After a long, endless night, dawn finally broke. A new day began with the figure of a solitary young man quietly leaving his shelter. On the wide, desolate street, his footsteps advanced steadily forward. Viewed from high above, that figure appeared extremely small in the heart of the ruined city, faintly exuding a heartbreaking sense of desolation.
Amidst the silent space without a sound, a crisp voice with a mechanical texture abruptly rang out inside his head, as if intending to startle the listener:
-"Congratulations to the player on logging in for the 4th day! Today's check-in reward is the skill 「Mind Map」. Congratulations to the player on unlocking a new skill!"
*Skill Description:
「Mind Map」: A comprehensive upgrade from the system's basic 「Map」 function. The skill allows unlocking the Waypoint feature while emitting a special wave that scans the surrounding space to load data into both the map and the player's brain in the form of an intuitive 3D model. Additionally, the secondary feature 「Biological Search」 reveals the locations of all players, NPCs, monsters, and Bosses within a certain range, regardless of whether they are in a stealth state.
Having transmigrated to the world of 「Infinite Jobholders」 for 3 days, Chen Luo no longer felt overly naive or surprised by system rewards. Glancing over the new skill description, he merely clicked his tongue nonchalantly. After all, he used to be a renowned top-tier power-leveler who knew all too well how those sneaky pests who liked playing stealth ambushes operated. However, information was always a critical survival factor. He understood he was still human, and being human meant he was bound to make mistakes. He couldn't look down on such a dominant reconnaissance skill just because he felt strong for the moment.
While thinking as he walked, several red dots representing danger suddenly flashed right ahead on the map interface. Relying on the reflexes of a seasoned expert, Chen Luo sprang up without hesitation, leaping onto the branch of an ancient tree by the roadside.
Looking down at the ground, he spotted a pack of Level 14 「Mad Sheep」 twitching their noses and sniffing around. Although Chen Luo's current level was fully sufficient to rout this monster pack, avoiding unnecessary conflict in the early stage was best to preserve state.
In beginner circles, aside from fierce monster species, 「Mad Sheep」 were among the most troublesome mutated creatures. Not only did they possess Lightning-attribute attacks that caused paralysis, but they also moved in packs with high organization and tactics, making them a true nightmare for anyone who accidentally encountered them. Even later on, if veteran players accidentally strayed into their lair, they would still pose a massive potential threat.
Holding his ground on the tree branch for a while and noticing that the monster pack below couldn't reach him, Chen Luo took the opportunity to observe his surroundings. He discovered a half-open window in the adjacent building, so he slipped over, opened it, and nimbly squeezed inside.
Where he landed was an old bathroom. A few personal items were still scattered messily on the floor, but the thick layer of dust covering everything proved that no human had been here for a long time. Chen Luo gently pushed the door open and walked into the living room area. Just as he arrived, a corner bedroom immediately caught his attention due to unusual rustling noises coming from within.
Not daring to be careless, he immediately activated the skill 「Mind Map」. An invisible wave instantly swept through the entire house, vividly reconstructing the spatial structure and target position in his mind. Locking onto the enemy's location, Chen Luo didn't waste a second of thought; he drew the 「Military Knife」 at his waist and threw it forcefully inside.
Thwack!
A dull thud echoed, followed by the space falling into dead silence. Chen Luo cautiously stepped into the room step by step.
On the brick wall, the military knife was deeply embedded in the wood, pinning a 「Mutated Rat」 firmly through its torso. Its HP had plummeted disastrously below 14 points, yet it was still struggling weakly. Seeing Chen Luo approach, it struggled even more frantically. To end its suffering, Chen Luo delivered a neat mercy punch, causing the monster to decisively log out on the spot before it could even gasp.
-"Congratulations to the player on defeating a Level 14 「Mutated Rat」, receiving 150 EXP!"
Pulling the knife out of the wall and wiping off the bloodstains, Chen Luo finally had time to glance around. It turned out this used to be a girl's room. The pink wallpaper on the wall and the stuffed bears scattered on the bed suggested a peaceful and happy life before the calamity struck.
Chen Luo walked around to search for resources. Although he felt a slight guilt like a thief, in the middle of the apocalypse, who had the leisure to care about such things. After searching through the drawers for a while, he pulled out a small leather-bound diary. Chen Luo opened it without hesitation, turning each page to collect more information about this world:
"- May 3, Year XXXX:
We made an appointment to go out together! He was so excited that he prepared very early. I wonder what unforgettable memories this trip will bring us both, I'm really looking forward to it!"
"- May 10, Year XXXX:
Today we went to the studio park together. The two of us had an extremely happy time together. He even shyly took the initiative to hold my hand, he's irresistibly cute!!!"
.....
Each page of the diary turned lightly through his fingers. That girl's life appeared completely immersed in sweet pinkness—with support from her family, and a genuine, mutual love from both sides. After 8 years together, they were even preparing to walk down the wedding aisle. But no one expected the apocalyptic calamity to suddenly crash down, shattering all dreams and leaving everything behind.
After reading, Chen Luo sighed softly, but did not linger too much on the past. He swiftly collected all the cotton mattresses and comfortable blankets on the bed into his personal inventory to use as camping gear, then glanced out the window. The pack of 「Mad Sheep」 below had dispersed at some unknown point. Chen Luo carefully navigated along the wall ledge and slid safely down to the ground.
-"Congratulations to the player on unlocking 「Memory Fragment」 x1 - A special prop belonging to the chain quest 「Memory Recovery」. There are currently 9998 fragments remaining to unlock all content. Player, please keep working hard!"
-"Nearly 10,000 fragments???? Are you kidding me?!" - Chen Luo made no attempt to hide the speechless expression on his face. Asking him to collect 10,000 memory fragments scattered across the world without a single clue was no different from asking him to take a brick Nokia phone to scan for hidden Easter eggs in a Mario game.
Standing on the ground, Chen Luo immediately brought up the map interface to configure the newly unlocked tracking feature. He reset key coordinates he had previously visited. Instantly, a magical beam of light in a faint blue color descended from the high sky. That light pillar was visible to him alone. As he attempted to step closer, the tracking light pillar faded and completely vanished when the distance between him and the marker narrowed to under 3 meters.
Engrossed in testing the new feature, Chen Luo advanced forward a bit further before abruptly encountering a wandering 「Silver Wolf」. Upon spotting a human figure, the wolf immediately let out a roar, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as it lunged straight forward to tear him apart. In that heart-stopping moment of shock, Chen Luo instinctively squeezed his eyes shut and threw an explosive punch forward out of pure habit.
Bang!
By the time Chen Luo cautiously opened his eyes, the Silver Wolf was already lying knocked out on the ground, its eyes rolled back and foaming at the mouth at some point. Chen Luo panted heavily while rubbing his fist. He knew this species very well—they were among the most loyal pets (Pet) in the game. As long as taming was successful, they would forever view the player as their sole master, never betraying them unless the master intentionally committed actions that shattered their trust.
Although the combat power of the 「Silver Wolf」 in the late game could not compare with high-tier divine beasts or demonic beasts, in return, they were a species favored and raised by almost all guilds, big or small. The reason was that they were very easy to raise, had flexible stat restructuring, and possessed extremely stable power growth margins. This species had fought side-by-side with millions of players ever since the Pet feature was first released.
Chen Luo himself had raised no fewer than thousands of 「Silver Wolf」 creatures prior to his transmigration. He deeply understood their superior potential if trained using the right methods. It was precisely for that reason that in the moment of confrontation just now, he chose to hold back his strength and use a bare-handed punch, otherwise there would currently just be a cold wolf corpse lying here motionless.
***
When night fell, the flickering red firelight dispelled the cold and darkness among the ruins.
The 「Silver Wolf」 slowly woke up from the shock and pain. Upon realizing that the wounds on its body had been carefully treated with medicine and tightly bandaged, a huge flicker of doubt arose in its wild eyes. Just as it was looking around in confusion, a deep voice suddenly rang out from opposite it:
-"Awake?"
That voice did not contain a hint of killing intent; on the contrary, it carried a slight sigh of sympathetic pity. The Silver Wolf twitched its ears, astonished to discover that it could actually understand every single word of the human language spoken by the figure before it.
Before it could process its thoughts, a large skewer of golden-roasted, crispy meat wafting a rich aroma was gently tossed over by Chen Luo, landing neatly on a clean wooden board right in front of it. Meeting Chen Luo's gaze, which was filled with goodwill and gentleness, the Silver Wolf was initially somewhat hesitant and guarded. However, its empty stomach and the alluring aroma of the meat shattered all defenses. It pounced on the roasted meat skewer and chewed on it ravenously with relish.
Watching the beast devour the food, Chen Luo couldn't help but feel deeply emotional in his heart. To achieve this, he had just forced himself to spend up to 2000 crystals in the system shop to learn the passive skill 「Linguistic Mastery」. Thanks to it, he could overcome language barriers to communicate with other races, humans from different regions, and especially intelligent mutated creatures. Although the price of 2000 crystals was extremely painful, causing his wallet to shrink down to a mere 1650 crystals, Chen Luo had a strong hunch that in the upcoming survival journey, this skill would yield manifold returns.
After devouring the fragrant roasted meat seasoned with a touch of coarse salt, the Silver Wolf set aside its initial reserve and began conversing with Chen Luo. Although it still harbored a trace of unyielding pride toward this human whose punch hurt like hell, the Silver Wolf had to admit that he truly bore no ill intent toward it. On the contrary, he had even treated its injuries. If those wounds had been left to suffer in the harsh wilderness outside, it would have undoubtedly gone through a life-or-death ordeal—at best suffering permanent combat power decline, at worst being unable to hunt and eventually dying of exhaustion and hunger.
Through a conversation in creature language, Chen Luo also realized that the nature of this Silver Wolf was neither brutal nor evil. It was simply that during the day, it caught the scent of fresh meat on him, coupled with severe hunger accumulated over many days, which caused it to temporarily lose its mind and pounce on a human out of survival instinct.
After listening to Chen Luo's thorough analysis and sincere invitation, the Silver Wolf's eyes flickered repeatedly. Standing before the flickering campfire that dispelled the dark night, the mutated beast began making a momentous decision—a decision that would very likely permanently alter the trajectory of its life from this moment onward...