Xiao Cheng felt that her tone of voice was slightly familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
But it must be admitted that the phantom's last words did indeed strike a chord with her.
"So what do I need to do?" she pressed.
“It’s simple, just kill a wave of players.” The phantom’s tone sounded quite serious, but before Xiao Cheng could start criticizing, it added quietly, “I know you don’t know how, so there’s a second way: devour those fleshy balls.”
Xiao Cheng felt a little nauseous: "So it's the literal meaning of 'devouring' that I understand it to be?"
"Unfortunately, yes." The phantom nodded sadly, as if recalling something unbearable. "Try to look on the bright side. Anything that can help you level up is high-quality protein."
Xiao Cheng: "..." You know so much.
The phantom couldn't last long as expected. After a while, it started flickering and swaying as if there was a malfunction, and even its voice became stammering: "I...disappear...don't forget..."
Then it disappeared instantly.
Xiao Cheng: "..." Are you done yet? What exactly is it that you shouldn't forget? I'm begging you, please finish!
Then she suddenly felt a tremendous force thrusting at her, jolting her completely awake. When she came to her senses, she was still being carried on Fang He's back, but they had already left the desert. The false and cold sun hung high overhead, shining on the abandoned building in front of them.
Half of the building had collapsed, its exterior walls covered with withered, unidentified vines, giving it an appearance of extreme decay and desolation. The metal doors lay askew on the ground, covered with a thick layer of dust and fallen leaves, exuding a musty, rotten smell.
Fang He stopped and looked up at the building, which exuded an ominous aura, and softly reminded Xiao Cheng, "We've arrived."
The place was deathly silent, as if no other living thing existed besides the two of them. The building was pitch black, and the twisted door frame looked like a monster with its mouth wide open, practically screaming "Invite me into a trap!" in the chat.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Xiao Cheng asked doubtfully. "What if the building collapses as soon as we go in? Cherish life, stay away from dangerous buildings."
"Based on the current situation, I'd say it's probably here." Fang He put her down. "You wait outside. I'll go in and check things out. I'll be right back."
"Now that you've said that, according to the usual practice, you probably won't be able to get out." Xiao Cheng felt that he had regained some strength, and at least he could stand steadily now. It must have been that the phantom mercifully gave him some energy residue before leaving.
My legs still feel a little weak when I walk.
Xiao Cheng grabbed Fang He's sleeve: "So let's go in together."
The entrance led directly into the hallway, where the motion-activated lights were still functioning, automatically turning on with a hiss as the two entered. Broken bricks and glass were scattered on the floor, along with large patches of dried blood and highly decomposed limbs—clearly, a horrific incident had occurred here.
The doors on both sides were tightly closed, and strange creaking sounds could be heard coming from inside, as if someone was repeatedly scratching the door panels with their fingernails. As if startled by footsteps, the sound suddenly stopped and never rang out again.
The two exchanged a silent glance. Fang He gripped the dagger tightly and deliberately slowed his pace as he approached the door on the left. They even controlled their breathing very quietly, so the motion-activated lights didn't pick up any sound and went out completely after a while.
In the center of the door, a strange red light shone through the peephole, standing out conspicuously in the darkness.
Fang He silently pressed himself against the door, and in the instant the red light faded, he forcefully pierced the blade through the peephole.
A muffled thud.
He slightly twisted his wrist, the blade spun and flicked, then pulled it out, the tip of the short knife sticking out half a bloody eyeball.
The motion-activated lights came on again, but there was no sound from inside the two doors. Fang He casually flicked the eyeball to the ground, where it rolled all the way to Xiao Cheng's feet, even bouncing slightly twice.
"Stay put." Fang He, with his back to Xiao Cheng, made a simple hand gesture, then stabbed the bloody tip of the knife into the keyhole. After fiddling with it for a couple of seconds, the lock clicked open.
He slowly opened the door a crack.
There was no one in sight, except for a few drops of blood splattered by the door, proving that something had indeed been standing there.
The window directly opposite the door was wide open, and two clear, fresh bloody handprints were imprinted on the dusty glass.
Fang He, carrying a short knife, went into the house without saying a word and wandered around, but as expected, he found nothing.
"They ran away." He frowned slightly, staring at the window. "They don't look human, and most likely they're not zombies either."
"So there's a third kind of creature here?" Xiao Cheng turned his head and looked around, trying to find some clues, but unfortunately there was nothing.
The door on the right had also been pried open, and unsurprisingly, the room was empty. Fang He searched the room and found an ID card in the corner of a drawer, but unfortunately, the card was completely worn away, leaving only three words near the edge.
Research Institute.
"So the people living here are researchers? What do they have to do with zombies? Did they create them, or are they researching ways to deal with zombies?" Xiao Cheng carefully examined the identity card.
"It's hard to say." Fang He closed both doors again. "Let's go upstairs and take another look."
But still nothing was found.
Moreover, starting from the seventh floor, the staircase was completely blocked by the collapsed wall. The air was filled with a choking smell of smoke and dust. Layers of bricks and stones were piled up, concealing the large hole in the wall and the twisted steel structure inside.
"Wait." Fang He grabbed Xiao Cheng, who was about to leave, and then walked towards the cave on his own. He cleared a small area with his bare hands and peered inside.
"Hey, be careful!" Xiao Cheng helped push the rubble aside. "Can you see inside?"
Fang He did not answer immediately.
He reached out and gripped the steel bars inside the wall, then peered in a little further, almost half his body inside. After a long while, he slowly backed away, shook off the dust, and then opened his palm to show Xiao Cheng what was in his hand.
It is an egg-shaped object, or more precisely, a fleshy ball that is still inside an egg and has not yet hatched.
This thing looks much better than it does when it's mature. It's covered with a transparent hard membrane, like it's wrapped in crystal, making it crystal clear.
The black tentacles on the surface of the fleshy ball had not yet grown out. It was a tiny thing huddled there, and its shape looked a bit like an unformed embryo that had shrunk countless times.
The moment Xiao Cheng saw this thing, an indescribable surge of emotion welled up inside him.
—Eat it.
A seductive, ethereal voice echoed in my ears.
—Eat it.
Xiao Cheng's consciousness froze for a moment. Her gaze seemed to be completely drawn to the egg, and then, as if possessed, she couldn't help but reach out her hand towards it.
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