Chapter 5

The harsh sound of friction echoed as the wooden door was pushed open. A curved blade probed through the crack in the door, swaying for a moment before retracting. It seemed like the other party was extremely vigilant.

After a while, the gap widened, and a head peered in from outside, tossing in a torch and still detecting no movement.

So, the robber simply pushed the door fully open, retreated to the side, yet still there was no sound.

Seemingly, the robber thought, they were just too nervous.

Moving his steps, intending to enter, suddenly, a hand shot out from the door's top, swiftly grabbing his face and dragging him into the wine cellar, with the wooden door closing instantly.

The next moment, a horrifying scream pierced the air.

That sound instantly crushed the will the robbers barely managed to muster, and they rushed out of the basement in panic.

"Don't panic! Don't panic!" Guguka waved his curved blade, roaring to stop the chaos. But it only halted the disorder, failing to lift their spirits.

The robbers gathered at the entrance of the tunnel, but none dared to step forward. Despite being ruthless killers on regular days, they were terribly timid.

According to eyewitnesses, the vampire still appeared very powerful, showing no signs of weakness at all. This meant he was likely an ancient vampire.

As the sun just rose, they began to search the entire castle. Besides the fingerprints on the wall and two unknown dried corpses, what horrified them the most were the camels killed to the bone.

Apparently, this vampire intended to keep everyone and kill them one by one.

Guguka suddenly felt a chill down his spine. How could he encounter such a thing? Weren't these ancient vampires supposed to be extremely rare?

But what else could they do now? Without the camels, leaving was impossible. The only way was to kill this vampire during the day; otherwise, they had no idea what might happen after nightfall.

With this in mind, he nudged a robber beside him with the hilt of his blade.

"Go, lead me to where you found him!"

The robber burst into tears instantly, almost kneeling down to beg for mercy from Guguka. But what use would it be? He had known Guguka for a long time. If he dared to say a word against him now, he'd surely end up dead.

Seeing Guguka's curved blade in hand, reluctantly, he shuffled his trembling feet, inching towards the entrance of the tunnel.

"You all, follow me!" Guguka shouted at the other robbers, retreating himself, but no one could oppose him. After all, he was the leader and the strongest here.

After much delay, with threats and intimidation in turn, these robbers finally stepped into the tunnel one by one, moving slowly. Guguka himself stood at the end, holding the blade, claiming he'd kill anyone who dared to retreat.

Adam's cellar was only about twenty meters from the tunnel entrance, but the robbers took nearly an hour to cover this distance, accompanied by various threats and intimidation, but unfortunately, with limited effect.

"This... is it." The forced leader of the robbers pointed at the wooden door of the wine cellar from afar, looking at Guguka with a pale face, tears streaming down.

"Kick it open! What are you waiting for, you dog's bastard?" Guguka responded angrily.

The robber continued to hesitate, hesitating for more than ten minutes before gathering courage amidst Guguka's curses and finally kicked open the wooden door, then quickly retreated.

After a while, nothing happened.

The robbers looked into the wine cellar from outside and found nothing inside except for the guy who had been dragged in earlier, now turned into a dried corpse.

"Are you looking for me?" a voice echoed. In the dim corner at the end of the tunnel, a figure emerged – Adam!

In the flickering red light of the torch, he was covered in pus, teeth exposed, emitting white gas from his mouth, and his protruding eyes were extremely terrifying.

Suddenly, the entire tunnel became restless, with pleas for mercy, curses, and panicked words. All the robbers, in unison, retreated.

The creature before their eyes was clearly not the vampire described by Guguka. It was a full-fledged zombie!

Regardless of any era, country, or ethnicity, there are descriptions of zombies. Whether such things truly exist is something few can say for certain; perhaps they're just people's fantasies about death.

If it had been the vampire described by Guguka, who looked no different from humans, the robbers might have mustered the courage to fight him. But this thing before them...

At this moment, this horrifying scene suddenly unfolded, and the fear of death quickly overwhelmed reason. The robbers no longer remembered Guguka's threats; now, they just wanted to run.

Facing the sudden chaos, Guguka resorted to his old tactics again, swiftly drawing his blade and striking down a robber who was retreating: "No retreat! Charge forward! Whoever dares to retreat, I'll kill them on the spot!"

He roared madly, but what happened next exceeded his expectations.

The robbers, one after another, gripped their curved blades and charged at him. Before he could comprehend what was happening, he was already struck by seven or eight blades.

As he fell to the ground, the terrified robbers simply trampled over his body and rushed out of the tunnel. At this moment, fear overcame rationality. In the eyes of the robbers, Guguka wielding a curved blade seemed far easier to deal with than that terrifying zombie.

Adam sighed, casting great doubt on the intelligence of these robbers. He slowly approached and picked up one of the robbers who had been knocked down by Guguka, now barely clinging to life.

"Don't waste it." With Guguka's terrified gaze, Adam took a bite.

...

The robbers fled the tunnel in panic.

By now, Guguka was dead, and the robbers were leaderless. As for the plan to kill the vampire during the day, it now seemed absurd to them.

But what should they do next? Without the camels, they couldn't run away.

"I think the other party is hiding in the cellar during the day, either because they're afraid of sunlight or because they truly weaken during the day, though rarely," one robber, who had just calmed down, concluded.

Soon, this viewpoint gained the majority's approval, and they began packing up to leave the castle.

Now, the only option was to camp outside the castle. In open spaces, they were less susceptible to surprise attacks, and it would be easier to flee. When the lizard lord returned, they'd figure out what to do next.

As for where to camp, they chose the sandy area. They didn't dare to go to the oasis because it was densely wooded, and who knew when that monster might emerge again? The trees in the oasis would be its best hiding spot.

To solve the food and water problem, they divided into two groups, taking turns to enter the castle.

After this ordeal, Adam ended up seizing control of the castle.

As the sun went down, the terrifying night fell upon the land once more. The robbers, in an effort to stay alive, kept themselves alert by nudging each other, afraid to sleep. Now, for survival's sake, they had no choice but to live with reversed day and night schedules.

Adam began to explore the dark castle, looking around in search of something.

After a day of rest, he fully experienced the vitality of a vampire. The pus on his body had mostly receded, wounds had healed, and his skin had regained its rosy hue. It could be said that as long as there was enough blood, no injury was too severe for a vampire.

After taking a bath with well water and checking himself in the mirror, Adam noticed that besides the absence of eyebrows and hair, everything else about his body was almost the same as before he arrived on Earth. In fact, he looked even better than before.

His clean face still held the same pride between his brows. His gaze appeared even more profound.

All the excess fat from his body had disappeared, replaced by robust muscles. He appeared very strong and tall.

As he shook his neck, the vertebrae in his spine made a cracking sound. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Adam felt extremely satisfied.

This was a completely different version of himself now. Apart from the same demeanor, hardly anyone would recognize him anymore.

"Hey! Is anyone out there? Can I get some water and food please?" Just as he was indulging in his self-admiration, a voice caught his attention.

Apparently, the panicked robbers had forgotten that there was still someone locked in the dungeon.