Chapter Eleven: A New Discovery

A shroud of darkness.

This time, Fan Li did not choose to act during the day. The commotion last time had been too great, and he wasn’t sure if any of the building’s “neighbors” had noticed. After his encounter with the zombie family, Fan Li understood that caution was essential in all things. Night was when the undead prowled; even within the closed-off building, the cacophony from outside was clear and unceasing.

With no electricity, the entire stairwell was pitch-black—a scene a hundred times more terrifying than any haunted house at an amusement park. In a haunted house, the scares came from hired actors; here, the monsters were real, creatures that could rival the horrors of legends.

An ordinary person might be unable to walk properly in such darkness, but since Fan Li had triggered his special ability, he had gained a basic form of night vision. He needed no flashlight to perceive his surroundings, which was the key to his solitary explorations of the building.

Basic night vision—an undeniably useful trait.

What Fan Li saw was not the usual spectrum of colors but a world rendered in shades of gray and white, like that of the color-blind.

Summoning all his strength, Fan Li kicked the stairwell door open. The sounds from outside masked his “crime.” Unlike the previous zombie household, what greeted him now was a slightly longer corridor, its walls plastered with anime posters. Directly ahead stood a life-sized model of a female character—long blue hair, golden ornaments on either side, a playful expression, a petal-shaped collar, and a staff in her hand.

Fan Li didn’t know which character this was, but his gaze was drawn to a thick stack of coins at her feet.

“This is practically money made tangible.”

Was this the foyer of an anime enthusiast’s home? Using such a large figurine to separate the entrance from the hallway clearly spoke of wealth, but Fan Li hadn’t expected such opulence.

A sudden creak of footsteps from within the apartment made Fan Li tense. He hadn’t moved since kicking the door—so the noise came from inside.

A figure leaned halfway into view.

Fan Li instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon.

The expression was vacant, the eyes lifeless, the movements oddly stiff—there could be no doubt: the figure had mutated into a zombie.

He was slightly overweight, dressed in shorts with a bare torso, and in his hand was a scantily clad figurine. Fan Li could almost picture the youth carefully cleaning his prized collection before disaster struck and he transformed into this wretched state.

The zombie released its grip; the expensive figurine clattered to the floor, then it lumbered forward, stepping directly onto its former treasure. The allure of animated characters was lost to it now. All that could excite it was the scent of living flesh and blood.

Lowering his stance like a poised leopard, Fan Li kept his grip on the hammer—the same one that had dispatched a zombie before. Despite his efforts to clean it, traces of blood still marred the weapon.

The zombie’s pace quickened. Fan Li couldn’t tell whether it had seen him or merely smelled human flesh, but once it realized a human stood before it, it launched itself in attack.

An important discovery!

Fan Li had chosen to act at night precisely to see whether zombies would behave differently in different environments. It seemed they too possessed some form of night vision or heightened sense of smell. Even in this utter darkness, it could pinpoint his location.

Thinking of the zombies outside, this was bad news indeed.

As the zombie picked up speed, Fan Li didn’t simply retreat. He swung the hammer forward.

The corridor was narrow, leaving the zombie with no room to dodge.

Fan Li didn’t summon Ellie. He knew the little monster could easily dispatch this zombie, but summoning her required offering food, and that meant his kill count would stay fixed at 100/2, refusing to climb.

No need to play his trump card just yet. In this situation, Fan Li chose to trust his own strength.

With a crisp crack, the overweight zombie toppled backward but did not immediately die as the apron-wearing zombie had before. Instead, after a moment’s trembling, it staggered and rose again.

Fan Li hadn’t finished it with a single blow.

But he wasn’t surprised. He had already noticed that zombies varied greatly in resilience.

The apron-wearing zombie had been a woman in life, her body naturally weaker, making it possible for Fan Li to kill her with one heavy strike. The overweight zombie before him, once a man weighing between 150 and 160 pounds, survived the blow—a reasonable outcome. After all, Fan Li was just an ordinary man, his strength no match for a true athlete or boxer.

Still, the zombie had not escaped unscathed—a deep dent marred the center of its skull, and fetid blood oozed down its neck. The force of the hammer blow left Fan Li’s hand tingling, proof he had used all his might. This time, though, he did not fear losing his weapon mid-fight—the hammer was now secured with cloth strips.

After the first strike, the zombie’s movements grew sluggish, as though drunk. Fan Li noted how injuries caused zombies’ bodies to change.

He did not hesitate. Fear resistance allowed him to face the horror calmly. He crouched, dashed forward, and with a fluid motion brought the hammer down again. The overweight zombie collapsed once more—this time, it did not rise.

[Kill Value +1]

[3/100]

His kill value had grown; Fan Li was one step closer to his next summoning.

He hadn’t forgotten his purpose here. With the zombie dead, Fan Li stepped over its head without a second thought and entered the apartment.

The living room was lined with glass cabinets, each crowded with figurines.

Fan Li scanned the room. Aside from the collectibles, there was not a scrap of food—something he had anticipated, though it still disappointed him.

He did not give up searching. He opened the bedroom. Here, the models were larger, each displayed behind individual glass domes, signaling even greater value.

At the center of the room, something caught Fan Li’s eye. A rectangular glass case housed a single item—a katana. Even with his night vision, the blade’s cold gleam could not be hidden.

Fan Li took a few steps closer, peering into the case. Beneath the blade lay a wooden plaque, inscribed with two characters:

Muramasa.