Chapter 25: Being Followed

Wind howling past his ears, Pacing like a storm unleashed, Chen Zhuo covered the hour-long journey in just half an hour—his feet never slowing, never faltering.

Behind him, Ma Yu was gasping for breath, lungs burning, legs trembling. He’d been sprinting nonstop, but Chen Zhuo had vanished into the distance like smoke—no dust, no shadow, not even a hint of exhaust. The only clue left behind were faint smears of blood scattered across the cracked earth, guiding Ma Yu step by step toward the shelter.

Now, leaning heavily on a gnarled tree trunk with one hand, Ma Yu looked like he’d just survived a war. Sweat soaked through his clothes, his chest heaved like bellows. He was close to collapse.

“Damn kid… runs like a damn cheetah. Must’ve eaten a dozen life-fruit orbs. Lucky for me, I’m not exactly slow either.”

Still, doubt crept in. *I’ve eaten two life-fruit orbs myself,* he thought. *How the hell did I get left so far behind?*

He didn’t believe it—no one could gather five or six life-fruit orbs in just a few days after the acid rain ended. This Chen Zhuo had to be hiding something. And that fight earlier—watching him battle the wolf spirit up close? That wasn’t human strength. Not even close.

He knew what those wolf spirits were capable of.

...

It all started back when they first discovered the ruins at the crossroads of two zones. Chen Zhuo hadn’t been there yet—he was the latecomer.

The story went like this: Ma Yu, Yue Kaiyun, and Di Yifan had met early in the wasteland survival game, bonding over the regional chat channel. With Di Yifan holding the map, they’d managed to converge at the border zone within a single day, then built their shelter together.

Unlike the quiet, cautious survivors who stuck to scavenging and hiding, these three had always planned to steal—first from the weak, then from the dead.

Three kindred souls, each drawn to chaos. Before the acid rain even fell, they’d already raided dozens of stone caches via the chat channel. After surviving the storm, they tasted the thrill of theft—and once the rain stopped, they went full berserk. When someone complained online about being robbed, they simply stopped talking and started killing instead.

All the life-fruit orbs went straight into Ma Yu’s stomach. The body-enhancement fruits? Devoured by little fat Yue Kaiyun. Any useful blueprints or gear? Hoarded by Yue Kaiyun like a dragon guarding gold.

Clear roles: Ma Yu scouted and gathered supplies. Di Yifan handled combat. And Yue Kaiyun—the brains—planned every move.

Then came the ruins. On the very first day after the acid rain ended, they stumbled upon them—thinking they’d hit jackpot. But then they walked right into a pack of crimson beasts. Even Di Yifan, who’d barely survived hunting a refined-grade crimson beast after eating three body-boost fruits, couldn’t last five seconds against the wolf spirit guardians.

So they froze. No way they were charging in blind.

But then—out of nowhere—a young punk showed up. One man. Three wolf spirits. And he *won*. True, he looked off afterward—pale, shaky—but that only proved one thing: following him meant big rewards.

Meanwhile…

Chen Zhuo was just about to head out to find Ma Yu when their group chat lit up.

**Ma Yu:** *This time, we really hit the jackpot. I found a survivor who took down three wolf spirits. Their shelter location is confirmed.*

**Di Yifan:** *No way. Rare-tier wolf spirits can match refined-grade crimson beasts. You’re telling me one survivor wiped out three of them?*

**Ma Yu:** *It’s true. I saw one die and drop a loot chest. Check the ground outside the ruins—still covered in blood. Go see for yourself.*

“Let’s go check,” Di Yifan said.

“No need,” Yue Kaiyun murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Ma Yu wouldn’t pull a joke like this.”

**Yue Kaiyun:** *Tell us what happened.*

**Ma Yu:** *Nothing fancy. The kid just charged into the pack and cut them all down—one by one. His strength? Way beyond Di Yifan’s. Speed? Faster than me. No question.*

**Ma Yu:** *Only thing worth mentioning—after getting clawed by a wolf spirit, he popped a deep red item. His body shot up in power instantly. Otherwise, fighting three of them would’ve been tough even for him.*

They had crimson shards too—blue-rarity drops from crimson beasts. But none of them knew what they were for. Just assumed they were valuable because of their color, so Yue Kaiyun kept them locked away.

**Crimson Shard (Blue):** *Dropped by crimson beasts. Radiates dark, potent energy.*

Staring at the description in the survival platform’s inventory, Yue Kaiyun suddenly understood.

“Like a rage potion?” he muttered under his breath.

...

On the other side.

Back at the shelter, Chen Zhuo pulled out a medical kit from his self-built bedroom. Slowly, he unwound the bandage wrapped around his forearm.

The bleeding had stopped—but the wound was worse than he’d expected. Deep. Wide. Worse still, infection had set in from the wolf spirit’s claws, pus oozing faintly from the edges.

He couldn’t use antiseptic. Too deep. It would destroy living tissue, risk permanent scarring.

“System… can you heal me using happiness points?”

**[Ping.]** *Use 60 happiness points for healing? Note: Cost increases with host’s physical resilience.*

“Yes.”

No hesitation. Not now. Even if the system was exploiting his pain, he had no choice.

**Happiness Points -60**

A wave of warmth surged through his arm—gentle, soothing, like warm water flowing beneath skin. It seeped into muscle, bone, tissue, knitting everything back together.

At first, a sharp sting. Then a deep, pulsing heat—like life itself returning.

The wound closed before his eyes. New skin and muscle sprouted fast, filling the gap. Scars faded, replaced by smooth, pale, youthful skin—softer than the rest.

As the healing finished, strength returned to his arm. He flexed it—normal. Functional. Ready.

**[Healing complete.]**

He stood, stretched, checked the loot dropped by the wolf spirits:

- Body-Enhancement Fruit (Blue) ×1
- Wolf Spirit Claw (Blue) ×2
- Wolfhide Inner Armor ×1 (Blue)
- Steel (Blue) ×10
- Stainless Steel (Blue) ×7
- Cloth (Green) ×5
- Basic Toilet Blueprint ×1 (Green)

First, he swallowed both body-boost fruits—this one and the previous one from the hyena fight.

Then he turned to the two new items.

**Happiness Points +40**

**Host: Chen Zhuo**
Strength: 18 +4
Speed: 18
Stamina: 20
Reaction: 19 +4

**Wolf Spirit Claw (Blue):** *Synthesis material. Can be fused with weapons to inflict bleeding effects.*
**Wolfhide Inner Armor (Blue):** *Lightweight inner armor. Offers minor damage resistance. Provides enhanced defense against claw attacks.*

“Finally got armor,” Chen Zhuo said, smiling faintly. “Even if it’s soft, better than nothing.”

“And these claws…” He picked one up, turning it over in his palm. “Hmm.”