(Translator- You can Take Bushi as Samurai to understand it better)
The weather today was exceptionally clear and sunny. The sunlight fell on the cold, steel walls, giving a warm and soothing feeling to anyone who experienced it.
However, on those steel walls, one by one, Bushi (Samurai)s stood with Steam Guns in their hands, their faces tense and devoid of relaxation. Their eyes carried a sense of desperation as they continuously scanned the land below the walls.
The tension they felt was incredibly apparent, even under the warm sunlight, and there was no relief in sight.
“It’s really uncomfortable…”
In a secluded corner, Fang Li, unarmed and defenseless, stood under the sunlight, observing the outside world with a calmness that seemed out of place in his surroundings.
As a rookie who had just entered space, Fang Li could be considered the most outstanding among his peers.
There were two reasons for this.
First: His mental fortitude.
Second: His innate skill.
Although Fang Li was an ordinary person in all aspects, his inherent personality flaw prevented him from fearing death. Once engaged in battle, he could display a much higher level of mental resilience than an average person.
In addition, despite Fang Li’s mediocre attributes, he possessed an innate skill.
With just this innate skill, Fang Li’s value far surpassed that of any other rookie spacer.
“Therefore, let me handle it independently from now on.” Muttering to himself, Fang Li surveyed his surroundings.
On the vast steel walls, Bushi (Samurai) remained vigilant, each holding a Steam Gun.
From Fang Li’s position, he could see faint shadows appearing and disappearing in the forest beyond the steel walls.
The Bushi (Samurai) stared at those elusive shadows, their expressions filled with tension and anxiety.
Fang Li also gazed into the distance at the forest.
“It seems those shadows are the Kabane.”
The land outside the barrier was mostly occupied by Kabane.
It was likely that those Kabane lurking around would occasionally launch attacks on Aragane Station, right?
The Bushi (Samurai) were also concerned about such a situation.
However, for Kabane to attack Aragane Station, they would have to climb the walls.
With the advantage of holding Steam Guns and occupying higher ground, once a Kabane climbed the wall, the Bushi (Samurai) would immediately notice and shoot them down.
That was the strategy for defending Station City.
Once a Kabane managed to climb the wall, the station would be in serious trouble.
“And without a Steam Gun, my presence as a guard is practically insignificant.”
How could such an important post be entrusted to an outsider newcomer who didn’t even possess a Steam Gun?
The reason the Bushi (Samurai) assigned Fang Li alone, without providing him with a weapon, was merely to keep an eye on him, without any expectation for his performance.
In other words, Fang Li’s assignment was truly an optional quest, merely a test from the Bushi (Samurai).
“Since that’s the case…”
Fang Li surveyed his surroundings, noticing that the Bushis (Samurais) were not paying attention to him. He seized the opportunity, turned around, and made his way to a shaded area.
Immediately, in a shocking manner, Fang Li leaped into the air and descended directly into the forest below.
…
“Thud!”
In the vast forest, a muffled sound suddenly erupted without any warning as a figure plummeted from the sky at an extremely fast speed and landed on a lush patch of trees. Along the way, countless branches were crushed and shattered, carrying a multitude of leaves as the figure harshly crashed onto the ground.
“Ah…” The intense pain from his entire body caused Fang Li to involuntarily gasp for air.
After a while, Fang Li finally held his waist and struggled to stand up from the ground.
“I can’t believe I didn’t die from that. I truly admire myself,” He said.
If ten people heard this statement, probably eight of them would be furious with Fang Li.
“If you knew you could die from doing something like this, why would you still dare to jump? It’s like you have a mental illness.”
Of course, Fang Li wasn’t mentally ill. If he were, he wouldn’t have chosen a location with lush trees to minimize the impact and avoid instant death.
However, considering Fang Li’s nonchalant attitude toward death, it could be seen as a kind of illness.
Regardless, Fang Li didn’t die, nor did he suffer any broken limbs. That could indeed be considered lucky.
“Now…”
After the pain in his body subsided to some extent, Fang Li moved his body slightly. With a calm and terrifying expression on his face, he pulled out a dagger from his waist and applied a bit of force, cutting a wound on his arm.
Crimson blood immediately seeped out from Fang Li’s wound and dripped onto the ground.
After a while, the blood formed a small pool, dyeing the ground red along with it.
Feeling satisfied with his actions, Fang Li took out a piece of cloth from his pocket. In a rough manner that would make doctors and nurses faint, he roughly wrapped the wound, tied it with the piece of cloth, and briefly stopped the bleeding.
Then, Fang Li hid in the nearby bushes, staring outside like a wolf waiting for its prey, his eyes fixed on the bloodstained ground.
Kabane had an excessive reaction to fresh blood. Once they caught its scent, they would absolutely pursue it.
In a forest filled with Kabane, where the smell of fresh blood was present, it wasn’t necessary to guess what would happen next.
“Shā… shā…”
With the sound of rustling leaves, a figure staggered through the forest ahead.
Seeing that figure, Fang Li’s eyes widened.
The presence appearing in his field of vision was undeniably a monster.
The monster was covered in tattered clothes, and its skin had a hair-raising color as if infected by a virus.
Its hands hung weakly at its sides.
Inside its chest, a heart emitted a glow, surrounded by vein-like roots extending throughout its body, resembling blood vessels.
That was… a Kabane.
Not sure if it heard Fang Li’s voice, the stumbling Kabane raised its head slowly, revealing a face covered in dead ash.
“Ah… AaahAah—!”
A wild beast-like roar erupted from the Kabane’s throat, instantly echoing in the surroundings.
Its posture and roar were truly befitting of the name “monster.”
Fang Li felt no fear in his heart towards it. He couldn’t help it; the monster’s body contained too many factors that Fang Li absolutely wouldn’t fear.
“Dead?”
“Undying?”
That was truly a joke.
Was the thing in front of him dead?
“No.”
Because if it were dead, it wouldn’t be moving.
Was the thing in front of him undying?
“Of course not.”
Because if it were undying, it wouldn’t have so many lines.
Unknowingly, Fang Li’s eyes, now Mystic Eyes with an ice-blue radiance, stared fixedly at the howling monster.
At that moment, Fang Li saw it clearly. He saw the lines, dense and interwoven like spiderwebs, covering the monster known as Kabane.
Lines that resembled doodles and cracks.
That was…
“Death.”
In an instant, Fang Li moved.
“Swish—!”
With the sound of bushes being pushed aside, Fang Li shot out like a sprinter.
“AaahAaah—!”
The man-eating monster finally sensed the commotion and it swiftly turned its head, and faced Fang Li, letting out a menacing roar before lunging forward instead of retreating.
That pounce was faster than any wild beast.
That pounce was more dangerous than any attack.
As he watched the ferocious monster pouncing towards him, Fang Li tightly gripped the dagger in his hand, his Mystic Eye of Death Perception gleaming with an icy light.
On one side was the monster baring its fangs and leaping towards its prey.
On the other side was the human charging toward the monster, wielding a lethal weapon in his hand.
Both sides had only one objective.
To bring death to the other.