Chapter 35: Dilemma

Blood zombies, the cannon fodder of vampires—typically humans transformed.

Under the corruption of vampiric blood, blood zombies gain explosive strength, their nerves destroyed, ignoring bodily limits.

They’re no longer human, their blood mildly toxic—but I’d never seen one with such potent corrosiveness.

Still shaken, I stared at the flesh, blood, and corpse by the door, my hand repeatedly touching my face.

“Sigh… Why am I so unlucky? Whatever, let’s figure out how this thing got in, then deal with the body.”

I sighed, tidied my things, and searched the house, curious about its entry.

After circling the place, I found no odd traces, so I headed to the bathroom.

As expected, the window was shattered, glass scattered on the floor, leading to a clothes-drying platform outside.

It must’ve come through there.

But why me?

I was baffled.

This floor has plenty of residents, and it seemed like only one blood zombie.

Why my place?

Bad luck?

“…Guess I’m just that unlucky. And this zombie was… abnormal.”

Scratching my cheek, I felt something was off.

Though it’s been a while, my memory tells me normal blood zombie blood isn’t this corrosive. Their main threat is toxic blood and saliva, turning victims into zombies within hours—but not like this.

This zombie was unusual.

“…Could a powerful vampire have snuck in?”

The thought hit me, sending a shiver down my spine.

Only a high-tier vampire could create a zombie with blood this deadly to humans.

…Damn it, this city’s getting dangerous.

I reached this conclusion but had no better plan. I needed to finish Gu Xuanyun’s potion and get out.

“Ugh… I was hoping to train a bit more here.” I sighed, shaking my head, and returned to the living room to deal with the corpse and mess.

…Problem is, how?

Staring at the zombie, its head pierced by my dagger, I fell silent.

With its head so damaged, disposing of it like the last two times wouldn’t work.

“…Guess I’ll have to use the storage bracelet to move it.”

After thinking, I decided to store the zombie in the bracelet and dump it later.

It’d mess up the bracelet’s interior, but I had no choice. I’d clean it later.

Sighing, I emptied the bracelet’s herbs, weapons, and armor, setting them aside, then stored the zombie.

But that wasn’t all. The blood and flesh on the floor gave me a headache.

“Sigh…”

I grabbed a bucket and rag from the bathroom and started cleaning the blood and my own melted flesh.

My mental energy and mana aren’t strong enough to waste on magic for cleaning, especially with vampires lurking. Every bit of strength is precious, and mental energy is my lifeline.

Though disgusting, I gritted my teeth and cleaned it all.

“…What a nightmare.”

Done, I exhaled, set the cleaning tools down, and slumped onto the sofa with my backpack.

“…My body’s too weak—reaction, speed, strength, all lacking.”

I thought quietly.

Without my mental energy, I wouldn’t have beaten that zombie.

It felt no pain, had corrosive blood, and outclassed me in strength, speed, and explosiveness. Not getting bitten was pure luck.

Though, even if bitten, my high-tier bloodline might resist vampiric corruption.

I need to train my body. Home workouts only maintain fitness; real strength requires proper techniques.

I knew I needed martial skills, but I hadn’t had time or energy to focus on physical training. Any exercise I squeezed in was a small victory.

“…Next time at Golden Skull, I’ll check for suitable martial techniques. With Gu Xuanyun’s payment, minus the egg babies’ crystals, I should have enough… but that means I can’t leave Black Obsidian City yet.”

I calculated, frowning.

Leaving now, after buying crystals, I’d barely have enough to settle in another city. Buying techniques would delay my departure another month for more payments.

It’s a tough call.

“…Forget it, work first. Whether to buy techniques or leave depends on the situation. No point overthinking now.”

After pondering, I decided to play it by ear. With night falling, I couldn’t dump the body yet, so I started my potion work.