Between life and death, Su Li forced himself to endure the ringing in his head as the hammer followed through, smashing into the face of the zombie-like monster just as its palm struck his cheek. Having already absorbed three spirit sources, his strength had increased by at least a hundred jin, and combined with his own natural power, the hammer blow landed with a crunch of breaking bones. The monster’s face instantly deformed—its nose collapsed into a pulp, teeth flew out, and even its eyeball burst from the impact.
The zombie-like monster toppled backward heavily, crashing to the ground with a loud thud. Fearing it might still move and attack, Su Li pressed forward, enduring the tears streaming from his left eye and his blurred vision, and delivered another hammer blow to the already ruined face of the fallen creature. This strike sent brain matter splattering, completely obliterating the monster’s face, and the white fuzz on its skin immediately retracted inward and vanished.
Su Li let out a long breath, finally stopping, and quickly rubbed his left eye with the back of his hand. The blow to his left cheek had been severe—not only was half his face numb and senseless, but his left eye had also been affected. A white fuzzy sphere appeared on the surface of the motionless monster, shot into the center of Su Li’s forehead, and merged into his body. Instantly, a warm current enveloped him, with a large portion of it concentrating on his left cheek. The numb cheek regained sensation, and the fiery sting in his left eye began to fade.
Su Li realized this was the “spirit source” healing his recent injuries. The process lasted a few seconds before the heat vanished, and a message appeared in his mind: “Spirit Source: 4/5.”
“Just one more. If I kill another monster and absorb one more spirit source, it’ll be 5/5. I wonder what will happen then?” Su Li felt a mix of anticipation and vague fear. He looked forward to a new transformation or gaining a stronger ability, yet dreaded the possibility of growing white fuzz on his skin like these zombie monsters or turning into one himself.
His strength had increased again. From killing the first zombie monster to now, Su Li had absorbed four spirit sources in a row, steadily growing more powerful. By his own estimate, his strength had increased by at least one or two hundred jin. The window glass on the balcony was shattered, and if more zombie monsters were outside, they could climb in at any moment. Su Li kept a firm grip on the hammer and cleaver, staying on high alert. But what truly unsettled and terrified him was the unknown dark shadow lurking in the water.
It resembled a large fish or a giant python. It had suddenly burst from the water earlier, dragging another zombie monster—the woman in her fifties—into the depths. Because of its speed, Su Li hadn’t gotten a clear look. All he saw was that the monster, once the woman, offered no resistance and was instantly pulled underwater and gone.
“If I got bitten and dragged in, I’d probably end up the same…” Su Li dared not approach the balcony, fearing the monster might suddenly leap from the water and pull him down. “What now? With such a terrifying creature hiding in the water, I can’t leave.” He slowly backed away, sat down on the living room sofa, and glanced at the makeshift raft he’d built on the floor.
He had originally planned to use the raft to leave, check other buildings for survivors, and find a way out. But now, knowing a monster lurked in the water, how could he risk it? “Staying here, zombie monsters might appear anytime, but I can barely handle them. On the raft, if I encounter that thing and get dragged into the water, it’s certain death.” Su Li abandoned the idea of escape. For now, staying put was safer. Besides, he wanted to kill one more zombie monster to see what happened when he absorbed five spirit sources. He believed the message in his mind held deeper meaning.
Earlier, he had feared the appearance of zombie monsters, but now he secretly hoped for another one. Yet, the surroundings remained quiet, with only the thick smell of blood in the darkness and no new monsters emerging. Though Su Li’s body had grown stronger throughout the day and wasn’t physically tired, the constant upheaval, the pitch-black darkness, and being alone here left him mentally exhausted and lonely.
At first, he forced himself to stay awake, constantly listening for any changes or sounds. But as drowsiness overtook him, he couldn’t hold out any longer. He moved the corpse of the zombie monster from the bedroom, shifted a cabinet to block the bedroom window, and, for extra safety, propped the bed upright against the cabinet. With the cabinet and bed in place, he figured even if a zombie monster tried to break through, it wouldn’t happen instantly, and the noise would wake him. Then, he brought the makeshift raft—made from two wooden doors—and the bag of food into the room, locked the door from inside, laid the raft on the damp floor, set up a bedroll on it, and lay down, one hand on the cleaver and the other on the hammer.
He was so exhausted that he fell asleep almost immediately. Su Li rarely dreamed, but that night, he was plagued by nightmares. In one, he saw an endless ocean filled with countless floating corpses. He stood alone on a raft, surrounded by bodies. Suddenly, the corpses came to life, their dead-fish eyes wide open, mouths full of fangs, faces bloated, pale, and twisted with grotesque horror. They reached out their hands, swarming toward him like locusts.
“Ah—” Su Li screamed in terror, escaping one nightmare only to fall into another. In this one, he struggled desperately in the water, sinking deeper and deeper, his hands and feet bound. Below him, a mass of black hair coiled around his limbs, impossibly strong, pulling him further into the depths. He fought to rise, kicking wildly, when a face emerged from the black hair—it was his girlfriend, Wang Lan. Shocked, Su Li tried to call her name, but Wang Lan’s mouth split open to her ears, revealing vampire-like fangs and a blood-red forked tongue that lunged at him viciously.
Su Li endured a series of bizarre and terrifying dreams until a violent knocking at the door jolted him awake.