Chapter 48: The Supermarket

What kind of monsters lurked within the mist was not entirely clear to Luo Ke. Most of the creatures in movies were giant insects, bizarre-looking animals, and colossal beasts that appeared at the very end.

That thing carried a faint whiff of Cthulhu, and it was uncertain whether its strength (evolution value) lived up to such a reputation.

The dense fog swallowed everything visible: houses, streets, the sky... Luo Ke’s field of vision was limited to less than two or three meters, but his special senses could perceive energy fluctuations nearby. Naturally, his hearing had also been enhanced, allowing him to judge the surrounding situation purely by sound.

"Help—"

"Ah!!!"

Bang, bang, bang!

A chaotic multitude of sounds poured into his ears. Screams and the crashing of vehicles formed a symphony, within which the muffled thuds of flesh being torn apart served as a subtle, omnipresent harmony.

Before long, Luo Ke could no longer hear any sounds at all. All that met his eyes was grayish-white, as if only despair and paleness remained in this world.

He walked alone down an unknown street, feeling as though unseen limbs were lurking in the invisible surroundings, hissing with low whispers.

A trace of unusual negative emotion seeped from his heart, and pessimistic images flashed incessantly in his mind. His emotions drifted slightly out of control, though he detected the minute change instantly. "So this is mild spiritual pollution? Quite a unique flavor!"

He took a deep breath, and the devouring power within his body surged, shattering that strand of formless influence directly.

The unspeakable pressure emanating from these stray dogs and cats was mere child's play in the face of the power of devouring.

"Woof woof!"

A corgi ran out from a courtyard, looking panicked with huge questions in its wide eyes.

Following closely behind it was a sharp-headed, long-legged spider the size of a millstone, leaping as it pursued.

Spotting a human, the corgi immediately sought refuge behind Luo Ke.

Thud!

Luo Ke delivered a flying kick, brushing past the top of the corgi's head, and blew up the giant spider's head on the spot.

Just this? In the monster island of the previous heavenly realm, spiders ten times its size were everywhere.

Luo Ke shook his shoulders, feeling rather underwhelmed.

It seemed the snake-dogs could stand proud once again!

The corgi beside him froze in a daze, growing even more perplexed. It looked at Luo Ke, then at a second giant spider emerging from the corner, and charged forward with a huff and a puff.

It felt like it could do this too.

With a short-legged flying kick, it was swatted away by a single claw from the spider.

"Do you think you're a snake-dog?" Luo Ke took a stride and kicked the spider to death, pulled the corgi—whose head was thrust deep into the muddy ground—out by the scruff, and tossed it into a dumpster filled with someone else's discarded rotting vegetable leaves.

No insult intended toward dogs; it was simply relatively safer in there.

Even the smallest mosquito was still meat. Luo Ke didn't disdain the two juice-splattering spiders and devoured them completely.

+3
Evolution Value [473/2000]

Truly underwhelming, though it could at least compare to the spinal worms.

"Oh my god!" A few meters away, an elderly woman ran out of a house in panic. She witnessed Luo Ke's devouring scene in sheer horror, shocking her to the point of petrification.

Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out cold, falling stiffly to the ground. A deformed silhouette burst from the house behind her, brandishing claw-blades that sliced the woman to pieces and devoured her in the blink of an eye.

Resembling a praying mantis, with two scimitar-like claw-blades in front of its chest, it stood four meters tall. Wingless, its back was covered in floating minor tentacles, and its gray-skinned, oval-shaped head bore five or six eyelid-less eyeballs, each composed of hundreds of smaller ocelli. Its chin split into three petals to form its feeding mouthparts, which were still stained with the old woman's severed arm.

This was a monster that had not appeared in the movie. That made sense, considering the film only showed the tip of the iceberg, and who knew what other terrifying creatures lingered within the mist.

Cloaked in the mist, the unknown and invisible was the most terrifying thing of all!

Let's tentatively call it a "Tentacle Mantis."

Luo Ke took the initiative, his legs generating explosive force to flash-dash to the side of the mantis as his bone blade slashed out fiercely.

Screech, screech, screech...

The mantis's tough hide was sliced open, revealing a series of writhing, elongated tubes within its abdominal cavity.

Yuck! Gross!

The sight gave Luo Ke a wave of physical discomfort. He unleashed a torrent of scorching flames, roasting the mantis until it was charred on the outside and tender on the inside, losing its life force after struggling on the ground for a short while.

Just as he intended to devour it, a chilling breeze struck from behind.

Bang!

The wings of dance thrusted outward. Luo Ke twisted his body while evading, thrusting his bone blade forward with all his might.

Clang!

The three-meter bone blade collided with the scimitar claw-blade, producing a crisp snap as the scimitar was cut in half by a single stroke.

Another Tentacle Mantis!

Faced with a formidable enemy, the mantis's fierce temper flared up. Going completely berserk, its abdominal cavity writhed violently, suddenly tearing open a large gap from which more than a dozen tentacles, as thick as an adult's arm, extended.

Luo Ke noticed that the tips of the tentacles were covered in sharp barbs. If he were grazed by them, it would probably take a full second to heal himself!

How terrifying!

The tentacles swarmed toward him in unison, a spectacle beautiful enough to make one's scalp tingle.

From a distance, Luo Ke raised his left palm.

Aiming...

Thud...

A white afterimage flashed past, piercing straight through the mantis's head. It was a bone arrow.

The flailing of the tentacles abruptly ceased, and the mantis collapsed to the ground in astonishment, its nearly a thousand tiny eyeballs staring blankly at Luo Ke.

It looked as though it were saying... You don't fight fair!

Two of them together only yielded +10.
Evolution Value [483/2000]

Still dull and tasteless. Luo Ke couldn't help but miss the days of slaughtering snake-dogs.

Luo Ke continued searching for monsters to kill, but along the way, he encountered nothing more than spiders, mantises, and massive birds resembling pterosaurs. Larger beasts had not yet been crossed.

After killing a dozen or so, his evolution value had only increased by 37 points.
Evolution Value [520/2000]

"Forget it, heading to the supermarket first." Luo Ke retraced his steps following his memory.

As he walked into the parking lot, a middle-aged man stained with blood ran out from behind him, rushing frantically toward the supermarket.

At that moment, the people inside the supermarket still wore looks of bewilderment, unaware of what was happening in the mist. After letting the middle-aged man and Luo Ke in, they bombarded them with questions.

"What's happening outside?"

"There are monsters in the fog, they dragged my friend away!"

"What? Monsters? You must be talking nonsense!"

"It must be poison gas pollution. Who knows what those guys at the military base on the mountain are up to again!"

"It's the end of the world, the end of the world!"

Everyone talked at once, creating a noisy uproar.

"And who are you?" At that moment, someone noticed the unfamiliar outsider.

"A tourist, just arrived here," Luo Ke answered in fluent English.

Given the circumstances, no one dwelt on this minor detail, and they all craned their necks to look outside.

"Move aside! Don't block me!" An irritable man pushed through the crowd and bolted out of the supermarket alone.

Just as he was about to dive into a car, the mist completely rolled in, enveloping the supermarket. The next second, his shrill scream echoed out. The crowd was startled into a panic, retreating step by step, feeling utterly helpless.

Meanwhile, Luo Ke was leisurely snacking and drinking soda, his eyes constantly scanning the crowd in an attempt to identify his mission target.

When he watched The Mist last time, he was still in junior high school. In the blink of an eye, he was in his twenties; how could he possibly remember who was who?

So this genuinely stumped Luo Ke. He had no choice but to wait a bit longer; after all, it wouldn't be long before that religious fanatic stood up to preach her superstitious doctrines.

"I need to go out. My child is still waiting for me at home. Can someone help me? I have to go out!" a short-haired woman cried out.

But only silence answered her. She had no choice but to leave alone, vanishing into the mist with a bitter parting remark, "You can all go to hell!"

Luo Ke burped. If he remembered correctly, this woman successfully found her child and was rescued by the military, escaping the disaster safe and sound. By contrast, the protagonist's ending was exceptionally poignant.

The crowd quieted down and began resting inside the supermarket. Luo Ke continued his search, silently cursing the system for always digging up such old movies.

At that moment, Luo Ke noticed the protagonist, David, walking into the warehouse.

Oh!

A monster was about to arrive uninvited.