An Unexpected Turn

As the walking corpses gradually moved farther away, Huo Ling wiped his forehead, brushing away cold sweat that did not exist.

He admitted that he had still underestimated the walking corpses. This wave was not even particularly large, with only a few hundred of them.

None of them should have possessed strength comparable to a Black Iron professional.

Yet even ordinary walking corpses could cause such terrifying commotion. It was hard to imagine how dreadful hordes numbering in the tens or even hundreds of thousands would be.

Tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful. Whether it was the lingering scent of rat blood in the air or the noise caused by the walking corpses' frantic charge, both would slowly draw more walking corpses over.

After the walking corpses left, Huo Ling began shallow meditation to replace sleep.

From time to time, he could hear more walking corpses approaching. Whenever that happened, he had to stop and wait for the horde to leave before entering meditation again.

Tonight's corpse hordes varied in size. The larger ones contained two or three thousand walking corpses, while the smaller ones had several hundred. The smallest horde had only around a dozen.

It seemed that the group of a dozen or so walking corpses had only recently gathered, or had been left behind by a larger horde.

Some corpse hordes merely passed by, but in others, walking corpses staggered up into the building where the rat had died.

Watching this, Huo Ling only wanted to move out the moment daylight came. Who could endure a whole night of this nerve-racking terror?

He had never expected the scent of blood from one rat to keep attracting walking corpses upstairs to investigate. How many would the six goblin corpses left behind from the daytime battle attract?

He did not even dare imagine that scene. To the walking corpses, it would probably be a feast.

Once all the walking corpses had left, Huo Ling shook his head and entered shallow meditation again.

Dawn was breaking, and the sun was about to rise.

But Huo Ling's expression was rather grim. Several dozen walking corpses were still lingering downstairs.

This was the last wave of walking corpses. After traveling a long distance, they had happened to reach this place, and several of them had smelled blood. They were now searching upstairs.

Sure enough, the thing he feared most had happened. These walking corpses had already sensed the change in light, and they probably would not keep moving forward.

This was the worst possible outcome. If these walking corpses did not continue onward, then once the sun rose, they would inevitably enter the buildings on either side to avoid the sunlight.

Huo Ling did not dare move now either. He could only pray that these walking corpses would not enter his building.

But heaven did not grant his wish. As the sun rose, weak sunlight began to spill across the ground.

The sunlight fell upon the walking corpses. They raised their heads and let out low hisses.

Although sunlight could not truly harm them, they loathed the sensation intensely.

One by one, they staggered into the buildings on both sides.

Several walking corpses even entered Huo Ling's building.

Huo Ling was so frightened that he barely dared breathe, afraid that any sound he made would draw the walking corpses over.

Fortunately, he had chosen a relatively high floor. The walking corpses were currently staying around the first and second floors.

Huo Ling did not dare spare his mental power. He checked the number of walking corpses in his building.

There were five in total: three on the second floor and two on the first.

What should he do?

Should he stay where he was and wait until nightfall for these walking corpses to leave on their own?

The moment that thought arose, Huo Ling dismissed it himself. There were too many uncertainties in that plan.

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No one knew what the walking corpses might do next, or whether they would come up to the fourth floor.

Waiting until nightfall would be even more dangerous. That would mean placing his fate directly in the hands of the walking corpses.

Huo Ling considered using a rope to slowly lower himself from the fourth floor. That was an option, and he had the rope his deskmate had given him in his backpack.

But Huo Ling scanned the room and found nothing sturdy enough to bear the weight of a tied rope plus his own body.

The furnishings inside were already ruined beyond repair, and the window brackets were even flimsier, leaving only skeletal frames. It was hard to believe they could support his weight as he descended.

He let out a soft breath. At this point, he was probably left with only one option: fight his way out.

Huo Ling slowly sat down and closed his eyes, occasionally using his mental power to observe the movements of the walking corpses downstairs.

As the sun gradually rose and sunlight shone down, the walking corpses slowly moved into dark corners of the rooms where the sun could not reach.

Seeing this, Huo Ling thought that if he moved carefully and made no sound while passing through the stairwell, those walking corpses should not come out.

But unfortunately, one walking corpse was hiding from the sunlight midway between the first and second floors.

That was the only path Huo Ling could take downstairs. He waited for an hour, but the walking corpse showed no sign of leaving.

Huo Ling knew he could not wait any longer. The longer he waited, the more variables there would be.

He carefully slung his backpack over his shoulders, picked up the spear made from a short knife and the fire axe, then quietly stepped outside.

No matter what, Huo Ling was no longer powerless. He still had spells.

It was just a pity that White Bone Fangs attacked in a straight line and could not turn. Otherwise, Huo Ling would have blown that walking corpse's head off directly from upstairs.

Under his mental detection, the walking corpses remained with their eyes closed during the day, reducing their bodily consumption to the minimum.

Only when sunlight shone on them would they be unable to resist moving to find another dark corner.

Huo Ling silently went downstairs. When he reached the third floor, he could already see the walking corpse hiding in the stairwell through the gaps in the stairs.

The building's structure had windows in the walls on both sides of the stairwell, originally meant to provide light for the stairs.

Now that light happened to restrict the walking corpse's movements. Sunlight streamed in from above and below, pinning it precisely in a corner. Otherwise, it would likely have gone into a room long ago.

Since he had spotted the walking corpse, Huo Ling had no intention of getting any closer.

He formed the rune in his mind. Three seconds passed in an instant, and a tiny White Bone Fang floated beside Huo Ling once more.

"Whoosh!"

White Bone Fang sliced through the air, producing a faint sound.

The walking corpse had its eyes closed, but it seemed to hear something. Its ears twitched slightly.

Before it could react, however, White Bone Fang had already arrived, striking it directly in the head.

"Bang!"

The struck walking corpse was instantly blown apart at the head. Thick blood and brain matter splattered everywhere, and the stench of blood began to spread.

Meanwhile, Huo Ling did not dare move at all. He expanded his mental scan to its limit, monitoring the movements of the remaining walking corpses in the building.

Those walking corpses had clearly heard the sound and smelled the blood, but they did not open their eyes or move.

Huo Ling was overjoyed. It seemed that during the day, when there was sunlight, these walking corpses were far less dangerous.

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