“Knock, knock, knock!”
It sounded exactly like a death knell.
Wen Xi took a deep breath, trying to summon her courage. She silently drew her machete and began to move slowly toward the door.
The game radar suddenly popped up a warning:
[Hostile target detected x1]
[Distance: 0.5 meters (outside the door)]
[Danger Level: C (Proceed with caution)]
It wasn’t D-level, but the much more dangerous C-level.
Sweat beaded on Wen Xi’s palms.
Who could it be?
Those unidentified butchers in yellow raincoats?
Or a neighbor coming to rob her supplies?
Wen Xi concentrated. The hallway lights were broken, and the peephole was pitch black. She pressed her ear against the cold iron door, holding her breath to listen.
“Scratch—scratch—”
The sound of fingernails clawing at the door was like a dull knife scraping against bone, occasionally interspersed with “hissing” wheezes.
That wasn’t human breathing; it sounded more like the snarling of a wild beast with its throat constricted.
Something was wrong.
Wen Xi took a wary half-step back, holding the machete across her chest.
Just at that moment—
“Pfft!”
Five greenish-gray claws pierced through the door panel, and foul-smelling, putrid slime dripped down from the tips of the claws. The creature outside seemed to sense her position, slashing its claws horizontally, tearing the thin iron plating like paper.
Wen Xi dodged to the side, wood splinters flying past her cheeks. Through the cold light from inside the room, she saw what was outside the door.
Human-like, but not human.
Or rather, it used to be a person.
Now, however, it looked like an overinflated balloon. Its exposed skin was covered in spiderweb-like black veins, its fingers had mutated into twenty-centimeter-long bone claws, and its swollen body had burst through its delivery uniform.
The most horrific part was its head.
The top of its skull had split into four parts like a blooming bun, exposing wriggling black flesh buds inside. They squirmed disgustingly, making a strange noise:
“Yo… your… delivery!”
Even in this state, it was still delivering packages—did it have to be this professional?!
“Hiss!” The creature’s split cranium suddenly thrust into the gap of the door. Without hesitation, Wen Xi seized the opportunity and slashed down with her machete.
“Clang!”
The blade struck the creature’s forehead, actually sending sparks flying. That layer of black veins was like armor, leaving only a white mark.
“Creak!”
The creature seized the chance to squeeze its entire body through the door; the frame groaned and rattled under the pressure. This crappy door frame wouldn’t last much longer.
[Beep! New hostile target detected. Data recorded to database. Analyzing…]
[Danger Level: C (Contaminated Species · Early Stage)]
The game panel popped up a scarlet warning.
This was the first time she had encountered a “Contaminated Species” since her rebirth, and it had even come looking for her on its own initiative.
“Bang!” The creature completely broke free from the door frame and launched an attack on Wen Xi!
“Damn! I’m definitely buying a better door later!”
Wen Xi’s pupils shrank. She immediately leaped backward, avoiding the sweeping bone claws, her heel knocking over the charcoal stove. Burning coal rolled to the creature’s feet, but it ignored it entirely and continued to press forward.
“Ninini!” The three little soldiers jumped up, eager to fight.
“Back off!”
As Wen Xi shouted, the creature suddenly exploded with speed! It lunged with an abnormal swiftness, bone claws aiming straight for her throat.
Green light flashed from Wen Xi’s shoelaces—
“Swish!”
Teleportation activated; she appeared behind the creature.
She slashed the machete at its neck with all her might, but it only cut in three centimeters before getting stuck in the black veins. The creature roared and turned around; Wen Xi was forced to abandon the blade and retreat.
“Snap.”
The creature snapped its own neck, which had been stuck by the blade, its head hanging eerily from its shoulder. Black flesh buds gushed out from the wound, wriggling like stitches as they reconnected the cervical vertebrae.
How could she fight this?
Cold sweat beaded on Wen Xi’s forehead. Her peripheral vision caught the leftover meat on the table, and she lunged, grabbing the frozen meat chunks and hurling them at the creature.
“You want to eat meat? I’ll satisfy you!”
The meat chunks passed through the creature’s split skull and got stuck among the wriggling flesh buds. The creature’s movements stalled; its four-part cranium twisted incoherently, seemingly distracted.
Now!
Wen Xi grabbed the bow and arrows she had left on the table.
The moment she nocked the arrow and pulled the string, the creature had already shaken off the meat and was lunging again—
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!!”
Wen Xi knew her archery was mediocre, so she fired a second arrow immediately!
The second arrow pierced its left eye, black blood spraying out. The creature let out a high-pitched scream, its flesh buds twitching wildly. Wen Xi took the opportunity to retrieve the machete, and her shoelaces flashed again.
Third teleportation!
She appeared directly above the creature, thrusting the machete into the wound caused by the arrow with all her strength. With a muffled “pfft,” the tip of the blade emerged from its chin.
The creature struggled violently, its bone claws flailing wildly. Wen Xi hung on the hilt of the blade, her legs wrapped around its mutated neck.
“Die!”
She let out a roar, putting her entire weight on the hilt and twisting hard.
“Snap!”
As the sound of the cervical spine snapping echoed, the creature’s movements suddenly froze.
Immediately afterward, all the black flesh buds shriveled rapidly as if drained of water. Its swollen body deflated like a leaking balloon, and it finally hit the ground with a “thud,” splashing a pool of foul-smelling slime!
Something like a paper box popped out from the slime.
[Hostile target -1]
Wen Xi collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
It wasn’t that the early-stage contaminated species was too strong.
It was that she was currently too weak. Relying on ability items for speed was useless; in a direct confrontation, she was only evenly matched with a C-level target!
“Ninini…”
The little soldiers ran over holding a first-aid kit.
“I’m fine.”
Wen Xi pushed the little soldiers aside, and through her raincoat, she picked up the package she found in the slime. The outer casing was already ruined, but inside was a photo album.
Her expression changed. She opened the album to find photos of her as a child, along with a few group photos of her and a woman.
But the woman’s face had been violently crossed out with a carbon pen, with the words written in red: “Both bitches, you deserve to die!”
…It was her mother.
Wen Xi’s anger boiled over. She cleaned the album and put it into her space, realizing who had sent this delivery.
Fu Ruoyao!
Whether it was just to send a letter, or knowing there was a problem and sending it on purpose, she deserved to die!
“Let’s go.”
Wen Xi quickly stood up, grabbed the three little ones, and left.
As she stepped out the door, the anti-cold gene made the -50°C wind feel non-existent, but at this moment, Wen Xi felt a bone-chilling cold.
The black rain was becoming denser, the sound of ice needles hitting the ground like countless teeth gnawing at the world.
Wen Xi didn’t look back; her pace quickened.
Not just because of the stifled rage in her heart, or the need to escape danger, but because…
Wen Xi gritted her teeth.
She hadn’t forgotten that, originally, she was going to go settle the score with Fu Zhishan and the Fu Ruoyao family tonight!