The Demon-Slaying System

Gloomy skies and a drizzling rain.

Complete darkness surrounded him on all sides, with only a single thin line of light remaining.

Through that crack, he could see the chaotic living room outside, and a car-sized, rat-shaped demon beast gnawing on a corpse.

--The Giant-Eyed Stink Rat.

Zhou Sining sat in a daze, the scene before his eyes feeling so real.

His nostrils could smell that sickening mixture of blood and beast stench, and his ears caught the continuous chewing sounds of the demon.

The memories in his mind gradually grew clear.

He had truly time-traveled, arriving inside the novel "Versatile Mage" he had just been reading.

He was an orphan with no attachments, having gone out to buy food at night only to unfortunately hit the jackpot.

The original body was one year junior to the protagonist Mo Fan, and had luckily awakened the Fire Element with a very good innate talent. Two years had passed, breaking through to Level 2, and casting magic required only three seconds.

After the Bo City disaster broke out, a Giant-Eyed Stink Rat broke into his home. In his panic, he hid in the wardrobe in this corner, while all his family members met their deaths.

Zhou Sining sat in terror, extremely unwilling to accept the fact that he had time-traveled.

He clutched his head to figure out a way to survive, but a few lines of text slowly emerged before his eyes.

[Zhou Sining]

[Life Points: 75 (Self) / 0 (Demons)]

[Fire Element Primary Level 2]

[Exchange]

[Self life points cannot fall below 1]

[Demons killed with one's own hands will be converted into corresponding life points]

[Life points can be exchanged for anything in the warehouse]

[A demon's life points ≠ Your life points]

What?

Zhou Sining blinked hard, only to discover that those few lines of text really were not an illusion.

Even though he was only twenty years old before time-traveling, he had after all been poisoned by webnovels for nearly ten years, and he quickly reacted to what these things meant.

A system!

There was hope!

His desire to survive surged, and he hurriedly focused his mind on that [Exchange]. The next second, the text before his eyes vanished, transforming into a tablet-sized screen.

[Demon-Slaying]

[Level: 1 (0/10)]

[Current Lottery Draws: 1 (Requires 50 Life Points)]

Aside from that, all sorts of commodities were arranged on the screen, and clicking them would reveal their detailed information and required [Life Points].

[100 RMB, from the disaster-stricken city, no need to worry about circulation. Life Points: 0.1]

[Tissue Paper * 100, four-layer thickened scented version. Life Points: 0.1]

[Delicious twice-cooked pork rice bowl, Life Points: 0.1]

[Shadowstep Boots, can burst out with the movement speed of Wind Element Primary Level 3. Life Points: 70]

[Tortoise Shell Shield, can withstand a fatal blow from a servant-level demon. Life Points: 70]

[Wind Blade Slash, the emitted wind blades can kill servant-level demons. Life Points: 72]

[Common-Level Stardust Magic Tool: Can provide a 20% cultivation speed. Life Points: 88.8]

Perhaps because it was Level 1, the quantity of commodities was pitifully small, and magic equipment could be counted on one's fingers—a total of four.

Looking back and forth, he could only choose one out of the [Shadowstep Boots], [Tortoise Shell Shield], and [Wind Blade Slash].

It wasn't that Zhou Sining hadn't considered the lottery, but thinking of his own bad luck, gambling on a lottery was no better than going straight outside to feed the Giant-Eyed Stink Rat.

Picking and choosing, Zhou Sining ultimately chose to exchange for the Demon-Slaying Tool [Wind Blade Slash].

In his current situation, boot magic equipment had no room to play a part, and shield magic equipment could save his life but could not provide a safe casting time.

Only the Demon-Slaying Tool, which could kill the Giant-Eyed Stink Rat with a single blow, could allow him to temporarily resolve the danger before him.

Moreover, this system had also said that killing demons could grant life points, and only with life points could he continue to exchange and thereby seek a way to survive!

Without hesitation, Zhou Sining immediately recited the exchange in his mind.

A flash of green light swept across his hand, and a palm-sized green flashlight appeared in his grip.

He quickly performed a mental connection without a teacher, instantly knowing how to use this Demon-Slaying Tool.

--Lock onto the target, press the button.

Just that simple.

Then let's try it, it's death either way.

Zhou Sining hardened his heart and once again observed the living room through the crack.

The Giant-Eyed Stink Rat had its back to him, making crunching sounds like it was eating cartilage.

Holding his breath and focusing, he slowly pushed the crack open, thinking that making it just wide enough to stick the flashlight out would do.

"Creeak--!"

The old wooden door made a harsh sound.

The Giant-Eyed Stink Rat stopped, and Zhou Sining's heart stopped at that exact moment too!

Within the one-finger-wide field of vision, that Giant-Eyed Stink Rat slowly turned its head, its eerie blue eyes locking directly onto Zhou Sining behind the cabinet door. Its pupil was as big as a basketball, and the tumors covering its eyes rolled around, making goosebumps crawl all over his skin.

"Gugu!!"

Abruptly, the Giant-Eyed Stink Rat's pupil seemed to be condensing something, and one could see its basketball-sized pupil contracting violently!

The energy reached a critical point, and instantly a bloody red beam of light shot out from this monster's pupil!

Fuck!

Zhou Sining's mind went blank for a second, and the instinct for survival made his body react quickly, scrambling out of the wardrobe in a clumsy tumble.

Unable to care about the bloody stench frantically pouring into his nasal cavity and the pain in his body, he rolled over and aimed the flashlight at the Giant-Eyed Stink Rat!

The distance between the two was no more than three meters, which for the Giant-Eyed Stink Rat was nothing more than the time it took to blink an eye!

Leaving no room for Zhou Sining to think, he pressed the button hard.

"Whoosh!!"

Just as that bloody giant mouth of the Giant-Eyed Stink Rat lunged right in front of his eyes, a crescent-like, sharp green gale flew out from the flashlight!

This Wind Blade easily sliced off half of the Giant-Eyed Stink Rat's head, finally leaving a crescent slash mark on the ceiling.

Fresh blood instantly splattered, splashing all over Zhou Sining. The stench of blood surged wildly into his nasal cavity, and before his eyes was once again a vast expanse of red, along with that slowly collapsing corpse.

"Ugh~!"

Zhou Sining, finally coming to his senses, couldn't hold it in anymore and retched on the ground.

At the same time, those blue words appeared in his mind once again.

[Slain 1 Servant Level • Giant-Eyed Stink Rat, acquired 22 Life Points (Demon Beast)]

[Demon Beast corpses converted into Life Points will no longer have any value. That is, souls and rare materials will not appear, and the flesh and blood will rot and deteriorate at an abnormal rate.]

[Life Points: 3 (Self) / 22 (Demon Beast)]

[Current self Life Points is 3, can only maintain current life state for 3 years]

"Damn it!"

Zhou Sining cursed in his heart, but quickly turned his mindset around.

He had survived after all, matters of lifespan could be discussed later; heaven never cuts off all avenues of escape.

He glanced at the corpse of the Giant-Eyed Stink Rat, finding that the blood, which had been scalding hot just moments ago, had gone completely cold.

Many black patches had also appeared on the bright red flesh.

This was what the system meant by saying that Demon Beasts slain by his own hands could only be converted into Life Points, leaving even the flesh and blood value of the corpse itself non-existent.

It seemed he wouldn't be able to make money by killing Demon Beasts to extract Spirit Essences in the future.

However, this wasn't the problem to consider right now; the most urgent task was to survive.

Zhou Sining looked around, his mind also gradually clearing up.

His home was a self-built two-story building, with the first floor used to run a small grocery store and the second floor for living.

Staying at home until dawn was unrealistic; heaven knew if more Demon Beasts would barge in.

The Wind Blade Slash magic equipment only had a single charge left, and his Fire Element magic took three seconds to cast.

The Safe Barrier zone was about one kilometer away from him.

Too far.

Zhou Sining walked close to the window. Downstairs was an asphalt road, along with countless small alleys.

The street was empty with no people in sight. Looking into the distance, he could see shattered buildings and towering flames, and the roars of Demon Beasts echoed in his ears from time to time.

A drizzle was still falling, and under the Crimson Alert, the very air of Bo City was filled with despair.

One kilometer was truly too far for him.

If only he could run into the team from Tianlan Magic High School in the original story.

As Zhou Sining thought this, a few figures suddenly appeared within his field of vision.

They gathered and crouched by the pile of garbage at the street corner of the opposite alley, holding their breath and concentrating.

"Thud!!!"

"Thud!!!"

Heavy footsteps rang out, and with every step forward, one could feel the surrounding buildings vibrating noticeably.

A massive Fierce Wolf head slowly raised itself from a single-story building, the rows of barbs and vicious bone teeth upon that head so striking!