Nightmare Despair

Chapter 29 Surge
Zhou Kai successfully completed the inspection of the second floor.

The windows in the remaining two bedrooms were well sealed and there was nothing unusual.

In the basement, the Moonlit Orchid had grown to the length of a finger, emitting a faint, ethereal blue glow that allowed for barely luminous visibility even without an oil lamp.

"If the transplant is successful, we can consider planting the moonflower in other parts of the house, which will save us the cost of oil lamps."

Zhou Kai carefully plucked a tender shoot of Moonflower from the nursery and hid it inside his clothes.

This thing has the effect of dispelling bad luck and keeping him alert, allowing him to stay outside longer.

He extinguished the oil lamp, took off his coat, and wrapped the brand-new longsword in layers to cover its overly conspicuous cold light.

After making all the preparations, he took a deep breath and gently opened the door to the shelter.

The overwhelming stench of fish immediately wafted onto his face along with the raindrops.

The rain outside seemed to have lessened a bit, which was a good opportunity for him.

Zhou Kai's heart suddenly raced. This was the first time he had ever actively stepped into this nightmare town called Soraka.

He had already devised a relatively safe exploration plan.

Monsters roam the town of Soraka, appearing everywhere—on the streets and inside the houses.

Compared to fighting on open streets, resolving battles within enclosed buildings effectively avoids attracting more enemies.

Tonight, Zhou Kai's goal is to explore one or two of the surrounding buildings as much as possible, find usable supplies, and hunt down any lone monsters along the way.

The darkness and rain provided cover for both him and the monster.

In this environment, it is far wiser to move at high speed without making a sound than to sneak around cautiously.

Zhou Kai crouched like a cheetah in the shadows of the shelter, his eyes wide open, adjusting to the darkness.

He knew the location of the surrounding buildings by heart. At five o'clock, seventy meters away, there was a detached two-story building.

The only thing he needed to be sure of was whether there were any ill-intentioned "roadblocks" along that seventy-meter stretch of road.

"Wait for a flash of lightning."

Zhou Kai stroked the oil lamp at his waist, calming his mind and listening to everything in the rain.

A bolt of lightning ripped across the sky, and in an instant, the entire town was as bright as day.

Zhou Kai's pupils contracted instantly, taking in everything along the path.

As darkness returned, he suddenly stood up, his body like a fully drawn bow, instantly unleashing all his strength as he sprinted seventy meters away!

A collapsed flower bed, a wide expanse of mud, a few scattered miscellaneous items—there was nothing between him and the house.

Rush!
Zhou Kai pushed his speed to the limit, his legs moving swiftly across the muddy ground, covering a distance of over seventy meters in just eight seconds.

Click!

Just as he approached the door, Zhou Kai reached out and grabbed the doorknob. Using his waist and abdomen, he managed to pull the entire bolt out of the rotten wooden door!

He casually tossed the door latch aside, pushed the door open, and with a swift roll, rushed into the room.

Just then, another flash of lightning appeared, allowing Zhou Kai to see the two windows in the living room that were letting in a faint light, as well as the general furnishings inside the room.

His brain was working at lightning speed, and the subsequent actions instantly took shape in his mind.

Without stopping, he rushed to the wooden cabinet next to him, used his arms to push the heavy cabinet behind the door, and held it firmly in place.

Then he quickly lifted the wooden plank under the window to block the two glass windows.

After doing all this, Zhou Kai finally breathed a sigh of relief, took out a lighter from his pocket, lit the oil lamp with a click, and began to carefully explore his surroundings.

The materials used in this house are inferior to those in house number 777, and the sound of rain outside is clearly audible, offering absolutely no soundproofing. He needs to devote more energy to discerning whether there are any unusual movements inside the house.

As he entered, he glanced at the door number in the electric light; it read "653".

Are there no patterns in the house numbers...?

As Zhou Kai frowned in deep thought, he controlled the light of the oil lamp, adjusting the brightness so that he could barely see, but not so bright that it would shine too far.

He gripped his sword and walked toward the rooms connected to the living room.

When he explored the kitchen, he discovered that the floor had been broken open from below by something, with rotten wooden planks scattered all over the floor. The floor of the entire room was several centimeters lower than that of the living room. Using the tip of his sword to pry open the wooden planks, the damp soil underneath was clearly visible.

"soil……"

Zhou Kai suddenly remembered that the texture of his feet was somewhat unusual when he ran over there.

Driven by his subconscious, he rummaged through the soil for a while longer, but found nothing, and felt a strange unease in his heart.

The kitchen was dilapidated, the tableware was rusty, and various odds and ends were piled up like a garbage dump.

There's nothing worth noting.

Zhou Kai frowned, turned around, and walked towards the next place.

"Could it be... that our first exploration is going to end in failure?"

The moment he stepped out of the kitchen, a strange rustling sound came from behind him.

Zhou Kai turned around instinctively, his eyes widening suddenly!
The soft, still soil, which had been lifeless just moments before, was now churning and bubbling like boiling water.

Zhou Kai took several steps back, staring intently at the soil.

A few seconds later, black beetles, each about the length of a finger, crawled out of the soil, layer upon layer, densely packed!
The soil was teeming with insects!
Could it be that those hard, lumpy things under his feet when he ran over were these damned bugs?
A strong feeling of nausea welled up in my throat!
Zhou Kai's trypophobia was about to flare up. He swore a few times, turned around and left the kitchen, rushing up the stairs.

House seemingly endless rain.

Just as Zhou Kai rushed to the second floor, a dark shadow suddenly darted out from the shadows around the corner and lunged at his face, almost touching him.

He instinctively raised his sword and struggled to block the monster's bites and scratches.

In the flickering light of the oil lamp, Zhou Kai could make out what the thing looked like.

Its body is that of a normal human, but it is severely swollen, exhibiting characteristics of gigantism, while its head is a bumpy squid head, frantically waving its tentacle-like tentacles...

Diablo the Parasite!
"roll!"

Zhou Kai is no longer the same person he used to be.

This monster is stronger than the previous "Lanze", but his efforts over the past few days have not been in vain!

He grunted, his arm muscles bulged, steadied himself, and pushed forward with a mighty shove, sending the parasitic corpse flying!

The parasitic corpse's sharp claws tried to grab Zhou Kai's two-handed sword, but only tore apart the clothes covering it, revealing the chilling sword light beneath.

"Die to me!"

With a flash of sword light, Zhou Kai strode forward and slashed vertically with his sword, fiercely aiming at the head of the parasitic corpse!
Click!

Accompanied by a series of terrifying sounds of bones being torn apart, the incomparably sharp greatsword cleaved all the way to the parasitic corpse's waist and abdomen.

Its head, shoulders, and chest were cleanly and decisively cleaved in two by this one sword!

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(End of this chapter)