Winter

Sophia Johnson couldn't help but let her gaze linger on the core in her hand. A faint blue—this new attribute. She wanted it badly.

Shen Jinwen wasn't a tech-illiterate, old-fashioned type; she'd read and heard of many classic post-apocalyptic stories. The moment she saw the crystal inside the mutated animal she killed, her mind immediately connected the dots. Things like the "zombie crystal core" from classic novels came to mind.

So, when Sophia Johnson finished talking about attributes, Shen Jinwen instantly thought of this crystal.

Now, Shen Jinwen wasn't afraid to show it to Sophia Johnson. The reason she was willing to reveal it was because Sophia had already been upfront about the attribute issue and even seemed to trust her enough to let her leave when she easily could've coerced her into staying. Then, there was the peace of the information exchange. More importantly, Shen Jinwen was also eager to learn more. All these reasons combined led to her current openness.

Although Sophia Johnson hadn't been very social even before her illness and had in a sense been "isolated from the world," she had family she could communicate with, though they weren't always willing to talk to her. Despite having both intelligence and emotional understanding, she rarely exchanged information with anyone. Her main source of external knowledge had been the television, but when faced with something she deeply desired, it was hard for her to hide her emotions or instantly come up with the perfect words to express her thoughts. So, she simply asked bluntly, "I want this. What can I offer you in exchange?"

She didn't believe for a second that Shen Jinwen hadn't anticipated her desire for the crystal.

Sure enough, Shen Jinwen's expression showed no surprise. She tested the waters, "Tell me everything you know about attributes."

In Shen Jinwen's mind, information was more valuable than the crystal, because collecting information wasn't easy for her. But she hadn't expected Sophia Johnson's way of gathering information to be so "special."

At first, Shen Jinwen had only been testing her. She was prepared for Sophia Johnson to haggle, but what she heard instead was: "I can tell you part of what I know, the part that's especially important to you."

Sophia Johnson didn't view the information about attribute cores as something particularly secretive. It was something that would eventually be discovered by everyone, given enough time. However, that didn't mean she was about to spill all the information just for one core. She needed to leave something for future trades.

For example, this time, she hadn't planned to tell Shen Jinwen about the specifics of each attribute.

In Sophia's mind, the city was already a stagnant place. The survivors here weren't like her, with an "extra life" that made food and water less of a concern. They had to venture outside, risking life and limb to gather supplies. After defeating monsters, they would surely find cores. This world wasn't lacking in smart people, and someone would eventually figure out that the different colors of the cores were tied to attributes. Someone would experiment to find out exactly what the cores did.

Sophia wasn't planning to make contact with many more people. Her focus was on increasing her own power, and she suspected that, before long, a new order would emerge in this dead city—a world where the strong dominated.

At that point, money would be worthless, and bartering would replace cash transactions. What better thing to use for trade than supplies and cores?

She was keeping the most crucial information for future exchanges, and for now, she was willing to give a little away to "make a friend."

With that in mind, she continued, "You should know that one core in exchange for my information isn't an even trade. Even if my information isn't complete, its value far exceeds just one core."

"So, I need you to keep paying the price."

"In the days to come, we'll cooperate. You'll tell me any useful information you gather."

"If I confirm you're not deceiving me and the partnership remains stable, I'll share another piece of crucial information with you—something other people will have a hard time learning."

That piece of information was, of course, the detailed knowledge about this pale blue core. Sophia Johnson herself wouldn't fully understand it until she had access to the core and saw the game system's side notes.

Upon hearing this, Shen Jinwen was silent for a long time. Sophia didn't know what was going through her mind but finally saw her nod in agreement. "Fine."

After speaking, Shen Jinwen took the core and handed it over to Sophia Johnson, a gesture of goodwill.

Sophia smiled as she accepted the core. She found Shen Jinwen interesting—few words, but decisive actions. She seemed sharp, but after interacting with her, Sophia felt there was more calmness to her personality than she let on. She seemed like the type who would be a quiet yet reliable partner.

With that thought, Sophia Johnson took the core and examined it. "I mentioned attributes earlier. This," she said, holding it up, "is an attribute core."

"There are eight types of attributes in total. The colors of the cores vary depending on the type. As for the specific names and abilities of each, I can't tell you yet. You haven't paid enough for that information."

"As proof..." Sophia Johnson took out the light yellow Blade Attribute core she had put in her pocket earlier. "Here. This is one of the attribute cores I own."

When Shen Jinwen saw the Blade core, she believed Sophia's words even more. After showing it to her, Sophia placed both cores back in her pocket and continued:

"I can tell you the most important thing: creatures are drawn to the attribute they resonate with most. So, it's very likely that you are most attuned to this pale blue attribute."

"Don't try to do anything with the attribute core just yet. There's a restraining force between attributes. If you want to know how to use it, you'll need to show some sincerity in our future cooperation."

"That's all I can tell you for now."

Sophia Johnson had made the exchange seem like a sweet deal. Even though she didn't know how to use the cores herself, she was able to make Shen Jinwen believe her. That was enough for now.

As the conversation came to a close, Shen Jinwen's trust in Sophia had risen from a mere 10% when they first met to over 50%. This was likely because the post-apocalyptic world was still new, and human trust hadn't been completely eroded yet.

Given Sophia's "generosity," Shen Jinwen immediately shared most of her recent discoveries. Though they weren't many, they were centered around the area. They weren't as significant as what Sophia had shared, but they still had some value. After sharing, she didn't ask Sophia to provide more information but instead suggested that whenever she had new, valuable intel, they should meet again. When Sophia thought the time was right, she would give her more details.

After their information exchange, Sophia didn't stay long. She had more to do.

Back at her new place, Sophia first picked up the game console. She thought about how she had previously placed the black fruit into the warehouse. It was a simple thought, and the task was done. This time, she did the same with the pale blue core. She focused, and in an instant, the core disappeared from her hand.

Opening the game warehouse, sure enough, a pale blue crystal had appeared.

She selected the core, and the screen beside it displayed the word: [Winter].

[Congratulations, you've acquired another attribute core. Would you like to learn some knowledge about this core?]

Sophia clicked [Yes].

[Winter: The principles of silence, finality, and the not-quite-gone.]

[It includes passing, remembrance, death's stillness, decay, snow, the end, and weakness. Its characteristic is silence. Sometimes, it may even know its own inevitable end.]

Sophia frowned slightly as she read the description. To be honest, she hadn't sensed much of "passing" or "stillness" in Shen Jinwen, nor any connection to "weakness" or "decay." Of course, this judgment might be superficial. She didn't yet fully understand how attributes resonated with people. Perhaps she could observe Shen Jinwen more closely and deduce how her attribute aligned with her.

For some reason, Sophia had a feeling that this [Winter] attribute was somewhat "neutral." Unlike [Moth], which was chaotic, or [Blade], which represented power and conflict, [Winter] seemed too quiet.

This made Sophia even more curious about what the other attributes might entail.

Before anything else, though, she needed to conduct a small experiment to see if the core functioned the way she thought.

Sophia Johnson took out the [Blade] attribute core and turned to Little One. "Open your mouth."

Little One, lying at her feet, obediently opened its blood-red maw. Sophia tossed the core into its mouth. "Swallow it."

Yes, her experiment was simple—she wanted to see what would happen if a companion consumed the attribute core. Would they be able to absorb its power?

It was a crude, straightforward experiment, but Little One was right there, the perfect test subject.

Sophia watched as Little One chewed the core and, within five seconds, curled into a ball. Its eyes closed, and its head lowered to the ground, as if it had entered a hibernation-like state.

Seeing this, Sophia picked up the game console and looked at the screen.