Doomsday Sequence Highway: Stay away from cities!

"Evolve!" Chen Bo gave the command without hesitation.

This is a treasure that can automatically protect its owner, which is equivalent to having an extra little helper.

[The Shield of Watchers is evolving... consuming 5000 growth points...]

[Evolution complete! The Shield of the Watchers has been upgraded to "Sacrifice" quality!]

【Shield of the Watchers (Sacrifice - Bound)】

[Current Quality: Offering (Low Grade)]

[Activated Skills:]

[1. Guardian Shield (Enhanced) - Consumes a small amount of extraordinary power to deploy an energy shield in front of you, capable of withstanding attacks from Sequence 7 and below. The shield's strength is greatly increased.]

[2. Autonomous Defense (New) - The sacrificial animal gains rudimentary autonomy, capable of deploying a shield to defend against attacks from any direction even when not activated by the host. In autonomous defense mode, the shield's strength is 70% of its active strength.]

[3. Guardian Counterattack (New) - Absorbs 10% of the enemy's attack energy and converts it into shield strength, up to which it can absorb a full-force attack from a Sequence 7 Mysterious Beast.]

[Evolution Potential: Can continue to evolve into a mid-grade sacrificial object, a high-grade sacrificial object, or even higher. The next stage of evolution requires 20000 growth points and can be executed at sequence 7.]

Chen Bo took the shield from his waist and held it in his hand.

The shield's appearance changed—it went from the size of a palm to half the size of a palm, and its surface color changed from a dark iron black to a deep bronze.

The handprint pattern became clearer, with the outlines of the five fingers distinct, and the light spot in the palm changed from one to three, like three stars embedded in a shield.

He could sense something awakening within the shield, a very rudimentary, vague consciousness, similar to that of an infant.

It cannot speak or think, but it can sense Chen Bo's presence, sense the direction of danger, and know when to deploy its shield and when to remain silent.

Chen Bo hung the shield back on his waist, and the shield vibrated slightly, as if it were greeting him.

"Good boy." Chen Bo patted the shield.

Then he took out the few trinkets he had looted from the strange creature—wood carvings, jade pendants, pocket watches, and gold necklaces—and laid them out in a row on the moisture-proof mat.

"System, scan for upgrade plans for these items."

[Ding! Scan complete!]

【Item: Wood Carving (Exceptional Jewelry)】

Current Quality: Average

[Upgradeable Options:]

[Option 1 (Consumes 2000 Growth Points): Upgrades quality to "Excellent," increases passive resistance to eerie aura corrosion by 50%, and increases damage reduction against low-level eerie attacks by 10%.]

[Option Two (Consumes 8000 Growth Points): Upgrade quality to "Excellent" and add the "Wooden Carving Guardian" skill—when activated, a layer of wooden armor forms around the body, which can resist strange attacks of Sequence 8 and below for 30 seconds.]

[Option 3 (Consumes 20000 Growth Points): Upgrade the quality to "Sacrifice (Low Grade)". The wooden carving gains basic self-awareness and can fight independently of its host. Its attack method is to entwine with wooden tentacles, which has a strong control effect on Sequence 8 Strange Creatures.]

【Item: Jade Pendant (Exceptional Jewelry)】

Current Quality: Average

[Upgradeable Options:]

[Option 1 (Consumes 2000 Growth Points): Upgrades quality to "Excellent," increases passive resistance to eerie aura corrosion by 50%, and increases damage reduction against low-level eerie attacks by 10%.]

[Option Two (Consumes 8000 Growth Points): Upgrade quality to "Excellent" and add the "Jade Body Purification" skill—upon activation, removes the eerie aura from yourself and friendly units within a 30-meter radius. Cooldown: 24 hours.]

[Option 3 (Consumes 20000 Growth Points): Upgrade the quality to "Sacrifice (Low Grade)". In addition to gaining the "Jade Body Purification" skill, the jade pendant gains basic self-awareness and can fight independently of the host. Its attack method is to launch jade fragments, which have a strong penetrating effect on Sequence 8 Strange Beings.]

[Item: Pocket Watch (Exceptional Jewelry - Special)]

Current Quality: Average

[Special Note: This item is a "Summoning" extraordinary accessory, a one-time use item. It can be upgraded to a sacrifice to summon a poor old woman to fight for humanity once. After the summoning ends, the pocket watch shatters.]

[Upgradeable Options:]

[Option 1 (Consumes 5000 Growth Points): Upgrades quality to "Excellent," summoning an old man whose combat power is equivalent to a Sequence 8 Mysterious Being.]

[Option Two (Consumes 20000 Growth Points): Upgrades quality to "Excellent," summoning an old man whose combat power is equivalent to a Sequence 7 Mysterious One.]

[Option 3 (Consumes 50000 Growth Points): Upgrade the quality to "Sacrifice," and the summoned elder's combat power will be no less than that of a Sequence 6 Mysterious Being.]

[Item: Gold Necklace (Exceptional Jewelry)]

Current Quality: Average

[Upgradeable Options:]

[Option 1 (Consumes 2000 Growth Points): Upgrades quality to "Excellent," passively increasing the wearer's perception range of eerie auras.]

[Option Two (Consumes 8000 Growth Points): Upgrade quality to "Excellent" and add the "True Love Shield" skill—upon activation, it simultaneously deploys a shield for the wearer and a designated target, sharing damage, lasting 60 seconds.]

[Option 3 (Consumes 20000 Growth Points): Upgrade the quality to "Sacrifice (Low Grade)". In addition to gaining the skills of Option 2, the Golden Necklace gains basic self-awareness and can fight independently of its host. Its attack method is to entangle with golden chains, which has a strong binding effect on Sequence 8 Strange Beings.]

Chen Bo looked at these upgrade plans and fell into deep thought.

I just spent 15000 growth points (10000 from Silverlight Gun + 5000 from Watcher's Shield), and now I have 48840 left.

如果他把四件饰品全部升级到祭物，需要20000+20000+50000+20000=110000，根本不够。

如果全部升级到卓越，需要8000+8000+20000+8000=44000，够。

But Option 3 with the pocket watch is too tempting—50000 growth points, summoning an old man of at least Sequence 6 level to fight.

Sequence 6.

Chen Bo is currently at Sequence 8. The most terrifying and bizarre creature he has ever encountered was the black silhouette at Sequence 5, which almost killed him with a single glance.

Sequence 6 is already an intermediate sequence. Although it is not as good as sequence 5, it should not be much worse.

If only we could have a Sequence 6 level fighter...

Chen Bo licked his lips.

Unfortunately, it's a one-time offering, and his current growth value isn't enough to reach 50000. Plus, he still needs to upgrade other things.

Chen Bo gritted his teeth: "Let's upgrade the jade pendant and gold necklace to sacrificial items first."

[Jade pendant is being upgraded...consuming 20000 growth points...]

[Upgrade complete! Jade pendant quality upgraded to "Sacrificial Offering (Low Grade)"!]

The originally emerald green jade pendant turned into a translucent milky white, like a piece of solidified milk.

The surface pattern became more intricate, transforming from a single flower into a complete painting—a painting of a person sitting cross-legged on a lotus flower, hands clasped together, eyes closed, with a serene expression.

The jade pendant floated up from the moisture-proof mat and hovered in front of Chen Bo, emitting a faint milky white light.

The light was very soft, and it felt warm on my skin, like the winter sun.

Chen Bo hung the jade pendant around his neck and pressed it against his chest.

[Gold Necklace Upgrading... Consuming 20000 Growth Points...]

[Upgrade complete! The gold necklace has been upgraded to "Offering (Lower Grade)"!]

The gold necklace has many elaborate variations.

The broken chain was reconnected, and the golden luster became even more intense, like a flowing river of gold.

The words "True Love" on the pendant became clearer, and the strokes of the characters flowed with a dark golden light, like lava.

The gold necklace floated up from the moisture-proof mat and hovered in front of Chen Bo, emitting a dazzling golden light.

That kind of radiance wasn't the gentle kind; it was flamboyant, domineering, and seemed to want the whole world to know how expensive it was.

Chen Bo also wore the gold necklace around his neck. The milky white of the jade pendant and the gold of the necklace intertwined, making it look... a bit tacky.

Forget it, survival is the priority, so let's just go with the rustic style.

Current growth value balance: 8840

Chen Bo lifted the tent flap and went outside.

Zhang Xinyin was still squatting at the tent entrance, clutching the toothbrush in her hand, her ponytail hanging down her back, her eyes wide open.

Seeing Chen Bo come out, she stood up abruptly and took two steps back.