Everyone jumped in surprise and hurriedly backed away.

Seeing her savior, Sita ran over with the white fox in her arms, crying, "Uncle! They want to eat Snow Fox!"

The burly man was Ryder, Sita King's uncle-in-law.

Sita owned a small pet grooming shop called Little Bear, which was doing quite well. The white fox was her own pet.

When the purple mist descended, Ryder and Sita King's aunt, Fido, were visiting New York City and temporarily stayed at Sita's house.

When the mist appeared, they got trapped along with her and have been there ever since.

Eat the white fox? Upon hearing this, Ryder's eyes flashed with calculation before he shouted, "You ungrateful bastards! Get away from here!"

Ryder was always domineering, with a big and strong build. Consequently, George and the others didn't dare confront him directly and could only watch with sulky expressions as Ryder led Sita King away.

Once they reached the 4th floor, to Sita's home, Fido anxiously asked, "Little sister, where's today's catch?"

Sita broke down in tears, "Snow Fox is hurt—barely hanging on!"

"What!" Fido's face darkened immediately. Without the fox, what would they eat?

Before she could say anything further, Ryder pulled her aside to whisper a few words.

Fido's eyes lit up with an idea. After hesitating, she walked over to Sita and said, "Little sister, maybe we should just eat it?"

Sita couldn't believe her ears when she looked at Fido. "Auntie, how could you... Uncle, look at her!"

Ryder, awkwardly rubbing his hands, chuckled, "The white fox is so small, barely any meat on it. With so many people outside, how much would we get? Better if we just eat it ourselves, behind closed doors."

Sita looked at them, people she thought she knew well, feeling a chill down her spine. "You would actually..."

Fido quickly interjected, "Little sister, I don't want to either, but Snow Fox is dying, isn't it? We're in an apocalypse, and we have to face reality to survive longer."

She wrapped an arm around Sita's shoulders, feigning concern for her.

With a burst of emotion, Sita shook her aunt off, crying out, "No! No one can touch my Snow Fox! It's been hunting and feeding you all, and this is how you repay it!"

Ryder continued, "Alas, little sister, you must understand. Today, if I hadn't stepped in, George and his cronies would have robbed you. Hasn't it always been like this? Do you think that just a white fox could protect you on its own? All you have to do is wait for it to bring back food every day, while I have to think about so much more!"

Fido added, "Right, in tough times like these, do you think us women can survive without a man? It's been peaceful thanks to your uncle's efforts. Now, if the fox is going to die, let your uncle eat a bit more. Maybe he'll gain an ability and be able to protect us all for longer, right?"

Before she finished speaking, Sita King rushed into the bedroom with the fox and locked the door behind her with a bang.

Realizing what had happened, Fido tried pulling the door open to no avail and shouted in frustration, "Sita, open the door!"

From inside, Sita yelled back in anger, "No! Never!"

While she looked young, she wasn't naive.

She had moved from a small town to New York City on her own, even opening a pet grooming store. How could she not see through their selfishness?

Fido, furious, turned to Ryder, "Ryder, what are you just standing there for? Break the door down! Don't let her hog the fox's body!"

"Alright!" Ryder responded, spitting twice before putting his shoulder into the door.

Bang! His foot landed a booming blow against it.

Sita screamed from inside, "Don't come in! This is my room!"

Ryder ignored her pleas, focusing instead on breaking through.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Each hit made the door shudder.

Approximately 20 meters underground at the New York Film Academy, James Lone observed the scene above [with a sense of dread].

The campus had become a nest for tentacle monsters—everywhere he looked, they were crawling around.

Cocoons hung all over, housing humans, animals, and even giant dogs over 5 meters long.

The number of tentacle monsters was increasing geometrically!

Once the monsters in these cocoons matured, they would ravage all life around them!

James Lone could take down one or two, but there were thousands here!

Countless more were growing within the cocoons.

This wouldn't do!

The Sunshine Garden Towers complex was no longer safe.

Who knew when these creatures might descend upon them?

Determined, James left the area.

Inside the buildings, survivors were nowhere to be seen.

Tentacle monsters were hunting through the purple mist.

Many survivors had been caught, becoming food for the juvenile monsters.

The clever ones had already begun evacuating.

He witnessed three groups of survivors trekking through the forest, desperately trying to escape the vicinity of the Film Academy.

"Why is there still a group that hasn't fled that small building? Don't they know about the tentacle monsters?"

Puzzled, James focused on a nearby six-story building.

He stealthily approached.

Hmm, wasn't that the blue-eyed white fox he encountered before?

When he first came to the Film Academy, he had crossed paths with this fox, remembering its strength vividly.

This petite white fox had combat capabilities on par with the mutant frog!

Why was it now on the verge of death?

What had injured such a formidable mutant fox?

After a moment of hesitation, James decided to head over from underground.

First, he used his perception to ensure there were no ability users within the building.

Then he slowly emerged from the ground, rising up to the fourth-floor bedroom window, and phased through the wall.

Through the Light of the Mind, the white fox displayed one ability orb, indicating it possessed a single ability.

The girl holding it was quite beautiful but just an ordinary person with no abilities.

How peculiar that an ordinary beauty managed to survive this long.

[Sita King] [Age: 26] [Quality: 9] (Cute little tiger teeth, playful and adorable) [Virtue: 10] (Virgin) [Overall Score: 9] [Ding! Meets system requirements!]

Sita was tearfully mourning when she noticed a pair of shoes in front of her, startling her.

Looking up, she saw a handsome young man and stammered with a tremor, "You, you, are you human or a ghost?"

James chuckled, "Is this white fox your pet?"

Sita, hearing this, was too desperate to fear, "Yes, it's dying, sobbing."

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Ryder continued battering the door.

James glanced at the door with a frown, "Who's outside?"

Sita answered sadly, "My aunt and uncle, they want to eat Snow Fox! Please, save it!"

She was reaching out for help in desperation.

James took it calmly; most survivors lacked food.

Resorting to cannibalism wasn't unheard of; eating mutant animals was hardly shocking.

Kneeling down, James examined the white fox, "I can save it, but you must come with me."

Sita paused in surprise, then agreed delightedly and firmly, "Okay! If you can save Snow Fox, I'll be yours!"

She loved the fox, but she wasn't foolish.

She knew that if Snow Fox died, her future as a woman would be grim.

Most likely, she'd die terribly.

If this mysterious man could save the fox, well... she'd take things one step at a time from there.

James's lips curled slightly, pleased. This trip was already yielding another pretty companion.

He crouched over the fox, placing a hand on it.

A gentle green light enveloped them, as the wounds slowly healed.

Within half a minute, the white fox's eyes fluttered open.