Chapter 2: First Kill of the Demonic Hound! The School Belle Teammate Is Acting Suspicious?

Chen Mo dragged the blood‑stained metal rack, his eyes sharp as he swept over the blood‑shrouded street outside the convenience store. Hisses, impacts, and sporadic cries rose and fell like a dirge for this land that had just fallen.

"Block the door!" he barked without turning, his voice carrying an unquestionable command.

Zhang Yang and his two lackeys—one a bespectacled tall thin guy, the other a slightly chubby boy—were jolted awake by the shout, scrambling to their feet and frantically pushing the overturned shelves and heavy cash register toward the shattered door. Their faces showed fear, shock, and an instinctive obedience to Chen Mo; his clean, efficient kill of the monster had utterly cowed them.

Su Yu's face remained pale, but her eyes had steadied considerably. She took a deep breath, imitating Chen Mo, quickly gathering the scattered food and water from the floor and stuffing them into a few still‑intact shopping bags.

【Global digitization complete. Current area: Zone C-07 Newbie Zone (Danger Level: Low-Medium)】

【Personal panel activated. Please check it yourself.】

The cold system prompt rang again in everyone's minds.

Chen Mo's thought stirred, and a semi‑transparent virtual panel unfolded before his eyes:

【Name: Chen Mo】

【Level: 1(10/100)】

【HP: 100/100】

【Energy: 50/50】

【Strength: 7(+1)】 (Base stat, affects physical attack and carrying capacity)

【Agility: 8】 (Base stat, affects speed and reaction)

【Constitution: 6】 (Base stat, affects HP and defense)

【Spirit: 9】 (Base stat, affects energy and perception)

【Talent: Death Echo (SSS rank)】

【Skill: Corrosive Toxic Saliva (LV. 1)】

【Equipment: Bloody Metal Rack (rough quality, +1 Strength)】

His stat points were noticeably higher than his previous life's starting values, especially Spirit—apparently the rebirth and SSS‑rank Talent brought some hidden benefits. The gear is crude, but better than nothing.

He glanced at the others; they were obviously checking their own panels, their expressions varied—bewildered, terrified, and a faint strange gleam of curiosity about something new.

"You've all seen your stats, right?" Chen Mo said in a low voice, pulling everyone's attention back. "Strength determines how heavy a weapon you can wield and how fierce your attack; Agility governs how fast you run and how timely your dodge; Constitution is your HP and defense; Spirit… for now it's not much use to you, but it may matter later."

He explained briefly; these were lessons bought with blood. "Now we're trapped here. Outside are nothing but those things we just saw—or worse."

"What… what should we do now?" the bespectacled man asked, his voice trembling. His name was Li Siwen, and it suited him.

"Wait to die?" the chubby Wang Hu said with a mournful face; though he was the biggest, he now shrank like a quail.

Zhang Yang said nothing, but his clenched fists and the occasional complex glance at Chen Mo revealed his inner turmoil—fear, lingering dread, and perhaps a grudging gratitude and jealousy he refused to admit after being saved.

"Wait to die?" Chen Mo snorted coldly, his gaze sweeping over the shifting shadows outside the door. "If you want to live, you have to fight your way out."

He hefted the metal rack, feeling the faint warmth from the newly acquired Corrosive Toxic Saliva skill inside him. "This isn't a place to linger; the glass walls are too fragile and will soon draw more monsters. We must relocate to somewhere sturdier."

His target was the small hardware store across the street, with its heavy rolling shutter and anti‑theft windows—easy to defend, hard to assault, and possibly stocked with better "weapons."

"How do we relocate? Outside is full of monsters!" Zhang Yang finally blurted, his voice dry.

"Cut through." Chen Mo's reply was simple and ruthless: "Stay close, don't fall behind, don't make unnecessary noise. Prioritize taking down any isolated foes."

He looked at Su Yu: "Stay at my rear‑left, watch the sides and back." Then he swept his gaze over Zhang Yang and his two companions: "You three, watch each other's backs; if you see anything usable—like a mop handle or fire axe—pick it up for self‑defense."

There was no time for pep talks; the first lesson of the apocalypse is to face fear head‑on.

Chen Mo took a deep breath and shoved the barricading shelf aside, creating a gap.

"Go!"

He led the charge, Su Yu close behind. Zhang Yang and his two companions exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and forced themselves to follow.

Under the bloody sky, the street resembled a hellish painting. Several cars lay wrecked, belching black smoke. In the distance, continuous explosions rang out. Even more chilling, misshapen shapes shuffled through the red mist.

Less than ten meters out of the convenience store, two demonic hounds sprang from behind an overturned car on the left, their scarlet eyes locked on Wang Hu, who was bringing up the rear.

"Roar!"

A reek of blood hit their faces!

Wang Hu was so terrified his soul nearly left his body; his legs went weak and he almost fell.

"I'll take the right one!" Chen Mo barked, advancing instead of retreating; his metal rack shot forward like a venomous snake from its hole, piercing the leading demonic hound with precision. He used no skill—just pure strength and technique.

"Pfft!"

The rack's tip sank again into the hound's neck. At the same time he sidestepped the other's lunge, swinging the rack sideways to smash hard into its waist and abdomen.

"Whine…" the hound whimpered, its movement faltering.

"Zhang Yang! Li Siwen! Attack!" Chen Mo snapped.

Zhang Yang's face went pale; seeing the drooling monster within arm's reach, he instinctively grabbed the broken mop handle he'd picked up in the convenience store and thrust wildly with his eyes shut.

Li Siwen also fumbled, picking up a chunk of broken brick and hurling it from a distance.

Their attacks were clumsy and even a bit laughable, yet they succeeded in drawing the attention of the hound Chen Mo had wounded.

Just then, a figure burst out from Chen Mo's rear‑left!

It was Su Yu!

She had somehow picked up a shard of sharp glass, and taking advantage of the moment when Zhang Yang and Li Siwen distracted the hound, she thrust it with all her strength into the creature's eye!

"Splurt!"

Green slime mixed with an unknown fluid spurted out.

The demonic hound let out a piercing shriek and thrashed wildly.

Chen Mo's eyes narrowed; seizing the opening, he finished off the hound before him, then backhanded a heavy chop that crushed the skull of the gravely wounded hound.

【Successfully killed LV. 1 Demonic Hound, gained 10 XP.】

【Successfully killed LV. 1 Demonic Hound, gained 10 XP.】

【Death Echo triggered! Successfully copied skill: Keen Smell (LV. 1 Passive)!】

【Keen Smell (LV. 1): Passive skill. Your sense of smell is weakly enhanced, allowing you to distinguish odors more clearly, especially blood and monster aura.】

A surge of hot flow rushed into the nasal cavity; the world's smell instantly became rich and layered—strong bloody odor, monsters' unique rotten stench, and the fear sweat of the nearby people—all clearly discernible.

Chen Mo felt a surge of joy—another useful passive skill! Though it doesn't directly boost combat power, it's greatly beneficial for tracking and early warning.

He glanced at Su Yu, who was slightly panting, her fingers white from gripping the blood‑stained glass shard, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. He hadn't expected this seemingly delicate school belle to show such resolve and courage at a critical moment.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Su Yu shook her head, fighting back the urge to vomit, her voice a little wavering: "No, no... I'm fine."

Zhang Yang and Li Siwen stared at the corpses of the two demonized hounds on the ground, then at Su Yu, their expressions as if seeing her for the first time. Wang Hu also climbed to his feet, heart still pounding.

"Well done." Chen Mo nodded at Su Yu, then swept his gaze over Zhang Yang and Li Siwen: "You too. Remember, hesitation means death."

He didn't waste words, continuing to lead the charge toward the hardware store.

Over the next few dozen meters, they faced three more waves of scattered demonized hound attacks. Under Chen Mo's command and leading from the front, the squad barely held formation. Chen Mo killed two more demonized hounds, but Death Echo did not trigger again. Su Yu and Zhang Yang's group gradually adapted to the rhythm; though still fearful, they could at least muster the courage to coordinate attacks.

Chen Mo's level rose to 2, and he allocated his attribute points as 2 Strength, 1 Agility, 1 Constitution. Strength reached 9 (+1), Agility 9, Constitution 7. He felt his strength and speed had noticeably increased.

Finally, the five of them, after a narrow escape, reached the hardware store's entrance.

The rolling shutter door was tightly shut.

"Anyone inside? Open up! We're survivors!" Zhang Yang pounded hard on the rolling shutter, shouting in a lowered voice.

A faint rustle came from inside, but the door didn't open.

Chen Mo frowned; his heightened sense of smell detected a faint trace of blood and human scent seeping from the crack.

"Step back." He gestured for Zhang Yang to retreat, then lifted a metal display rack and aimed it at the lock.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After several heavy impacts, the lock deformed. Chen Mo pulled upward with force, accompanied by a screech of friction, and the rolling shutter was forced up halfway.

Inside, the scene came into view.

The store was somewhat messy, but far better than outside. The shelves were largely intact. In a corner, two people were huddled—a young man in a clerk's uniform, and a middle‑aged woman who looked like a customer. The clerk gripped a large wrench tightly, while the woman trembled.

Not far from them on the floor lay a corpse mauled beyond recognition, blood staining a large area of the floor. The strong bloody odor emanated from here.

Seeing Chen Mo's group, especially the blood on them and the "weapons" in their hands, the clerk nervously raised the wrench, voice trembling: "Don't—don't come closer!"

Chen Mo's gaze swept over the corpse, then the clerk and the middle‑aged woman, finally landing on the shelves full of assorted tools—hammers, steel pipes, machetes, axes……

"We don't want trouble," Chen Mo said, his voice calm yet carrying an invisible pressure: "Outside is full of monsters; this place needs to be cleared, and then we'll take temporary control."

His tone left no room for doubt, and together with the momentum from his violent breach just now and the few equally disheveled yet murderous‑looking companions behind him, it created a strong sense of oppression.

The clerk stared at Chen Mo's icy eyes, then at the blood‑tinged street outside and the faint howls drifting in, his grip on the wrench slowly loosening. He knew the old world's order had collapsed.

Chen Mo stepped into the hardware store, Su Yu close behind. Zhang Yang and the other two hesitated a moment, then followed, quickly pulling the rolling shutter down most of the way, leaving only a slit for observation.

In the dim light, the hardware store temporarily became an island isolated from the bloody world outside.

Chen Mo walked to the tool shelf, his gaze gliding over those cold metal objects.

Now it was time to equip himself and this makeshift squad with real "gear."

His gaze finally settled on a heavy firefighter's axe. Su Yu, meanwhile, looked toward a gardening machete of moderate length with a curve, hanging nearby.

The brutal lessons of survival had only just begun. And the glaring 【???】 in Su Yu's status bar hung over Chen Mo's mind like a Sword of Damocles. The secrets hidden in this Apocalypse Game were far deeper than he had imagined.