Chapter 38: Happy Halloween, Grundy

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday!"

Was Solomon Grundy actually born on a Monday? No one knows.

The only thing Ma Ma Zhaodi could confirm was that he died in the nineteenth century, to be precise, in 1894. A century had passed since his body was dumped in the swamp, and now this monster had risen from the dead, yet he bore a new name.

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday!"

He sang the nursery rhyme he had heard as a child, casting himself as the Solomon Grundy of the story, for it was the only name he could think of among the few memories he had left.

His pale green body resembled a corpse, his tattered rags exuding a foul stench. Powerful muscles bulged, with veins coursing across them. His grotesque, square face bore a natural ferocity as the terrifying undead descended upon the world.

Watching the nearly three-meter giant charge through the sewer, Ma Ma Zhaodi's heart began to pound wildly. The terror and oppression caused by the half-ton monster's running, with its vibrations and deafening roar, were like a speeding truck, and its destination was Ma Ma Zhaodi himself.

"I stumbled toward you~"

This familiar melody involuntarily echoed in Ma Ma Zhaodi's mind.

"Damn it, now is not the time for dubbing!"

He immediately began frantically searching in Shangcheng. When he found "Rapid Life Recovery," he instantly selected it for use on Solomon.

"Sorry, the target's life form is too special. Rapid Life Recovery can only restore it to a normal state within a certain timeframe. The effective duration for the current target is twenty-four hours. Confirm purchase?"

What a scam. Twenty-four hours, ten thousand asset points? Why don't you just rob a bank?

And does "restore to normal" mean returning to a corpse state? Then how would he eat a burger? Am I supposed to force-feed a corpse?

Ma Ma Zhaodi could only look for another method. The opponent possessed superhuman strength, endurance, and immortality, invulnerable to blades and bullets, with rapid self-healing—perhaps abilities on a Superman level, or perhaps beyond even that. But for Ma Ma Zhaodi, it made no difference.

One punch would kill him anyway.

"What to do? Is there anything that can control Solomon, or anything that can make him temporarily abandon his hostility toward me?"

Solomon's footsteps grew closer. His massive size gave him enormous strides, resulting in a surprisingly fast straight-line running speed. In just over ten seconds, he had already charged into the range of the jack-o'-lantern's light.

"Damn it, hurry up! Hurry up!"

Ma Ma Zhaodi frantically searched through the listings when he suddenly spotted an item. His eyes immediately lit up.

"Halloween Pumpkin Head"

Price: 200 USD

Note: Trick or Treat!

Note 2: This product is suitable for all ages. Children can wear it to ask for candy, and adults can wear it to ask children for candy.

Note 3: Adults? Pure trash!

Special Effect: You can use a self-made pumpkin to purchase this service. The pumpkin carving effect provides a bonus to the product's performance."

Ma Ma Zhaodi immediately clicked purchase. The pumpkin head mask he had originally received in the system suddenly flashed with light and glowed brightly—items bought from the System Mall could be stored within the system. This pumpkin was one he had bought in the system, merely fashioned into a mask. Unexpectedly, perhaps because it was ugly enough, even after being processed, it was still recognized as a system item and could be stored directly.

After Ma Ma Zhaodi bought the "Halloween Pumpkin Head," the item name of this pumpkin head mask immediately changed.

When he first bought it, its name was "Pumpkin." After carving and processing, its name became "Ugly Pumpkin Head Mask." Now, its name was "San-Dropping Ugly Pumpkin Head Mask."

The word "Ugly" was definitely fixed.

Solomon Grundy had been charging toward the intruder who had entered his living range, but just as he was about to collide with that person, he suddenly saw him turn his head.

No, that wasn't a head. It was a grotesque, terrifying, ugly pumpkin monster, emitting a ghostly, sinister grin directly at the charging Grundy.

It turned out the person holding the pumpkin had no facial features, or even a head at all. Only hollowed-out holes replaced the eyes, nose, and mouth. Eerie light shot out from the holes on its head, staring straight at Grundy.

Its features seemed alive, capable of making various expressions and movements. Its huge pumpkin mouth split into a wide grin, and its round eyes narrowed slightly, as if mocking Grundy for falling into its trap.

"No head! No head! Pumpkin Man!"

Grundy immediately exerted all his strength to halt his forward momentum. His memory was almost entirely lost, and his reason and intelligence had flowed away with it. His IQ and thinking ability were equivalent to those of a child of a few years old. He did not understand what was good or what was bad. Similarly, it was usually difficult for ordinary people to persuade him with complex logic or considerations of gain and loss—but today, his luck was not good.

Because he had happened to encounter a dog-like scoundrel who was very good at bullying children.

"Grundy! Grundy! Solomon Grundy!"

The Pumpkin Man's voice was gloomy and terrifying, resembling the kind of horror monster in fairy tales that specifically eats children. It walked step by step toward Grundy. The pumpkin lantern light it held suddenly turned an eerie green, as if burning with a ghostly fire.

"Born on Monday, baptized on Tuesday!"

"No, no! Grundy doesn't want to! Pumpkin Man, don't come over!"

"Married on Wednesday, fell ill on Thursday!"

Its voice grew louder and louder, almost deafening. Fear immediately filled the big man's heart. He looked at Ma Ma Zhaodi, who was walking toward him unhurriedly, his eyes wide open, his whole body trembling. He stiffened his body, turned his head, and tried to flee.

"Critical on Friday, died on Saturday!"

Thump, thump, thump sounds rang out. The big man, with his back to the terrifying pumpkin monster behind him, turned his head and began to sprint. At that moment, he only wanted to escape this eerie green light and that terrifying figure chanting his name.

"Buried in the ground on Sunday, the journey of a lifetime ends!"

"Solomon Grundy! Buried in the ground on Sunday, the journey of a lifetime ends!"

"No—!"

"Bang!"

Fear made his legs and feet, which were already stiff and numb like a zombie's, even more rigid. Grundy fell to the ground with a thud. When he turned his head to look again, the pumpkin man holding the lantern had already reached right in front of him.

He shivered and closed his eyes, curling himself up, yet he did not wait for the pumpkin head's bloodthirsty maw.

"Huh?"

When he opened his eyes, he found that the pumpkin head had simply placed a bag on the ground. An enticing aroma wafted from the bag, smelling better than the rats and garbage he had eaten before.

"Solomon Grundy, Happy Halloween."

(End of Chapter)