Chapter Four: Swift as the Blade Falls

I wandered quietly through the streets, gripping the Tang sword and doing my best to avoid the corpses. Fortunately, these were the lowest-class variants—so long as I didn’t disturb them, there would be no trouble. To keep the sword from slipping from my grasp, I tightly wrapped a bandage around the hilt and my right hand, winding it all the way up to my forearm.

As long as I moved silently enough, those wandering first- and second-level corpses would not notice me.

This… should be the center of ZM City. If I remembered correctly, another five hundred meters ahead was the convenience store I’d passed last time but hadn’t entered. There should be food supplies inside. If I was lucky, perhaps I’d even find a new light source—using candles was far too inconvenient.

“Huff… huff…”

“Woof! Woof!”

I froze in an instant, not daring to move, my grip tightening on the sword. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead.

Damn it! Could it be a mutant? How unlucky! First a third-level corpse blocking the door, now a monster barring the way!

I steadied myself with a deep breath, feeling a bit more composed. Then I held my breath, focusing all my senses, my ears twitching lightly as I tried to determine the direction of the sounds.

Nothing happened for a while.

I tried taking another step forward.

“Woof! Woof woof woof!”

Hell! Damn it, I was about to have a heart attack—why so jumpy?

Finally, the sounds reached my ears, and I dared not make another move.

It seemed something was licking a piece of meat.

My sweat-soaked hand gripped the sword even tighter. I leaned forward cautiously, but as soon as my head poked out, it seemed to bump into something—soft and sticky.

…

I held that awkward posture, even stopping my breath.

Then I felt the thing slowly wrapping itself around my body.

Yes, wrapping—clammy and sticky, as if it wanted to envelop me entirely.

Could it be a Mutant Serpent? If so, my life was as good as over.

Resolving myself, I prepared to strike—if I didn’t fight back now, I would be waiting for death.

“Woof woof woof woof woof!”

At the sudden, fierce barking, the sticky thing immediately abandoned me, crawling past in pursuit of the sound.

It was a slug? Such a huge one! Thank goodness I didn’t cut it—this thing might not even die if you sliced it.

Once the slithering sounds faded, I continued on, unhurried. In moments like these, it was all the more important to remain calm. Running blindly would only draw attention.

I couldn’t make sense of it—were those Nightmare Beasts truly indiscriminate? How did a creature as small as a slug get infected? Did it follow the logic that even a mosquito is still meat? Still, it didn’t make sense—wouldn’t it just get digested if eaten?

No use dwelling on the incomprehensible—thinking too much only brings headaches. In this lawless age, unlike my days on missions, it’s fatal to overthink the unanswerable.

Every extra minute spent ruminating here is a minute closer to death.

I had finally arrived.

Wait—someone was upstairs?

“It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t been sniveling that day and drawn the Nightmare Beast here, so many of our brothers wouldn’t have died! You’re such a burden—I could kill you!”

“Captain Tong, let it go. We’ve already lost so many, and Xiao Bing knows she was wrong. Stop scaring her.”

“Shut up! Twelve brothers—all dead! Now they’re wandering outside as corpses! How can I ever forgive her?”

“I… I’m sorry.”

“We were ordered to scavenge for supplies. We found them, but got trapped inside, and now our brothers are nearly all dead. It’s unforgivable! Why do monsters like the Nightmare Beast even exist in this rotten city?”

“Captain Tong! Listen, there’s something outside!”

I had reached the base of the convenience store. All around, the terrifying howls of corpses echoed nonstop. I couldn’t see clearly, but my ears told me there were plenty of them.

Though the voices upstairs were quiet, my enhanced hearing allowed me to catch most of the conversation, albeit faintly.

I felt no joy. In this era, running into people in the wild could be even worse than encountering corpses.

But there was almost no way to take a detour. The street was packed tight with corpses, and the convenience store might have desperately needed supplies.

My backpack was empty. In this state, even if I got out of ZM City, I’d probably starve to death on the way.

Should I fight my way up? These corpses were all gene value, and low-level ones at that. Without moonlight to boost them, their movements were sluggish. If I was careful, I’d have a chance.

I approached the convenience store, using my enhanced vision to make out the shapes of the corpses.

Honestly, I didn’t want to gamble—my life was the stake on the table! But fate, that wretched bitch, had forced my hand.

Whether it was the sun sigil on my left palm or the lack of supplies, I had no choice but to go for it.

I could imagine how grim my face looked at that moment—I struck without warning, blade flashing.

With a single motion, I lopped off the heads of the two corpses in front of me.

“Host has killed a first-level corpse. Gene value +1.”

The surrounding corpses, startled by the sudden attack, all turned and howled, closing in on me.

Unfortunately for them, their movements were anything but swift. Before they could close the circle, I had already cut down several more.

“Host has killed a first-level corpse. Gene value +1.”

“+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1…”

“Host has killed a second-level corpse. Gene value +2.”

“+2 +2 +2 +2…”

I cut down the corpses with a cold expression, ignoring the constant notifications echoing in my mind. Still, one thing nagged at me—second-level corpses only gave +2! Third-level ones gave +10—what a gap!

Huff… huff… No good, they’re closing in. If this keeps up, I’ll be overwhelmed—death by a thousand bites!

Each swing of my blade grew weaker, my breathing heavy and ragged. Unconsciously, I’d already felled dozens of corpses.

In this tense, ever-vigilant environment, exhaustion multiplied quickly.

Retreating as I fought outside the convenience store, I was nearly backed into a corner.

If I let myself get pinned there, exhausted as I was, I’d end up torn to pieces.

I’d considered abandoning the fight and dashing straight to the second floor, but the people inside had likely locked themselves in. Heading up would accomplish nothing—and being trapped on those narrow stairs would be even worse. If a few dropped down behind me, I’d be utterly doomed.

No, if I had to, I’d retreat the way I came and count whatever gene value I’d earned as a gain.

Slashing down the nearest corpse, I rolled across the ground, tumbling out of the encirclement.

There was no time to pay attention to the notifications in my mind. I had only one thought left—retreat, now!