บท 19: Chapter 19: Hidden Monster
The 17th floor was cleared, with six rooms totaling seven or eight corpses which were all piled together.
Although there had been a dispute, the reappearance of He Fang seemed to gloss over the matter, only there was no eager conversation anymore.
The group set off to continue clearing the upper floors, hoping that the last three floors could be completely cleared before evening, but a strange situation occurred.
The 18th floor was empty, the floor was covered with bloodstains, and the doors of the six rooms were wide open, marked with blood and showing signs of concave impact, with no sign of any living thing.
"What, what's going on?"
The unusual situation made everyone feel a bit uneasy, and Chen Jun, who was next to He Fang, couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
Cheng Zhenyong said, "Maybe the creatures have concentrated on other floors, everyone be extra careful."
No need for Cheng Zhenyong to say it, everyone became cautious on their own. Although no creatures were in sight, the hidden dangers troubled them more than the monsters that had been attacking previously.
Cheng Zhenyong looked around at everyone and then said, "Let's split up and check the rooms, be careful."
The group then split up to explore the six rooms on this floor, which all were similar, with doors wide open. Entering the rooms, they were all in disarray, with belongings scattered everywhere and bloodstains covering the entire living room and bedroom.
Wang Qian and Chen Jun, who was an assistant to He Fang, were a team. The two of them entered a room and cautiously scanned the surroundings.
Upon entering, they immediately saw a woman corpse lying face down on the disheveled living room floor.
Seeing this scene, Wang Qian frowned and made a face of disgust, covering his nose he said, "It's a woman, not a monster."
Chen Jun came to the same conclusion, nodding his head. Seeing no monsters, he somewhat relaxed, "Let's find anything useful first; we don't need to bother with the body."
Wang Qian nodded and said, "I'll go check the bedroom."
The two split up, one heading to the kitchen and the other to the bedroom to search for supplies.
Wang Qian manipulated the corpse as he headed to the bedroom, seeking not just food and medical supplies that were useful post-apocalypse, but also something valuable.
He had his own judgments about the apocalypse, reasoning that if he could kill creatures like corpses with a knife, then officials with firearms could kill even more, and they would have more Contractors. As long as they were around, order would inevitably be restored someday, and by then, what mattered wouldn't be food.
With everyone busy trying to survive, nobody had time to care for gold and jewels, which was perfect for him to help himself to a bit more, better than being needy later.
Thinking this, he had been discreetly taking jewelry from homeowners during the search. Seeing that the homeowner was a woman, he once again saw an opportunity: Women always have some jewelry.
"Ah, a gold necklace?"
Wang Qian's eyes suddenly caught a flash of light from the neck of the woman lying face down on the ground, and upon closer inspection, it was indeed a gold necklace.
The necklace, although stained with blood, didn't conceal its true nature.
Sorry, pretty lady, this necklace is mine now.
Wang Qian thought to himself with a smile, stealthily glancing at Chen Jun in the kitchen who hadn't noticed him, then boldly tiptoed over.
He approached the woman's corpse, crouched down silently, and reached out his large hand toward her neck. He grabbed the necklace and yanked it hard, breaking it instantly and catching it in his hand.
A smug smile appeared on his face as he weighed it, pleased: This has some weight to it, worth at least tens of thousands before the apocalypse.
"Roar"
His pleasure didn't last long when a low growl suddenly came from in front of him and he quickly looked down to see the corpse move.
Instantly his face turned ashen, dark tentacles spread out from beneath the corpse, and in an instant, they wrapped around his wrist holding the necklace.
The tentacles were pitch black, covered in disgusting slime, and their rough skin tightly gripped his wrist, painfully tight, like a leech stretched dozens of times over.
Although only as thick as a thumb, the tentacles made his wrist feel almost snapped, and fear surged in his heart.
Wang Qian screamed, and Chen Jun immediately rushed out, witnessing the horrifying scene.
The woman's corpse had slowly stood up, her body upright, her skin so pale it seemed like thin paper. On this bloodless skin, blue-black veins sprawled across her entire body like menacing centipedes, making it look exceedingly terrifying.
What terrified Chen Jun even more was that the once delicate and beautiful face was now covered with thumb-sized blood holes, secreting bloody mucus and coating her whole face, making her look like a blood-soaked honeycomb.
Blood holes continued to secrete thick blood plasma, and dark tentacles stretched out powerfully from them, writhing like cold snakes.
"Save me! Save me! Quick, kill it, kill this monster!"
Wang Qian was extremely scared, his body trembling uncontrollably, his face deathly pale.
He ordered his own Meat Corpse to attack the Tentacle-faced Monster. At the same time, he desperately called for Chen Jun's help from the kitchen.
Unfortunately, the distance between him and the kitchen was quite significant, and the proximity of the Tentacle-faced Monster was too close. It was so near that its tentacles could easily pull him closer. The foul smell of sticky mucus was within arm's reach, and the tendrils that stretched out from the Blood Hole curled up visibly. On this horrific face, the only remaining intact feature, a huge gaping mouth, had already opened wide in hunger, revealing a set of sharp teeth.
The Tentacle-faced Monster aimed its gaping mouth at his neck and bit down hard. Blood spurted out, and the tentacles danced even more vigorously as if they were enjoying their meal.
Wang Qian gradually lost his breath of life. As he approached, Angel Envoy Meat Corpse, following Wang Qian's death, ceased its movements and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Seeing that the situation was bad, Chen Jun immediately wanted to flee. He ordered his Meat Corpse to block the Tentacle-faced Monster.
Obeying the command, the Angel Envoy Meat Corpse charged towards the Tentacle-faced Monster, pounced on the creature, and prepared to pound it with its strong, powerful claws while its tooth-filled mouth bit down.
However, before the attack could fully take effect, only a few marks were left when those leech-like tentacles started to move again, crazily extending and coiling around the Meat Corpse's neck and tightly binding its arms as well.
The Meat Corpse struggled mightily against the leech-like tentacles, stretching them taut, but it couldn't break free. At this moment, the Tentacle-faced Monster started counterattacking, biting at Chen Jun's Angel Envoy Meat Corpse with its sharp fingers and teeth. A loud "bang" sounded as the door was forcefully smashed open, and Su Han rushed in with the Four-armed Corpse, immediately spotting the creature, unlike the Meat Corpse.
"Attack!"
Su Han issued the command directly, and the Four-armed Corpse immediately launched an attack, charging into the living room.
It grabbed at the tentacles connecting the Meat Corpse and the Tentacle-faced Monster, its sharp claws instantly severing the tough tentacles. Disgusting red mucus dripped down, and the pain caused the tentacles to convulse, instantly staining the entire living room red.
"Roar!"
A sharp roar echoed as the Tentacle-faced Monster went mad from having its tentacles severed.
It faced the Four-armed Corpse head-on, pouncing like a wild beast, attempting to strike the Four-armed Corpse with its gaping mouth.
However, the Four-armed Corpse didn't give it the opportunity, delivering a heavy punch like a huge sledgehammer that sent it flying.
"Crack!"
The Tentacle-faced Monster was directly fractured, its chest caved in, one arm already twisted.
The Four-armed Corpse strode forward, then grabbed the Tentacle-faced Monster's neck, lifting it from the ground and suspending it in mid-air.
Cheng Zhenyong and He Fang quickly arrived, standing in the corridor with a direct view of the Four-armed Corpse seizing the Tentacle-faced Monster. Shocked, they exclaimed, "What in the world is this creature?"
Not expecting that there were creatures dissimilar to Meat Corpses, Cheng Zhenyong's eyes caught a glimpse of Wang Qian's corpse on the ground, his pupils sharply contracting: someone had actually died.
"Brother Su Han, what is going on here?"
Su Han looked at Chen Jun, who was turning pale, "You should ask him about this matter."
With the crisis resolved and his own Angel Envoy Meat Corpse released, Chen Jun finally started to recover a bit.
"When we came in, we only saw a corpse and weren't concerned until we realized it was a special monster. Wang Qian went to the bedroom to look for supplies, probably not paying attention, and that's when the monster suddenly killed him."
"It's likely not sudden but rather greed."
At this point, Yan Meiyu's voice chimed in. Everyone followed her gaze to see that Wang Qian was clenching tightly onto a necklace in his palm, which was also tightly gripped and bloodstained, evidently a woman's style.
Seeing this scene, everyone also understood what had happened.
Greed had gotten the better of him, landing him in this fatal situation. It was hard to say whether he was clever or just foolish.
"Wealth is important, but staying alive is even more crucial. Everyone be careful when searching; that's all I can say."
Cheng Zhenyong briefly reminded everyone before instructing someone to take care of Wang Qian's body, covering it with a sheet to deal with it later.
With no family present, this treatment was the most compassionate he could offer.
The atmosphere within the team inevitably became heavier with a death, but the necessary clearing work continued. If the remaining two floors weren't cleared, more accidents might happen.
Moreover, Wang Qian's death wasn't entirely without value; whether it was Su Han, Yan Meiyu, or He Fang, they all noticed something.
Wang Qian's Angel Envoy Meat Corpse died too peacefully, almost without any damage. In other words, when a Contractor dies, the contracted Angel Envoy is very likely to die immediately.
This realization sent a chill through everyone, making them even more cautious about their own safety to avoid sudden attacks from monsters or from some people.
The group briefly cleaned up the 18th floor and then continued towards the 19th floor. However, even though they did not encounter any more Tentacle-faced Monsters or even Meat Corpses this time,
the eerily quiet 19th floor exuded a suspicious and unsettling feeling, making everyone uneasy.
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