Chapter 3, Offerings

The ability to shoot a zombie in the head with a single bullet is sufficient to demonstrate the effectiveness of firearms

A series of prompts, words, and whispers left Xu Le's entire senses in chaos

Xu Le did not have a clock; regarding the strange occurrences, he could only count the numbers in his mind to keep track of time, trying to correspond as closely as possible to the impending midnight

Sitting on the bed board that had already creaked, Xu Le felt that his pants were somewhat sticky against his backside, which was quite uncomfortable

Immediately after, he recalled the indistinct whisper from earlier

Xu Le, who had been feeling extremely hot, suddenly felt a bit cold at this moment

At this moment, Xu Le's face had turned a purplish hue, and he opened his mouth wide but could not draw in any air

You are really going to die! What a pity

I suppose I have won, after all, Old Zhou is already dead. I wanted to light a cigarette for myself, but I found that I had no cigarettes and did not know how to smoke. This sadness is inexplicable, as I look gloomily at Old Zhou beneath my feet, who is likely the one I killed. I have two thoughts in mind, one is that I do not want to die here, and the other is also that I do not want to die here

As she contemplated this sentence, Xu Le seemed to sense something and suddenly turned to her right.

It is true that words are spoken this way... but I am really very thirsty

He realized something, but he had no idea how to save himself

Fear is a delicacy that all strange beings will savor, and your fear will attract them

Xu Le gazed at the flickering flames, his expression serene

Still at the entrance, still in that position, still that mouse

Even creatures as small as mice have appeared, yet those strange characters have not continued to provide any hints

Xu Le squinted his eyes

After pondering for a moment, he wrote on the bed board with charcoal:

The wind blew in again, stirring the campfire in front of Xu Le and drying the sweat on his body

When will I be able to break the bad habit of writing Lu Shuwen's works

After completing everything, Xu Le, who had gained experience in killing enemies, felt a surge of confidence.

Calming my breath, I held the firearm close to my chest

He did not know whether he had hit the mouse; this suffocating feeling had already begun to blur his vision

Xu Le glanced at the cookies and water he had set aside, licking his lips that had become somewhat cracked due to excessive dehydration

The current house is in a dilapidated and unsealed state, and a Level 1 anomaly will appear after 3 seconds at midnight 0:00

He gazed outside the house, where it was pitch dark, and nothing could be seen clearly

Then, while glancing sideways at the front, he took several large gulps, making a "ton ton ton" sound.

He is dying

Xu Le still did not release the gun, as weapons are the true guarantee of safety

Only one is left

298, 299, 300

It has been resolved

Xu Le tightened his grip on the firearm in his hand, but his heartbeat and breathing had already begun to accelerate unnaturally.

Apart from the air being more sultry than before, there are no other changes

The vivid image of having eaten too many mushrooms resurfaced before his eyes

According to the previous situation, there should be new prompts at this time

However, this time, there were no prompts with strange characters

Well, I think it is mostly afraid

No mice, no suffocation, and no more cold

Looking at the expanse of red and white before him, Xu Le took a deep breath

Bump

A faint sound at the door caused Xu Le to immediately stand up with his gun in hand, but what appeared at the entrance was merely an ordinary mouse

The musty smell spread throughout the room, yet Xu Le found some enjoyment in this scent; perhaps this is what it feels like to be alive

Seeing Old Zhou's figure, he passed through the bonfire without any obstruction

Xu Le thought that this heat was probably due to being too close to the campfire

The evening star is like your eyes, both deadly and fiery. You need not say anything, the wild wind disturbs me

After tidying up his clothes, Xu Le began to inspect the firearm

He glanced at Old Zhou's corpse again and silently wiped away those crude characters.

The eyelids are very heavy, but it is not safe to sleep at this moment

Moreover, even if the bullets are changed, there will be no effect

Drink! Drink!

Old Zhou

Xu Le began to eat the cookies at hand, as well as the flattened bread.

Xu Le slowly lowered the firearm. Although he spoke lightly, the trembling fingers that had nowhere to rest revealed some of his current emotions

The back began to sweat profusely again, and Xu Le understood that this was a natural stress response of the body after a short-term replenishment of fluids, which is normal

But why is there no response until now

Hello

Straining his body, Xu Le began to add some damp firewood.

Xu Le felt somewhat puzzled, for he distinctly remembered those words

He estimated that nearly ten minutes had already passed

He shifted his body slightly, picked up the water bottle, and with great effort, unscrewed the cap with one hand

Upon reaching this point, Xu Le's lips twitched. Could this be considered a post-war summary

Peh peh peh, can you not fall ill at this time?

Raising the gun and looking around, there was fundamentally nothing at all

Deep down, one is likely to feel a sense of guilt towards Old Zhou

Xu Lesong let out a sigh of relief, intending to wipe the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, but he suddenly realized that his arms felt somewhat heavy

Death is imminent, and the heat is becoming increasingly intense; his fear and anger seem to be reset at this moment

Old Zhou walked towards Xu Le with a smile; at this distance, it was too late to change the bullet.

He consumed more than a dozen pieces in one go, nearly finishing the entire pack of compressed biscuits, before he finally let out a sigh of relief

Increasingly fast, increasingly urgent

Bang

Xu Le was still nervous. He raised his gun and took a glance to confirm that there were no issues before redirecting his attention back to the food in his hands

Xu Le suddenly took a deep breath, his blurred vision gradually became clear, and the feeling of suffocation dissipated.

In addition to confusion, there was also a hint of suspicion in the gaze

The melody that had just been hummed was interrupted by the unexpected guest who appeared once again

Xu Le did not relax himself; he held the firearm in his hand and counted to 600

Countdown to the Red Moon Catastrophe: 1 day 23 hours 59 minutes 56 seconds

Xu Le

He stood up and shook his clothes, letting the crumbs of the biscuit fall to the ground

As Lao Zhou approached, the feeling of suffocation grew increasingly intense

After a while, he muttered to himself again

It has already counted to 300, and the rhythm of counting by oneself is not fast. It should have surpassed midnight 0:00, so why has the strange phenomenon not occurred?

Xu Le fired without hesitation, as if this was his last chance

Only when his arms became sore, and the sweat had completely soaked the carbon powder in his hands, making it sticky and clumped together, did he reluctantly put down the gun

He forced himself to calm down and began to search for that previous feeling of restlessness

Xu Le lowered his head, his hair obscuring his gaze. After a while, he raised his head again

A blank mind gradually began to form some ideas; he was contemplating whether he should make some post-war reflections after killing his first strange creature in life

Creak!

The house is dilapidated, and strange prompts appear at 0 o'clock, which were clearly written at the time

Nothing happened

You are going to die! Do you need my help? But you have no offerings

Xu Le's long-held tension finally began to ease and calm down

Until that repeatedly appearing mouse appeared at the door once again

mouse

Until ... ... creak!

Sigh, I am too nervous

Has it been resolved

In addition to the text, the whispered words with an accent also emerged

In a state of panic, everything around Xu Le was distorting

As time passed, it became increasingly difficult for Xu Le to breathe, gasping for air, yet even so, the feeling of suffocation showed no signs of relief

The texture of this cookie is quite good, not very delicate, but the flavor of scallions truly makes Xu Le, who is hungry at the moment, eager to indulge.

Such strangeness was completely incomprehensible to him at this moment

After the shot, the air stagnated for a moment, and the flames before my eyes finally twisted again

Xu Le has already understood that this second strange entity does not have any physical form at all

When Xu Le looked back at that spot, the mouse was no longer there

Once again, a mouse appeared at the door of the house, seemingly in the same spot as before

A long time has passed, and Xu Le's anxious emotions gradually calmed down

Grip the firearm tightly, preparing to confront the possible second anomaly that may be encountered

Is there really nothing left

The sound just now was merely the noise made when it stepped on a small piece of wood

There was no further mention of the strange occurrences that would appear at midnight 0:00

Creak!

Load the round bullets and pull back the bolt again

Are you going to die?

He would not be like those foolish characters in television dramas, casually throwing down his weapon for a mere bit of food and water

It is still the same mouse! The same size, the same position, the same sound

Then, sitting back down on the ground, holding the gun, he hummed a little tune like those veterans who could not return home

I have offerings, help me

An old Zhou was standing there, grinning and smiling at him

Yet he always felt that there was something more in that darkness

His mind briefly welcomed a moment of clarity, and then he shouted:

Xu Le raised his hand and fired again, but as the bullet passed through Old Zhou's body, it only created ripples, as if it had penetrated an invisible surface of water

How can one kill without a physical entity

Fatigue rendered him somewhat listless, yet he dared not relax

Xu Le raised his gun towards the door, then slightly flustered, loaded a bullet and pulled the bolt