Corruption (Thanks to Alliance Leader "Chuan Majia 314" for the reward)

Gilan slowly came to a stop in the forest.

He sidestepped behind a tall tree, peeking out with only half his face as he looked toward the wooden palisade.

The arched gate stood open. Just like in his dream, an old-fashioned Double-Barreled Shotgun leaned quietly against the gateframe.

Beside the shotgun was a box of ammunition.

That strange man with the axe doesn't seem to be nearby?

Gilan swept his gaze around for a moment but did not spot the suspicious figure from his memories.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then cautiously stepped out from behind the tree and crept toward the gate.

The accident he had expected never came. Gilan safely crossed the forty-odd meters and arrived at the entrance.

He bent down to pick up the Double-Barreled Shotgun, then casually grabbed the ammunition as well.

"Gregor 1884 break-action shotgun. Can be loaded with two 12-gauge shells. A new firearm developed by Gregor Armory based on the Forest Riot Gun, widely used in the ...(scratched out) War."

"This was the favored gun of the 'Exorcist,' Orlando Pitt, though for some unknown reason, it was abandoned here."

At that moment, a mysterious Iridescence flashed in Gilan's eyes, and a patch of blurry, slanted lettering twisted from colors appeared above the firearm in his hand.

He could not help but jump in fright.

But after realizing there was no danger, Gilan calmed down and carefully studied the colored words.

Why can I see this gun's information? And what exactly is this color appearing in my field of vision?

He rubbed his eyes. The iridescent writing lingered for a while longer before slowly fading away.

It filled Gilan with questions.

After taking several deep breaths and looking around, he forcibly suppressed his confusion and examined the shotgun in his hands.

The Double-Barreled Shotgun was about 1.2 meters long overall. Its body was made of metal, its stock of walnut wood, and it felt quite heavy in his hands.

As a young man from Earth who had been born in the peaceful era of the new century, Gilan's knowledge of firearms was limited to movies and television. He had never handled one himself, so he could only rely on his most basic understanding as he tentatively fiddled with the various parts of the shotgun. Eventually, he found the safety lever on the chamber housing at the end of the barrel and gently flipped it.

Click.

This should let it fire, right?

Gilan took a deep breath, raised the Double-Barreled Shotgun, and aimed at a large tree not far to his side.

Then he pulled the trigger.

Bang—

A deafening gunshot rang out, its echo carrying far into the distance.

Gilan felt a jolt in his right shoulder as the powerful recoil made him stagger.

Looking ahead, he saw a washbasin-sized, uneven crater of buckshot in the thick trunk seven or eight meters away.

The thick bark had been blasted away, exposing the milky-white wood beneath.

What incredible stopping power...

His eyes lit up with delight.

With this gun to protect himself, Gilan felt that his chances of survival had increased enormously.

I just wonder who the shotgun's original owner, this so-called Exorcist, was. Could he have something to do with this village?

Gilan lifted the shotgun and checked the ammunition box. Inside were ten neatly arranged 12-gauge shells, with brass heads and red casings that gleamed brightly, giving him a considerable sense of security.

Just as Gilan was about to open the chamber and load it.

A sudden rustling sound came from behind him, making him jerk in alarm.

He quickly spun around, only to have a pungent stench of blood rush into his face.

A strong, gray-black headless monster had somehow crept up behind Gilan. It opened its fanged cavity and lunged at him!

"Fuck!"

Gilan cursed instinctively.

He raised the shotgun and pulled the trigger.

Bang!!

Flames burst from the nearly two-finger-wide black barrel, and a dense spray of tiny lead pellets instantly struck the headless monster.

With a dull puff, the headless monster was blasted away by the tremendous impact and rolled several meters across the ground.

Dark red filthy blood splattered everywhere, soaking the soil and grass.

"Ah—"

"Pain— It hurts—"

The monster writhed and struggled strangely on the ground, as though the pain from its wounds made it let out a shrill howl from its hollow cavity.

Gilan retreated several steps and rubbed his slightly uncomfortable ears.

He took a lingering, fearful breath, and his expression soon twisted viciously.

If he had not had a gun in his hands, he would likely have died to the monster's sneak attack just now.

Click.

Though clumsy, Gilan did not panic as he flipped the chamber release. The shotgun broke open, and the two red shell casings automatically ejected amid a burst of heat.

He took out two shells and loaded them into the chamber again.

Snap!

The barrel snapped back into place with a crisp sound that reassured Gilan.

"Die!"

He immediately raised the shotgun, stepped forward, and fired twice at the monster on the ground.

Bang bang!!

The buckshot sprayed across the monster's body, splattering great amounts of blood, flesh, and bone fragments.

The headless monster took three shots in total. Even with its tenacious vitality, it ceased moving after one final scream.

"Whew." Gilan let out a long breath, his heart pounding rapidly. "It should be completely dead now, right?"

To be safe, he loaded the ammunition again, held the gun as he cautiously approached the monster's corpse, and poked it twice with the barrel.

If it moved even the slightest bit, Gilan would not hesitate to pour more firepower into it.

However, the headless monster was indeed dead and showed no further movement.

What exactly is this monster? Gilan crouched down and touched the gray-black fur on its body. The utterly real texture made him sigh. Am I really in a movie? This place is far too bizarre and dangerous!

At that moment, he suddenly noticed that the mysterious Iridescence had appeared in his vision once more.

But this time, even his fingers had become stained with color!

Under Gilan's horrified gaze, the monster corpse his fingers had touched rapidly Corrupted at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its flesh, skin, and bones shattered and collapsed until it turned into powder and scattered away.

What is going on?!

Gilan hurriedly pulled back his hand, but the iridescent color on his fingers did not disappear.

A colorful "0" flashed into existence at the corner of his vision.

Then, after flickering for an instant, it became a "2"!

Huh?

Gilan froze.

He tried moving his eyes, and the colorful "2" began moving along with his line of sight, remaining fixed in one corner.

Even when he closed his eyes, he could still see it.

It was as though some mysterious thing had been branded into his mind.

Could it be that I absorbed something from this monster, causing the number to increase? Such a strange guess arose in Gilan's mind. But what does this number mean, or what can it do?

The next second.

Gilan's grip on the shotgun tightened.

He suddenly felt a flood of knowledge and techniques regarding Double-Barreled Shotguns emerge in his mind. Even his body felt the familiarity of someone who had handled firearms for years, as if he had long mastered the weapon in his hands and could use it skillfully.

The iridescent "2" in his vision flickered and changed back into "0."

Gilan stood up with a look of astonishment.

This number can let me instantly master a certain skill? he thought, repeatedly manipulating the Double-Barreled Shotgun in his hands. That's unbelievable!

The shotgun spun in his hand and broke open. Two shells popped out, only to be precisely caught between his nimble fingers.

Click.

With another flick of his hand, Gilan loaded the shells back into the chamber without the slightest error, closed the shotgun, and raised it again.

The entire process took less than two seconds, smooth and fluid as though he had repeated it countless times.

He sharply swung the gun to one side and aimed at the woods thirty or forty meters away.

Gilan had a powerful premonition that, if he wanted to, he could easily hit any tree.

The power of Iridescence can Corrupt Monsters, turning them into numbers that let me instantly master skills!

Light burst from his eyes—the light of hope.

Thank you all for your monthly votes!

Thank you to "Wearing an Alt 314" for the 100,000-point Alliance Leader reward!

Thank you to "Your Four Seasons" for the 5,000-point reward!

Thank you to "Yi Xi_Flying Light Offers Wine" for the 500-point reward!

Thank you to "dxqz" for the 300-point reward!

Thank you to "Desolate Misty Rain" for the 100-point reward!

(Additional chapters for the Alliance Leader reward will be postponed until the release.)