Chapter Sixty-Six: A Terrifying Discovery

The sudden appearance of Fan Li, wielding an inverted crucifix, had stunned the Butcher into submission. After that, he returned to the apartment building. This was where it all began, a place imbued with special meaning for Fan Li—here, he could enjoy a moment of peace.

He took a sip of porridge, his brows unconsciously furrowing; his mouth ached terribly. The wound on his tongue would need time to heal.

After a trek that included slaying several zombies and earning ten points of Slaughter Value, Fan Li finally made his way back to the base of the building. Yet as he approached, he sensed something amiss—the mist enveloping the area was unnaturally strange. There hadn't been any at the nearby intersection, but here, it shrouded only his residence.

An anomaly.

Having endured encounters with the Titan, the Weeper, and the Nightmare, Fan Li had gained some understanding of these monsters. Unlike ordinary zombies, they possessed bizarre abilities, and the mist around the building likely signaled the handiwork of such a creature.

The three-headed zombie that had devoured the Titan's corpse—Fan Li had already encountered two who had evolved. He suspected the remaining one had also mutated, lurking nearby.

Aili was still asleep, unable to be summoned, and Fan Li's only available helper was the recently acquired Butcher. Yet as he prepared to summon it, he recalled an awkward problem—his skin, due to its peculiar properties, had become petrified; ordinary blades could not cut it, nor could he use his blood to anoint the crucifix.

To summon recklessly would invite disaster; Fan Li would not lightly touch this forbidden ritual.

With the monster likely hiding somewhere nearby, Fan Li deliberated, then bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood. Using the blood in his mouth, he finally brought the Butcher forth into the human world.

Afterwards, Fan Li discovered, as expected, a creature unlike any zombie standing at the base of his building.

He also witnessed the Butcher’s terrifying power—the monster was subdued without a single weapon, torn apart into pieces bare-handed!

In the blink of an eye, Fan Li realized the Butcher possessed a short-range teleportation ability. Upon spotting its foe, the Butcher vanished, only to re-form behind its target like a flurry of scattered paper, catching the monster utterly off guard.

Curiously, the zombie whose skin had been ripped and flung against the wall by the Butcher did not die. When Fan Li ended the summoning and approached, the chunk of flesh that no longer resembled anything human had managed to crawl nearly three meters forward.

Evolution meant an even more resilient vitality!

Fortunately, it was not Aili who acted; otherwise, with her voracious appetite, Fan Li would never have had the chance to claim the spoils.

Drawing his katana, Fan Li hacked the flesh into several pieces, earning ten more points of Slaughter Value. Clearly, this was just an evolved specimen, far from the caliber of a Nightmare-class monster.

Including the zombies slain along the way, after summoning the Butcher, Fan Li’s Slaughter Value had reached twenty points.

[20/500]

Yet this was only one twenty-fifth of what was needed for the next summoning.

On the road to accumulating Slaughter Value, Fan Li still had a long way to go.

Because of his wounded tongue, Fan Li could only eat liquid foods like thin porridge. Even so, each mouthful brought a stinging pain.

The commotion downstairs had alerted Hu Huayao, who had come down early, prompting the group to gather together.

The four sat across a table, each with a different expression. Aside from the sound of Fan Li sipping porridge, no one spoke.

At last, Yang Shuo could not contain his curiosity, breaking the silence: “Brother Li, that giant just now…”

The moment Yang Shuo finished speaking, Hu Huayao and Liu Hao both straightened, glancing at Fan Li from the corners of their eyes, waiting for his answer.

Fan Li took another sip of porridge, paused for a few seconds, and nodded: “I have the ability to control monsters. I can command them to fight for me.”

As expected.

All three visibly trembled. If Aili had been merely a coincidence, the giant who appeared at the building's base confirmed that Fan Li indeed possessed abilities far beyond the ordinary.

“That thing, like a monster from a dark fairy tale, was really summoned by him!” Hu Huayao’s pupils widened, feeling an unspoken pressure.

The man sitting beside him—how did he accomplish all this?

At that moment, a memory flashed in Hu Huayao’s mind, one that left a profound impression.

While besieged by zombies, a little girl with a mouth full of teeth had appeared before him. Ruthless to zombies, she returned to the man’s side after each slaughter, guarding him with care like a loyal sentinel.

And now, after seeing the giant downstairs, which had redefined his understanding of terror, Fan Li had shown he could command two formidable allies beyond anyone’s capacity to confront.

Did this mean he had other cards up his sleeve? More beings yet to be summoned?

Thinking this way, it seemed that Fan Li always exuded a cold aura. He seemed to relish slaying zombies—but why? Was it merely hatred, or did the rotten corpses and foul blood serve as a medium for summoning those aberrant beings?

What was the purpose of their own existence?

Were they simply the companions Fan Li claimed them to be, or… potential fodder for his monsters?

At this thought, Hu Huayao swallowed hard, reluctantly admitting he had underestimated the man beside him—underestimated his strength, underestimated the power he possessed.

The so-called mutual aid felt like a fist striking Hu Huayao squarely in the face. Now, whether he or the tattooed Yang Shuo, being called a burden would not be an exaggeration.

Yet these were just suspicions; after all, Fan Li had shown no hostility, and had even saved him and Nan Nan.

Hu Huayao’s thoughts raced, his gaze flickering, momentarily unsure what to say.

Fan Li paid little heed to their expressions or thoughts, for he had long prepared this explanation. As time passed, Aili and the Butcher could never remain a secret, so he let them speculate, seizing the initiative himself.

Of course, the Monster Manual was always kept close—a secret belonging to Fan Li alone, never to be shared.

Lifting his head, Fan Li finally remembered someone he had neglected and quietly introduced, “This is our new member.”

“Liu Hao, a doctor.”

“Oh, and he’s an orthopedic surgeon.”