Chapter 50: The Unnameable Beast

"Side quest completed, reward pack delivered."

Hearing the cold, mechanical success prompt, Luo Ke couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed this system shared a bit of his own temperament, actually approving of his methods.

The prophet was dead—wasn't that simply stopping her from continuing to spread her absurd nonsense and deceive the masses?

Such a simple and brutal logic.

Moreover, Luo Ke felt not a shred of hesitation when killing her. That woman was a thoroughly homicidal madman, taking human lives under the guise of God and the apocalypse.

If he were God, he would really want to shove her straight into the ground with his thumb, pressing down so hard she could never be dug back out.

"Open it."

"Gift pack opened—Expansion: Portable storage dimensions increased from 5 meters to 10 meters in length, width, and height."

"Not bad at all. Given how simple the quest was, one shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth," Luo Ke thought with satisfaction.

Going from 5 meters to 10 meters wasn't just a simple addition of 5 meters; it was an astronomical expansion. It could hold vastly more items, making future travel and transport much more convenient.

...

Inside the supermarket, absolute silence reigned. A group of people stared in utter shock at the prophet who had suddenly dropped dead, completely at a loss.

A second ago, she had been speaking with absolute conviction, acting as though she truly were an apostle of God, yet the next second she was summoned back by the Almighty?

David, who had never believed in religion, took his son's hand and silently muttered to himself: I really need to thank God for taking her away.

The prophet's followers completely lost their momentum, slowly waking from their madness as they began searching for a new spiritual sustenance.

David, possessing the most leadership qualities, naturally became the new leader. He first used various objects to seal the shattered glass doors, then lowered his voice and said, "Everyone, we cannot panic. Let's get some rest until tomorrow morning. The others and I will take turns keeping watch, and at first light tomorrow morning, we'll head to the adjacent pharmacy for medicine."

The medicine was for the man burned in the fire. His extensive burns meant he urgently needed antibiotics and other supplies. He had been rescued from the flames—making him both extremely fortunate and deeply unfortunate.

The vast majority of people fell into a deep sleep, but one woman, overwhelmed by despair, sat in a corner and swallowed a large handful of sleeping pills, drifting into an eternal slumber inside the supermarket.

The mist brought with it not only monsters, but also a suffocating pressure that quietly preyed on the mind.

While peace temporarily descended here, the outside world remained lively and bustling.

Deprived of sunlight, the mist grew even deeper, rendering it nearly pitch-black. The occasional sweep of tentacles and lumbering bodies added a layer of spine-chilling horror.

A slender figure approached, revealing a ferocious stance, a pair of curved blades shimmering faintly.

Slash!

Luo Ke casually swept his arm, his bone blade leaving a gash on the mantis's leg as the power of devouring, mixed with a paralyzing effect, invaded its body.

The mantis immediately lost its footing, its entire leg completely numb and turgid.

With a swift up-and-down motion of his blade, he delivered the coup de grace decisively.

By now, dozens of monster carcasses lay scattered across the street where Luo Ke stood, sprawled in all directions in a rather shocking display.

Extending his claws of devouring, he walked slowly from one end of the street to the other. Not stopping there, he continued turning into another alley.

Illuminated by his flashlight, another street was filled with dismembered corpses!

The spine-chilling sound of devouring was jarringly sharp, akin to a swarm of cannibalistic insects chewing through bones close to one's ears. The few survivors hiding in their homes all curled up inside their wardrobes and shivered, terrified that the monster slaughtering its own kind would come knocking on their door.

He had gone on a killing frenzy!

Total +103.
Evolution Value: [638/2000].

The individuals weren't numerous, but added together, the gains were quite substantial. The key was that it had been easy and relaxing.

"Host has devoured numerous otherworldly bizarre creatures, spiritual strength has slightly increased."

Luo Ke's facial muscles twitched. Even this worked? Was this the system tossing him a comforting bone?

It did feel like his mind was markedly clearer; the mild fatigue from working through the night had been completely swept away, leaving him even a bit exhilarated.

Something was better than nothing, and contentment brought lasting happiness.

Night would inevitably pass, but the mist still refused to disperse.

People had thought that a night of sleep would make everything better, but the thick fog shattered their illusions and hopes.

Inside the supermarket, of the three soldiers trapped there, two had committed suicide. Having participated in the military project of the otherworldly portal, they could no longer bear the guilt and self-blame after witnessing countless tragedies.

Of course, they had also been influenced to some extent by the invisible forces within the mist.

The sole remaining soldier tearfully confessed the truth to everyone, leaving everyone in shock and inciting a torrent of angry curses.

This reached a major turning point: in the original film, the prophet claimed the military men were among the primary culprits and that he had to be sacrificed for everyone to survive. Consequently, the fanatics beat the soldier and shoved him out of the supermarket, watching helplessly as he was grabbed and torn apart by monsters.

However, since the prophet had been killed by Luo Ke, David naturally wouldn't make such an extreme and idiotic move. Even though some people blamed the soldier, no acts of violence occurred.

Early in the morning, David took several men to venture out of the supermarket toward the neighboring pharmacy.

They successfully retrieved the medicine without being attacked by the giant spider, because the giant spider weaving its web inside had long since been poked to death by one of Luo Ke's claws.

Strictly speaking, the monsters in the vicinity had been mostly cleared out by Luo Ke. Even if there were a few stragglers, running into them wasn't so easy.

The group returned safely to the supermarket, a contemplative look on David's face.

"I still want to leave this place. Actively seeking a way out is the best approach," he asked the bespectacled, reliable clerk.

The clerk shrugged. "You don't like being passive?"

Just as David made up his decision, his son Billy tugged at his sleeve. "Dad, I don't want to go out. Let's just hide here."

David fell silent. He looked around and saw everyone gazing at him with expectant eyes, hoping he would stay and take charge of the situation.

He couldn't help but smile. "Alright, let's listen to my son. We'll stay here and wait for rescue."

The butterfly effect: a single, seemingly insignificant action by Luo Ke had completely rewritten the ending.

...

On the highway leading out of the town, overturned cars and dead bodies were scattered everywhere, with destroyed utility poles and trees fallen across each other in a chaotic mess.

The cars were covered in spiderwebs, with an occasional dark shadow darting past—likely the offspring spawned by the giant spider. Luo Ke didn't even want to devour them; they weren't even enough to get stuck between his teeth.

He hurried through this area, searching for the mountain-sized behemoth. Finding nothing after a thorough sweep, he left the main road and climbed the adjacent mountain slope.

Boom...

Suddenly, the earth shook violently.

Then, the vibration grew increasingly distinct and intense.

Luo Ke stood within the forest, feeling a colossal entity approaching, a spark of eager anticipation involuntarily blooming in his eyes.

Setting aside whether he could devour it or not, simply being able to witness these giant creatures with his own eyes was well worth the trip, wasn't it?

The next second, an indescribable behemoth emerged from the mist. Its six long legs, resembling goat hooves, were at least tens of meters tall, and its obscured body was covered in frantically flailing, elongated tentacles.

Its build resembled an insect, but the limbs looked as though they had been haphazardly pieced together by a child, transforming it into an entirely alien species.

Unnameable, indescribable!

There were no existing words in the dictionary to describe it.

It passed by the side of the mountain, kicking up a howling wind, its flailing tentacles passing merely a dozen meters away from Luo Ke.

This sight was enough to give anyone with megalophobia an instant fatal heart attack.

Hum... hum...

A silent ripple emanated from its body, affecting the surrounding living creatures. Even Luo Ke found it difficult to completely suppress a slight trace of despair welling up inside him.

No wonder David and the others in the film willingly chose collective suicide; in the face of such bizarre coercion, it was difficult for one's emotions not to be influenced.

Yet, Luo Ke felt no pressure at all. After all, his power of devouring could grind even such formless spiritual forces to dust.

He leaped high into the air, fluttering against the wind, then beast-formed mid-air, thrusting his bone blades forward as he charged straight at the giant beast's back!