I transmigrated to a chaotic world and became the sole player.

"Heh...heh..."

The infected villagers emitted inhuman, phlegmy roars, their dragging footsteps echoing on the silent village road. With each step, a faint, teeth-grinding wriggling sound seemed to emanate from their bodies. Their empty, grayish-white eyes were fixed intently on the bushes where Lu Zhao was hiding, lifeless yet possessing a chillingly precise lock-on quality.

It's been discovered! Does this thing sense things not through its eyes, but through the miasma? Or something else?

Lu Zhao's heart tightened, and without further hesitation, he struck first! Just before his opponent entered his attack range, he suddenly leaped out from behind the bushes, his machete flashing coldly as he slashed straight at the opponent's neck! Strike first, win!

However, the villager's reaction to the plague was unexpectedly swift! He appeared stiff and unsteady, but the moment Lu Zhao made his move, his thin arm suddenly rose, striking Lu Zhao's wrist before he could react! His five fingers were jet black, his nails sharp, and he carried a strong stench of corpses and plague!

"So fast!" A sense of alarm rose in Lu Zhao's heart. He immediately changed his move, flipped his wrist, and turned the wood-chopping knife into a downward slash, aiming at the opponent's outstretched arm. At the same time, he quickly retreated backward!

"Sizzle!"

The machete struck the infected villager's arm, but it didn't feel like it was cutting into flesh; it felt more like it was piercing the tough bark of an old tree. It only penetrated two inches into the flesh before it could go no further! A thick, foul-smelling black pus spurted from the wound!

[Attack hit! Deals damage to the Plague Villager (LV3)! Health -8%]

[Note: Weapons contaminated with corpse poison and plague gas will have reduced durability and must be cleaned promptly!]

"Roar!" The infected villagers seemed oblivious to the pain; the pus oozing from their wounds only fueled their ferocity. One of their hands shot out like a venomous snake, grabbing at Lu Zhao's face, accompanied by a nauseating, foul stench!

Lu Zhao exerted force with his feet, using the [Turtle Breathing Technique] to increase his speed, narrowly avoiding the claw attack. At the same time, he swung his sword backhand, aiming for the villager's knee! Although the villager was fast, his joints seemed to be a weak point!

"Crack!" The machete struck the side of the knee joint with precision, making a sound of bone breaking. The infected villager's body swayed, and his movements faltered.

Now! Lu Zhao drew a [Dispelling Evil Talisman] from his waist with lightning speed with his left hand, instantly channeling his spiritual power into it, and slapped it towards the chest of the plague-stricken villager! He didn't hesitate to use his dispelling power on this thing filled with plague and evil!

"Snapped!"

The talisman struck his chest squarely, unleashing a burst of crimson light!

"Sizzle sizzle—!"

Like boiling oil poured onto snow, the moment the crimson light touched the infected villager, the rotting flesh on his chest charred and collapsed at a visible speed, emitting a piercing sound and billowing out thick black smoke! It let out a sharp scream, its body convulsing violently as it staggered backward!

[Use the "Exorcism Talisman"! Deals Holy damage to Mutated Villagers (LV3)! Especially effective against Mutated and Evil enemies! Reduces HP by 25%! Inflicts the following statuses: Burn, Purify!]

"It really works!" Lu Zhao was overjoyed. He would strike while the enemy was weak and kill him! He lunged forward, his woodcutter's knife flashing as he targeted the enemy's joints, eye sockets, throat, and other vital points! Under the continuous burning and purification of the [Exorcism Talisman], the infected villagers became even slower and their defenses were greatly reduced.

"Thud!" The final stab pierced deep into its eye socket, shattering it! The mutated villager's body stiffened abruptly, then he collapsed to the ground with a thud, pus flowing from his body, and he remained motionless.

[Successfully defeated the 'Plague-infected Villager' (LV3)!]

[Experience points gained: 60!]

[Items obtained: 1 Rotten Finger Bone, 1 Piece of Cloth Spilled with Plague]

Lu Zhao, panting, took a few steps back, avoiding the pool of foul-smelling pus. He frowned, watching the rapidly decaying corpse on the ground, sprouting more grayish-white mycelium. This mutated villager was far more difficult to deal with than ordinary zombies of the same level; its defenses were higher, its attacks were poisonous, and it was fearless. Most troublesome of all, it seemed to possess some special sensory ability, able to detect the presence of living people.

"It seems this village is full of these things. And they appear to be under organized 'control'." Lu Zhao looked towards the ancestral hall at the west end of the village, where the gray-white mist was the thickest, tinged with an unsettling dark red. The controller, or the "source," is very likely there.

He didn't immediately venture deeper. Instead, he first took out his water pouch and rinsed the pus off his wood-chopping knife. Then, he carefully wiped it with a cloth soaked in strong liquor to prevent it from being corroded by the plague. Afterward, he took out a calming talisman and placed it on his chest. The faint, cool aura enveloped his mind, resisting the oppressive feeling brought by the increasingly dense plague and deathly aura in the air.

After adjusting his state, Lu Zhao took a deep breath and once again pushed the [Turtle Breathing Technique] to its limit, concealing his aura to the lowest level. Like a ghost, he crept stealthily towards the ancestral hall, clinging to the shadows of the village walls.

The deeper we went into the village, the thicker the fog became, to the point where we could barely see our hands in front of our faces. The sweet, rotten smell in the air grew stronger and more nauseating. The ground underfoot was wet and sticky, making a soft "plop" sound when you stepped on it; it was a muddy mixture of rotting plants and some unknown slime.

Along the way, he encountered several more mutated villagers, their levels ranging from 2 to 4. Having learned from his previous experience, he no longer engaged in direct combat. Instead, he used the terrain and fog to stealthily avoid them as much as possible. If avoidance was impossible, he would first use a [Clear Breeze Talisman] to disperse the fog in a small area, creating a visual advantage, and then use a [Dispelling Evil Talisman] in conjunction with his wood-chopping knife to quickly eliminate them. The Dispelling Evil Talisman was extremely effective against single targets. However, he had a limited number of talismans and dared not waste them, relying most of the time on his agility and the terrain to quietly pass through.

Killing a 'Plague Villager' (LV2) grants 40 experience points.

Killing a 'Plague Villager' (LV4) grants 80 experience points.

As his experience bar steadily increased, Lu Zhao's heart sank deeper and deeper. The devastation in the village was beyond his imagination. Rotting corpses were everywhere, houses were destroyed, and in some places, there were even signs of fierce fighting. Moreover, the closer he got to the ancestral hall, the stronger the feeling of being "controlled" became in the air. He could vaguely sense a vast, cold, and malicious will lurking deep within the ancestral hall, like a spider in the center of a web, radiating a chilling aura.

Finally, he arrived outside the ancestral hall. It was a relatively large building made of blue bricks, but at this moment, the brick walls were covered with eerie grayish-white moss, the wooden door had vanished, and the dark entrance, like the esophagus of a giant beast, constantly spewed out thick, dark red mist. Within the mist, countless tiny, grayish-white mycelia seemed to be slowly drifting and growing.

[Found: Core contaminated area (high concentration of pathogenic gas/dissimilar spore source).]

[Warning: Prolonged stay will lead to the spread of the plague, causing a continuous decrease in health and a chance of contracting the 'Plague' status.]

[Warning: There is severe mental pollution in the current area; those with insufficient mental resistance will fall into hallucinations.]

The panel's prompts were cold and stern. Lu Zhao could feel an invisible pressure emanating from inside the ancestral hall, making him uneasy and even causing him to have auditory hallucinations, as if countless tiny whispers were murmuring in his ears.

"This place... is even more sinister than that snake demon's lair." Lu Zhao dared not be careless. He placed a [Tranquility Talisman] on his forehead and held a [Protective Talisman] in his palm, ready to activate it at any time. He took out the last [Exorcism Talisman] for later use, slowly approached the entrance of the ancestral hall, and looked inside.

The ancestral hall was spacious but dimly lit. In the very center, where ancestral tablets should have been placed and where people worshipped their ancestors, the scene was now chilling.

There, a massive, writhing mass of flesh, composed of countless grayish-white mycelia and rotting flesh, lay coiled. At its center, a twisted human skeleton was vaguely visible, but it had long been covered and fused with the mycelia. On the surface of the mass grew dozens, even hundreds, of translucent, tumor-like vesicles of varying sizes. Within these vesicles, dark shadows seemed to writhe, vaguely discernible as human figures!

Above the chunk of flesh, within the largest, heart-pulsating vesicle, floated a bizarre organ the size of a fist, emitting a dark green phosphorescence, shaped like a human brain, and covered with vascular patterns! With each pulsation of that organ, a thick, dark red mist surged forth, merging into the surrounding air. Countless fine mycelia extended from the chunk of flesh like tentacles, connecting to the dozens of corpses lying haphazardly on the ground around it, already rotting or mostly devoured by the mycelia, seemingly drawing something from them.

"Ugh..." Lu Zhao forced back the churning in his stomach. The sight before him was beyond his previous understanding of "evil things." This wasn't a ghost, nor a demon, but a living, multiplying, life-devouring, deformed plague aggregate!

In the instant he observed, the fleshy mass seemed to sense the presence of living beings, its surface writhing violently! Several smaller vesicles near the periphery burst open, spraying out green mucus, from which rolled several twisted, crawling "people" covered in mucus and with grayish-white skin. These were the mutated villagers! But their aura was far stronger than that of the others, reaching a level of 4-5! Moreover, their eyes were empty, filled only with pure hatred and a destructive urge for life!

"roar--!"

"Ho—!"

Seven or eight newly mutated villagers roared and charged toward the ancestral hall entrance at a speed far exceeding that of the previous zombies! Behind them, more vesicles were writhing violently, as if they were about to burst at any moment, releasing even more monsters!

The "heart" organ in the center of the meat chunk suddenly lit up, and a huge, cold mental shock filled with the desire for "hunger" and "assimilation" slammed into Lu Zhao's mind like an invisible giant hammer!

Lu Zhao's vision went black, his ears rang, and he almost lost his balance! The light of the [Tranquility Talisman] flickered violently, offsetting most of the impact, but it still made him dizzy and his mental energy was instantly depleted!

"retreat!"

Without any hesitation, Lu Zhao turned and ran! This thing was simply not something he could withstand right now! Just this wave of mental impact, plus the seven or eight level 5 mutated villagers, could tear him to pieces!

Without looking back, he accelerated to his maximum speed and ran frantically in the direction he had come from! Behind him, there were dense, heavy footsteps and chilling roars!