Chapter 2: The Golden Button Gift

“Do I really have a golden finger now?” Xia Tong murmured softly, her tail tip lightly sweeping the ground, stirring up barely noticeable dust.

The thought had just formed when the ruined scene before her seemed to lose its color in an instant, becoming blurred and indistinct. Then, an indescribable sensation of detachment washed over her.

Her consciousness appeared to be drawn into a strange space—a vast, boundless void of darkness.

This was… the spirit sea?

Though called a spirit sea, it was pitch black with no visible edges.

In the very center of this darkness floated two objects.

One was a pale blue crystal she knew all too well, translucent and shining, radiating a gentle and pure water-element energy fluctuation—her cat body’s supernatural ability core.

As for the other item… it caused her glimmering cat eyes to widen slightly.

It was a dazzling amber-colored little button, simple in design without any patterns, yet it emitted an indescribably warm and radiant light.

It floated quietly at the heart of the spirit sea, encircled by the pale blue water-element core, slowly revolving around it. The two seemed to share a subtle connection, yet remained distinctly separate.

This button…

Xia Tong’s heart trembled slightly.

She recognized this thing.

It was placed on her by her biological parents shortly after she was born. Later, after being detected with an S-grade water-element supernatural ability, she was taken to the “Ink City Base” supernatural academy for closed training.

After that, she never saw her parents again, until she graduated and worked as a healer in the base hospital.

Fortunately, in this life, she was free—no longer forced to sit every day in the hospital office, asking others, “Where is the problem?”

Sometimes, she even felt that she herself was the problem.

But that said, how did this button end up here?

…Why was it inside her spirit sea, alongside her water-element ability core?

Could it be… that the so-called system golden finger was this button?

Xia Tong silently called out, trying to communicate with the button in her mind.

“Um… little button, are you still there?”

However, the pure white button continued to float silently in the spirit sea, offering no response. Its light was steady and gentle, but there was no sign of conscious communication.

If she hadn’t heard the voice in her mind earlier, she might have thought she was imagining things.

Just as Xia Tong prepared to try communicating again, a faintly glowing information panel suddenly appeared before her eyes, displaying her basic details.

“Character Information: Xia Tong”

Race: Mutated Black Cat
Rank: First Rank, One Star
Ability: Water (F Grade)
Skills: Water Transformation, Water Gun, Water Whip
Status: Healthy
Evaluation: A mutated little black cat with a nascent F-grade water ability; an easy snack for zombies if not careful.

…

Xia Tong scanned the information on the panel.

“Heh… F grade,” she chuckled lightly, a playful glint flickering in her shimmering cat eyes.

Hmm… an easy snack for zombies… that evaluation was rather amusing. Saying that, Xia Tong turned to look at the still-warm zombie corpse in the distance.

Then she shifted her gaze away from the corpse and back to the information panel before her. Besides the basic info, there seemed to be other expandable options below, but they were all grayed out and unselectable.

It seemed this so-called “source core” wasn’t fully functional yet, or perhaps… it required certain conditions to unlock?

Her attention returned once more to the little button in the spirit sea. So this button was the so-called “source core”?

She reached out to touch the button in her spirit sea, but it remained motionless, as if it were just a phantom existing in her consciousness.

“Interesting.”

Unconsciously flicking her tail, Xia Tong temporarily shifted her focus away from the mysterious ‘little button.’

The most practical thing now was to handle the spoils she had just acquired. She then looked down at the gray crystal floating before her, supported by a gentle flow of water.

Though the energy it contained was faint, it was still a very good supplement for her, who was only at “First Rank, One Star.”

…

Returning to the corridor.

Through the shattered window, she could clearly see the gray mist spreading over the distant wasteland, gradually approaching the ruins of the city.

More than thirty years had passed since the apocalypse…

Scientists in the wasteland had long studied this strange gray mist—it was harmless and posed no threat to the human body.

Xia Tong found a comfortable position, curling up in the shadow beneath the window, gently biting into the gray crystal.

With a thought, a soft mental force enveloped the crystal, causing its flickering glow to pulse with renewed vitality.

A pure yet subtle energy slowly flowed into her body, eventually merging into the dazzling button within her spirit sea.

“Hmm… is this right?”

“…Is it?”

At this moment, Xia Tong’s head was filled with frustration. Shouldn’t the energy be flowing into the water ability core? Why was it being absorbed by the button?

As she watched the energy all flow into the button, Xia Tong grew anxious. She couldn’t afford to waste this hard-earned crystal. Now, she wanted to stop absorbing the crystal’s energy immediately.

But just then, before she could act further, the ‘little button’ in the spirit sea shimmered, releasing a streak of brilliant light that slowly infused back into the water ability crystal.

At the same time, the cold notification sound rang again in her mind.

[Absorbed low-level energy crystal core, water ability experience +1]
[Current experience: 1/10]

“Hiss…”

This was… an experience bar?

Had the wasteland really developed a game system from the old era? What on earth was this for?

In an instant, Xia Tong looked thoughtfully at the two new lines of text quietly added to her information panel.

So this rank could be increased by absorbing energy crystals.

Her crystal-clear cat eyes instantly sparkled with delight.

“Heavens, what a divine little button!”

“I’ve decided—you shall be my ‘lifelong friend’!”

Confirming that the energy absorption process was functioning properly, Xia Tong hurried to seize the moment, focusing her mind to absorb the entire gray crystal tonight.

The silent ruined corridor glowed with a mysterious, hazy light deep into the night…

…

The next day, the morning light fell from the sky, casting upon Xia Tong’s soft fur.

Her eyebrows twitched slightly as she sleepily opened her eyes.

The grain-sized gray crystals from last night had been completely absorbed, with almost perfect efficiency—no waste or loss.

The results pleased her greatly.

[Absorbed low-level energy crystal core, water ability experience +3]
[Current experience: 4/10]

If she got one more, she might just level up.