The freak’s facial features twitched. Its eyes, swollen and cyanotic with only the whites showing, stared fixedly at Zhou Kai.
That cruel, horrifying expression reminded Zhou Kai of zombie movies he had watched before.
This thing was no better than a zombie.
The standoff lasted only an instant before the freak suddenly lunged, charging at Zhou Kai with a putrid stench of rotting entrails and ammonia.
From its torn maw sprayed saliva dotted with pus; the bones of both hands elongated grotesquely, like the claws of some hairless, feral dog.
One glance told Zhou Kai that this thing absolutely could not be touched.
He was still afflicted with the "Wound Infection" debuff. If this thing scratched him again, he’d probably rot away on the spot.
But did that mean he couldn’t fight?
Zhou Kai sidestepped the freak’s clumsy straight-line charge, watching as it got stuck—body and door panel both—between the floorboards, struggling helplessly.
His eyes glared frighteningly bright in the lamplight.
“It can be killed!”
This thing’s threat level was far lower than its horrifying appearance suggested.
Compared to that furry monster which no longer looked human, or that silent armored warrior with the chain hammer, this half-human, half-beast creature was surprisingly… weak.
Its cerebellum seemed underdeveloped; its movements were all stiff, like those of a walking corpse.
Zhou Kai hefted the axe in his hand without the slightest hesitation. Strike while it’s down, take its life.
He swung his arm in a full arc, mustering every ounce of strength to raise the cold, gleaming axe high overhead, then brought it down viciously upon that deformed head like smashing a rotten watermelon.
Crack!
The crisp sound of shattering bone echoed through the room.
Zhou Kai wasn’t accustomed to using such a weapon, after all, and his aim was slightly off. The first blow didn’t strike the head squarely but instead bit deep into its shoulder.
But it was close enough.
The scapula and clavicle were completely severed by the blow; the axe’s momentum didn’t diminish, cutting through several ribs before finally stopping.
The resentment of dying four times, the terror of narrowly escaping death, and that anger with nowhere to vent—
—all of it poured into this single strike.
The freak instantly stopped struggling.
But Zhou Kai’s assault didn’t stop.
He stomped on the freak’s chest and yanked hard, pulling the axe embedded in bone free with a wet, sucking sound.
Warm black blood splattered across him.
As for whether the black blood was harmful, he wasn’t in the mood to worry about that right now.
There was one thing he urgently needed to verify.
Then, without hesitation, he rained several more blows upon that grotesque head until it was completely severed from the body, only then stopping to gasp for breath.
Zhou Kai’s stamina was nearly depleted…
And his “roommate” was clearly no longer moving.
“Wait… even this kind of follow-up killing isn’t enough?”
But after just two breaths, his expression suddenly changed.
Several tentacles sprouted from the shattered head, while its body split open from the wound cleaved by the axe.
A lump of red and purple unknown tissue, resembling a squid’s heart and pulsing as one, crawled out from the freak’s chest cavity.
Zhou Kai snorted coldly. First, he stomped the convulsing tentacles into mush with his foot, then hoisted the axe again and hacked at it.
“As long as it can still move, don’t even fucking think about entering Phase Two in front of me!”
Zhou Kai went all out, hacking desperately with the axe.
When his strength was exhausted and he could no longer swing the axe,
he directly pulled the chef’s knife from the small of his back and threw himself upon the writhing mass, slashing and stabbing frantically.
The “squid-like tissue” was soon diced into pieces. The nascent vitality gestating within the monster rapidly declined, ultimately vanishing completely.
Covered in blood and filth, Zhou Kai fell backward and collapsed. At last, the message he had been waiting for refreshed in his vision.
[Killed ‘Failed Experiment,’ obtained General Experience Points ×3]
[Killed ‘Diablo Parasite (Juvenile),’ obtained General Experience Points ×5]
“As expected, just as I thought.”
“Eight experience points… I don’t know if it was worth it.”
Zhou Kai rested for quite a while before climbing to his feet, breathing heavily, and preparing to walk toward the fireplace to return to reality.
But just then, under the oil lamp’s illumination, something reflecting an unusual gleam caught his attention.
About two steps from where the freak had burst out of the study lay a palm-sized notebook, perfectly still.
Its cover was crafted from leather and brass, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and agate; it looked exquisitely ornate.
Zhou Kai walked over, picked it up, and tucked it into his shirt. Then by the fireplace, he silently intoned: “Disconnect.”
…
[You have left the Nightmare, but beware—despair has marked you.]
[You must still enter the Nightmare; however, this time you may choose to enter voluntarily at midnight each night, or be forced in at the latest after seven days.]
Inside a roughly twenty-square-meter rental apartment with shockingly simple decor and furnishings.
Hah!
Like a puppet caught in a ghost wall, Zhou Kai lay rigid on the bed for quite some time before suddenly sitting up.
His heart pounded wildly; his vision flickered with darkness.
The exhaustion and injuries from the Nightmare world had been inherited completely unchanged…
Of course, so had the spoils.
Zhou Kai looked at his status screen.
[Character: Zhou Kai]
[Status: Exhausted, Weakened, Wound Infection, Erosion]
[Skills: None]
[Items: Residence Permit, Blood-Stained Axe, Rusted Chef’s Knife, Strange Book]
[General Experience Points: 8]
[Erosion Progress: 4/9] (Please avoid death!)
The homemade chain axe had already been discarded, but he hadn’t missed out on any of the other gains.
He smiled in satisfaction, only belatedly feeling a tearing pain in his back.
“Injuries and exhaustion were both brought back.”
“But no matter what, it’s better than being dead!”
Zhou Kai raised an eyebrow; nothing seemed amiss on his pale face.
He was still wearing the clothes he had fallen asleep in. The wounds remained, yet there were no traces of filthy blood or rainwater.
The inheritance of Nightmare world experiences seemed to have undergone some kind of filtration.
That was truly a good thing…
At least he didn’t have to worry about bringing any disgusting things back to reality.
He wasn’t in a hurry to look at the book for now. Instead, he quickly ripped off the sweat-soaked bedsheet and dragged out a first-aid kit from under the bed.
He disinfected and bandaged himself in front of the mirror.
Zhou Kai put on a loose, thick garment to avoid his injuries being discovered by others.
Due to some indescribable apprehension, he didn’t plan to go to the hospital.
“Can’t let Sis know I’m injured, or she’ll worry again.”
After changing to a new bedsheet, Zhou Kai withdrew that mysterious book from the inventory grid of his panel and carefully flipped through it.
Compared to the exquisite binding, the paper of the pages was rough and cheap… very consistent with ancient Western papermaking standards.
The text written inside was a mixture of two kinds.
One seemed to be ancient Latin, which very few people used nowadays; the other was completely incomprehensible.
Zhou Kai knew a little ancient Latin, and because of that, he could make out the large title on the title page.
[Morning Star’s Expedition Journal in 1921 in the (crossed out) (stain) region]
“Hmm? An ancient book, but the contents aren’t from ancient times.”
“Some text was crossed out? Is it Helen Beckberg?”
Zhou Kai frowned in thought and continued gnawing away at it.
He couldn’t understand some of the inner pages and inserted pages at all, but the Latin portions were much better.
He kept at it until dawn broke, and it actually yielded some results.
[You have comprehended crucial knowledge.]
[You have acquired the skill: Light Steps]
[You have come into contact with occult knowledge.]
[You have acquired the skill: Occultism]
[Reminder: Beware of contamination.]