xia Yu had no desire to attract police attention right now. She carefully reviewed her actions, determined not to leave any clues:

To prevent Xie Shaokun and Little Nannan from being discovered with her, and to keep their conversation from being leaked, she had broken the dashcam when she "borrowed" the car.

She had exclusively driven through intersections without surveillance cameras.

And she had just burned the car.

Since it was a certain model of flammable electric car, it wasn’t impossible for it to spontaneously combust after a crash. No one would suspect she had set the fire intentionally.

’The only flaw: the car was "borrowed" from the side of the road on a whim.’

’Fortunately, I’ve already shed any suspicion. This one detail won’t be enough to make me a person of interest.’

This was all because of that woman driving blind.

She had almost been exposed.

「The first day of the Lunar New Year.」

"Could it be that this electric car’s brakes failed?"

Xia Tian casually scrolled to a video of the early morning car crash and grumbled, "People are still doing hit-and-runs these days? They’re really not afraid of making things worse for themselves."

Xia Yu, who was passing by, glanced at his phone, then calmly curled up on a nearby sofa. "You’re not scrolling through videos of pretty girls? Are you even a man?"

Xia Tian was used to his sister’s teasing and had a smooth comeback ready: "When I have to face a great beauty like you every day, is there any need to watch videos?"

"Besides, all the girls in those videos are just products of beauty filters. It’s boring."

Xia Yu was very satisfied.

"I’ll give you that, you have good taste."

While browsing online, she chatted idly with her brother, "You’re always watching the news. You have none of the energy a young person should have."

’The 100 Mbps internet speed feels as slow as a snail after not being upgraded for so long.’

It took two seconds to load.

Xie Shaokun’s wanted notice had been rescinded. Everything was going according to her plan.

’Excellent.’

"Sis, watching the news is still useful."

"It’s just that there’s too much fake news and clickbait nowadays. What we need to do is learn how to select real, useful information from the overwhelming noise."

Xia Tian watched his sister, who was once again expressionlessly tapping out messages on her phone, and guessed she was probably replying to New Year’s greetings from suitors, classmates, and friends.

He wondered, ’Should I take this chance to tell my sister something about the Mist Events?’

’Should I shatter my sister’s ordinary life?’

After much deliberation, Xia Tian made a decision and said, "Sis, I heard that exercise can improve your skin, boost your energy, and make you even more beautiful. Why don’t you work out a little?"

’A great change is coming. Improving her physical fitness should increase her chances of survival.’

"Not going."

"Oh, okay. Sis, don’t you like playing badminton? A friend of mine knows an expert who’s really good. They’ve been looking for a practice partner recently. Want to give it a try?"

"Man or woman?"

"Woman."

"No time."

"???"

"Even less time if it’s a man."

As Xia Yu gave her casual replies, she sent a message to Xie Shaokun: *I’ve changed my phone number. Use this one for now. Also, your wanted notice has been canceled.*

While actively trying to persuade her, Xia Tian sent a message to Wang Zhe: *Did you find that female badminton coach I asked you to look for?*

"Sis, are we visiting relatives for the New Year this year?"

"You go if you want to."

"Not even our eldest uncle’s house? Didn’t we go there the last two years? Why not this year?"

"No time."

"Sis, are you very busy?"

"Busy."

Xia Yu stood up, took a glass of water, and returned to her room, ready to begin her daily workout.

Uh.

Xia Tian felt helpless.

Just then, he happened to scroll past two news articles:

The first one was basically about the government once again promoting national fitness with great effort and emphasis.

The second one was about the government vigorously importing and producing various grains.

"As expected!"

’The government also believes that strengthening one’s body can increase the hope of survival and reduce the risk of mutation.’

’And even the government is starting to stockpile grain.’

His brows knitted tightly. He glanced at his sister’s room and thought, ’Should I just tell her directly?’

’Forget it.’

’My sister was always the one protecting me before. From now on...’

"Let me be the one to protect you."

Xia Tian took a deep breath, couldn’t help but let out a couple of "coughs," his face growing paler. "Forget it. I’m too weak myself. I’d better just honestly focus on stockpiling food and building a base."

He started contacting Wang Zhe to ask about the food and the base.

Wang Zhe: *Don’t worry, Brother Tian. My dad has heard about this stuff too, but he didn’t have any definite news. After I showed him the news from overseas, he started asking around and spending money to get information. He’s starting to believe me. He said my plans were too small-scale, so he went and bought a large meat processing plant and plans to turn it into a base.*

Xia Tian’s expression relaxed.

If Wang Zhe’s father believed even thirty percent of it, the plan would succeed. After all, he was the richest man in the province. A fraction of his wealth would be enough for them to build a Copper Wall and Iron Wall and stockpile enough food to last for years.

「Inside the room.」

Xia Yu was contemplating which Mist Event to participate in next.

There were nine recent Mist Events in the city and surrounding areas. She had narrowed them down to three:

The first would occur in five days, located in the suburbs.

Main threat: An Alien Clan tribe called the "Minotaurs." They were highly dangerous, especially skilled in Power, Defense, and swarm tactics.

Resource: Weapons!

The weapons used by the Minotaurs were made of a special material that could kill both Spiritual Life and Non-spiritual life, similar to the current Blood Butterfly.

They just weren’t as high-level as the Blood Butterfly.

This event had one survivor.

The second would also occur in five days, located in the neighboring city.

Main threat: Mutants.

Resource: Crystal Cores.

This event had two survivors.

The third would also occur in five days, located in another neighboring city.

Main threat: Unknown.

Resource: Unknown.

This event had no survivors.

’The three Mist Events start at the same time but have different durations.’

’I can only choose one of three!’

’The first Mist Event could yield a large number of weapons effective against Spiritual Life. I can consider it later, when the team is bigger and stronger. For now... I’ll pass.’

’The second Mist Event offers Crystal Cores, which would guarantee a supply for the sunflower seeds. Plus, I only got two Crystal Cores from the Treasure House incident, so my stock is very low.’

’The third Mist Event...’

Xia Yu’s elegant brows knitted slightly, a thoughtful expression on her face.

She recalled another detail:

After the third Mist Event ended, some of the victims had died gruesome deaths. One was even stripped of all flesh and blood, leaving only a skeleton. The others had simply vanished mysteriously.

The strange thing was, the objects and buildings in the area were completely undamaged.

Based on experience, Xia Yu quickly thought of a possibility: ’Did these people enter a Different Dimension Space?’

As far as she knew, a Mist Event was going to occur in a certain country in one week: the first time terrestrial lifeforms entered a Different Dimension Space on a global scale.

This signaled that humanity was one step closer to the Apocalypse!

And the so-called "first entry" had a prerequisite: someone had survived it.

It was confirmed by a participant, making the information highly credible.

But before that, had no terrestrial lifeforms ever entered a Different Dimension Space?

’Not necessarily!’

’If those people entered a Different Dimension Space...’

’Then...’

Xia Yu’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. ’An event this iconic, according to the Mist Rules, should usually yield an extremely valuable resource.’

’Should I gamble on it?’

Thinking of the Treasure House incident, she calmed down considerably.

’Maybe I should just forget it.’

’Should I choose the second Mist Event?’

’Having been reborn, I need to be more careful.’

’There’s only hope if you’re alive. If you die, you have nothing.’

So...