146: Chapter 146 Humanoid Monster, Code Name: Madman

The night grew deeper.

But for the survivors struggling to stay alive in the Abandoned City, tonight felt exceptionally eerie.

In the past, whenever the black tide descended, the entire city would be filled with the roars and howls of various monsters.

That rising and falling, seemingly endless noise was a lingering nightmare for all survivors.

But tonight, those terrifying roars were gradually replaced by a sound that was even more hair-raising.

It was screaming.

It was the screams of those anomalies and zombies who usually looked down on humans as food, filled with ultimate terror and despair!

Inside a crumbling underground parking lot.

A dozen or so survivors huddled in a corner blocked by abandoned cars, shivering.

They didn't dare light a lamp, only able to look at the equally pale faces of one another by the faint light filtering through the vents.

"Outside... what on earth is happening outside?"

A young girl asked tremblingly in a barely audible voice.

"I don't know..."

A bearded man gripped a fire axe tightly, staring unblinkingly at the parking lot entrance.

"Starting half an hour ago, the cries of those monsters changed. It doesn't sound like... like they're hunting, but more like... they're being hunted."

"Being... hunted?" The girl's face turned even paler. "How is that possible? What else could hunt those monsters?"

Just then.

A shrill scream, so piercing it felt like it could puncture eardrums, came from above ground.

Following that was a loud boom, as if some massive creature had been slammed onto the ground.

Then, everything returned to silence.

A deathly silence filled the parking lot.

Everyone held their breath; even the sound of their heartbeats was clearly audible.

"That sound just now... was it the 'Wailing Woman'?"

A middle-aged man with glasses said in a dry voice.

"I've heard it. Last week, Shelter No. 3 to the west was slaughtered by it alone..."

"Then... then it now..."

"Dead." The bearded man's tone carried a shock and fear he couldn't even understand.

"I heard it. It was... split in two by a single sword strike."

A single sword strike?

To split that Excellent Grade anomaly, which could wipe out an entire shelter, in half with one blow?

Just what kind of existence was this?

Had the military sent out a secret weapon?

Or had some hidden top-tier powerhouse made a move?

"I... I've heard a legend."

In the corner, a boy who had remained silent all along suddenly spoke.

His voice was low, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"It is said that on a certain night in this world, in the darkness, the most terrifying Ghoul will be born."

"He is not a zombie, nor an anomaly. He is a... human."

"He is a psychopath, a madman, a Humanoid Aberration. He kills humans on sight and slashes anomalies whenever he sees them."

"No one has seen what he looks like, because everyone who has—whether human or monster—is dead."

"Some speculate he might be infected with the legendary... Unknown Virus No. 002, which is even more terrifying than Virus No. 004."

"They say he isn't one-eyed, but has two eyes. In the dead of night, just him looking at you is enough to scare you to death."

The boy's words were like a cold wind blowing into everyone's hearts.

Two eyes.

In this world ruled by One-eyed Monsters, having two eyes was itself an anomaly, a cardinal sin.

"Enough! Stop fucking scaring yourselves!"

The bearded man shouted sternly.

"No matter what kind of demons or monsters are outside, as long as we hide here and don't make a sound, we'll definitely survive!"

However, as soon as he finished speaking.

A steady, unhurried set of footsteps suddenly approached from the parking lot entrance.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

The sound was clear and steady; each step felt like it was treading on everyone's hearts.

A tall, blood-soaked figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

In his hand, he carried a pitch-black greatsword wider than a door panel, with thick, black blood still dripping from the blade.

He didn't look at the survivors, simply walking past their hiding spot with steady steps.

The tangible aura of killing intent surrounding him, a mix of blood and gunpowder, made it hard for everyone to even breathe.

Until the figure completely disappeared at the other end of the parking lot.

Only then did the survivors collapse to the ground like dehydrated fish, gasping for air.

They survived.

That legendary Humanoid Aberration actually... didn't kill them.

This night was destined to be sleepless.

And at this very moment.

Li Taiping, rumored by the survivors to be the "Humanoid Aberration" codenamed "Madman," was standing in the middle of the messy Clock Tower Square.

At his feet was a mountain of monster remains.

Around him, there were no living beings or ghostly entities left, except for himself.

Only the shimmering, faint blue light of system-authenticated items remained scattered across the ground.

The floor was covered with Excellent Grade items and tools.

They had dropped everywhere.

Fuel Filters, Power Engines, High-Precision Nautical Compasses, Weapon Blueprints, Armor Materials...

There was even the [excellent grade item upgrade scroll] he had been longing for.

Any one of these items would be enough to drive a survivor camp into a frenzy.

But to Li Taiping, the blue light covering the ground felt like silent mockery.

They were telling him that this was an dungeon.

They were reminding him that Su Jie was indeed just a string of code.

They were laughing at him: "Your wife is dead, a fake wife. Look at your grieving state now; you look just like a clown."

"Hahaha!"

"Fake! It's all fake!"

"This is an dungeon! Everything here is fake!"

Li Taiping dropped the greatsword in his hand, covered his face, and laughed manically at the sky.

Yet his laughter was filled with endless sorrow.

Yes, fake.

But if everything was fake, why did his heart still ache so much?

Just then, a detail he had overlooked flashed through his mind.

Su Jie... was she really just an ordinary girl?

Li Taiping's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

He remembered.

When he first arrived in this dungeon world, his power was sealed, and he felt extremely weak.

But that "weakness" was only relative to his peak state.

With his remaining physical fitness at the time, one punch could still have hammered an adult's head straight into their chest cavity!

Yet with such strength, he had pushed Su Jie twice in that small room.

The first time, she only stumbled.

Only the second time did she lose her balance, hit the edge of the bed, and get injured.

Could an ordinary girl withstand two hits from him?

And later, when they were being hunted by the Earth-Burrowing Tiger Shark.

That kind of extreme flight took a terrifying toll on one's stamina.

He himself was nearly exhausted, yet Su Jie had actually followed him closely without falling behind.

She could even make precise shots at the most critical moments to buy him time.

So, she was not a weak, defenseless girl at all!

Her strength and stamina far exceeded those of ordinary people!

It was just that she treated him as her entire world.

She had carefully tucked away all her sharpness and claws, leaving only her gentlest and softest side for her "amnesiac" husband.

—"Hubby, you are the person I love most in this world I hate most."

—"Hubby, in the next life..."

Li Taiping's body began to tremble violently.

He suddenly realized.

So, she had been silently protecting him in her own way all along.

And yet, he had treated her as a burden that could be discarded at any time.

"Hehehe..."

Li Taiping lowered his head and let out a few strange, meaningless laughs.

The sky began to clear.

The gray sunlight struggled through the thick clouds, dispersing the dense fog that shrouded the city.

The second half of the "Peaceful Period" had arrived.

Li Taiping stared at the pale light on the horizon with hollow eyes.

This was the second time in his memory that he had seen daylight in this dungeon world.

"Anyway... the dungeon is fake, right?"

He muttered to himself.

Then, he began to bend down, numbly collecting the spoils scattered across the ground, one by one.

...