Facing the Truth

Since he could remember, Yi Chen had never experienced such clear visual imagery.

His eyes felt like an ultra-high-pixel imager, every detail of the graveyard laid out before him.

Even with the kerosene lamp turned to its lowest brightness, he could still make out the general situation over ten meters away.

[Sensory Leap]

The first time he touched this kind of 'Transcendent Human' ability, Yi Chen's brain grew exceptionally excited, even stimulating his body to secrete a certain amount of adrenaline, further sharpening his focus.

His confidence surged, daring him to fight the Living Corpse.

Before acting, he had one last question, trying to communicate with the meatball through his mind, 'That Living Corpse wandering around Graveyard Plot 4—how do I kill it completely? Cut off its head?'

'Looks like you really don't get it.

Your understanding of this world is still stuck on the surface layer... Even if you cut off its head or rip out its heart, this thing can still survive normally. At most, it'll just affect its motor functions.

The fundamental reason it turned this way is that it got [sick].

To kill this Living Corpse, you have to find and destroy the [Pathogen] on its body. Then it'll revert to its proper corpse state.

This guy is still in the early stages of infection, so the Pathogen's traits should be pretty obvious.

Look closely for any bulges, swelling, or spots with especially dark coloring on its body—those likely correspond to the Pathogen under the skin.

And the "Silver-Plated Hand Axe" in your hand has pretty good lethality against Pathogens.

As for what this guy can do, I don't know... Good luck, and don't die.'

'Got it.'

The battle began.

Yi Chen pressed against a tombstone, quietly peeking half his face out to scan the surroundings.

A slow-moving [Dark Shadow] appeared at the edge of his vision, his focus sharpened, and the stumbling Living Corpse came into view.

Its speed was slow, but those Plant Root Tendrils swaying on its back, like octopus tentacles, made his scalp tingle just looking at them, as if once stabbed, those tendrils would drain the target's bodily fluids dry.

Yi Chen took a deep breath, analyzing the situation in his mind, "No time, no tools to set up traps or anything.

The field is also limited to Graveyard Plot 4, making long-distance flanking maneuvers hard.

A direct fight is unavoidable, but... before that, I need to pinpoint the Pathogen's exact location."

He focused his vision again, every part of the Living Corpse's body, including the tendrils growing from its back, was crystal clear.

There were four obvious bulges on its surface: on the neck, right shoulder, waist, and right thigh.

"Let's confirm..."

Yi Chen picked up some nearby stones of suitable size, ones he could easily grip in his hand.

In his early years, Yi Chen always won games of Dodgeball at the Orphanage, able to accurately hit every playmate trying to dodge, even kids a few years older than him were no match.

Now, with his enhanced vision, his throwing precision had improved further.

Whoosh~

Four stones, fired at one-second intervals, shot toward the target.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Three hit with pinpoint accuracy, the corresponding skin bulges were smashed open, even leaking some disgusting fluid.

But the stone aimed at the waist—just as it was about to hit... Smack!

Like a basic biological Irritability response, The roots on the Living Corpse's back suddenly lashed out, striking the surface of the flying pebble with precision.

Like a home run, the struck pebble flew straight out of Graveyard Plot 4.

Not only that, several more roots followed closely behind.

They entwined and clung to the bulge at its waist, forming a unique protective structure.

Based on the direction the pebble came from, the Living Corpse's head snapped 135°, its special eyes filled with Fungal Umbrella fixed on the arched stone tablet atop the slope.

A Sense of Pressure washed over.

Though Yi Chen had gotten the answer he wanted, cold sweat kept trickling down.

'At least my approach worked—the bulge at the waist must correspond to the Pathogen. It also proves this lump of flesh didn't deceive me.

But This Guy's "Irritability" is way too absurd.

A pebble shot out like that, with no warning, and it still deflected it precisely... and quickly built a protective layer around its waist.

Hah!

To kill this Living Corpse, I have to sever all the roots on its back.

Otherwise, any attack on its vital points will be useless.'

Pat~ pat~

A series of footsteps on dirt interrupted his thoughts.

The Living Corpse approached, pausing before the arched stone tablet... Shh! Shh!

Suddenly, two powerful roots rose into the air, crossed left and right, and lashed out violently.

Slap!

The sturdy large tablet was snapped clean in two.

Also destroyed

was a dark gray coat still carrying the scent of a living person, its metal badge falling to the ground, engraved with the name [William. Berens].

That was all.

Only the tablet and coat were shattered—the young man hiding behind had already "shed his shell" in advance.

Just as the Living Corpse hesitated, before it could retract its roots, a stir came from the Grave Mound corresponding to the broken tablet.

The Dark Shadow lurking behind suddenly leaped out, the Silver Light flickering in its hand exceptionally dazzling.

Hum!

The Silver Light traced a perfect arc through the air, landing precisely on the "Intersection Point" of the two roots... Shh~ Dark green, foul-smelling juice sprayed out as both roots were completely severed.

Not only that, due to the cut from silver-plated material, thick black smoke billowed from the severed ends, preventing healing.

"Yaa!!"

A rotten, hoarse scream erupted from the Living Corpse's dry, decayed vocal cords, as if its vital lifeline had been cut.

Seeing this, Yi Chen pulled back his hand axe, set his stance, and muttered excitedly, "Eight left!"

The scream hadn't even ended

when the roots swaying on the Living Corpse's back, as if possessing Self-Awareness, had already Locked-on to the 'Attacker'.

They turned into sharp spears, thrusting forward.

[Vision Capture]

Yi Chen and the meatball's eyes bulged like copper bells at this moment, focusing on what was In Front Of.

Against such straight thrust attacks, the path of each root was fully visible.

When the distance was less than a meter, a perfect sideways roll dodged all the root thrusts.

Not only that, at the exact moment of the perfect dodge, Yi Chen, still in a half-kneeling stance, took the momentum to deliver a diagonal slash.

The nearest root tendril was severed midair.

Foul, rotting juice splattered across his face, but it couldn't hide his smile. His lips kept counting silently:

"Seven left."

At that moment, the Black Flesh Ball rooted in Yi Chen's shoulder couldn't help but widen its eyes, astonished by this 'Bottom Laborer's' performance.

'My judgment was right after all... This Guy is completely different from those ordinary 'Meat Pigs.'

A battle this dangerous, where one mistake could mean death—he's already adapted to it so quickly, and even mixed in a hint of enjoyment.

Keep it up, young human!

If you can slay a Pustule with such a weak body, it will definitely catch the attention of 'those above'... I might be able to use this chance to get a way out.'

Just as the Flesh Ball was lost in its fantasy of freedom, Ah! Another scream rang out.

Only this time, the one screaming was the youth it had placed its hopes in.

A root tendril, from no one knew where, had burst up from underground.

The shoes on his feet, along with his entire soles, were pierced through.

The root that emerged from the top of his foot even sprouted flowers, drinking the blood from his arch and staining itself a vivid red.

At this moment, the Living Corpse not far away had its palm pressed flat against the ground.

Clearly, it was the one controlling the underground plants, pulling off this bizarre attack to bind its target.

Crack, crack, crack~

The sound of cervical vertebrae twisting rang out.

The Living Corpse tilted its head, its gaze locked dead on the completely immobilized 'prey.'

It was getting serious.

Gone was the slow, shambling pace.

Using the remaining root tendrils on its back as legs, it scuttled forward like a spider.

Its mouth was wide open, a mass of Mycelium spilling out from inside its oral cavity.

As If it were laughing heartily at the prey about to be caught, As If it wanted to share a 'deep kiss' with Yi Chen, using mouth and nasal cavity to connect the Mycelium into his brain and drain him dry.