The Morgue's Breath

The icy metal doorknob, radiating a bone-chilling cold, was gripped tightly by Fang Gang.

"Creeeak—"

The grating sound of metal was particularly jarring in the dead-silent funeral home corridor.

A wave of cold, ten times more potent than the outside, mixed with the peculiar sweetish-fetid scent of disinfectant and decaying corpses, surged forward like an invisible tide, nearly suffocating Fang Gang.

The morgue.

Harsh white lights barely illuminated rows of massive stainless steel body drawers. The frosted drawer handles reflected a cold metallic sheen under the light, like countless silent eyes.

The air was stagnant as lead, and each breath felt like shards of ice scraping down his throat.

Fang Gang's heart pounded in his chest, not from fear—the surging, superhuman strength within him gave him immense confidence—but from a primal sense of vigilance and excitement for the unknown.

He gently closed the door, shutting out the faint light from the corridor outside. Only the monotonous, cold hum of the overhead fluorescent tubes remained in the morgue.

"Hoo... huff..."

"Hoo... huff..."

It's coming!

That sound! Crystal clear! Deep within the morgue!

Muffled, slow, with an unsettling, viscous quality.

Each inhale was like a worn-out bellows struggling to pull, each exhale accompanied by a heavy, moist sound, as if his lungs were filled with icy water.

This wasn't the breath of the living! It was more like... some cold, lifeless husk, forcefully mimicking the rhythm of the living!

The source of the sound... Fang Gang's sharp gaze instantly locked onto the direction the sound was coming from—the deepest part of the room, a row of body drawers against the wall.

He held his breath, lightened his steps, and crept silently towards the source of the sound, like a hunting beast.

The explosive power within him surged through his muscles, ready to be unleashed.

The closer he got, the clearer the breathing became, and the more intense the chilling aura.

Fang Gang could even feel a subtle prickling sensation on his skin, the Yin Energy attempting to erode his vigorous blood and qi.

Finally, he stopped before the body drawer from which the sound originated.

A plastic tag hung on the stainless steel drawer front, its writing slightly blurred but still legible:

Name: Zhang Qiang

Age: 32

Cause of Death: Traffic Accident (Multiple severe fractures)

Time of Admission: The day before yesterday, 14:30

A body admitted the day before yesterday? Fang Gang's brow furrowed.

The cold text on the tag and the eerie breathing emanating from behind the drawer door created a bizarre and horrifying contrast.

"Hoo... huff... Hoo... huff..."

The sound was right behind the door, incredibly close!

Fang Gang took a deep breath, suppressed the strange sensation churning in his heart, and firmly gripped the cold metal handle with his left hand. His right fist clenched, his entire body's strength instantly concentrated!

"Get out... you bastard!!"

With a low growl, Fang Gang used all his might to yank the heavy body drawer outward!

"Clang—!"

The metal slides shrieked!

The harsh white light instantly illuminated the drawer's interior.

A body, tightly wrapped in a white shroud, lay peacefully on the cold metal slab.

The shroud clearly outlined the human form, and the chest area rose and fell in sync with the eerie breathing!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Fang Gang's heart felt like it was about to leap out of his throat! The visual impact was far more intense than the auditory one!

A body that should have been stiff was... breathing?!

Just as his mind was violently shaken!

Whoosh!

The rising and falling shroud suddenly burst open!

A grayish-green hand claw, covered in corpse spots and with sharp, black nails, shot out like a cannonball, carrying a strong stench of corpse and an ice-piercing chilling wind, directly at Fang Gang's face!

Fast! Ruthless! Vicious! Its target was his eyes!

"You're looking to die!"

Fang Gang's pupils contracted, and he roared! In this life-or-death moment, the berserk power within him was fully ignited! He had no time to think of any specific technique; it was pure instinct and absolute strength crushing down!

Striking first despite attacking later! His right fist, imbued with 1.7 times his normal strength, carrying a sonic boom as it tore through the air, smashed fiercely towards the attacking corpse claw!

Crack!!!

The teeth-grinding sound of bone shattering exploded in the silent morgue!

That grayish-green corpse claw was as fragile as rotten wood under Fang Gang's fist! The bones of its forearm were smashed and broken, twisted into a grotesque angle! The broken bone pierced the skin, revealing stark white bone fragments!

"Aoooo—!!"

A non-human howl, filled with pain and fury, erupted from beneath the shroud! The sound was sharp and piercing, utterly unlike a human voice!

Fang Gang pressed his advantage! Strike while the iron was hot! He didn't give the ghastly thing a chance to breathe!

He stomped his left foot forward, making the floor tiles groan! His waist twisted, channeling the strength of his entire body like a surging river, converging once more on his right fist!

This time, his target was no longer the broken claw, but the heaving chest beneath the shroud!

"Die for me!!"

With a roar, Fang Gang's fist descended like a siege hammer, smashing down with immense force!

Bang—!!!

A muffled, deafening impact!

The corpse wrapped in the shroud, along with the metal morgue slab beneath it, was completely dented by this terrifying, peerless power! The massive impact caused the entire morgue cabinet to emit the sound of metal twisting under unbearable strain!

Squelch!

A clear, muffled sound, like a water-filled balloon being popped, came from beneath the shroud! The violently heaving chest instantly collapsed!

"Hk... hk..."

The non-human howl turned into a wheezing, dying gasp, like air leaking from a punctured lung.

The body wrapped in the shroud convulsed violently a few times before going completely limp.

An even more pungent stench, carrying the odor of decaying internal organs, spread throughout the area.

[Ding! 'Corpse Puppet (White Zombie Class)' eliminated! Gained 10 Evolution Points!]

[Ding! Absorbed Yin energy, converted into 0.5 Evolution Points! Current Evolution Points: 15.6!]

The system's notification chime was like heavenly music.

Fang Gang panted heavily, slowly retracting his fist. The knuckles were smeared with a viscous, dark green liquid that exuded a foul odor.

He looked at his dented, filth-covered fist, then at the completely still, collapsed corpse in the morgue cabinet, an indescribable surge of pride coursing through him!

Two punches! Just two punches! He had taken down this ghastly thing, which was clearly much stronger than the patch of black mist outside!

Strength! This was the exhilarating sense of overwhelming power!

If you can't find the book by its title, you can try searching for the author, perhaps the title has been changed!

His mind moved, and he brought up the system panel:

[Host: Fang Gang] [Realm: Mortal (Unranked)] [Strength: 1.7 (Beyond Mortal)] [Constitution: 0.8 (Average)] [Agility: 0.9 (Decent)] [Spirit: 1.1 (Resilient)] [Available Evolution Points: 15.6] [Cultivation Techniques: None] [Martial Skills: None] [Status: Yin Energy Erosion (Minor)]

"15.6 points..." Fang Gang licked his slightly chapped lips, his eyes flashing with excitement.

Killing that corpse puppet just now had exposed the weaknesses in his constitution and agility. He had reacted a split second too slow to the sudden attack.

"Constitution and Agility! Add 5 points to each!" Fang Gang commanded in his mind without hesitation.

[Ding! Consumed 10 Evolution Points! Constitution +5! Current Constitution: 5.8 (Iron Bones)!] [Ding! Consumed 5 Evolution Points! Agility +5! Current Agility: 5.9 (Swift as a Hare)!]

A stronger, deeper surge of heat than before instantly swept through his entire body!

His muscle fibers felt as if they were being injected with steel, becoming tougher and denser! His bones emitted a faint hum, growing harder! His body's flexibility and coordination also greatly improved, as if heavy shackles had been removed, making his movements incredibly light and agile!

Fang Gang clenched his fist forcefully, feeling the surging power within him and an inexhaustible supply of energy. His previous fatigue vanished, and a metallic sheen flickered beneath his skin.

"Steel muscles and bones... moving like a startled rabbit... this feels amazing!" Fang Gang couldn't help but let out a low growl, smashing a fist into an empty body locker beside him.

CLANG!!

A clear fist print appeared on the hard alloy cabinet door, denting deeply inward!

This power was more than a notch stronger than before!

Just then, the faint stinging sensation on the back of his hand returned.

Fang Gang looked down. He saw that the faint gray-black thread seemed a shade darker than before, and it had crept up by an inch, already approaching his wrist!

"Damn it, this thing is still here!" Fang Gang's expression darkened. He tried to mobilize the newly born, more vigorous and hot-blooded qi and blood within him to assault the gray line.

Hiss! Hiss!

As the qi and blood met the yin energy, a faint burning sound occurred.

The gray-black thread flickered slightly, and its spreading speed seemed to be curbed, but it didn't disappear. Instead, like a maggot gnawing on bone, it became more stubbornly rooted in the depths of his flesh and blood, with a deeper, bone-marrow-chilling coldness faintly emanating from it.

"Shit! This is so troublesome?" Fang Gang frowned deeply. This thing probably couldn't be dealt with by just killing one or two low-level evil spirits.

He needed to find a stronger power, or...

He suddenly remembered the text message on his phone – the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill!

"Right! A cultivation technique! The system can convert cultivation techniques!" Fang Gang's eyes lit up.

Hard-body cultivation techniques were precisely the ultimate path to strengthening the physical body and achieving a furnace-like state of qi and blood! Perhaps it could counter this yin energy!

He eagerly took out his phone and clicked the link for the pickup code in the text message.

The crematorium was in a remote location, but the operator's signal surprisingly still had one bar.

"8-5-666..." Fang Gang quickly entered the pickup code.

[Package Information:]
Recipient: Fang Gang
Item: "Vajra Indestructible Divine Art" (Revised Illustrated Edition)
Station: Niunai Express Station, West Alley Entrance, Old Town (Business Hours: 8:00-22:00)

"West Alley Entrance, Old Town... it's not too far from here!" Fang Gang estimated the distance, and a flame ignited in his eyes.

He'd go pick it up when daylight came! Buying a divine art for nine-nine kuai, this deal was too worth it!

Just as he was about to leave this damned place, his peripheral vision caught the corner of a piece of paper seemingly stuck in the gap of the duty room door.

He hadn't noticed it at all during the attack by that corpse puppet earlier.

Fang Gang walked over and bent down to pick up the crumpled piece of paper.

Under the pale light, a few words were scrawled in red ink, the strokes trembling, conveying extreme fear:

"Don't open... the cold storage... it's... listening..."

The signature was a crooked name: Uncle Wang.

Uncle Wang? The missing night shift security guard?!

Fang Gang's heart sank.

The contents of the note instantly made him think of the corpse puppet in the morgue that could "breathe."

What had Uncle Wang seen? What had he heard? Where was he now? The chilling words "it's listening" on the note pierced his mind like an ice pick.

He suddenly looked up, his gaze sharp as a knife, sweeping over the rows of cold body lockers.

The abnormality here was probably far more than just the thing he'd just dealt with! Uncle Wang's warning cast a deeper shadow over him.

"Hoo... exhale..."

An extremely faint, yet abnormally clear breathing sound, without any warning, once again came from a cold storage unit deep in the morgue!

This time, the sound was slower, colder, carrying a strange rhythm... as if it were listening intently.

Every hair on Fang Gang's body stood on end! A cold malice, ten times stronger than before and as tangible as substance, surged from the depths of the morgue like a tide, instantly locking onto him!

[Warning! Detected high concentration of Yin energy aggregation reaction! Threat Level: C (Vicious Ghost Class/Green Zombie Class)! Extremely Dangerous! Recommend Host to evacuate immediately!]

The system's alarm was sharper than ever before!

Fang Gang's expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he turned and charged towards the morgue door!

The agility attribute he had just improved came into play at this moment; his speed was so fast it left afterimages!

He burst through the morgue door and sprinted towards the outside of the crematorium without looking back!

Behind him, that slow and cold breathing sound, like a maggot gnawing on bone, clung to him tightly. From the depths of the morgue, the sound of heavy metal scraping against the ground seemed to echo...

Bursting out of the crematorium doors, the cold night wind rushed into his lungs. Fang Gang didn't dare to stop at all, sprinting towards the direction of the city.

As he ran, he subconsciously raised his right hand.

Under the scarlet light of the Blood Moon, he saw with horror that the gray-black thread on the back of his hand had turned as black as ink. And like a living thing, it suddenly shot upward by a large section, directly crossing his wrist and creeping towards his forearm!

A bone-chilling cold, accompanied by a stronger stinging sensation, instantly spread throughout his body!

"Damn it!" Fang Gang's face turned ashen.

Was this damned thing absorbing his strengthened qi and blood? Or... was it stimulated by that more terrifying thing inside?

He glanced back at the crematorium's silhouette, which resembled a giant tomb in the night, his eyes filled with dread and a hint of ruthlessness.

"Vajra Indestructible... I must get my hands on it as soon as possible!"