Nightmare Despair

Chapter 3 First Kill, Strange Book

Chapter 3 First Kill, Strange Book
The strange man's facial features twitched, and his eyes, swollen with only the whites showing, were bluish-green as he stared intently at Zhou Kai.

His ferocious and chilling expression reminded Zhou Kai of zombie movies he had seen before.

This thing is hardly any better than a zombie.

The standoff lasted only a moment before the strange man suddenly exerted his strength, lunging at Zhou Kai with a stench mixed with rotting entrails and ammonia.

Saliva mixed with a few drops of pus spurted from its gaping maw, and the metacarpal bones of its hands were eerily elongated, like the claws of some hairless, vicious dog.

Zhou Kai understood at a glance that this thing was absolutely not to be touched.

He still has the "wound infection" debuff, and if this thing scratches him again, it will probably fester.

But, can't we fight back?

Zhou Kai dodged the strange man's clumsy, straight charge, watching it struggle as it and the door panel got stuck in the crack in the floor.

His eyes shone frighteningly bright under the light.

"Can fight!"

This thing is far less threatening than its appearance suggests.

Compared to that hairy monster that couldn't be identified as human, and that silent chain-hammer armored warrior, this half-human, half-beast monster was surprisingly... weak.

It seems its cerebellum is underdeveloped, and its movements are stiff like a zombie.

Zhou Kai, without the slightest hesitation, picked up the axe in his hand and took advantage of the situation to kill it.

He swung his arm wide, using all his strength to raise the gleaming axe blade high, and like smashing a rotten watermelon, he chopped it down hard on the deformed head.

Click!
The crisp sound of bones breaking echoed in the room.

Zhou Kai didn't use this thing often, so his aim was a bit off. The first axe blow didn't hit its head, but instead cleaved deep into its shoulder.

But that's about it.

The axe severed the shoulder blade and collarbone, and the blade continued its momentum, cutting through several more ribs before finally stopping.

The resentment from dying four times, the fear of narrowly escaping death, and the anger that had nowhere to be vented.

It all poured into that one axe.

The strange man immediately stopped struggling.

But Zhou Kai's attacks did not stop.

He stepped on the monster's chest and, with a sudden burst of strength, pulled the axe embedded in the bone out with a "poof".

Warm, black blood splattered all over him.

As for whether there's a problem with the black blood, he's not in the mood to think about that right now.

There was one thing he urgently needed to verify.

Then, without hesitation, he swung the axe at the strange head several more times until the head and body were completely separated, before stopping, panting heavily.

Zhou Kai's stamina is almost completely depleted...

His roommate has also clearly stopped making any moves.

"Wait a minute... even this kind of finishing move isn't working?"

But after catching his breath, his expression suddenly changed.

Several tentacles emerged from the shattered skull, while its body split open precisely from the wound.

A mass of reddish-purple, squid-heart-shaped, unknown tissue pulsated and emerged from the monster's chest cavity.

Zhou Kai snorted coldly, first crushing the twitching tentacles to pieces with his feet, then picked up the axe again and chopped at them.

As long as you can still move, don't even think about advancing to the second stage in front of me!

Zhou Kai went all out, hacking and slashing with the axe.

When all strength is exhausted and one can no longer swing the axe.

He pulled the chef's knife directly from his lower back, lunged forward, and frantically cut and stabbed at the writhing tissue.

The "squid-like tissue" was quickly cut into pieces, and the life force that had just begun to grow inside the monster rapidly declined and eventually disappeared completely.

Zhou Kai, covered in blood, leaned back and collapsed to the ground. The information he had been waiting for finally appeared in his field of vision.

[Defeat the 'Failed Experiment' to gain 3 Universal Experience Points]

[Defeat 'Diavolo Parasite (Large)' to gain 5 Universal Experience Points]

"Sure enough, it's just as I thought."

"Eight experience points... I don't know if it's worth it."

Zhou Kai rested for a while before getting up, panting heavily, and prepared to walk towards the fireplace to return to reality.

But just then, under the light of the oil lamp, something reflecting an unusual glow caught his attention.

Two steps away from where the strange man rushed out of the study, a notebook about the size of two palms lay quietly.

Its cover was made of cowhide and brass, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and agate, and looked exceptionally exquisite. Zhou Kai walked over, picked it up, put it in his pocket, and then, by the fireplace, silently murmured, "Detachment."

……

You have escaped the nightmare, but beware, despair has already marked you.

You still have to enter the nightmare, but this time you can choose to enter voluntarily at midnight each night, or be passively entered no later than seven days later.

The rented room, about 20 square meters in size, was shockingly simply decorated and furnished.

call!
Zhou Kai remained frozen on the bed for a while, like a puppet in a maze, before suddenly sitting up.

My heart was pounding wildly, and my vision was going black in waves.

The exhaustion and injuries from the nightmare world were inherited back intact...

Of course, there were also gains.

Zhou Kai looked at his control panel.

[Character: Zhou Kai]

[Status: Fatigue, weakness, infected wound, erosion]

[Skill: None]

[Items: Residence permit, bloodstained axe, rusty chef's knife, strange book]

[General Experience Points: 8]

[Erosion Progress: 4/9] (Please avoid death!)

He had already thrown away the homemade chain axe, but he had gained just as much of the other treasures.

He smiled with satisfaction, only to belatedly realize that a tearing pain was shooting through his back.

"The injuries and exhaustion have all been brought back with them."

"But no matter what, it's better than death!"

Zhou Kai raised an eyebrow, his pale face showing no unusual expression.

He was still wearing the clothes he had worn to bed, and although the wound was still there, there was no trace of blood or rain.

The inheritance of experiences from the nightmare world seems to have undergone some kind of filtering.

This is truly a good thing...

At least, he doesn't have to worry about bringing any disgusting things back to reality.

He wasn't in a hurry to read the book. Instead, he quickly tore off the bed sheet, which was soaked with cold sweat, and pulled out a first-aid kit from under the bed.

Disinfect and bandage yourself in front of the mirror.

Zhou Kai put on a loose, thick coat to avoid his injury being discovered by others.

For some inexplicable reason, he did not intend to go to the hospital.

"I can't let my sister know I'm injured, otherwise she'll worry again."

After changing the sheets, Zhou Kai retrieved the mysterious book from the storage compartment on the panel and began to carefully peruse it.

Compared to the exquisite binding, the paper of the book is rough and cheap... which is very much in line with the papermaking level of ancient Western times.

The text recorded inside is a mixture of two different styles.

One appears to be ancient Latin, which is rarely used nowadays, while the other is completely incomprehensible.

Zhou Kai knew a little about ancient Latin, which allowed him to understand the main title on the title page.

[Morning Star's exploration notes from 1921 in the (crossed out) (stained) area]

"Hmm? An ancient book, but the content isn't from ancient times."

"Some text has been crossed out? Is it Helen Beckberg?"

Zhou Kai frowned in thought, then continued gnawing on the food.

He couldn't understand some of the text on the inner pages and inserts at all, but he understood the Latin parts much better.

He kept gnawing away until dawn, and actually managed to make some progress.

You have grasped important knowledge.

You have acquired the skill: Light Steps.

You have come into contact with esoteric knowledge.