Chapter 3: Tribute
Xu Le slowly lowered the firearm. Although he spoke casually, his trembling fingers betrayed his current state of mind.
Looking at the red and white scene before him, Xu Le took a deep breath:
"Is it over?"
After a while, he muttered to himself:
"It's over."
Sitting on the creaking bed board, Xu Le felt his pants sticking uncomfortably to his backside.
As his blank mind gradually regained some clarity, he wondered if he should make some post-battle reflections after killing his first monster.
After pondering for a moment, he wrote on the bed board with charcoal:
"I suppose I won, since Old Zhou is already dead.
I wanted to light a cigarette, but realized I don't have any, nor do I smoke.
This sadness is unfounded. Looking gloomily at Old Zhou at my feet, I suppose I killed him.
I have roughly two thoughts: one is not wanting to die here, and the other is also not wanting to die here."
Reaching this point, Xu Le's mouth twitched. Is this really a post-battle reflection?
When will he break this terrible habit of writing like Lu Shunwen?
He glanced at Old Zhou's corpse again and silently wiped away the Lu Shunwen-style writing.
In his heart, he probably felt some guilt towards Old Zhou.
Xu Le narrowed his eyes.
"One left!"
After briefly cleaning his clothes, Xu Le began to inspect the firearm.
Being able to blow a zombie's head off with one shot was enough to prove the weapon's power was sufficient.
He loaded the round bullet and pulled the bolt back.
After completing all this, Xu Le, now with combat experience, felt more confident.
He forced himself to calm down and began to search for that previous feeling of restlessness.
The sensory image of having eaten too many mushrooms resurfaced before his eyes.
However, this time, there was no prompt of strange text.
There was also no mention of the monster that would appear at midnight.
Xu Le was confused, as he clearly remembered those words.
The prompts about the dilapidated house and a monster appearing at midnight were written very clearly at the time.
Based on the previous situation, there should be new prompts by now.
But why was there no response now?
Xu Le didn't have a watch, so to predict when the monster would appear, he could only mentally count numbers to keep time, trying his best to correspond with the approaching midnight.
He gripped the firearm tightly, preparing to face the possible second monster.
298, 299, 300...
Xu Le: ?
He had counted to 300, and his counting rhythm wasn't fast. It should have passed midnight by now, so why hadn't the monster appeared?
Well, I suppose it's scared...
Bah, bah, bah, can you not have a mental breakdown at a time like this?
Xu Le didn't let his guard down. He held the gun in his hands and counted another 600 numbers.
It wasn't until his arms were sore and sweat had completely soaked the charcoal powder on his hands, making it sticky, that he reluctantly lowered the gun.
Fatigue made him feel mentally drained, but he dared not relax.
"Is it really not coming?"
Xu Le still didn't release the gun; weapons were the true guarantee of safety.
He wouldn't be like those idiots in TV dramas who carelessly throw their weapons on the ground for a bit of food and water.
Xu Le looked at the biscuits and water he had set aside, licking his lips that had become chapped due to excessive dehydration.
"That's true... but I'm really thirsty."
He shifted his body, picked up the water bottle, and struggled to unscrew the cap with one hand.
Then, while keeping an eye on what was in front of him, he took several large gulps, "glug glug glug".
Whew!
His back started sweating profusely again. Xu Le knew this was the body's natural stress response after quickly replenishing fluids, which was normal.
After calming his breathing, he hugged the firearm to his chest.
Xu Le began to eat the biscuits at hand, along with the squashed bread.
The taste of these biscuits wasn't bad. They weren't very refined, but the scallion flavor really made the hungry Xu Le's mouth water.
He ate more than a dozen pieces in a row, almost finishing the entire pack of compressed biscuits, before slowly relaxing.
Creak!
At a slight sound from the doorway, Xu Le immediately stood up with his gun, but what appeared at the door was just an ordinary rat.
The sound from earlier was just it stepping on a small piece of wood.
With even living creatures like rats appearing, and no further prompts from those strange texts, Xu Le's tense mood finally began to calm down.
His eyelids were heavy, but he couldn't sleep now; that would be too dangerous.
Forcing himself to stay awake, Xu Le began to add some damp firewood.
The musty smell spread through the room, but Xu Le rather enjoyed this scent. This was probably the feeling of being alive.
Xu Le stared at the constantly jumping flames, his expression peaceful.
Until... Creak!
Another rat appeared at the doorway of the house, seemingly in the same position.
Xu Le was still nervous. He hugged his gun and looked up, only returning his attention to the food in his hand after confirming there was no problem.
"Phew, too tense."
A long time passed, and Xu Le's nervous emotions gradually calmed down.
He estimated that nearly ten minutes had passed.
Apart from the air being stuffier than before, there were no other changes.
Xu Le thought this stuffiness was probably due to being too close to the bonfire.
He stood up and shook his clothes, letting the biscuit crumbs fall to the ground.
Then he sat back down on the ground, hugging his gun, and started humming a tune like those old soldiers who couldn't return home:
"The evening star is like your eyes, killing and setting fires.
You don't need to say anything, the wild wind disturbs me..."
Creak!
The tune he had just started humming was interrupted by that uninvited guest appearing again.
Still at the doorway, still in that position, still that rat.
Xu Le lowered his head, his hair covering his eyes. After a while, he raised his head again.
His gaze showed confusion, and now also some suspicion.
A rat?
Still that same rat! The same size, the same position, the same sound.
When Xu Le looked back at that spot, the rat was no longer there.
The wind blew in again, stirring the bonfire in front of Xu Le and drying the sweat marks on his body.
Xu Le, who had been feeling very hot, suddenly felt a bit cold at this moment.
He looked outside the house. It was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything clearly.
But he felt that something seemed to have been added to that darkness.
Xu Le gripped the firearm tightly, but his heartbeat and breathing had already started to quicken unnaturally.
Faster and faster, more and more urgent!
Huff~ Huff~!
As time passed, Xu Le, finding it increasingly difficult to breathe, gasped heavily, but even so, that feeling of being unable to catch his breath didn't ease at all.
He raised his gun and looked around, but there was nothing at all.
He realized something, but had no idea how to save himself.
Until that repeatedly appearing rat showed up once again at the doorway.
Bang!
Xu Le fired without hesitation, as if this was his last chance.
He didn't know if he had hit the rat; this feeling of suffocation was already making his vision blur.
After the shot, the air stagnated for a moment, and the flames in front of him finally twisted again.
[The current house is in a dilapidated and unsealed state. A Level 1 monster will appear at midnight in 3 seconds.]
Along with the text, that accented whisper also appeared.
[You're about to die! Do you want help? But you don't have any tribute.]
Xu Le suddenly took a deep breath, his blurred vision gradually clearing, and the feeling of suffocation dissipated.
Xu Le raised his gun towards the door, then somewhat frantically reloaded and pulled the bolt.
Nothing happened.
No rat, no suffocation, and no more cold.
Xu Le sighed in relief, wanting to wipe his sweat with his sleeve, but he suddenly found his arm felt heavy.
Then, he recalled that unclear whisper from earlier.
You're about to die?
Thinking about these words, Xu Le, as if realizing something, suddenly looked to his right.
Old Zhou!
An Old Zhou was standing there, grinning at him.
Bang!
Xu Le raised his hand and fired another shot, but when the bullet passed through Old Zhou's body, it only created ripples, as if passing through an invisible water surface.
Old Zhou smiled and walked towards Xu Le. At this distance, there wasn't enough time to reload.
And even if he could reload, it would have no effect.
In his panic, everything around Xu Le began to distort.
[Fear is a delicacy that all monsters will taste. Your fear will attract them.]
[Red Moon Calamity Countdown: 1 day 23 hours 59 minutes 56 seconds]
[You're really about to die! What a pity.]
The series of prompts, text, and whispers threw all of Xu Le's senses into chaos.
As Old Zhou approached, the feeling of suffocation grew stronger.
Xu Le's face had now turned purplish-red. He opened his mouth wide but couldn't breathe in any air.
Seeing Old Zhou's figure pass through the bonfire without any hindrance,
Xu Le now understood that this second monster had no physical form!
How could he kill something without a physical form?
For him at this moment, this kind of monster was completely unsolvable.
He was going to die!
As death approached, the heat grew more intense. His fear and anger seemed to be reset to zero at this moment.
His thoughts briefly gained a moment of clarity, and then he shouted:
"I have a tribute, help me!"
(End of chapter)