Chapter 14: First Kill

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: First Kill

Seraphina Sullivan was like an experienced hamster, nimbly sweeping through every corner.

She didn’t let a single useful item in the house slip by.

Her own world was also entering the apocalypse, and she had to hoard as many supplies as possible.

Only an abundance of supplies could set her mind at ease.

Opening the bedroom wardrobe, she found two brand-new down comforters.

From a kitchen drawer, she dug out a few reasonably sharp fruit knives.

’Just because these are useless now doesn’t mean they’ll be useless later,’ Seraphina muttered to herself, stuffing all the scavenged supplies into her Scavenger’s Space.

Batteries, a flashlight, a lighter, rope... Seraphina even found a massive Chopping Axe. She carefully inspected and stored each item.

As she was bent over checking under the bed, she suddenly heard a muffled THUD from upstairs, clearer than before.

Seraphina’s movements froze instantly, and tiny beads of sweat broke out on her forehead.

She thought of the photos she had seen in the newspaper.

’Could there be a parasitic monster in this house?’

THUD, THUD, THUD. The sound was like a large spider dragging itself across the floor.

The sound quickly drew closer... It seemed to have reached the top of the stairs.

’Time to go.’ Seraphina decisively gave up on scavenging further and moved stealthily toward the back door.

She set the Sound Wave Vibration Gun in her hand to its second level. If danger arose, she could instantly activate [Low Frequency Oscillation] to knock back the threat.

Just as Seraphina was about to touch the back doorknob, a hair-raising GNAWING sound suddenly came from upstairs, as if some creature were grinding its teeth.

Seraphina’s back was instantly drenched in a cold sweat. She didn’t dare to look back, gently turning the doorknob...

CREEEAAAK— The old wooden door let out a piercing sound.

At the same time, a rapid TAP-TAP-TAP came from the stairs. Something was rushing down!

’I’ve been discovered!’ Seraphina’s pupils constricted, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest.

Without another moment’s hesitation, she slammed the back door open and charged outside.

However, the sound of something slicing through the air behind her told her that her pursuer was much faster than she was.

SWOOSH—

A black shadow shot over her head, landing steadily three meters in front of her.

Seraphina skidded to a halt and finally got a clear look at her pursuer’s true form.

It was... or rather, it had once been a feline.

The creature before her retained the general outline of a cat, but its entire body had undergone a horrific mutation.

Its limbs were stretched to an unnatural length, spindly like a spider’s, and its sharp claws scraped deep grooves into the ground.

Large patches of its once-soft fur had fallen out, revealing purplish-red muscle tissue underneath.

The most terrifying part was its eyes—they had turned completely blood-red and were fixed on Seraphina as thick saliva dripped continuously from the corners of its mouth.

"Meeeo... RAWR..." it let out a bizarre hiss, a sound that was part meow, part bestial growl.

In that instant, Seraphina activated [Eye of Resume]:

[Name: Parasitic Variant - Cat]

[Gender: Male (Neutered)]

[Professional Skills: Carnivorous, Body Enhancement]

[Weaknesses: Afraid of water, afraid of ultraviolet radiation (sunlight).]

The information and weaknesses provided by Eye of Resume were more or less the same as what was in the newspaper.

Clearly, this former housecat had been parasitized by a Parasitic Bloodworm and had now completely transformed into a bloodthirsty monster.

The muscles in its hind legs twitched continuously. It was clearly gathering strength for a pounce.

"MREEOOOW—!"

With a distorted yowl, the mutated cat kicked off forcefully with its hind legs, its entire body launching toward Seraphina like a spring.

Its deformed claws glinted coldly in the twilight, its gaping maw filled with sharp fangs.

Seraphina’s eyes sharpened. She raised the Sound Wave Vibration Gun in her left hand like lightning and fired at the pouncing black shadow.

VWOOM—!

[Low Frequency Oscillation] activated.

A visible shock wave erupted from the gun’s muzzle, distorting the very air around it.

The mutated cat was struck head-on by the shock wave in mid-air. It let out a pained YELP as its body was sent flying like a rag doll, crashing heavily onto the ground five meters away.

Without a moment of hesitation, a silver light flashed in Seraphina’s right hand. The Silver Needle instantly extended into a long, slender Fencing Sword.

She lunged forward, and just as the mutated cat was struggling to get up, the tip of her sword struck out like a venomous snake.

The Tailor’s [Quick Sewing] skill activated in seamless succession.

SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!

The Silver Needle Sword moved with astonishing speed, weaving between the mutated cat’s limbs and the ground as Energy Silk Threads traced silver arcs through the air.

In the blink of an eye, the mutated cat was firmly "sewn" to the ground. The Energy Silk Threads dug deep into its flesh, pinning it securely in place.

"HISSS... ROAR..." The mutated cat thrashed wildly, but the seemingly delicate Energy Silk Threads were tougher than steel.

Seraphina had no desire to look at the twisted creature for a second longer.

The next second, she returned the Silver Needle Sword and the Sound Wave Vibration Gun to her Scavenger’s Space. She then pulled the sharp Chopping Axe she had just found from the space, gripped the handle with both hands, and brought it down hard on the mutated cat’s neck.

SQUELCH!

The muffled thud of the axe blade sinking into flesh was accompanied by the sound of splattering blood.

The mutated cat’s head rolled to the ground, its bloodshot eyes still fixed in a ferocious glare.

Dark red blood gushed from the severed neck, forming a shocking pool on the ground.

"Huuuh..." Seraphina stepped back two paces, breathing heavily. The adrenaline rush made her tremble slightly.

But she didn’t let her guard down, cautiously watching the still-twitching headless corpse.

She noticed something wriggling in the blood near the severed neck.

A scarlet, spider-like insect was crawling out of the neck stump.

’The Parasitic Bloodworm itself!’ Seraphina realized instantly, bringing the axe down on the bloodworm’s body again.

Once, twice.

After four or five consecutive strikes, the bloodworm was reduced to fragments. Eye of Resume could no longer provide any information on the creature before her.

Only then did Seraphina feel relieved.

[Ding! Killed Parasitic Variant - Cat. Quest Progress: 1/100]

The system’s notification echoed in her mind.

Seraphina finally let out a long sigh of relief, but her nerves immediately tensed up again. The fight had been loud, and she had to leave this place as soon as possible.

She was terrified another Parasitic Variant would appear.

Seraphina’s footsteps echoed hurriedly on the wet street. She kept glancing back, afraid that another Parasitic Variant would dart out from some dark corner.

The cold rain spattered her face, yet it brought her a sliver of comfort—at least for now, the bloodthirsty monsters wouldn’t dare to appear so easily in the rain.

SPLASH—

The rain was gradually letting up, and the sky was growing darker.

Seraphina looked up at the sky. The last wisp of twilight peeking through a crack in the clouds was being devoured by the darkness.

She knew that once the rain stopped completely and night fell, the parasitic monsters, who feared water and light, would emerge.

’Where should I go?’ She bit her lip and scanned her surroundings.

During her first instance, she had been lucky enough to find a working phone and had relied on its map app to find her destination.

But now, she could only rely on her own judgment.

In the distant, hazy curtain of rain, a waterfall like a ribbon of white silk cascaded down a cliff, standing out starkly in the twilight.

’A waterfall...’ Seraphina’s eyes lit up.

A waterfall meant a continuous source of water, and the sound of it could cover her movements.

More importantly, the parasitic creatures hated moisture-rich environments. It was likely a relatively safe zone.