Chapter 23: Goat-Headed Monster

As soon as they exited the vehicle, several new tasks popped up in the chat room. Lin Ye glanced at them and immediately ignored the third task - he had no desire to approach that massive shadow.

"Should we go in? Or explore elsewhere first?" Zhao Yong walked at the forefront, his robust physique like a solid wall that radiated security.

"Better not. This road leads to other areas within ten minutes' walk. Until we fully understand this place, we shouldn't wander randomly." Xu Min maintained a cautious distance from the others as she spoke.

"Agreed. Following the system prompts means we can still take the vehicle back. Random wandering might leave us stranded forever." Lin Ye surveyed their surroundings while keeping his senses alert. When selecting the station earlier, he had already equipped the Cross Necklace and Spiritual Energy Ring. Through previous trials, he'd discovered that as long as he didn't trigger the same intense spiritual perception as when slaying monsters, prolonged use of the Cross Necklace wouldn't cause major issues.

The Spiritual Energy Ring worked exceptionally well. With the necklace's assistance, Lin Ye could clearly feel ambient spiritual energy continuously entering his body, strengthening his physique.

"So what now? Find somewhere on the outskirts to hide until morning?" Zhao Yong picked up a concrete-encased steel rebar from the ground as he asked.

"First gather supplies, see if we can find usable weapons. The prompt says survive until tomorrow - something might change here at night, otherwise it'd be too easy." Xu Min carefully examined the surrounding ruins, searching for a relatively safe temporary base.

"I suggest splitting up before sunset to thoroughly explore these ruins. We can communicate through group chat if needed - that's our advantage." Lin Ye wouldn't have proposed this with ordinary teammates, but these companions seemed reliable.

"Fine, I'll head that way." Li Ji pointed east through the ruins.

"Then I'll take the west." Xu Min stated decisively, clearly wanting to avoid the massive shadow at the ruins' center.

"I'll check the middle." Old Man Zhao declared domineeringly, preparing to explore the central ruins directly.

"I'll wander around then. Contact me if anything comes up." Lin Ye gazed at the shadow looming in the distant mist, feeling an indistinct sense of foreboding.

The ruins teemed with mutation creatures. Relying on his perception, Lin Ye carefully circumvented areas with stronger creatures while searching for useful supplies, occasionally using blood-corpse remains to reload his pistol.

Following the city layout, Lin Ye soon found a commercial street. Though now in ruins, he located a gun shop among the debris.

Numerous blood-corpses wandered the street, intermixed with mutation creatures that had developed mutation organs. The street only contained abandoned vehicles without substantial cover - any noise risked attracting hordes of blood-corpses, making individual elimination impossible.

Currently bullet-less with only the Red Blade and his CL0 pistol (still transforming flesh ammunition), Lin Ye stood no chance against so many blood-corpses.

'Guess I'll try another route.'

Ideally, Lin Ye wanted to avoid narrow alleys. Aside from potential mutation creatures hiding in corners, the unstable ruins themselves posed lethal dangers.

He recalled a game where the protagonist could randomly die while climbing - thankfully he lacked such a deadly passive skill.

Choosing a relatively wide alley, Lin Ye advanced cautiously with Red Blade in hand. Clearly in a different timezone from the Shelter world with no visible sun, he couldn't tell how long until nightfall but planned to return before dark.

This alley housed few mutation creatures, all relatively weak - likely the stronger ones had left to claim territory. Lin Ye easily dispatched the sensed blood-corpses with Red Blade. After absorbing their spiritual energy through the ring, he noticed slight physical improvement.

Properly placed, most blood-corpses required only one stab. As his kills accumulated, Lin Ye gradually developed more techniques.

After eliminating a mutated stray dog, Lin Ye finally entered the gun shop.

Eerily quiet with empty racks, the shop floor was littered with bloodstains and shell casings. Lin Ye quickly located the storage room - its door slightly ajar with a monster poised behind it.

Separated only by the door, the creature clearly sensed Lin Ye's position and prepared to strike. Lin Ye likewise perceived the monster - possessing just one mutation organ, but one abnormally active, surpassing even that previous multi-organ creature.

Drawing his CL0 pistol (ammunition not fully transformed but usable), Lin Ye prepared to shoot through the door when the monster suddenly moved.

Transitioning from stillness to explosive motion instantly, the door shattered as the creature appeared before Lin Ye in a blink.

A goat's head, human torso, mismatched animal limbs, and a thick tail - this patchwork monster assembled from various biological components.

Lin Ye sidestepped left just in time to avoid being pulverized.

Boom! The goat-headed monster smashed into the wall, shaking the entire shop and cracking the structure.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Lin Ye emptied his pistol into the creature's back, targeting the thoracic mutation organ. All five bullets hit but only caused superficial wounds - the incompletely transformed ammunition lacked penetration, becoming lodged in muscle under the monster's spiritual energy influence.

Retreating quickly, Lin Ye found limited maneuvering space in the small shop with the exit blocked by the monster.

The goat-headed creature turned - slightly shorter than Lin Ye but densely muscled, its body brimming with energy as the mutation organ pulsed, ready to unleash lethal force.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Lin Ye kept firing at the mutation organ, not expecting results but needing to suppress the monster to avoid instant death.

When the creature raised its forelimbs to block, Lin Ye saw opportunity - if he could penetrate its defense...

Bang! Bang! A sudden wrist flick sent two bullets precisely bursting the monster's eyes.

The goat-headed monster shrieked piercingly, then charged blindly, forelimbs protecting its chest. Even eyeless, it could sense Lin Ye's approximate position, though without visual clarity.