Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Full Measure of Carnage

Fan Li had found some edible ingredients and, after preparing a meal for himself, lay down to rest. Battling monsters had drained a significant amount of his strength—he needed to recover as quickly as possible to return his body to its peak condition.

Night fell.

Darkness once again shrouded the earth, and just then, a series of wretched howls echoed from the courtyard.

The man had become a zombie. It tried to break down the door to drive out the stranger in its home, but Fan Li had already barricaded the entrance with all sorts of debris. No matter how desperately the zombie threw itself against the door, it was to no avail. Eventually, the banging ceased, leaving only the lingering, harrowing cries in the night.

There were three zombies in the house, which meant three points of slaughter value. Yet Fan Li had already promised to offer some compensation for staying here. Although circumstances were not as ideal as the man might have wished, at least, in some sense, his family had been reunited.

Fan Li was accustomed to these sounds. Gradually, lulled by this grotesque “lullaby,” he drifted into sleep.

……

A new day dawned.

The ache in his legs still hadn’t faded. The music box, when wound, remained silent. This meant Fan Li’s two most important means of survival—his own body and Aili—were both still in recovery, unable to help him return to his camp.

He could not simply wait for death.

In the apocalypse, nowhere was truly safe. To passively wait for his body or Aili to recover was far too risky.

Still, Fan Li was not entirely defenseless. Just yesterday, he had sealed away a complete monster.

Compared to when he had first started, Fan Li now possessed several trump cards of his own.

He took out the Monster Manual and turned to the latest page.

[Monster] (Complete Form)
[Unnamed]
[Power at maximum, meets enslavement standards, duration: 15 minutes.]
[Effects: 1. Can feed existing monsters, with a chance to acquire abilities they possess; 2. Consume the monster to grant the host the use of one ability for 2 minutes (2/2 uses left)]

Nightmare.

Fan Li gave it this new name.

Compared to the incomplete monsters he’d sealed before, sealing the complete Nightmare had changed several key details.

First, he could now command Nightmare in battle for fifteen minutes.

Second, when feeding it to his existing monsters, there was a chance to acquire the monster’s abilities. Of course, luck played a role—one might win and strengthen their monsters or fail and simply increase their affinity.

Finally, the usage time for borrowing a monster’s ability had increased from thirty seconds to two minutes, and the (2/2) note clearly meant he could use it twice before the monster would vanish from the manual.

It was true: you get what you pay for. Though a complete monster was far more terrifying than its evolved kin, the rewards from killing or sealing one—whether in slaughter value or other benefits—were leagues beyond what lesser aberrations could offer.

Considering himself rather unlucky, Fan Li preferred enslavement and consumption as ways to gain abilities. Feeding monsters was a luxury—he would only consider it when flush with resources or if he encountered particularly unique monsters, like the Vomiter.

At present, Fan Li had two sealed monsters: the zombie dog and Nightmare. But to use either one lightly just to return home would be too extravagant. He decided to wait until his body had mostly recovered, or until Aili was back on her feet, or—if need be—until he’d killed eight more zombies and could summon another monster to guard him.

Only the ignorant would settle for one option; as an adult, Fan Li’s motto in the apocalypse was simple: “I want them all.”

Yesterday, when he’d broken the man’s nose, blood had splattered across the tablecloth. Fan Li tore it off and hung it on the neighbor’s door.

That house’s door was wide open, the yard stained with pools of dried blood. After the apocalypse, the owner had surely fled or become one of the zombies. Thus, Fan Li had no qualms about luring disaster there—no one would be harmed.

With preparations complete, Fan Li gripped his katana and crouched in the corner, waiting.

If you want to fish, you need bait—and the bloodied cloth was just that.

The blood was still fresh, an irresistible lure for the zombies roaming nearby.

Half an hour passed…

From afar came the scraping of feet against the ground. Soon, a zombie shambled closer. It was hideous: its mouth stretched toward its ears, teeth bared and still clutching a scrap of intestine. Its once-white dress was soaked in blood. It approached, throat rumbling with a phlegmy growl, its dead gray eyes fixed on the cloth swinging before the doorway.

“At last,” Fan Li murmured.

He watched closely. Confirming it was alone, he slowly opened the door.

A human!

Compared to the cloth, Fan Li was a more tempting prize. The zombie’s jaw stretched even wider, as if it might unhinge completely.

Fan Li’s injured leg prevented him from running, so a strange scene unfolded: both he and the zombie advanced at the same, slow pace toward one another.

Closer!

The zombie, face twisted in a snarl, reached out with clawed hands—just inches away from tearing into Fan Li’s waist.

But in that instant, the katana flashed, splitting the zombie’s skull in two from crown to chin.

[Slaughter Value +1]
[93/100]

Fan Li wiped the blade on the corpse, then retreated behind the door again, patient as an angler waiting for the next catch.

This place was already a wasteland, with even the zombies now few and far between. Zombie fishing was a long, drawn-out process.

……

By noon the next day—

When Fan Li raised his katana and split another zombie’s head, he finally let out a long breath.

[Slaughter Value +1]
[100/100]

Extraction attempts: 1

[Extraction conditions met. Proceed with extraction?]

Though he’d seen these words before, excitement still surged in him. Nearly a month’s effort—all for this moment!

“Extract!”

Without hesitation, Fan Li uttered the two words that haunted his dreams.