Chapter 78: Heart-Eating Demon: Jia Ma Empowerment

This feature sounded increasingly familiar.

Combined with the recent radio report about countless corpses…

Louis’s eyes grew serious—he confirmed it: another horror film, and a special monster type!

He had seen this movie: Heart-Eating Tribe, also known as Heart-Eating Demon.

No real plot—just a flying cannibal monster, alive for at least two hundred years, hunting this area. The rule of awakening for twenty-three days every twenty-three years is true; the rule that eating something restores you completely is also true.

But it has another trait: it eats only special people, as if performing a ritual to select sacrifices.

First it creates fear, then confirms its target by the taste of fear, finally taking them away to eat or store.

In his past life, he had skimmed it and always thought this monster was a special creature created by ancient rituals to transform into a demon—he still thinks so.

If it’s this kind of monster…

Louis’s eyes gradually brightened as he rubbed his wrist.

Right now, Blood Curse Technique is his strongest attack, but its power is mainly limited by blood quality—otherwise, it can only rely on quantity.

And now, he seemed to have found a high-quality, infinite blood-replenishing tool.

Given this monster’s strength, its blood quality must be excellent, and replenishment is easy: just buy some human blood, feed it to the monster, and out comes demonic blood.

It eats grass, but produces milk!

What an incredible high-quality biological transformation device!

The more he thought, the brighter Louis’s eyes became—it was a treasure like Jason. If possible, he must capture it; then his Blood Curse Technique would undergo a transformation.

But Louis didn’t let greed cloud his judgment—he calmed down and began to assess whether he could handle this cannibal demon.

If he couldn’t defeat it, longing for it was meaningless.

Think about it: this monster can fly, but its strength is only slightly beyond a normal human—its claw can rip out hearts, but not crush boulders.

In agility, it has strong jumping power, average reaction speed, and relies entirely on its giant bat-like wings.

Intellectually, it can use tools and even craft them—definitely equal to a normal human, smarter than Jason.

Finally, its recovery: eat something, regain it—even if its head is cut off, it grows a new one, and it has a degree of immortality; severed limbs can still move.

Its weakness: after twenty-three days, it falls into hibernation.

And today is the twenty-third day.

“If we limit its flight, defeating it won’t be hard. Damn it, I should’ve brought Khrone.”

“Forget it. Once it lands, we can create fire to force it into a direct confrontation.”

With a basic strategy in mind, Louis spoke to David.

“Uncle, something’s happened up ahead.”

“What?”

“A school bus has been targeted by the cannibal demon. We shouldn’t go near it.”

Screech!!

The vehicle slammed to a stop.

David turned sharply, “Cannibal demon?!”

Emma and Yulenc also looked puzzled.

After Louis briefly explained, he said directly, “Uncle, drive backward. I remember we passed a farm—head there first.”

“Okay, wait—what about you?”

“I’m going to eliminate it. Otherwise, we won’t get through tonight.”

“No, too dangerous. And how will you get there alone? Let’s just drive back—it can’t catch up.”

Emma, Yulenc, and Jenny also objected.

Especially Emma—she was barely holding back from cursing Louis.

Seeing this, Louis shook his head, stuck two Jia Ma talismans on his calves, muttered a spell under his breath, stomped his foot lightly—and shot forward like a spring.

His speed was terrifying.

Watching Louis vanish, David froze, then his expression turned complex.

This kid…

Forget it. He’s made up his mind—better not interfere.

Seeing Louis turn back, David said nothing more, pulled a shotgun from the car, and handed it to him: “Stay safe.”

Louis took it, smiled, “You too.”

They bumped fists.

They understood each other.

Watching the vehicle drive off, Louis didn’t move, staring until they vanished beyond the horizon, then turned his gaze forward.

What? Not worried about those people in danger?

He wasn’t worried—they were a whole busload; they wouldn’t die instantly. Compared to them, he cared more about David’s safety.

Better to act only after they were gone.

He stomped his foot, muscles in his legs tensed, and shot forward swiftly.

He raced through the darkness at speed rivaling a vehicle; wind whipped his face, yet he felt no discomfort—only a cool, refreshing sensation, a strange exhilaration of being unbound by heaven and earth.

But beginner-level Jia Ma talismans have side effects—like forcing leg potential, they cause unbearable aching the next day, leaving you bedridden for days.

Louis wouldn’t suffer that—he had cultivated Nei Qi, which nourished his leg muscles, preventing bedrest.

As Louis raced forward,

New developments emerged at the school bus.

Though they now knew the monster’s origin, many students doubted they could survive the night.

Someone searched the bus for weapons—only to find a single spear and a flare gun.

“Oh shit, how are we supposed to fight that thing?”

“No radio signal—what the hell do we do now?”

“Didn’t Minnie say someone knew? They should’ve gone to report it.”

“Report it? Beyond this road, it’s all cornfields. By the time we reach town, we’ll be eaten.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

“No, no—don’t panic. Listen, brothers: the bat monster hasn’t shown up yet. Maybe we can try running backward—I remember there’s a farm nearby. If we reach it, we can call for help. The farmer must have a gun.”

“Ha, you’re the fastest among us—you’ll let us die while you escape, right?”

“What did you say?!”

As arguments flared again,

Someone screamed in terror, cutting everything short. All turned to look.

The black bat monster stood grinning at the bus door, studying everyone. Noticing them, it waved politely—almost courteous!

Before the scream could continue, it leapt violently, clearing the entire bus, landing on the other side, peering through every window, selecting its preferred target.

Seeing someone block its view, it extended a claw and waved it—everyone understood: in eerie silence, the crowd slowly parted, revealing the last person—a muscular Black man.

The monster locked its eyes on him, excitedly flicking its crimson tongue against the glass, “Sssssss~”

As if declaring to all: this one—his target!

(End of Chapter)