[One Hour Ago]
In the mountains, at the hollow of a tree where Luo Di had first discovered the wooden box, a low, guttural roar now echoed from deep within.
The interruption of the corpse refinement ritual—caused by the felling of the locust tree and the burning of the corpses—had awakened something.
As if following an invisible camera lens, the perspective dives deeper into the hollow, revealing a hidden cavern where a coffin lies ajar. The lens then retreats to the hollow's entrance, where a rotting, blackened, and cracked hand emerges. It is clear that "it" is still incomplete, its consciousness fragmented, unable to fully awaken without having "absorbed" the blood of its kin.
---
Inside the mansion, the group had been silently watching the paper windows for a long time. Yet, no shadow appeared, nor was there any sound of footsteps.
Suddenly, Luo Di seemed to realize something. He quickly stepped toward his backpack, fastening a machete with a leather sheath and securing chains to his waist, while grabbing the silver chainsaw case with his right hand.
Without needing to say a word, the others followed suit, each equipping themselves with makeshift weapons. Gao Yuxuan had only a survival knife. Anna initially wanted to carry her entire backpack but, considering that their target had yet to appear, decided against wasting energy and settled on taking her tactical axe.
As for Wu Wen, she had not revealed any defensive tools since they began their climb up the mountain. Now, she reached into her bag and pulled out something long.
A cold glint flashed. It was an eight-sided Han sword forged with modern craftsmanship, its design dominated by simplicity, straight lines, and rectangular shapes.
The jet-black hilt was etched with vertical grooves, its narrow diamond-shaped guard seamlessly blending with the black scabbard, which used modern magnetic technology for a perfect fit. At first glance, it looked more like a sleek black metal rod than a sword.
After arming themselves, the group donned white masks. Without exchanging a single word, they seemed to know exactly where they needed to go and what they had to do.
Descending from the second floor of the mansion, they walked along the corridor to the familiar back courtyard door. The stench lingered, but this time, none of them seemed to notice. There was no sign of physical discomfort.
Standing at the doorway, they shone their flashlights into the backyard under the night sky. Everything appeared as it had before, except the felled locust tree now lay amidst the carcasses of pigs and cows, obstructing their view of what lay beyond.
Unlike the afternoon rain, which had masked much of the ambient noise, the light drizzle of the night made the silence almost deafening. In this eerie stillness, they could hear faint, unsettling sounds coming from the depths of the courtyard, just beyond the fallen locust tree.
Wu Wen quickly raised a finger to her masked lips, signaling the others to move quietly. They advanced cautiously, their footsteps almost silent as they stepped through the sticky muck. Neither the stench nor the texture beneath their feet distracted them; all their attention was focused on the strange, discordant noise beyond the tree trunk.
The closer they got, the clearer the sound became— the tearing of flesh and the crunching of bone.
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When they reached the locust tree, they peeled back the branches obstructing their view, only to freeze in shock.
It was as if a doctor had just delivered a terminal diagnosis. Although they had all mentally prepared themselves for such a sight, the reality of it was far more horrifying than they had imagined.
Dressed in black robes with buttons stitched in the shape of a Taoist Eight Trigrams, the figure's head unmistakably matched the photograph of the diseased middle-aged man.
His face was veined with inky black blood vessels, covered in pustules left by his illness. Cloudy, milky-white eyes stared blankly at the world.
He stood upright, his arms stretched out horizontally as he held a rotting cow's head before him. His blackened teeth tore into the decayed flesh, sucking out the remaining Yin energy from within.
Around him, the carcasses of pigs and cows had been almost entirely consumed, as he desperately tried to make up for the incomplete ritual.
Perhaps sensing that the cow's head was nearly drained, or perhaps aware of the group's presence, the creature suddenly stopped.
With a loud crack,the cow's skull fell to the ground.
Balancing on the tips of his toes, his body tilted forward at a 30-degree angle. Then, propelled as if by an invisible force of Yin energy, he began gliding across the filth-covered courtyard, rapidly closing in on the intruders.
---
[Perspective Switch]
When the undead creature tilted its head, the four youths knew they had been exposed.
The choice before them was clear: fight or flee? Should they engage in the backyard or find another location?
But these questions had already been answered before they descended the stairs. Running or hiding was not an option.
With the ritual interrupted, this was their best chance to destroy the creature. Delaying would only allow it to grow stronger, while they would become increasingly fatigued.
However, staying in the backyard, the site of the ritual, would give the creature a natural advantage. The open clearing in front of the mansion, where they had burned the bodies earlier, seemed like a better battleground.
"Go!"
As the undead pursued them, the group began to sprint. Wu Wen and Luo Di led the charge, with Anna close behind, and Gao Yuxuan bringing up the rear.
Wu Wen was the first to cross the sticky muck of the courtyard and step onto the mansion's wooden floors. She was about to pick up speed when she noticed Luo Di had fallen to the back of the group, seemingly on purpose.
Her eyes, visible above her mask, showed no trace of fear. Instead, they held a hint of approval, even a touch of admiration.
The group's retreat went smoothly. Even Gao Yuxuan, the slowest among them, managed to keep pace, his 100-meter sprint time of 11.9 seconds just enough to stay ahead of the undead.
---
At the mansion's entrance, the pit where the bodies had been burned was now filled with rainwater, charred bones floating on the surface.
As the undead pursued them into the clearing, its nostrils flared, catching the lingering scent of kin in the air. Driven by instinct, it momentarily shifted its focus, approaching the pit where the bones lay.
Realizing that the flesh of its kin had been utterly destroyed and could not be absorbed, it let out a deafening, beast-like roar.
But as its attention wavered, one of the group seized the opportunity to strike.
A polished tactical axe, engraved with the logo of a renowned civilian-military manufacturer, sliced through the air in a perfect arc before striking the undead's shoulder.
Crunch!
The axe bit into its flesh, but only about three centimeters deep. Anna was stunned by its hardness—it felt less like flesh and more like something between stone and metal. The impact left her arm slightly numb from the recoil.
"Whoosh!" Pulling the axe free, Anna quickly retreated, shouting, "This thing is tougher than I thought! Regular physical attacks won't kill it. I'll grab something from my room—hold it off for now! I'll be right back!"
With that, Anna ran back into the mansion, an idea forming in her mind for how to deal with the undead.
Though her attack hadn't caused significant damage, it had clearly posed a threat. The undead's head snapped toward Anna's retreating figure, but its path was soon blocked by another target.
The air filled with the roar of an engine. The chainsaw had come to life.