Chapter 148: Sudden Change

[Killing Value +1]

[Killing Value +1]

The Xenomorph squatted nearby, randomly lashing its tail against the muddy ground. Ellie had just opened a bag of potato chips, but because of the dust filling the air, she sealed the package back up, veins bulging on her forehead as she glared at the Xenomorph with an exasperated expression.

Faced with an unclean and inconsiderate teammate, even a monster would go crazy.

"Roar..." The Xenomorph completely ignored the threat, since, after all, it was bored.

Compared to the noisy duo, Whistler appeared rather busy. He scampered over from a distance on his short legs, followed by a dozen rather slow-moving zombies.

"Got some new cargo?"

Fan Li beheaded the final zombie right in front of him, then waved at Whistler to signal him to come a bit closer.

How could Whistler dare to refuse? He trotted along eagerly, wearing an expression of the utmost flattery.

Two entities defying normal life forms, coupled with a dozen hideous, braying zombies—under such an encirclement, even specially trained elite soldiers would likely suffer a myocardial infarction and faint on the spot.

Yet Fan Li found the scene rather pleasant. After all, collecting 50 killing points in a mere half day was undoubtedly a significant harvest for him.

***

Noon.

Whistler collapsed limply onto the ground, wearing a look of utter despair. His protruding eyes stared straight ahead like a soulless husk, not even blinking.

"Let's call it a day." Fan Li drove his samurai sword into the ground, concluding this highly rewarding field operation.

As the owner of the Monster Manual, accumulating killing values was the absolute top priority before Fan Li. During the past few days, he had been bogged down by endless trivial matters and unable to gather them efficiently. Now, having delegated sufficient authority to his subordinates, he had finally managed to break free and go hunting.

Facts proved that subduing Whistler in the first place had been an exceptionally correct decision.

Whistler first controlled a small fraction of the zombies from the camp to wander into the wilderness. Under Whistler's commands, those zombies could only watch helplessly as Fan Li split their skulls open with his samurai sword.

Zombies did not merely bring disaster; at times, they also manifested value—for instance, turning into those rising digits within the Monster Manual.

Through experimentation, Fan Li had also gained a deeper understanding of Whistler's abilities. The creature could control a maximum of forty zombies at once; that was its limit.

During the period of control, the zombies would obey Whistler's orders, but one should not expect them to act with uniformity. To be precise, they only accepted two command signals: halt and attack.

Once actual combat began, the smell of blood acted as a stimulant, plunging the zombies into a state of chaos that Whistler struggled to control. Therefore, the zombie legion was more like a herd of wild horses running wild: when restrained by a rope, they could still stand in place, but once they charged forward, they would degenerate into a frenzied, demonic state.

This was a double-edged sword. When facing wandering zombies, they could be dealt with without a second thought, but when truly applied to human warfare, one had to use them with extreme caution—unless Fan Li had already made up his mind to turn all hostile forces into hideous zombies.

Moreover, controlling zombies consumed a considerable amount of Whistler's energy, especially when the zombies watched themselves being chopped to death by Fan Li and generated a strong desire to survive; that mental strain would cause Whistler's energy consumption to multiply.

Whistler appeared exceptionally weak, resembling a corpse soaked in formalin for a long time, his entire body deathly pale.

Fan Li was not one to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. He ended the summoning, allowing the creature to return to the cabin to rest, and then mounted the back of the Xenomorph to head back toward the camp.

"Wawa..."

Ellie stood on the ground, looking up at Fan Li and making some vocalizations.

"You want to come up too?" After spending some time together, Fan Li and Ellie had developed a certain tacit understanding. He patted the space in front of him, and Ellie used her legs with force, leaping instantly onto the Xenomorph's waist. She crossed her legs, tore open a snack package, and began to crunch away happily.

"Roar!"

Fan Li sitting on its back was one thing, but becoming Ellie's mount made the Xenomorph rather annoyed, prompting it to let out some low roars.

Fan Li stroked the Xenomorph's head a few times and said, "Alright, alright, be gentler with children."

"Wa!"

Ellie nodded while eating, casually tapping the Xenomorph a few times with her heels.

"Roar!"

Since Fan Li had spoken, the Xenomorph dared not throw a real tantrum and could only continue to growl to vent its dissatisfaction. Perhaps due to its poor mood, Fan Li experienced a rather bumpy and unpleasant ride.

The Xenomorph moved swiftly. In less than a quarter of an hour, Fan Li returned to the camp. After a day of interaction, the gatekeeper already knew that Fan Li far surpassed ordinary people and possessed the ability to control monsters, so he dared not show any negligence and hurriedly opened the gate.

There were quite a few talented individuals in the camp. When Fan Li had forced his way in earlier, the gate had been smashed open, but after being repaired by some professionals, it was functional once more, serving once again as a tool for defense.

Just as Fan Li rode the Xenomorph into the stronghold, he saw Hu Huayao walking over with a heavy expression.

The man rarely let his emotions show on his face, so wearing such an expression now clearly meant he had some urgent matters to report.

"What happened?" Fan Li dismounted from the Xenomorph, his brow slightly furrowed as he asked.

Hu Huayao spoke with a deeply worried expression, "Brother Li, not long after you left, a survivor arrived. His mental state is quite poor, as if he has suffered some kind of trauma. I had my men check his body, and fortunately, no wounds from zombie bites were found. I've locked him in a room for now. Would you like to go take a look?"

"A survivor?" Fan Li nodded. "Take me there."

The two men strode forward quickly and soon arrived at the room where the survivor was being detained.

"Leader!"

The guards on duty hastily called out respectfully when they saw Fan Li.

"Open the door!"

"Yes!"

The door swung open, and a disheveled man was bound to a bed. He was struggling violently, looking as though he had contracted rabies, seemingly completely incapable of controlling his emotions.

"It's over! It's all over!"

"Don't eat, you mustn't eat! If we stay a bit thinner, we won't become food!"

"It's not that I didn't want to save you, your arm had already been gnawed off, how did you expect me to save you?"

The man was extremely emaciated, practically reduced to skin and bones, clearly having suffered from prolonged starvation.

"How long has he been like this?" Fan Li asked with a frown.

The guard beside him replied, "He was like this right when he arrived, but earlier he could still answer some questions. Now it seems to have gotten worse."

"People!"

"They are people!"

"Food!"

"They are food!"

At that moment, the man lying on the bed suddenly fixed his gaze on Fan Li and the others. Through his unkempt bangs, one eyeball was as red as if it had been soaked in fresh blood.

Simultaneously, a violent churning motion rippled across the man's abdomen, as though something was about to burst out from within his body.

Fan Li's eyelids twitched violently, and a sudden sense of crisis gripped him. He shoved the two men beside him: "Get back!"

Just as the voice fell, with a series of wet tearing sounds, the man's abdomen suddenly split open, and three thick, dark tentacles covered in barbs erupted straight out from it!