Reality (4): Entering the base

Tan Xiao missed Wen Yi, but he wasn’t planning to immediately enter the game and start the next instance.

He didn’t stay in the same spot for long. Unable to get information from outside areas, he relied on his instincts to pick a direction. Following the map, he drove that way, stopping at a gas station along the route to refuel.

After driving for about three hours, Tan Xiao saw a barrier made of mist. Outside the mist, he could vaguely see signs of human activity.

However, the mist had excellent sound insulation. They couldn’t hear voices from others, and inside the mist, one could only see faint, humanoid shadows—it wasn’t certain they were even living people.

The descending mist had taken many lives and significantly reduced humanity’s already limited living space.

Still, fewer places meant that, under the severe lack of resources, fewer people wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Tan Xiao calmed down as he stared at the mist acting as a barrier. Having gone through several game instances, he was no longer the naive high schooler just stepping out of his ivory tower. He now had a deeper understanding of the darkness and selfishness of human nature.

Since he wasn’t in any immediate danger inside the mist, he didn’t rush to drive out.

In fact, given how long he had been disconnected from the real world, places where people gathered might actually be more dangerous to him than uninhabited zones.

He didn’t know the current state of the outside world. If everything was tightly managed and heavily guarded, someone emerging from the mist like him could be captured and sent to a research lab upon discovery.

Of course, he did have the identity of a top-tier game player to add to his bargaining chips, which might be enough to preserve his life. But if possible, Tan Xiao still preferred not to expose that.

He took off one of his rings. He had two: one was a gift from Dr. Wen, and the other was their wedding ring.

Tan Xiao kept the wedding ring on himself. The other ring, the first one he received, he hung around Xiao Bai’s neck. Wen Yi’s power could protect him from the strange effects of the mist, and naturally, it could also safeguard Xiao Bai.

“Xiao Bai, follow the edge of the mist and scout ahead. Be careful—if anything happens, come back right away.”

Xiao Bai nodded and jumped out of the car. Right in front of Tan Xiao, it passed through the mist, a glowing aura lighting up around it.

Tan Xiao and Xiao Bai were in a bound state, able to sense each other’s safety. Xiao Bai successfully exited the mist zone.

While waiting in the car, Tan Xiao fiddled with the radio equipment, trying to receive signals from the outside world. In the real world, players couldn’t access the internal forums of the game, but humanity had built their own forums in reality.

Unfortunately, near the edge of the mist zone, his phone still couldn’t receive a usable signal.

Many areas of the human world had been destroyed. Tan Xiao’s old phone was now just a brick—fully charged, it could function only as an alarm clock or timekeeper.

He glanced up at the gray sky. After such a long time, even the phone’s clock seemed unreliable.

Twenty minutes later, Xiao Bai returned safely from the other side of the mist. “I’m back!”

Tan Xiao let out a sigh of relief. “Are there people outside? Or is it still a mist zone?”

Xiao Bai described what it had seen: “Outside is a very tall forest, not many people around. Farther out, there’s a huge wall with the words ‘Capital Base’ written on it. It’s really tall and looks like it’s been fitted with high-voltage electricity.”

Xiao Bai was a literate, cultured dog—it could understand and read words.

“Capital Base?”

“Yes. There were a lot of people lining up, and many cars. Some scruffy-looking people were scavenging.”

After the mist invasion, many areas fell. The mist was too dangerous; those who first entered never came back.

The mist didn’t follow regular patterns—it would occupy scattered areas. For safety, the remaining survivors gathered and built new cities.

These new cities seemed to use some special shielding technology, which supposedly came from within the game.

The energy shields could block mist attacks and ensure the safety of those living inside.

Some small countries had disappeared, and former cities were divided into large bases. Building these bases required time—and a huge amount of construction material.

With limited space for human survivors, people had to live close together. This meant that even areas not yet touched by the mist were abandoned.

Outside the bases, these areas were always at risk of attack. Given the resource shortage, non-players who still wanted a decent life had to take risks. Some became explorers, venturing into non-mist but dangerous zones in search of supplies.

Only two months had passed, and the surviving humans hadn’t mutated. Their appearance, clothing, and grooming hadn’t changed much from before.

As long as he avoided drawing attention, Tan Xiao could blend in without being noticed.

He sighed in relief. The outside world had changed drastically, but he had a chance to integrate.

“Xiao Bai, let’s get out of the car.”

The vehicle’s noise was too loud and drew attention.

He didn’t want to rely only on Xiao Bai’s report—he needed to go out and see for himself.

He put the ring back on, changed his clothes, held Xiao Bai, and stepped out of the car.

Just as Xiao Bai described, the outside was a forest. After inspecting the surroundings, Tan Xiao decided to leave the car inside the mist zone. He took some high-calorie, easy-to-store food with him, stored Xiao Bai in the pet space, and got in line at the back of the long queue leading to the Capital Base.

He had been traveling in the capital city when the incident happened, and the nearby Capital Base was the largest one, with a population in the millions.

However, the internal management of the base was strict. To enter, one needed valid identification.

As the most powerful and prosperous base, the Capital Base attracted many outsiders. Every day, long lines formed at the gates.

“I’m from out of town and only have my old ID. Can I still use this?”

The man asking looked ordinary, but his voice was unexpectedly pleasant.

The staff glanced at him. “As long as you’re a citizen, it’s fine. But out-of-towners have to pay a stay fee.”

People already living in the base had local residency and received benefits. Outsiders were different. Large bases welcomed elites—like players with special abilities—but life was harder for regular folks. To stay in the city, they had to pay a much higher price.

Despite the changing world, some things remained the same: before and after the mist’s arrival, elites always lived better than the average person.

In times of crisis, the law of the jungle became even more pronounced.

The young man took out an old ID card: “Wang Zihao, male, from D City.”

The ID easily passed the scanner, and the facial recognition machine confirmed: “Verification passed.”

This crisis involved mist, not zombies or something similar. The identity verification systems were still the old ones, and not particularly sophisticated.

“There’s a department in the city where you can apply for a new ID—don’t forget to register.”

He entered the city smoothly. An ordinary, forgettable person didn’t attract much attention.

This “Wang Zihao” was none other than Tan Xiao.

The game mall sold expensive disguise items. With skill, one could copy the appearance of someone they’d seen. Tan Xiao had always kept his ID close when traveling, but he wasn’t sure if his real name had already been flagged in the real world.

In this situation, using his real face was out of the question—at least until he knew more.

As for Wang Zihao’s ID, it was easy to find. Those creatures only took the corpses, not their belongings. In such a large city, it was easy to find someone else’s old ID.

With his improved attributes from the game, Tan Xiao could now detect things he previously couldn’t—like subtle surveillance cameras on the streets.

Patrols maintained order inside the base. At a glance, it didn’t seem too different from the pre-mist world. After all, the city was built on the foundation of the old one—only now, it was more densely packed. There were more high-rises than houses, and many open spaces had makeshift container homes.

Various entertainment venues had new signs, many related to the mist or divine games.

There were fewer cameras than before. With his unremarkable fake face, Tan Xiao attracted no attention.

He politely acquired a new ID and exchanged some gold for money.

Old-world currency was now worthless, but gold still had value.

Everything was expensive in the base. Tan Xiao bought a new phone capable of calls and rented an apartment through an agent.

Even hotel rooms were equipped with cameras. Cautious as he was, he wouldn’t use external networks lightly.

He released Xiao Bai and handed it the new laptop he’d just bought—working in parallel would let them gather more useful information.