Apocalypse Star House Hoarding

Chapter 194

Xing Min’s current body was vastly different from the one he inhabited in the last world.

In the previous world, the character he embodied was an older brother in the late stages of cancer—terminally ill but still mobile and uninjured. This time, however, due to unique circumstances, he had chosen a body that was teetering on the brink of death when he entered it.

The injuries were severe: fractures in both arms and legs, four broken ribs, massive internal bleeding, a head injury resulting in cerebral hemorrhage, and a severe concussion.

It had taken significant energy for him to stabilize the body, and even after Yu Xi brought him back to the villa, he had to expend energy daily to maintain its functionality. Without this continual effort, the body would inevitably deteriorate and die.

To prevent Xing Min from depleting too much energy, Yu Xi planned for this mission to cover only a short distance—roughly from the mountainside villa to the foot of the mountain. This also presented an opportunity to gather information about the situation at the resort’s military shelter.

Yu Xi didn’t know how Xing Min managed it, but he could navigate through the gray fog without dispersing it.

“Think of it as a radar system,” he explained through the system interface in response to her query.

This world was particularly challenging. Based on her interpretation of “Sevenfold Hell,” five more disasters awaited them after this. Not wanting to waste Star Coins, Yu Xi decided not to spend 30 coins on the one-month mental barrier function she had used in the previous world.

This decision had its benefits—Xing Min could answer her questions anytime—but also its drawbacks. There were moments when her thoughts wandered, such as admiring Jian Shou’s abs post-training, Hei Mu’s calm and ascetic demeanor while performing household tasks, Yan Shang’s gentle, obedient gaze, or Xi Yuan’s tsundere attitude paired with his secretly eager expressions during one-on-one lessons.

It was hard not to indulge such musings, given the four Subordinates’ impeccable appearances, personalities, and loyalty. Sometimes she even considered staying in this world for another decade or so. Yet, whenever her thoughts drifted too far, she would always sense another person’s silent reaction.

[…]

[?]

[…]

Though Xing Min never said a word, his exasperation was palpable. When she turned around, she would often find him standing quietly at the top of the stairs, looking at her with his calm yet deep gaze.

Yu Xi: …

Even though she knew he was essentially a system—perhaps an AI with self-awareness—the fact that he inhabited a human body in this apocalyptic world, coupled with his penetrating gaze, often left her feeling awkward.

“Be careful. After the curve ahead, it’s a downhill path,” Xing Min’s voice broke the silence. His voice was as clean and resonant as his appearance, with a magnetic quality that seemed to echo in one’s ears.

“Understood,” came Jian Shou’s reply from the back of the group.

The four-person team moved in a single file: Yu Xi led, followed by Xing Min, then Xi Yuan, with Jian Shou bringing up the rear.

Visibility was limited to one meter, making it impossible for Yu Xi to see more than Xing Min’s outline behind her, let alone the others. Thankfully, they had prepared by tethering themselves together with a durable, flexible metal rope. Any movement or change on one end would immediately alert the others.

The villa’s mountainside location was small and secluded, surrounded only by a few tea houses and cafes. As they moved, they encountered no blood-red organisms, likely because the area had so few human survivors left.

When they passed the tea house and cafe, Xing Min had suggested a closer look. The doors were open, gray fog creeping inside, but the interiors were empty—no bodies, no signs of life. It was no longer a safe place, and the whereabouts of its occupants remained unknown.

The absence of people likely explained why they hadn’t encountered any organisms in the area.

With visibility so low, Yu Xi couldn’t see far ahead or even the ground beneath her feet. The thick fog made everything appear uniformly gray. Before setting out, she had confirmed the fog was non-corrosive and non-toxic, but it clearly contained some unknown substances, creating an environment indispensable for the blood-red organisms.

Each of them carried a hiking stick, primarily to probe the path ahead and avoid stepping into unseen holes or tripping on rocks.

Leading the group, Yu Xi used her hiking stick almost like a blind person’s cane, occasionally tapping the rocky mountainside to orient herself.

Thud—

A muffled sound broke the monotony as her hiking stick struck something.

Yu Xi stopped immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Xing Min, closest to her, noticed the change in her pace. “What’s ahead?”

“I don’t know, but it’s definitely not the mountain wall.” Yu Xi recalled the sensation when her hiking stick made contact. Even through the stick, she could tell it wasn’t hard like stone but softer—and inexplicably repulsive.

The hiking stick had been suspended in midair during the strike. If it were a blood-red organism, it wouldn’t make sense for it to hover in the air.

“What happened?” Xi Yuan and Jian Shou called from behind.

“Something felt wrong just now. Everyone, move closer and form a triangular formation,” Yu Xi ordered. She had explained this formation with diagrams before the mission: she would lead at the front, with Xing Min, Xi Yuan, and Jian Shou forming a line behind her. Xi Yuan and Jian Shou would guard the flanks, Xing Min would watch the rear, and she would focus on the path ahead while the group advanced.

The team regrouped into the triangular formation and continued moving. Before long, Jian Shou furrowed his brows. “There’s definitely something here. My hiking stick just hit something too!”

“It’s moving,” Xing Min said sharply. “Seems like it’s circling around us. Stay alert!”

Suddenly, Xi Yuan let out a startled cry. “Over here!”

Yu Xi reacted almost instantly, faster than the wind. Before Xi Yuan finished speaking, she had already moved, her Tang sword drawn. She thrust it swiftly into the mist in his direction, her blade sinking into something soft—like mud.

Xi Yuan’s position was backed by the rocky mountain wall, and Yu Xi had chosen his side to strike because the rock provided a natural barrier. Whatever it was, her Tang sword pinned it firmly against the mountain wall.

Xing Min released a faint golden light, clearing a small patch of the mist. For the first time, the group saw the creature hidden within.

It was a grotesque, deformed entity, covered entirely in writhing blood-red organisms. These organisms were unlike the ones they’d seen before—they were bloated and soft, resembling clusters of blood-filled blisters pulsating grotesquely.

Where Yu Xi’s Tang sword pierced the creature, the blood-filled blisters deflated rapidly, oozing red and white fluids that looked nauseating.

Although pinned down, the creature thrashed its limb-like appendages, each covered in those grotesque blisters. Its strength, however, was much weaker than when it had been shrouded in the fog.

It opened its mouth, revealing more writhing blood blisters inside, and emitted a fractured, hoarse voice:

“Pain… help… help me… kill… kill me…”

Yu Xi froze.

This was a person!

“…He’s human?” Xi Yuan asked, his entire body trembling with unease.

“Yes, he’s human,” Xing Min replied coolly. “These blisters must be a mutation caused by the blood-red organisms attaching to him.”

“If he’s covered in blisters, then that means…”

“Yes,” Yu Xi confirmed grimly. “At some point, his entire body must have been infested by those blood-red organisms.”

She frowned deeply. The creatures were not only predatory but had also turned humans into breeding grounds. It was far more revolting than she had imagined.

To prevent the creature from escaping back into the fog, Yu Xi borrowed Jian Shou’s long dagger. She carefully aimed for the head and plunged the blade in, ending its suffering.

Pulling out the dagger and her Tang sword, Yu Xi watched as the blood-blistered figure collapsed slowly against the mountain wall. The surrounding gray mist quickly filled the cleared space, engulfing the scene once more.

Handing the dagger back to Jian Shou, Yu Xi turned to him and Xi Yuan. “If you’re afraid, you can go back now.”

“I’m fine,” Xi Yuan said firmly. “We’re supposed to scout the resort and gather information about the military. The mission isn’t done yet. Let’s keep going.”

The convoy

The dashboard showed that the last of the vehicle’s fuel had been depleted.

Two days ago, this team had embarked on a mission to search for supplies. They were all elite soldiers, and their route was marked by signal flares that could be remotely activated for navigation. After locating supplies at a small warehouse, they painstakingly followed the signal flares to make their way back to the resort.

Now, with only a short distance left, the vehicles could no longer move due to the heavy fuel consumption caused by repeated wrong turns and detours.

“Captain, we’re not far now. Let’s unload and carry the supplies on foot,” one soldier suggested. With their protective suits and prior experience distributing supplies at the resort, the team quickly agreed.

The soldiers from the first vehicle disembarked, moving to the other two vehicles to notify the rest of the team.

One by one, the soldiers unloaded folding carts and began transferring supplies onto them. The fog was so dense that they couldn’t see each other clearly as they worked.

One soldier, after securing his cart, pushed it forward a few steps but found his path blocked.

“Who’s in front?” he called out into the fog.

There was no response.

Confused, he pushed the cart harder this time and clearly felt it collide with something.

He moved to check the obstruction when, suddenly, a bloated, blood-red arm emerged from the fog, slapping down on the cart’s supplies with a wet thud. Thick red-and-white fluid oozed from the swollen, deformed arm as if it had burst from the force.

The soldier froze in shock, and then a terrifying face, covered in blood blisters, emerged from the fog. Its twisted mouth opened, emitting a raspy, broken voice:

“Food… so much food… mine…”

Even a trained soldier couldn’t suppress the chills running down his spine. He screamed, fumbling for his weapon.

But before he could act, the blood-blistered creature lunged at him, knocking him to the ground.

“What’s wrong? Xiao Feng! What happened?”

The panicked screams drew another team member, who stumbled through the dense fog. Only when he got closer did he see the grotesque, blood-red creature ahead.

He instinctively reached for his weapon, but before he could act, another bloated blood-red figure lunged at him from the side.

In an instant, the soldiers unloading and transporting supplies were swarmed by these horrifying creatures. These “blood-blistered people” appeared to have been fully assimilated by the red organisms, moving effortlessly and with precision through the fog.

Some of their swollen flesh burst open, spraying red and white fluid onto the soldiers’ protective suits. Moments later, the liquid solidified into new writhing organisms that began to crawl and spread.

“What is this!?”

“Careful! Don’t let them knock you down! Open fire!”

“Shoot! Quick, shoot!”

“No! Don’t fire! The fog is too thick; you might hit our own! Use knives! Use knives!”

The captain drew his machete and slashed at one of the blood-red figures attacking his men. Red and white fluid splattered everywhere, but the creature didn’t fall. Instead, it turned and charged at him.

At that moment, another blood-blistered figure silently emerged from the captain’s left and lunged toward him.

Just as it was about to strike, a sharp Tang sword pierced through the creature’s head. Withdrawing the blade, the attacker collapsed.

The captain turned and managed to decapitate the blood-blistered figure in front of him, neutralizing the immediate threat. He glanced sideways and saw a figure in protective gear emerging from the fog.

“Are you with the resort’s military unit?” the figure asked, her voice calm and melodic.

“Yes!” the captain replied, almost immediately. At that moment, the dense fog around them rapidly dissipated, as if pushed away by an unseen force, clearing a small area.

The soldiers, stunned by the sudden clarity, noticed that the blood-blistered figures had visibly weakened.

“They’re weaker without the fog! Finish them off!”

“Don’t let them escape into the fog!”

Working together with their mysterious allies, the soldiers quickly eliminated the remaining creatures.

“Thank you!” the captain called out, looking toward the woman and the three tall figures standing beside her. However, the protective masks obscured their features.

“Why were you here?” he asked.

“Our convoy went out to retrieve supplies,” the woman explained. “We were almost back, but we ran out of fuel. If not for your help today, we would have suffered heavy losses—and these supplies are critical for everyone waiting on us.”

As the captain spoke, the dense fog began to return, shrouding the area and obscuring the four strangers from view.

The captain stepped forward to thank them again but stumbled over something heavy on the ground. He crouched to investigate and discovered two portable fuel barrels—exactly what they desperately needed.

“This is—” he exclaimed, standing in shock. He wanted to express his gratitude, but the four had already disappeared into the fog.

Indeed, to travel through such dense fog, clear it at will, and conveniently provide the needed fuel—these individuals were far from ordinary. In a world like this, the extraordinary warranted both gratitude and caution.

Carefully lifting the two fuel barrels, the captain turned to the gray mist surrounding him and sincerely thanked them once more.

Later that day, the convoy safely returned to the resort.

They brought back the much-needed food and water supplies, and the command center quickly broadcast the good news to reassure the public. Everyone was urged to remain calm as supplies were distributed.

Excited by the successful mission, the remaining soldiers in the resort donned protective gear and armed themselves to undertake the distribution tasks using sealed delivery vehicles.

The operation went smoothly, and the team even rescued several elderly survivors and a severely injured Subordinate from a building on the edge of the resort.

The building’s doors had been left open, but the inner rooms were locked, preventing the blood-red organisms from entering. Upon learning that the person who had imprisoned them and stolen their food was missing, the soldiers relocated the survivors to a building closer to the command center. There, they received medical treatment and were given new accommodations and supplies.

That evening, although the dense fog still enveloped the resort, the fresh distribution of supplies rekindled hope in each building.

However, the joy was short-lived.

That night, people were awakened by the cold. Checking thermometers, they found that temperatures had plummeted from over ten degrees Celsius to below freezing.

Outside, in the dense fog, came a low, eerie howling—the sound of the wind.