Doing the Opposite

Whoever it was had the good habit of closing doors behind them, the four went up to the kitchen door and confirmed that it was indeed shut.

But a thought lingered in Song Weishi's mind: what if the monster inside had closed the door itself? Did a freshly spawned monster also go through a weak phase?

Or perhaps it had already slipped out and closed the door on its way, just for the sake of convenience?

That second guess didn't hold up, though. Why bother shutting the door if it had already left?

They quickly searched the nearby rooms one by one before hustling to move supplies.

Xiao Li was in charge of hauling firewood upstairs, while Wang Jie and Manager Zhao packed up food and daily necessities. Song Weishi pitched in wherever she was needed.

At first they stuck together, but moving in a group was too slow—there was no elevator, and hauling everything up the stairs left them exhausted.

After a while, with no danger materializing, they abandoned that approach and each carried what they could on their own.

They ran into other people along the way—those who could be reasoned with were helped, their fear eased enough to at least hold a light in the dark. Those who couldn't be reasoned with were simply left to fend for themselves.

Seeing that everyone was busy, Song Weishi slipped back out again.

She stood in front of the kitchen door. Now that night had fallen, the place felt even more terrifying.

The hallway was pitch black beyond the reach of any flashlight beam. She couldn't see a thing outside the pool of light.

The door was merely closed, not locked. With a twist of the handle, it swung open.

A wave of hot air hit her face. Several fires illuminated the kitchen's interior, though the light was dimmer than outside—most of the flames were dying down from lack of fuel.

She slipped in quickly and shut the door behind her. The people working in the distance didn't notice a thing.

The beam of her flashlight swept across the kitchen's soft, reflective floor. The faint shadows made her spine tingle. She couldn't shake the feeling that, at any moment, something dangerous might leap out of the darkness and grab her by the throat.

She scanned left and right, then pressed herself against the wall, inching forward to keep her back protected.

She couldn't tell how long she crept along like that—time always drags when you're on edge. Finally, the flashlight found the spot where the family of three had been.

A huge patch of blood had spread across the floor. The closer she got, the stronger the stench of gore.

Because of the heat in the room, the blood hadn't clotted quickly; it lay there thick and sticky, a film already forming over the top.

It reminded her of the duck blood sold at the market. Maybe, in the eyes of a monster, humans were just another tasty meal.

The spot where the family had been was actually tidier than the chaotic mess around it—no one dared to come close.

Liu Tong lay where she had fallen, looking drained, her head gone, her body shriveled and limp on the ground.

The flesh around her neck seemed to have been gnawed clean away.

Song Weishi couldn't help but think she looked like a juice pack—all the organs and flesh sucked out like jelly and pulp.

Beside her lay a massive, bloated thing—a monster that had just fed.

Its greyish, dull skin had turned supple and glossy, almost translucent. Its body had swollen to four or five times the size of a human, like a grotesque, overstuffed ball of meat.

Startled, Song Weishi quickly dimmed her flashlight and crept forward carefully, dagger clenched in her hand, ready for any sudden movement.

The monster seemed asleep—or at least resting.

She clicked off the flashlight and, using the dim glow of the fires, edged closer.

The monster breathed steadily, bits of flesh clinging to its lips, a long tongue slipping out to roll more tissue smoothly into its mouth.

Song Weishi's stomach churned, but she felt no fear. Maybe it was because it was so warm in here.

When you're warm, it's hard to sense danger.

She knew it, and so did the monster.

She searched for the monster's neck. She wanted to try killing it—would that add to her energy points? Dead monsters and dead people both counted as kills, after all.

The monster, too full to sense danger, slept soundly. Song Weishi made no sound. She warmed her blade over the fire. Her first instinct was to go for a quick kill, but then she hesitated: what if she missed and the monster fought back?

Liu Tong had died because she had no chance to defend herself, but that only proved how vicious the creature was. Its attacks were beyond what an ordinary person could withstand.

For whatever reason, it lay there resting now. This was the perfect chance to take it out. If she let it go, she might not be able to beat it face-to-face later.

The more she thought about it, the more she knew this was the moment. She sought the best spot to strike, adjusted her grip, and prepared to make it a one-hit kill.

Killing a monster didn't feel like killing a human. She felt no guilt toward this strange thing—only the urge to end it quickly.

Only now did she realize she might truly be a butcher at heart, because she wasn't scared at all while doing this.

She found a spot on its body not covered by clothing and drove the knife in.

Maybe it was the freshly heated blade, but she felt less resistance as it sank into the monster's rubbery hide.

The moment the blade pierced, the monster snapped awake, eyes bulging wide. With a loud pop, it deflated like a punctured balloon.

It didn't even have time to fight back. Song Weishi effortlessly severed its head. The skull, now shrunken to smaller than the child's original head, rolled a couple of times and came to rest near the fire.

Its wide, stunned eyes stared at her in disbelief, as if wondering how this human could be so bold.

Song Weishi had used all her strength, and the impact numbed her palm. Luckily, the creature's body provided enough resistance that not much noise was made.

Using her blade, she lifted the head and tossed it into the fire. The flames licked at the skull. It was no longer the same as the child's head—it was covered in dense hair, and beneath that, clusters of bubbles had formed.

The bubbles burst in the flames, releasing rich grease that made the fire flare up.

Song Weishi muttered, "Pretty flammable." She glanced at the dried husk of Liu Tong, steeled herself, but couldn't bring herself to drag the body over and burn it. So she carefully skirted around it.

A familiar voice echoed in her mind: "Congratulations, Host. You've gained 200 energy points. Keep it up!"

The System sounded pleased, clearly satisfied with her performance.

So killing monsters gave energy points too—even more than humans. Not bad at all.

She remembered she hadn't checked the System in a while, and hadn't even opened today's cart mystery box. But time was tight. She'd have to finish moving things first and open it upstairs.

She took one last look around the kitchen. The fires would die out on their own and wouldn't set the hotel ablaze. Her priority now was to get back outside before anyone noticed she was gone and started searching the hotel.

With that thought, she hurried out of the room. After a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, she rejoined the others and started hauling supplies.

Since the carts weren't usable, everyone carried things by hand. A few plastic bags were all they had to hold the loose odds and ends.

Song Weishi had been in and out in less than five minutes—no one suspected a thing. Still, Wang Jie and Xiao Li stood at the entrance, craning their necks, clearly worried by her absence.

She hurried over and asked, as casually as she could, "How much is left?"

The two of them let out a quiet sigh of relief. They pointed to the pile of down comforters inside. "Just these. The food's all done. Let's grab these last ones and head up."

Everyone was panting, exhausted, except Song Weishi, who looked no worse for wear—well, she had been "slacking off," after all.

Hoisting two comforters under her arms, Song Weishi made her way back to the entertainment hall. A few large iron basins had been set up on stands inside, crackling with fire.

Those basins were handy—she'd pocketed one in her space earlier while moving other stuff; it barely took up room, and you could even store things in it.

Everyone had set up a bedding spot on the floor. Wang Jie had been kind enough to prepare one for Song Weishi, right next to theirs and Manager Zhao's.

She felt pretty good about that. With nothing pressing left to do, she sat down and began sorting through the clothes she'd brought.

Huddled in a corner, she folded and checked on the System.

She'd killed a monster and earned 200 energy, which bumped the shop's level up to 1. Just 98 more to go for level 2.

That meant she'd need to kill dozens more to get there. Song Weishi let out a breath. Today had been a stroke of luck; it wouldn't always be this easy.

The shop items hadn't refreshed yet—that would wait until tomorrow, same as the cart.

With a flicker of excitement, she opened the cart. Three items were loading.

They were:

1. 1L of Mizone sports drink ×1

2. Chocolate-filled soft candy ×1

3. A family-sized set of dishware (soup bowl ×1, serving bowl ×1, rice bowl ×1, chopsticks ×1)

Song Weishi was a bit disappointed—today's haul wasn't as good as yesterday's. But people don't always buy the same amount at the supermarket; getting something at all was a boon. She cheered herself up quickly, tore open the candy, and snuck one into her mouth to calm her nerves.

The sweet taste melted on her tongue. Lifting her head, she observed the people around her. Everyone was dead tired, their earlier spark extinct.

The mood here wasn't much better than at the Garden of a Hundred Herbs. They couldn't stay long. They had to get moving soon. Her brief ease crumbled, and she clenched her fist. She'd only just rested a moment, and now it was time to start planning all over again.