Chapter 11: Bestiary

Mo Yu sat up from his bed, lost in thought.

The zombie dog was too fast.

It had charged at him with lightning speed, and with a flick of the tentacle-like appendage on its back, it had sent him flying, rendering him instantly incapacitated.

The difference in combat power was a full tier.

This thing was not a monster in the traditional sense; the interface provided no notification. Yet, it was clearly not a natural organism. Mo Yu surmised it might be a puppet driven by some sort of ability.

Was it Elise?

But she had no reason to kill him.

He checked the time: 4:20 AM.

Mo Yu asked Alpha, "When did the maid leave?"

Alpha replied, "2:30 AM."

He described the appearance of the zombie dog to Alpha, but after searching its database, Alpha found no relevant information.

"Come on," Mo Yu said. "Let's go take a look."

Man and dog went out.

Before the zombie dog reached the basement, the two took the stairs to the first floor. They found the zombie dog in the kitchen, where it had opened the refrigerator door and was gnawing on frozen meat.

Hearing them, the zombie dog turned its head.

Then.

Alpha was dismantled.

The zombie dog lunged, whipping its back tentacle and shattering Alpha in half.

Alpha’s final answer was: Unable to identify.

An unknown monster.

Rewind.

This time, Mo Yu backtracked to when the maid left. After regaining his senses, he ordered Alpha to crawl under the bed to hibernate, then immediately pushed open the door. He reached the first floor just in time to see the maid opening the front door, about to leave.

The maid had changed into a sharp, professional outfit: a white shirt, a pencil skirt, black stockings with high heels, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses—a classic look.

"Are you going out? What happened?"

"Urgent business. Stay here and behave. There are people watching outside; don't try to run. The Young Miss won't let a traitor go."

The maid was in a hurry and unwilling to say more, offering only warnings.

Mo Yu got straight to the point: "Are you going to kill me?"

The maid glanced at him. "If you are a waste, then you deserve to die."

Mo Yu nodded, forming a judgment.

The zombie dog was likely not Elise’s doing; it was another attacker.

He said immediately, "Don't lie to me. There are no vampires watching outside. In this bright sun, ordinary vampires wouldn't dare show their faces."

The maid fell silent, her gaze toward Mo Yu turning dangerous.

"Beware of a diversion," Mo Yu said.

The maid raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Around 4:20 AM, something will sneak into the villa, something like a zombie dog. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to watch."

The maid hesitated for a moment. "Fine, I understand."

"The tiger is about to leave," Mo Yu added.

The maid gave a grunt of acknowledgement and slammed the door shut.

Mo Yu returned to the living room and sat down to watch TV.

He did nothing.

He waited quietly.

4:20 AM.

Two male vampires appeared. One was a young man with blond hair, the other looked older and was balding.

The panel gave a danger alert: like the maid, they were Knight-level vampires.

They didn't look happy.

"Food," the blond youth said, "you said something would sneak in. Where is it? There's nothing here."

"Did you check the surroundings?" Mo Yu countered. "Did you find a dog made of stitched-together corpse parts?"

"We searched within a 5-kilometer radius," the bald one said. "There’s nothing."

"I see..." Mo Yu stroked his chin in thought.

Those zombie dogs didn't seem to have much intelligence. When Elise's people were watching, those things didn't appear. The attackers must have realized someone was guarding the place.

Did the villa have surveillance?

Or were Elise’s subordinates acting on their own?

Rewind.

Backtracked to 2:28 AM.

This time, Mo Yu wrote down what he wanted to say on a piece of paper. Before the maid left, he pretended to be concerned, stepping forward to take her hand.

The maid frowned, but she quickly noticed the note. Without asking questions, she took it unobtrusively and shook off his hand.

"Food, don't touch me."

"Yes, yes, of course."

Mo Yu raised his hands and backed away with a smile. The maid left, and he returned to the living room to watch TV.

4:20 AM.

A female vampire, bundled up tightly, appeared. She was significantly weaker—an Elite-level vampire. She delivered a message: "Your intelligence is wrong. No zombie dog appeared."

Mo Yu fell into thought.

He had requested in the note that the maid’s trusted confidant be the one to watch, yet they were still discovered.

Rewind.

2:30 AM.

This time, Mo Yu didn't speak to the maid. After she left, he went to the garage, chose a car, and drove away. He found a busy commercial street, picked a coffee shop, and sat down to wait.

The street was bustling with people.

4:20 AM.

Nothing happened.

4:30 AM.

Crimson text emerged.

The reward had arrived.

[Successfully killed Human-Head Spider.]
[Monster Compendium unlocked; basic functions enabled.]
[Bonus Reward: 3 Attribute Points]

Crimson lines traced the shape of a book in the air. As the first page turned, it displayed a detailed description of the basic functions.

[Basic Functions] [Note: The effectiveness of all functions depends on the kill count of the corresponding monster type. The higher the kill count, the stronger the effect when facing that monster type, up to a certain limit.]

[Encyclopedia: View monster information.]
[Intuition: Identify traces left by monsters in the environment.]
[Insight: Discern a monster's weak points and abilities.]
[Natural Enemy: Suppress monsters and weaken their abilities; can be toggled on/off.]

Each to their own specialty.

This Monster Compendium was entirely focused on hunting monsters.

Mo Yu flipped through the Compendium; it only had one page for now.

[Human-Head Spider: Parasitic monster. Life Tier: Basic. Weak on its own, the larva parasitizes mammals, devours their brains, occupies the skull, and controls the host's movements. When the group faces a fatal threat, they fuse into a Human-Head Spider Aggregate.] [Cumulative Kills: 112] [Reach 100 kills to earn a Bronze Trophy and 1 Attribute Point. Reach 1,000 kills to earn a Silver Trophy.]

[Human-Head Spider Alienation – Human-Head Spider Aggregate: A powerful entity formed by the combination of multiple Human-Head Spiders. Life Tier: Basic. Composed of multiple fused consciousnesses, its neural network spans its entire body, leaving no obvious weak points.] [Cumulative Kills: 1] [Reach 1 kill to earn a Bronze Trophy and 1 Skill Point. Reach 3 kills to earn a Silver Trophy.]

[Note: Each record can earn Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum trophies. The kill count required for unlocking is linked to your current Life Tier. The Basic Compendium provides Attribute Points, while the Alienated Compendium provides Skill Points.]

Mo Yu clicked to claim his rewards.

He now had 4 Attribute Points and 1 Skill Point.

After observing the panel, he did not hesitate and added all Attribute Points to Physical Fitness.

As for the skill choice, he hesitated between Comprehensive Combat and Firearms Proficiency.

In the end, he chose Comprehensive Combat.

Firearms relied on ranged weapons.

Rewind could not replicate weapons, which made them troublesome to prepare in advance. Comprehensive Combat was more versatile; he could fight with just a brick in his hand.

[Name: Mo Yu]
[Life Tier: Basic]
[Attribute Assessment: Physical Fitness 5.3, Mental Strength 1.2, Soul Quality 3.1]
[Supernatural Ability: Sequence 1111—Rewind]
[Common Skills: Comprehensive Combat (Mastery), Firearms Proficiency (Proficient), Driving (Proficient), Computer Programming (Proficient), Agricultural Technology (Proficient), Crafting (Proficient), Scientific Theory (Proficient)]

The increase in physical fitness was comprehensive.

Mo Yu clearly felt the changes in his body; his vision, hearing, smell, touch, and taste were all significantly enhanced.

He could taste the lingering bitterness of the coffee on his tongue, hear the whispers of people at the next table, smell the perfume diffusing in the air, and see an ant crawling ten meters away.

He reached out to pick up the ceramic coffee cup.

With a slight exertion of force, the cup made a cracking sound and was crushed in his grip.

Ignoring the people around him, Mo Yu began power training.

He grabbed various objects, testing them, and even went outside the shop to experiment. He could lift a car weighing about two tons and throw it seven or eight meters away.

With the improvement in combat skills came more precise body control. It took him only ten minutes to master the exertion and withdrawal of his power.

Rewind.

Backtracked to 4:29 AM.

He wanted to see if the attribute points would reset.

They did not.

The attributes remained fixed.

This panel was very good at avoiding bugs.

Mo Yu continued to wait.

5:50 AM.

Someone sat down across from him.

Mo Yu looked up and saw Elise’s delicate, beautiful face.

The vampire beauty crossed her legs, sitting in the chair with an elegant posture, her spine straight.

Mo Yu spoke in a flat tone:

"You're here?"