Monster (Part 1)

Monster (Part 1)

The woman thought for a moment, then said, "Place a Surveillance Robot at his location."

The man in sunglasses hesitated. "These things are expensive. We don't have much stock left."

The woman insisted, "Place one. He's worth the cost."

"Very well, as you wish, Your Highness."

The man in sunglasses shook his head, carefully took out a small silver box, and gently placed it in a concealed spot atop the building.

The moment the little box was set down, its shape immediately vanished.

The man in sunglasses shrugged and pulled out a miniature Light Brain. "Come on, let me see the employee records of Changning Steel Armor Technology Company."

Countless lines of personal information scrolled across the Light Brain's screen. The man in sunglasses suddenly tapped on one profile picture.

It was the face of a young, handsome man, brimming with the vitality unique to adolescence.

"That's right. It's him."

The man in sunglasses' fingers flew across the keyboard. At last, a progress bar appeared on the screen.

The miniature Light Brain began reading Gu Qingshan's personal files.

The man in sunglasses raised his hand to check his watch and scoffed, "It takes fifteen seconds to trace me? What a trash security system. The Changning Su Family really doesn't care about its employees."

Only seven seconds passed before the man in sunglasses obtained the information and decisively shut down the intrusion system.

He clicked repeatedly through Gu Qingshan's personal file and quickly brought up his biological frequency and vital signs.

"Gu Qingshan, you won't get away."

The man in sunglasses smiled faintly and entered the information into the Surveillance Robot.

At dusk, Gu Qingshan finished a day of research. After dinner, he took a walk around the company's artificial main stadium.

When he looked up at the horizon, beneath the low-hanging curtain of night, a bright moon hung high while stars glittered like diamonds.

A cool breeze drifted by. What a pleasant night.

Gu Qingshan silently narrowed his eyes. Spiritual Power stirred within his Dantian and instantly spread over his eyes.

The scene before him suddenly changed. Wisps of dark gray smoke floated through the sky, sweeping in soundlessly like satin.

Gu Qingshan frowned.

That dark gray aura was Netherworld Qi. The signs of the apocalypse had already appeared.

"There's less than a year left," Gu Qingshan murmured.

He quickened his pace and returned to the private room the company had arranged for him.

It had been almost a full day since he returned last night. It was time to enter the Otherworld.

Gu Qingshan brought up the game interface and checked the hourglass.

Just in time—the final grain of sand had fallen.

A curtain of light flashed, and Gu Qingshan vanished from the room.

Early morning.

Gu Qingshan stood beneath the eaves. It was as though he had only been gone for an instant before returning to the Otherworld.

Outside the camp, the Demon Beast's corpse still lay there. Blood gushed from the wounds studded with arrows.

Gu Qingshan found that he was still holding his bow, kneeling on one knee and facing the Military Camp gate in a shooting stance.

Everything was as if he had never left at all.

Gu Qingshan stood and called out, "Zhao Liu!"

There was no movement and no reply.

Gu Qingshan helplessly roared, "Zhao Liu, it's over. Come out!"

After waiting quite a while, Zhao Liu finally came trembling up behind Gu Qingshan.

He poked his head out from behind Gu Qingshan's shoulder and glanced outside.

"D-dead?"

"Dead. Come on, help me carry it inside."

Zhao Liu looked at the Demon Beast, then at Gu Qingshan, clicking his tongue in amazement. "Brother Gu, I never thought you were this formidable."

Gu Qingshan said, "Enough nonsense. Go get the tools. We're bringing the Demon Beast back into the Military Camp."

Working up his courage, Zhao Liu looked at the Demon Beast once more and said happily, "Good heavens, it's so huge. This will be enough for us to eat for a month."

Gu Qingshan nodded, feeling somewhat reassured as well.

Demon Beast meat contained abundant vital energy. Even ordinary people would strengthen their muscles and bones and replenish their blood and qi by eating it.

He had healed his internal injuries with two Healing Pills, only to return to the real world and fight two consecutive battles. The second had even been against a Martial Arts Grandmaster, nearly draining every last bit of his focus and strength.

At this moment, Gu Qingshan could feel faint pain all around his body.

The wounds that had only just healed had begun to split slightly again.

Under these circumstances, if he could keep eating Demon Beast meat and recuperate for a while, it would greatly benefit his body.

Zhao Liu darted into the kitchen and brought out a large net bag, thick rope, a boning knife, and all manner of other tools.

After making their preparations, the two headed outside the Military Camp.

As they walked, Gu Qingshan asked, "Why hasn't the Pit of the Dead in front of the camp been buried? They were comrades-in-arms, after all."

Zhao Liu began to complain. "The Platoon Leader never cared before. What could a cook like me do? If I left the Military Camp alone to dig a pit and encountered some monster, wouldn't that mean certain death?"

Gu Qingshan patted him on the shoulder. "Once we bring the Demon Beast inside, come with me and bury the Pit of the Dead."

Zhao Liu hesitated without saying anything.

Gu Qingshan added, "The stench of blood from the Pit of the Dead is too strong. If it draws powerful demons that see through the Military Camp's Concealment Array, then you and I will have only one road ahead—death."

"Th-then... all right!"

Thinking of that scene, Zhao Liu finally gritted his teeth and agreed.

The two reached the Military Camp gate. Zhao Liu had just raised his foot to step outside when Gu Qingshan yanked him back by the collar, nearly making him fall flat on his back.

Zhao Liu snapped, "Brother Gu, what are you doing?"

Gu Qingshan raised a hand and made a gesture for silence.

Zhao Liu was about to argue, but when he saw the grave look on Gu Qingshan's face, his heart gave a jolt, and the words of reproach died in his throat.

He got up and asked in a low voice, "What is it?"

Gu Qingshan pointed at a puddle outside the camp gate.

Several days of torrential rain had formed a pool of standing water the size of a millstone in a low-lying spot.

The rain had abruptly stopped, yet ripples kept spreading across the puddle's surface, as though something beneath it was trembling without rest.

Gu Qingshan dragged Zhao Liu back seven or eight steps in succession.

Outside the camp, all was silent.

After several dozen breaths, the surface of the puddle became calm again.

Zhao Liu held his breath and waited for a long time without seeing any movement. He finally let out a breath and smiled, about to speak.

But the words never left his mouth.

Gu Qingshan covered his mouth and sprinted back dozens of zhang in one breath, only stopping at the other end of the camp.

Gu Qingshan pressed him into the muddy ground, then lay flat himself and began smearing black mud all over his body.

Days of rain had soaked the soil until it was soft. Gu Qingshan could grab a huge handful with ease. As he smeared himself, he gestured for Zhao Liu to do the same.

Though Zhao Liu was the kitchen's head cook and handled plenty of miscellaneous work each day, he had never endured such hardship. Before long, he could not help trying to stand.

He had barely arched his back when he suddenly crashed hard into the black mud again—this time, his entire body was covered in muddy water, so there was no need to smear any more on.

Zhao Liu braced both hands on the ground, only to feel the earth swaying violently. He could not muster any strength at all, much less crawl to his feet.

The earth was shaking violently.

Zhao Liu opened his mouth wide in terror and rolled into the mud once again.

Could it be an earthquake?

Zhao Liu looked at Gu Qingshan in confusion, only to see him staring toward the Pit of the Dead, his face as dark and still as water.

Following Gu Qingshan's gaze, Zhao Liu saw a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.

It was a foot.

A colossal foot that filled his entire field of vision, several times larger than the entire Military Camp.

That foot had stepped onto a dense forest outside the Military Camp, flattening every tree to the ground.

Looking upward along the foot, the massive leg extended deep into the pitch-black clouds, with no end in sight.

Zhao Liu stared at the scene, dumbstruck. Only then did he understand—there was no earthquake at all. It was clearly the impact of that foot striking the ground that had made the earth quake without cease.

Then, an even more insane scene appeared.