Fang Gang gripped the icy metal door handle tightly, a bone-piercing chill seeping into his marrow.
"Creak—"
The teeth-grinding sound of metal scraping was especially piercing in the deathly silent funeral home corridor.
A heavy chill ten times denser than outside, mixed with disinfectant and the sickly-sweet stench unique to decaying corpses, surged at him like an invisible wave, nearly suffocating Fang Gang.
The morgue.
Pale lights barely illuminated rows of massive stainless-steel corpse cabinets. Countless drawer handles reflected cold metallic gleams beneath the lights, like countless silent eyes.
The air was stagnant as lead, every breath scraping his throat with icy shards.
Fang Gang's heart hammered in his chest, not out of fear—the surging strength beyond that of an ordinary person gave him tremendous confidence—but from instinctive vigilance and excitement toward the unknown.
He gently closed the door, cutting off the faint light from the corridor. Only the monotonous, cold hum of the overhead fluorescent tubes remained in the morgue.
"Breathe..."
"Breathe..."
There it was!
That sound! Clear as day! It was coming from deep within the morgue!
Dull, slow, carrying an intensely unsettling sticky quality.
Every inhalation sounded like a broken bellows struggling to pull air in, while every exhalation carried the heavy sound of moisture, as though its lungs were filled with ice water.
This was not the breathing of a living person! It was more like... some cold, lifeless shell forcibly imitating the rhythm of life!
The source of the sound... Fang Gang's sharp gaze instantly locked onto its direction—the row of corpse cabinets against the wall at the very back of the room.
He held his breath and softened his footsteps, silently approaching the source like a hunting beast.
The explosive power within him surged through his muscles, poised to strike.
The closer he got, the clearer the breathing became, and the denser the cold, sinister aura grew.
Fang Gang could even feel faint needle-like pricks against his skin. Yin energy was trying to erode his vigorous vitality and blood.
At last, he stopped in front of the corpse cabinet from which the sound was coming.
A plastic tag hung from the stainless-steel door. The writing was somewhat blurry, but still legible:
Name: Zhang Qiang
Age: 32
Cause of Death: Traffic accident (multiple comminuted fractures)
Time Placed in Storage: 14:30, the day before yesterday
A corpse that had been placed in storage the day before yesterday? Fang Gang frowned tightly.
The cold words on the tag formed an absurd, terrifying contrast with the strange breathing coming from inside the cabinet.
"Breathe... breathe..."
The sound was right behind the door, within arm's reach!
Fang Gang drew a deep breath and suppressed the strange feeling churning within him. His left hand abruptly gripped the icy metal handle, his right fist clenched tight, and all the strength in his body gathered in an instant!
"Get the hell... out here!!"
With a low roar, Fang Gang used all his strength to yank the heavy corpse drawer outward!
"Clang—!"
The metal rails let out a piercing shriek!
The pale light instantly illuminated the inside of the drawer.
A corpse wrapped tightly in a white shroud lay silently upon the cold metal slab.
The shroud outlined a human figure, and at the chest, it clearly rose and fell in rhythm with that eerie breathing!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Fang Gang's heart nearly leaped out of his throat! The visual impact was far stronger than the sound!
A corpse that should have been stiff was actually... breathing?!
Just as his mind reeled!
Whoosh!
The undulating shroud suddenly burst apart!
A clawed hand, bluish-gray in color, covered in livor mortis, with black, sharp nails, shot toward Fang Gang's face like a cannonball, carrying a thick corpse stench and a bone-chilling gust of yin wind!
Fast! Ruthless! Vicious! It was aimed at his eyes!
"Looking to die!"
Fang Gang's pupils contracted as he roared! At the threshold of life and death, the violent power within him was completely ignited! He had no time to think about techniques. This was pure instinct and absolute strength crushing everything in its path!
Though he moved later, he struck first! His right fist, carrying 1.7 times the strength of an ordinary person, exploded through the air and smashed viciously toward the incoming corpse claw!
Crack!!!
The teeth-grinding sound of breaking bones exploded through the silent morgue!
That bluish-gray corpse claw was as fragile as rotten wood beneath Fang Gang's fist! The bones in its forearm were smashed apart and twisted into a grotesque angle! Broken bone pierced through the skin, exposing pale splinters!
"Ao—!!"
An inhuman howl filled with pain and fury erupted from beneath the shroud! The sound was shrill and piercing, nothing like a human voice!
Fang Gang pressed his advantage without mercy! Strike while it was down and kill it! He gave this ghostly thing no chance to catch its breath!
His left foot stomped forward, making even the floor tiles groan! His waist twisted, and the strength of his entire body poured back like a reversing river, gathering once more in his right fist!
This time, his target was no longer the broken claw, but the rising chest beneath the shroud!
"Die!!"
With a roar, Fang Gang's fist came down like a battering ram!
Bang—!!!
A muffled boom of extreme force!
The shrouded corpse, along with the metal slab beneath it, was smashed inward by that terrifying force!
The tremendous impact made the entire corpse cabinet emit the tortured screech of twisting metal!
"Splat!"
A clear muffled pop came from beneath the shroud, like a water-filled balloon being punctured! The violently heaving chest instantly collapsed!
"Huh... huh..."
The inhuman howl turned into a leaking, death-rattle wheeze.
The body beneath the shroud convulsed violently a few times before going completely limp.
An even stronger foul stench spread through the room, carrying the odor of rotting internal organs.
Ding! Killed 'Corpse Puppet (White Zombie-level)'! Obtained Evolution Points +10! Ding! Absorbed yin energy, converted into Evolution Points +0.5! Current Evolution Points: 15.6!
The system notifications sounded like heavenly music.
Fang Gang panted heavily and slowly withdrew his fist. Some sticky, dark green liquid stained his knuckles, giving off a foul odor.
He looked at his fist, dented and smeared with filth, then at the collapsed corpse lying motionless in the cabinet. An indescribable surge of pride welled up in his chest!
Two punches! Just two punches! He had killed this ghostly thing, which was clearly far stronger than that mass of black mist outside!
Power! This was the crushing thrill brought by pure power!
If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author. It might have just been renamed!
With a thought, he brought up the system panel:
Host: Fang Gang Realm: Mortal (Unranked) Strength: 1.7 (Beyond ordinary people) Constitution: 0.8 (Ordinary) Agility: 0.9 (Decent) Spirit: 1.1 (Resilient) Available Evolution Points: 15.6 Cultivation Technique: None Martial Skill: None Status: Yin Energy Erosion (Mild)
"15.6 points..." Fang Gang licked his somewhat cracked lips, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
When he killed that corpse puppet just now, the shortcomings in his constitution and agility had been fully exposed. Faced with a sudden attack, his reaction had still been a fraction too slow.
"Constitution and agility! Add five points to each!" Fang Gang gave the command in his mind without hesitation.
Ding! Consumed 10 Evolution Points! Constitution +5! Current Constitution: 5.8 (Steel Muscles, Iron Bones)! Ding! Consumed 5 Evolution Points! Agility +5! Current Agility: 5.9 (Agile as a Rabbit)!
A heat current even stronger and deeper than before instantly swept through his entire body!
His muscle fibers seemed to be infused with steel, becoming tougher and denser!
His bones let out a faint hum as they became harder!
His body's flexibility and coordination also improved drastically. It felt as though he had cast off heavy shackles, his body becoming unbelievably light and nimble!
Fang Gang clenched his fist hard, feeling the surging strength and seemingly inexhaustible energy within him.
The fatigue from before was completely swept away, and a metallic gleam seemed to flash beneath his skin.
"Steel Muscles, Iron Bones... Agile as a Rabbit... this feels incredible!" Fang Gang could not help roaring as he punched an empty corpse cabinet beside him.
Clang!!
A clear fist mark instantly appeared in the hard alloy door, deeply denting inward!
This power was far greater than before!
Just then, the faint prickling pain returned to the back of his hand.
Fang Gang looked down and saw that the gray-black line seemed slightly darker than before. It had also spread another inch upward, already nearing his wrist!
"Damn it, this thing is still there!" Fang Gang's face darkened. He tried to mobilize the newly born, more majestic and blazing vitality and blood within him to strike at the yin line.
Sizzle, sizzle!
Vitality and blood met yin energy, producing faint burning sounds.
The gray-black line wavered slightly. Its spread seemed to have been restrained, but it did not disappear. Instead, like a maggot clinging to bone, it rooted itself even more stubbornly deep in his flesh, faintly bringing an even deeper coldness that seemed to originate from his marrow.
"Damn! It's this troublesome?" Fang Gang frowned deeply. This thing probably could not be solved by killing just one or two low-level evil entities.
He had to find greater power, or...
He suddenly remembered the text message on his phone—"Vajra Indestructible Divine Art"!
"Right! A cultivation technique! The system can convert cultivation techniques!" Fang Gang's eyes lit up.
A body-tempering cultivation technique was precisely the ultimate path of strengthening the flesh and forging vitality and blood like a furnace! Perhaps it could counter this yin energy!
He eagerly took out his phone and opened the pickup-code link in the text message.
The funeral home was in a remote location, but his carrier surprisingly still had one bar of signal.
"8-5-666..." Fang Gang quickly entered the pickup code.
Package Information:
Recipient: Fang Gang
Item: "Vajra Indestructible Divine Art" (Proofread Illustrated Edition)
Pickup Station: Cainiao Pickup Station, West Alley Entrance, Old Town District (Business Hours: 8:00–22:00)
"West Alley Entrance in the old town... it's not too far from here!" Fang Gang estimated the distance, fire blazing in his eyes.
He would pick it up at dawn! A divine art for 9.9 yuan—what a steal!
Just as he was about to leave this damned place, the corner of his eye caught a piece of paper sticking out from the crack of the door leading to the duty room.
That corpse puppet's attack had distracted him, and he had not noticed it earlier.
Fang Gang walked over and bent down to pick up the crumpled note.
Under the pale light, a few words had been scrawled on it in red ballpoint pen. The strokes trembled, revealing extreme fear:
"Don't open... the freezer... it's... listening..."
At the bottom was a crooked signature: Uncle Wang.
Uncle Wang? The missing night-shift security guard?!
Fang Gang's heart sank.
The contents of the note immediately made him think of the "breathing" corpse puppet in the morgue.
What had Uncle Wang seen? What had he heard? Where was he now? The three shocking words, "it's listening," stabbed into Fang Gang's mind like ice picks.
He abruptly raised his head, his gaze sharp as a blade as it swept over the rows of cold corpse cabinets.
The abnormality here was probably far more than the thing he had just killed! Uncle Wang's warning descended like an even deeper shadow.
"Breathe..."
An extremely faint yet exceptionally clear breathing sound suddenly came from some freezer deep within the morgue without warning!
This time, the sound was slower and colder, carrying a strange rhythm... as though it were listening intently.
Every hair on Fang Gang's body stood on end! A cold, tangible malicious intent ten times stronger than before surged from deep within the morgue like a tide and instantly locked onto him!
Warning! Detected high-density yin energy aggregation reaction! Threat Level: C (Fierce Ghost-level/Green Zombie-level)! Extremely dangerous! It is recommended that the host evacuate immediately!
The system's alarm was sharper than ever before!
Fang Gang's expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he turned and rushed toward the morgue door!
His newly improved agility showed its worth at this moment, and he moved so fast that he left behind an afterimage!
He slammed through the morgue door and sprinted toward the funeral home exit without looking back!
Behind him, that slow, cold breathing followed him like a maggot clinging to bone. From deep within the morgue came what seemed to be the heavy sound of metal scraping across the floor...
Charging out of the funeral home gates, Fang Gang was met by cold night wind flooding into his mouth and nose. He did not dare stop and sprinted toward the city.
As he ran, he subconsciously raised his right hand.
Under the Blood Moon's scarlet glow, he saw in horror that the gray-black line on the back of his hand had turned as black as ink. Like a living thing, it suddenly shot far upward, crossing his wrist and spreading toward his forearm!
A marrow-deep chill, accompanied by even more intense prickling pain, instantly spread through his whole body!
"Damn it!" Fang Gang's face turned ashen.
Was this ghostly thing absorbing the stronger vitality and blood he had gained? Or... had it been provoked by the even more terrifying thing inside?
He looked back at the funeral home's outline in the darkness, looming like an enormous tomb. His eyes were filled with wariness and a trace of ruthlessness.
"Vajra Indestructible... I have to get it as soon as possible!"
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