Between life and death, Ethan resisted the buzzing in his head as the hammer slammed down. Almost at the same time as the corpse monster's palm struck Ethan's cheek, the hammer landed on the creature's face.

Ethan had already absorbed three spiritual sources, increasing his strength by more than 100 pounds.

In addition, his own strength was not weak.

When the hammer hit, there was the sound of bones breaking, and the corpse monster's face was crushed.

The monster's face instantly deformed, its nose collapsed, teeth flew out, and an eyeball popped out.

The corpse monster fell heavily to the ground with a splat.

Ethan was afraid it might still be able to move and attack.

He quickly followed, ignoring the tears in his left eye and the blurred vision, and brought the hammer down again.

He delivered another blow to the rotting face of the corpse monster on the ground.

The hammer struck, causing brain matter to splatter. The entire face of the corpse monster was now completely destroyed, and the white hair on the surface of its skin immediately shrank back into the body and disappeared.

Ethan sighed, then stopped, hurriedly rubbing his left eye with the back of his hand.

The blow to his left cheek had not been light-half his face was numb and unresponsive, and his left eye was affected.

A white, velvety ball appeared on the surface of the corpse monster's body and shot toward Ethan's forehead, merging into his body.

Soon, Ethan's whole body was enveloped in a warm sensation.

This time, it was stronger than before.

The warmth spread to his left cheek.

The numbness in his face faded immediately, and the burning sting in his left eye disappeared.

Ethan realized that the "spiritual source" was healing the wound he had just received.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

It lasted only a few seconds before the warmth vanished, and a message appeared in his mind: "Spiritual Source: 45."

"Just one more," Ethan thought. "If I kill another monster and absorb its spiritual source, it will reach 55. I wonder what will happen then?" He felt a mixture of expectation and inexplicable fear.

He looked forward to gaining new powers, but he was afraid that, like these corpse monsters, white hair might start growing on his body, or worse, he might become a monster himself.

His internal energy had increased a bit.

From the first corpse monster he killed until now, Ethan had absorbed four spiritual sources, and his strength had steadily increased.

Based on his estimation, his strength had increased by at least one or two hundred pounds.

The balcony window was shattered. If there was another corpse monster outside, it could climb in at any time. Ethan held on to the hammer and kitchen knife, waiting. But the most terrifying thing was the unknown shadow lurking in the water.

It resembled a large fish or a giant python. It had suddenly broken out of the water and turned another person into a corpse monster. A woman in her fifties had been dragged into the water, but it had happened so fast that Ethan couldn't see clearly.

All he could tell was that the woman-turned-monster had been instantly dragged under, with no chance to resist.

"If that thing bites me and drags me into the water, I'll be done for," Ethan thought, not daring to approach the balcony. He feared the monster might suddenly break the surface and pull him down.

"What should I do now?" Ethan wondered. "With such a terrifying monster hidden in the water, there's no way I can leave."

Slowly, he backed away, sitting down on the living room sofa, his gaze drifting toward the makeshift raft on the floor.

He had originally planned to leave on the raft to see if there were other survivors in nearby buildings and to find a way out. But now that he knew about the monster in the water, how could he possibly risk leaving on the raft?

"Staying here is the only option,"

Ethan decided. "A corpse monster could show up at any time, but I can handle those. If I encounter that water monster on the raft, I'll be dragged under, and that's certain death."

Ethan abandoned his escape plan, at least for the moment. Staying here seemed safer. Plus, he wanted to kill one more corpse monster to see what changes would occur after absorbing a fifth spiritual source.

He believed the message in his mind must have some deep significance.

He had been afraid of the corpse monsters at first, but now he was almost hoping for another one to appear. However, the surroundings remained eerily quiet-no new corpse monsters emerged, just the overpowering smell of blood lingering in the darkness.

Though his body had been strengthened by the day's events, Ethan wasn't physically tired. But the shock of what had happened, the darkness surrounding him, and being alone had left him mentally exhausted and lonely.

At first, he remained vigilant, refusing to sleep, always listening for any sounds or movements around him.

Eventually, though, he became drowsy and couldn't hold on any longer.

He moved the corpse of the dead monster out of the bedroom, then pushed a cabinet to block the window. To feel more secure, he propped the bed upright and pressed it against the cabinet.

With the bed and the cabinet in place, he figured that if a monster managed to knock them down, the noise would wake him.

Afterward, Ethan brought the simple raft, made from two wooden doors and a bag full of food, into the room. He locked the door from the inside, as the floor was damp. He set the raft on the ground, spread a blanket on it, and lay down, gripping a kitchen knife in one hand and a hammer in the other.

Exhaustion took over, and he quickly fell asleep.

Ethan rarely dreamed, but that night he had nightmare after nightmare. In one, he was adrift in an endless ocean, surrounded by endless floating corpses. He stood alone on the raft, surrounded by the dead.

Suddenly, the corpses reanimated, their fish-like eyes opening, their mouths full of fangs, and their swollen, translucent faces twisted with malice.

They reached out, swarming toward him like locusts.

"Ah-" Ethan screamed in fear, jolting awake only to fall into another nightmare.

In this one, he was sinking deeper into the water, his hands and feet bound by dark, thick, black hair.

These long strands wrapped around his limbs, pulling him down.

Ethan struggled desperately, kicking his legs, when suddenly, a face appeared in the black hair beneath him. It was the face of his girlfriend, Janifer.

Ethan was horrified and was about to call her name when Janifer's mouth opened, cracking all the way to her ears, revealing vampire-like fangs. A blood-red, forked tongue slithered out as she lunged at him.

Ethan experienced all manner of strange and terrifying dreams until he was finally awakened by a violent knock at the door.