Yin soldiers borrowed the road; the living must stand aside.
As Fan Shang's axe fell, Wang Xiaotou's forehead split open instantly.
But he wasn't finished. One strike, two strikes, three...
Because anomalies had such tenacious vitality, Fan Shang hacked down dozens of times in succession to prevent any surprises.
All to make sure nothing like this happened again.
"You died because you didn't chop my head into mince," or "You died because you didn't smash my head completely"-that sort of bullshit...
After all, Fan Shang had nearly died precisely because he hadn't been cautious enough.
And sure enough, just as he was thinking that...
One slightly larger fragment of the anomalous head on the ground, which had almost been chopped into mince, was trembling faintly.
"Still not dead?"
At the sight, Fan Shang's gaze sharpened.
Immediately, he raised the axe high.
He was ready to bring it down at once.
He wouldn't give her a chance to struggle and kill him instead.
But to Fan Shang's surprise...
The anomalous head, almost reduced to fragments, didn't struggle or resist.
Instead, it squirmed in one direction, its blood-covered mouth opening and closing as if trying to say something.
Then a voice sounded.
"M... Mommy..."
Honestly, even Fan Shang was a little stunned by those words, but his hands didn't stop.
The fire axe in his hands came crashing down.
At that moment, Fan Shang finally killed the girl who had sent his emotions surging.
[Ding! Host detected killing level 0 anomaly Little Head Wang Xiaoxue. Survival points +200]
At the notification, Fan Shang's tense expression finally relaxed. Even his expressionless face lifted slightly when he saw the survival points +200.
But that trace of joy didn't last long. A sudden sound caught Fan Shang's attention.
At the end of the Ghost Road, a swaying figure was approaching.
Even from a distance, he could hear faint, overlapping voices coming from that strange, round creature.
"Hee... hee... hee..."
"Ha... ha... ha..."
"Heh... heh... heh..."
"..."
Seeing that familiar round flower head and the human heads bobbing on it, how could Fan Shang not know what it was?
"Heh. Almost forgot about you."
Yes, this was the very anomaly that had been chasing their convoy all along.
The Compound-Eyed Sunflower.
The compound eyes around its flower head had opened, their scarlet pupils staring fixedly toward Fan Shang.
Moreover, the heads that once again filled its flower head looked at Fan Shang, their eyes flashing with...
Greed and venom.
"Human... the smell of a human..."
A slit opened in the flower head, and a voice emerged, overlapping the voices of men and women, young and old.
It was hoarse and chilling, with an indescribably eerie quality.
But that was only natural.
After all, it was an anomaly.
As the Compound-Eyed Sunflower approached, the corners of Fan Shang's mouth, which had lifted slightly at gaining survival points, turned downward.
An indescribable chill once again rose in his pitch-black eyes.
Because, when it came down to it, the reason he had suffered so badly this time, even facing mortal danger, was ultimately this sunflower anomaly.
And so, Fan Shang didn't believe it would spare him. Likewise...
Fan Shang had never intended to spare it.
Being chased by anomalies before awakening was one thing, but still being chased after awakening?
Then what the hell had he awakened for?!
"Human... human... human!!!"
The Compound-Eyed Sunflower shrieked, its roots thrashing wildly as it charged straight at Fan Shang like a thing possessed.
As it moved, the little heads in its flower head kept shooting out like cannonballs.
Their mouths puckered into sharp, steel-needle-like beaks that could punch huge holes even through car doors.
Fan Shang had no doubt that, before awakening, he would have struggled to dodge projectiles this fast from within a hundred meters.
If one hit him, it would punch a huge hole through him even with his constitution of 11.
Let alone an ordinary person.
Their body might burst apart outright if struck.
But... again, that was Fan Shang before awakening.
Now, he had awakened!
Now, he had the ability to kill anomalies. This Compound-Eyed Sunflower wanted to kill and eat him?
Then they would see who died first!!!
"Kill!!!"
Fan Shang growled, and a Ghost Road instantly stretched from beneath his feet to beneath the Compound-Eyed Sunflower.
Then he tightened his grip on the fire axe, lowered his body slightly, and lunged.
Fan Shang drove off with his feet and shot forward!
In Fan Shang's vision, the little heads hurtling toward him began to slow.
Seeing this, Fan Shang raised his fire axe. In the next instant, dozens of cold flashes streaked through the air.
Those heads hurtling toward Fan Shang like cannonballs...
Shattered in mere moments.
And out of caution, following the principle of two strikes to the neck and one to the head, Fan Shang chopped every head into several pieces.
"Excuse me, coming through!"
Then, with another step...
Fan Shang was already in front of the Compound-Eyed Sunflower.
On the Ghost Road, not only was Fan Shang's strength enhanced, but his speed and reflexes were greatly boosted as well.
This was the ability of Fan Shang's Yin Soldier Sequence.
[Yin Soldier's Borrowed Road]
But even so, even with his Sequence ability supporting him, Fan Shang was still only a Sequence One who had just become a Sequence Transcendent.
Moreover, even before becoming a Sequence Transcendent, Fan Shang's stamina had been inadequate. He simply couldn't sustain a long battle.
Facing this level 1 anomaly, this terrifying Compound-Eyed Sunflower, Fan Shang could only end the fight quickly.
The Compound-Eyed Sunflower clearly realized this too and let out a giggle.
"Hee-hee... human... human... eat..."
It knew that if it held on a little longer, just a little longer, it could eat the delicious human before it.
But... so what?
Fan Shang looked at the Compound-Eyed Sunflower before him, at its spread leaves and roots, and sensed the terrifying force within them.
The corners of Fan Shang's mouth spread into a grim smile.
After all, he had come to kill it. If he couldn't, then he might as well die right here!!!
Sensing the killing intent in Fan Shang's eyes, the Compound-Eyed Sunflower's enormous roots lashed at him without hesitation.
The rush of air stirred up by the roots whipped Fan Shang's white hair wildly.
"Bring it on!"
Fan Shang ducked beneath the attack, then swiftly closed in on the sunflower's flower head.
His axe crashed down, drawing a spray of crimson blood.
The Compound-Eyed Sunflower screamed and whipped Fan Shang away, then sent its little heads hurtling toward him like cannonballs.
The sunflower knew it couldn't let Fan Shang get close, or it would be at a disadvantage. Wearing down and killing the human before it with its little heads was the best choice.
Fan Shang knew the same thing. Only by getting close could he kill this anomaly in the shortest time possible.
So, without hesitation, Fan Shang suppressed the urge to vomit blood, steadied himself, and charged straight at the sunflower.
He twisted aside to evade the many incoming heads, but he was still injured. One lapse, and a head punched straight through his left arm.
But he didn't care, nor did he stop.
He simply charged like a madman until he reached the sunflower.
Then, before the layer of black mist could cover the wound and repair it, his fire axe came crashing down.
Riiip-
An unknown black membrane tore with an audible rip.
Then, accompanied by a scream, the wound he had already cut became twice as deep.
Crimson blood spilled out, and immensely powerful roots followed.
But this time, Fan Shang was prepared. Instead of being swept up by the roots, he dodged them.
Then he brought his axe down viciously again.
The searing pain utterly enraged the Compound-Eyed Sunflower.
Its roots thrashed, striking the highway with such terrifying force that the pavement cracked and scattered rubble. The sunflower even fired the heads in its flower head like mad, heedless of whether it hurt itself.
In mere moments, Fan Shang and the sunflower exchanged dozens of blows.
To stay close, Fan Shang had suffered bloody holes and dozens of wounds across his body.
But... so what?
By this point, both sides were already blinded by bloodlust. One of them had to die!
"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!!!"
Fan Shang roared, swinging his fire axe without pause.
"Come on, anomaly! Don't you want to eat me? Don't you want to kill me? Come on, I'm right here!!"
"Come on! Kill me!!"
Roaring, Fan Shang reached the center of the flower head and swung his axe. The enormous flower head was cleaved halfway through.
"Human... human... hee-hee... boo-hoo..."
Feeling that indescribable pain, the sunflower thrust its roots toward Fan Shang to impale him.
But even in that short time, Fan Shang's body and perception were already different from before.
He avoided a fatal injury at the cost of getting wounded, then swung at the sunflower again.
Riiip-
The axe sank into the flower head, inflicting another burst of agony.
At that moment, the Compound-Eyed Sunflower met Fan Shang's eyes again.
But as it looked into those ink-black eyes filled with killing intent...
For some reason, the Compound-Eyed Sunflower felt fear for the first time.
Then it heard Fan Shang's voice.
"You think... you can kill me?!!!"
A growl like a wild beast's.
It was scared. The Compound-Eyed Sunflower was scared.
It flung Fan Shang away with a root and retreated madly. It wanted to run. It wanted to escape...
"Hee... human... no... scary... so... sc..."
But would Fan Shang give it that chance?
No. Obviously not.
Fan Shang raced toward it along the Ghost Road.
Under the Compound-Eyed Sunflower's terrified gaze, the fire axe rose high.
Then...
It swung down!
The flower head was split completely in two.
"Aaaaah!!!"
[Ding! Host detected killing multiple mature and immature level 0 Little Head anomalies. Total survival points +1500] [Ding! Host detected killing level 1 anomaly Compound-Eyed Sunflower. Survival points +2000]
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