Parasitic corpses were as tenacious as cockroaches; even disemboweled, they might not truly die.
Its wound gaped with rotten flesh curling outward, pink meat sprouts squirming and intertwining like maggots. The hissing sound of healing was enough to make one’s scalp go numb, and it looked ready to sew itself back up at any moment.
But Zhou Kai never dawdled. Finishing off a downed foe was a good habit ingrained in him since birth.
He reached behind his waist and drew a short-handled hatchet. The blade traced a cold gleam under the oil lamp. Too lazy for words, he aligned it with that still-squirming head and brought the axe down!
Pffft!
Zhou Kai’s face was expressionless. His wrist flickered, the hatchet turning into afterimages, forcibly mincing that head into meat paste.
Even after pulverizing the head, he didn’t stop. With one brutal chop, he split open the chest cavity. Deep within the tangled tentacles, he indeed found a faintly pulsating meat core.
Zhou Kai reached in, pulled out that slippery thing, and without looking, threw it on the ground and crushed it underfoot.
[You have slain ‘Diablo Parasitic Corpse (Adult)’. Obtained: Universal EXP ×7]
Wrapped inside the meat core were a few pod-like things, slick and slippery, carrying an ominous texture.
Zhou Kai frowned and stomped down, wanting to grind them into scrap as well. But his foot sank—those pods had actually been forced by him into the gaps between the wooden floorboards.
Hm? Their texture was this hard?
With suspicion, Zhou Kai took out a spare sample bag from his pocket, picked up these hard pods, and stored them away. These things were fishy; he’d have to study them later.
His EXP reserves had reached nine points—a considerable windfall.
If he dragged this corpse back and burned it, he could probably squeeze out another three or four points of EXP.
But…
“Can’t go back!”
Zhou Kai stood at the stairwell entrance, gaze distant, looking down at that living carpet made of countless black, gleaming shells below.
“Rustle, rustle, rustle…”
Dense scraping sounds merged into one.
This black “tide” was rising at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Being submerged by this thing…
Just thinking about it made Zhou Kai’s whole body go numb.
“Just what the hell is this thing?”
Zhou Kai retreated to the parasitic corpse’s side, grabbed its arm, and dragged it toward the distant window.
The corpse dragged a wide, sticky blood trail across the dust-covered corridor floor.
During the dragging, with a plop, a small notebook wrapped in bloodstains fell from the parasitic corpse’s pocket.
Zhou Kai leaned the corpse against the window, bent down, and picked up the notebook.
“Crack… crack…”
The cracking sound of wood being gnawed grew closer and closer.
Zhou Kai had calculated every possibility, but he hadn’t calculated that this time the danger would emerge from underground!
He leaned against the window. Borrowing the lightning flashing outside, he saw that the ground outside was similarly covered by a writhing black insect tide.
They were like a black flood, surging toward the low-lying areas of the town.
Wanting to return to No. 777 without touching these insects was fundamentally a pipe dream!
Those monsters could remain unharmed within the insect tide, but he didn’t think his flesh-and-blood body could withstand it!
What to do?
At his wit’s end, he turned his gaze back to the small notebook in his hand and held it up to the oil lamp.
Opening to the first page, a line of messy handwriting met his eyes.
[After Moonlight Orchids are picked, they aren’t very useful anymore—unless you use their flowers. At least they’re useful against Blood Beetles.—Left by Morning Star.]
Another note from Morning Star.
Zhou Kai rapidly flipped through the notes. There wasn’t much written; in less than two minutes he reached the end.
Among the usual interweaving of ancient Latin and unfamiliar script, Zhou Kai extracted four key pieces of information.
One was about the effect of the Moonlight Orchid.
The other three were…
[This is the third journal. In the end, I should leave nine notebooks… perhaps more, in Soraka Town. My next stop is the manor on the high ground of town, number thirteen. If anyone wishes to follow my trail, then come!]
[Everywhere there are special buildings that have been blessed. Relying on these, one can survive with difficulty… but please don’t joke with your life. Resurrection? Do you really think you died? Regarding special buildings, I should give some reliable conclusions in subsequent journals.]
[Blood Beetles… let’s collectively call them the Blood Tide. This very rhythmic disaster occurs once every twelve hours, lasting anywhere from three to six hours. When the Blood Tide occurs, it’s best to stay near Moonlight Orchids or other plants/areas/items with sacred attributes.]
Zhou Kai had no energy left to ponder the other two pieces of information.
His gaze remained nailed to the two words “Blood Tide.”
“Once every twelve hours.”
Zhou Kai’s heart went completely cold…
An insect tide that came once every twelve hours—no matter how he dodged, he was bound to run into one.
No avoiding it, no escaping it!
The only good news was that his mandatory Nightmare period didn’t completely overlap with the Blood Tide’s timing.
He had a precious buffer window for exploration and preparation.
But… there was also a piece of bad news.
Right now, the only place in the entire town that could shelter him was seventy meters away!
And he couldn’t get there at all!
Crack, crack…
The insect tide had already surged to the second floor. Black waves crawled all over the stairwell.
That rustling, scraping sound intertwined with the sound of rain,清晰得令人头皮发麻.
Insect bodies stacked layer upon layer, like manifested darkness, closing in on Zhou Kai.
Crack, crack.
Behind Zhou Kai, chewing sounds rang out…
A few Blood Beetles had actually climbed up the building’s outer wall and were using their mandibles to gnaw at the glass and window frame.
These insects were small and numerous. How could you fight them?
A despair far deeper than when facing the Chain-Hammer Armored Warrior or Dough Face welled up spontaneously.
Zhou Kai pulled out that Moonlight Orchid sprout from inside his clothes, a bitter expression crossing his face.
“This thing is nowhere near blooming yet… Got it, but can’t use it. This is the shittiest part!”
The nearest beetles were now less than two meters from Zhou Kai.
But suddenly, Zhou Kai’s eyes stirred.
“Add points!”
[The Moonlight Orchid sprout has undergone a special change…]
[You have consumed 9 points of Universal EXP. You have obtained: Moonlight Orchid Amulet (Consumable)]
[Moonlight Orchid Amulet: When crossing blades with the ominous, consumes durability to release sacred moonlight; when the ominous recedes, the tranquil moonlight will grant you a lasting effect of mental clarity.]
In the instant the EXP poured in, that sprout seemed to be force-ripened before the naked eye, suddenly shooting up and expanding!
The emerald-green leaves turned yellow and withered. All life force was squeezed dry, concentrated into that dark-blue flower bud at the center.
Stem and leaves twisted and coiled on their own. A black cord generated from nowhere threaded through the grass knots, and a crude amulet hung in Zhou Kai’s palm.
Hwa—
In the next second, it lit up.
A circle of icy-blue light suddenly exploded outward, like a drop of clean water falling into an ink pool, barbarically sweeping away all surrounding filth.
Zhou Kai looked at this blue light, his breath hitching.
At the same time, the maddening scratching sounds around him came to an abrupt halt.
Deathly silence. An oppressive deathly silence.
And after this silence lasted a few breaths, those nearby Blood Beetles seemed to be seared by a hot iron, emitting sharp “squeaks” and crazily retreating backward, as if Zhou Kai carried some deadly plague.
Very quickly, they retreated to beyond six meters.
Squeak…
The insects seemed very unwilling, still struggling at the edge, probing closer.
But with every bit they drew closer, white steam would rise from their bodies as if burned, and then they would instinctively retreat.
During this silent confrontation, Zhou Kai noticed that the amulet’s light dimmed slightly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“A consumable?”
Zhou Kai’s expression turned grave.
The insect tide would last at least another three hours. If this amulet could endure for ten-odd minutes, he’d thank his lucky stars.
Moreover, the higher the insect density, the faster the amulet would be consumed.
If he wanted to rely on this to clear a path all the way to the first floor…
…the amulet would probably burn itself out right there in the stairwell.
So, what should he do?
Zhou Kai stared fixedly out the window, his gaze gradually turning resolute.
He bent down and hoisted that cold corpse up.
Then he took a deep breath. The instant he exhaled, he charged forward!
Crash—
Glass fragments mixed with blood exploded outward. Like a cannonball, he leaped resolutely from the second floor!
(Seeking monthly tickets! Seeking continued reads! About to enter trial reads—every bit of support is crucial! I’m begging you all!)