Chapter Ten: A Pleasant Collaboration

Ignoring the increasingly piercing wails of the female corpse, Ash switched his weapon to the Direwolf Fist Gauntlets. Now on the offensive, he faced two options: engage in a blood-soaked duel with the Spitter or first deal with the clawing, ordinary zombies. Ash chose the latter, striking the head of a zombie at arm’s reach. The reason for abandoning an attack on the Spitter was simple—the damage output was far from ideal. Whether with the Direwolf Fist Gauntlets or the depleted energy baton, neither could inflict significant harm on the Spitter. With another bile spray imminent, Ash decided to swallow his pride, endure the Spitter’s attacks, and clear the lesser enemies first.

Seeing Ash ignore him, dispatching two minions outright, the Spitter was furious and eager for vengeance. But a new problem arose—the target’s head seemed suddenly harder than steel. Out of options, the Spitter waited out the bile spray’s cooldown. Its belly swayed, throat relaxed, preparing to drench Ash and his companion in corrosive fluid.

But just then, a heart-freezing scream of utter despair erupted!

The sound seemed to come from the deepest abyss, a powerful sonic wave instantly dispelling the oppressive darkness in the corpse nest, enveloping both humans and zombies.

[Notification: "Corpse Nest Blood Vessel" has been successfully destroyed, thereby killing the leader-class corpse entity derivative "???", and you have gained a massive number of contribution points.]

[Notification: You have been affected by "???’s" "Witch’s Howl (Weakened)". If your Will score is less than five, you will suffer twenty points of health damage, twenty points of sanity damage, and be stunned for five seconds.]

[Notification: Judgment in progress…]

In truth, at the instant the Witch’s Howl sounded, Ash used the split-second reaction time to allocate free stat points gained from the evolution serum to his Will attribute. As the wine grew stronger, he kept destroying blood vessels in the nest, and the volume of the white-haired corpse’s crying kept increasing. By the time the last semi-intact vessel was about to collapse, the wailing had become unbearably shrill.

So, when he saw the final, deadly arrow from the wine-sharpened archer strike the vessel, he chose without hesitation to raise his Will score.

This time, without a doubt, Ash had gambled correctly!

[Notification: You have used one core attribute point to raise your Will score to five. (Vitality 4 + Will 5 = Level 6 + 2 Will + 1 Free Point)]

[Notification: Judgment successful! Your Will score has reached five. You have successfully resisted "???’s" "Witch’s Howl (Weakened)".]

The howl’s sonic wave became a gale, nearly forcing Ash’s eyes shut. At that moment, every zombie, including the Spitter, was affected by the howl, stunned for five seconds.

So, what should Ash do next?

Attack more ordinary zombies? Or seize the moment to ambush the Spitter?

The correct answer...

Of course, it was time to run!

He hadn’t fled earlier because the zombies blocked the way, making escape impossible. Now, with this heaven-sent opportunity, when else would he run? Stay here and wait for the Spitter’s next attack?

Don’t forget, the wine-sharpened archer was also stunned!

Ash grabbed the archer, shoved aside the dazed zombies blocking their path, and strode toward the exit. In her foggy state, the archer felt a warm sensation in her palm. As she emerged from the stun, she realized a powerful force from Ash’s arm had flung her onto the open ground in front of the villa. Just before hitting the ground, inertia spun her half a turn, allowing her to glimpse a jet of dark green liquid narrowly missing her, and also see Ash, hiding by the door, visibly relieved.

Understanding what had happened, the archer quickly got up to rejoin Ash, feeling a surge of gratitude. When the Spitter was preparing its bile spray, she had braced for the worst. Seeing Ash’s unyielding back, she too gritted her teeth and focused entirely on her attack, narrowly avoiding disaster. What surprised her even more was that at the crucial moment, Ash hadn’t abandoned her, leading her to label him a “responsible” teammate.

A fleeting smile appeared in her eyes; she composed herself and began to fight alongside Ash.

At this turning point, the outcome was no longer in doubt.

With only eight minions left, the Spitter posed no threat to Ash and the archer. In no time, they reduced it to a lone commander. To avoid the effects of its parting gift, they gradually shifted the battle to the edge of the woods. The archer kept shooting bolts from afar, while Ash guarded her side. The Spitter’s bloated body couldn’t keep up with their pace, but, with nothing left to lose, it resolved to fight to the death, hoping to deliver one final, dazzling farewell gift.

Yet, as the game timer hit fifteen minutes, a small twist occurred.

A gray soul energy streaked through the woods, entering the Spitter’s mouth. Though it couldn’t reverse the Spitter’s demise, it alerted Ash and the archer.

Someone was coming!

They exchanged a glance. The archer immediately fired a newly readied critical bolt, striking the Spitter and triggering an expected explosive blast.

[Notification: You have participated in the kill of elite zombie "Spitter", earning substantial contribution points!]

[Notification: Your character level has risen to seven. You have gained one core attribute point, one important attribute point, and may enhance the corresponding attributes in your character interface.]

[Notification: Finally, please enjoy the Spitter’s parting gift!]

The Spitter’s belly instantly ruptured, spraying the green bile like fireworks in all directions. Fortunately, Ash and the archer hid behind their preselected tree, avoiding the blast unscathed.

For the first time, the two shared a crisis, exchanging smiles. The archer impulsively raised her palm; Ash understood, raising his hand in response.

Pop!

“Pleasure working with you.”

“Pleasure working with you!”

After their mutual affirmation, Ash and the archer dashed toward the corpse-nest villa, not forgetting the impending threat.

Beside the Spitter and the Shaver, they picked up Ash’s required [Resilient Bloodvine Core (Juvenile)] and the archer’s [Frenzied Bloodvine Core (Juvenile)], then hurried to check what the white-haired corpse had dropped.

To their surprise, a glowing orb floated beside the corpse. Ash touched it, and suddenly a card and a lingering soul appeared in his hand.

“Someone from Paradise World?”

No time to examine the loot, Ash and the archer immediately assumed fighting stances, looking toward the figure appearing at the window.

He was a very young white man, handsome and tall, with fiery hair and a chilling gaze. Draped in a black cloak, he looked at Ash and the archer, laughing coldly, “Impressive, truly impressive! Paradise World deserves its title as the strongest world today—so many young talents like Gardeners!”

Gardeners?

Hearing the mention of Gardeners and noticing the black cloak, Ash activated his Eye of Investigation, only to receive a prompt that perception was suppressed and the scan failed. He tried asking, “Are you Little Bob?”

“You actually know me?” The red-haired man was surprised, then quickly realized, “Right, you could very well know me—after all, you and the Gardeners come from the same place. It’s not strange at all.”

He glanced at the chaos of the corpse nest, smirked, and snorted, “I have to admit, your combat abilities exceeded my expectations. Though the nest’s defenses are now at their weakest, you two alone managed to destroy the Witch, which truly astonishes me.”

[Notification: "Little Bob’s" favorability toward you has risen from 'Hostile' to 'Indifferent'!]

The sudden favorability prompt made Ash and the archer realize they might have avoided a fierce battle. Though Little Bob’s demeanor was still cold, it was better than the icy hostility from before.

The archer tugged at Ash’s sleeve, and both relaxed their fighting stances. Ash saw Little Bob’s attitude soften and tried, “I think there may be some misunderstandings between us. We’re not allies of the Gardeners. In fact, the Gardeners are wanted by the Foundation, and our mission here, besides seeking the Solar Staircase, is to track the Gardeners’ whereabouts.”

This statement was mostly true, and even under scrutiny, would reveal no major flaws. The Foundation had indeed issued a warrant for the Gardeners, and as a Foundation employee, Ash had a duty to investigate them.

Noticing Little Bob’s suspicious expression, Ash raised his bloodvine bracelet, freshly evolved, “If you don’t believe me, here’s proof. This bracelet and my companion’s ring were made from bloodvine taken from a Gardener. The Gardener’s crime is concealing spatial rifts, and my companion and I joined the investigation. The key evidence exposing the Gardener was your father’s diary. I believe he really did travel the wilderness, because even as death approached, his writing never faltered.”

Ash’s words seemed to touch Little Bob; his cheeks twitched uneasily. After a few seconds of silence, he recovered, pulled out his bloodvine necklace, and faced Ash’s wrist. He sensed that his “mature” bloodvine necklace was actually wary of Ash’s newly evolved “adolescent” bloodvine bracelet.

This phenomenon could only be triggered by bloodvine fused with a Gardener’s blood.

This result made Little Bob somewhat believe Ash’s explanation. Without expression, he climbed through the window, maintaining a final degree of caution, leaned against the sill, and with a raised chin, eyed the card in Ash’s hand, saying warily, “I suggest you don’t use that invitation lightly. We thought with a Gardener, we could do as we pleased in the Forbidden Zone of Life. Reality slapped us hard. If you don’t want to die, put away that damned curiosity.”

“Oh? I’d like to hear more!” Sensing Little Bob was about to loosen up, Ash’s eyes lit up. “Perfect—we have plenty of questions and are eager for answers!”