Blood Tide

As the Blood Beetles surged, the curtain of rain shrouding Soraka gradually ceased.

The occasional peals of thunder and flashes of lightning also fell silent.

The entire region sank into an endless darkness, filled only by the rustling sound of insect limbs rubbing together.

Except for...

Crack!

The crisp sound of shattering glass was jarringly sharp amidst the monotonous drone of the insect tide.

A point of faint blue light ignited in the boundless dark, flickering and instantly drawing every gaze capable of perceiving it.

Under the scrutiny of thousands hiding in the shadows, Zhou Kai crashed heavily to the ground beside that light, covered in shards of glass and viscous blood.

Boom!

The cushion of rotting flesh and bone slammed into the insect tide, sending black ichor splattering everywhere.

Using the impact to soften his landing, Zhou Kai rolled, the sound of crushed carapaces crunching densely beneath his feet.

With his current physical constitution, using a Parasitic Corpse as a buffer to leap from the second floor allowed his body to immediately proceed to the next phase of his plan.

He didn't pause for a single frame, dragging the corpse—which had been nearly crushed to a pulp—as he sprinted forward.

"Seventy meters, time to go all out!"

The warnings in Morning Star's notes kept Zhou Kai highly vigilant; he knew full well that it was best not to rely on his ability to resurrect and seek death lightly.

Regardless, at this very moment, he was not necessarily in a hopeless situation.

Zhou Kai gripped the Moonlight Amulet tightly in his hand; the faint blue light, stimulated by the Blood Beetles, flared brilliantly!

The icy blue radiance splashed outward like a circle of high-temperature fuel.

Every Blood Beetle that touched the light let out a shrill shriek, emitting white smoke as they curled into charred husks.

A few that were clinging to Zhou Kai and couldn't escape were blasted with white steam, shriveling and dying on the spot.

This wasn't a dead end... as long as he reached the shelter before the amulet burned out!

With a sudden burst of effort, the veins on Zhou Kai's arms bulged and his muscles swelled as he hoisted the corpse high and slung it onto his back.

Then, he strode forward toward his only hope.

Thud!

Thud!

With every step, he crushed eight or nine beetles beneath his feet.

The dense insect tide parted like the Red Sea before Moses, carving a path for Zhou Kai toward No. 777.

Amidst the mixture of mud and insect carcasses, Zhou Kai's mind was highly tense, his adrenaline surging, and the entire world seemed to slow down.

The buzzing of the tide, his own heartbeat, the sound of the wind...

Everything became distant. Only the door before him remained crystal clear.

In stark contrast, his speed was astonishingly fast.

His body felt as if it no longer belonged to him, every movement as precise as if it had been calculated.

Carrying a corpse of equal weight, he was actually running through the mud with the agility of a sprinter!

The final second.

At the moment the amulet began to flicker, on the verge of burning out.

Subtitles flashed before Zhou Kai's eyes.

[Miraculous Flow State experienced, Light Footwork EXP +5]

[The power of the Blood Tide yields to you... General EXP +1]

His speed surged by a notch in an instant.

And it was that very increase that caused a giant hand, covered in greenish-black scales with nails as long as short blades, to reach out from the darkness and grasp at nothing!

Bang...

Zhou Kai slammed into the shelter's door, scrambling inside as he tumbled.

The door swung wide.

The fire in the hearth within flared, and a wave of scorching heat mixed with warm red light rushed to meet him!

Hiss—

The giant hand reacted as if splashed with concentrated sulfuric acid; its skin instantly blistered, charred, and emitted plumes of blue smoke.

It paused for a moment, then retreated into the darkness, filled with reluctance.

Zhou Kai threw the corpse to the floor, drew his greatsword, and turned back with a ferocious expression.

"This is my territory, get out!"

With a hoarse low growl.

Bang!

The heavy wooden door slammed shut, sealing out the freezing night and despair.

Amidst the endless tide of Blood Beetles, No. 777, where the Moonlight Orchid grew, stood like a lonely island in the sea.

Divine power protected this place, and a raging fire burned within the blessed hearth.

Evil and despair were temporarily blocked outside a specific perimeter.

Temporarily...

Hoo...

Hoo...

Zhou Kai gasped for air.

A single door separated the two worlds.

Before him was the warm glow of the fireplace; behind him was the endless, dark, freezing night.

Zhou Kai had previously hoped for the rain to stop, but now that the damn rain had truly ceased, he found himself longing for the sound of the relentless downpour.

"If the rain stopping means the Blood Tide is surging, then I'd rather it just kept raining!"

Zhou Kai panted for a long while before his racing heart and rapid breathing gradually calmed.

He pressed his ear against the door, listening to the chilling sound of dense, layered insects colliding and scraping their carapaces against one another outside.

Fortunately, perhaps due to the Moonlight Orchid in the basement, these insects always maintained a distance of one or two meters from the shelter.

But the insect tide was no longer what worried Zhou Kai the most...

What he feared more now were the other monsters that had sensed his trail and were gradually closing in.

Those things were highly likely to break through the door!

Zhou Kai gripped his two-handed sword tightly, ready to fight for his life at any moment.

Several minutes passed, and no crashing sounds came from outside the door.

Zhou Kai let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed his previous judgment was correct; as long as the fire burned brightly, the so-called Territory Law remained in effect.

Some monsters would not rashly invade his shelter...

"But, what about The Wanderer? The second floor... is it because the fireplace light can't reach it?"

"Or is there another reason?"

Zhou Kai frowned, glancing at the dark staircase leading to the second floor.

There was no chance of leaving the house tonight.

To be safe, he had better stay vigilant about the second floor, where the fireplace light could not reach.

"Now... it's time to fertilize the plants."

Dragging his sword in one hand and clutching the corpse in the other, Zhou Kai headed toward the basement.

The Nursery was a brick pool raised above the ground, filled with what was called "clean soil."

The entire Nursery covered an area of about fourteen square meters.

Zhou Kai's Moonlight Orchid was planted only in a palm-sized area in the bottom left corner.

After this ordeal, Zhou Kai had fully realized the importance of the Moonlight Orchid and the Nursery.

Because of the existence of the Blood Tide, the fireplace alone was simply not enough to withstand this endless Nightmare!

He dug into the soil and tossed most of the monster's remains into the Nursery.

"Should I chop it up? To make it easier to absorb?"

Just as Zhou Kai hesitated over whether to cut the fertilizer into smaller pieces.

The Moonlight Orchid in the corner of the Nursery shivered, as if it were a shark that had caught the scent of blood.

Countless spiderweb-like brown roots burst from the soil, twisting and crawling like living creatures, instantly wrapping around the corpse.

The tips of the roots pierced into the rotting flesh, and the corpse withered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Fertilizer sufficient, Moonlight Orchid growth accelerated

A moment later, a dialog box popped up over the Nursery, and Zhou Kai nodded slightly...

It seemed he didn't need to worry too much; he just had to toss the "fertilizer" into the Nursery.

Within the Nightmare, there is no such thing as a peaceful sleep.

This is an endless, deadly predicament where one must remain vigilant at all times.

Zhou Kai paced back and forth between the first-floor fireplace and the basement Nursery from time to time.

Most of the remaining time, he stood guard at the top of the stairs leading from the second floor to the first, practicing his swordsmanship while listening intently, wary of anything creeping up from the corners he couldn't see.

"Probably... about five more hours."

Judging the time by the fuel remaining for the fireplace, Zhou Kai let out a heavy snort through his nose.

Morning Star's notes mentioned that the Blood Tide would last anywhere from three to six hours...

Looking at the way things were going today, Zhou Kai had a feeling it would likely be the full six.

Even if it wasn't, it wouldn't be far off.

"I hope it ends soon... the Moonlight Orchid might hold out, but the fireplace might not."