As soon as he pushed the door slightly, he felt it hit something and was blocked. Then, looking up through the gap he had opened, he saw a bloated, ghastly pale face, most of it hidden by soaking wet black hair, with only a swollen, lifeless fish eye exposed.
That eye was utterly devoid of vitality, with barely any pupil visible—just the whites.
This pale, swollen face was like something out of a zombie movie, but even more eerie and terrifying was the layer of fuzzy white fuzz covering its surface.
It happened so suddenly. Su Li had never imagined he would see such a grotesque and horrifying face. He was scared out of his wits, let out a piercing scream of terror, and instinctively turned to flee.
With a loud bang, the door was yanked open. Su Li, who had just turned around, felt something wet slam into him. The force was immense, and he lost his balance, crashing heavily to the ground. His forehead hit the floor, stars exploding in his vision as blood streamed down. Immediately after, he felt a heavy weight pressing down on him.
At this critical moment of life and death, Su Li couldn't afford to be paralyzed by fear. He struggled desperately, using his hands, feet, knees, and waist all at once, flipping over with a sudden jerk and throwing off whatever was pinning him down.
Now, he finally saw clearly.
What had lunged out and pinned him was none other than the female corpse that had been soaking in the stairwell water earlier.
That pale, waterlogged face, the bloated body, the large chunks of flesh eaten away from the chest, abdomen, and legs, revealing white bones beneath—he could even vaguely see the viscous internal organs. Water dripped continuously from her body and hair.
And the most terrifying part was undoubtedly the layer of pale, fuzzy fuzz covering her exposed skin and face, like a legendary white-haired zombie.
She had immense strength, but her joints seemed stiff, lacking the flexibility of a living person. After Su Li flipped her off to the side, she fell beside him, reaching out with fuzz-covered hands, trying to crawl up and grab him, though her movements were sluggish.
Su Li scrambled to his feet, swinging the cleaver and hammer in his hands straight at her head.
Blood and flesh flew, splattering across Su Li's face.
He couldn't understand why this female corpse was moving, let alone attacking him. The only explanation he could think of was a corpse transformation—she had turned into a zombie-like monster.
Though the female corpse looked terrifying and had considerable strength, her movements were stiff, and she didn't know how to dodge. Soon, Su Li's cleaver chopped into her face, and the iron hammer smashed into her skull with a crisp crack of bone breaking.
This blow used almost all of Su Li's strength. In his extreme fear and panic, he unleashed unprecedented power. The hammer directly caved in the female corpse's head, even splattering brain matter.
Su Li swung the cleaver and hammer wildly, like a madman. When he finally stopped, gasping for breath, the female corpse's swollen face was completely deformed. The cleaver had struck it seven or eight times, each cut deep into the facial bones, while the hammer was covered in blood and flesh, half her head smashed away.
Watching the disfigured female corpse slowly topple over and stop moving, Su Li finally let out a heavy sigh.
Strangely enough, as the corpse fell, the layer of fuzzy white fuzz on its surface rapidly retracted and disappeared, as if shrinking back into her skin. Then, Su Li saw a thumb-sized white sphere emerge from her chest, where much of the flesh had been eaten away. The sphere was fuzzy on the surface, as if formed from countless white hairs gathered together.
This white fuzz ball popped out of the female corpse's chest, seemingly possessing its own consciousness, and suddenly leaped up.
Su Li's heart jolted. Could it be that the sudden corpse transformation, the movement, and the growth of fuzz were all caused by this white fuzz ball? Was it the real culprit?
As the white fuzz ball leaped up, Su Li swung the cleaver flat to smash it.
By now, he suspected this white fuzz ball might be some unknown insect-like creature, possibly having parasitized the female corpse.
With a slap, the cleaver hit the corpse's chest flat, but the white fuzz ball's jumping speed far exceeded his imagination. The cleaver missed, and a flash of white light passed before his eyes as the ball struck his face.
Su Li felt an itch on his forehead. Panic surged through him, and he instinctively swiped at his face with his hand.
He missed. Frantically, he felt his face with his hand, but found nothing. He stood up, searching around, shaking his clothes, but the white fuzz ball had vanished without a trace.
"What's going on? How did it just disappear?" Su Li was bewildered when suddenly a surge of information flooded his mind, as if a foreign memory had been forcibly inserted into his brain.
"Spirit Source: 1/5."
Su Li clutched his head, his face full of shock: "Spirit Source 1/5? What does that mean? What is Spirit Source?"
Then, suddenly, he felt a burning heat erupt from his forehead. This heat spread like warm currents through his body in all directions, reaching his fingertips and hair ends, soon making his entire body feel scorching hot.
But the heat came and went quickly, lasting only a few seconds before vanishing.
After the mysterious heat faded, Su Li felt something off about his body. First, the wound on his forehead, which had been bleeding and throbbing with fiery pain, now felt cool and painless.
Not only that, but his arms, which had been sore from wildly swinging the cleaver and hammer, and his whole body, which had felt weak and exhausted, were now refreshed. He was full of energy, vigorous and lively.
All these changes happened so suddenly that Su Li was stunned for a moment. But soon, he took a deep breath to calm himself, sensing the extra information in his mind, and began to vaguely understand.
That white fuzz ball hadn't mysteriously disappeared—it had merged into his body the moment it struck his forehead.
"That sudden message in my mind must be from this thing merging with me. Spirit Source: 1/5... Could it be that this fuzzy ball is the Spirit Source? It seems to change my physique, making my forehead wound stop hurting, eliminating fatigue, and even making me a bit stronger."
Su Li picked up the hammer and swung it lightly. It felt easier to handle—not an illusion, but real. His strength had indeed increased a little.