The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

When the bell rang, Wu You was still staring blankly at his textbook.

Someone patted me on the shoulder.

He turned around, and Tong Hui was standing beside him, her hand still on his shoulder. He opened his mouth, wanted to say something but then swallowed it back, finally managing to stammer out, "I thought... please accept my condolences."

Wu You looked at him, nodded, and didn't say anything.

Tong Hui didn't say much, just patted him on the shoulder and left.

He and Li Wei are close friends; the whole class knows it.

Wu You withdrew his gaze and continued to stare at the textbook, practicing basic sword techniques in his mind.

But he felt another gaze upon him.

He tilted his head slightly, glancing over out of the corner of his eye.

She had long, straight black hair, an oval face, and was sitting in the row by the window, watching him.

The moment their eyes met, she lowered them, turned back to her book, and acted as if nothing had happened.

It's Hua Linlin, whom I just met yesterday.

Wu You didn't think much of it and continued to stare blankly.

. . . . . .

The day passed quickly.

Chinese class, math class, English class, physics class... class after class went by, but Wu You barely listened to anything.

While the teacher was lecturing, he was either going through the basic sword techniques in his mind or thinking about Li Wei's parents.

The more I thought about it, the more something seemed off.

He remembered seeing Li Wei's parents yesterday morning.

Right at the entrance of the residential area, Li Wei's mother came back from the market carrying a shopping basket and greeted him. Li Wei's father, who was riding his electric bike next to her, also nodded to him.

Those were living, breathing people.

Then yesterday afternoon, Li Wei turned into a monster and attacked him. Today, he received news that Li Wei's parents were also dead.

What does this mean?

When Li Wei turned into a monster, his parents were already dead.

Did someone kill them first and then turn Li Wei into a monster? Or did the monster hide inside them first, kill them, and then parasitize Li Wei?

If it's the latter, that's fine.

But if it's the former, then it means one thing—

There is more than one monster.

. . . .

At 4:45 p.m., the school bell rang on time.

Wu You packed her schoolbag and walked out of the school gate. She took a bus and got off near her residential area.

He didn't go directly to Li Wei's house. Instead, he went upstairs first to put down his schoolbag, then picked up the wooden sword leaning against the door before going out.

Building 15.

He stood downstairs and looked up. The window on the fifth floor was still dark; the curtains were drawn, and he couldn't see anything.

The stairwell door was ajar.

Wu You pushed open the door and went upstairs.

The neighborhood is old, and the stairwell is dark. Only one motion-activated light is on, while the rest are either broken or off, leaving the light dim and gloomy.

The walls were covered with little GG stickers—locksmiths, plumbers, document clerks—layer upon layer, and a few cigarette butts were scattered on the floor, I don't know who threw them there.

When he reached the corner on the third floor, he suddenly stopped.

Someone came down from upstairs.

The footsteps were steady, neither hurried nor slow.

For some reason, Wu You subconsciously tightened his grip on the wooden sword in his hand.

The person turned the corner and came into view.

Wearing a sports t-shirt, sports shorts, and headphones.

The hallway was dimly lit, but Wu You could already see his face clearly. It was the middle-aged man who had run past him last night!

At the same time, the cold energy within his body suddenly fluctuated.

It was more intense than yesterday.

That feeling of unease was like a hand gripping his heart.

How did we end up here? Is it also in Building 15? Is the death of Li Wei's family related to it?

In an instant, a multitude of thoughts flashed through my mind.

The man saw him too.

He paused, his gaze falling on Wu You, then on the wooden sword in his hand, and then his lips twitched as if he were smiling.

"Oh? We seem to have met yesterday?" He took off his headphones. "How could you, an ordinary person without any energy fluctuations, detect my identity?"

The voice was neither hurried nor slow, and even carried a hint of curiosity.

"Is it natural?"

Wu You didn't speak, but just stared at him, gripping the wooden sword in his hand even tighter.

The man tilted his head, looking him over as if he were looking at something interesting.

"But you're unlucky to have run into me." He sighed, a hint of regret in his voice. "It's a pity you're just an ordinary person, not even an ability user. You really don't interest me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wu You felt a chill run through his body.

A cold, sticky feeling washed over him like a tide, enveloping his entire body.

At the same time, there was something invisible trying to penetrate his skin, to burrow into his body through his blood vessels, and to drain all his strength.

Wu You's vision blurred.

The stairs are gone.

The surrounding walls were gone.

Instead, a thick black mist surged around him like a living thing.

Wu You's pupils contracted sharply.

It was that strange space again, the same place the monster dragged him into last time.

The chilling aura was still seeping into his body, as if it were about to devour him, but the next second, the cold energy within him stirred.

They surged out as if they were enraged, rushing and flowing through the meridians.

The chilling aura that had just crept in was gradually extinguished by the cool air, like snow falling into boiling water, disappearing completely in an instant.

"Um?"

A soft exclamation came from within the black mist.

"He didn't faint..." The voice paused, "It seems he truly has a special talent."

His tone carried a hint of surprise, but more than anything, it was indifferent.

"But you probably don't have much strength left, right?"

Wu You looked down at his hand. He was still holding the wooden sword, his fingers were not trembling, and the cold energy in his body was still circulating, even more actively than before.

He didn't speak.

"Tsk tsk." The voice rang out again. "A talented human, what a pity. He'll die here today. Although he doesn't whet my appetite, he should be enough for the little ones."

As soon as he finished speaking, two clapping sounds came from within the black mist.

*Slap. Slap.*

"Little ones, come out here." The voice was lazy. "It's time to eat."

The black mist began to surge.

One by one, figures emerged from the fog, swaying unsteadily, as if they hadn't woken up yet.

One, two, three...

Every face was distorted, with features barely in their proper places: the eyes were crooked, the mouth stretched to the ears, and the noses collapsed, leaving only two holes.

It's basically the same as the one Li Wei transformed into.

It is a corpse species.

Wu You gripped the wooden sword tightly, ready to make his move.

Then he froze.

He recognized the two people walking in front.

A middle-aged man with a dark, thin face and a scar on his forehead—Li Wei's father.

The woman next to him, with her permed hair and wearing a floral shirt, is Li Wei's mother.

They staggered over like the other zombies. Their faces were contorted, but their features and outlines were those of Li Wei's parents.

And this man—no, the monster hidden inside the man's body—is the culprit that turned Li Wei's family into monsters!

The moment his guess came true, Wu You's mind went blank for a moment for no apparent reason.

He recalled that yesterday morning, at the entrance of the residential area, Li Wei's mother smiled at him while carrying a vegetable basket, and Li Wei's father nodded at him while riding his electric bike.

That happened yesterday morning, less than forty-eight hours ago.

A mocking laugh came from within the black mist.

"Huh? You're stunned? There are humans you recognize inside?"

Seeing that Wu You didn't react, the voice seemed to lose interest as well: "Alright, little guys, go. Eat him up."

The zombies began to accelerate.

Li Wei's father walked at the front, his distorted face getting closer and closer, revealing jagged triangular teeth in his open mouth.

Wu You closed his eyes and lowered his head, as if he had given up resisting.

one second.

two seconds.

Just as the first zombie's hand was about to touch him, he opened his eyes.

The wooden sword moved.

There were no unnecessary movements, no fancy moves, just the simplest thrusts, parries, and slashes.

The first sword pierced Li Wei's father's head. The moment the sword tip entered, the head turned into black mist and dissipated, followed by the entire body.

With his second sword strike, he parried two zombie creatures that lunged at him from the side, and then slashed them in the process, severing their necks.

The third sword pierced Li Wei's mother's heart. Her mouth was open, and something seemed to flash in her crooked eye before her entire body dissipated into black mist.

The fourth sword, the fifth sword, the sixth sword—

An old wooden sword, its paint almost completely peeled off, still left a chilling trail of light in the air with every swing, thanks to the cool air it exuded.

There are seven in total.

It only took a dozen seconds.

It all turned into black mist and dissipated.

A wave of energy emanated from the sword manual:

Allocable experience points +10

Allocable experience points +10

Allocable experience points +10

. . .

Wu You stood there, gripping his sword, slightly out of breath.

There was silence for a few seconds in the black fog.

"...There are no fluctuations of energy beyond the limits." When the voice rang out again, its tone had changed. "Are you a martial artist?"

Wu You didn't speak, but just gripped his sword and stared intently in the direction from which the sound came.

The black mist churned, and the man's silhouette appeared and disappeared.

There was a few seconds of silence.

"You should have said you were a martial artist earlier." The voice returned to its lazy tone, even with a hint of satisfaction, seemingly unconcerned that his underling had been dealt with by Wu You in just a few sword strikes. "That's enough to give me a treat."