The Faceless One

Not good!

!!

In the silent environment, the harsh footsteps were jarringly out of place.

Chen Feng's heart tightened, and he hurriedly turned his head to look.

On the asphalt road, the black mist three meters away churned like a whirlpool.

Amid the clatter of footsteps, a male figure could be seen walking out stiffly.

He wore a tattered blue jacket and trousers, covered in stains and what looked like dried bloodstains.

The exposed skin of his neck was ulcerated, as if covered in festering sores.

His entire face had no features, only a pale shape.

"What the hell is that!"

His gaze was startled, and Chen Feng felt a great shock to his vision.

The next second.

Clatter, clatter!

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

The faceless figure suddenly quickened its pace, its entire body hunching slightly as if pouncing at him like a wild beast.

A foul stench hit his nose, and a deep chill rose from his heart.

Hairs standing on end, Chen Feng quickly sidestepped.

Bang!

The faceless figure pounced on empty air, crashing into the apartment's iron fence.

Iron filings scattered, and the ground trembled slightly.

But yet, the other party acted as if nothing had happened, quickly struggling to its feet and charging at Chen Feng again.

"Monster!"

Cursing under his breath, Chen Feng roughly judged the other party's strength and speed.

A bit stronger than an ordinary person, but not too outrageous.

In other words, he might be able to handle it.

So.

Run!

Without hesitation, Chen Feng turned and bolted.

The other party's appearance was too bizarre; he had no idea if it had other tricks or abilities, so he naturally needed to probe and observe.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

Their footsteps echoed through the street, and Chen Feng soon reached the iron gate of the front yard of the first house.

Whoosh!

As if sensing he wanted to hide inside the yard, the faceless figure suddenly leaped, lunging forward again, its trajectory aimed right at the gate's entrance.

"Damn it!"

Did not expect the other party's jump to cover such distance, and it had just blocked his path into the gate.

Chen Feng's face darkened, and he could only step back.

Bang!

The faceless figure missed again, its head twisting three hundred and sixty degrees with a creak, as if on a spring.

Its pale, featureless face turned to look again—such a bizarre sight sent a chill through Chen Feng's heart.

Crack!

The next second, the faceless figure's body twisted violently, forcibly aligning with its head.

Then, with a push of its feet, it charged again.

Whoosh!

At the critical moment, Chen Feng sidestepped left to dodge again, gripping the knuckle duster tightly in his hand, sweat even forming on his palm.

He had a strong intuition.

He'd better not die in the dream, or something terrible would happen.

Bang!

The faceless figure steadied itself after the missed pounce, then quickly moved its legs to charge again.

Seeing this, Chen Feng gritted his teeth.

The insights from Sanshou mastery surfaced in his mind, and the dagger at his waist was also his confidence.

Since there was no avoiding it, he might as well fight!

Shua!

In that instant, in a flash of lightning and flint, the faceless figure's distance closed rapidly. Chen Feng clearly saw it raise an arm, reaching for his throat.

Instinctively, the footwork of Sanshou surfaced in his mind.

With a left sidestep, he lowered his body slightly, just barely brushing past the reaching hand.

A thick, rancid stench hit him—he could even see the grime under its nails and what seemed like remnants of flesh and blood.

Shua!

The next second.

Chen Feng suppressed his nausea, pushing down all stray thoughts, leaving only one.

Punch!

!!

All his strength converged. He twisted his waist and gripped the knuckle duster tightly.

His shoulder and elbow dropped, his right arm's muscles driving forward, and his entire fist blasted out like a cannonball.

Bang!

!!

The fist clad in the knuckle duster met no resistance, slamming straight into the faceless figure's featureless humanoid head.

Crack!

A sound like bone splitting rang out. The faceless figure's head snapped to the side, knocked back two steps by the immense impact.

Seeing such a scene, Chen Feng's eyes lit up.

It works!

Heartened, he immediately stepped forward and followed up with a left punch.

Bang!

A dull thud echoed as it accurately hit the faceless figure's head.

Blood seemed to spray out, but unfortunately, this world was too dim to see clearly.

Then, within his line of sight.

The faceless figure wobbled, staggering backward like a drunkard.

Chen Feng dared not be careless or hold back. Sanshou's killing intent was etched into his mind.

"Die!"

His gaze sharp, Chen Feng stepped forward again, his five fingers gripping the knuckle duster tightly.

The faceless figure in his eyes had become a sandbag. The world fell silent, leaving only the straight punch thrusting forward like a spear.

Bang!!!

A dull explosion erupted. The faceless figure's body flew backward, collapsing to the ground in an instant.

Chen Feng watched warily, stepping forward to land another blow.

But then, the next second.

The rotting flesh at the faceless figure's neck suddenly writhed, and a black beam as thick as a finger shot out, hurtling toward him at lightning speed.

Hum!

His hairs stood on end. Chen Feng felt a chill.

He raised both fists to guard his cheeks, sank his center of gravity, and twisted his body sharply.

Shua!

The black beam pierced through the air, brushing past his shoulder.

Looking closely, the black beam was actually composed of a swarm of tiny, ant-like black bugs, slamming solidly into the iron fence's brick pillar behind him.

A sizzling sound of decay arose. The red bricks visibly sank rapidly, forming a pit.

Strands of foul gray vapor rose from the pit, drifting upward.

By the time Chen Feng focused again, the swarm of ant-like black bugs had vanished, leaving only a puddle of rotting black liquid.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Shocked and uncertain, Chen Feng quickly turned his wary gaze back to the faceless figure collapsed on the ground.

To his surprise, the faceless figure not only failed to get up or struggle.

Instead, its body rapidly decayed, soon turning to ash, leaving behind a gray light orb in its place.

Such a scene was startling. Chen Feng stared at the gray light orb, hesitating.

What is this thing?

Could it also be one of the light orbs that could be picked up?

It was really the sudden appearance of the black bugs and the too-strange disappearance of the Faceless Figure's corpse that made him hesitate.

Chen Feng's gaze flickered. He worried that if he approached and made contact, he too might turn into a faceless monster.

Buzz!

In an instant, just as he was hesitating and thinking it over.

But then he saw the light orb suddenly move, flying toward him on its own.

Chen Feng was startled and suspicious, but he found himself unable to dodge, forced to watch helplessly as the gray light orb merged into his body.

You have obtained a Talent Light Orb: Perception!

A remnant talent instinct from the monster Faceless One!

Talent fusion successful!

Perception +1!

Your perception ability has increased! You can sense spiritual and psychic remnants within a certain range, and detect hostility directed at you from close quarters.

Talent growth condition: Kill more Faceless Ones and acquire new Perception-type Talent Light Orbs!

The text prompts flashed rapidly, and Chen Feng's worry vanished in an instant.

"So it was a Talent Light Orb?"

"So the monster from before was called a Faceless One?"

Raising an eyebrow, Chen Feng clearly felt as though he had gained a new instinct.

The patterns of the stone bricks on the surrounding street became clearer, including a pool of black water inside a hollow in a decayed brick pillar—he could now see the dense mass of insect and ant remains within it much more easily than before.

"So this is enhanced perception?"

Chen Feng narrowed his eyes, instinctively turning his head to look across the street at the apartment building shrouded in black mist.

He had a gut feeling that there were definitely other light orbs there—what the description called spiritual and psychic remnants.

This was a sensation he hadn't had before, clearly a change brought on by the talent fusion.

Then, just as he was about to try and adapt to this talent further, the world before his eyes suddenly blurred, everything twisting and spinning.

In the end, the familiar ceiling appeared before him—he was back in reality.