Bai Yi's expression was indifferent, his right hand gripping the stone axe so tightly that it made a faint scraping sound against the wooden handle.
Ten pairs of eerie green beast eyes flickered in the mist, and the heavy breathing of ten gray wolves wove an impenetrable net around Bai Yi.
Outside the encirclement, a wolf larger than the others stood — the Wolf King.
Sensing Bai Yi's gaze, the Wolf King let out a low growl. In an instant, all the gray wolves arched their backs, ready to pounce.
"Steel-Spine Will, activate!"
[Steel-Spine Will activated, Sanity -99, current Sanity 1/100, gain 3x amplification]
[Warning! Your Sanity is below 10, you are in Permanent Madness, you are in Cognitive Distortion]
[Exemption granted]
Bai Yi held nothing back, depleting his Sanity completely.
As the sound of metal scraping erupted from his spine, excruciating pain followed like a shadow. But Bai Yi's willpower forcibly suppressed it.
[Strength 9.3/3.1, Constitution 9.3/3.1]
Glancing at the attribute panel, Bai Yi moved.
He shot towards the Wolf King like an arrow off the string. At the forefront of the wolf pack, a gray wolf lunged at him, and Bai Yi could even see the small tongue quivering in its throat.
Bang!
A burst of gunfire bloomed like an orange flower in the mist. The bullet pierced through the gray wolf's mouth, leaving a gaping hole in its head.
[Shepherd's Mercy (Damaged), Durability: 3/5]
After this, Bai Yi didn't pause, instead crouching and rolling.
Five sharp claws grazed his scalp, and the stench of wolf blood splattered on his nape. Using the momentum of the roll, he flung the stone axe, embedding it into the eye socket of a side attacker.
"Awooo—"
The Wolf King moved, not charging directly at Bai Yi but circling, its massive form agilely hiding in Bai Yi's blind spot.
By now, Bai Yi had already pulled out the axe and swung it at another gray wolf, the tremendous force making the axe whistle through the air, aiming straight for the wolf's spine.
"Crack!"
With a crisp sound of bones breaking, the axe cleaved in, leaving only the handle visible.
As blood gushed out, Bai Yi felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder, a gray wolf had bitten through his flesh, its fangs grinding against his collarbone with a nerve-wracking creak.
Bai Yi's pupils contracted sharply.
Quickly assessing the situation, he reversed his grip, pressing the gun barrel against the wolf's teeth. As metal clashed with fangs, he pulled the trigger.
[Shepherd's Mercy (Damaged), Durability: 2/5]
Boom!
The wolf's head exploded into a mist of blood from the inside, and Bai Yi's left wrist dislocated from the recoil due to his improper shooting stance.
He staggered back against a tree trunk, his right leg slashed open in three places by branches.
The Wolf King seized the opportunity, leaping from the shadows. At this moment, Bai Yi was at his most vulnerable, the stone axe still embedded in a wolf's corpse, his left wrist dislocated and hanging limp.
In a moment of crisis, Bai Yi could only raise his left arm to block.
The Wolf King bit down on Bai Yi's left arm, its massive body pinning him against the tree, immobilizing him.
Simultaneously, the Wolf King's front claws pressed against Bai Yi's chest, its sharp claws piercing into his flesh, carving three deep gashes as it applied pressure.
Bai Yi gritted his teeth, releasing his left hand, and with his right hand, he grabbed the revolver, aimed, and fired.
Blood sprayed, and Bai Yi felt a momentary relief as the pressure on him eased.
[Shepherd's Mercy (Damaged), Durability: 1/5]
The shot had only severed one of the Wolf King's front paws, its quick sidestep saving its life.
The wolves' assault paused, the Wolf King licking its wounded forelimb, while the other gray wolves, agitated by the scent of blood, began growling at each other.
"Six wolves left, one shot remaining, can't let my only weapon break unless absolutely necessary."
Bai Yi knew this was his last chance. He endured the pain and pressed his dislocated wrist against the tree trunk, using his body weight to force it back into place.
The sound of the joint resetting was drowned out by the howls, and he charged at the Wolf King, retrieving the axe as he passed by.
"Kill the Wolf King, and the other gray wolves should scatter."
The Wolf King's single amber eye reflected a cold glint. As it pushed off with its hind legs, Bai Yi suddenly hurled the axe into the midst of the wolves. As five gray wolves instinctively dodged the axe's landing point, Bai Yi's right hand was already reaching for the journal at his waist.
The leather-bound journal slammed into the Wolf King's snout, and the beast let out a pained howl. Bai Yi seized the opportunity to leap onto its back, clamping his legs tightly around its ribs.
The Wolf King twisted and turned, trying to shake Bai Yi off. When it realized he wouldn't budge, it charged towards a tree trunk.
Crack!
At the last moment, Bai Yi rolled to the side, and the Wolf King's head smashed into the tree trunk, leaving a dent.
He seized the chance to wrap the journal around the Wolf King's neck, using all his strength until he heard the crisp sound of its neck snapping.
The Wolf King was dead!
Bai Yi stood up, facing the remaining wolves.
The five gray wolves' howls turned to whimpers, and they began to retreat with their tails between their legs.
[Talent effect remaining: 7 minutes 17 seconds]
Bai Yi's clothes were in tatters, his left shoulder's bite wound exposing white bone, his left arm pierced by the Wolf King's fangs, his wrist swollen and purple, and the claw marks on his chest still bleeding. He holstered the revolver at his waist.
But when the remaining five gray wolves turned to flee, only to charge again, this bloodied man instead smiled.
The metal spine emitted a high-frequency tremor, and Bai Yi's speed surged once more. He slid, dodging the attack while reaching the axe.
With his right hand, he pulled out the stone axe and charged again.
The stone axe came down with full force, the massive inertia combined with the impact embedding the axe into a gray wolf's skull. As his body twisted to the right, Bai Yi swung the axe, the wolf still attached, sweeping the other wolves aside.
Then, with a powerful tug, the axe returned to his hand. He spun sharply, charging towards a gray wolf on his left rear, while his left hand hurled the journal.
The gray wolf instinctively leaped back, but Bai Yi was already beside it. As the wolf hung in mid-air with no leverage, Bai Yi's axe descended like the scythe of death.
One swing, one head severed!
The second gray wolf's neck was mostly cleaved through, and Bai Yi didn't have time to retrieve the axe. Instead, he rolled to avoid the third gray wolf's attack, ending up on the second wolf's right side.
Reversing his grip, he pulled the axe out and thrust it into the third gray wolf's neck, as three wolves fell.
The last two gray wolves finally realized that the figure before them wasn't prey but a ruthless hunter. They turned and fled.
[Talent effect remaining: 6 minutes 13 seconds]
Bai Yi had no time to rest; the sky was already darkening, and he needed to return to the shelter quickly.
Fortunately, the talent hadn't ended yet. Bai Yi dragged all the wolf corpses he could, leaving those he couldn't for later retrieval, hoping they'd still be there.
Stumbling, he opened the shelter door and dragged his spoils inside.
The scent of blood filled the shelter, but Bai Yi had no time to care about that.
[Steel-Spine Will effect ended, Sanity restored 100/100]
Bai Yi collapsed in a pool of blood, over twenty wounds across his body starting to ooze simultaneously.
Using the stone axe to support himself, he trembled as he moved to the table, where the discarded journal reappeared.
The pain coursing through his body was relentless, but Bai Yi remained unfazed. Compared to the agony brought by the talent, these were mere trifles.
[Bai Yi: Excessive blood loss]
Bai Yi felt his body growing weak, a warm sensation enveloping him.
He knew it was due to excessive blood loss, but he had no medical supplies, so he could only check the plaza for any available medicine.
Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered the wood and stone he had won in the lottery were still at the Wishing Well; he had only brought in the lighter and stone pickaxe blueprint earlier.
Bai Yi glanced at the cloth strips on his body, deciding to use whatever was at hand to stop the bleeding.
First was the penetrating wound on his left shoulder. Bai Yi found a larger piece of cloth and placed it in his mouth. Then he took the longest strip, straightened it, wrapped it around his fingers, and forcefully packed it into the deepest part of the wound.
"Mmm—"
A low growl echoed in the dilapidated hut.
It wasn't that Bai Yi had a penchant for pain, but because the wound was so deep, the blood wouldn't flow out much, instead seeping into the body's cavities. Packing the gauze into the wound could block the cavities, preventing blood from flowing in.
After firmly packing the left shoulder wound, Bai Yi treated the bite wound from the Wolf King on his left arm in the same manner.
He then took a breath and began addressing the other wounds, which were minor, requiring only simple blood-stopping measures.
As for the three gashes on his chest, Bai Yi had no immediate solution. The wounds were too deep, with flesh turned out, requiring stitching, and he lacked enough bandages, so he had to leave it for now.
After the rudimentary treatment, Bai Yi glanced outside at the last sliver of daylight. He struggled to his feet and left the shelter, closing the door behind him.
At the Wishing Well, Bai Yi laboriously lifted three units of stone; he had enough wood in the shelter, so he didn't need to carry more.
"From now on, any collected resources must be placed in the storage box immediately."
Bai Yi muttered to himself.
There was no helping it; no matter how cautious one person was, there were always limits to what they could notice, and who knew where they might slip up.
Just as Bai Yi was about to head back, he suddenly heard a rustling sound from the depths of the distant mist, like some slimy swallowing noise approaching.
His expression changed, and he immediately ran towards the shelter.
At the same time, the figure in the mist revealed itself. It was a rotting corpse, just like the ones Bai Yi had seen on the forum, its speed far surpassing the zombies in movies, almost as fast as Bolt.
[You see a Rotting Corpse, Sanity -5]
This rotting corpse had followed the trail of Bai Yi's blood and the wolf blood all the way here!