Courtyard House: I fish in the heavens, a professional bird abuser.

"roar----!!!"

That roar was unlike anything any known creature on Earth could produce. It was as sharp as scraping a blackboard with a rusty nail, or as if it were about to tear one's eardrums apart. The sound contained not only the rage of a wild beast, but also a deep-seated, insatiable greed for flesh and blood.

The once deathly dark interior of Restaurant B, now filled with the shattered glass from He Yuanchao's two axe blows, has become a vent for expression.

A strong, almost tangible, fishy stench, mixed with the chilling wind, instantly swept through the entire space.

He Yuanchao did not move.

He stood there, carrying the black fire axe, amidst the shattered glass, his head slightly tilted back. His eyes were narrowed to slits as he stared intently at the dark ceiling above him through the dim emergency light.

On his system's radar scanning interface, a scarlet-purple dot was moving wildly at an unbelievable speed among the crisscrossing metal pipes and supports.

That method of movement completely violates the common sense of gravity.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

That was the sound of sharp claws piercing through metal pipe walls and tearing through concrete ceilings.

"Goodness, you couldn't hold back anymore?"

He Yuanchao's lips curled into a cold smile. He spat the piece of chewed gum, which had already lost its flavor, onto the ground, and then reached out and loosened the collar of his shirt slightly.

He could feel the blood in his body starting to heat up.

This is a feeling I haven't had in a long time.

In the world of "Bright Sword", in the later stages, he spent most of his time sitting in the command vehicle, looking at the map and listening to the battle reports. Although it was satisfying to strategize, he always felt that something was missing.

It lacks the thrill of visceral, bone-crunching action.

It lacked that thrill of repeatedly teetering on the edge of life and death.

And now, that feeling is back.

Just then.

"call--"

The sound of the wind overhead suddenly changed.

What was originally a random, unpredictable dart suddenly became a straight line in that instant!

There were no signs whatsoever.

There were no preparatory actions.

The hunter who had been hiding in the shadows launched an attack!

A dark shadow flashed by!

Like a black cannonball fired from a gun, carrying terrifying kinetic energy enough to flatten a small car, it crashed straight down from the ceiling, which was more than ten meters high, towards He Yuanchao's head!

In the dim light, the monster's appearance was finally revealed to the air.

It was a lump of... rotten flesh that had been skinned.

Its entire body was devoid of skin, covered only in bright red, still-pulsating muscle fibers. Its head was deformed and disproportionately large; the skull was nowhere to be seen, and the entire brain was exposed to the air, with blood vessels wriggling like earthworms in the grayish-white gyri.

In its gaping maw, which stretched to its ears, a ridiculously long, scarlet tongue as thick as an adult's arm shot out like a venomous snake emerging from its hole. With its body moving at an even faster speed, it struck He Yuanchao's throat first!

If it were an ordinary person, or even Captain Xue De of that special task force, they probably wouldn't even have time to react before having half their head chopped off by this attack.

But standing there was He Yuanchao.

He is a freak who has experienced countless battles, whose body has been enhanced by the G-virus serum, and who possesses the skills of a system-based fighting master.

"Too slow."

Under He Yuanchao's dynamic visual capture, the action that was as fast as lightning in the eyes of ordinary people was like a film reel that had been slowed down.

He could even see the lines of every single barb on that tongue.

Just as the tongue was less than ten centimeters from his throat, the stench assaulted his nostrils.

He Yuanchao made a move.

He didn't hide.

They did not retreat.

He simply swung the fire axe he was carrying on his shoulder upwards like a baseball bat!

This movement was extremely simple, without any fancy moves or even a proper exertion posture. It was purely due to the enhanced and terrifying strength in his waist, abdomen, and arms that he swung the heavy axe, leaving a blur in his wake.

"Clang—Pfft!"

A dull thud as metal struck flesh and bone.

Then came that teeth-grinding cutting sound.

The fire axe's heavy blade struck the monster's claws with perfect precision!

A tremendous impact erupted in the air.

The ground beneath He Yuanchao's feet trembled violently as his high-end leather shoes sank deep into the shards of glass, producing a series of cracking sounds.

The monster, finding no foothold in mid-air, was sent tumbling through the air by this brutal axe blow, flying horizontally like a tennis ball hit by a racket!

"boom!"

The Licker slammed heavily onto a shipping container, creating a huge dent in the heavy metal box, before rolling awkwardly to the ground.

Its long tongue twitched weakly in the air, with a few drops of black blood still clinging to it from the violent impact.

"Roar...roar..."

The licker struggled to its feet on the ground.

It seemed a little confused.

That brain, driven solely by the instinct to kill, could not comprehend why this "food," much smaller and not particularly strong, possessed such immense strength.

It shook its ugly head, but instead of launching a second attack, it lay on the ground, its back muscles heaving violently, and let out a low growl like a wild beast guarding its prey.

Its claws scratched at the ground, leaving several deep furrows in the hard cement.

It is being evaluated.

This is a predator's instinct; when faced with a tough opponent, it becomes cautious.

He Yuanchao did not rush to pursue them.

He slammed the fire axe to the ground, making a sharp cracking sound.

Then he looked at the axe with some disdain.

Although the axe blade wasn't chipped, the handle was slightly bent from the violent impact. After all, it was just a civilian tool; despite the boast that it was made of special steel, it was still a bit of a stretch to use it in a head-on clash with this mutated creature.

"It's just an ordinary lump of iron after all."

"No matter how strong you are, there is a limit."

"It would be difficult to even cut through this skin with this thing, let alone dismember you."

He Yuanchao shook his head and casually tossed his hand away.

"Bang!"

The fire axe that he had just been praising to the skies was tossed aside in a corner like trash.

This action stunned the Licker on the other side.

What does this mean?

Surrender?

Do you still think you can kill me with your bare hands?

Although the Licker wasn't very bright, the anger at being slighted instantly overwhelmed its previous caution.

Its hind legs slammed into the ground, and its body tensed up once again, like a fully drawn bow.

It's about to launch!

however.

Just as it was preparing to launch a thunderous attack.

It saw that something had suddenly appeared in the human's hand.

That thing appeared out of nowhere.

It appeared in his hand as if by magic.

That was a... knife.

A knife that wasn't very long, and even looked somewhat slender.

But as soon as the knife came out, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees instantly.

The scabbard is a deep, dark black, without any fancy decorations, only an extremely simple and calm feeling.

"Zheng—"

A clear, resonant sound, like a dragon's roar, echoed through the empty warehouse.

He Yuanchao drew his sword.

The gleaming blade was exposed to the air, but instead of the usual shimmering reflection, it had a hazy, water-like pattern of dark lines.

That was a... Tang sword.

In the world of "Bright Sword," a peerless weapon was created by Professor Liu Zhenhua, who gathered the top metallurgical experts of the time. It took them three whole months to create it using a piece of extraterrestrial meteorite iron that He Yuanchao redeemed from the system shop, along with thousands of folding and forging processes.

In that world, this sword has a name: "Dragon Slayer".

It never actually slayed a dragon, but it sliced ​​through the armor of the Japanese's tiny tanks as easily as cutting a piece of hot cheese.

He Yuanchao gripped the hilt of the knife.

That familiar, blood-connected feeling traveled through my entire body from my palm.

This knife hasn't tasted blood in a long time.

In the later stages of that world, with cannons bombarding the ground and missiles firing in salvos, there was no longer any chance for cold weapons to be used.

did not expect.

In this zombie-infested apocalypse, it has to start working again.

"This axe won't do."

"We need to use something more sophisticated."

"Using this knife to kill you is already giving you plenty of face."

With a slight flick of his wrist, He Yuanchao made the long sword, which looked to weigh dozens of kilograms, feel as light as a straw in his hand.

The tip of the knife points diagonally at the ground.

He adopted a perfectly standard starting stance.

Slightly turn your body to the side, lower your center of gravity, loosely grip the middle of the blade with your left hand, and firmly grip the hilt with your right hand.

that moment.

He Yuanchao, who had been somewhat cynical and spouting frivolous remarks just moments before, was gone.

Instead.

It is a sharp blade that has been drawn from its sheath.

He was a martial artist whose purity reached its extreme.

An invisible aura emanated from him, and even the air a few meters away seemed to become viscous.

The licker sensed a threat.

This is a sense of oppression coming from the top of the food chain.

This feeling made it extremely uncomfortable, even somewhat panicked.

It must break this repression.

It must tear apart this source of fear!

"roar!!!!"

The Lickers erupted.

This time, it didn't pounce straight at you.

Its limbs scratched at the ground, and its body, like a gecko, quickly darted up the side of the shipping container!

Its speed is astonishing.

They bounce and use the space between containers, walls, and even ceilings for leverage.

The dark gray figure transformed into an elusive afterimage, spinning wildly around He Yuanchao.

It tries to use its speed to confuse its prey.

It wanted to find a sure-fire angle.

"Shhh—"

The sound of claws scraping against metal came from all directions.

This kind of three-dimensional mobility would throw even an elite squad like Xue De's into disarray if they were armed, leaving them unsure of where to point their guns.

But He Yuanchao did not move.

His feet seemed rooted to the ground, remaining completely still.

His eyes even closed slightly.

He doesn't look.

Because the eyes can lie.

In such dimly lit environments with many afterimages, vision is often the slowest sense.

He was listening.

Listen to the sound of the wind.

Listen to the subtle friction sound that comes from when muscles contract.

Listen to the sound of that ugly heart pounding violently in my chest.

[System Assist Module: God-level Perception Activated.]

[Target trajectory locked...]

[Predicting the attack angle...]

[Left rear...above...30 degrees...]

In his mind, the fast-moving red dot was no longer just a dot, but a perfectly clear trajectory line.

It's now!

He Yuanchao suddenly opened his eyes.

A sharp light flashed in those black pupils!

Almost simultaneously.

Behind him.

The Licker that had been wandering along the wall suddenly pushed off with all its might, like a nail that had been compressed to its limit and then shot out, silently and with a murderous determination, it bit down hard on the back of He Yuanchao's neck!

Its claws were already outstretched, and its sharp nails drew several cold streaks in the air.

distance.

three meters.

Two meters.

one meter.

Saliva was even dripping from the licker's large mouth, as if it had already tasted the sweetness of blood.

But just as its claws were about to touch the hem of He Yuanchao's clothes...

It saw a light.

A beam of light, as cool as moonlight, yet as swift as lightning.

That was the glint of a blade.

"Buzz—"