Chapter 43: I Could Tell at a Glance That You Are Not Human

Fifteen days were enough to bring about a profound change in people’s hearts.

In the first seven days, there were still those who helped one another, calling out when they found something good.

But by the second seven days, anything became justifiable for survival.

Such is human nature.

Even Lin Mu was no exception—who wouldn’t want to be the last one standing?

Zhang Qian...

Lin Mu stroked his chin. Judging by the situation, the core of this woman’s vehicle had to be at least Level 3, maybe even Level 4.

She must have a fair store of resources as well.

What to do? He was sorely tempted.

Suddenly, Jiang Ying’s shrill scream pierced the night.

Lin Mu, pistol in hand, poked his head out, but the darkness was too deep—he could see nothing.

He quickly crafted a flashlight at his workbench and illuminated the side of the house.

There, Jiang Ying was running back in a panic, with Gu Wanqing close behind.

“What happened?”

“There… there’s…”

“What exactly is it?”

Gu Wanqing stepped forward, out of breath. “Some kind of beast… or monster… we couldn’t see clearly. It just appeared out of nowhere—something alive, and it was incredibly fast.”

The night was too black—they’d only glimpsed a fleeting shadow.

“Get in the car, now.”

The two women hurriedly opened the back door and climbed in, a wave of relief washing over them.

Inside this vehicle they felt a sense of safety, enough to let them breathe again.

“What about the other two?”

The women shook their heads at once. “No idea. We weren’t together when we went to the bathroom.”

“Ah! Help! It’s terrifying!” The chubby one came running, clutching his pants as he stumbled toward them.

He yanked open the car door and leapt inside, slamming it shut behind him.

A foul stench quickly began to fill the air.

The two women hurriedly moved away, covering their noses.

Lin Mu frowned at him. “What are you shrieking about? I didn’t see anything. And did you not bring any toilet paper?”

The smell grew worse, and Lin Mu hastily turned on the air conditioning to refresh the air.

Because of all the commotion, Lin Mu had already rolled up the windows, leaving nothing but a tiny crack for air.

“There was a monster! Sometimes it walked on four legs, sometimes two. Scared the life out of me. I saw it just now—it must’ve run off.”

“And the smell on you?”

“I fell down, that’s all… got some on me.”

Lin Mu’s mouth twitched.

“Take off your pants and throw them out!”

“But I don’t have any others!”

Lin Mu tossed him a pair. “Now. Immediately. Change!”

The two women quickly turned around—it was not something they cared to see.

Lin Mu checked the rearview mirror—nothing behind, nothing at the side.

“Where’s Zhao Mingwei?”

“He was probably eaten.”

Lin Mu scowled. Running off was impossible unless you’d given up on living.

Everyone knew the night was dangerous.

But as for being eaten—he hadn’t actually seen anything.

Just then, Zhao Mingwei’s figure appeared.

Lin Mu narrowed his eyes and quietly asked 001, “Can you see if there’s anything off about him?”

“Reporting to Master: 001 does not have this function.”

“Fatty, are you sure he was eaten?”

“Well… not sure. But he vanished right next to me, and then I saw that shadow,” Fatty answered uncertainly.

By now Zhao Mingwei was at Lin Mu’s window.

“I’m done, Lin Mu. Let me in.”

Lin Mu studied his perfectly normal expression. Everything seemed fine—could it be that all three of them had been seeing things?

“King of Heaven covers the Tiger,” Lin Mu said.

Zhao Mingwei froze. “What are you talking about?”

“Odd changes, even unchanged.”

Zhao Mingwei’s face shifted. He realized—it was a passphrase.

His head suddenly split open, and a black head emerged.

With a hiss, four chainsaws extended, slicing the creature clean in two; the black monster wailed in agony.

“You think I couldn’t tell you weren’t human? And you dared eat my teammate!”

Teammate?

The three in the back looked at Lin Mu in confusion. Since when did teammates get chained up?

Lin Mu gazed down at the creature on the ground.

[Parasitic Beast]

[Danger Level: SS]

[Advice: Don’t get close, or you’ll no longer be yourself.]

A steel blade fell, splitting the creature’s head in two.

[Ding! You have slain an SS-class Parasitic Beast. Reward: Constitution Serum x3]

[Constitution (S)]: One bottle raises constitution by 5 points; each person can take up to five bottles.

Why would a thing like this drop such items?

Truly, the world was full of strange surprises.

“You see? Inside my car, you’re safe. So don’t even think of running, or you’ll end up like that.”

The three grimaced. Had any of them actually tried to run?

Losing a “teammate” was a blow for Lin Mu—a source of resources gone in an instant.

“Hurry up and eat.”

…

Half an hour later.

“So… didn’t you just say we’re your teammates? Maybe we could lose the chains? They’re kind of uncomfortable after a while,” Jiang Ying ventured cautiously.

Lin Mu slapped his pistol down. “Uncomfortable?”

Jiang Ying looked at the gun, then shook her head quickly. “Not at all! Actually, it’s fine. Tie it tighter, big sister. I’m all right.”

Once bound, the three sat quietly in the back.

Lin Mu drove off in search of resource crates.

He’d just marked down the locations of twenty crates—now all he had to do was reach each one.

[Congratulations! You have opened a Black Iron Resource Crate and obtained: 4 Energy Drinks, 40 Iron Ingots.]

As expected, everything was now distributed four ways.

A net loss!

[Congratulations! You have opened a Silver Resource Crate and obtained: Surveillance Camera Blueprints (A) x4, Universal Shotgun Shell Blueprints (A) x4, 500g Refined Sugar x4.]

Lin Mu’s eyes widened—shotgun shells!

He’d had a shotgun for days but never used it, having only ever found twenty shells.

Of course, the main reason was a lack of opportunity.

But this was different—not being able to use something and not having the chance to use it were entirely separate matters.

No rush. Finish collecting all the crates first.

Along the way, every crate yielded four shares of supplies.

Lin Mu lamented—he was losing out big time.

One of the crates even spawned four wild boars, restocking his meat supplies.

Ding—

A message arrived.

Wen Ruyu opened it—still the same person she had traded with before.

“Brother, do you have any food? I’d like to trade for some.”

Lin Mu glanced at the sixteen pounds of pork he’d just acquired. “What are you offering?”

“I have this: [Small Radar Blueprint (A), 5km range]—trade for three days’ worth of food for two people.”

A radar? Five kilometers, no less.

That was almost too good to be true.