Infinite Hunter

Although he has demonstrated superhuman strength during hunting, and although he is only 1.84 meters tall, I'm afraid that even the Mountain in the TV series is not as strong as him.

Cheng Yijiu, dressed in simple linen clothes, walked barefoot to the second floor. The second-floor hall didn't have any specimens of his new prey, so he pushed open the door—the secondary hall was filled with those supernatural monsters, this time there were. Next to the werewolf was a very large wild boar, and next to the boar was a crouching lion. And above them, on a wooden platform, sat a lion larger than a horse.

On the shelf in front of the three specimens was a laurel wreath. "Apollo's blessing, may light always be with you." Cheng Yijiu read the words below, unsure of the purpose of this blessing.

After a night's rest, Cheng Yijiu returned to the shop downstairs. This daily routine effectively relaxed his mind and body—honestly, strangling two lions in a row was no easy feat. If it weren't for a bit of luck and divine protection, Cheng Yijiu felt he would have died long ago. When he returned at noon, he saw a coat of arms hanging on the wall in the lobby for unknown reasons. The cursive characters on it seemed to read "King Lionheart" in English.

Thinking carefully, the way he killed the first lion seemed similar to the legend of King Lionheart, except he didn't remove the lion's heart. Killing the second lion was definitely the same as Hercules, strangling the lion to death. "I have to say that human strangulation is indeed a fatal blow to ordinary beasts." Inspired, Cheng Yijiu casually took out his half-sword and swung it into a sword flower.

He was a swordsman by nature, and after practicing a few moves, he found his skills had greatly improved. "Can this ancient hunting method improve swordsmanship?" He seemed to be able to compete with even the world-renowned swordsmen—at least his reflexes and strength seemed to be better than theirs, and now he had a technical advantage. "That's right, after all, he has been trained in swordsmanship through life-and-death combat."

Although I'm not fighting anyone...

This time, he lost his shield and leather armor, but the remaining mail, arm armor, and greaves seemed to have gained a new power—the original enchanted runes had vanished, replaced by a simple, strange glow. Could this be Apollo's blessing? I'd try it out if I ever visit the ancient world. The same glow shone on his half-sword. Unfortunately, his short spear was destroyed, and his bow had been replaced with a wooden one.

"Okay, from now on it's just daily life." Cheng Yijiu still has some time to relax and he is happy with it.

Chapter 16 Daily Life

The pet supply store owner was just getting by again. This time, there weren't any unusual people coming to buy the same unusual things. He simply kept his shop open, enjoying the quiet days. Since he owned the house and wasn't focused on making much money, his products were cheap and genuine—with occasional discounts. He wasn't allowed to undercut foreign brands due to market positioning considerations, so Cheng Yijiu kept a low price.

He buys mainly genuine domestic products at discounts, and even participates in foreign product sales promotions. His monthly sales are surprisingly good, though his income isn't high. Cheng Yijiu no longer hides the fact that he's a swordsman. He displays a mannequin clad in armor in the first-floor shop. He spends his profits on armor and swords, both domestically and internationally.

He even started making his own mail—opening a shop on an online shopping website, selling his handmade armor. He wouldn't sell bladed weapons, lest he be arrested. Blunt weapons like hammers and scepters were acceptable, while iron whips and maces were collector's items. These weren't enchanted, nor were they forged using alchemy. Even in this day and age, chain mail required a whole suite of tools—from machines for stamping out the plates and weaving the rings to hand-cranked machines for meshing the plates and rings.

It would be foolish of the craftsmen to make them one by one and then weave them together.

Plate armor can also be hammered. In short, these things primarily require design and artistic flair; processing is often simpler and involves repetitive labor. Cheng Yijiu also uses relatively classic materials—for example, he doesn't use stainless steel for his armor, but he does perform surface carburizing and hardening. He crafts armor that has been verified and embellished by certain gangs, ranging from Chinese to Western styles.

As for himself, he also forged a new set of armor out of some amusement—black leather armor with a neck guard. This thing was similar to the armor worn by the Black Knight Ashram in the anime OVA "Record of Lodoss War" he watched as a teenager. Normally, the armor of the Dark Empire Mamo should be metal, but this kind of armor would be too clumsy if made of metal, or it would have to be made into a ceremonial light armor.

Cheng Yijiu used leather, lacquered and polished, making it look similar to black-painted metal, except it was much lighter than metal armor, and the movable parts were easier to make. However, after putting it on... "This kind of thing is better left to the second dimension." Cheng Yijiu laughed. In comparison, the armor in Berserk was closer to reality. It was almost all knight armor, and many were simply ceremonial armor transformed into combat armor. After all, the people in the characters were abnormal, so it was normal for them to be able to wear it...

His gadgets seem to be selling well, especially the leather armor and half-plate armor. They've become quite popular among local and nearby swordfighting enthusiasts and hobbyists—and crucially, they're quite affordable. Plus, if you pick it up yourself, you can even try your hand at the owner's swordsmanship, who's incredibly skilled, definitely at a professional level. In a sport like swordfighting, height and strength are a definite advantage—wearing heavy armor and wielding large weapons makes it easy to excel in the game.

So now Cheng Yijiu simply opened the back door on the first floor. Now it was completely transparent, and he could see the backyard from the front - it was originally a public place. And his backyard was where his friends came to pick up goods and practice sword fighting. Cheng Yijiu was now very proficient in disarmament, and he had mastered Western half-sword and broadsword. Unlike those who came to play or those who played in competitions, Cheng Yijiu had really fought for his life with real weapons.

With the recent economic boom, efforts to protect the natural environment have intensified. This, in turn, stems from economic concentration. Many small towns, especially those in mountainous areas, have begun to decline, experiencing a significant population exodus. This exodus is particularly pronounced among the young and middle-aged, leaving only the elderly. As the elderly gradually die, the towns themselves gradually disappear. Those cultivated mountain fields and those hilltops used for logging are now left unattended and uncultivated.

In just over a decade, nature has rapidly recovered. Many hilltops are now covered with shrubs and trees. Pollution control has also significantly restored the environment, and many previously unseen animals have begun to recover. However, this recovery has also brought some problems, namely the relationship between humans and nature.

Many people in the world enjoy hiking. Most are relatively normal, camping at civilized campsites and following established trails. However, some simply venture into mountain ravines, seemingly "traveling through uninhabited areas." This requires specialized teams to expend enormous time and effort rescuing them, and the compensation for this effort is often less than a fraction of the cost. Some have even died trying to save these individuals.

As the environment recovers, similar wild habitats are appearing around many cities. Even in large cities, where population concentrations have left many areas desolate, who could have imagined wild boars and the rare East China leopard just 20 kilometers from Hangzhou? And who could have imagined that just outside Beijing, surrounded by mountains, these mountains are considered uninhabited, and the North China leopard's range is also among them. Historically, tigers have also been found here, but it's unclear when they will recover.

Cheng Yijiu's city has also recently seen the return of wild animals like badgers, musk deer, and raccoon dogs, and they can even be seen in the green spaces of the Central District. Cheng Yijiu is now preparing to travel to Beijing—this won't affect his participation in the mission, as the cabin will follow him anyway. This way, he won't even need to stay in a hotel; he can simply open the door and return to the cabin.

With time to complete his new mission, Cheng Yijiu arrived in Beijing by high-speed rail. He planned to visit Mentougou first—he'd heard the greenery there was quite good, and it was full of wildness. It was there that he encountered six hikers, four men and two women, carrying large backpacks. "From their attire, they look like the kind that don't usually travel." Cheng Yijiu himself also wanted to hike in the mountains, tracking wildlife to maintain his form...

He wasn't a backpacker; Cheng Yijiu was half-wild animal. He could actually find water in the wild—instinctively. Cheng Yijiu changed into hiking boots and hunting gear. The only weapon he carried was a hunting bow—a wooden bow he'd tried. It wasn't the bow of Artemis, the goddess of hunting, but a very simple, single-piece wooden bow—the kind that couldn't shoot very far.

Chapter 17: Village

In China, it is illegal to carry a knife with a blade longer than ten centimeters in public, and the same applies to carrying a crossbow - just like carrying a gun, but it is legal to carry a bow in public. Bows and arrows are sports equipment.

Cheng Yijiu carried a bow, and other than that, a small straight knife, the kind with a blade only eight centimeters long. He also brought a lighter, a compass, and a simple map—contour maps were unavailable, but that didn't matter. He had once been a wild animal, and how could a wild animal get lost in the forest? As Cheng Yijiu stepped into the forest, carrying a simple backpack, he naturally felt a sense of familiarity.

He casually walked through the valley, and soon found himself moving along the mountainside, following the waterline like a tiger patrolling its territory. He was following the hikers ahead of him, but they were at least seven or eight hundred meters away. Although they didn't follow the same route as Cheng Yijiu, he could still follow them from their footprints and tracks. And Cheng Yijiu would stop from time to time to let them go a little further.

Because he moved much faster than those people, and Cheng Yijiu didn't want to get too close and appear in their sight. Cheng Yijiu was just curious about where these people were going - he was also bored.

A village appeared ahead. The others had already entered, while Cheng Yijiu remained in the jungle, staring at the houses. "There's no one around. This village must be abandoned. It must have been...at least five or six years?" He looked at the road at the bottom of the valley. It wasn't completely buried by dust, and the surrounding bushes hadn't damaged the roadbed. The cement on the road surface was just crumbling. "After all, this is within Beijing, so at least the road is cement."

Now, there's a conclusion to the matter. These people are probably those "adventure influencers"? Cheng Yijiu took out his phone and saw that there were actually three bars of signal here. "I have to say that China Telecom is really a state-owned enterprise."

"I should have thought of this earlier. These two women don't look like the type to hike through uninhabited areas. They're dressed up like internet celebrities." Cheng Yijiu punched his palm lightly. Since that was the case, he didn't rush into the village. He just stood there and watched as the group started to pull out their live broadcast equipment. It looked like this wasn't just any group, it was probably the kind that could make a lot of money.

Cheng Yijiu watched for a moment before deciding to slowly approach—his movements were completely undetectable, silent yet capable of swiftly moving through blind spots. The houses were a mess, and there was definitely nothing valuable there—they didn't look like they were built by wealthy farmers. The "poverty belt" surrounding Beijing wasn't a lie; even within Beijing, such impoverished areas existed. There were quite a few broken tables and chairs, as well as some tattered beds and bedding.

Everything was rotten beyond recognition, and there were even hanging pictures and other things, and the incense was half-burned. Walking around this deserted house, Cheng Yijiu didn't feel the slightest bit of fear. "A bit strange..." Cheng Yijiu thought, turning his head to look at the beams, then at the corners. There was a light leak in the roof above the beams. The tiles had broken after years of neglect, so naturally there would be light and water leaks.

This wasn't the main point; the main point was that Cheng Yijiu didn't see any bird nests. These abandoned buildings were perfect habitats for wild animals. He was looking in the corners to find footprints—small animals, especially mice. Mice walk along the walls, so if there were footprints, they would definitely leave them. Cheng Yijiu pulled out a small money detector, crouched in the corner, shielded from the light, and shone the detector light.

"No..." Cheng Yijiu muttered, standing up straight, his nose twitching a few times. "There's no special smell, just the smell of mold." Cheng Yijiu walked back to the yard. The people were still live streaming across the street and didn't see him at all. Cheng Yijiu could hear the startled voices of the two women on the live stream. Of course, he now understood from the voices that this live stream was actually a three-person group, one man and two women.

The other two were either technical support or broadcast directors. Cheng Yijiu surveyed the courtyard while listening to the three people working together to create the atmosphere. As he listened, he learned quite a bit about the village. It was essentially the combined effects of village consolidation and population agglomeration that had seen the village's young adults, even children, flock to downtown Beijing to work and study—they were already Beijingers. The elderly left behind gradually died off, and some eventually moved to nursing homes in more lively and convenient locations.

This village was abandoned semi-officially and semi-voluntarily—they were inconvenient to transport, and land requisition and relocation would never affect such a place, so the land was completely worthless. After the brigade was disbanded a few years ago, even the land here went from collective ownership to state ownership. Then someone took a few photos online, and a ghost story spread directly—I don't know who made it up, but it's probably just a Tianya ghost story.

Cheng Yijiu surveyed the courtyard, which was also in ruins—two-thirds of the wall had collapsed, and there were overgrown weeds everywhere. There were plenty of insects, but still no rats. He didn't even see any deer or wild boar tracks. There were wild deer and boar in Beijing's mountains, and according to local forestry department statistics, there were enough of them to support the North China leopard that had been spotted. "This is very interesting..." Cheng Yijiu thought.

"What could have caused this?" Cheng Yijiu was quite curious. He really didn't sense any signs of ferocious beasts here—but he knew very well that even in some places without ferocious beasts, there were no living creatures other than plants and insects. These places were generally called "yin lands" or "death lands." What unusual things could be in this world?

Cheng Yijiu felt that nothing was out of the ordinary; anything that existed was reasonable. If possible, he wanted to know what was there. Silently moving around the yard, Cheng Yijiu finally stopped at a spot—a well with a remnant of its base. "A hand pump... but the stone curb looks quite old." He could feel the air flowing from the wellhead, and the temperature was noticeably lower below.

Cheng Yijiu looked down and could see shimmering water. Surprisingly, the well hadn't dried up. In the north, no one regularly cleaned the wells, so they would clog and dry up after a few years, unless there was running water underneath...

Chapter 18 Live Broadcast Room

"There's something wrong down there. The wind..." Cheng Yijiu clenched his fist and placed it before his nose, as if sniffing the wind. Cheng Yijiu hadn't learned anything about feng shui or other superstitious knowledge. He recalled what he had seen from the village entrance—it wasn't a high vantage point, so he couldn't see the village clearly.

Cheng Yijiu squatted on the ground, rubbing his palm subconsciously at the well mouth. "I remember seeing something around here before... Oh, I have a cell phone so I can check it out."

There were sounds coming from outside, and Cheng Yijiu didn't need to check - because the live broadcast next door had already said that several hikers had disappeared nearby in recent years, and they mysteriously attributed this to the place being haunted.

"Unfortunately, I've spoken too much and it's true. Although it doesn't sound like a ghost story, it's not far off." Cheng Yijiu thought. He looked at the sky and realized that if they didn't leave at this time, the six of them would have to spend the night in this place. Cheng Yijiu didn't think this was a good choice, so he took the initiative to expose himself.

Tang Yaliang is a livestreamer known as "A Po Po." Along with her partners Qian Xiao and Wang Yi, they're considered somewhat well-known streamers in the horror and supernatural genre on a certain livestreaming platform. Their most frequent livestreams feature visits to haunted locations—watching these two beauties' freakouts, coupled with Tang Yaliang's seemingly expert commentary, draws a significant audience.

They've always had a good income. While not comparable to the top livestreamers, these few with hundreds of thousands of followers can still earn over 100,000 yuan per show, which is pretty good. Even with the team's share, they're considered high-income earners. Plus, this livestreaming platform allows for travel, though it's a bit tiring.

The safety must be very good, just be careful not to fall or stumble when going out in the wild. They haven't encountered any real supernatural things yet. During this live broadcast, a voice suddenly came from the side, "Aren't you going down the mountain to the hotel?" This voice scared Tang Yaliang and others present.

Even within the livestream, comments like "That scared me!" appeared. Viewers kept asking for the camera to turn around and see who it was. Previously, during the livestream, they were the only ones there, claiming the village was deserted. Cheng Yijiu, who had appeared, didn't mind them filming him; he only discovered them after he'd turned around the wall.

"I'm not from this village, and I'm not here to broadcast live," Cheng Yijiu explained clearly. "It's really dangerous here, so I suggest you quickly descend the mountain and return to your hotel in Mentougou," Cheng Yijiu said seriously. "Haven't you noticed that there are no rats or birds here?"

As soon as he said this, Tang Yaliang exclaimed, "No wonder we felt something was wrong just now." He was still trying to liven up the atmosphere, not really wanting to leave. A comment popped up in the comments, "Is this your new shill? Hahahaha, I saw through you!"

They didn't actually believe Cheng Yijiu's words, thinking he was exaggerating or just joking—they weren't afraid of him, after all, most of the men present were over 5 feet 4 inches tall. Cheng Yijiu smiled and said, "In that case, find a room with a door and a window for the night. Remember to block them all, and it would be best if someone is on duty... If all else fails, shout for help. I'll be close by."

Cheng Yijiu didn't want to tell them much. He wouldn't believe it, so he simply kept silent. With any luck, they might be able to see it in person. Maybe it would even help them gain some fans. The question was whether they'd be killed by Approaching Science. As for Cheng Yijiu himself, he decided to search the village carefully. Perhaps he could find some trace of the guy who caused all this.

What could it be? Cheng Yijiu couldn't say, but his feeling made him feel that it was similar to the time when he was tracking the werewolf. This thing couldn't be as ferocious as the werewolf, and it shouldn't make Cheng Yijiu look like the mess he had when fighting the werewolf. Cheng Yijiu followed the live broadcast group, and he was paying attention to the traces. "It's hard to distinguish... The key is that we still don't know what it is?" He carefully examined the wall and the ground, especially the well he had discovered.

Every household here has a well, but most of them are dry. Cheng Yijiu placed his palm over the well mouth and felt no air flow. A few households still had water under their wells, but only three wells had air flowing, forming an equilateral triangle in the village.

It was pointless to tell those people about this discovery; they couldn't offer any constructive suggestions. However, they could provide information, so Cheng Yijiu asked them for the missing person's information. Since they were doing a livestream, they definitely had to do their homework beforehand. This industry wasn't easy to get into; it required seriousness and professionalism.

The missing persons weren't far from the village—if you divide the area into areas, it's within about three square kilometers. Search and rescue teams had naturally come here to search, but found nothing. The most famous of these missing persons, Cheng Yijiu, had been seen online. He was a physical education teacher at a certain school.

At that time, there was news that nearby villagers had committed murder and robbery, but it was later proved to be a rumor. Later, there was news that a pit of corpses was found nearby, but the truth of this news is unknown - because it was several years later.

"I guess we should stay here and see what's going on - even though nothing might happen, we can't leave these guys here." Cheng Yijiu had already chosen a place to spend the night. Tang Yaliang and the others who were broadcasting live listened to the advice and chose a relatively intact house to spend the night in.

The house was two stories high, and Cheng Yijiu thought they had made a good choice—staying on the second floor was much safer than the first. Seal up the doors and windows on the first floor, then block the stairs and windows on the second floor, and you'd have a very safe space. Cheng Yijiu chose the rooftop next door. He tested the strength of the beams and set up a support structure there, sleeping in his clothes.

"Anyway, these people will definitely go back from the live broadcast tomorrow, and I can do whatever I want after that. I hope they won't broadcast live for me in the middle of the night, otherwise it will be a big trouble." Cheng Yijiu thought, in order to get tips, it is very likely that the host of the live broadcast would sneak out in the middle of the night to broadcast live - Cheng Yijiu knew that among these six people, at most only one girl might believe him.

The hunter didn't climb up directly, but circled the houses a few times. He still couldn't see any special traces, or even if he did, it was hard to imagine what they were. He didn't let those people see him, and he didn't know that they were talking about him in the live broadcast room...

Chapter 19 Night

The livestream studio mentioned Cheng Yijiu, who had appeared during the day. The host said he wasn't a shill; he had come up the mountain on his own. "And we didn't even notice when he arrived. He must have arrived earlier than us, right?" As for what Cheng Yijiu said, everyone in the livestream studio agreed that it would be better for the host to just go down early. Speaking of which, do any of the people watching the livestream really believe that the horror scenes in this livestream are real? Don't be ridiculous, everyone's just here to watch the show.

Cheng Yijiu had already climbed onto the rooftop scaffolding. He set his hunting bow aside and drifted off to sleep. He was confident he would wake up if anything unusual happened. This was a small reward his hunting career had given him—his night vision was as good as day, much better than before. Perhaps this was one of the effects of "Apollo's Blessing"?

The night grew deeper, and the livestreamers had already set up camp indoors and had all gone to sleep about half an hour ago. Cheng Yijiu woke up for a moment and checked his watch. It was eleven o'clock in the evening. "The moon is quite round tonight. The sixteenth day of the lunar calendar?" Cheng Yijiu muttered, glancing at the sky. Then, he leaned against the shelf with his arms folded and fell asleep again.

After that, there was nothing unusual. There was not even the sound of birds singing, nor the footsteps or grunts of small nocturnal animals coming out to forage. Cheng Yijiu was not surprised. If there really was something here, this situation would be normal.

The change began around 3:00 AM. Cheng Yijiu, who had been sleeping on a shelf, felt his ear twitch. He remained motionless, but his eyes opened. He was looking towards one of the three wells, to his right from his current position, and behind the house where the livestreamers were. Cheng Yijiu silently picked up a hunting bow. He slowly turned on the roof, his astride position flipping 180 degrees. This position was convenient, right over his left shoulder for easy bowing.

If all three wells had problems, Cheng Yijiu would have had to choose only one. Luckily, only one was making noises—the sound of water breaking apart, clear in the still night. Those guys definitely couldn't hear it, but Cheng Yijiu's hearing might have surpassed human limits. Then the noise died down. Cheng Yijiu kept staring in that direction, and finally, after about twenty minutes, he saw something.

This creature, about the size of a human, was on all fours, its posture very strange. "This movement looks familiar. I've seen something similar... Isn't this a Licker?" Although its movements were even stranger, especially its hind legs, it was clearly moving in a manner very similar to a Licker. Although the moonlight cast a shadow, it was as clear as day to Cheng Yijiu, and he quickly saw what it looked like.

It was humanoid, yes, but it looked like a rotten, dried-out humanoid. Its head looked like blackened, dried-out flesh stuck to a human skull. It had no lips, revealing a mouthful of teeth—Cheng Yijiu didn't see any clearly protruding canines. The palms at the ends of its arms were noticeably enlarged, with claws on the fingers. The most interesting thing about this monster was that it was wearing tattered clothes. "Does this prove the existence of the supernatural in this world?" Cheng Yijiu wondered.

This thing before him looked strange and out of place. It couldn't possibly be a living creature. Cheng Yijiu thought it was a ghoul, the kind that dig up graves and devour corpses in droves. "Is this the reason there are no birds, mice, or other small animals here?" Cheng Yijiu thought that was unlikely. At this time, a second similar monster appeared, this one standing upright and walking on two legs.

Cheng Yijiu could clearly see him as he walked out. He was a skinned man. His hands and feet were as dry as branches, and his body was a skeleton, with only his belly standing out. His head was a skull covered in skin, but he walked very fast without any wobbling. "Now it's confirmed. I don't know if those livestreamers will be overjoyed or terrified when they see this—they've been looking for ghosts all day and finally saw one. It's probably a typical case of Ye Gong liking dragons."

Cheng Yijiu was actually quite shocked, but he remained calm and prepared. He already knew that the world he lived in might not be purely materialistic, and the appearance of these two monsters today was a sure thing. Along with the rustling sound, more monsters appeared, not just humans but also some animals. Fortunately, there were no petite cats, pet dogs, rats, or the like here. If there were only dead monsters like these, the smaller ones would be more terrifying than the larger ones, Cheng Yijiu believed.

There were dogs, large, rotting, half-skeletal dogs, and deer, their skeletons shrouded in decayed, tattered fur. Cheng Yijiu saw over thirty of these monsters. "How did they get out of that well? Those deer, with their antlers, would have gotten stuck, right? And how could dogs and deer climb the vertical well walls?"

With the appearance of these monsters, the temperature in this area dropped significantly. Cheng Yijiu's breath was already white. "What a pity, I didn't bring a dagger," Cheng Yijiu muttered. He chose the nearest monster, a skinned, bipedal corpse with a large belly, and drew his bow and arrow. The arrows he used should have no problem killing ordinary creatures. The three-edged arrows were very sharp, but using them to shoot these things in front of him?

Cheng Yijiu didn't think it would be of much use. If nothing unexpected happened to these creatures, their brains were definitely not a vital part, and their hearts were probably already rotten and useless. To "kill" them, he had to use other means. In the game, these monsters should have soul fire somewhere in their bodies. Extinguishing the soul fire would make these undead monsters dissipate, but this was reality. How could Cheng Yijiu know whether this thing actually had soul fire?

Anyway, let's shoot an arrow at this thing's head first. Even if it doesn't work, at least Cheng Yijiu still has a backup plan - setting it on fire. Of course, this method has a high probability of sending himself to jail... "Alas, setting fire to the mountain will mean spending the rest of your life in jail."

He let go, and the arrow pierced the flayed creature's skull, entering through the forehead and exiting through the back of the head. If it were a living creature, it would have collapsed. But the flayed corpse simply stumbled back, then stood up again and continued walking forward...

Chapter 20 Sniper

"Bows and arrows seem useless. Piercing damage won't do much damage to these monsters." Cheng Yijiu had already made preparations, so he wasn't discouraged. "Wake up those livestreamers and get ready to set them on fire." Whatever these things were, it looked like they wouldn't be able to stand up again after being burned to ashes. So, he decisively put away his bow and arrows and leaped to the second floor next door.

He hung on the edge of the roof and kicked open the closed window. "It's time to get up. It's very dangerous outside. Run for your life." His voice was quite penetrating. Cheng Yijiu moved quickly on the second floor. The four men slept in two tents, and the two girls slept in one tent. Cheng Yijiu's entry made these people still a little dazed. "Don't sleep anymore. Get up quickly and apply some cooling oil to wake me up quickly. There is something coming outside. It's very dangerous. Get ready to escape."

The six men were still completely bewildered, their faces filled with bewilderment. Fortunately, no one screamed—presumably, they knew they weren't worried about Cheng Yijiu coming in and attacking them. After all, there were four large men here, and some were equipped for self-defense. Cheng Yijiu also looked relatively harmless, and if you didn't look closely, you wouldn't be able to tell the sturdy build beneath his hunting uniform.

"What danger? What happened?" someone asked. Cheng Yijiu glanced at him and said, "Hurry up and get dressed. As for what kind of danger it is, wouldn't you understand if you just took a look through the window at the back of the second floor? I suggest you do a live broadcast if you can. This is a rare and truly supernatural event." Cheng Yijiu said calmly, "Better hurry. I can wait for you for three minutes at most."

Fortunately, since they were camping outdoors, they couldn't just get into their sleeping bags in their underwear, so getting dressed was quick. "Don't pack your stuff, it'll be too heavy to run fast." The dressed man quickly ran to the back window, took a look, and then let out an embarrassing scream like a castrated chicken. Not only did he let out an embarrassing scream, but he also collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

Several people ran over, and Cheng Yijiu could only shake his head and sigh. He jumped out of the window again and took out the self-igniting torch from his backpack. As he expected, every man and woman here screamed and collapsed. Fortunately, the monsters were a little far away, but they quickened their pace after hearing the screams. These people finally recovered and immediately crawled to the window to call for help.

They yelled for help to Cheng Yijiu, "Live broadcast! Maybe there will be official rescue - seeing this situation, at least the air force will be the first to arrive, right?" Cheng Yijiu said to them, "I told you to get down the mountain quickly. But I didn't expect it to be something like this." Cheng Yijiu gestured for them to jump over, and he would catch them. "Or you can use a rope to descend. Once you reach the ground, turn on your flashlights and run along the valley."

Cheng Yijiu signaled them to control their strength and breathing as they ran, so they wouldn't collapse from panic after running a few hundred meters. "I don't have the strength to drag you all out," he said. "I'm going to set a fire and burn these monsters to death! I guess they're at least afraid of fire, right?" Cheng Yijiu immediately rolled over and got down. The men and women climbed down the ropes one after another. Cheng Yijiu saw that their movements were stiff and slow; it took the six of them over five minutes to get down.

At this time, the monsters were only about thirty meters away from them. These guys took out their mobile phones and turned on the live broadcast - they even had the energy to speak nonsense.

Will their livestream become popular? Cheng Yijiu felt it would, but how long it would last was uncertain. It might even be censored the moment it went live, or even photoshopped with cheap special effects to confuse viewers. But now—he produced something and wrapped it around the arrowhead, then yanked the cap off the torch. The friction of the medicine head ignited the torch. Cheng Yijiu placed the arrowhead on the flame, and it was instantly engulfed in blazing flames…

He drew his bow and arrow, took aim briefly, and then nailed the flaming arrow directly into the body of a deer. The three-edged arrowhead easily penetrated the deer's fur. Could the flames ignite this monster? Cheng Yijiu could see smoke coming out of the torn fur and the flames burning, but the internal organs and rotten mucus flowing out of the wound still extinguished the flames. "Damn it, it's not dead long enough, isn't it dry enough?"

In that case, Cheng Yijiu figured he'd have to pack the arrowhead with sodium, which would burn when it came into contact with water. But soon, just when Cheng Yijiu thought the flames were out, the deer began to leap instead of moving stiffly forward. Thick smoke billowed from its body, and the faint glow of fire could be seen through its tattered fur. "Wow! It's still working!" Cheng Yijiu quickly retreated, running a few dozen meters with the torch. Once he had the torch, he immediately began to install the flammable balls—cotton balls soaked in kerosene—on the arrowhead.

He also wanted to try thermite—but he was on a whim this time, so who would bring thermite with them? Even if he did, he'd have to have a chance to return to the cabin to get it. In this situation, opening the cabin door required first finding the door—few houses in this haunted village had doors. Secondly, it would take a while for the door to work...

In short, after Cheng Yijiu armed himself with four arrows at his fastest speed, he had to keep running with the torch. The monsters were moving faster and faster, almost like a human trot. Cheng Yijiu looked at the six people in front of him who were tumbling and stumbling. At least they had some humanity. The two girls were pulled along by the two men and they were not left behind.

Live streaming now seemed out of the question. No one turned to raise their phones, and no one wore head cameras. They were simply running for their lives. "Alas, we're so inexperienced and so slow, and we're interfering with each other's paths. In a movie, these guys wouldn't last more than ten minutes." Cheng Yijiu wasn't nervous. He shook his head and plunged the torch into the ground again. This time, he lit the arrow and aimed at the most dangerous opponent.

It was a monster that, in life, would have been a mastiff. Cheng Yijiu drew his bow, a full moon, and unleashed an arrow. Cheng Yijiu had to admit that his hearing and vision were sharp, and his archery skills were becoming increasingly refined. He hadn't been particularly skilled at archery before, but after this adventurous mission, he discovered that his skills had improved, and were becoming increasingly "free." It was a strange feeling, as if the bow and arrow were part of his body.

Chapter 21 Escape

Cheng Yijiu loosened his fingers, and the flaming arrow shot directly through the skeleton-like mastiff's mouth, piercing its spine almost unhindered and snapping the monster in two. The mastiff must have been dead long enough for its bones and flesh to dry out, so it only took a moment for it to catch fire—its bones still contained fat...

The monsters nearby also avoided it. Cheng Yijiu looked around and saw no other monsters around the deer that had collapsed to the ground after being burned. They must have also actively avoided the flames. This showed that these monsters possessed very basic intelligence—the ability to seek advantage and avoid harm, and a predatory instinct. This predatory instinct was simply acquired by watching these monsters accelerate towards the living. Moreover, many of the walking corpses had remnants of modern clothing.

The second arrow also lit on the torch. Cheng Yijiu casually aimed at the four-legged ghoul and fired it—then he ignited the remaining two arrows with incredible speed. Four arrows killed four ghouls, each one engulfed in the gradually rising flames. Unfortunately, Cheng Yijiu didn't have the chance to see at what point these monsters would lose their vitality. He pulled out the torch and quickly ran away.

They said they were going to set fire to all the ghouls, but it wasn't feasible—these houses didn't seem like they could start a major fire, and there wasn't enough flammable material on the ground. If they did, the flames would simply spread up the hillside. Setting fire to the mountain would get you jailed for life, but it wouldn't kill many ghouls. "Forget it, let's just leave it to the authorities." Cheng Yijiu wasn't afraid of exposing himself. What could he possibly expose?

He was still a human being, unable to fireballs or fly. His weapons were merely legal tool knives and a bow and arrow, which were sports equipment. His social connections could be investigated, and his parents were both there, so he wasn't a suspect. His worst misfortune was simply getting caught up in this bizarre incident. If anything, the livestreamers were even more unlucky—Cheng Yijiu still had the ability to resist, but those guys were completely helpless.

So far, these stumbling guys hadn't run more than 500 meters, and they looked exhausted. For a mountain escape in the dark, this was pretty good. Cheng Yijiu quickly caught up with them. "Can you still walk? If not, you'll probably become one of them. If you can, follow me, and I'll take you up the mountain."

Cheng Yijiu wasn't nervous. These ghouls definitely couldn't get far from this place, and they certainly couldn't be exposed to the sun. Otherwise, why would they hide underground? Besides, it was almost 3:30, and sunrise was still two hours away. How far could these ghouls run? Should they leave time to get back? So Cheng Yijiu wasn't nervous at all, because he knew he only needed to run for less than an hour, and the ghouls would never catch up.

The zombies' movement speed was still acceptable, but those few people were running out of breath. "If all else fails, I can only set fire to the mountain. I guess I can use it as an emergency shelter, but I don't know if I have to pay for it after burning the mountain..." Cheng Yijiu muttered, signaling the others to run faster. Once they got to the mountain, he might set fire to stop the monsters.

If you look closely, you can see that those people's faces are covered in snot and tears, and they are extremely dirty. They are scared, tired, and their faces are red from crying. "Where is your live broadcast?" Cheng Yijiu asked casually when he saw that the zombies were not too close to be dangerous. "The live broadcast has been blocked." Someone cried, "Don't be afraid, I think the relevant departments will be here soon. Hang in there, don't give up, it will be fine in an hour at most. I'll start a fire first."

Setting a fire depends on the right time and location; setting it off carelessly will only burn you to death. Therefore, Cheng Yijiu set the fire at the mouth of a gourd. The wind coming over the mountain would accelerate here and blow it in the opposite direction, so setting the fire there would not burn you back. So Cheng Yijiu signaled the guys to rest for a while, drink some water, massage their muscles and relax, while he lit the fire with a torch. The flames actually stopped the ghouls, and soon they turned and left.

"A close call..." Cheng Yijiu didn't mind. He led the others forward into the morning light, having already called the police. Sure enough, near the mountain pass highway, they encountered a large police force. Car after car was filled with armed police. "I think a flamethrower would be more appropriate," Cheng Yijiu said. They were now facing a few plainclothes police officers—let's just call them police officers.

They were questioning the ghouls they'd seen in the valley. The six guys were talking incoherently, their fluent speech from the livestream gone, constantly spouting off about how terrifying it was that the dead were resurrected. Finally, all the officials turned their attention to Cheng Yijiu. The tablets they held must have been holding his profile. Cheng Yijiu was currently sitting in a minibus, with several officials forming a semi-circle in front of him.

"Hello, Mr. Cheng. Can you tell me what you saw and heard?" a middle-aged man said.