Blood

The shaken survivor watched the boss's corpse at his feet gradually stop twitching. Thick blood flowed from the horrific cut the glass had opened in his neck, instantly filling the room with the mingled stench of dust and blood!

Xia Leng, who had been blasted against the wall at close range by the shotgun, had also been struck by nearly every pellet in the hail of steel.

The rapidly spinning pellets had torn his upper body to shreds, and his organs had been mangled beyond recognition.

Hit head-on by a shotgun blast that should have killed him instantly, Xia Leng was still breathing, and his mind remained perfectly clear. But he felt every bit of the pain, too!

The Blacklight Virus tendrils inside him tried to repair the fatal injuries, writhing frantically as they attempted to fill the wounds.

But with hundreds of pellets having left countless wounds, even these "doctors" inside him were struggling to keep up.

There was still one biker left. Xia Leng tried to muster the last of his strength to take him out.

But the moment he exerted himself, his throat suddenly filled with something sweet, and he spat out a large pool of black blood!

His body was once again powerless, and he slumped weakly against the corner of the wall...

His injuries were too severe, and the energy and fullness he had left inside him weren't enough to heal them quickly.

Xia Leng had long since noticed that when the black tendrils repaired his wounds, they also consumed a considerable amount of his stamina and fullness. That was why his appetite had grown so much along the way, and why every living thing he saw made him want to eat it.

The "lucky survivor," jolted awake by Xia Leng's coughing, stared in shock. How could the other man still be alive after taking that much gunfire?!

"You really are a Baptized One! But with injuries like that, even if you've got the power of the Old Ones watching over you, there's nothing you can do for now, right? Hahaha!"

He raised the shotgun, which still had one shell left, stepped over the boss's corpse, and approached with a vicious grin.

The boss's death didn't affect him in the slightest. The only thing he cared about was the Light Blue Crystal that might be inside Xia Leng's head—a treasure that could make him rich!

He was sick of being ordered around by others.

A crystal exclusive to Baptized Ones was valuable enough to let him form a new biker gang, and he'd finally get to experience the thrill of being the boss himself!

The "lucky survivor" raised the barrel and aimed at Xia Leng's bowed head, ready to kill him with a single shot. He didn't need to worry about shattering the precious crystal in the other man's skull.

Those crystals were dozens of times harder than diamonds. They could withstand extreme heat and cold, and even being crushed by a hydraulic press wouldn't damage them.

That was why some "upper-class" people in the apocalypse liked to make beautiful crystals into jewelry and wear them.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Xia Leng suddenly raised his head and looked at the biker with an incredulous, cold smile.

"Aren't you a Baptized One yourself? You've been working for ordinary people all this time, and you never noticed?"

The last remaining biker froze at Xia Leng's words.

A Baptized One?

He'd dreamed of becoming one of the elite among humanity in the apocalypse—a superior being, someone above the rest.

But he knew exactly what he was worth. Otherwise, why would he be working for someone else?

"Hmph, I'm a Baptized One? You're just trying to flatter me because you're afraid to die. Don't worry, I'll make sure you go quickly!"

"Didn't you notice how lucky you are? When I shot at you, my gun suddenly jammed. When I threw a knife at you, something fell and blocked it for you. And finally, you were walking ahead of your boss. The glass I threw should have slit your throat, but for some reason, it curved and killed the boss behind you instead..."

Xia Leng's words finally made the biker recall what had happened moments ago.

The tension had been so high that he hadn't noticed any of those details.

Now that he thought about it, it did seem that way...

"And before, when you and the boss went hunting, you had other close calls like that. You just never paid attention and thought you'd gotten lucky."

"Could it be that I'm... one of those Mystic Scholars with hidden luck? Why are you telling me this? Are you hoping I'll spare your life?"

Hearing that he might also be one of the "noble" Baptized Ones, the biker felt a rush of excitement so intense he could hardly believe it. It was as if his dream had come true!

But he wasn't about to believe Xia Leng completely. It wasn't as if he could crack open his own skull and check whether there was a Light Blue Crystal exclusive to Baptized Ones inside.

"I'm telling you because I don't want us, the noble new humans, to become dogs ordered around by those foolish old humans. Believe me or not, it's up to you. Go ahead. I'd rather die at the hands of one of my own than at the hands of ordinary refugees. Cough, cough, cough!"

Leaning against the wall, Xia Leng coughed up another large pool of black blood after finishing his words. Then he fell silent, weakly putting on the air of someone ready to meet his end.

"Is that so? Well, thanks for that. There aren't many good people like you left in the apocalypse, but I'm sure you know what happens to good people these days. Heh."

The lucky survivor didn't want to listen to him any longer. The stench of blood was so strong that it might attract some monster he couldn't handle, and then he'd really be in trouble.

"Fine, I've let you talk long enough. Now, die for me!"

He raised the shotgun again, grinning as he set his index finger on the trigger. He relished having the life of this noble Baptized One in his hands.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger and stride toward the pinnacle of his life—

Crack!

Suddenly, the sharp snap of a bone breaking rang out. A chill swept across his ankle, followed by a searing pain from his foot!

Caught off guard, he pitched forward onto the ground, and the shotgun flew several meters away!

He looked back in shock and saw a horrifying black tendril wrapped around his ankle. Somehow, it had twisted his right foot all the way around, leaving it in a grotesque position...

The tendril had formed from a pool of black blood beneath him. And the blood, of course, had flowed from Xia Leng to his feet...

W-what kind of monster was this?! It could attack with blood?!!!

When he turned around, Xia Leng's look of relief had vanished. In its place were shadowy eyes, cold as ice, like black holes that could swallow him whole. He began trembling uncontrollably...

So the other man had been stringing him along not because he was afraid to die and wanted to buy more time, but because he'd been waiting for the pool of black blood to spread beneath his feet!

Finally realizing the danger, he lunged forward desperately, reaching for the shotgun that had fallen nearby.

Another tendril rapidly formed from the black blood, wrapped around his outstretched arm, and twisted hard!

"Ah!!!!"

Looking at his arm, bent back at a hundred-and-eighty-degree angle, he let out a bloodcurdling scream. His desperate will to survive drove him to beg the terrifying man for mercy, promising to do anything—even serve him as a beast of burden.

Xia Leng kept his expression cold as he watched the burly man plead through his tears and snot. The corners of his mouth curved slightly upward.

"Since you don't believe you're a Baptized One, let me confirm it for you."

As soon as Xia Leng finished speaking, another tendril formed from the blood and wrapped around the man's neck before he could continue his loud wailing, choking his face red!

Then, with a mere thought from Xia Leng, the tendril suddenly tightened!

Crack!

The biker, who had been swaggering around just moments ago, was no longer blessed by the goddess of fortune. His head was twisted clean off and rolled beside Xia Leng, disbelief still frozen on his face...

The remaining blood then began crawling over the corpse as if it had a will of its own. It wrapped the body into a black, vaguely human-shaped lump and began writhing frantically.

In less than three seconds, the blood spread apart again, and the corpse inside had vanished without a trace. It had become nourishment for the Blacklight Virus, which flowed back into the blood and then returned to Xia Leng's body.

At the same time, replenished with ample energy, the Blacklight Virus began working frantically on Xia Leng's wounds.

It wove itself together to fill in the missing flesh, forcing the countless shotgun pellets out through his wounds and restoring even his damaged organs to perfect condition!

When it was all over, Xia Leng had stood up again. Even his black hooded sweatshirt looked brand-new, just as it had at the beginning, without a single bullet hole...