Chapter Fifty-Three: The Blood-Stained Katana

Fan Li burst through the gate, suddenly aware of a slight tremor in his hand. He glanced down and saw something slowly writhing on the samurai sword, which was once covered in blood.

Blood.

The filthy blood clung to the blade like countless crawling insects. It resembled the sight of turning over a stone in the wild—centipedes and beetles, unable to bear sunlight, burrowing back into shadowy crevices. This blood, once inside the monster, now oozed into the blade, spreading a pungent odor. Gradually, the steel took on a faint reddish sheen.

This was only an ordinary replica blade; it shouldn't possess any ability to absorb blood. Clearly, the cause lay in the monster's blood itself. Fan Li had long been suspicious—after hacking down so many zombies, the sword had not developed a single nick. He'd silently admired the quality of this so-called Muramasa imitation, but now realized things were not as he imagined.

During battles with advanced mutants, the blood from these powerful creatures seemed to reinforce the blade, making it sturdier. Yet, Fan Li had been so focused on killing zombies that he hadn't observed the changes closely. If there was another chance, he would stab the monster inside the house a few more times, just to see if his theory was correct.

The monster seemed to sense Fan Li’s intentions. Suddenly, the shattered glass resounded with a loud crash, and Ellie tumbled out from within.

With the monster's emergence, Fan Li could no longer afford to experiment; he pressed forward, running as fast as he could. This was not a fight he could hope to win.

The front door was smashed open, and the monster, its face streaming with blood, charged out. Ellie’s earlier assault had inflicted some damage; its chest was torn, exposing a wound that would have been fatal to any ordinary person.

But the monster was a zombie, and worse—a fully evolved variant. Even with its organs spilling out, nothing could stop its relentless slaughter, and its gaze remained fixed on Fan Li.

For the first time, it had failed and been wounded by its “prey.” The monster was furious. With a surge of savage energy, it propelled itself forward on six legs, far swifter than Fan Li, its desiccated arms—like withered vines—reaching to ensnare him.

Fan Li felt surrounded by a suffocating tide of negative emotions—numbness, despair, pain, oppression—each like a boulder weighing him down, slowing his pace.

“Fan Li… why are you running? Wait for me!” Li Jiayue’s voice rang out behind him.

“Fan Li! If you don’t hand in your report, forget about graduating. Running? Where do you think you’re going? Turn around and face me!” The voice of his university advisor.

“Brother Li, I don’t want to go downstairs. Can you bring me breakfast? I left the money on the table behind you, just take it.” Xiao Li from the dormitory.

Familiar voices echoed behind him—clearly, the monster had invaded his mind, dredging up memories to manipulate him.

Fan Li did not turn back. Then, a strange woman’s laughter sounded:

“It’s useless, you can’t escape. I’m only a centimeter from you. In the next second, I’ll catch you and drain your brain dry. But rest assured, I’ll slow down the process so you can savor every moment of dying…”

This was the monster’s voice—did it possess human intelligence?

No!

Fan Li rejected the thought. Just as with Li Jiayue’s appearance, these voices existed only to affect him.

Yet, he could not ignore how close the monster was. He could feel it brushing against his clothes; perhaps in the next second—if not sooner—he would be caught, his skull split open, just as promised.

“Shhk!”

At that critical moment, Ellie charged from the side, slamming into the monster’s right ribs. Her jaws, lined with razor-sharp teeth, clamped down instantly.

Ellie was not satisfied with mere damage. As the monster tried to grab her, she bit into its arm—like a log fed into a shredder, the hand vanished in an instant.

Blood and chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere as a portion of the monster’s arm became Ellie’s meal.

Fan Li stopped once he felt safe—about a hundred meters from the entangled monsters. It was barely a safe distance.

Ellie’s teeth dealt serious wounds. Whenever the monster swung its arms to attack, Ellie’s jaws met it first, defending herself. After a dozen seconds, both of the monster’s hands were gone, leaving only bare wrists. Its eyes burned red with rage; it was nearly berserk.

Ellie tried to use her agility to stay atop the monster and inflict further harm. But she underestimated its reflexes. As she leaped again, aiming for the monster’s back, its handless arms suddenly clamped together, trapping Ellie against its chest.

Ellie struggled desperately, but it was useless. The monster’s twisted mouth curled into a ferocious grin, and it extended a barbed tongue—just as it was about to pierce Ellie’s skull, its movement halted abruptly.

Behind it!

Fan Li’s pupils contracted sharply. From behind the monster, a blood-soaked tentacle wrapped around its neck.

A bloated, massive face appeared behind the monster’s head. Like Ellie’s, it lacked features—only row upon row of teeth, each as thick as a grown man’s arm, stained with blood that dripped onto the monster’s skull from the void.

Yet, this was not true flesh, but a spiritual entity lingering in the unknown.

The ghostly face thrust forward, its teeth rotating as they swept the air. Blood mist rose from the monster’s wounds, slowly consumed by the gaping maw.

Just as she had against the Titan, Ellie summoned the gigantic spectral face.

But unlike the badly wounded Titan, this monster still had plenty of strength. Despite losing much blood, its barbed tongue continued its slow descent, intent on piercing Ellie’s skull.

The tentacle tugged at the monster’s neck, the giant mouth devoured the mist from its wounds, and the monster struggled to align its head, determined to stab its tongue through Ellie’s skull.

Both monsters saw each other as prey. They wrestled, locked in a stalemate.

A strategic retreat was not the same as fleeing. Fan Li knew this was no time for hesitation. If Ellie’s skull was pierced, he would be next to die.

The cicada devouring leaves caught the mantis’s attention; the two insects grappled, oblivious to the oriole perched overhead.

And Fan Li was now that oriole.

Snap.

His eyes reddened; Fan Li tightened his grip on the blade and stepped forward with resolute determination.