Cheng Shuli turned her head, inch by agonizing inch, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
A deathly pale face hovered inches from her nose. Pupilless eyes—murky, bloodshot orbs—glared like cursed glass.
Ice crystals crusted its face, its skin a sickly bluish-gray. A torn maw stretched to its ears, baring jagged black fangs.
"Gurgle…"
This ugly bastard…
Cheng Shuli's curse barely formed when the monster lunged, its grotesque face splitting into a savage grin.
Adrenaline exploded. At the last heartbeat, she jerked aside. Claws grazed her cheek, spraying blood beads.
She rolled with the dodge, channeling every ounce of strength into a baseball bat swing at the monster's knee.
38 Strength wasn't child's play.
Crack! The bone-shattering snap echoed. The monster stumbled, its leg—likely pulverized—giving way. Its stance warped, but ice crystals snapped it back into place.
Her slick combo fumbled, but no time to dwell. The real move was now.
Locking eyes with the beast, Cheng Shuli whispered: "Insight!"
The Abyss Ring seared her finger. A monster panel blazed in her mind.
[Insight Activated]
[Name: Snow-Buried Ghoul]
[Origin: Spawned from the same frozen hell as you, these are the vanquished, claimed by bitter cold. When blizzards devoured their final pulses, eternal night forged their grudges into unyielding ice. On a moonless night, the frost shattered, and they rose, their frostbitten claws merging with the storm.]
[Weaknesses: Dreads cozy warmth—what eluded them in life slays them in death. The heart, humanity's eternal Achilles' heel, remains their undoing, monster or not.]
Cheng Shuli's mind raced.
Zombie vibes.
"Cozy warmth… heart…" She dissected the Insight data.
Her cart's three-meter radius was a toasty haven. The heart? Her fingers tightened on the dagger at her waist.
The ghoul cocked its head, pupilless eyes drilling into her, its maw twisting into a mocking sneer. A guttural "gurgle" taunted her resistance.
Cheng Shuli didn't bite. Her bat crashed into the freshly mended leg bone.
The ghoul unleashed a bone-rattling roar, fury ignited. Ignoring its shattered leg, it pounced, jaws gaping to rip her flesh.
She'd baited it perfectly. The leg strike was to enrage.
Stepping back with lazy precision, she watched the ghoul miscalculate and flail forward. Its broken leg buckled, and it faceplanted into the slushy snow.
Now!
Pinning it with a boot on its back, Cheng Shuli yanked her dagger and drove it into its heart.
The Snow-Buried Ghoul thrashed twice, then stilled.
Its body dissolved, a grotesque human form melting into a rancid snowmelt puddle.
Two items gleamed in the muck.
Using her bat to fish them out, she snatched them up.
[Snow-Buried Ghoul's Silver Bone]
[Description: This long bone shimmers like mithril, its surface aglow with lunar radiance. Eternal frost flowers stud its joints. By God, it's a work of art.]
Cheng Shuli frowned, wiping the bone with tissue. This felt… creepy.
But she wasn't the creep, right?
Why was this system such a cryptic poet?
Like that Oil Monster Core—useless fluff, no substance.
Sighing, she tucked the bone into her Abyss Ring, next to the core.
Monster drops in the cart? Too weird.
She drove two more hours, hitting noon. Wan Yi's message pinged right on time.
[Wan Yi]: Hot dry noodles for lunch. Your seasoning pack had sesame paste. SESAME PASTE, people!
[Wan Yi]: Scored thick noodles, so we're feasting. Wait for my culinary glow-up.
[Crow Takes Flight]: Sweet.
Rice was getting old anyway.
Lunch loomed, killing her drive to keep moving.
She hadn't checked her morning rewards!
Excitement flared. She dove into the carriage, inspecting her haul.
Her top prize?
The full bathroom set, no contest.
Novice period pit stops only risked lane merges. Now, squatting in the snow froze her ass.
The heater's three-meter range helped, but dropping trou near the cart? Hard pass.
Cheng Shuli tsked, the absurdity grating. She tapped the bathroom set.
[Full Bathroom Set (Uninstalled)]
[Description: The pinnacle of modern comfort! Marries sleek utility with high-end design, fulfilling every cozy fantasy. Modular and customizable, it molds to any space. Dry-wet separation! Smart fixtures! Your ticket to luxury living!]
Peak corporate spiel.
Cheng Shuli snorted. The ad-copy was absurd.
But she was sold.
Scanning the carriage, she frowned. It wasn't cramped before, but those 270 water bottles—courtesy of 54 blacklist "donors"—clogged her space.
She shoved the sofa by the bed, draped the bedding set over it, and tossed on a blanket and pillow. Looked legit.
Sorting the rest, she crammed every nook with neatly categorized gear. The carriage gleamed, transformed!
Wiping sweat from her brow, Cheng Shuli grinned at her masterpiece.
Those 270 water bottles, though? Still a pain.
She hit the trading channel.
[Crow Takes Flight]: Water bottles for basic materials.
[Wild Ambition]: Basic materials for water bottles! Wanna trade? DM me!
[Wild Ambition]: Whoa, boss, you're trading t trading too? Hang on, I'm sliding into your DMs!
[Bumper Car]: Today's meme: Crow boss swapping water bottles.
[Toast to the East Wind]: If Gentleman Sword's crew saw this, they'd stroke out. Haha, who didn't blacklist? Rub it in!
[Han Shuang]: Kinda regret blacklisting now. Missed the drama.
The chat erupted, and Cheng Shuli's DMs exploded.