Mo Yu sat up from the bed, sinking into thought.
The Zombie Dog was too fast.
The moment it charged at light speed, the tentacle-like thing behind its back lashed out, sending him flying instantly, stripping him of combat ability in a single blow.
A whole level of combat power apart.
This thing didn't count as a Monster—the Panel gave no warning—but it clearly wasn't a normal creature either. Mo Yu guessed it might be some kind of Puppet driven by an ability.
Was it Elise?
But she had no reason to send an Assassin after him.
He checked the time.
4:20.
Mo Yu asked Alpha, "When did the maid leave?"
Alpha answered, "2:30."
He described the Zombie Dog's appearance to Alpha, who searched but found no relevant information.
Mo Yu said, "Come on, let's take a look."
A man and a dog headed out.
The Zombie Dog hadn't yet reached the first basement level. The two of them went up the stairs to the ground floor and found the Zombie Dog in the kitchen—it had pried open the fridge door and was gnawing on frozen meat.
Hearing the noise, the Zombie Dog turned its head.
Then.
Alpha got taken apart.
The Zombie Dog rushed forward, lashing out with the tentacle on its back, smashing Alpha in half at the waist.
Alpha's final answer was "unable to identify."
An unknown Monster.
Rewind.
This time, Mo Yu rewound to when the maid was leaving. Once he came to, he ordered Alpha to crawl under the bed and go into hibernation, then immediately pushed the door open and headed to the first floor, just in time to see the maid opening the room door, about to leave.
The maid had changed into a sharp, capable office-lady outfit—white blouse, hip-hugging skirt, Black silk stockings paired with High Heels, and a pair of Gold thread glasses. A very classic look.
"Heading out? Did something happen?"
"Urgent business. Behave and stay put. There are people watching outside—don't try to run. The Young Miss won't let a traitor go."
The maid was in a hurry and unwilling to say more, only issuing warnings.
Mo Yu asked bluntly, "Are you here to kill me?"
The maid glanced at Mo Yu. "If you were worthless, yes, you'd deserve to die."
Mo Yu nodded, drawing a conclusion.
The Zombie Dog was most likely not Elise's doing—it was some other attacker.
He immediately said, "No need to lie to me. There's no vampire watching outside. With sun this strong, an ordinary vampire wouldn't dare come out."
The maid fell silent, and the look she gave Mo Yu turned a little dangerous.
Mo Yu said, "Watch out—Lure the Tiger Away from the Mountain."
The maid raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Around 4:20, something's going to sneak into the villa—looks like a Zombie Dog. If you don't believe me, send someone to keep watch," Mo Yu explained.
After a moment's hesitation, the maid said, "Fine, noted."
Mo Yu added, "The tiger needs to leave."
The maid gave an acknowledging grunt and slammed the door shut.
Mo Yu went back to the living room and sat down to watch TV.
He did nothing.
He waited quietly.
4:20.
Two male vampires appeared.
One was a young man with blond hair.
The other looked somewhat old, and was balding.
The Panel flashed a danger warning—same as the maid, Knight-level vampires.
Their expressions weren't good.
The blond young man said, "Food, didn't you say something would sneak in here? Where is it? There's nothing."
"Did you search nearby? Did you find a dog stitched together from corpse parts?" Mo Yu asked back.
The balding one said, "Nothing within 5 kilometers around here."
"I see..."
Mo Yu stroked his chin, thinking.
However he looked at it, those Zombie Dogs didn't seem intelligent. When Elise's people were watching, the things hadn't shown up—the attacker must have noticed someone was staking the place out.
Did the villa have surveillance?
Or had Elise's subordinates acted without authorization?
Rewind.
Back to 2:28.
This time, Mo Yu wrote down what he needed to say on paper, and before the maid left, pretended to show concern, stepping forward and taking her hand.
The maid frowned, but quickly noticed the note. Without asking anything, she discreetly took the note and shook off his hand.
"Food, don't touch me."
"Okay, okay, okay."
Mo Yu raised both hands and stepped back, grinning. The maid left, and he went back to the living room to watch TV.
4:20.
A female vampire, bundled up so thoroughly not an inch of skin showed, appeared—much weaker than the others, an Elite Vampire. She relayed the message: "Your intelligence was wrong. No Zombie Dog showed up."
Mo Yu sank into thought.
In the note, he'd asked for one of the maid's trusted confidants to keep watch, yet he'd still been discovered.
Rewind.
2:30.
This time, Mo Yu didn't speak to the maid at all. Instead, after she left, he went to the garage, picked out a car, and drove off, randomly choosing a bustling Commercial Street, where he picked a café and sat down to wait.
The street was lively, with plenty of people coming and going.
4:20.
Nothing happened.
4:30.
Blood-red Text surfaced.
The reward had arrived.
【Successfully killed a Head Spider.】
【Monster Compendium unlocked, basic functions now available.】
【Bonus reward: 3 Attribute Points】
Blood-red lines traced the shape of a book in the air. It opened to the first page, showing a detailed description of the basic functions.
【Basic Functions】【Note: the effect of all functions is tied to the kill count of the corresponding Monster type—the higher the kill count, the stronger the effect against that type, up to a cap.】
【Encyclopedia: allows viewing a Monster's information.】
【Instinct: allows detecting traces a Monster has left behind in its environment.】
【Know Thy Enemy: reveals a Monster's weak points and abilities.】
【Natural Enemy: suppresses a Monster, weakening its abilities; can be toggled with a Switch.】
Every skill has its own specialty.
This Monster Compendium—all its basic functions were tied to hunting Monsters.
Mo Yu flipped through the compendium; for now there was only one page.
【Head Spider: a Parasitic-type Monster, Life Level basic. Weak on its own; the larvae parasitize mammals, devouring their brains and occupying the skull cavity, controlling the host's movements. When the group faces a lethal threat, they can fuse together into a Head Spider Collective.】【Cumulative kills: 112】【Reach 100 kills to earn the Bronze Trophy and gain 1 Attribute Point. Reach 1000 kills to earn the Silver Trophy.】
【Head Spider Mutation — Head Spider Collective: a powerful individual formed from multiple Head Spiders combined, Life Level basic, fused from multiple consciousnesses. Its nervous network spreads throughout its whole body, with no obvious weak point.】【Cumulative kills: 1】【Reach 1 kill to earn the Bronze Trophy and gain 1 Skill Point. Reach 3 kills to earn the Silver Trophy.】
【Note: each entry can earn four tiers of trophies—Bronze, Silver, Gold, and platinum. The kill count required to unlock each is tied to the current Life Level. The basic compendium grants Attribute Points, while the mutation compendium grants Skill Points.】
Mo Yu tapped to claim the rewards.
He now had 4 Attribute Points and 1 Skill Point.
After looking over the Panel.
He didn't hesitate, putting all his Attribute Points into physical quality.
As for the skill choice, he hesitated a little, torn between Comprehensive Combat and Firearms Shooting.
In the end, he chose Comprehensive Combat.
Firearms Shooting depended on thermal weapons.
Rewind couldn't duplicate weapons—they had to be prepared in advance, which was a hassle. Comprehensive Combat was far more versatile; he could fight with nothing more than a brick in hand.
【Name: Mo Yu】
【Life Level: basic】
【Attribute Assessment: physical quality 5.3, Mental Strength 1.2, Soul Quality 3.1】
【Extraordinary Ability: Sequence 1111 — Rewind】
【normal skill: Comprehensive Combat（mastered）, Firearms Shooting（proficient）, Driving Skills（proficient）, computer programming（proficient）, agricultural technology（proficient）, handicraft manufacturing（proficient）, Scientific Research Theory（proficient）】
The boost to his physical quality was all-encompassing.
Mo Yu could clearly feel his body changing—sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste all sharpened dramatically.
He could taste the lingering bitterness of coffee on his tongue, hear the whispered conversation at the next table, smell the perfume drifting through the air, and clearly see an ant crawling more than ten meters away.
He carefully picked up the ceramic coffee cup.
With the faintest bit of force, the cup gave a crack and crumbled in his grip.
Ignoring the people around him, Mo Yu began strength training.
He grabbed whatever was nearby and wrecked it every which way, even running outside the shop to test himself—he could lift a car weighing around 2 tons and hurl it 7 or 8 meters.
The rise in his combat skill brought with it far more precise control over his body; it took him only 10 minutes to fully master reining his strength in and letting it loose.
Rewind.
Back to 4:29.
He wanted to see whether the Attribute Points would reset.
They didn't.
The attributes stayed fixed.
This Panel really knew how to avoid bugs.
Mo Yu kept waiting.
5:50.
Someone sat down across from him.
Mo Yu looked up, and found himself looking at Elise's exquisite, beautiful face.
The Vampire Maiden sat with her legs crossed, her posture elegant, back perfectly straight in the chair.
Mo Yu said, tone flat:
"You're here?"
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