Corpse Ghost

[Stage quest accepted: Find combustible materials.]

[Quest description: A campfire on a snowy night provides not only warmth but also deters the dangers lurking in the shadows. However, fuel is running low; if you do not find more, the fire will burn out by midnight, and the danger will follow.]

[Quest requirements: Find enough combustible materials. The more you gather, the safer you will be later...]

[Quest hint: Hurry and search before the sky turns completely dark, but you must be careful of... things.]

[Quest reward: You are struggling to survive for your own sake; do you really expect a reward?]

Lu Li curled his lip in indifference. If he were wearing thick winter clothes, going out wouldn't be a problem, but he was currently wearing only a short-sleeved shirt under a costume. Even with his bug-like level of bodily control, he wouldn't last long in that frozen, snowy wasteland.

However, looking at the dwindling wood supply, Lu Li stood up and smiled at the old man nearby. "The wood is running low, and the fire will likely go out tonight. I'll go find some firewood!"

"Young master? You are dressed so thinly, this..." The old man's tone was filled with confusion. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's almost dark; I fear it is unwise for you to go out. If the fire goes out, we can just make do for the night and continue searching for wood tomorrow!"

"I am strong and sturdy, so it is no great matter, but you are different, old man. In this freezing cold, if the fire dies—to put it bluntly—you might not make it through the night." Lu Li looked at the old man. The man's patched clothes were neither thin nor particularly warm; without the fire, Lu Li might well find a popsicle in his place by morning.

"I will return before it gets completely dark. Don't be so polite, old man; just consider it repaying the kindness of the clothes you gave me." Without waiting for the old man to respond, Lu Li stood up and pushed open the doors of the dilapidated temple. Icy winds mixed with heavy snow buffeted his body.

Lu Li felt a jolt of alertness. He scanned the frozen landscape once more before setting his sights on a small ridge behind the temple. Exhaling a puff of white mist, he set off. Stepping onto the thick layer of snow, Lu Li could feel the bone-chilling cold, but this was no time for fear, and he lacked that emotion anyway.

Entering the ridge, he found dead trees and withered shrubs everywhere. Getting some wood wasn't difficult, but he kept the quest hint in mind: there might be danger. This danger likely wasn't just environmental; there could be dangerous animals or... monsters.

He rummaged through the cold snow for fallen branches. These weren't dry, so they would need to be dried by the fire later to burn. Lu Li took off his short-sleeved shirt, tore it into strips, and laid them flat on the ground to bundle the branches. The sky was darkening rapidly, and he didn't have much time.

After adding a few more branches, Lu Li thought that time was running out. He immediately tied the bundle together and hoisted it onto his back. The cold wood dug into his back, which felt far from pleasant, but he had no time to complain. He quickened his pace while keeping a constant watch on his surroundings.

The sky had almost turned black, and visibility was even lower in the snowy night. The danger mentioned in the quest hint was still nowhere to be seen. He needed to be extra careful; if this so-called game could pull him directly from the sweltering summer into a snowy winter, its hints couldn't be taken lightly.

Walking through the snow, the wood on his back collected snow, adding to the weight. Fortunately, Lu Li's physical fitness was decent, and the game's assessment provided good data. The average for a normal person was 1/0.01, while Lu Li's data was 1.23/0.1. Though he didn't know what the 0.1 represented, it proved his physical fitness didn't drag down the human average.

With his level of self-control, Lu Li could force his stomach to accelerate nutrient absorption, strengthen his liver's detoxification to flush out harmful substances from his daily diet, and even make his muscles tremble to achieve efficient exercise. Unfortunately, he had only possessed this ability for a year, and he hadn't deliberately trained before. To him, being healthy was enough; there was no need for obsessive training, which was far too boring—though his life had been boring enough already.

Suddenly, Lu Li stopped. His ears twitched, and he forcibly exerted control over his muscles. With a burst of immense power, he sprinted, leaving deep craters in the snow. The human body has various protective mechanisms; the physical components, whether bone or muscle, have limits to their structural integrity. If all muscle fibers were to fire simultaneously, the theoretical force could reach 25 tons. Of course, that was only theoretical; a normal human usually utilizes only about 20% of their muscle capacity. High-intensity exertion could cause self-inflicted damage, such as muscle tears or fractures.

Behind Lu Li appeared a monster running relentlessly. It was roughly humanoid, hairless, with dark, visible veins. It seemed to lack lips, exposing a set of large teeth stained with bits of flesh and blood. Its pale body was draped in tattered burlap.

The monster was incredibly fast, running on all fours and leaving long furrows in the snow with its sharp claws. However, Lu Li, having partially lifted the restrictions on his muscles, was not slow either. While he couldn't outrun the creature, he was safe for the moment.

The temple, glowing with the light of the fire, appeared in Lu Li's sight. Hearing the monster closing in behind him, Lu Li's mind raced as he kept running. He reached the temple door, and the monster behind him seemed to grow agitated, its speed increasing.

Lu Li stopped at the temple entrance, his hand pressed against the door. He dropped the wood and turned around, smiling at the approaching monster. The moment he saw it, a new prompt refreshed in the corner of his vision:

[Monster detected, updating data]

[Corpse Ghost]

[Physical Assessment: 2.01; Life Energy Derivative: 1.3 (Normal human average 1/0.01)]

[Soul Assessment: 0.5; Mental Energy Derivative: 0.12 (Normal human average 1/0.01)]

[Category: Physical Infection Type]

[Origin: Was human in life, but the body was not properly interred after death. Infected by something, it rose again as a monster, harboring intense hatred for the living.]

[Special Ability: State Stasis: Its body is fixed in this monster form by certain forces; any damage dealt to its body will recover within a certain period.]

[Weakness: Given the context of this dungeon, you could figure it out with your toes: Fire! Of course, there are also other forms of positive energy and various purification abilities.]

[Monster Evaluation: Strictly speaking, its special ability is truly bugged. If it didn't have so many weaknesses, it wouldn't just be a minor mob.]