The estate's front yard.
A severed leg reacted as if sensing something, beginning to twitch and tremble. Within seconds, it flipped onto its front and began using its foot and knee to bend and stretch, crawling forward like a worm before disappearing into the darkness.
Wu Shuang watched it vanish, standing there completely stunned. It was his first time seeing such a bizarre and gruesome spectacle; it was simply far too strange.
Before he could figure out the cause and effect, another long-drawn whale call echoed out.
"Wooo~~~~~—..."
He heard it much more clearly this time; it definitely came from the southern docks.
And after this whale call, the severed corpses in the front yard went wild. Every single one reacted and began to tremble, except for those directly illuminated beneath the oil lamps, which remained motionless.
Severed arms and legs, and even spilled intestines and heads, began showing off their own unique tricks.
Some crawled like crabs, some rolled along, and others flexed and wriggled like earthworms, leaving Wu Shuang wide-eyed in amazement.
What on earth is this?
A grotesque version of resurrection?
No!
Perhaps what he should focus on isn't these mangled corpses, but whatever is in the distance calling out to... and controlling them!
Just what kind of monster is that?
Wu Shuang immediately wanted to cast Appraisal Spell. Just then, he saw a headless corpse walk over to an oil lamp, reach out, and knock it straight over.
The lamp oil touched the ground and instantly ignited a patch of flames, but the surrounding body parts swarmed forward, smothering the fire in no time. They seemed to dislike light—or rather, detest it—unlike the living corpses and the shark goblin from before.
Once the two lamps went out and he lost line of sight, Wu Shuang pulled the curtain shut and retreated. With a somber expression, he glanced over at Mia, who was still fast asleep. Only then did he relax slightly, sitting back down beside the lantern to check the Appraisal results.
"This is also a goblin...?"
Wu Shuang froze. He performed Appraisal three times in a row, but the results were identical, differing only in the specific body parts.
【Monster • Zombie Goblin's Minion: Hand】
【Description: A minion summoned and controlled by the zombie goblin, serving as a part of its body. Eliminating minions alone yields no rewards.】
【Monster • Zombie Goblin's Minion: Leg】
【Description: ...】
【Monster • Zombie Goblin's Minion: Torso】
【Description: ...】
...
"Zombie... goblin..."
Wu Shuang flipped back through his handbook's index until he found the grave digger he had killed earlier, which was also a zombie.
"Those resurrected near death are called zombies... the fish-headed monster is called a goblin, so combining the two... makes it a zombie goblin?"
"So this is actually a fish monster resurrected and empowered by the Goddess of the Night!?"
Wu Shuang pondered, feeling he had grasped the system's naming conventions. He could indeed still gather useful information from Appraisal.
"Could this be the third goblin?"
"Fuck! No wonder I never ran into it. It moves at night and stays by the docks. This is..."
Wu Shuang suddenly regretted not accepting Li Yan's request, because this quest was completely ridiculous. It seemed like it would require fighting out at sea. How the hell was he supposed to fight that? He couldn't even defeat an ordinary goblin, and he didn't even know how to swim.
"This system really issues quests recklessly. No wonder it screws over the summoned Heroes so badly..."
He grumbled, calming himself down. After a few seconds, he looked back out the window while checking the time and jotting down notes.
"The zombie goblin appears around 3:00 AM, using strange calls to awaken dead bodies. However, the sound of wind and rain overpowers these calls, which is why the corpses in the church yard didn't disappear on the first night.
And the old knight seemingly possessed the power to counter or suppress this sound..."
After recording these notes, he leaned toward the window again and listened carefully. Before long, he heard the whale call once more. He intended to use this method to confirm the goblin's active hours, making it easier to formulate targeted tactics later.
Around 5:00 AM, when Wu Shuang checked again, the strange sound was completely gone.
"Active hours are roughly between 3:00 AM and 5:00 AM."
After jotting it down, he planned to spend a few more nights observing to confirm the zombie goblin's routine. Only then would he attempt close-range contact—such as spending a night at the docks—and think of a way to kill the thing.
As for right now, he needed to focus on dealing with that shark goblin. Once he took it out, all of Gulf Town would be open for exploration, making things much better.
...
The time reached 9:03 AM, and daylight finally broke.
Wu Shuang pulled open the window curtain and looked down. Sure enough, there were still two or three scattered living corpses in the yard, likely drawn by smell. But as for the corpses... except for bare bones and dried husks, they were all gone, summoned away by last night's strange sound.
He turned to Mia, preparing to wake her up to execute today's operation.
"Mia, wake up. It's daylight."
"Mia..."
He called out while poking Mia's cheek, but she didn't react at all. Frowning, he reached out to pinch her nose...
【Warning... Your Humanity is draining...】
The moment Wu Shuang reached out, he was bitten.
Mia bit right into his palm and drained a few points of Humanity along with it, as if she had been waiting for this exact moment. She left two faint rows of teeth marks behind, stinging slightly.
"Why did you bite me?!"
Wu Shuang pulled his hand back, while Mia sat up fluidly, wearing a triumphant look as if her scheme had succeeded.
"Who told you to poke me like that! Poking a lady's face isn't a good habit—it easily gets you bitten, you know? Consider this a lesson!"
"Uh..."
Wu Shuang scratched his head, suddenly remembering he had poked her a few times last night as well. Maybe Mia had already been awake back then. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he dropped the matter altogether and pivoted to business.
He gave Mia a brief summary of last night's events, mentioning the existence of the zombie goblin and the corpses summoned away by the strange sound.
"...Then your Hero quest is in trouble. That thing might be in the ocean."
"Yeah, so I'll have to find a way to deal with it, maybe even fight at night... We'll figure that out later."
Wu Shuang found it troublesome as well, but it wasn't completely hopeless. At least he could explore freely during the day, provided he eliminated that shark-headed goblin.
The two had a simple breakfast that Wu Shuang had prepared in advance: black bread soaked in salted fish soup, served with a sour-and-spicy dipping sauce, as those were the only ingredients available given their current conditions.
After eating, they began preparing for today's operation as discussed yesterday. They double-checked their weapons and gear, especially Argus. All seven barrels were loaded, and he had fourteen spare rounds, some modified using the gunpowder and shot from shotgun shells, with each round packed with about seven grams of powder.
Once everything was set, Wu Shuang began using a crowbar to dismantle the wooden boards secured last night. It was quite a hassle; it could only serve as a temporary barrier, so he would need to think of other methods later, such as setting up barricades or tearing down the stairs between the first and second floors.
It took about twenty minutes before they finally opened the door. By then, thumping sounds were already echoing from outside. There was no need to guess what was out there; the moment the door swung open, Wu Shuang treated it to a sword thrust.
Lacking the old knight's protection and following last night's commotion, some living corpses had managed to slip inside the building. As a result, the two essentially had to fight their way out, slaying seven living corpses along the way.
Rate on N.U.
