Chapitre 3: A small frog's evolution

Ming opens the box, and his eyes light up with excitement.

A compound crossbow! A well-preserved, small compound crossbow that can be fired with one hand, and it even has an easy-to-draw switch. There are also more than ten crossbow bolts inside.

What a great find!

Da Vinci is truly amazing. Now that he has this compound crossbow, dealing with the zombies outside should be a piece of cake. But he has never used one before, so he should practice first to get the hang of it.

However, the first thing he should do is give Da Vinci a few more worms, as it has done a great job. Ming puts down the crossbow and grabs a few more bugs for Da Vinci.

[Your Da Vinci thinks you're acting a bit strange today. You usually give it ten worms, but why did you increase the amount today? It suddenly feels that you have some mischievous intentions.]

"What a cute simpleton."

"Come on, eat with peace of mind, and I'll level you up after you're done."

"You did a great job today, you know."

After placing the bugs, Ming familiarizes himself with the crossbow, draws the string, loads it, and fires at a throw pillow on the sofa.

Clang! The bolt shoots out and hits the pillow squarely. It's quite easy to handle.

The reason for shooting the pillow is that it won't make too much noise. After all, judging from how Da Vinci knocked over the fish tank earlier, the zombies seem to be quite sensitive to sound.

[Your Da Vinci thinks you're a simpleton too. The throw pillow doesn't cost any money? It's a bit upset now. That pillow has accompanied it through several nights, and it feels that you don't understand that emotional connection.]

[Da Vinci decides to take a nap first, as it doesn't feel like dealing with you right now.]

[Your Da Vinci has entered sleep... Recovering from fatigue.]

Several nights?

Ming glances at Da Vinci, knowing that it has been sleeping on his face at most. With the travel system, he can understand what this simpleton is thinking. Is it becoming too thoughtful? Has the apocalypse changed it? Has it become smarter?

With this in mind, Ming goes to the balcony, opens a small gap in the curtains, and looks outside. After a morning of screams, the residential area has become eerily quiet, even the cats that usually caterwaul are silent.

It seems that even if there are still survivors in the area, they are all hiding in their homes, not daring to move around. The timing of the start of this apocalyptic game is deadly - at 6 a.m., when everyone is sleeping, and once someone close to them turns into a zombie, the whole family might die. Fortunately, he is single.

"Let's level up the frog first." Ming's consciousness enters his mind.

Today, Da Vinci has gained 131 travel experience points after going out for a while. He needs to allocate these points wisely. Leveling up Da Vinci requires 10 experience points, and one lottery draw costs 99 points. He decisively chooses to level up this simpleton.

After all, it will be responsible for reconnaissance in the future. As for bringing back items from the journey, he has already given up hope on Da Vinci and will rely on himself.

[Consuming 10 travel experience points, your Travel Frog Da Vinci's level has been raised to LV2.]

[Your Da Vinci suddenly feels a warmth throughout its body, feeling full of energy. It thinks that it should be able to travel further next time, with its travel range increasing by 50 meters.]

Level up complete.

Ming checks Da Vinci's attributes.

[Travel Frog: Black-spotted Frog Da Vinci]

[Level: LV2]

[Travel Switch: Gently pat its head]

[Travel Bag: 3 slots (each slot can hold only one type of item, stackable quantity: 1)]

[Travel Range: 150 meters (It can go a bit further now, but it actually doesn't want to leave its warm home)]

[Travel CD: 24 hours]

[Evolution: Regular evolution can be triggered by leveling up. Every 10 levels trigger an advanced evolution, and every 50 levels trigger an ultimate evolution.]

[Talent: Low Edibility Desire, Mutated creatures have little desire to eat frog.]

[Taboo: When the frog is traveling, the Frog Master cannot interfere artificially (including following, forcing change routes, etc.)]

"Advanced evolution at level 10? I wonder what it could evolve into."

"Keep leveling up." Ming doesn't hesitate to continue upgrading Da Vinci.

[Consuming 20 travel experience points, your Travel Frog Da Vinci has been raised to LV3.]

[Your Da Vinci suddenly feels a tightness in its body, feeling that its stamina has improved, and gains +1 slot in the travel bag.]

"Keep leveling up." Ming chooses to upgrade Da Vinci again.

[Consuming 30 travel experience points, your Travel Frog Da Vinci has been raised to LV4.]

[Your Frog Da Vinci suddenly feels a tremor in its body, sensing its spirit has improved, and the travel range increases by 25 meters.]

[Consuming 40 travel experience points, your Travel Frog Da Vinci has been raised to LV5.]

[Your Da Vinci suddenly feels a tremor in its body, and the travel range increases by 25 meters.]

"Only 50 meters after two upgrades."

"It seems that the regular evolutions triggered after leveling up are quite random."

"It really matches Da Vinci's traveling temperament."

After several upgrades, Ming understands that the regular evolutions triggered after leveling up either increase Da Vinci's travel distance or the number of slots in the travel bag. It seems that if he wants to see a different evolution, he can only wait until it reaches level 10. He also wonders what the ultimate evolution at level 50 will be like.

Ming glanced at the remaining 31 travel experience points; clearly, participating in the lottery was impossible, as it required 99 points. Presently, advancing from level 5 to level 6 necessitated 50 points, which proved insufficient. The only option was to await the next Da Vinci excursion.

Having upgraded his frog, Ming suddenly recalled the doomsday game's impending arrival mentioned in his dream. It was now the first chapter of the doomsday game: the 72-hour eve of eternal night.

From six in the morning until six at night—a span of 12 hours—zombies remained in a 'sealed' state. After six, they would become frenzied. It was now eight in the morning, with 10 hours remaining before nightfall. Considering this, Ming promptly took stock of the food and drink at home.

Half a bottle of mineral water, one sandwich, and a single sausage.

Ming surveyed the remaining foods and realized that even if he stayed indoors throughout the long night, it would be quite difficult to endure three days. Furthermore, the zombies would grow increasingly crazed during the eternal night, the extent of their madness unknown.

No one knew, so Ming had to strengthen himself, gather supplies, and most crucially, eradicate the surrounding zombies.

Ming grabbed his one-handed crossbow, deciding to start with the landlord at the doorway. Approaching the door, he first gently moved aside the small table blocking it, then peered through the door's peephole.

The landlord, now a zombie, still stood at the entrance, his eyes a ghastly gray, pupils reduced to tiny black dots.

Cocking and loading the crossbow, Ming secured the door's security chain (located on the inside, it allowed the door to open only a crack when engaged).

He carefully opened the door a sliver, and the zombified landlord immediately turned its head, lunging with a hoarse, raspy voice. However, the security chain prevented its entry, leaving it to snarl with half its face pressed against the narrow opening.

Ming raised the crossbow and aimed at the creature's forehead, the close proximity making it nearly impossible to miss. After striking the zombie, he hurriedly closed the door, moved the table back, and barricaded it once more. Observing through the peephole, he saw the zombie landlord lying motionless on the ground, an arrow lodged in its skull. As expected, the brain was the zombies' weakness.

[Kill a Level 1 Zombie: Experience +1, Doomsday Coins +2]

"Experience and doomsday coins?"

"Experience is easily understood for leveling up."

"What is the purpose of doomsday coins?"

[Doomsday Game, World Channel Broadcast]

[After a few hours of panic and enjoyment in slaughter, everyone should understand that the Doomsday Game's arrival is no telecom scam~]

[Presumably, everyone has happily killed zombies, gained experience to enhance themselves, and secured doomsday coins. Don't let others steal them, as they are one of the guarantees for your continued survival.]

[Warm Reminder 1: During the eve of eternal night, simple random tasks may appear with no failure penalties. It is recommended to accept and complete them.]

[Warm Reminder 2: Thirty minutes before the first chapter begins, a Doomsday Trade Center will appear with an abundance of items for your selection. Please prepare your Doomsday Coins.]

[See you later, good luck, and survive.]