Less than ten meters away, Wu Shuang set his backpack down by the entrance, crouched low, and edged forward inch by inch, holding his breath as he kept his eyes glued to the creature's every move.
The grave digger was still shoveling earth, completely oblivious to the danger creeping up behind him; turned into a living corpse, his senses had clearly dulled.
Combined with the fact that the path was mostly dirt, Wu Shuang actually succeeded in sneaking up, arriving behind the grave digger without a sound, ready to strike.
This fellow was towering. Although he was hunched over as if from malnutrition or some disease, his large frame was undeniable—he was much bigger than Wu Shuang. Thus, the first blow... had to disable his mobility!
His target was the grave digger's knees.
For a giant like him, those were the most vulnerable spots, bearing his entire weight!
Gripping the short hammer in his right hand while holding the hand axe and wooden shield in his left, Wu Shuang timed his move, swung his right arm in a wide arc, and slammed the hammer with full force.
Crack!
Wu Shuang heard the distinct sound of bones shattering. Exuberance flashed across his eyes at the successful blow, and he immediately raised his shield and backpedaled rapidly.
The giant lurched to the side, letting out a beastly growl. Counterintuitively, he sliced his massive shovel backward. Wu Shuang felt a chill run down his spine as a gust of wind swept past and bits of earth and stone slammed against his shield—a narrow escape.
Retreating right after striking had definitely been the right choice.
The giant possessed immense strength and a long reach, packing heavy momentum into every attack that even a shield couldn't fully block.
Yet his weakness was just as obvious: he lacked agility, was far from fast, and left massive openings—a flaw made even worse after turning into a living corpse.
After executing that reverse shovel slice, he nearly lost his balance, bracing himself against the ground with the shovel.
A smirk touched the corners of Wu Shuang's mouth, enjoying the thrill of having the situation completely under control. Without hesitation, he struck again, hurling his hand axe like a boomerang. It scored a direct hit, burying itself into the knee of the grave digger's other good leg and bringing him down onto both knees.
"Guess you're just an intimidating brute..."
Wu Shuang thought to himself, brimming with confidence, just as the system notification chimed in his ear.
[Your Humanity has undergone a change. Current color... Red!]
Wu Shuang's eyes widened as a wave of heat rushed into his brain. The shift felt right on time.
Seeing the grave digger fallen onto his knees, unable to stand, Wu Shuang lunged forward. He swung his right hand's short hammer in another wide arc—this time with even greater power and speed—smashing it hard against the grave digger's temple. A gruesome thud echoed, spattering foul blood, some of which sprayed across Wu Shuang's face.
Taking such a heavy hit, the grave digger's growls were cut short as he flopped backward onto the ground. Wu Shuang pressed his advantage, mounting him directly and pinning the creature's shovel-holding left arm with his knee. Gripping the hammer with both hands, he brought it down furiously onto the grave digger's rotted face.
Crack!
Another stomach-churning crunch of shattering bone echoed.
The grave digger's face caved inward. When Wu Shuang pulled the hammer back, it tore away foul blood along with fractured nasal and upper jaw bones. The rotted face was completely obliterated, looking horrific beyond words.
When the creature reached out with his right hand, Wu Shuang blocked it with the shield on his left arm, then raised the hammer with one hand and brought it down again, striking repeatedly.
The creature's skull was remarkably tough, enduring three or four blows to the crown without shattering, but victory was already in Wu Shuang's hands.
Yet right at that moment, vision before him suddenly plunged into darkness. He hadn't been attacked—the sky itself had gone dark, jumping from day to night in an instant and catching him completely off guard.
How could this...?
It wasn't even noon yet!
Wu Shuang hesitated slightly, thrown into confusion by the sudden environmental shift.
Beneath him, the crushed grave digger's eye sockets—which had been utterly destroyed by the hammer blows—suddenly lit up. Specks of murky Humanity drifted out from within his skull, and from Wu Shuang as well, with Red Humanity floating from atop his head.
[Warning: Your Humanity is draining...]
"Fuck!"
Wu Shuang cursed under his breath, raising his hammer again to finish this quickly.
However, a surge of force from underneath threw him backward against his will.
In the gloom, a dark shadow swiped toward him—it was the grave digger's right palm.
Unbeknownst to him, its fingernails... no, those were finger bones, were elongating outward by several centimeters. It slashed its claw at Wu Shuang, who hurriedly raised his shield to block.
Bang!
It felt like being hit by a car. A deafening crack echoed as the wooden shield splintered, and Wu Shuang was sent flying a meter or two back. His left arm went completely numb, feeling as though it were no longer attached.
This was likely the effect of Red Humanity; otherwise, he would be in unimaginable agony right now.
"This thing gets stronger at night!"
Wu Shuang thought in shock, wiggling his left hand. He could barely move it, meaning it wasn't broken, but swelling was unavoidable.
Furthermore, if he hadn't been in the Red Humanity state with an overall stat boost, that hit would have severely injured him, almost certainly destroying his left arm since even the shield couldn't withstand it.
Before Wu Shuang could stand up, the grave digger—whose knees had been smashed and who had been pinned down—stood up first. New changes were taking place across his body; he twitched uncontrollably, making grotesque sounds of twisting bones and tearing flesh.
In the dim light, Wu Shuang could only see a dark silhouette staggering to its feet. Its knees were bent at unnatural angles with the axe still embedded in one, its body thrashing as if something were writhing wildly inside it.
Soon, the shadow grew taller, broader, and more muscular. Sharp barbs burst out from its spine, as well as its shoulders and thighs. Its height surged past two meters, growing increasingly horrifying.
The only thing that remained unchanged was the pair of glowing red eyes in the dark, glaring intently at Wu Shuang.
"No, it's not just getting stronger—it's mutating!"
"How? Why is this happening? Could it be..."
Grim thoughts flooded Wu Shuang's mind. Looking up at the sky, he could only see the specks of light rising from his head.
He had to act immediately. Not only was the darkness draining his life, but the grave digger before him was almost finished transforming!
Now was no time to worry about making noise—he had to survive, using every ounce of effort to stay alive!
BOOM!
A clap of thunder detonated on the low hill, accompanied by a bright flash of fire and drifting smoke.
Wu Shuang fired. This monstrosity was simply not something he could deal with in melee—he had to rely on his gun.
Firing at point-blank range against such a massive target, missing was impossible. Every bullet plowed directly into the grave digger's body, the massive impact knocking him backward.
Strike while he's down! Once the grave digger fully mutated and his legs recovered, Wu Shuang wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance. That was why he had fired decisively, and now he kept his eyes locked on his enemy while rapidly reloading.
All those endless loading drills had been for this exact moment!
With practiced dexterity, Wu Shuang pulled out bullets. Without needing to check front or back, relying purely on muscle memory, he grabbed two bullets, stuffed them down the barrels, and shoved them home with the ramrod.
Then he replaced the percussion caps. The entire sequence took under ten seconds—even faster than his practice sessions.
Lowering the barrels, he aimed straight at the grave digger struggling to crawl back up from the ground, and pulled the trigger once more.
Rate on N.U.
