I gave the creature a hard kick to the chest with my tactical boot, sending it reeling back.

▶ Gah!

I winced and clutched at the spot on my ballistic vest shielding my heart. Whatever the jiangshi did, an inexplicably cold sensation lingered within my chest. I felt empty. Weakened. Did this mother fragger drain my qi? I didn’t even know what qi was!

I brought out the gun and fired twice in rapid succession. One shot grazed its cadaverous neck. The other buried itself in its torso, sizzling with latent heat. It was enough. Again, the jiangshi crumbled to the floor in a dusty heap.

I staggered backwards, not taking my eyes off the pile.

[2 / 5 ammunition remaining]

Stay dead. Stay dead!

Still no notification.

Slowly but surely the jiangshi reassembled itself until the rigid body, ancient robes and all, tottered in place in front of me. Its dead yellow eyes stared vacantly ahead. Its rotting mouth hung open, hungry for more of my lifeforce.

What I wouldn’t give for some peach wood right about now.

I turned and ran, weaving between the round trading posts dotting the trading floor. I needed to regroup. I needed a strategy. I could hear it hopping after me, faster than ever.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!

Dram this thing was fast. I kept going, nearly running a figure eight through the large room to maintain barriers between myself and my pursuer. I had no doubt it could catch me in a straight race.

At last I ducked behind a large workstation at the edge of the trading floor. My heart pounded, but I clasped my hands over my nose and mouth, forcing myself to breathe as shallowly as possible.

If it can’t sense my breath, it shouldn’t be able to find me.

Thump-thump-thump. Thump. Thump.

I could hear its movements slowing. It was searching for me. I took smaller and smaller breaths, trying to slow my heart rate until I was still enough to hold my breath entirely. But I couldn’t hold it forever.

Only two bullets left. And my dagger. I had no reason to think the dagger would be any more successful in keeping this thing down. Where did that leave me? I might be able to distract it by throwing small objects. But what did I have? No Crystals. No card fragments. Just a few random crafting materials.

I slowly craned my head up. The jiangshi was moving away from me. Good. Still holding my breath, I peered into the workstation. Were there any pens? Pencils? Paperclips? Rubber bands? Not even close. There was a coffee mug and a stress ball, both with the Reality Inc. logo.

I was at a loss. Maybe I should have spent more time researching at the Archives. More time preparing. I needed to retreat, even head outside the Exchange. But would I be able to make it to the exit before this thing pounced on me?

I couldn’t hold my breath anymore. I exhaled.

Immediately, the sound of the jiangshi’s movement shifted. I heard the whispers of its mildewed robes, followed by the rhythmic hopping. Looking up at a large tilted monitor on a nearby trading post, I realized I could see a reflection of the creature hopping rapidly in my direction.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!

Pistachios! There was an opened bag of shelled pistachio nuts in the workstation. Some broker’s nostalgic snack from a vending machine. I grabbed the bag and spilled the nuts out on the marble floor. They rolled chaotically, several dozen of them.

The jiangshi stopped, its slippered feet idling before the scattered mess. Seizing the opportunity, I stood up and tried to get my bearings. Where were the stairs leading down to the lobby? Ah, there they were.

I broke into a sprint. At once, the jiangshi chased after me.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Thump-thump-thump!

Why couldn’t you have counted the pistachios!? I guess my human breath was more enticing.

Reaching the stone railing separating the trading floor from the lobby below, I didn’t bother with taking the stairs. In a mad dash, I vaulted over the railing and sailed through the air, gun in hand, and slammed my leg hard on the ground below.

▶ Oww!

Not a graceful landing.

[Essence: 10 remaining]

What? Are you kidding me?

The pain in my leg was intense. I couldn’t say it was broken, but definitely sprained. On the floor above, the hopping noise echoed louder and louder.

I pushed myself up. It hurt to put pressure on my right leg. I wasn’t sure I could make it to the exit doors in time. Spinning around, I noticed a glowing light emanating from a small alcove. Another room jutting off from the dark lobby.

I hobbled toward the light. Maybe there was another door. Or something I could hide behind. But actually, I saw a series of vending machines. Three of them. Transparent glass windows showcased a wide selection of temperature controlled items for purchase. I got a crazy idea.

THUMP!

I twisted around and saw the jiangshi. It was in the lobby now, hopping straight toward me. Its long black fingernails reached out greedily.

I fired a single round at its face, puncturing the hanging yellow talisman. It fell, crumbling again. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.

[1 / 5 ammunition remaining]

Ignoring the pile, I turned back to scrutinize the vending machines. If this was going to work… I had one chance and one chance only.

In the leftmost machine were several varieties of individually wrapped onigiri, among other options. Rice. Something about rice! And vinegar. Was onigiri made with vinegar? I tapped on the touchscreen panel to bring up the menu options. Ah, ingredients! I accessed the first option.

The vending machine spoke in the grating artificial tone so familiar to me now.

Ingredients: sushi rice, rice vinegar, salt, white sesame, nori, fish roe.

The pile of dust and bones began to stir behind me.

I smashed the onigiri option on the panel.

The price is 10 Crypt. Please scan your payment source.

I held my barcoded flesh to the sensor light and soon the triangular rice ball tumbled down the chute. I picked it up, ripping off the plastic covering. On a small table against the wall lay a variety of utensils, napkins, and condiments. I grabbed a pair of chopsticks and tore the paper covering off.

I quickly knelt before the swirling pile, the jiangshi threatening to spring to non-life once more. One rigid pale hand was already emerging from the debris. I ripped the onigiri into tiny pieces with my bare hands, shoving and kneading them into the dust. Once the sticky rice was distributed in the pile, I used the chopsticks to mix it around vigorously, scattering the putrid ashes across the alcove.

▶ You like that? You like that yummy rice you piece of Shiva?

I slid away from the pile, the two chopsticks sticking out like funerary incense. With my back against the glow of the vending machines, I materialized my dagger, holding it in one hand and aiming my revolver with the other. One bullet left.

I watched for movement, not daring to blink.

But this time it stayed down. And after about a minute of waiting, which felt like an eternity, the dust and bits of bone started to melt into an inky black ooze. In turn, that too evaporated.

[Task Successfully Completed: Remove Jiangshi from Elysian Spires Financial District]

Phew.

Shimmering geometric shapes rose from the floor and floated in the air. Among them, a luminous rectangular prism. A data card!

Bracing myself against a vending machine, I pulled myself to a standing position. The leg still hurt. Bad. But I limped forward to eagerly claim my prizes, releasing an audible sigh as I absorbed the goodies.

[10 Crystals obtained]

[Uncommon Data Card obtained - Jiangshi (Skill)]

I smiled. A complete data card. No fragments to farm. And it was another skill card. I couldn’t wait another moment to find out more about it. I opened my Inventory and concentrated on the card.

[Data Card: Jiangshi

Card Type: Skill

Frequency: Uncommon

Skill Details: Once per Cycle, absorb Energy up to your Adeptness from a creature you kill. Does not work during daytime / sunlit conditions.

Skill Cost: N/A

Size: 10 metabytes]

Interesting. Checking my Statistics under my Ability submenu I saw I currently had an Adeptness rating of 10–the lowest possible score. I had previously theorized that higher Adeptness might improve my overall effectiveness with using skills. For at least this skill that theory was now confirmed.

With increased Adeptness I could see this being very useful, although it was context specific. However, most of my hunting so far had been after dark.

I limped across the lobby to the main doors. There was a 4,000 Crypt reward with my name, or at least my number, on it.